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Questions
& Answers
Before listing specific questions and answers,
let me briefly outline what I believe about the Mind/Body Connection.
I believe that we each have a body and a mind, and that they are
functionally inseparable. That is, you cannot have one without the
other. And they (body & mind) communicate together in many ways,
on many levels, in their activity of health, well-being, and illness.
Examples of this communication include the impulses of the nervous
system, chemical messengers influenced by our emotions, thoughts,
ideas, images in mind, and many more unique processes of information
sharing that occurs within and between every cell and organ of our
body.
You’ll hear me refer to just
Mind/Body when emphasizing the
inseparableness or togetherness of mind and body.
But I believe that each of us is more than a
“body”, more than a “mind”, and more than a
“mind/body”. I believe we are Spirit. By Spirit,
I mean that we are the life force, the vital
energy, the living essence that vitalizes or
instills life to the physical equipment of body
and mind. Remove the life energy or life force
from a living thing, plant or animal, and all
that remains are the cells, tissues, organs…
lifeless. But, again, I believe we are more than
just the physical matter of body. We are Spirit.
We are an energy.
I don’t proselytize any
religious ideology and I respect whatever
beliefs each person holds dear and
true for them. I just want to point out that in
addition to the communication within the
Mind/Body processes, we are the essence of the
life force that vitalizes or energizes the
Mind/Body process, which I am choosing to call
Spirit. And Mind, Body and Spirit work together
in our experience of health and
well-being.
What is
Hypnosis?
I think of hypnosis as a system or
collection of methods that allow us to enhance
the communication and sharing of information
between and within the Mind/Body. We can do this
entirely by ourselves, with the help of others,
and by using learning materials such as books,
videos, and audio tapes. But whether someone
helps us (such as a trained therapist) or we do
it all by ourselves… All hypnosis is
Self-Hypnosis.
What is Trance?
A hypnotic trance is a state of
consciousness when an individual’s focus of
awareness allows them to become greatly absorbed
in the experience and sensations of their ideas.
A daydream would be a good example of “trance.”
For in a daydream, you are aware of where you are
and what you are doing, but at the same time you
are very absorbed in the experience and
sensations of your thoughts, ideas, and images of
that daydream. In other words, hypnotic trance
and a daydream are the same process. Most
daydreams might begin when we are bored or little
to actively think about. And “trance” is what I
call that state of consciousness when we
deliberately set it into being. Hypnosis includes
many different ways to set that daydream-like
state of mind or trance into being. These include
what we call induction techniques, imagery
methods, focusing concentration, and forms of
passive relaxation and meditation. If you think
of a daydream as a trance, then you have
experienced trance-state throughout your life
every day in many ways. Learning to use this
exquisite tool to enhance Mind/Body communication
for healing, greater performance, comfort and
relaxation is easy and very beneficial. The word
“learning” in the previous sentence is a key to
understanding hypnosis and trance. For once you
discover how to achieve the results you want, you
have also taught that achievement to your body
and mind, and you own those abilities for as long
as you practice them for yourself. What kinds of
abilities might one learn this way? Overcoming
anxiety on an airplane, relaxing smooth muscle of
the intestines for more comfortable digestion,
relieving pain or producing one’s own anesthesia,
improving sleep patterns, changing habits,
improving concentration skills, alleviating
nausea associated with chemotherapy, to mention
only a few.
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What Trance is
Not.
Trance is not any form of “going under”
or “going out-of-it.” At all times, the
individual in trance is aware of where they are
and what they are doing. The individual in trance
is in control at all times. And at any time the
trance may be discontinued, just as we do with a
day dream. Stage hypnosis, for purposes of
entertainment, has promoted a very distorted idea
of what hypnosis and trance are about.
What makes Hypnosis
work?
The key ingredients are: motivation,
belief, and expectation. Your motivation is “what
you want,” both consciously and unconsciously.
Sometimes we may say we want something, but at a
deeper level (unconsciously) we may actually be
wanting something else. Your beliefs about the
Mind/Body connections have to be fueled by your
faith in yourself, and by what you tell yourself
via thoughts, images, and feelings. You can
enhance and fine tune these beliefs by learning,
listening and practicing mind/body connection
skills and selecting and keeping what you find
works best for you. Expectations are what you
believe will happen. There is no room for
negative desires, thoughts, or expectations. I
personally think this is where our Spirit or life
force influences the quality of communication
within the many different channels or methods of
mind/body interaction. That is, think of your
Spirit as a great radio transmitter, your mind as
the radio station announcer, and your body as the
listening audience of a talk show. That
transmitter (life force or Spirit) sends out a
vibratory energy that is received by every cell
and fiber of your body, and is understood by your
thinking mind. And just as a radio announcer may
focus on their message and delivery without
having to be concerned with the transmitter, the
individual doing hypnosis practices their skills
of mind/body communication and doesn’t have to
worry about how their body is doing it’s job. The
energy is there, that’s your nature as a Spirit
or life force, that’s who and what you are. Your
thoughts, ideas, images and emotions convey the
messages throughout your body. And your body or
unconscious mind cannot tell the difference
between what is real and what is imagined. This
is important to remember. Your unconscious mind,
that mind of your body, cannot tell the
difference between what is real and what is
imagined. You put it in mind and it is
transmitted. An example would be a time when you
were frightened by a toy insect only to discover
it was made of plastic. It didn’t matter that the
object wasn’t real. When you thought it was real,
your body produced a very real physical reaction
of anxiety… until you thought or believed
something else. Positive thoughts and ideas about
health, healing, and comfort can work in the same
way to help us transcend or rise above what
physically is happening in order to begin
changing that physical experience. Another factor
that makes hypnosis work is that the hypnotic
suggestions are phrased in a manner that is most
effectively understood by the unconscious mind.
The "language of the unconscious mind" is a whole
topic in itself.
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What makes the audio cassette tapes
work for me?
The audio tapes are prepared to provide
you with the best instruction I can offer in
helping you learn how to experience your
abilities with hypnosis. By listening to the tape
you gather phrases, thoughts and ideas that you
may find useful in first experiencing “trance”
and secondly, to “utilize” the trance-state to
influence the mind/body. Like trying on new
clothes, you’ll select what fits and feels good
to you and your beliefs, desires, and
expectations. You’ll practice and try out your
own ideas and images and discover what you want
to practice into a greater skill. Think of the
tape as a set of training wheels that allow you
to quickly get upon and use your bicycle to get
where you want to go and to learn the skill of
bicycling at the same time.
How is Hypnosis different from
meditation or relaxation?
Actually they are similar and share many
features. But hypnosis or trance are not
identical to meditation and relaxation. In
meditation and relaxation, often it is the
experience of just being in the relaxed or
meditative state that is the goal. There is great
benefit in achieving a relaxed or meditative
state of mind and body. And that is usually the
goal of those that regularly practice meditation
and relaxation exercises. What makes hypnosis and
trance different is that getting into that
meditative or relaxed state of mind is only the
first part. The second or important part of the
hypnotic process is in “using” that state of
consciousness to more effectively transmit and
deliver the messages you desire throughout your
body or mind/body. In other words, hypnosis is
similar to meditation as a process for achieving
a creative and peaceful state of mind. The
difference is that in mediation that state of
mind is the goal, and in hypnosis the emphasis is
on actively using that state of mind to achieve
what is being suggested by our words, thoughts,
and ideas. Also, trance and relaxation are not
the same thing. You don’t have to be in a trance
to be relaxed, and you don’t have to be relaxed
to be in a trance. But they go together
beautifully and a relaxed state is very
motivating and reinforcing.
How can hypnosis help
me?
Hypnosis can help you achieve a greater
capacity to be in control of your self; mind and
body. By learning hypnosis you are practicing
skills that let you use and have greater access
to abilities that are already within you. The
range of possibilities are numerous. You can
influence your body for greater comfort and
well-being, such as by influencing blood flow,
lessening or removing pain, stimulating immune
response, to mention only a few. You can overcome
anxieties and fears, you can remove habits, you
can improve and enhance performance skills,
achieve greater focus and concentration of mind
and emotions. In short, hypnosis can help you tap
in to the resources of mind (consciousness) and
body (unconsciousness) within you to achieve
greater control and discover more of your
potential for health and well-being.
I’ve seen hypnotists on TV. Will you be able to
control me that way if I practice hypnosis using
your tapes?
The answer is NO. Most of what is
presented in “stage hypnosis” is very distorted
and misleading. And a common misconception is
that the hypnotic subject is under someone else’s
control. That is far from the truth. While doing
hypnosis or in trance, you are in control. That’s
the whole purpose of it; to achieve greater
personal control. So how is it that when on stage
a person can sing like Elvis or do things they
otherwise wouldn’t do? Because they became a
willing volunteer when they agreed to go upon the
stage. They are there for entertainment and
“being hypnotized” becomes a wonderful way to let
down one’s inhibitions. Sort of like, it was the
hypnosis making me act foolishly, not me. Also,
stage hypnotists are usually very skillful in
selecting individual’s from the audience that are
already demonstrating excellent hypnotic skills;
such as staring and being intensely
involved.
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Hypnosis is against my religion.
Isn’t there some other technique I can use for
healing and/or well being?
Yes. You can use guided imagery,
visualization, biofeedback, autogenics, and
relaxation techniques. Some of the tapes offered
here provide a relaxation approach without any
reference to hypnosis or trance. But be aware
that these methods are very similar and use the
many of the same ways for mind and body to work
together more effectively under your
control.
What
is mind-body medicine?
That is a term now used to refer to all the many approaches
in helping individuals use their mind to influence their bodies
for healing and improving well-being. These approaches include:
visualization, guided imagery, biofeedback, autogenics, relaxation
exercises, Reiki, cognitive-behavioral therapy, to name only a few.
Is it safe to let others listen if I am using my tape/cd while going
to sleep at night... and will it effect them in the same way?
Yes and No. Yes,
it is safe for others to listen along on their own with you. And
No, it will not have the same effects for them unless it is within
the realm of what they desire and need. If you are listening to
one that is for weight loss, they will be effected only to the extent
that they would need and want to be effected for their own well
being. But if they do not need or want to lose weight, they will
enjoy the relaxation experience but will not respond to the suggestions
that are outside of their desires. But if you are listening to one
for relaxation or healing, they might respond to the suggestions
that serve their health and well being. Our patients tell us that
their spouse, child, or pet seems to become as conditioned to the
relaxation response as well as they do from using the audio program.
Why
don't more doctors use hypnosis in their practice?
Because
it takes time, specialized training, practice, and a special personality
style. Some doctors find it easier and faster to dispense a prescription
than to teach their patients the techniques that allow them to substitute
skills for pills. And it does require a special personality
style to genuinely and sincerely establish the therapeutic rapport
that makes this effective for the patient. It is more than just
words. It also requires a genuine caring and desire to help the
individual learn how to do self-hypnosis.
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You are invited to submit your own questions
by contacting us.
Your questions will be answered and may be
included here for others to read also.
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