F.A.Q.
WHAT IS HYPNOSIS? Hypnosis is a relaxed concentration which anyone can enter naturally. Think about a time when driving and you arrived at your destination having no conscious memory of having driven there. That automated ability of the unconscious is a kind of hypnosis. Generally a hypnosis session would be a deeper form of that state. In a session you are helped to enter that relaxed state easily and effectively. Hypnotherapy focuses on having the client explore the inner mind to discover the origins and motivations for behavior and then utilize this knowledge in reprogramming. (back to top)
HOW IS HYPNOSIS DIFFERENT FROM SLEEP? "Whatever sleep is, hypnosis is not. Hypnosis is an altered state of attention which approaches peak concentration capacity. While hypnosis may resemble sleep in some ways, it is actually closer to an intense concentration that blots out extraneous sensory information. It is different because the hypnotized person is awake and alert. The brain waves of a person in a state of hypnosis are those of one awake and not of one asleep. In sleep the subconscious mind (as well as the conscious mind) is inaccessible; yet, in hypnosis the subconscious becomes accessible and responsive to suggestion." (Principles of Hypnotherapy by John C. Hughes, D.C. and Ed Morris, M. Ed.) (back to top)
WHY IS HYPNOSIS A HELPFUL GROWTH TOOL? It is the artful use of imagination to increase enthusiasm for self-improvement and it helps develop strategies to remind yourself of improvements you wish to make. In a trance you can access the inner mind - a database of patterns, habits, thoughts, visions, traumas, dreams, and old experiences. This allows you to understand the specific causes of problems and then release them or make changes in the way you think about them. In the waking state we are, by nature, highly suggestible beings. In the hypnotic state we are especially open to suggestions that can help us redirect our thinking and thus our experiences. (back to top)
WHAT WILL HAPPEN WHEN I COME IN FOR A SESSION? You will sit in an upright reclining chair and be interviewed as to your concerns and issues. The lights will then be dimmed and the recliner lowered so you are relaxed. Hypnosis is induced in many ways, using music, images, numbers, chimes, gentle touch and other relaxation techniques. Your body feels heavy as it begins to deeply relax as if you are floating. It is very peaceful. You go into the quietness of your own inner world. How deeply you go varies from person to person. You are encouraged with direction from the hypnotist to explore your inner world and your issues, as well as to find your own direction and inner wisdom about healing, resolving, and releasing understandings that no longer serve you. With the help and guidance of the hypnotherapist you find your own path to truth and higher meaning. A tape is made and given to you to take home. This personalized tape will reinforce the changes you want to make or implement. When the session comes to a conclusion you are gently brought back to the waking state relaxed and refreshed and full of transforming new energy. (back to top)
WHY ARE SOME PEOPLE AFRAID OF HYPNOSIS? It is natural to feel a little apprehensive, but there's nothing to fear since it is a relaxed state similar to dreaming and it is done in a safe environment with a competently trained hypnotherapist. (back to top)
HAS HYPNOSIS BEEN AROUND LONG? Hypnosis has been around for a long time and used by many cultures. It has been used in the dances of the whirling dervishes and the practice of Hindu yogis and Native American tribes. Hypnosis for healing has existed in many forms over the years and ultimately goes back to ancient Greece and Rome. In the Greek and Roman healing temples, sick people would bathe, dress in white clothes, and go to sleep and in the morning they would know what they needed to do to heal. In the 1700's, Anton Mesmer (the origin of the word "mesmerism") facilitated healing using magnetic energy and hypnotic states. In India in the early 1800's surgeon James Esdaile performed more than 2,000 operations using hypnotic states as anesthesia. Sigmund Freud also used hypnosis, which influenced his opinions about unconscious process. Modern hypnotherapy was heralded in the 1930's by Milton Erickson, who used indirect suggestions and metaphors to help people change their thinking. (From Blanket of Peace: An Interview with Marilyn Gordon from Catalist Magazine, April 1996.) (back to top)
CAN EVERYONE BE HYPNOTIZED? Almost everyone with normal or better intelligence if they want to, can be. If you don't want to be hypnotized, a hypnotherapist can not force this on you. Some go deeply into trance and some go lightly but most go in the middle range. (back to top)
HOW CAN HYPNOSIS LEAD TO TRANSFORMATION? In the induction the critical factor of the conscious mind is distracted and held in abeyance. Suggestions then slip past the conscious mind and enter the subconscious where they are accepted and acted upon without criticism, thus providing a favorable mindset and connection to a higher knowing. (back to top)
WHAT ARE THE COMMON MYTHS ABOUT HYPNOSIS?
1. Loss of Consciousness - Many people believe that people who are hypnotized are unconscious. The truth is that far from being unconscious, the client will be even more awake during hypnosis than before.
2. Surrender of Will - Many in the public believe that hypnosis is a surrender of will and that the client will submit to the "power" or "control" of the hypnotist. This is false and the client is capable of making decisions at all times and can respond if necessary in an emergency.
3. Revelation of Secrets - Some believe that while in hypnosis you can be forced to reveal secrets about yourself and others. This can not happen since the client while hypnotized is aware of everything.
4. Fear of Not Being Revived - There are people who are afraid to be hypnotized thinking they will never come out of trance. Since the clients actually induce the trance themselves, clients can readily revive themselves when necessary.
5. Gullibility or Weak Mindedness - Some believe that only fools or the gullible can be hypnotized. The truth is that hypnosis requires a lot of concentration and that the best clients are actually the more intelligent of the population.
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WHAT ARE SOME OF THE POSSIBLE BENEFITS OF HYPNOSIS?
* Explore the sacred mystery within you
* Work to deepen and enrich your soul and inner higher "powers"
* Learn to move with change and let go of the holding on that causes sorrow
* Discover your true inner essence and purpose
* Find deep inner peace and let your heart open to new love
* Reconnect to your deep divine source and experience the natural state of love, wisdom and power
* Make life-affirming decisions
* Reconnect to your inner creativity
* Deepen your trust in the life you live and your journey toward wholeness
* Find the saboteur within and transform it with light and love
* Allow regression to review significant or remarkable life events with the hypnotherapist as your guide
* Heal trauma from abuse, abandonment, accidents and terror
* Access your intuitive knowledge of all that is
* Regain self-control over negative habits
* Reprogram negative or destructive thinking to alter behaviors
* Learn stress management and find ways to relax in your conscious state.
* Relieve sleep problems
* Develop self-confidence, self-esteem, for greater success and achievement
* Promote wellness and enhance your health
* Enhance and nourish your growth and development
* Move through stuck places and patterns in your life
* Confront challenges, issues and problems
* Explore your spirituality and discover inner spiritual guides and helpers
* Reveal new gifts, find your mission and get clarity about your life's path and work
* Release anger, fear, sadness, shame and guilt for a better life
* Forgive yourself and others
* Feel worthy and deserving of love, blessings and abundance
* Recover lost energy and vitality
* Remove negative thought forms and replace old "tapes" with new vision
* Heal the inner child
* Explore the mind/body connection
* Get at the root cause of problems
* Explore and expand your beliefs and remove limiting beliefs you no longer need
* Make new choices for change and freedom
* Enhance transitions by exploring inner guidance
* Learn not to censor yourself or avoid speaking your truth
* Heal from the pain of your family of origin
* Make rapid, lasting, life changes and get results
* Develop compassion for others and yourself
* By working on your personal growth, alter your personal relationships
* Experience the power of transformation, of turning darkness to light
* Discover that all things in life are blessings when they have been redeemed and healed
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WHAT OTHER IMPORTANT THINGS SHOULD I KNOW ABOUT HYPNOSIS?
1. It is safe, comfortable and confidential.
2. You will remember the session but will be in a heightened state of consciousness which is very similar to being tranced out while watching a movie or television.
3. In trance you may not feel any differently or you may feel heavy, light or tingly. Your body may feel asleep with your mind awake or you may just feel relaxed. No matter how you feel you will get results.
4. Hypnotherapy uses the power of your own mind to help you accomplish your goals. The unconscious mind works very well with images, suggestions, visualizations, and metaphors. These will be used to help you resolve and heal from your issues.
5. It is a leading edge healing technique.
6. Has a reputation as an effective way to confront fears and mental blocks helping people to transform their lives.
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