What Exactly is Hypnosis?
For thousands of years hypnotism has been used in one form or another. From ancient sleep temples, dream chambers, healing pyramids, laying on of hands, magnetism, mesmerism, miracles, faith healing, NLP, EST, Dianetics, Madison Avenue, TV, Network marketing, religion, parents, teachers, government, etc., all have one thing in common, HYPNOSIS. Somewhere, somehow we have all been part of the great cultural trance. At the bottom of this great trance the word hypnotism comes forth. Why? Because hypnotism is based upon an individuals ability to respond to ideas called suggestions and everything around us at all times suggests something to us, especially on an emotional level.
Hypnotism Defined to Understand Human Behavior
Hypnosis may then be defined as: "An emotionally charged system of beliefs that suspends our attention for a time, allowing the creation of different behaviors, beliefs and/or attitudes. These new ideas will remain until another trance of emotionally charged energy interrupts and suspends our attention with another system of beliefs, creating new behaviors, beliefs and attitudes which create a different perspective." Spencer
Think about it for a moment. Emotionally charged ideas. Emotions are those feelings we have that if left unbridled, will conquer us. Our emotions can be reached through relaxation, fear, guilt, love, hate, boredom, etc. These feelings create a state of heightened awareness that can liberate us with healthy life styles or paralyze us into unwanted behaviors. Emotions work through ideas that we call suggestions. A suggestion can be anything in our environment that gets our attention. Once our attention is caught by suggestion, then our imagination formulates ideas that we react to. This is called behavior. Behavior is the expression of energy.
All things consist of energy which can not be created or destroyed, only transformed.
Think about when you watch a movie and laugh or cry. You are responding to your perception of the suggested idea. When you see a fight, you may become frightened or angry, based upon your internal cues. The golden arches may suggest a Big Mac Attack. Advertisements of all kinds promise to make you look or feel a certain way if you use their products. These are ideas which are based upon hypnotic suggestions. Remember, whenever you are persuaded by an emotion, you can be certain that hypnosis is involved!
A Brief History
The practice of hypnosis is most often traced back to an Austrian physician named Franz Mesmer (1734-1815). From him comes the term "mesmerism". Mesmer discovered that individuals could be "cured" from many diseases by having them hold onto "magnetized" rods and suggesting to them they would be healed. This worked well until around 1782 when an entourage which included Benjamin Franklin was sent to investigate this miracle worker and determined that if the people get better it was by their own imagination. So mesmerism lost its great following until it reappeared in a revised form with a new term, hypnosis, derived from Hypnos, the Greek god of sleep by a man named Dr. James Braid in 1841. Dr. Braid used a "fixed gaze" to produce a "sleeplike" state. From that time we find such names as Professor Jean Charcot, who in 1878 began experiments and revitalized hypnotism. This was done at the School of the Salpetriere in Paris. The School of Nancy in French Lorraine also emerged with Dr. Liebeault as its chief investigator. Hypnotism also had its early advocates in surgery. In 1846 Dr. James Esdaile was one who performed many operations using hypnosis alone. Perhaps the most famous of these early "mind explorers" was Sigmund Freud(1856-1939), who learned hypnosis from Charcot and others. He then studied with a man named Josef Breuer who co-authored a paper called Studies in Hysteria in which the famous Anna O. case was presented. Together they showed how hysterical symptoms were actually repressed memories and could be unlocked with hypnosis. Eventually Freud developed free association because he was uncomfortable with the intimate nature of hypnotism.
Hypnotism Today
Around 1945 a man by the name of Milton Erickson began to incorporate hypnosis into his MD Psychiatric practice and hypnotherapy began to gain a reputation as a viable form of treatment. Today Erickson's teachings have developed into NLP or Ericksonian hypnosis.
In 1958 hypnosis was finally accepted by the American Medical Association.
Another early pioneer of hypnosis was Dave Elman who developed the 3-minute induction.
During the turn of the century the stage hypnotist began to appear around the world amazing audiences with his hypnotic abilities. This brings us to the creative use of hypnotism by today's practitioners.
Every major city in America and most countries will have their share of hypnotherapists. One look in the phone book and you will find a variety of uses for hypnosis: smoking cessation, weight loss, stress control, elimination of fears and phobias, sports motivation, confidence building, regression therapy, test anxiety, better concentration, sleep disorders, pain control, inner child healing and almost any area you can imagine. I've had clients who have come to me to relearn a foreign language they haven't used in 20 years and walk out of my office speaking their second language fluently! A few years back I was working with a local police department to help a woman who had been kidnapped and raped to successfully retrieve the license plate number of her two abductors. (the outcome however is best left to Hollywood producers. Call me!)Religious Aspects of Hypnotism
Throughout history hypnotism as it is now understood, has been used by all cultures in one form or another. Most religions consider lies immoral and truths moral. An individual whose character is founded upon lies would be considered moral if one could change their way of thinking and acting and accept truth for what it is. This premise is the foundation for behavior modification. This is also a building block of religion. A man name Phineas Quimby, an early follower of magnetism was sought out by a woman named Mary Baker who found relief from Quimby's techniques. They worked together after that until disagreements led her to begin the Church of Christ with revised magnetic and hypnotic techniques learned from Quimby. The history of many modern day American churches can be traced back to the founders dabbling with hypnotic techniques. Go figure.
What is interesting for me is to attend different churches and philosophical groups and such and watch the hypnotic principles each group will use in order to influence and change peoples minds to their way of thinking. I am not saying this is wrong, but it is interesting to notice. But such has been the case of what I call hypnotism from the beginning!Hypnosis Training
The uses of hypnotism are limited only by ones imagination. Today there are dozens of professional hypnosis organizations which are dedicated to the study and understanding of hypnotism. On one hand we have the professional community of psychologists and doctors who limit their membership to their associates. We also have the students of professional hypnotherapy who have studied at schools of hypnotism and have learned their craft well. They are called Certified Hypnotherapists.
Not all schools are created equal. Certification is a title that can be bestowed by any person or group organization. Most are self-serving and directed by one person. If you have questions about any specific group just ask!Most certified hypnotherapists will have more precise training in the art and science
of hypnotism/hypnotherapy than their friends in the psychological community.That is why more and more academic professionals are receiving advanced training in hypnosis in specialized schools. Any competent hypnotherapist, certified or not, from whichever branch they stem, should have a minimum 300 hours of training. That's "hands-on" training not including practicum. Anything less that should be suspect. Every professional or lay practitioner of hypnotism and or hypnotherapy today should also have an extensive library of hypnosis books, hypnosis tapes, hypnosis videos and such.
Hypnosis Entertainment
The use of hypnotism in entertainment has gained wide appeal. As a stage hypnotists also, I perform continuously around the world amazing audiences with the spellbinding effects of hypnotism! In fact much praise it owed to the stage hypnotist for keeping the fascinating use of hypnosis alive in the minds of the masses for the Clinical Practitioner to continue on.WHAT IS HYPNOTHERAPY?
Who Can Benefit From Hypnosis
Virtually anyone can benefit from hypnosis. Over the years Don Spencer has helped thousands of people attain their personal goals. When you are ready to lose weight, stop smoking or to overcome everyday fears, Hypnosis Works! After all, we are specialists in the field of hypnosis.
Slowing Down with Hypnosis
In todays over active world few people have the time or resources to invest in long-term therapy. To help meet the needs of a changing community, Don Spencer's Personal Achievement Center is a leader in the latest mind technology for today's result oriented society. Personal change through The Personal Achievement Center doesn't have to take forever. Producing rapid and effective changes in your life is what you want!
Can you remember a time when you came to the point where change in your life needed to take place.... I mean when you reached that critical mass that said enough! At that very moment, change began to occur, you began to change... Now, thanks to The Personal Achievement Hypnosis Center you can make those same changes you desire, when you desire, in your own time and your own way, today, now and forever.
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