Hypnosis - The Science

What Precisely Is Hypnosis And How Can It Be Of Benefit To Me?

Explaining the Conscious and Sub-Conscious Mind

So What Is Hypnosis? – An Introduction
In this article, we will take a look at what hypnosis actually is and why it is so popular in sports and just how it can be of extreme benefit to the athlete. While we don't fully understand hypnosis from a medical/scientific standpoint, many studies are in process at the time of this writing that will shed some more light on exactly what this wonderful state is and how we can continue to use it in the future. Here's what we do know about hypnosis…

Hypnosis is a Natural State
Hypnosis is a natural state that each of us has the ability to enter. It is in fact a state that we have entered many many times and probably do so on a regular daily basis. Although when you just fall into a trance with no purpose or direction nothing much useful is going to happen. When it is guided and specific to an outcome it can be of unquestionable benefit.Some people are more talented than others at entering deep trance (This deep level of hypnosis is commonly called somnambulism). Everyone is able to enter this somnambulistic level of trance, but some enter it more easily than others. The various depths and levels of trance are outlined below – along with their medical, recreational and scientific uses.Nearly every school of thought about mental health defines two major parts to the entity we call personality. Some call it Id and Ego; some call it Child and Parent. Whereas many hypnotists and NLP practitioners and many more indeed will call it your Conscious Mind and Sub-conscious Mind (or Unconscious Mind, as some people prefer to say). Both of these and all of these terms are of course correct and refer to the very same thing.Your conscious mind is the part of you that you "think" with. It consists of all of your conscious thought, while your subconscious handles the many millions of details that you encounter every day of your life. When we say automatic processes we refer to breathing, blood pressure, things like driving etc. These are the sorts of things that you don’t have to think about. You don’t have to think every few seconds – ok, now its time to breathe in, I’ll do that now, oh yeah, and now breathe out…nearly forgot that one. All of the things you do on auto pilot. That is reading the newspaper, while getting dressed and cleaning your teeth at the same time in the morning before work. This is all run by your sub conscious. A good analogy that is often used is that of a sailing ship. The Captain (your conscious mind) does all the logical, rational thinking. He makes conscious, informed decisions on a high level based on the information before him. He does not deal with the lower-level, more mundane tasks... that's the Crew's (your subconscious mind's) job. If he wants the ship to turn right, he might give the command "All Hands! Full to Starboard!!!" The captain obviously doesn't turn the boat himself... this is where the crew comes in. "Behind the scenes", there is a man who rings the chime to indicate a turn, which prompts engineering to fire up a motor, which requires more steam and prompts workers to shovel and burn more coal, which needs still other workers to replenish coal. These men work hard and deserve a good meal, so there are cooks that make food that waiters need to serve. Others have to replenish the food supplies, sweep the floors, check the weather, monitor sonar and radar, plot courses and a million other tasks... All just so the Captain can bark his next order. In order to do so, he must pay attention to the feedback from his crew. Can you guess what happens when the Captain starts ignoring, or even worse, mistdeating the crew? That's right... Mutiny. Which is exactly what happens when some of us get out of rapport with our own subconscious.

Whenever you have felt a conflict in your own inner thoughts about direction, motivation or whatever, somewhere along the line, your conscious and sub conscious are probably not pulling at the same ends of the rope…or maybe not even the same rope!Basically, hypnosis allows us to open the subconscious mind to suggestion while the conscious mind wanders, or is otherwise distdacted. In other words, hypnosis whips your "Crew" back into shape.Hypnosis is not mind control, brainwashing, black magic or voodoo. The hypnotist has no "special power". Hypnosis is a cooperative activity, which requires the full consent of the client or subject.

You may have heard and it is entirely true that, all hypnosis is self-hypnosis. The subject enters a state of hypnosis of their own accord - the hypnotist merely guides the subject through this experience and offers therapeutic suggestions (or entertaining suggestions, depending on the line of work) along the way. With sports people the suggestions are of course aimed and directed at improved performance, enhanced recovery, greater mental clarity and motivation etc.

You Have Already Been Hypnotized
You may not know it, but chances are you've already been hypnotized at some point in time! This happens all of the time without you being even aware of it – and that’s the beauty of hypnosis. That’s actually what makes TV commercials so very dangerous to the receptive mind of suggestions. Have you ever been daydreaming; so oblivious to the world that you didn't even hear someone speaking to you or calling your name? Ever read a book or watch a movie and get so into it that you lose track of all time and feel as though you are there? Have you ever been driving down the road and suddenly "snap to", wondering how you have travelled the last few miles? Of course a slightly dangerous procedure – unless you have a very alert subconscious driving and a very trusting conscious mind. These are all altered-states, where your subconscious mind has jumped to the surface and taken over while your conscious mind wanders. In essence, you have been hypnotized!

The Signs of Hypnosis
Many people react to professionally guided hypnosis in many different ways. Although we can all and have all been hypnotised, there are various reactions to being guided into these altered states for a very specific purpose. Because of this, no simple table can accurately describe everyone's reaction to hypnosis. Some people appear to be "out cold", while others will have fluttering eyelids or some other types of twitching. Young children, who are actually in altered states most of the time, will squirm or even giggle while in hypnosis. The point here is that hypnosis is almost completely subjective and just because a subject may or may not show one or more of these signs does not necessarily mean that the subject is or isn't hypnotized. These three levels of trance are simplified and not really meant to signify concrete states of hypnosis, and many schools of hypnosis thought will argue that there are many more and various states, but that is all beside and against the point of this introduction.Signs of Hypnosis

continue to The Science Of Hypnosis Part 2...

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