Can I Be Hypnotized?

You enter into a hypnotic state of consciousness every single day of your life, it occurs all throughout your day every day! There is no formal induction required it happens naturally, it is an automatic response of the brain. It really is just a different state of awareness, or a different state of consciousness. And your state of consciousness changes from moment to moment. You’re not asleep, you’re not in some zombie state and you are in control. You don’t think about it because it IS NATURAL AND IT IS NORMAL!

What is Hypnosis?

First, let me begin to answer this by telling you that all hypnosis is self-hypnosis, but more about that later. Hypnosis occurs when you push aside the judging, analytical part of your conscious mind, which leads you towards a heightened state of suggestibility.

Let me give you an example of how you go into this state willingly every single time….When you go to see a good movie you sit down and allow the movie to guide you into a non-critical state and this happens to you without trying. This means you are pushing aside the critical faculty of the mind, the analytical part of the mind.

As you watch the movie you suspend disbelief. If you didn’t suspend disbelief you wouldn’t be able to enjoy the movie, you wouldn’t be able to “get into the movie”. Instead you’d be thinking, “ Oh, that’s just an actor or actress who has memorized some lines. It’s a character they’re playing, I know there is a sound crew, lighting crew there and producer near by”. But if you think about it that way you won’t be able to enjoy the movie.

As you watch the movie becoming fully absorbed you stop thinking about other things, the people next to you fade away, as you now enter a heightened state of suggestibility even to the point that your body responds to what you’re watching. When the movie has a sad scene you become sad, when the movie gets exciting you get excited. If you’re watching a scary movie you get scared. The monster isn’t sitting behind you but your subconscious mind thinks it is so your heart beats faster, your blood pressure may even rise. That’s because the subconscious mind controls the body. And your imagination is telling you that it is REALLY happening. This is what is meant by being in a focused state and being highly suggestible. During this state of consciousness even your body thinks what is happening is REAL!

You’re not stupid, you know it’s not real. Someone wrote it, directed it and someone is acting. But it doesn’t matter because while you’re watching it you’re, ENTRANCED! You’re willingly go into a trance state.

Why does this happen? Because the subconscious mind doesn’t know the difference between what is real and what is being imagined. But there is always another part of your mind, the conscious mind that knows you’re watching a movie no matter how good it is. And you can get up and leave anytime you want. And you can also get up and leave anytime you want during a hypnosis session.

Remember when you see a good movie you ALLOW yourself to focus on the movie and suspend belief. The same thing happens when you see a hypnotherapist, but instead of sitting in a movie, you're sitting in a chair and listening to the hypnotist.

When you are relaxed and sit down to watch TV commercials do their best to plant post-hypnotic suggestions. Advertisers use music, beautiful people and imagery to get you out to buy their products. And of course it works! We all know how much is spent on advertising, that’s because it works!