You don’t have to understand how autohypnosis works to benefit from it, but you may find some background information useful. Self-hypnosis can be regarded as merely the western term for the ancient eastern practice of transcendental meditation. That is, hypnosis is a method of reaching and influencing the unconscious mind, which can affect and manage deep-seated behaviour patterns such as smoking and over-eating.
Practising self-hypnosis is not difficult, but it does require repeated application because what you are effectively doing is subjecting yourself to subliminal advertising. The positive is that this practice will lead to better health or self-esteem.
What is Mesmerism?
The words "hypnosis" is derived from the term "neuro-hypnotism" or "nervous sleep," coined by the Scottish surgeon James Braid around 1841. Braid based his practice on that developed by Franz Mesmer (terms like "mesmerism" and "mesmerize" are derived from his name), but differed in his theory as to how the procedure worked.
Mesmer believed that there was a magnetic force which permeated the universe and affected human health. Baird disputed this and believed that the hypnotic effect could be induced by focussed visual concentration. Hence the waving of pocket watches.
Contrary to a popular misconception — that hypnosis is a form of unconsciousness resembling sleep — contemporary research suggests that it is actually a wakeful state of focused attention and heightened suggestibility, with diminished peripheral awareness. These are the very things which attract the followers of Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP).
The Right Side of the Brain's Role in Hypnosis
Within science, there is no debate as to whether hypnosis exists or works. Science simply cannot agree on what it is and how it works. Hypnosis is thought to work by altering one's state of consciousness in such a way that the analytical left side of the brain is turned off, while the non-analytical right side is made more alert. The conscious control of the mind is inhibited, and the subconscious mind awoken. Since the subconscious mind is a deeper seated, more instinctive force than the conscious mind, this is the part which has to change for the patient's behaviour and physical state to alter.
Auto-suggestion enables some individuals to make positive changes within themselves. Long gone are the days when hypnosis was seen as a method of mind control; in a hypnotherapy session, the patient is always in control and one cannot be forced to do something against his/her will.
It is generally accepted that all hypnosis is ultimately self-hypnosis. A hypnotist merely helps to facilitate your experience. Some say that hypnotherapy is not about being made to do things, in fact it is the opposite, it is about empowerment.
Gurmeet Mattu - Gurmeet Mattu was born and lives in Glasgow, Scotland, but is of Indian (Sikh) descent. He trained as a journalist at the Polytechnic of ...
