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Introduction to Hypnosis What is hypnosis? People have argued about hypnosis for years, actually for centuries. Some say it is not real and others are convinced that it is. One formal definition of hypnosis is:
can bypass the normal waking conscious filters and become new parts of the person’s unconscious mind. There are many other definitions used by various people but in the end the goal is to find a way to encourage the person to relax their normal state of mind and gain an inner awareness in order to make changes and to uncover hidden talents and knowledge. Hypnosis can be used for changing behaviors, creating better habits, getting rid of fears, removing phobias, remembering events in the past, stress reduction, as an addition to or in place of traditional therapy, and as a way of mobilizing the natural healing responses we have within in us. Most of what we do is at the unconscious level of programmed behavior. Hypnosis allows us to access those programs and change them. Very Brief bit of Hypnosis History Most cultures throughout history have used hypnotic methods in their rituals, religions, and healings. In the ancient middle east there were healing temples in which a person would be hypnotized to encourage healing from illnesses and injuries. Most witch doctors and Voodoo rely on hypnotic effects which due to the strength of people’s beliefs can cure or kill! It wasn’t until the late 1700’s that modern hypnosis began to take shape. Anton Mesmer was able to use hypnosis to heal seemingly incurable illnesses and mental problems. He used elaborate robes, and passes of his hands over people’s bodies. He also used special rooms set up with a tub of water in the center and metal rods that people would hold onto to get the ‘animal magnetism’ that he considered to be the healing influence. After his theory was discredited by a scientific inquiry which said that it was only the power of suggestion and belief, he lost much of his influence and faded from the scene. Some of his students in France kept the light alive and formed groups to study hypnosis. A Scotsman Dr. Braid, performed hundreds of operations using hypnosis alone with almost no fatalities. This was remarkable in the days before anesthesia when a large percentage of patients dies on t he operating table and immediately afterwards from pain and infection. Freud studied hypnosis and eventually rejected it for the same reasons that Mary Baker Eddy did. The style of authoritarian hypnosis did not fit in their concept of helping people. In the middle part of this century a man named Milton Erickson Pioneered a new and much more useful form of hypnosis called the Utilization approach by some and the Permissive approach by others. Erickson’s genius produced most of the modern methods of hypnosis that are in use today including many methods of brief psychotherapy. Some of his most famous students are Zeig, Gilligan, Gordon, Yapko, and the young pioneers Richard Bandler and John Grinder who modeled Erickson as part of their development of NLP. Influential words There are many public speakers, authors, therapists, and just plain people who are remarkably good at influence. What is it about what they say and how they say it that makes them powerful communicators. For Hypnosis is a means of communications. The choice of words that allow the listener to make a vivid internal representation but still make it his or her own is the key. There is enough vagueness that you fill in the gaps with what you believe, think, see, and hear. People relate to things in their own way. In order to hypnotize someone you have to talk in a way which will get them to be in rapport with you and feel comfortable at doing what you ask them to do. Watch people carefully and adapt to the way they respond to your words. Exercise - Describe an experience
Exercise with hand up and down
Using connecting words While you are listening to the sound of someone’s voice and hearing their words during the time that they are speaking so that you can be learning about hypnosis and finding new ways to experience your own mind you can do it more easily using connecting words. Use the words and, while, during, through, etc. To connect phrases which may not have any real reason to be connected and then make your main suggestions at the end of the sentence. IT isn’t grammatical but it works for hypnosis. Smoothness Exercise
Descriptive words about reality As you become aware of what language patterns cause people to go inside their mind and which push them back out you can begin to use things that have to be true to get unconscious agreement. Exercise
Pacing and leading By stating things that are true with smooth connections you can then begin to slip in commands to lead the person to another state of mind. 54321 exercise
Putting things together A hypnotist often works from a script that fits their style of speaking and understanding of the hypnotic process. There are many books of scripts that you can use and often these are effective simply by reading them into a tape recorder and listening to them. A simple hypnotic script is the next exercise. You will find that this is not a grammatical piece of writing. The goal is to use words to create a hypnotic state of mind. Ambiguous phrases and words, embedded questions, embedded commands, double and triple meanings , are all techniques in using spoken language to hypnotize someone. For example: ". Hypnosis Script While you are sitting there listening to the sound of my voice with the other sounds in the room just fading away Now, so that they are unimportant Now and you start to think about how relaxing it will be to be in a trance with your unconscious mind in a new and relaxed state you may become aware of the difference in the way that your right foot feels from your left. As you notice this little difference you can begin to allow your self to relax even more. With each little difference you can find in one part of your body or the other you can become even more relaxed, more than before. As I begin to count down from 1 to 5 you can start to become twice as relaxed as you already have been. One, you are very relaxed but you can find yourself relaxing even more so that .. two you are twice as relaxed and you can feel how heavy your arms and legs are becoming now .. three twice as relaxed again so that all your muscles in your arms and legs are just loose and limp and becoming more relaxed with each passing moment. For you are going to be very relaxed and feeling refreshed and very good soon. So, at four you are twice as relaxed as at three and before you know it you are really breathing very deeply now. As you start to wonder just how much more you can relax at five you can do it peacefully and with great comfort knowing that this is a place you can return to anytime that you like it. Now, allow yourself to rest here, and know that what is within your unconscious mind allows you to be who you are. You can make that change that you want to make and do it easily. So, allow that to integrate into your mind and ......................... become a part of you for the rest.... of your life. ............................ Now, as I count from five up to one you can start to return to us in this room feeling refreshed and relaxed and feeling wonderful. Five, you are feeling great, four you are very good at relaxation and trance. Three you can enter into a trance whenever you want to get that relaxation now, and two, be refreshed and ready for what is in your future, so that when you are ready you can open your eyes at one so that you are back and feeling great. Intonation and emphasis In the script there are many places where there are commands and suggestions. Using your intonation is very important. Command tone down. Pleasant tonality but with energy. Not boring. Using ambiguous language helps to confuse the conscious mind. Placing pauses at the right time can create anticipation, agreement, and direction. In NLP we study the multiple communications paths which include the 70% that is not verbal. Sound quality, musicality, resonance, body postures, movements of the eyes and the shape of the body. Self hypnosis exercise - Betty Erickson technique
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