Fiona suggested I start a thread about hypnosis. After some thought as where to begin, I guess at the beginning would be a good place to start. It is my intention to help you understand what hypnosis is and how it can be used. I plan to update this thread on a regular basis until I run out of knowledge on the subject. So here goes.
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask or PM me. The only silly question is the one not asked. Please relax and open your mind.

Hypnosis is not a magical power that comes out of your eyes. It is not magical at all. It is a psychological process. That means if you go through the right steps, if the mind goes through the right set of experiences, then every single human being will go into hypnosis. Some people will be easier to hypnotize than others. It has nothing to do with willpower. It has only to do with their ability to go through the process, the steps and recreate the conditions for hypnosis.

Hypnosis is actually a very natural phenomenon. People go into trance every day and do not even know it. In fact, it is a very healthy thing to do. That is because in these mini-trances, you allow your mind to absorb information or process stuff that has been going through your mind.

Maybe you have had the experience of staring off into space, thinking of nothing in particular. When someone ask you what you are thinking about? You literally have to say Nothing. You have no recollection of what you were thinking about. This is a kind of mini-trance experience.

At other times you can be so deeply aware of, or adsorbed in, your thoughts. Perhaps you are thinking of a future project or working on a problem. Maybe you are just engaged in daydreaming. You are so fixated on ideas that are running through your mind that you completely neglect the environment around you. Someone walks into the room and starts talking to you. You simply don’t notice because you are so absorbed in your own thoughts. This is another example of a hypnotic event.

Maybe you have read a book and been so absorbed by a character that time, maybe hours fly by and it feels like minutes. The same is true of movies. Surely you have had the experience of watching a movie and you begin to have an emotional experience.

Think about this, how can you have an emotional experience reading text in a book or watching flickering light on a screen? Your mind has had to suspend normal reality, enter the reality of the story then have an emotional reaction to it as if it were real on some level. Otherwise it would be meaningless to you. These are all examples of hypnosis happening every single day.

Stay tuned more to come.

GregD

Hypnosis has the power to change people from the inside out. This makes changes really easy. All learning, all behavior, and all change happen on the inside first, on the unconscious level.

Hypnosis is renowned for strange phenomenon. For example, the ability to control pain. There is a hypnotic technique called Glove Anesthesia, which you can completely numb and arm, a part of the body, any part of yourself. Thousands of people have used this technique or something very similar very successfully. For example, they have had an accident and could not get immediate medical attention. It has been used for countless births without drugs or any other usual paraphernalia, and no or very little pain.

It has been used for full blown surgery in combat when it is impossible to have the drugs available to put a soldier to sleep. Hypnosis can be used to completely numb the body to the point where they have actually done open heart surgery and carried on a conversation with the doctor during the operation.

These are just some of the strange and bizarre things that hypnosis is capable of. Of course we do not intend to get too crazy here. Some of the every day uses are to quit smoking, lose weight, stop biting fingernails, remove fear of speaking in front of people, and the list can go on and on. In short, hypnosis can be a very valuable tool to the every day person.

GregD

i tried being hypnotized, but after about 15 minutes of hearing "stuff" come from the hypnotist that i knew she was saying to try to hypnotize me, i blurted out.. "its not working. sorry." after a few moments she stated i was the first person she was unable to hypnotize. i dunno why, maybe the fear of losing control of my own thought process. maybe i cannot relax enough in someone else's presence. i know i can meditate when i am alone. who knows?

Harley-
My wife has a similar reaction at times. Try reading a script aloud and recording it. Being in your own voice is one way to both "let go" and "retain control" simultaneously. Also, give it a week or two of trying. As you listen to your tape repeatedly familiarity will become reassuring.

Hi Harley,

Yes, I agree with what Rick said, repeated familiarity will become reassuring.
If you are being tranced by someone, becoming familar with thier voice and style is a must.Also, something that I will get into later on is trust between the subject and the hypnotist.

Many people have this fear of hypnosis because it has been so mysterious over years. The first image a person gets in thier mind when the word "hypnosis" is mentioned is one of a creepy guy with a gotee and top hat swing a pocket watch back and forth saying you are getting sleepy.

Therefore, they put up thier defenses right away. That makes hypnosis very difficult. Also, the person that tried to hypnotize you before may have chose the wrong technique for you. Usually a simple relaxation induction is done. The hypnotist will check you to see where you are at in trance. If it is not working they should immediately switch to another technique. I would at that point switch to a confusion technique, Not to confuse you but to confuse your mind.

Think of it as a bank robber took people hostage. The police want to get the hostages out safely and as quick as possible. The police create a distraction at the front door that demands the robbers full attention while the SWAT unit sneaks in the back door.

There are many many reasons for your not being able to go into trance. How well did you know the person trancing you? Did you just meet that day? Did you trust this person? Did you feel safe? Were your meds working that day and time or were you headed for an off period? Keep in mind, you never lose control of your own thought process. You are in control every moment.

Normally, I do not trance a person at the first meeting unless I can read they are easily suggestible. I spend the time getting to know them and them getting to know me. Building trust and a rapport with them is most important. All the while I am making mental notes about them to be recorded and used later.

GregD

Thanks, Greg, or starting this. I think the whole phenomenon really sounds pretty strong. I have been using prerecorded sessions on a number of serious and entertaining topics - I get these at www.hypnosisdownloads.com . I ike the guys' voices because they have English/Scots accents, which remind me of my dad, so yes, I think details and particulars make a difference.

I listen to them every day. Sometimes I fall asleep, but as I understand it, your brain is still hearing and taking in the words...am I correct on that one?

Other times I find it really regenerating and super important to just be consciously practicing relaxing the muscles and organs, to consciously work against the body's habits of tightening and contracting muscles and creating tone....

And then other times I start the tape and want to throw it against the wall. "waddya mean RELAX?????????" But I do find that the sessions I have listened to most have changed and strengthened or aligned something in me.

I am having first session with professional hypnotist later this week....will report back....

Now that you know a little about what hypnosis is capable of, we need to talk about some of the limitations that are built into hypnosis as well as some of the myths surrounding hypnosis. People think that hypnosis is an all powerful source that controls ones mind. They think it is capable of leaping tall buildings and all kinds of crazy things.

Myth1 Mind Control

One of the first limits is the idea of mind control. Mind control hypnosis does not exist. When someone is hypnotized they are not a slave. They are not someone who has to do everything they are told to do (darn it ). In hypnosis they simply want to do more of the things that are suggested to them.

However, there are limits. Fore example, you can not get someone to break their moral code. You can not force someone to commit a crime like murder or theft if they wouldn’t be willing to do that anyway under normal circumstances.

The reverse is also true. You cannot treat criminal behavior with hypnosis. You need to have a persons will included in the process. For example, lets say someone is a kleptomaniac and they truly want to stop stealing. Then hypnosis can be used effectively.

If someone is a thief and doesn’t care about being a thief, then hypnosis will do nothing to change that person. If it worked differently, we would have no reason to have prisons.

In hypnosis, your mind is still under your control. The difference is under hypnosis you get to experience things you would not allow yourself to experience otherwise. As a result, you get to enjoy a different kind of life. You get to test out what life would be like if the world was different.

Myth 2 Hypnotic Sleep

Hypnosis is not sleep. The word sleep may be used as a suggestion to put someone under hypnosis but it is not sleep like you do at night when you fall asleep. At night when you go to sleep you sleep and dream. You are totally unconscious. Our minds just disappear somewhere and return again in the morning. For the most part, there is a clear distinction between being awake and being asleep.

Hypnosis is a blurring of that distinction. You are not quite the same way as you are when you walk around wide awake. Yet, you are not the same as you are when your fully asleep.

In hypnosis, you tend to be more aware of things going on around you. You are more aware of sounds. You are more aware of where those sounds are.

Myth 3 Hypnotic Memory Loss

People tend to think that when they wake up from hypnosis they will have forgotten everything that happened. They will know what happened before and what happened after. They will not know anything in between unless the hypnotist told you to remember something.

If it is suggested, you can take away someone’s memory or add to that memory. You can completely change memory for a short term.

Myth 4 Getting Stuck in Hypnosis

Another concern people have is related to the idea of sleep. What if you never wake up? What if you are hypnotized and the hypnotist can’t get you back? This simply cannot happen!!! The very worst thing than can happen even if the hypnotist leaves, moves to another state, or even dies, you will fall asleep and with in a half an hour to two hours you will wake up having had the worlds best sleep.

A person not waking up does happen. Sometimes, people enjoy the hypnotic trance so much the do not want to wake up. There is no danger they will wake up on their own feeling rested and ready to go.

Myth 5 Reveling Dark Secrets

The final myth is the idea of people telling their secrets. People have a feeling that when they get hypnotized they are vulnerable. They feel they will open up and expose things they are not ready to expose.

Hypnosis can be used to unlock doors that are normally kept locked shut. It is usually done in a way to help people overcome problems and difficulties about themselves. It is done with their consent and desires . Sometimes, the person becomes so comfortable and opens up to you telling you these deep dark secrets. This is where client hypnotist confidentiality comes into play. If you were to tell me that you murdered or raped someone I would have to report that, otherwise, anything said in therapy stays in the room period.
This is true 99.9% of the time. I do warn you though, there are unscrupulous people out there. Be very careful and sure of who you are dealing with.

So Rick wanted to know my thoughts on self hypnosis vs standard hypnosis. By standard hypnosis I take it you mean having a hypnotist trancing you. Both can and do work very well. As I mentioned, I had difficulty trying to put myself into trance. I also mentioned that all hypnosis is self hypnosis. You are the one doing the work. The hypnotist is just the helper that is guiding you through the induction and giving you specific suggestions for whatever you’ve gone to them for. In self hypnosis, you are leading yourself into trance or you are relying on a prerecorded script to guide you. So don’t be confused when I reference both “hypnosis” & “self hypnosis” in the same post. I often don’t distinguish between the two.

Here are a few tips to help you:
Most but not all trances start with relaxation. Relaxation is the doorway to trance. The problem is that not very many people know how to relax. The simplest and easiest way to relax is with deep breathing.
Take a deep breath and hold it for a few seconds. Then slowly exhale. As you exhale, tell yourself that all your stress and tension is leaving your body as you exhale. Feel your stress and tension just fade away as you exhale. Repeat your breathing several times. As you feel the stress and tension leaving tell yourself to replace the stress and tension with a warm tingling feeling. Start at the top of your head and tell each body part to feel the tingling. Constantly give yourself positive encourgement like, Yes that’s it, it feels so good to just relax. Your muscles becoming so lose and limp. Can you feel your muscles becoming lose and limp? Yes that is right, you can feel it.

If you are writing your own script, keep you senteces short or brake them up. Long drawn out sentences detract from concentration or attention. Your script should look something like this:

And now you're so beautifully relaxed
nobody wanting anything
nobody expecting anything
and absolutely nothing to do whatsoever
except relax
I want you just to let your mind
and your imagination
drift...

Use your voice to add inflection where necessary. Do not sound monotone. Use as much detail as you can when describing a scene. Like this:

I want you to imagine
that you're standing on the terrace
of a lovely old house
a house like a stately home
or country mansion
you can feel the sun on your head
and shoulders
not too hot
just comfortable
and there's a gentle breeze
playing against your skin

You want to paint a picture so that your mind can actually see it.

Another thing to work on is visualization. Close your eyes and actually see what is being described. Once you can visualize and relax, you are in for some fantastic experiences.

If you are still having problems going into trance, you can try a program like Brainwave Generator. It can be found here: http://www.bwgen.com/download.htm this program helps take the brain from the beta state (wide awake and alert) to the alpha stage (Relaxed but alert) This is where hypnotic trance is found. It comes with a few preset backgrounds on it. I am told Complex 2 is the one you want it on. I tried it but it gave me a headache after a few minutes. I know people who swear by it. So to each their own.

GregD

In a paper published earlier this year Elkins et al. write [1]:

"This case study reports on a 51-year-old male Parkinson's patient who received 3 weekly sessions of a hypnosis intervention, as well as instruction in self-hypnosis. Actigraphy was used to assess rest-tremor severity. Results revealed a 94% reduction in rest tremors following treatment. Self-reported levels of anxiety, depression, sleep quality, pain, stiffness, libido, and quality of life also showed improvements. The patient reported a high level of satisfaction with treatment. These findings suggest clinical hypnosis is potentially feasible and beneficial treatment for some Parkinson's symptoms. Further investigation with diverse samples and an ambulatory monitoring device is warranted."

Unfortunately, the rest of the paper is behind a pay wall, so we're left with many questions, e.g.:
- how many people did they see before he presented?
- did other people have other responses?
- what happened to his motor scores?
- why hasn't it made more news?

Reference:

[1] Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2013 Apr;61(2):172-82. doi: 10.1080/00207144.2013.753829.
"Feasibility of clinical hypnosis for the treatment of Parkinson's disease: a case study."
Elkins G, Sliwinski J, Bowers J, Encarnacion E.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23427841

John

[QUOTE=johnt;1037419]In a paper published earlier this year Elkins et al. write [1]:

"This case study reports on a 51-year-old male Parkinson's patient who received 3 weekly sessions of a hypnosis intervention, as well as instruction in self-hypnosis. Actigraphy was used to assess rest-tremor severity. Results revealed a 94% reduction in rest tremors following treatment. Self-reported levels of anxiety, depression, sleep quality, pain, stiffness, libido, and quality of life also showed improvements. The patient reported a high level of satisfaction with treatment. These findings suggest clinical hypnosis is potentially feasible and beneficial treatment for some Parkinson's symptoms. Further investigation with diverse samples and an ambulatory monitoring device is warranted."

Unfortunately, the rest of the paper is behind a pay wall, so we're left with many questions, e.g.:
- how many people did they see before he presented?
- did other people have other responses?
- what happened to his motor scores?
- why hasn't it made more news?

Reference:

[1] Int J Clin Exp Hypn. 2013 Apr;61(2):172-82. doi: 10.1080/00207144.2013.753829.
"Feasibility of clinical hypnosis for the treatment of Parkinson's disease: a case study."
Elkins G, Sliwinski J, Bowers J, Encarnacion E.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23427841

John[/

email the researcher, they'll often send you a copy of the paper.