FAQ’s about Hypnosis
You Asked, I Answered
Hypnosis… What exactly is it?
Hypnosis is a very powerful and highly effective form of communication. It’s a process that allows ideas and suggestions to affect your beliefs (short term or long term) and thus affect your actions and results.
Critical Faculty /Critical Factor / Critical Mind?
Many Hypnotist will often speak about “by-passing your critical faculty.” Your critical mind acts like a gate-keeper or bouncer at the door rejecting (denying access) of some ideas while accepting others.
Example: If I said to you right now: “Your hand is frozen, you can’t move it” Your mind could think… “No it’s not stuck”and then move your hand, or your subconscious mind could accept the idea and you’d be surprised to find your hand actually unable to move!
The fact is that you are always accepting suggestions, whether they be yours or someone else’s. But then again, where did your own ideas come from?
WHY.. do you do, WHAT you do?
Why do we eat more, when we want to lose weight?
Why do you continue with habits you say you Don’t want?
The reason is that your beliefs have become part of your subconscious programming will continue to drive your behaviors day after day unless your program is updated.
You’ve probably been consciously thinking about a certain problem or challenge for a long time and yet getting the same result. Right?
For most people, the mind “loops” on the same thought, over and over again. When doing hypnosis for therapy, we seek to permanently interrupt those old mental patterns and loops.
In short, it’s ALL about beliefs!
You are perfectly operating in accordance with your beliefs and mental programs. Most of those programs were created when we were very young and have never been updated. Your old programs are still running and guiding your everyday decisions, automatic responses, actions, and thus your Life and Reality! And most of it is happening Unconsciously!
Do find yourself doing the same things over and over, and wishing you would do things differently?
If yes, it’s time for a minor, or major, mental update!
Is it dangerous? Can you get stuck in Hypnosis?
No. you can Not get stuck in hypnosis. However… just like chatting with a fascinating person, or reading a great book, Hypnosis feels so good, that some people wish they could get stuck. : )
Click here to read about side-effects related to hypnosis.
Is hypnosis mind control?
No. Hypnosis is Not mind control, it’s a consent state where you allow the hypnotist to act as your guide to access the power of your subconscious mind in much the same way as you allow a movie to touch your emotions.
In short, Hypnosis, is about You learning to better communicate with yourself.
Fear of losing control?
When you are truly in control of your thoughts, fear is no longer in control.
If a personal fitness trainer yells out “Go Go Go, 3 more reps!”
you can “choose” to go for it, or choose to say, “No, that’s it for me”
Hypnotists like Fitness trainers, do not control you. They do, however, work as coaches to guide you, to where YOU want to go.
Do you ever…
Find yourself afraid to do or say something that you really wanted to?
Feel “Stuck“, or “Paralyzed” in a situation?
Ever feel held back by fear?
Have a chronic pain that you doctor has not been about to provide relief for?
Often sit in front of the TV when you know you should be doing something else?
Find it difficult to fall asleep at night, or challenging to get up in the morning?
If the problem was on a conscious level, then you would have already fixed it.
More likely your challenge is on a subconscious level, (outside of your awareness)
and this is easiest to be accessed and changed at the same subconscious level.
Can you change your subconscious programming on your own?
Yes! The simplest way, I believe, is by using your imagination.
This may sound silly, but using your imagination to visualize, pretend, and imagine, is the quickest way to affect your unconscious programs and beliefs As crazy as it sounds, it works like magic! For me, Hypnosis IS Real Magic!
How is hypnosis different than Positive affirmations?
With Affirmations, We work to change something by repeating positive phrase such as… “I am confident, I am confident”. Doing so “can” have a powerful impact, and all too often, the gate-keeper of our subconscious beliefs, rejects the statements sarcastically saying… “yeah .right”, “you think so, huh?”
If you use your self-discipline and stick with repeating positive affirmations you will get results over time, if… you allow allow a new updated image to take hold.
Whether you actively think you’re using affirmations or not, you are! EVERY statement you make IS an affirmation!
“I’m tired, I can’t do it, I’m afraid, I’m not good enough”, etc ARE affirmations, just not the kind you want to be using unless you want them to solidify!
Be careful about those thoughts, whether in your head, or spoken,
your words have power! The hypnotic state (let’s call it Trance)
acts like a magnifier of suggestions
What is Trance? What’s it feel like?
Trance is a state of pure focus when our body and mind works in harmony. It’s the state you enter when reading a great book and the printed words seem to disappear in place becoming entranced by the story.
Trance is the Athletes Flow state, when their movements flow naturally, without analysis.
Trance is the rush of emotions, when your eyes tear up during a sad movie.
Trance is when you are highly focused on something an someone calls your name. You hear it, but it’s like it’s on the outside of a bubble. The task at hand, has you “entranced“. You “could” respond if you wanted to, but you don’t. Hypnosis feels the same way.
You are aware of your surroundings, you can pop out at any time, but you choose not to because it feels so good.
It’s one of the few moments in the day (or night) when the chatter in your head is not chattering. A time when your mind is allowing you to lock on to one thought at a time.
Yes, no doubt, other hypnotists will explain hypnosis in a different way. That’s ok! There are actually a variety of definitions of hypnosis, and many disagreements.
How can we use this amazing power that we all hold?
How can we turn our mental “tug-o-war“,”Us Against us”, into a team of “Us With us!” Those times when we have the full power of our mind, directed in the SAME direction.
How do you know if you were hypnotized?
As a hypnotist, that Was one of my biggest concerns. When I was a rookie hypnotist.. I would often hypnotize someone and they would say:
“I don’t think I was hypnotized, but I did feel very relaxed”
I don’t “hate” many things, so let’s just say that I was not very found of that response! : )
The solution? Convincers!
In some of my videos, and you’ll see me moving peoples arms around like a puppet master. Taking control of someone body parts, making it levitate, or Freezing it in position, is a very powerful convincer.
Imagine this…
You are standing there allowing your arms to rest comfortably against your sides, and suddenly you see your own arm rising upwards magically, and you KNOW you are NOT doing anything! “What’s happening?!” “WHY! I don’t understand!”
YES.. It IS a crazy and amazing feeling!
You KNOW you are not in control of you own arm! …and yet, there goes your arm… floating upwards like it’s attached to 50 helium balloons. It’s a MIND BLOWING experience, and a convincer!
Remember, hypnosis is communication with your Subconscious mind. Meaning that it can cause things to happen outside of your own conscious awareness.
So when the hypnotists says he’s going to move your arm without touching it, and then it moves, you KNOW, something strange, magical, or Hypnotic is happening.
Temporary amnesia followed by total recall, is another very effective convincer for both the volunteers and the audience.
At first, they’re standing there in front of the audience and video camera saying “No I wasn’t hypnotized”, and then with a click of my fingers, they go from complete amnesia to total recall.
Watching their facial expressions as the memories floods back is beyond amazing. It’s a jaw dropper!
Street Hypnosis, why?
There is only a tiny percentage of the population that has ever been to a hypnotherapist. Another small percentage of people have seen a live comedy hypnosis stage show, For me Street hypnosis is the best way to bring the experience directly to people that may otherwise never see, feel,or learn about hypnosis.
In my opinion, Practicing Street Hypnosis is a great opportunity to:
- Connect and Share with people, a bit of REAL magic and an unforgettable experience.
- Demonstrate hypnotic phenomena up close and personal
- Educate others about how the underlying principles of Hypnosis and to “Imagineer” almost anything.
- Inspire people to better understand their Unconscious programs of
“Why they do, What they do”. - Motivate others to take control of their lives.
- Give Hypnotic gifts (positive programming) to some lucky random people.
Whether it’s on the Street, on a Stage for entertainment,
Privately for Therapy or Mind-Set Coaching,
or during a Keynote Presentation
Hypnosis IS REAL MAGIC. It’s the magic You!