Why Should I Consider Hypnosis?

Great, question! Though hypnosis is powerful, effective and rapid for many types of issues, there are some things that it isn't the best tool for. So, let's talk about what hypnosis is good for and why.

Many before me have tried to define and explain what hypnosis is. Heck, even Benjiman Franklin wasn't able to really define it. And, even now, with modern techniques, scientific processes and 3,000 years to come up with an answer, we still have trouble defining it. My personal short answer is it is Meditation with Purpose; but that's really a dodge because it doesn't define or, in any way, explain what, when or how.

So, let's try again.

What is hypnosis? It is, in short, a purposeful and often un-purposeful shift in mental state from external stimuli to internal focus. Imagine... right this very moment, as you read these words, you are, in fact, listening to an internal voice narrate what you are reading. Am I right?

You are listening internally to what we consider the inner voice, our own mind's voice, as such. Well, if that's the case, is that the same voice that you use or hear when you speak out loud? Well...crap... What about when you are considering a problem looking at the pros and cons? Whose voice(s) are carrying on this conversation in your mind?

So, when we shift our mental awareness (i.e., imagination? consideration? retrospection?) inside ourselves, we are entering a hypnotic state. Now, you may think, "Yeah, but I'm not in anyone's control...I'm not quacking like a duck or something weird like that." and, yes, that is true. Not all mental states are, for a lack of a better analogy, deep enough to allow big changes in our perceptions and beliefs. But don't for a second think that the shift in your mental focus wasn't a form of trance.

Consider this: your shift in focus allowed you to push the outside world out of your immediate perception so that your imagination, creativity, wisdom, knowledge and experiences could work together to come up with an answer to a thought. This could be a near-instant meeting of the minds...or you may find yourself "thinking on it" for minutes even. When you come back to the outside perspective with your solution or answer, you accept it and move on with your day, right?

Now, let us take that one step further and consider a situation where you have had a long-held belief. Let's say that "Bob" said something that upset you, so much so that you have held a grudge for many years. One day, you find yourself reminiscing about the experience and you realize that, in retrospect, the conversation you thought you heard, wasn't correct. You only remembered the actual words used and because, in this moment, you are not thinking about it with the same emotional weight, you can--and do--reconsider it in a new light... That's right, now, in this moment of clarity, you find that your original response to what you had perceived was wrong. Now, with this new thought, you release the emotional values you had carried for so long.

You've just experienced transformational hypnosis.

Now, take that last example and apply it to Fears and Phobias. You're afraid of heights, huh? Well, we ask, "Why is that?" You answer back, "I don't know...I just know that I've been afraid of heights my whole life."

Hypnosis is great for fears and phobias because those are learned experiences. No one is born with a fear of spiders, or flying, or going across bridges. These are all learned by past events in our lives. Here is the biggest most important bit