Look into my eyes...

 

Let's set the record straight! Hypnotherapy is NOT stage hypnosis. In fact, one has little to do with the other, and yet there are those who still conflate the two. 

​

Stage hypnosis is for the sole purpose of  entertaining an audience (think "cluck like a chicken"), whereas hypnotherapy is recognized as a transformative, therapeutic modality. Hypnotherapists use induction techniques to help clients reach a state of somnambulism (deep state of relaxation). This allows the practitioner to bypass the critical mind and work directly with the subconscious mind. By utilizing visualizations and positive suggestions, clients may resolve issues, reach their goals, and regain control in certain areas of their life.

​

​

Deeper dive into Hypnosis

 

Hypnosis is a natural state and not something that is being done to you. You are an active participant and in complete control of your mind and body throughout the entire process. Using techniques of "induction" and strategic "suggestion," your hypnotherapist will help you bypass the conscious mind in order to work directly with the subconscious mind, accessing resources you already have.

 

Because the subconscious has no power to reason, it is open to accepting and acting upon new information and positive suggestions. This powerful process can help individuals overcome various issues, conditions, and ailments to reach specific goals and desires. 

​

To understand how hypnosis works, it's important to first understand the basic principles of the mind and the complexities of our cognitive potential. We can think of the mind being divided into three parts: the conscious, the subconscious, and the super conscious. 

​

• Conscious Mind

 

The conscious mind is the intellectual, rational, and critical part of our mind. It holds our will power, concentration, discipline, discrimination and discernment.

It is the conscious mind that makes our decisions and directs us based on its reasoning abilities. The greater the conscious effort, the more difficult it becomes to succeed.

​

• Subconscious Mind

 

The subconscious mind is the storage for everything we keep hidden from the conscious mind. It is the very essence and foundation for how we experience ourselves in the world. It holds memories of our thoughts, feelings, emotions, and habit patterns. The subconscious is the part of the mind that dreams, regulates our autonomic body functions, and connects us to our creativity, imagination, impulses, desires, instincts, and intuition. It is also known as the gateway to the superconscious.

 

• Superconscious Mind

 

The superconscious mind links us to our greater awareness, our inner guidance, and the collective unconscious.

 

 

 

How does Hypnosis work?

 

Hypnosis is used to by-pass the conscious (critical) mind and work directly with the subconscious mind. Why is this important? In order to successfully make positive and lasting changes, one must connect to and work with the source of underlying aspects in the subconscious mind. 

 

For example, let's say you want to lose weight. For the first week or two you are able to stick with your new plan, eating healthy foods and exercising regularly. Just when you think you are headed in the right direction, you find yourself sitting on the couch finishing a pint of ice cream! So why do we end up going back to our old habits?

 

When we try to break bad habits, we tend to make the decision in our conscious mind, using our will power to enact change. This typically works for a short period of time, but it does not resolve the issues that initially created the habit. Moreover, your conscious mind may be in conflict with deeply rooted beliefs and patterns held in the subconscious mind. Remember, the harder one tries using will power (the conscious mind), the less chance there is of success. Therefore, your bad habit is likely to return.

​

Once an idea has been accepted by the subconscious mind, it tends to remain until it is replaced by another idea. You can probably guess that the longer the idea remains, the harder it is to replace it with a new idea. This is how many habits are birthed. First comes the thought; next comes the action. If we want to change our actions, we must first change our thoughts at the subconscious level.

 

​

 

More on "issues"

 

Many bad habits, negative behaviors, and limiting beliefs are products of childhood experiences. Unhealthy programming at a young age can set us up for a lifetime of self-sabotage. Before we develop our own full reasoning mind, we are bombarded with the ideas and beliefs from the influences around us, both good and bad. As we grow, we continue to absorb external information which translates into how we see ourselves and the world. It is likely we will have conflicting beliefs which may cause us to struggle with change, confidence, and intention.

​

Issues may also arise from a single impact learning experience, which leaves a lasting imprint of the event, whether we are aware of it or not. Imprints can be either positive or negative and can happen at any stage in life. Imprints are common with emotions. The idea that we can repress our emotions is categorically false. The truth is that they always find a way to express themselves and affect us either psychologically, emotionally and/or physically.

 

There is no separation of mind and body. Because they are interconnected, they are always interacting. It is impossible to be emotionally distressed - angry, overjoyed, sad - and not have a physical reaction. Likewise, it is impossible to be hurt, sick, or in pain and not have an emotional response. The phrase "gut reaction" is not just a saying without meaning. We actually have neuronal fibers in the immune system and small intestine that send messages to the brain. The body interprets what you are telling it and acts or reacts accordingly. 

​

​

 

 

Negative self-talk

 

Negative self-talk is particularly damaging, because the subconscious mind does not distinguish between what is real and what is simply words. It cannot tell the difference between the truth and imagination. Words matter! Negative beliefs will attract their own confirmation to prove themselves right. A negative mind will never give you a positive life. Hypnotherapy is used to "reprogram" the files containing the limiting influences of negative experiences from the past.

​

Hypnosis allows individuals to suspend critical judgement of the conscious mind and access their subconscious mind to uncover disempowering beliefs or patterns. While in hypnosis your awareness and suggestibility is heightened, making memories more vivid and emotions easier to tap into. Reason (conscious mind) is easily overruled by imagination (subconscious mind). Hypnosis works by forming images in the subconscious mind to help remove, alter, or re-educate the old ideas. 

​

By creating a new and empowering belief system, we are no longer beholden to any way of being that is holding us back from a positive path forward. We can change and adapt. The creativity of our thoughts allows us to shift from powerless to powerful just by changing the way we think. 

​

​

​

​

​

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

​

Manifesting

 

Every moment we influence everything around us with our thoughts. If we focus and hold on to thoughts that diminish our potential, our subconscious mind believes that is our truth and intention. What we focus on we tend to manifest. Remember that...WHAT WE FOCUS ON WE TEND TO MANIFEST.

Just as negative thoughts can create negative expectations, positive thoughts can create positive expectations.

 

Hypnosis creates a safe space in which the subconscious mind can shift out of the negative and into the positive. Misconceptions and negative beliefs may be accessed, processed, and re-educated with new information in order to transform your life into a reality with endless possibilities, empowering beliefs, and positive expectations. 

​

One way to think of the process is to pretend your mind is like a computer: 

​

•We will uninstall negative thought patterns and install positive thought patterns

•We will delete old programing to change bad habits and negative self-talk

•We will upgrade your programs for personal improvement and new skill learning

•We will download helpful apps to open your world to greater possibilities

•We will empty the trash to make space and let go of things no longer needed 

​

Hypnosis is not a magic wand, and we cannot eliminate all "bad things" from life. Challenges will continue to present themselves: illness, accidents, losing loved ones, and other hardships are all part of our human experience. We may not be able to stop these unexpected events from happening, but we can change our attitudes and respond in a more appropriate, healing, balanced, and beneficial way. With realistic goals and guidance from a skilled hypnotherapist, you can utilize the power of your visualization, imagination, and creative tools to successfully make positive, lasting change and direction. 

​

​