Hypnosis is a normal, natural experience. Everyone goes into the hypnotic state anywhere from one to many times a day. It is like watching television and becoming so interested in the program, that someone can talk to you, but it just does not register. Has that ever happened to you? Hypnosis is similar to travelling to a place you have been before, but your mind is on something else and without realizing it you find yourself two or three streets past where you wanted to go. Even though you are not paying attention to where you are geographically, you are driving safely. Your subconscious mind is protecting you, because you are keeping a safe distance between your car and the car in front of you and you are subconsciously paying attention to the oncoming traffic.
Your subconscious mind will also protect you when you are in hypnosis for you will not do anything that is against your personal or moral convictions. If a suggestion were given that was against your personal or moral convictions, you would either not follow the suggestion or you would come out of hypnosis. You are in control. The hypnotist is only a guide.
Everyone goes into a hypnotic state just before they go to sleep at night, when you can hear everything that is going on, but feel so relaxed and peaceful. That is a natural state of hypnosis and the brainwaves are just like the brainwaves when you are an induced state of hypnosis. What I do is to help you go into that state and maintain it so that you do not go to sleep, because once you are asleep, you are no longer in the hypnotic state. Some people believe that when you are hypnotized, you are unconscious, but that is not the case. You will hear everything I say and you will remember much of what I say.
Just a little about how hypnosis works. Though we only have one mind, our mind is made up of two parts. We have a conscious part which consists of about 10% of our thinking power and a subconscious part which consists of about 90% of our thinking power. It is a bit like an iceberg: only a small portion of the iceberg is above the water (our conscious mind) while the great majority of the iceberg is below the surface of the water (subconscious mind).
The conscious mind is the logical part of our mind. The subconscious mind is not logical. It has two purposes. It controls our breathing, pulse rate, blood pressure, heart beat, etc. and it seeks to meet our deepest needs, expectations and desires. For instance, if a person wants to stop smoking, the conscious mind says "stop smoking", but the subconscious, "How are you going to make it through the day without a cigarette?" If 10% of your mind is telling you to stop and 90% is telling you to pick up another cigarette, what happens is you light a cigarette. Anything that we have developed into a habit, the subconscious mind believes we need to continue for our well-being. That is why it is so hard to stop smoking or overcome other problems by conscious decision alone. With hypnosis, you reprogram your subconscious mind so that it assists you instead of blocking change in your life.
This experience of hypnosis allows you to relax. In the process, tensions and pressures of the day will start to disappear. As you relax, many thoughts may pass through your mind, but that is okay. You may feel comfortably light or pleasantly heavy and there may be some tingling in various areas of your body. You are aware of being very relaxed and comfortable so that you are more likely to follow suggestion than at other times. The mind has what is called a "critical faculty". When under hypnosis, the "critical faculty" is bypassed and instead of evaluating the suggestion, the mind lets it go directly into the subconscious. When the subconscious accepts the suggestion, it begins to work to make it a reality.
WHAT HAPPENS AT A SESSION?
Your first appointment is usually an in-depth consultation in which you can state your problems and any worries that you might have. You will be encouraged to talk freely and will be asked questions. Hypnosis will only be tried if both you and the therapist consider it to be appropriate .
During hypnosis, you will sit on a reclining chair and relax while you listen to my voice, some common feelings are drowsiness or alertness and an altered perception of time. At all times you will be aware of what is happening, and will emerge from Hypnosis feeling relaxed and uplifted.
Hypnotherapy may not be suitable for everyone, but if you really want to improve your self-awareness and your enjoyment of life and if you have the courage and determination to face yourself, then it might be worth looking into it further.
HOW MANY SESSIONS?
Hypnotherapy usually requires at least three sessions, but is very dependant on the individual and the subject being addressed, any further sessions will be as required. Each session will last between 40 minutes to 1 hour.
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