The
Journey : Part 3 of 3 : Types of Hypnosis |
 
A
good way to look at "unconscious
hypnosis" is as "self-suggestion". We use self-suggestion
everyday of our lives. Spontaneous thoughts and observations spin through our
minds during all our waking hours. They can be positive or negative. A good exercise
is to take fifteen minutes and observe your thoughts. Notice how many are positive
and how many are negative, judgmental, guilt- ridden or fearful. When it comes
to negative thoughts, awareness is everything. Thoughts such as, "I don’t
deserve this", "I’ll never be able to do this", "I’ll
never lose weight", or
"I’ll never quit smoking", are very powerful
and negative self-suggestions.
Another way to look
at unconscious hypnosis is as "expectation". When
our expectations are strong enough, they often act as beliefs, causing us to
communicate and act in ways, which creates the expected outcome. And, we seldom
know we are even doing it.
An example: People
often come to one of my hypnosis shows with such powerful expectations of being
hypnotized, they enter hypnotic state as they walk in the door. They have hypnotized
themselves.
We
are constantly bombarded with "unconscious hypnosis" in our daily
lives by our friends, co-workers, bosses, teachers, parents and politicians.
We may even be subjected to peer pressure. And, we are most certainly blasted
with newspaper and television advertising which attempts to persuade us to buy
a particular product. This "unconscious
hypnosis" is often built on guilt and is reinforced through repetition.
Awareness here is everything. If
you are unaware of these negative suggestions, you may actually harm yourself,
either by choosing to act in a way which is unhealthy, or make yourself ill with
guilt or shame. Like most things in life, "suggestion" is
a two edged sword. When you know how to use suggestion, you can change unwanted
patterns of behavior and relieve negative physical symptoms.
Despite
what many people want to believe, the subconscious mind cannot be changed easily. In
fact, the subconscious mind stubbornly prefers to hang on to familiar behaviors
and symptoms, even if they are negative and interfere with peace of mind
and quality of life. In this part of our mind, change is threatening and frightening.
In order to make positive changes and increase the quality of your life, you
must be consciously aware of the need for change, be motivated and be willing
to devote the time needed to do the mental exercises. Mental fitness, like physical
fitness, requires commitment, perseverance and dedication. And, the payoff is
always greater than the sacrifice.
All hypnosis
is really self-hypnosis. You can’t be hypnotized by someone unless you
are willing to have it happen. Self-hypnosis is a way of safely bypassing the
critical, judgmental conscious mind and should be used only with guidance. Once
you have learned how to hypnotize yourself, you will have the ability to put
yourself into "state"
anytime you so choose, quickly and easily. Once you have
developed your skill, you can then use self-hypnosis for a multitude of purposes:
enhancing creativity, reducing weight, stopping smoking, getting rid of phobias,
reducing stress. Severely mentally unstable people, however, should never attempt
self-hypnosis.
THE SHOW: "JOURNEY
INTO THE IMAGINATION"
A hypnosis show, in
general, always generates controversy. The show I have been performing since
1974 is no exception. At that time, people would caution me that performing a
hypnosis show would hurt my credibility as a clinical hypnotist. Later, I was
warned it would hurt my credibility as a serious corporate speaker.
Perhaps it has, I will
never know. It's of little consequence to me one way or the other because,
after performing "JOURNEY INTO THE IMAGINATION" over
fifteen hundred times, I know the powerful impact it has had on thousands of
people. I designed "JOURNEY" as a venue to excite and
educate those people who would otherwise never be exposed to the power of their
imagination. There is no more powerful teaching tool than to educate through
laughter and love.
The
"JOURNEY" show is a show for the whole family. There
is nothing vulgar or off-color, and the volunteers have a wonderful time participating,
as does the audience. I attempt to demonstrate the power of the imagination in
every ethical way possible, from motivation (not being able to pick up hundred
dollar bills), to age regression, from creativity (dance numbers), to past life
regression. The purpose of the show is to get people to think about possibilities,
not to convince. Even with that purpose in mind, misconceptions and myths abound.
Everyone seems to have an opinion. For me, my purpose is clear. When the audience
leaves the show, I want each and every person to leave inspired to learn more
about his or her ability to create wellness, happiness and joy in life.
THE
END
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