Hypnosis is far from "mind control". Think of it more as leading and following. The leader is the hypnotist, and the follower is the client (the person going into trance). Just like climbing up a mountain, you need a guide to show you the safe path to the summit, and back down again. Hypnosis is the same, where the hypnotist leads the way toward achieving the client's goal, and the client follows voluntarily the suggestions or instructions given to them by the hypnotist. The key word here is voluntary. The client is always in control of themselves through the whole process.
Think of your brain as a computer. We have programs (i.e. behaviors) that operate due to being triggered by different conditions and situations. Sometimes one of those programs is no longer serving its purpose, or it no longer serves the purpose well. In these cases, we can replace the program (behavior) with a new program. Instead of "this", do "that"; that is what we are asking the brain to do. In addition to being able to replace programs, we can also delete or edit existing programs that no longer serve us well. In these cases, there is no need for a replacement program. Let's use an example.
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If I were a smoker and wanted to quit, then I need to replace the program (behavior) of smoking with something else that serves the same purpose (but hopefully is healthier for me). If I dug deep, I might find out that smoking is the only time I take away from my busy life to relax for a few minutes... and smoking is (ulitmately) the excuse to step away.
In this case, replacing the smoking with a healthier alternative, such as going outside for a "fresh air" break, or taking a short walk. It could also be something simpler, like chewing gum instead. In either case, I would need to still get that time away from my busy life, but I'll likely have a happier longer life by changing from smoking to walking. The point here is that in the example of smoking above, the smoking is serving a purpose for me, and that (ultimate) purpose still needs to be fulfilled.
Yes! The trance state is very natural and normal. In fact, we go through the state of trance every night when we are transitioning from awake to sleep states. We also go through it again when transitioning from sleep back to the awake state. So, you go into trance at least twice everyday of your life.
Have you ever had a daydream? You've been in trance.
Have you ever had your mind go off on a tangent and get lost? You've been in trance.
We could go on, but you get the idea.
Trance is a natural, normal phenomena.
It is different for everyone, but I can tell you my experience. When I went to a hypnotist for some help, I felt as if I just listened to her talk for a few hours. I felt normal through the whole process, like I normally feel when sitting relaxed in a chair. So I thought nothing happened and I wasted my time.
Nothing could be further from the truth. I had a whole new way of reacting to situations that used to trigger stress and anxiety. Notice I say "used to".
Others find their body getting heavy or light. Some feel uphoria. Some feel "zoned out". Your own experience may vary a bit, but the trance sensations are all those that are different than your normal everyday sensations. You will know it when you feel it for yourself.
When we talk about hypnosis, we are making a distinction between the conscious and the unconscious states of mind.
We typically define consciousness as being a state of awareness, of being awake to our surroundings. This is the part of our brain paying attention to new things in our environment. This is the part we control voluntarily. We get to decide where we place the focus of our attention.
The unconscious by contrast is the part of the brain aware and running all the automatic processes. These include running our nervous system, our circulatory system, our digestive system, and the majority of our behavior too. When we use hypnosis, we are substituting or changing behavior that lives in our automatic processes, in the unconscious mind. Hypnosis is used to interface with the unconscious mind directly.
If you could change the toubling behavior on your own, you would already have done it. Hynosis bypasses the conscious mind, and changes the automatic behavior.
Before we answer that question, let's check out some really interesting facts that have come from science, and are in the documentary called "Automatic Brain: The Magic of the Unconscious Mind" produced in 2012 (currently available on Amazon Prime as of this writing, 11/2020).
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Every experience causes an imprint on our memory.
Our unconscious manages 90% of what we do, regardless of if we are wake or sleep.
Very little is conscious, except where we place our attention/focus.
Our conscious can only handle 4-5 pieces of information simultaneously.
The unconscious mind can process 200K times more data then the conscious mind.
The human brain can simultaneously absorb 11 million units of information. We are only consciously aware of a maximum of 40.
99 percent of what we see is projected from our memory. Only 1 percent comes is added by the sensory organs (such as touch, seeing, hearing, smell and taste).
Conscious ideas were already ideas of the subconscious by 1/3 of a second ahead of the conscious mind.
So, science is telling us that our unconscious mind is very active, and basically runs the show. Hypnosis is used bypass the conscious mind and to interface with the unconscious mind.
I fully understand. I've made some pre-recorded hypnosis programs available for download from www.Hypnosis4.me. Head on over and check them out!