Hypnotherapy

Hypnosis Demystified

The word hypnotism was first used back in 1842 by James Braid, a Scottish surgeon. The word itself comes from the Greek hypnos or sleep.  Braid had become interested in a phenomenon known then as mesmerism from the work of German physician Franz Mesmer.  The roots of hypnosis go even deeper though, thousands of years back into ancient Hindu, Egyptian and Greek practices that placed subjects into an altered state of consciousness.  It was Baird however who researched the subject extensively, coined the word hypnotism and brought the practice into mainstream science, creating a debate that has been going on ever since.

Myths

No matter where you fall in understanding the process, chances are one or more of the many myths about the procedure has passed into your consciousness at sometime so I’d like to start with a couple of statements on what hypnosis isn’t.

1. Hypnosis is not something someone does to you.  It is something you do to yourself.

As a hypnotherapist, all I am doing is helping you obtain or get into the state of hypnosis. It is a state that requires your willingness to enter by relaxing and letting go.  You may not know this but each of us enters the state of hypnosis at least twice a day.  The first time is just before you drop off to sleep and the second is just moments before you fully awaken.  There are many other times throughout the day that we may be in a hypnotic state.  Watching television, reading a good book, enjoying a beautiful sunset or even meditating, anytime your thoughts are focused on one particular event and nothing else, you’ve entered a state of hypnosis.  When your name has to be called out multiple times to bring you back, you were just caught in a hypnotic state.

2. Hypnosis is not a trans like state where you have no knowledge of what is happening and therefore no control of the situation. You are constantly aware of what is going on.

Reaching a state of hypnosis does require letting go and relaxing, focusing your thoughts on nothing but listening to the hypnotherapist voice guiding you into that deeper relaxed state of being.  You are always aware of where you are, who you are and what you are doing, but at a point your consciousness shifts more to where you are going and less on where you are in the present.  Like watching a television program and becoming immersed in the story, you know you are sitting in the chair, in your living room and watching TV but none of that is present in your mind as you are deep into the images playing out in front of you. That is what being in a deep hypnotic altered state is like.

Consciousness

Now that we understand what being in the state of hypnosis is like we can learn a little more about exactly what is happening while you’re in this state.  Your mind has two levels it’s operating on, the conscious state and the sub-conscious state. Both of these levels are constantly at play in your everyday waking moments.  For the most part, your conscious level is the one controlling everything or at least trying to.  It is the part of your mind that is always “thinking” about things, always planning ahead as well as worrying about the past.  It seems to be everywhere but in the present moment.  Your sub-conscious level comes into play when your conscious mind takes your attention off what you are doing in the moment.

As an example, how many of you have driven somewhere and when you arrived at the location immediately snapped into attention and not remembered driving the last few miles or so.  You immediately begin to panic as you realize you can’t remember those last few minutes yet you are at the location you were driving to and everything is fine.  That was your subconscious mind taking over and driving the vehicle while your conscious mind was working on whatever it was thinking about on the drive there.  It may have been worrying about a presentation you were about to make or any number of other pressing problems in your busy schedule so it let go of the driving and your sub-conscious mind seamlessly took over.  When your conscious mind came back into the moment it panicked because it lost control for a moment and remember the conscious mind is all about control.

Where we’re trying to go with hypnosis and past life regression is deep into your sub-conscious mind, the place where all knowledge is stored and all answers are hidden, suppressed and buried by your conscious mind.  The only way of getting there is by shutting off your conscious mind, relaxing your body and letting go of everything.  It’s a lot easier to do than most people think.  I’ve had plenty of people tell me they wouldn’t be able to do this only to find themselves deeper in a regression than many of the people who are willing.

Karma

Smoothing out your life’s path is one of the most important reasons you should choose to experience a past life regression through hypnotherapy.  Everyone’s life is strewn with challenges.  They show up in a multitude of forms and at a time when you need them the least.  Struggles with addictions, weight loss, smoking, and relationship issues are just a few of the many problems, fears and phobias that could be blocking you from experiencing a smooth journey down life’s path.  Each one of these road blocks however is a karmic lesson that was placed there by you to test your response and resolve in handling it.  Are you passing that lesson or are you fighting it and in return having that same karmic wave wash over you again and again?

Hypnosis is the best therapy to use for pinpointing the cause of your problems.  It is a self-controlled method of taking responsiblity for your own issues, understanding the reason for the issue and then seeing the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel.  Each session takes you another step further into a complete understanding of who you are, why you are here, and how you can best respond to the challenges that lie ahead of you.  It brings about an effective way to release those karmic bonds and move forward into the life you were meant to live.