Hypnosis & Beyond
(This is an excerpt from a University Of Metaphysical Sciences course at www.umsonline.org,
please feel free to visit the school website)
Introduction
Review Of Literature
History And Heroes Of Hypnotherapy
Types Of Hypnotherapy
What Problems Can Be Solved With Hypnosis?
Self-Hypnosis & The Imagination
The Power Of Suggestion
Suggestion Revisited & Expanded
Brain-Waves & Suggestibility
Methods Of Hypnosis
Instructions For Self-Hypnosis
Why Should Hypnotists Become Certified?
Examination Of Case Histories
Discussion
Conclusion
Bibliography
Written by Balthazar Mizraim Seferiades
Introduction
Hypnosis as a complete practice seems to encompass a wide range of techniques designed to produce very different effects or achieve particular ends. The art of hypnosis blends into mediumship and spiritism. It borders on the occult closely enough to be used in combination with sorcery and voodoo, yet finds itself equally at home in the doctor's office where it can replace morphine and psychiatric drugs. Hypnotic suggestions can cure apparently organic diseases, eliminate all so-called mental or functional illnesses, and even put a stop to "nasty habits." Suggestions can also cause a calculated reaction in the subject at a later time, cause the hypnotic subject to hallucinate, and even make certain subjects perform a series of automatic actions of which they will not be aware at the time and will have no memory of afterwards.
Hypnosis appears to work by inducing a trance or altered state of consciousness in which low frequency brain-waves become active in the subject, causing increased "suggestibility." Mesmerism, the original form of hypnotism in the modern era, based its methods on the theory of "Animal Magnetism." This theory holds that humans generate a magnetic current that can be cultivated and directed by the will. The fairly recent discovery of electrical brain-waves has turned the scientific belief in "the power of suggestion" on its head by lending support to Mesmer's long discredited theory of magnetism. Hypnotherapists and psychic healers must now take bioelectrical and energetic factors into account when using techniques of hypnosis to treat themselves or others. The use of the will in the direction of magnetic forces for the purpose of effecting psychic or hypnotic cures must also be reconsidered, since the idea of suggestion remains an entirely passive one in which the will plays no part. Brain-wave frequencies seem capable of manipulation through imaginative (i.e., through visualization), psychic, and possibly magnetic means as well. When these frequencies are brought into balance and harmony with one another, many seemingly organic diseases and other ailments of a more subtle or functional nature tend to disappear all by themselves, or prove capable of cure through persistent visualization and suggestion.
Review Of Literature
Author Anna Wise has written a most excellent and delightful book entitled Awakening The Mind: A Guide To Mastering The Power Of Your Brain Waves (2002). The editors describe this book as, "A powerful guide to understanding how brain waves influence mental states and how to use this knowledge to heighten mental acuity and awareness." It could also be added that Anna's work sheds a great deal of light on the process of hypnosis, and shows us how to fine tune our own consciousness for general healing purposes.
Beyond Hypnosis: A Program For Developing Your Psychic & Healing Powers (1987), by William W. Hewitt, provides the self-hypnotist with a complete course of development designed to awaken psychic powers and potentials for healing. This book carries the stamp of approval of the Dean of the International College of Spiritual and Psychic Sciences, Professor Marilyn Z. Rossner. She states, "Many of us who teach PSI and human potential have been waiting for just such a book to recommend to our students. Transpersonal therapists should also find it a useful manual to give to those who desire to learn how to 'reprogram' the subconscious for positive, effective and healthy living."
New Concepts Of Hypnosis: Theories, Techniques, And Practical Applications (1976), by Bernard C. Gindes, M.D., approaches the subject from a psychotherapeutic viewpoint based on the now somewhat antiquated theory of the "power of suggestion." However, the author seems open to other points of view and even includes instructions for hypnosis through mesmeric or "magnetic" methods.
Self-Hypnosis: A Conditioned Response Technique (1969) by Laurence Sparks explains the principles of conditioning, explains how perception can be altered through hypnosis, and includes minute instructions for the practice of posthypnotic suggestion. Perhaps the most interesting chapter of this book deals with the hypnotic phenomena of time-distortion, in which a hypnotized subject can be made to experience visualized scenes or memories at accelerated speeds. Time distortion enables the self-hypnotized subject to recall large amounts of written, recorded, or filmed material, relive events from childhood, and make more rapid progress in learning to play musical instruments, all by visualizing at an accelerated rate. Sparks has a good psychological grasp of his subject, and his lengthy case histories tend to dispel many commonly held illusions about the powers of hypnosis.
Hypnotism: A History (1999) by Derek Forrest could be considered the definitive historical work in the field of hypnosis. However, Forrest concentrates on the acceptance or rejection of hypnotism by modern science. In the process, he tends to lose sight of the metaphysical aspects of the practice. Nor does Forrest seem aware of the recent brain wave discoveries that make ancient theories of magnetism more plausible.
The Practice Of Autosuggestion: By The Method Of Emile Coue (1922) by C. Harry Brooks has remained valuable due to its brevity, clarity of language, and clear instructions. Though Brooks believes that hypnosis results from pure suggestion, his psychological conception of "Thought as a Force" comes close to the idea of electrical brain waves. Autosuggestion provides the self-hypnotist with a quick, easy method of effecting hypnotic suggestions.
History & Heroes Of Hypnotherapy
Hypnosis has been used for religious and medicinal purposes for thousands of years. In ancient Egypt, virgin worshippers of Isis entered a trance in order to bear messages from their goddess. The High Priests of Egypt used mass hypnosis to calm their congregations by putting a group of worshippers into a sleep-like state during sermons. In such a state of entranced semi-awareness, the High Priests could instruct their followers without being interrupted by the grumblings of unruly individuals among their flock. The Egyptians may have taught hypnosis to the Greeks, for an engraving dated from 928 B.C. shows Chiron, the patron of medicine in Greek mythology, putting his student Aesculapius into what appears to be a hypnotic trance. According to New Concepts Of Hypnosis (1976), by B.C. Gindes, the famed Oracle at Delphi in ancient Greece, "operated under hypnosis, either self-induced or assisted by drugs or volcanic fumes." Since the practice of hypnosis originated in pre-Christian times, it later became associated with pagan heresies and fell under the censure of the Church. Such disrepute effectively suppressed the practice of hypnosis in Europe until the 18th century, when it was rediscovered and revived by the proponents of what was then known as "new science."
The Austrian physician Franz Anton Mesmer became famous in the late 1700's for his ability to heal the sick with hypnosis. Seeking both recognition and fortune, he traveled to Paris in 1778. Though official recognition eluded him, Mesmer had no lack of patients in Paris and soon had himself established with servants, ample lodgings, and spacious grounds on which to practice his trade. Rich and poor alike flocked to Mesmer for treatment, and he soon acquired disciples as well. These followers paid handsomely to join Mesmer's "Society of Harmony" and learn his hypnotic technique. With the help of a French physician of royal repute named Charles Deslon, Mesmer published his theories on hypnosis, which he attributed to a force called "Animal Magnetism," in 1779.
Mesmer's star continued to rise for the next five years, and Societies of Harmony began to form throughout France in imitation of the Parisian "Mesmerism mania" which had even seduced wealthy members of the aristocracy. The modern scientific establishment of the time, however, found Mesmer's magnetic theory unacceptable, and in 1784 the Royal Society of Medicine published documents in Paris that ridiculed Mesmerism. The Parisian Society of Harmony dissolved in 1785, and Mesmer lost his fortune as well as his hopes for recognition in the aftermath of this defeat. He retired in Switzerland with a modest income and remained there for the rest of his life in relative obscurity. Nevertheless, provincial Societies of Harmony continued to flourish in France and would soon bring hypnosis to other parts of the world.
Three brothers belonging to the wealthy and aristocratic Puysegur family in France became disciples of Mesmer. One brother, the Comte Antoine-Hyacinte, founded a Society of Harmony on the Island of Saint-Domingue (now Haiti) while serving there with the French Royal Navy. The islanders developed their own blend of Mesmerism and "voodooism," a version of which may still be practiced in Haiti to the present day.
The eldest of the three Puysegur brothers, Armand Marie Jacques de Chastenet, the Marquis de Puysegur, became famous through his practice of Mesmerism and has come to be referred to solely by the name "Puysegur," so far did his fame outstrip that of his brothers. According to Derek Forrest's book, Hypnotism (1999), Puysegur developed a hypnotic method involving the "direction of the patient's mood by the verbal suggestions of the operator," a technique which differed markedly from the magnetic "crises" through which Mesmer accomplished his cures. Thus, Puysegur may be considered the modern inventor of posthypnotic suggestion. (This technical term will be fully defined in a later section.) Puysegur's first patient, Victor Race, proved capable of falling into a somnambulistic trance when hypnotized. In other words, Victor became a "sleepwalker" under hypnosis, capable of answering Puysegur's questions and responding to suggestions or commands, but unable to initiate action of his own will. Furthermore, Victor appeared to display paranormal abilities while hypnotized, including telepathy and precognition. Puysegur used the term "somnambulism" to describe Victor's "passive magnetic state," a state which today would probably be called a "deep trance."
Puysegur also continued Mesmer's practice of "magnetizing" trees in order to more easily heal large numbers of people. The famed Mesmerist describes this technique himself in a quoted passage from Hypnotism (1999) "I continue to make use of the healing power I have learned about from Mesmer. I bless him every day, for I have the means of healing all the sick in the neighborhood: they flock around my tree. There were more than 130 this morning, a perpetual procession from the countryside. I spend two hours there every morning, my tree is the best baquet possible-very leaf communicates health." Mesmer, in addition to using trees as storehouses of healing magnetism, had also employed "baquets" of magnetized water to heal his patients in Paris and elsewhere. Needless to say, the exact method of magnetizing water and trees for healing purposes has been lost in the present day due to its lack of acceptance by modern science.
By the year 1789, Puysegur's Society of Harmony in Strasbourg had 200 members, all of whom, we can imagine, were practicing Mesmerists. Unlike other provincial Societies of its kind, the Strasbourg group published yearly reports of the cures effected by its members, along with case histories and signatures of authenticity. Puysegur dispensed with Mesmer's complicated theories of magnetism in favor of a simple formula. The conclusion to his lectures, quoted in Hypnotism (1999), summarizes the magnetic theory that Puysegur espoused: "The entire doctrine of Animal Magnetism is contained in the two words: Believe and Want. I believe that I have the power to set into action the vital principle of my fellow men; I want to make use of it; this is all my science and all my means. Believe and want, Sirs, and you will do as much as I." Puysegur considered thought to be a force capable of acting directly on the "vital principle" which animates the human body. His theory, like Mesmer's, did not find acceptance in the scientific community. However, Puysegur's methods of hypnosis survived the French Revolution and beginning in 1815 his "Society of Magnetism" published a periodical in France that spread his style of Mesmerism as far abroad as Russia and Holland.
Though scientists continually attempted to disprove all of the various hypnotic theories put forth by Mesmerists, the healing effects of hypnosis could not be explained away. For this reason, the practice of Mesmerism flourished for centuries in spite or perhaps even partly because of the ridicule heaped upon it by the scientific establishment. After all, belief in superstitions and the occult has always been popular among those willing to open their minds to unorthodox or forbidden ideas. However, the sheer weight of evidence in favor of hypnosis made all of the debate somewhat irrelevant. The term "magnetism" eventually displaced the original concept of "animal magnetism" put forth by Mesmer. French mesmerist J.P.F. Deleuze published his own methods of magnetizing people and other objects for healing purposes in 1813. It was Deleuze who first used the term "rapport" to describe the emotional connection that often arises between the hypnotic subject and the hypnotist. In psychoanalysis, this idea of rapport came to be called "transference." Famed psychologist Sigmund Freud, who coined the term "transference," apparently became frightened when a female subject under hypnosis displayed affectionate emotions toward him. Freud subsequently disavowed the practice of hypnosis during psychoanalysis. Deleuze also urged hypnotists to be cautious of such occurrences, and to avoid immoral situations by keeping hypnosis "in the family." Mesmer seems to have had fewer moral qualms about hypnosis than these later figures, since most of his patients were young women, many of whom he would "Mesmerize" in private rooms. Like Mesmer, Deleuze believed that magnetism could be used for healing a patient through the medium of touch. According to a quote attributed to him in Hypnotism (1999), Deleuze espoused the following precept in this regard: "Touch the diseased attentively, with a desire to relieve them; and do not let your desire be distracted by any other idea."
Deleuze believed that the healing powers of magnetism could be attributed to an "emanation" controlled by the will of the Mesmerist and capable of acting on a subject at an indefinite distance. This emanation, called the "magnetic fluid," could be accumulated, directed, and communicated between both people and objects. To magnetize a tree for healing purposes, Deleuze recommends the following in a quote from Hypnotism (1999): "A tree is magnetized by first touching it, and then retiring a few paces off; directing the fluid upon it, from the branches of the trunk, and from the trunk towards the roots." According to Deleuze, not everyone has the ability to magnetize trees or to direct the magnetic fluid. This idea, if true, could partly account for the inability of scientists to verify the existence of magnetism. Deleuze believed that a "good magnetizer" must be healthy, patient, strong willed, calm, benevolent, and capable of effortless concentration. Try finding a person with all of these qualities today, and you might be searching for a long time. Those who dream of reviving the magnetic techniques of previous centuries would do well to develop their own virtues through tireless spiritual practice and self-discipline.
In 1837 the talented and charismatic Baron du Potet of France brought mesmerism mania to the English speaking world through a series of hypnotic demonstrations in London. His career flourished upon his return to France, where du Potet held public seances in a Paris restaurant throughout the 1840's. The Baron used a combination of hypnosis and sorcery to thrill and beguile his audiences. By means of a "Magic Mirror," consisting of a circle drawn in chalk upon the ground and dusted with powdered charcoal, du Potet enabled his magnetized subjects to view the spirits of dead friends and relatives. Furthermore, we read in Hypnotism (1999) that the Baron "by the use of magical diagrams claimed to be able to affect the life force of the subject." The subject's life force or "vital principle" could be healed, diminished, or even extinguished like the flame of a candle. The Baron Du Potet rose to such fame that he became known as the "Fourth Pope of Animal Magnetism," the other three "Popes" being Mesmer, Puysegur, and Deleuze. As the last high priest of magnetism, the Baron may well have provided the collective imagination with the classic image of the stage hypnotist seen so often in caricatures: a bearded man in a turban with lightning bolts emanating from fingertips and eyes, holding his subjects spellbound. His performances initiated the publication of a periodical that saw print for twenty years, from 1845 to 1865.
The indisputable effectiveness of hypnosis brought the practice into the forefront of the medical profession. In the year 1862, doctor and hypnotist Jean Martin Charcot was appointed chief physician at the Saltpetriere hospital in France, an institution that housed 5000 women thought to be afflicted with "incurable" conditions such as insanity. Charcot could induce hypnotic trances by means of bright lights, Chinese gongs, or by a loud and sudden noise. He divided these trances into three categories, which he called "catalepsy," "lethargy," and "somnambulism," each one having its own peculiar characteristics. Though his system of classification was later discarded by the medical profession, Charcot's painstaking methods made hypnosis scientifically respectable. His discoveries included the somewhat disturbing fact that subjects in a deep or "somnambulistic" trance can be made to perform, on command, a complex series of automatic actions. The subject, if deeply enough entranced, remembers nothing of such involuntary actions upon awakening. By the 1880's, consistent results could be obtained through the methods of hypnosis that Charcot helped to develop. Over one thousand European publications on hypnotism appeared during this decade alone.
Meanwhile in the United States, hypnotism ascended to prominence by a more metaphysical path and appears to have lost its identity in the process. In the state of New York, in the year 1848, the Fox family of Hydesville encountered poltergeists in their home. We read in Hypnotism (1999), "Communications with the spirits were at first carried on by rappings and table tilting. Some sensitives then began to claim that they could see the spirits who caused the rappings. Those able to enter the somnambulistic state were especially gifted in this respect as they could more readily hallucinate. Often they appeared to be taken over by the spirits themselves, and would talk and behave in ways foreign to their normal personalities." Thus, the deep magnetic trance of somnambulism proved itself useful for communicating with spirit entities. Those capable of entering this clairvoyant trance became known as "mediums." The mediumistic trance, unlike previous hypnotic trances, could be self induced. Mediums therefore may have been among the first practitioners of what today would be called "self-hypnosis." A wave of spiritualism based on the clairvoyance of mediums swept the United States and Europe in the following decades, inspired partly by the metaphysical writings of somnambulist Andrew Jackson Davis, the "Seer of Poughkeepsie." His spiritual insights can be found in his book entitled The Principles Of Nature, which enjoyed great popularity in the U.S. during the late 19th century.
The rise of spiritualism drove magnetism and its phenomena into the background. Hypnosis henceforth fell increasingly under the domain of medical science, and magnetic theories were replaced by the idea of "the power of suggestion." The most famous proponent of hypnotic suggestion may be Emile Coue, who healed many subjects in France during the early 1900's by a method he called "autosuggestion." For many decades, even up until the 1970's, hypnotists attempted to distance themselves from the occult origins of their practice by adhering to the rigid conception of hypnosis as pure suggestion. All of the effects produced by hypnosis were thought to be due to the subject's own imagination. The will of the hypnotist and the control of subtle forces such as magnetism were dismissed as irrelevant. Hypnosis thus degenerated into a form of trickery in which the subject willingly allowed himself to be fooled into believing in an imaginary trance state in which equally imaginary cures could be effected by means of suggestion. Only recently has the dogma of suggestion begun to give way before the advance of scientific discovery. We now know that the human brain emits electrical impulses, or "brain waves." The frequency of these brain waves can be measured by means of a machine known as an electro-encephalogram (EEG). Such electrical impulses emanating from the brain may be identical to the magnetic forces which were thought to have been manipulated by mesmerists and magnetists. Hypnotic trances and other altered states of consciousness can now be classified according to the brain wave patterns to which they correspond. Trances and altered states can also be induced by known methods. Though suggestion, posthypnotic or otherwise, definitely plays a part in the altering of consciousness, it can no longer be considered the sole cause of hypnotic phenomena.
Types Of Hypnotherapy
There may be as many different types of hypnotherapy as there are different healers who employ hypnosis. However, some broad categories of hypnotherapy can be outlined, keeping in mind that not everyone's technique will fit neatly into one of these pigeonholes. Firstly, we can divide hypnotic techniques generally into two classes: self-hypnosis, and induced hypnosis.
Through self-hypnosis a person puts themselves voluntary into a trance state where normally unconscious parts of the mind can be accessed for healing or psychic purposes. Mediums practice self-hypnosis for the purpose of contacting spirit entities, which means that their trance must be deep enough to allow them to access the most hidden regions of the collective unconscious mind. The relative depth of trances will be discussed later. However, suffice it to say that emotional healing and mental suggestions can be effected in correspondingly lighter trances than those demanded of mediums. The trick of self-hypnosis lies in remaining consciously aware while at the same time attaining the necessary depth in the trance state. As one might guess, deeper trances can often be accompanied by a complete loss of consciousness on the part of the self-hypnotist. Self healing and suggestions must be carried out in an at least partially conscious state of awareness. This is why most hypnosis has traditionally involved both a hypnotist and a subject.
Induced hypnosis can be alternately called simply "hypnosis," without qualification. Most hypnotherapy requires an operator (hypnotist) as well as a subject or patient. The operator uses a method of "induction" to hypnotize the subject. Such induction methods can be changed and even invented to suit the disposition of the subject. Hypnosis can be induced in some subjects without their consent, and sometimes can even take place without the subject having been aware that they have been hypnotized. Memory loss can occur in the subject, so that suggestions can be given by the operator that the subject will follow on awakening without knowing why. The hypnotist who can induce deeper trances in the subject can give correspondingly more powerful suggestions, or effect healing at deeper levels of the subject's consciousness. Some subjects can resist the best methods of trance induction while others can be hypnotized easily and instantly. Of those subjects susceptible to trance induction, only a small fraction can be brought to the deep trance of somnambulism, the level at which mediums operate. Furthermore, certain subjects prove resistant to suggestions of any kind, possibly because the hypnotist cannot bring them to the deeper trance states in which the mind becomes more susceptible to outside influence. Such uncertainties may account for the inconsistent results of healing through hypnosis, with apparent miracle cures in some cases and little or no effect in others.
It can be seen from the preceding comments that self-hypnosis and induced hypnosis both have advantages and disadvantages relative to one another. Self-hypnosis takes place voluntarily, and puts the subject firmly in control. However, the process of trance induction may be difficult for the subject to control with the necessary degree of precision. Induced hypnosis has the advantage of an operator who retains consciousness and knows what to do in order to heal or make a beneficial suggestion, but this also gives the hypnotist a great deal of responsibility. Hypnotic trances may be difficult or impossible to induce in certain subjects, and care must be taken lest suggestions prove ineffective or, worse, harmful to the subject.
Hypnosis as a whole can be further subdivided into three basic types, each of which can be either self guided or outwardly induced. These three categories may be no more than arbitrary divisions, but they may prove useful to the hypnotherapist in gaining an initial grasp of the subject. The first type of hypnosis can be called autosuggestion, or suggestive therapy. It can be effected by means of a light trance, or even by the simple method of momentary distraction. The latter method operates on the premise that when the subject's conscious mind becomes distracted by means of a gesture or other device, an instantaneous suggestion can be implanted in the subconscious mind by means of a few words or symbols. The former method, in which the subject falls into a light trance, tends to blend into the second type of hypnosis: conditioned response therapy. The "conditioned response" refers to a posthypnotic suggestion implanted in the subject's subconscious or unconscious mind. A suggestion can change the behavior of the subject after the hypnotic session has ended. This second type of hypnosis can also alter the perception of more suggestible subjects, causing them to see the world in a different and hopefully more adaptive way. The third type of hypnosis might be called meditative hypnotherapy or guided visualization. This type of hypnotherapy actually accomplishes the same ends sought by the first two types, but has the advantages of being easier to control and of bringing the subject into a deep trance with a minimum of effort. Meditative hypnotherapy may allow the self-hypnotist to control the trance induction process and to choose the level of trance induced. Guided visualization or path working can also lead the subject to an awakening of previously dormant parts of the mind where creativity and psychic potentials can be brought into the light of conscious awareness. A skilled psychic or trained hypnotist can guide the subject through healing sessions and make suggestions at different levels of consciousness. Solo path working often involves the use of an audio tape, but can be accomplished just as effectively with the help of persistent practice.
What Problems Can Be Solved With Hypnosis
According to the theories of Emile Coue, the inventor of autosuggestion, hypnosis can cure any condition that does not arise from an organic cause. Diseases of an organic nature cannot be easily cured through hypnosis, if they can be cured at all. Certain physical diseases not curable by hypnosis can be successfully treated by medical means. However, statistics and studies suggest that most illnesses have no organic component, and can be considered altogether psychosomatic or "functional" in nature. All of the so-called mental illnesses can be classed as functional disorders, and all such conditions can therefore potentially be cured by hypnosis. In speaking of Coue's opinion on this point, author C.H., Brooks tells us in his book The Practice Of Autosuggestion (1922): "In all cases of functional and nervous disorders, as well as the less serious ones of an organic nature... autosuggestion, conscientiously applied, was capable of removing the trouble completely." In the case of organic illness, Brooks has this to say about Coue's views: "Not once did he reject the possibility of cure, though with several patients suffering from organic disease in an advanced stage, he admitted its unlikelihood. To these he promised, however, a cessation of pain, an improvement of morale, and at least a retardment of the progress of the disease."
Note that many illnesses which seem organic may actually be of psychosomatic origin, and can disappear completely under hypnotic treatment in spite of a contrary medical diagnosis. Thus Coue reports successful treatments of such ailments as breast cancer, the cure of which would probably indicate a faulty diagnosis on the part of a physician. Belief can play an important part in the cures of seemingly organic illnesses. As Coue advises in The Practice Of Autosuggestion (1922), "Put your trust in the imagination, not in the will. Think you are better and you will become so." Unfortunately, a simplification of this idea has become so popular in recent times that many people think any illness can be cured merely by the adoption of a better "attitude." A positive attitude can help in many ways, but remember that hypnotic suggestions must be implanted in the subconscious or unconscious levels of the mind in order to be effective at all. The conscious modification of one's attitude does not even scratch the surface of the powers available to the hypnotist. Furthermore, the powers of hypnosis are mostly if not entirely limited to the resolution of mental, emotional, and psychic disorders.
Nevertheless, it must be affirmed again that many physical symptoms arise from a mental or emotional dysfunction which can be cured with hypnosis. In such cases, the physical symptoms will disappear when their mental, emotional, or psychic cause has been removed. As we read concerning "functional" diseases in New Concepts Of Hypnosis (1976) by Bernard C. Gindes, "If the emotional conflicts at their roots be dissolved, these symptoms disappear as swiftly and mysteriously as they came. There is no longer doubt that strong emotion, states of mind, and unconscious psychological conflicts can and do cause organic symptoms." Therefore, even though a positive attitude might not make you well, a negative attitude can certainly cause you to become ill. Such attitudes, regardless of the level of consciousness from which they may originate, can be manipulated through hypnosis so that any illness attached to them can be made to disappear.
Purely functional ailments such as anxiety, insomnia, fears and phobias, lack of self-confidence, impotence and frigidity, poor self-image, stage fright, and a host of other imaginary ills can be easily cured with only a few sessions of hypnosis. Most of these maladies will disappear under the influence of simple autosuggestion. Only the more difficult cases will need to be treated with conditioned response therapy. Again, there may be no clear line between the two types of hypnosis, but generally speaking autosuggestion works by means of a simple affirmation implanted at the subconscious level which the subject might be inclined to believe anyway.
The conditioned response method, by contrast, implants a suggestion in the subject's subconscious or unconscious mind which has the effect of an order that the subject must obey. This somewhat drastic form of hypnotherapy has been used to treat undesirable habits such as smoking, drinking, and excessive eating. Though high rates of success may be reported for the hypnosis programs which claim to allow you to "lose weight" or "quit smoking," such claims should be regarded with skepticism. Laurence Sparks, in his book entitled Self-Hypnosis (1969), tells us, "There appears to be a rather widespread belief that smoking and a number of other habits can be quickly and easily altered by using hypnotic techniques, with little or no desire or effort on the part of the subject... Such lack of appreciation for the true state of affairs is understandable in view of the publicity given to dramatic 'cures' in various publications. Unfortunately it is only the successful cases that are so reported. The fact that these cases may represent only a small number of the total cases treated or that many such cases show a relapse at some later date is rarely included in the report." Though the conditioned response method can change a person's behavior temporarily, it cannot remove the psychological cause which drives a person to smoke or drink excessively. Negative conditioning cannot overcome the power of a person's own will, and if the hypnotic subject desires substances such as tobacco, alcohol, or chocolate strongly enough, that subject will return to the "undesirable" habits as soon as the involuntary response implanted under hypnosis can be overcome.
A better technique would take the approach of removing the psychological or emotional imbalance which causes a person to abuse substances in the first place. For this purpose, meditative hypnotherapy would seem to be the tool of choice. Guided visualization probably also has a better chance of curing the organic symptoms that originate in the subconscious or unconscious mind. The actual removal of organic diseases, as in the case of faith healing or psychic healing, most likely takes place only at the deepest levels of consciousness. Meditative hypnotherapy would once again be indicated in these cases if a cure was to be attempted, keeping in mind that even psychic powers have their limits and that some organic diseases may be difficult if not impossible to cure by hypnotic methods. As psychic healer William W. Hewitt tells us in his book Beyond Hypnosis (1987), "I have had several people die in spite of my help. These were people who had already been declared terminally ill with no hope of survival before I got involved. I was not tampering with their health or playing doctor. I was just trying to do what the doctors said could not be done. In those cases, the physicians were right. When you get accustomed to dealing in the psychic realm, you begin to think that you can always rectify anything in the manner that you choose. This is not so. There is a much higher intelligence than ours, and we must defer to it." As practicing hypnotherapists, we must not allow ourselves to become discouraged by those difficult cases which we cannot successfully treat. Instead, we must concentrate on doing our best for those whom we can help. We must also maintain a kind and sympathetic attitude toward those who cannot be healed by suggestion or by psychic means. The mysteries of life and death will always be beyond us as mortals. Love and kindness are still the best tools that a healer can employ when dealing with illness of any kind.
Self-Hypnosis & The Imagination
Self-hypnosis and guided hypnosis both accomplish their effects by the same psychological process. The activity of the mind can be divided up into conscious, subconscious, and unconscious thought. Alternately, we might say that certain brain-wave frequencies occur in combination with conscious thinking, while other frequencies can be detected when subconscious thoughts arise or unconscious thought occurs. The mind can and does operate on conscious, subconscious, and unconscious levels simultaneously. Most of us, however, remain unaware of our unconscious thinking patterns, and many distracted or "caught up" people cannot even hear the constant chatter of the subconscious, much less silence it. Hypnosis works by suppressing conscious thought and bringing the subject into a mostly unconscious state of awareness, then altering the unconscious thought patterns by means of a verbal or symbolic suggestion. Self hypnosis often begins with meditation, since the ordinary waking state of mind will not allow the mind to receive a suggestion at deeper levels of consciousness. The unconscious mind, contrary to what one might imagine, acts on its own and cannot be swayed by conscious thought under ordinary circumstances. This deeper mind must be activated and brought to the surface before conscious thought can alter its pattern. (Fortunately, we now have techniques of activating any desired brainwave frequency. These will be discussed later. Once the unconscious mind has been activated, the self-hypnotist must make a suggestion that the unconscious will accept. Since emotions exist at a deeper level of the mind than do conscious thoughts, the suggestion must be in harmony with our own emotions. Otherwise, the suggestion will have little or no effect. We could call this lack of acceptance by the unconscious "resistance," while positive unconscious acceptance would indicate a state of "suggestibility."
A passage from The Practice Of Autosuggestion (1922) illustrates this dichotomy: "So far as we can see, the acceptation or rejection of an idea by the Unconscious depends on the associations with which it is connected. Thus, an idea is accepted when it evokes similar ideas charged with emotion of the same quality. It is rejected when it is associated with contrary ideas, which are, therefore, contrary in their emotional charge. In the latter case, the original idea is neutralized by its associations, somewhat in the same way as an acid is neutralized by an alkali." This emotional "charge" might also be called a "block" if we consider it as negative or counter-adaptive. Such blocks can be healed through psychic means in some cases. However, it makes more sense to make suggestions that our unconscious mind already wants to accept. In other words, we should give ourselves what we really want, rather than fighting against ourselves internally. When our suggestions reflect the way that we truly feel and reinforce our deepest desires, they will have far more power to influence the unconscious mind and change our lives for the better.
Though suggestions can consist of words into which a great deal of conscious thought has been put, no amount of verbal thinking by itself can ever accomplish a hypnotic suggestion. In order to truly alter unconscious thought patterns, we must harness the power of the imagination. This point must be understood, lest hypnosis prove entirely useless to the student. The will, contrary to what we might think, cannot change the thought patterns of the unconscious mind. An effort of will awakens the conscious mind to the "task at hand" and immediately suppresses any unconscious thought processes other than the act of willing itself. Furthermore, the conscious mind can mistakenly pit itself against the unconscious drives. Conscious thought can never win in a direct struggle with the unconscious will. As we read in The Practice Of Autosuggestion (1922), "For two reasons, then, effort must never be allowed to intrude during the practice: first because it wakes us up and so suppresses the tide of the Unconscious, secondly because it causes conflict between Thought and the Will." Our powers of volition must be directed by the imagination, for the will cannot do our thinking for us, and neither can it be swayed by verbal thoughts. As we read further in The Practice Of Autosuggestion (1922), "When the Imagination and the Will are in conflict, the Imagination invariably gains the day."
The unconscious mind can be thought of as an engine, with the imagination serving as the tiller, and the mind as a whole can be seen as a ship on the sea of collective consciousness. Attempting to direct the mind by means of the will would equate to steering with the throttle in this metaphor. The harder you try to change your unconscious thought patterns, the more they will tend to be reinforced. Insomniacs experience this effect when, no matter how much they want and need rest, they just can't fall asleep. The will actually arises from the unconscious mind rather than from the waking mind, and therefore will alone cannot be trusted to guide our actions, as we read in The Practice Of Autosuggestion (1922): "Thus the will turns out to be, not the commanding monarch of life, as many people would have it, but a blind Samson, capable either of turning the mill or pulling down the pillars." The will must have a goal, and this goal can be contained in an idea that the imagination illustrates to the unconscious by means of symbolic visualizations. To continue our metaphor, conscious thought could be seen as a map and compass which must inform the imagination of which way to steer. Those who try to move the unconscious mind with words alone might be likened to the navigator who forgets to tell the helmsman where to steer. The imagination, left unchecked, can play havoc with our emotions as well as with our unconscious drives, as anyone who has ever fallen in love can attest. Therefore we must consciously construct the ideas that we wish to guide us and then make these ideas subjectively real by means of the imagination.
When we enter the daydream state, in which the imagination holds sway over the conscious mind, we make it possible for suggestions to reach deep into the unconscious mind and find acceptance there. The unconscious can be compared to a tide that rises as the conscious mind recedes. Daydreaming represents an intermediate state. High tide for the unconscious means sleep, while waking activities put the unconscious at low tide. Suggestions work best when the tide is rising, but before the sands of conscious awareness have been covered by the waves of the unconscious sea. A description of this most "suggestible" state of mind can be found in The Practice Of Autosuggestion (1922): "We all know what happens during a 'daydream' or 'brown study,' when the Unconscious tide is high. A succession of bright images glides smoothly through the mind. The original thought spins itself on and on; no obstacles seem to stop it, no questions of probability arise; we are cut off from the actual conditions of life and live in a world where all things are possible. These daydreams cause very potent auto-suggestions, and one should take care that they are wholesome and innocent; but the important point is that in this level of consciousness association seems to operate by similarity, and emotion is comparatively intense. These conditions are highly favorable to acceptation." In other words, the daydream allows us to activate the brain-wave frequencies which must be present in order for hypnotic suggestions to take effect. Such brain activity often occurs in combination with mental imagery and intense emotional states. Again, the best suggestions will take advantage of the emotional charge already associated with ideas similar to the suggestion itself.
In cases of traumatic experience, certain ideas or actions can have an extremely negative emotional charge associated with them. However, our aversions exist mostly on the conscious level and can be bypassed in the daydream state. Thus, through auto suggestive self-hypnosis, fears and phobias can be erased, and the mind can be opened to new possibilities of action that seemed scary or impossible before. Fantasies can lead us to an awareness of potentials in life that we never knew existed, or never dared to think of as real for us. Performers, athletes, and other highly talented individuals have learned to combine the liberated imagination, in the form of their own fondest dreams and ambitions, with the tremendous forces of their own unconscious drives. This state of consciousness allows them to achieve goals and perform feats that seem altogether beyond the powers of the ordinary person, and to do so with seemingly effortless ease. Actually, this state of optimum performance may be available to all of us through self-hypnosis.
Suggestive daydreaming can build emotional energy that can be used to break through negative associations and make our fantasies possible through the power of belief and desire. The following passage from The Practice Of Autosuggestion (1922) describes the process of daydreaming for suggestive purposes: "If, on getting into bed at night, we assume a comfortable posture, relax our muscles and close our eyes, we fall naturally into a stage of semiconsciousness akin to that of daydreaming. If we now introduce into the mind any desired idea, it is freed from the inhibiting associations of daily life, associates itself by similarity, and attracts emotion of the same quality as its own charge. The Unconscious is thus caused to accept it, and inevitably it is turned into an autosuggestion. Every time we repeat this process, the associative power of the idea is increased, its emotional value grows greater, and the autosuggestion resulting from it is more powerful. By this means we can induce the Unconscious to accept an idea, the normal associations of which are contrary and unfavorable." Such introduction of ideas during the daydream state can take place by means of a simple affirmation or mantra, or through the medium of a tape recorder in the case of more complex suggestions. Alternately, the self-hypnotist can visualize imagery of a suggestive nature, or have a friend guide them through this "path working" process by reading aloud from a script prepared for the hypnotic session. These sessions ought to be repeated nightly upon going to sleep as well as before getting out of bed in the morning, since the mind becomes more suggestible at these times. Also, repetition allows the suggestion to gain emotional "momentum" each time we expose ourselves to it. Eventually the idea will take root in the unconscious and begin to make itself present in our waking mind.
The Power Of Suggestion
In the above section we have already begun to explore the theoretical aspects how suggestion works in relation to self-hypnosis. In the present section we'll be getting a bit more technical. Here we will learn how to classify different states of consciousness according to brain-wave frequency, and to identify the different types of suggestion.
Suggestion Revisited & Expanded
To review briefly, let's go over how the suggestion process works. First, the conscious mind becomes suppressed or is distracted by one of many possible means. This allows other parts of the mind to become active, or in other words encourages the unconscious tide to rise. This can happen gradually, as in the case of meditation, or suddenly, as may occur when we are surprised by a loud noise. Alternately, the conscious mind can be distracted by a pull on one of the unconscious drives. This can occur when we see a billboard featuring a scantily clad young woman or a larger than life illustration of a hamburger, to give a couple of examples. Whatever method is used to distract the conscious mind and bring the unconscious to the forefront, the process of suggestion remains the same. A subliminal message in the form of a command must accompany the distraction or suppression of the conscious mind, and this message must find acceptance at the emotional level of the unconscious mind in order for suggestion to take place. More powerful suggestions can be effected through trance induction than by the distraction method, which makes hypnosis a more powerful tool than mere advertising. However, radio and television can induce relatively deep levels of trance that allow subliminal commands to be implanted in the minds of viewers or listeners whose critical thinking faculties have "gone to sleep." Indeed, television and radio have the power to effect mass hypnosis and mass suggestions which have dramatic effects on the behavior of whole societies.
Fortunately, the effects of involuntary hypnosis can be counteracted and even eliminated by the voluntary use of self-hypnosis. We can deprogram ourselves from the anxieties, fears, and false desires that have been implanted in our minds. Furthermore, we can create positive, life affirming, and adaptive suggestions for ourselves that will make us more able to enjoy and get the most out of our lives. We can even choose how to perceive the world, and tailor our perceptions to suit the "reality" we wish to inhabit. There are many ways of seeing the world we live in, and each one of these ways corresponds to a different reality. As we read in The Practice Of Autosuggestion (1922), "It must be evident that if we fill our conscious minds with ideas of health, joy, goodness, efficiency, and can ensure their acceptation by the Unconscious, these ideas too will become realities, capable of lifting us onto a new plane of being." What we experience does depend to a great extent on what we choose to pay attention to, and how we interpret the things that we perceive. New possibilities cannot present themselves when negative emotions and self-defeating thoughts get in the way of our actions and perceptions.
Fears can also skew our view of the world, making even the street outside our doors seem like a menacing jungle. Concerning fear and its effects, we read in The Practice Of Autosuggestion (1922), "Of all the destructive suggestions we must learn to shun, none is more dangerous than fear. In fearing something the mind is not only dwelling on a negative idea, but it is establishing the closest personal connection between the idea and ourselves. Moreover, the idea is surrounded by an aura of emotion, which considerably intensifies its effect. Fear combines every element necessary to give an autosuggestion its maximum power. But happily fear, too, is susceptible to the controlling power of autosuggestion. It is one of the first things which a person cognizant of the means to be applied should seek to eradicate from his mind." We must be extremely vigilant against the fearful suggestions with which we are bombarded daily in the form of front page news hype, televised hysteria, and advertising scares designed to sell more products through widespread panic. Letting go of fears through hypnosis allows us to act in a more adaptive way and experience life more fully.
Finally, negative suggestions in the form of words can act like virulent strains of a deadly disease, passing from mind to mind by means of seemingly harmless conversation. Such negative suggestions can cause all sorts of social problems and even physical ailments in those susceptible to their effects. This effect has been described rather pointedly in The Practice Of Autosuggestion (1922): "One often meets people who take a delight in describing with a wealth of detail the disorders with which they or their friends are afflicted. A sensitive person is condemned by social usage to listen to a harrowing account of some grave malady. As detail succeeds detail the listener feels a chilly discomfort stealing over him. He turns pale, breaks into a cold perspiration, and is aware of an unpleasant sensation at the pit of his stomach. Sometimes, generally when the listener is a child, actual vomiting or fainting may occur. These effects are undeniably physical; to produce them the organic processes must have been sensibly disturbed. Yet their cause lies entirely in the idea of illness, which, ruthlessly impressed upon the mind, realizes itself in the unconscious." Some people can be more "sensitive" or suggestible than others due to a greater amount of subconscious or unconscious brain-wave activity on their part. Such "sensitives" often seem like somewhat "dreamy" or "spaced-out" individuals. Others never seem to be affected by spontaneous suggestions, since they do not produce lower frequency brain-waves in the ordinary waking state of consciousness. With the proper methods, we can learn to enter and exit the more suggestible states of mind at will. Hypnosis can remove negative suggestions from all parts of the mind. Most importantly, a better understanding of the hypnotic process can also increase our resistance to harmful messages and subliminal commands in the future.
Brain Waves & Suggestibility
In the above pages we have used some more or less vague psychological terms such as "unconscious mind," "subconscious mind," "conscious mind," and so on to describe various states of consciousness or parts of the mind. However, our understanding of these terms can be made more precise if we equate these states of mind with different brain-wave patterns that can be recognized by subjective clues, or "landmarks." Alternatively, these brain-wave patterns could be measured with an EEG, though only the most hardened skeptic would be likely to need such a device for verifying whether or not a certain level of consciousness had been reached. Author Anna Wise, in her groundbreaking work entitled Awakening The Mind (2002), divides meditative consciousness into seven successively deeper levels. Anna also identifies the four main categories of brain-waves, the presence or absence of which determines the level of consciousness at which a person is operating. These four kinds of brain-waves are called beta, alpha, theta, and delta waves.
Beta waves accompany conscious thoughts that often relate to tasks in the outside world. Critical thinking and creative cognition take place on this wavelength. Making beta waves is a necessary part of most conscious activities, including the generation of ideas and their expression in words or works of art. Higher frequency beta waves can be found in anxiety ridden individuals who can never seem to relax and whose subconscious minds never cease to chatter. These more extreme beta states tend to suppress other types of brainwaves, making hypnotic suggestion difficult if not impossible.
Alpha waves operate on a bit lower frequency than beta waves. Alpha states include daydreaming and reverie, relaxed thinking, and creative visualization. Brain waves in the alpha frequency create a link between the conscious and subconscious mind, allowing us to remember our dreams and get in touch with deeper states of mind.
The next lowest frequency of brain-waves can be classed as theta, and this frequency can be equated with the activity of the subconscious mind. Long term memories, dreams, and suppressed emotions operate on the theta frequency. The conscious mind or beta frequency skims the surface of consciousness while theta waves "surface" into conscious awareness with almost imperceptible infrequency. This explains why we can't "turn our feelings on and off like a faucet": theta and beta waves work at vastly different speeds, making it difficult for them to interact with one another. Alpha waves move with a rhythm that can interact with both beta and theta activity, and thereby bring the two levels of consciousness into harmony. When theta, alpha, and beta waves all work together harmoniously, we experience a sensation of happiness or "peace of mind." Turning on the alpha waves can also help us to get in touch with the dream world experienced in sleep, and to explore childhood memories that may have strong emotional content. In order to be effective, suggestions must be in harmony with the emotions stored in the subconscious mind. This means that the emotional charge of theta waves can interfere with contrary suggestions and prevent them from reaching the unconscious mind, which operates at an even lower frequency.
The unconscious mind produces delta waves, which continue even during sleep, when all other brain activity has ceased. The presence of delta waves in waking states of mind indicates the conscious awareness of often latent abilities such as intuition, empathy, and instinctive reflexes. ESP and psychic healing powers also operate on the delta frequency, which explains why those whose instincts have been forcefully awakened by near death experiences, or prolonged exposure to dangerous situations, often develop PSI abilities, or at least have the psychic potential to do so. Thoughts on the delta frequency can provide a doorway through which we can access the collective unconscious, where racial and genetic memories (i.e. the "akashic records"), Jungian "archetypes," and even more primeval "entities" can be found. Thus, the conscious activation of delta waves can conceivably lead to experiences that could be described as communion with spirit entities such as "dead relatives," angels, or even gods and goddesses. Suggestions that reach to the deepest levels of the unconscious mind, or in other words which affect the slowest delta frequency brain-waves, might even be considered on a par with pleas for divine intercession such as those sometimes made by a priest. Acceptance of such suggestions by the deep unconscious could account for miracle cures and faith healing.
Ordinary suggestions, once they have passed through the emotional screening process at the subconscious level, tend to act on the unconscious mind automatically. Though the exact process has not been sufficiently analyzed, it would seem as though suggestions or commands accepted by the unconscious mind act directly on the parts of the brain that control reflexive actions, making them very difficult to resist. In his book New Concepts Of Hypnosis (1976), medical doctor Bernard C. Gindes tells us concerning the unconscious mind that "It is an impersonal contrivance which puts itself beneath the direction of anyone who will command it. It does not have the discriminative faculty to discern by reason who its master should be. It enacts every decree commanded by the conscious mind with utter servility, whether that mind be the one of its original master, or of one who interposes." We would do well, then, to be vigilant over which suggestions we allow into our minds. Taken to its logical extremes, the game of hypnotic suggestion leads to the heady realms of "deprogramming" (or "metaprogramming"), mind control through mass hypnosis, and "psychic warfare." Healing through hypnosis takes on a much greater significance in light of the difficult straits into which irresponsible mass suggestions have plunged humanity as a whole. Undoing the damage done to individuals (and to the human race) by negative suggestions could take concentration effort, so we had best get on with the work.
Scientifically minded readers may gain a more precise theoretical understanding of the role of brain waves in hypnosis by reading William W. Hewitt's description of the four mental wavelengths in his book, Beyond Hypnosis (1987):
"Beta. When we are awake and performing our daily chores, our brain operates in the beta frequency range. This is from about 14 cycles per second on up, with most of our activity being at about 20 to 22 cycles per second. This is our conscious mind. At this level, we reason, rationalize, and execute whatever chores we need to do. If your brain frequency gets too high, say around 60 cycles per second, you would be in acute hysteria. Much higher than that would probably bring disastrous results, perhaps death. "Alpha. Between about 7 and 14 cycles per second is the alpha range of brain activity. Here is where daydreaming and nocturnal dreaming take place. Hypnosis also takes place here. "Theta. Between 4 and 7 cycles per second is the theta state. All our emotional experiences are recorded here. This also is the range from which you can launch into psychic experience. "Delta. Frequencies less than 4 cycles per second are encountered in total unconsciousness, the delta state."
Note that the "disastrous results" mentioned in connection with brain frequencies of higher than 60 cycles per second would seem to provide an explanation for cases of death due to fright. Fear kills, whatever its cause. A faulty doctor's diagnosis can cause a person to die of pure anxiety, as can the magical sentence of death delivered by a voodoo priest. Slightly lower frequency beta activity might be linked to anxiety based conditions like insomnia, phobias, and stage fright. If we learn to lower our brain frequency at will, we can become immune to fears and anxieties, as well as to the very real physical effects that accompany them. Furthermore, fear based suggestions such as those purveyed so often in the mass media will no longer gain acceptance in our unconscious minds once we have trained ourselves out of the habit of being anxious and afraid. The cultivation of positive emotions, and the recording of such emotional experiences at the theta level, can also make us immune to negative suggestions of all kinds since the subconscious theta waves interfere with suggestions on the emotional level. This quality of resistance to suggestion through positive emotions might be equated to moral courage or integrity. Meditation on what Anna Wise calls the "Qualities of Mastery" can be a way to cultivate positive emotions at the theta level of the mind. Anna identifies these qualities as: compassion; detachment; nonjudgment; clarity; equanimity; service; and love.
Methods Of Hypnosis
Warren's Dictionary Of Psychology, quoted in New Concepts Of Hypnosis (1976), defines hypnosis as: "An artificially induced state, usually (though not always) resembling sleep, but physiologically distinct from it, which is characterized by heightened suggestibility, as a result of which certain sensory, motor, and memory abnormalities may be induced more readily than in the normal state." Hypnosis consists of two basic components: induction, and suggestion. First, we will look at different types of hypnotic induction. Then, we will go over a few of the types of suggestion that are possible once the hypnotic trance has been induced in the subject by whatever means.
In light of what we now know about brain waves and states of consciousness, many of the induction methods formerly employed to hypnotize subjects seem silly or altogether superfluous. The choice of induction method depends mostly on the beliefs of the hypnotist, the mindset of the subject, and the nature of the particular circumstances in which hypnosis will be attempted. The best times to attempt hypnosis occur when the subject (self or otherwise) has almost fallen asleep at night, or just before the subject gets out of bed in the morning. The "Nancy" method employed by Emile Coue might be compared to the mantra yoga of Indian mysticism. This method counsels the repetition of a simple phrase such as "Every day, in every way, I'm getting better and better." The phrase should be repeated while falling asleep at night, and just after waking in the morning. A more complex suggestion can be substituted for the "mantra" if one wishes to cure a specific ailment such as asthma or chronic anxiety.
Bernard C. Gindes, in New Concepts Of Hypnosis (1976), recommends tailoring induction methods to the expectations of the subject. Since Gindes wrote his book before the discovery and classification of brain waves, he adheres to the theory that all hypnotic phenomena can be attributed to the imagination of the subject, which can be manipulated through suggestion. However, since the imagination does send instructions to the unconscious mind, and since suggestions can exert some influence over the imagination, this theory holds some water in spite of being antiquated. Gindes suggests various tricks of induction such as sudden noises or distracting gestures accompanied by the command to "sleep," as well as the employment of props such as watches, brass doorknobs, and bright lights. Hypnosis can also be induced in a sleeping subject by partially waking them, gettting them to make automatic responses to queries, and finally offering suggestions to the somnambulistic subject.
Even more antiquated but nevertheless effective induction methods include the "magnetic passes" employed by mesmerists. To mesmerize a subject, the operator produces a magnetic charge in the hands by an act of will or some other expedient, and the magnetized hands are then passed throughout the "aura" of the subject from the top of the head to the feet, at a distance of a few inches from the subject's body. Ideally, the subject will be lying down during this process. Posthypnotic suggestions can be effected while the subject lies in the "mesmeric trance," the depth of which may vary. Mesmeric sessions can take up to fifteen minutes or more as they tend to lower brain wave frequencies somewhat slowly. However, this method seems to work exceptionally well on subjects suffering from acute hysteria or anxiety.
Guided visualization or path working offers an ideal method of trance induction, and can be effected solo by means of a tape recorded "script" that guides the subject into successively deeper trance states. Furthermore, a series of imaginative suggestions can induce any desired state of mind or level of consciousness in the hypnotized subject, allowing the hypnotist (or self-hypnotist) to make suggestions directly to the unconscious and subconscious minds through the medium of the imagination. In technical terms, this means that the hypnotist or self-hypnotist can use guided visualization to activate a combination of alpha, theta, and delta brain waves, making a complete bridge between the daydreaming mind and the unconscious mind along which suggestions can freely pass, so long as no contrary emotion in the subconscious blocks them.
As a final consideration concerning methods of hypnosis, it should be noted that all methods tend to produce the same effect if properly performed: the subject falls into a trance during which a suggestion may be given or a visual program communicated to the unconscious mind through the medium of the imagination. The suggestion, command, or symbolic set of instructions will take effect if the subject proves suggestible, and if contrary emotions in the subconscious do not interfere with the content of the suggested course of action. Different methods of induction will prove more effective with different subjects, or with the same subject at different times.
Care should be taken that suggestions and visualizations contain material beneficial to the welfare of the hypnotized subject. Impossible things should not be suggested. Nor does hypnosis impart superhuman powers to the subject, in spite of the psychic activity associated with theta and delta waves. If we suggest to a hypnotized subject who cannot swim, "Tomorrow you will find yourself able to swim easily," for example, we may find ourselves responsible for the tragic drowning of this individual. Suggestions do not change the physical nature of things, though our altered perceptions may tell us otherwise under the influence of posthypnotic suggestion. The power of suggestion to alter an individual's perception can even make a person hallucinate objects or people that do not exist. As we read in New Concepts Of Hypnosis (1976), "One of the most interesting phenomena noticed in hypnosis is the control of the therapist over the sensorium of his subject. He can persuade the subject that he is perceiving an object that is not actually there, and can produce many other illusions and hallucinations." Hypnosis cannot, however, cause these hallucinations to take on tangible substance for those who have not been given the same suggestion. Hypnotic suggestions do not alter reality. Rather, they alter our perceptions of reality.
In light of this revelation, it might be wise for metaphysicians to replace the cliché phrase "You create your own reality" with the more accurate and modest assertion that "You can create your own perception" through self-hypnosis. Note, however, that false perceptions can be created through hypnosis just as easily as can more "adaptive" perceptions that allow us to approximate the mysterious fullness of reality. The unconscious mind does not employ logic, but only sees what the imagination has told it to see. In order to create our own perceptions, we must first gain control over our imaginations and begin to integrate our consciousness into a seamless whole in which all four brain frequencies can act in harmony. Self-hypnosis provides us with the tools to turn the idea of harmonized consciousness into a reality.
Instructions For Self-Hypnosis
There may be as many ways to hypnotize yourself as you can imagine. All methods of self-hypnosis work on the same principles, and accomplish the same ends. For the sake of convenience, we'll continue to classify selfhypnosis methods into three distinct categories: autosuggestion, conditioned response, and meditative hypnotherapy.
A simple set of instructions for auto suggestive self-hypnosis can be found in The Practice Of Autosuggestion (1922): "In order to formulate particular suggestions, go to a room where you will be free from interruption, sit down in a comfortable chair, close your eyes, and let your muscles relax. In other words, act precisely as if you were going to take a siesta. In doing so you allow the Unconscious tide to rise to a sufficient height to make your particular suggestions effective. Now call up the desired ideas through the medium of speech. Tell yourself that such and such ameliorations are going to occur." Autosuggestions ought to be kept within certain limits. You should not try to suggest the impossible, since a successful suggestion that counsels you to defy known physical laws or act beyond your abilities can result in harmful consequences. Also, keep in mind the idea that suggestions which seem very difficult to carry out may be rejected by the subconscious mind on emotional grounds. A suggestion must be backed up by sufficient emotional motivation to gain unconscious acceptance, and it must delineate a practical course of action that you are capable of carrying out on some level. The curing of psychological, emotional, and psychosomatic ailments is entirely within your power. You should not hesitate to create and try out suggestions that will bring you relief from such conditions as asthma, fears and forebodings, loss of memory, loss of concentration, irritability, and insomnia. Even seemingly organic conditions such as nearsightedness, deafness, chronic fatigue, digestive troubles, impotence, and frigidity all may prove susceptible to the influence of autosuggestion. Finally, self-hypnosis should be considered the first option in cases of possible faulty diagnosis by a physician, especially when the medical diagnosis indicates a need for surgical intervention or drugs. Supposed indicators of breast cancer, heart palpitations, fainting, epileptic fits, venereal disease, and many other organic symptoms can be successfully eliminated by autosuggestion in some cases. There is plenty of evidence in the world that organic diseases such as cancer and other "terminal" illnesses can be reversed thru self-hypnosis and the suggestion of health and well-being.
When formulating specific suggestions, remember to cultivate positive conditions rather than opposing negative ones. For example, you should tell yourself "I will be confident on stage," rather than saying "I won't be nervous next time I perform." The unconscious mind cannot distinguish between a suggestion and its contrary. If we allow the imagination to dwell on problems, these problems will take the form of a suggestion in the unconscious mind and continue to plague us. Instead, we must give the imagination positive images of health and well being to focus on, so that these beneficial affirmations will take root in the unconscious mind. In wording your suggestions, use phrases that leave no doubt about the outcome of hypnotherapy. Take the attitude that "I am improving rapidly" or "I feel better already." Such confident affirmations have a far better chance of changing unconscious thinking patterns than do weak or uncertain suggestions.
Successful autosuggestions can be constructed using a simple three-part formula. First, suggest that healing or improvement will start immediately. Second, indicate that such healing and improvements will proceed rapidly. Third, affirm that the cure effected by the suggestion will be both complete and permanent. The Practice Of Autosuggestion (1922) provides us with several examples of how to word specific suggestions, so we will quote one here, designed for those suffering from irritability, that will serve as a model for constructing your own autosuggestions: "Henceforth I shall daily grow more good-humored. Equanimity and cheerfulness will become my normal states of mind, and in a short time all the little happenings of life will be received in this spirit. I shall be a center of cheer and helpfulness to those about me, infecting them with my own good humor, and this cheerful mood will become so habitual that nothing can rob me of it." Similar suggestions can be constructed for any of the ailments mentioned above, keeping in mind the principles of positive affirmation and perfect certainty of the outcome. Once you have entered the hypnotic trance state, which will be indicated by complete relaxation of the body and an increase of visualization activity or mental imagery, you can repeat the suggestion to yourself in your mind. Alternately, you can have a friend read the suggestion, or record it on tape and start playing the recording at the beginning of your meditation session. Remember to leave enough space on the tape to give you time to relax before the suggestion begins to play.
Laurence Sparks devotes an entire fifteen page chapter to the technique of self-hypnosis in his work, Self-Hypnosis (1969). This author introduces some new elements not present in the somewhat more antiquated but still practical method of spontaneous autosuggestion. Sparks tells us to formulate our suggestions and repeat them to ourselves at the beginning of the hypnotic session, while we unwind and relax. Then, he has us visualize certain symbols that represent deeper levels of trance. The visualization of these symbols can be accompanied by a sort of path working, such as the mental image of walking down successive flights of stairs and opening doors with symbols painted on them. The downstairs movement symbolizes deepening levels of consciousness or slower brain wave frequencies. The doorways can be equated to the seven levels of meditative consciousness identified by Anna Wise, which will be described later in this section. This technique, modified for the purposes of our course, can be summarized in nine basic steps:
- While sitting in a comfortable position, think of the time that you wish to awaken from your trance. Set your clock beforehand if necessary.
- Call to mind the suggestion that you wish to use during the hypnotic session, and repeat it to yourself silently or out loud.
- Close your eyes and visualize the number "00." This number symbolizes the ordinary state of relaxed consciousness, where the brain emits mostly beta waves of a low frequency, say 15 to 20 cycles per second.
- Now visualize a door with the number "00" marked on it. Visualize yourself opening the door and walking through it. You descend a flight of stairs and find yourself standing before another door with the number "01" marked on it. This number symbolizes the second level of meditative consciousness, where alpha waves begin to surface in a regular pattern while beta waves become suppressed.
- Open the door marked "01" and proceed down the stairs beyond it until you come to the door marked "02." This number symbolizes the next lowest level of the mind, with continuous alpha wave emanation and intermittent theta waves.
- Open the door marked "02" and descend the next flight of stairs to the door marked "03." You may find that the stairs seem longer at this level. The number "03" symbolizes the next lowest level of the mind. Alpha and theta waves should be more or less continuous at this level.
- Open the door marked "03" and descend the next flight of stairs until you come to the door marked "04." During this descent you may find it difficult to continue your meditation, or will feel as though you have slipped out of the meditation state. Concentrate on continuing to go deeper. The number "04" represents a state of mind with very little beta activity, continuous alpha waves, and strong theta waves.
- Open the door marked "04" and walk down the next flight of stairs to the door marked "05." You will find it easier to stay awake on this level, since the continuous rhythm of alpha and theta waves will allow the beta waves to ride merrily over the surface of the subconscious. The number "05" symbolizes a state of lucid meditation.
- Walk through the door marked "05," walk down the next flight of stairs and stand before the door marked "06." This number symbolizes the spiritually awakened state of mind where you can access all levels of consciousness and harmonize all four brain-wave frequencies for optimum awareness. Beyond the door marked "06" you will find your own personal meditation room or temple. Inside this room you will find a table with an open book on its surface and a chair in front of it. Sit down in the chair and look at the book. On the open page you will see your suggestion written down in flowing calligraphy. Read the suggestion to yourself, and allow it to ring in your mind. Then, close your mental "eyes" and allow yourself to return to an ordinary state of consciousness when the time set aside for your hypnotic session has ended.
Certain internal experiences, which Anna Wise calls "subjective landmarks," can help us to recognize when we have successfully achieved the states of consciousness symbolized by the numbers in the above meditation. At level "00" we may feel somewhat relaxed, but still find that thoughts interfere with the meditation. At level "01" we begin to feel sleepy or dizzy, though the mind may continue to chatter away automatically. Level "02" brings a feeling of calmness or centerdness, with imagery flashing before the inner eye and memories surfacing into conscious awareness. At level "03" our visualizations should take on a sharper focus and become more clearly defined as we experience a sensation of weightlessness or "floating." Level "04" brings the breathing, heartbeat, and flow of blood into the field of our perception. The limbs may go numb, and sensations from the outer world may no longer reach us. Here the trick lies in staying in the meditative state. At level "05" we enter an altered state of consciousness. Imagery becomes far more vivid and detailed at this level. We feel calm, lucid, satisfied, and yet somehow detached and alert at the same time. Out of body experiences can occur at this level. Finally, at level "06" we begin to experience mystical states of mind where observer and observed blend into one. We may feel at one with the universe, and have spiritual revelations or personal epiphanies. Delta activity at this level allows us to tap latent creativity and psychic potentials.
The preceding instructions have been synthesized from several sources and abridged for the sake of the length of the course. Complete instructions for meditative self-hypnosis have now become so intricately developed that any serious attempt to present them in their entirety would be beyond the scope of the present course. The Nine-Step Self-Hypnosis Method developed by Laurence Sparks can be studied in more detail in his book, Self-Hypnosis (1976). Students interested in exploring self-hypnosis for the purpose of becoming psychic healers might wish to follow the 30 session course of psychic development through self-hypnosis outlined in William H. Hewitt's book, Beyond Hypnosis (1987). Finally, though Anna Wise does not write strictly on the subject of hypnosis, her techniques of brain-wave mastery through meditation make self-hypnosis much easier to perform, and her systems of classification make different states of mind easy to identify. Anna's book, Awakening The Mind (2002), ought to be considered a must-read for all serious students of self-hypnosis. Though it should not be considered a complete synopsis of Anna's method, the following steps can be used as a rough guideline for charting your own course through the seas of meditative self-hypnosis:
- Still the mind.
- Become aware of your thoughts.
- Relax your tongue.
- Lie down if necessary.
- Slow your breathing down.
- Count your breaths (up to "5," then start over.)
- Withdraw from outside stimuli.
- Begin to visualize.
- Eventually ou will want to create an inner landscape in which to develop all of your imaginary senses, not just that of "sight."
Feel free to use the various pathworkings and guided meditations that you may encounter in your studies, or create your own visualization scripts to suit your needs. The "landmark" experiences that you notice during your hypnotic sessions should be written down so that you will be able to reach these altered states of consciousness more easily as practice continues. Once you have learned to "turn on" the desired combination of brain-waves, you will be better able to perform hypnotherapuetic work on the part of your mind that needs to be brought back into balance. A balanced state of mind, where all of the brain-wave frequencies work in harmony, will make your consciousness into a smoothly functioning mechanism that will require little or no intervention on your part. Eventually, you may find yourself "meditating" at all times, and you'll be able to shift into different states of consciousness at will. Flashes of intuition or "synchronicities" may begin to occur as you "turn on" the delta waves and become attuned to your psychic radar. Follow your inner promptings, and these phenomena will become more frequent. You might also notice an increase of compassion or empathy at the psychic level. This can be a powerful tool for healing through visualization. Be careful, however, not to become so empathetic that you can no longer distinguish between your own thoughts and emotions and those of others. Why Should Hypnotists Become Certified?
Students wishing to practice hypnotherapy on themselves alone may not need to seek certification. After all, you are ultimately responsible for the suggestions that you give to yourself. Those who have a desire to heal others through hypnotherapy, however, may wish to become certified for several compelling reasons. As stated before, you will incur a great responsibility by deciding to hypnotize a willing subject. Your posthypnotic suggestions may have surprisingly powerful effects on suggestible subjects. For example, your suggestions may remove a subject's inhibitions in such a way as to precipitate some rash action on their part for which you might be held legally responsible. A suggestion can circumvent inhibitions if we can convince the subject that the inhibiting condition does not exist, or does not apply to the present situation. Suggestions that tax the abilities of the subject can prove harmful in many unforeseen ways. You may unwittingly develop a deep rapport with a subject that results in an emotional transference, in which case the subject may "fall in love" with you or become psychologically dependent on the hypnotic sessions that you have initiated. Such subjects may be difficult to dissuade from their hypnotically induced "feelings." On this point we read in New Concepts Of Hypnosis (1976) by Bernard Gindes that, "The en-rapport spoken of by hypnotists resembles psychoanalytic transference in many respects, that transference where the patient identifies the psychotherapist with some mentor of his past to whom he could come with his problems- father, brother, etc." We might fill in the blank occupied by the "etcetera" in the above quote with such "mentors" as sister, mother, or lover. Transference of emotions from subject to therapist can be very awkward and embarrassing for both parties.
The phenomenon of hypnotic amnesia also gives the would-be hypnotist reason to pause for consideration before entering into practice. Amnesia occurs at a deep trance level of consciousness where beta waves become almost entirely suppressed in the subject's brain activity. Other parts of the mind such as the subconscious and unconscious can still be accessed by the hypnotist without the subject's conscious awareness. Nor will the subject remember anything that happened during the hypnotic trance. Furthermore, the amnesiac or somnambulist who has been hypnotized correctly can be made to perform automatic actions as if they were actually awake, and without the benefit of further hypnosis they will remember nothing upon awakening. To support this rather bold and perhaps disturbing statement I quote Bernard Gindes from New Concepts Of Hypnosis (1976): "The phenomenon of amnesia is one of the conclusive tests for evaluating the height of suggestive susceptibility of the subject. The patient in hypnosis can rise from his chair, walk in the streets for two hours, even see a movie, but upon return to normal waking, will remember nothing that occurred during the state of hypnosis." If the subject cannot remember what happened during a session of hypnosis, then the therapist had better make sure to invite a trusted witness to view any attempts to hypnotize a stranger. Otherwise, it seems possible that a person would be able to make any sort of ridiculous accusation. Mentally disturbed patients must especially be guarded against in this respect.
A licensed or certified hypnotist would probably have a better chance of defending themselves in court against allegations that their posthypnotic suggestions had caused someone to commit a crime. To support this point, let us relate a relevant case history from New Concepts Of Hypnosis (1976): "Bjornstrom cites a widely reported experiment, having its initial appearance in the French journals, which was based upon an idea borrowed from Clareties' novel, Jean Mornas. In this instance suggestion succeeds in persuading a girl through hypnosis to steal a bracelet and later accuse a man of having committed the crime. Bjornstrom also reports an experiment by Liegois in which a girl under hypnosis is made to confess to the hideous murder of her friend before a justice of the peace, though she had been informed of the consequences of her confession." Needless to say, hypnotized subjects can be made to remember doing things that they actually did not do, or to admit to doing things that they did not do. They can also be made to do things, through posthypnotic suggestion, that they ordinarily would never do. However, such reactions often reflect an unconscious desire or drive on the subject's part that has been freed by the suggestion. Nevertheless, such caveats will not necessarily mitigate the consequences devolving upon the head of the therapist who unwittingly hypnotizes the wrong subject, or who gives a suggestion that turns out to have harmful effects of some kind.
DISCLAIMER: In light of these weighty concerns, you MUST be certified to practice hypnotherapy if you decide you want to do this for a living. Playing with hypnotherapy with your friends and family who don't pay you is one thing, but being a professional hypnotherapist is quite another. This course is an introduction to hypnotherapy and how it works, and does not replace the necessity for certification if you desire to market yourself as a hypnotherapist. You cannot practice hypnotherapy on others in an official circumstance if you have not been certified, although working with a friend or family member in a situation where you are not being paid is fine. This is very important that you understand this, and that this course is not a substitute for certification in the methods of hypnotherapy.
Why Should Hypnotists Become Certified
Students wishing to practice hypnotherapy on themselves alone may not need to seek certification. After all, you are ultimately responsible for the suggestions that you give to yourself. Those who have a desire to heal others through hypnotherapy, however, may wish to become certified for several compelling reasons. As stated before, you will incur a great responsibility by deciding to hypnotize a willing subject. Your posthypnotic suggestions may have surprisingly powerful effects on suggestible subjects. For example, your suggestions may remove a subject's inhibitions in such a way as to precipitate some rash action on their part for which you might be held legally responsible. A suggestion can circumvent inhibitions if we can convince the subject that the inhibiting condition does not exist, or does not apply to the present situation. Suggestions that tax the abilities of the subject can prove harmful in many unforeseen ways. You may unwittingly develop a deep rapport with a subject that results in an emotional transference, in which case the subject may "fall in love" with you or become psychologically dependent on the hypnotic sessions that you have initiated. Such subjects may be difficult to dissuade from their hypnotically induced "feelings." On this point we read in New Concepts Of Hypnosis (1976) by Bernard Gindes that, "The en-rapport spoken of by hypnotists resembles psychoanalytic transference in many respects, that transference where the patient identifies the psychotherapist with some mentor of his past to whom he could come with his problems- father, brother, etc." We might fill in the blank occupied by the "etcetera" in the above quote with such "mentors" as sister, mother, or lover. Transference of emotions from subject to therapist can be very awkward and embarrassing for both parties.
The phenomenon of hypnotic amnesia also gives the would-be hypnotist reason to pause for consideration before entering into practice. Amnesia occurs at a deep trance level of consciousness where beta waves become almost entirely suppressed in the subject's brain activity. Other parts of the mind such as the subconscious and unconscious can still be accessed by the hypnotist without the subject's conscious awareness. Nor will the subject remember anything that happened during the hypnotic trance. Furthermore, the amnesiac or somnambulist who has been hypnotized correctly can be made to perform automatic actions as if they were actually awake, and without the benefit of further hypnosis they will remember nothing upon awakening. To support this rather bold and perhaps disturbing statement I quote Bernard Gindes from New Concepts Of Hypnosis (1976): "The phenomenon of amnesia is one of the conclusive tests for evaluating the height of suggestive susceptibility of the subject. The patient in hypnosis can rise from his chair, walk in the streets for two hours, even see a movie, but upon return to normal waking, will remember nothing that occurred during the state of hypnosis." If the subject cannot remember what happened during a session of hypnosis, then the therapist had better make sure to invite a trusted witness to view any attempts to hypnotize a stranger. Otherwise, it seems possible that a person would be able to make any sort of ridiculous accusation. Mentally disturbed patients must especially be guarded against in this respect.
A licensed or certified hypnotist would probably have a better chance of defending themselves in court against allegations that their posthypnotic suggestions had caused someone to commit a crime. To support this point, let us relate a relevant case history from New Concepts Of Hypnosis (1976): "Bjornstrom cites a widely reported experiment, having its initial appearance in the French journals, which was based upon an idea borrowed from Clareties' novel, Jean Mornas. In this instance suggestion succeeds in persuading a girl through hypnosis to steal a bracelet and later accuse a man of having committed the crime. Bjornstrom also reports an experiment by Liegois in which a girl under hypnosis is made to confess to the hideous murder of her friend before a justice of the peace, though she had been informed of the consequences of her confession." Needless to say, hypnotized subjects can be made to remember doing things that they actually did not do, or to admit to doing things that they did not do. They can also be made to do things, through posthypnotic suggestion, that they ordinarily would never do. However, such reactions often reflect an unconscious desire or drive on the subject's part that has been freed by the suggestion. Nevertheless, such caveats will not necessarily mitigate the consequences devolving upon the head of the therapist who unwittingly hypnotizes the wrong subject, or who gives a suggestion that turns out to have harmful effects of some kind.
DISCLAIMER: In light of these weighty concerns, you MUST be certified to practice hypnotherapy if you decide you want to do this for a living. Playing with hypnotherapy with your friends and family who don't pay you is one thing, but being a professional hypnotherapist is quite another. This course is an introduction to hypnotherapy and how it works, and does not replace the necessity for certification if you desire to market yourself as a hypnotherapist. You cannot practice hypnotherapy on others in an official circumstance if you have not been certified, although working with a friend or family member in a situation where you are not being paid is fine. This is very important that you understand this, and that this course is not a substitute for certification in the methods of hypnotherapy.
Examination Of Case Histories
Hypnosis can also be useful for reducing the effects of chronic pain. Can pain from a truly organic cause, such as the loss of a limb, be alleviated or mitigated through self-hypnosis? Permanently injured readers might be skeptical enough to forego trying to hypnotize themselves out of feeling the pain of an old wound unless some evidence could be provided to back a positive assertion. Hence, let us read a case history from Self-Hypnosis (1969):
"About a year ago I received a request from a physician to call on a patient who had lost his leg in an accident. The man was forty years old, had a wife and three children and was reasonably well-off financially. He had not, as yet, been able to make any significant emotional adjustment to the traumatic effect of the amputation. He had tried to go through the procedure of being fitted for a prosthesis, or artificial leg, but the pain of any pressure on the stump was more than he could endure. He was on massive doses of morphine derivatives which were having diminishing effectiveness against his pain and itchiness. To him the sensations were coming from the limb he no longer had! This is a condition known as a 'phantom-limb' sensation. It is very common in amputations and also occurs in various types of paralysis. This particular pain was occurring with increasing frequency and intensity, and each time it came his whole body would become rigid with agony. The itchiness was driving him frantic and was seriously interfering with his sleep. The usual procedures... were used successfully, and direct suggestions were made that he would feel fine in every way from then on. He was told that he could easily induce self-hypnosis and use it to make suggestions of relaxation, deep sleep and continued well-being. When he woke up, he smiled and said he felt relaxed, free of pain and happy. After some further discussion and explanation he was able to put himself into a trance and wake up at a precise, predetermined moment. The following week he reported that the effect had worn off a little. The pain had not returned, but the itchiness and insomnia had to some extent come back. It required three additional sessions to establish the pattern to the point where it appeared to be permanent. Close contact has been kept with this patient for over one year, and he has had no relapse whatsoever. Neither has he required any further help. He uses self-hypnosis once a week. He now has his prosthesis and gets around as if he had no problems at all. His adjustment, both physiologic and psychologic, is excellent. He feels rather deeply and has said that with the aid of self-hypnosis he has recovered his pleasure in living."
What more could anyone ask for? Though pain of the ordinary sort can easily be removed with hypnosis, we do not advise the removal of pain by posthypnotic suggestion in the case of an injury that could become worse. Numbness induced by suggestion, say in the injured lower back of a construction worker, could easily allow the worker to paralyze himself by going back on the job prematurely. Remember, the altered perceptions produced by hypnotic suggestion do not necessarily reflect the actual state of things. Nor does hypnotic anesthesia cause a hypnotized subject to become invulnerable. A needle stuck into the hand of subject whose hand had been anesthetized by hypnosis would still draw blood, and the subject would feel the pain of the needle wound upon awakening from hypnosis. The same principle applies to burns, so don't try convincing a somnambulist to hold onto a lit cigarette: they will get burned, and you will be responsible. Here we can see some clearly delineated limits to the "convince yourself that it's so and it will be so" theory so popular among proponents of pure suggestion and positive thinking as cures for just about anything.
In cases of extreme chronic pain from an organic source, the best course would seem to be seeking relief from the side effects of pain, and adjusting to the pain itself through a psychological process so that it would no longer disturb the mind of the damaged subject. Thus, separate hypnotic sessions might be arranged to deal in turn with the problems of insomnia, anxiety, and irritability associated with the pain. Then would come sessions suggesting a new way of thinking, and eliminate the repetition of such subconscious phrases as "it hurts," replacing these phrases with positive ones like "I feel fine." It might still hurt, but you will begin to feel fine anyway. This way, your nerves will still warn you when you are about to injure yourself, but chronic pains won't bother you as much. Hypnotic anesthesia might be tried during healing exercises such as hatha yoga where a certain amount of pain must be worked through for the sake of health and relaxation afterwards. Self-hypnosis can also be used by a mother to make herself unaware of pain in childbirth while allowing her to retain full consciousness. Complete instructions for those interested can be found in New Concepts Of Hypnosis (1976), where we read, "Hypnosis has been used in obstetrics for a long time and should be employed more often than it is at present. Even if complete hypnosis is not desired, physicians should remember that repeated suggestion, with or without the aid of medication, can accomplish a great deal in labor, particularly for the relief of fear as well as the pains of labor." Hypnosis has the added advantage of being entirely safe for both mother and child, unlike most commonly used anesthetics.
Self-Hypnosis (1969) by Laurence Sparks contains several lengthy case histories in which patients have been cured of such ailments as allergies, impotence, frigidity, transvestitism, enuresis (bed-wetting), stuttering, tics, and nail biting. Regarding cases of alcoholism we find in this book, "Only three out of the twenty most recent cases of alcoholism referred to this writer showed significant, long-term improvement even though all twenty patients gave every indication of being good hypnotic subjects." The three patients who "recovered" from their alcoholic tendencies were among the few who decided to actually go through with the full course of treatment, which involves a negatively conditioned response. The subject acquires an aversion to alcohol through a hypnotically induced state of nausea that becomes associated with alcohol by suggestion. Similar "negative responses" can also be hypnotically induced in association with certain foods, or in connection with cigarettes. In such cases, the subject's desire to no longer smoke or eat excessively seems to be the deciding factor that leads to success or failure of the negative response procedure.
Discussion
Should hypnosis be used in police investigations? Should confessions or evidence given under hypnosis be admissible in court? Close examination of the facts leads us to conclude that the answer to the first question might be a cautious affirmative, while the answer to the second question must be an unequivocal "no." On this point we find in Mind Wars (1984) by Ron McRae that, "Like military research, police interest in the psychic ranges from the mundane to the bizarre. For example, hypnosis is widely used to enhance witness' recall and is so commonly accepted that few would characterize it as a 'psychic' phenomenon. In fact, however, scientists aren't sure what hypnosis is; most of the early scientific studies were carried out by parapsychology investigators and spiritualists who believed entranced persons have heightened psychic powers. The tinge of spiritualism remains, and conventional psychologists often still feel uncomfortable with the concept of hypnosis and prefer to ignore it. Police are more enthusiastic in using hypnosis, perhaps dangerously so, according to recent research by University of Pennsylvania psychiatrist Martin T. Orne. "Hypnotized persons," says Dr. Orne, "tend to have diminished critical judgment and are highly responsive to even unconscious suggestions furnished by the hypnotist. 'If the hypnotist has beliefs about what the witness or victim might have seen or about who the guilty person might be, it is all too easy for these beliefs to be transferred into the memories of responsive hypnotic subjects. Likewise, the subject's own beliefs about the crime may be converted into 'pseudo-memories,' which the witness will believe and swear to be true. Courts allow police to interrogate witnesses under hypnosis, but are beginning to put restrictions on the practice." Due to their highly unreliable nature, therefore, confessions and other information obtained under hypnosis ought to be used only as clues requiring further investigation. No statement made under hypnosis should be regarded as evidence in court under any circumstances.
Can hypnosis be practiced at a distance? This somewhat disturbing question can probably be answered in the affirmative in light of the following passage from Mind Wars (1984): "The Soviets are even more inclined to accept hypnosis, according to the Defense Intelligence Agency. 'In the Soviet Union, hypnotism is a common tool like X rays, used in medicine, physiology, and psychology,' as well as police investigations. 'Hypnotizing someone telepathically probably comes over as a more eerie, mystifying, even diabolical act in the United States than it does in the Soviet Union."
Knowing what we now do about brain waves, it would not be hard to imagine thoughts of sufficient electrical potency to affect other minds at a distance through the medium of some object or field that could communicate magnetic influences. Television and radio also provide, through mechanical means, the electromagnetic conditions required for hypnotic trance induction to succeed at a distance. It should come as no surprise then that televised and broadcasted suggestions have such an all pervasive effect on the minds of the masses. Lest this idea of tele-hypnosis seem too unlikely to be true, let us quote again from Mind Wars (1984), this time in regard to a test of telepathic hypnosis by Congressman Charlie Rose: "Rose also tested telepathic hypnosis with the help of Judith Skutch, a wealthy New York patron of psychic research who teaches A Course in Miracles at the Army War College. With Rose standing at her side, Skutch and several other psychics associated with the Army War College broadcast psychic 'love emanations' at Speaker O'Neill from the gallery of the House, commanding the unknowing majority leader to turn his head from left to right on command, and then, according to one participant, commanding him to favor public works projects in the congressman's district. Skutch claims that the same can be done to the Soviet leadership, and Barbara Marx Hubbard, a noted psychologist whom the army consults on psychic developments, hopes to bombard the Kremlin with love, not missiles." Could telepathic hypnosis be partially responsible for the collapse of the Soviet empire and the end of the Cold War?
Sending love vibrations over the airwaves sounds innocent enough, but what if someone decided to send vibrations of a more malicious nature? The result might be, for example, an electromagnetically induced state of mass paranoia. Such widespread fear could be taken advantage of for the purpose of waging wars with public consent, as well as for taking away civil liberties in a formerly democratic nation. A weapon designed to induce paranoia at a distance has already come to the attention of the Pentagon, as we read in Mind Wars (1984): "Early in 1981, a group of investors asked the congressman's [Rose's; -ed.] help in securing Pentagon funding for an electronic paranoia inducer. Astronics, Inc., hoped to manufacture the 'psychic neuron disrupter,' which, according to the inventors, interferes with the connections between nerve cells in the brain and induces temporary paranoia. The physiological effect, they say, is 'similar to LSD, but transmitted electronically.'"
Why not combine a paranoia machine with such gadgets as televisions, or even cellular phones? Most likely this has already been done. Madness has already begun to envelop our society, with war, crime, and disaster on a seemingly endless upward spiral. Though readers of this course may be less susceptible to paranoia than the average citizen, it might not be going too far to say that televised posthypnotic suggestions, possibly combined with the effects of a "paranoia inducer," have created countless "zombies" who move along through life automatically, in a constant state of repeatedly induced fear, without conscious awareness of what they do throughout their day to day lives. Some of the more suggestible automatons may be capable of carrying out the most hideous crimes, under orders from their "programmers," but their altered perceptions will cause these dupes to see themselves as the most virtuous members of society. They may yet make the sinister, diabolical plan of the puppet masters succeed, not only by destroying their own ecological environment and killing off the citizens of the world's poorest nations, but by doing themselves in as well. As the pirates of storybook legend say, "Dead men tell no tales." We would all do well to keep this very sobering fact in mind.
In order to satisfy your own curiosity, you might try researching one or more of the following questions. 1. How can Mesmer's theory of "Animal Magnetism" be resurrected in light of recent brain wave discoveries? 2. Can the ancient idea of "magnetism" be equated in any way with the still relatively mysterious phenomenon of gravity? 3. Could gravitational or "magnetic" forces account for the supposed astrological influence of planetary movements on earthly events? 4. How might the scientific idea of magnetic influence from the stars help modern experimenters to revive the ancient practices of sorcery, prophecy, and alchemy? 5. How much power does the imagination have to change the nature of "reality" through the medium of hypnotically altered perception?
Conclusion
Make sure you get certified in hypnosis before you practice on others in a professional format! You can in the meantime practice hypnosis on yourself alone or by keeping it strictly "in the family" with people you know and you don't charge. Newly forged self-hypnotists will have their hands full at first with the work of hammering out the dents in their own psychological, emotional, and spiritual suits of armor. Once you've gotten rid of your own hang-ups, don't be afraid to share the secrets of self-hypnosis with a friend. After all, you will have an easier time dealing with the people around you when you and they can both get rid of problems and emotional baggage and get on with the business of enjoying life.
Hypnosis is a truly powerful tool and it is everywhere. When you are meditating, you are participating in self-hypnosis. When you use positive affirmations to replace negative thinking patterns, you are under hypnosis. When you listen to the radio, watch TV or read the newspaper, you are under mass hypnosis. When you are influenced by conversations with your friends and relatives, you are under hypnosis. Hypnosis is happening in all areas of life. Anything that influences you is hypnosis. With this understanding we gain a greater sense of clarity into the processes of our minds and our relationship with the environment, which can lead to healing on all levels.
Bibliography
Brooks, C. Harry. The Practice Of Autosuggestion (1922). Dodd, Mead, And Company; NY
Forrest, Derek. Hypnotism: A History (1999). Penguin Putnam Inc.; New York, NY
Gindes, Bernard C., M.D. New Concepts Of Hypnosis (1976). Wilshire Book Company; No. Hollywood, Ca
Hewitt, William W. Beyond Hypnosis (1987). Llewellyn Publications; St. Paul, MN
McRae, Ron. Mind Wars: The True Story Of Secret Government Research Into The Military Potential Of Psychic
Weapons (1984). St. Martin's Press; New York, NY
Sparks, Laurance. Self-Hypnosis: A Conditioned Response Technique (1969). Wilshire Book Company; No.
Hollywood, Ca
Wise, Anna. Awakening The Mind (2002). Penguin Putnam, Inc.; New York, NY