Self-Hypnotism - Will It Work For Me, And Why Will It Work For Me?

Hypnosis was accepted by the American Medical Association in 1958 as an effective mode of procedure for treating stress, and stress related symptoms. But does it really work, and what should a person look for when seeking a hypno-therapist, or purchasing hypnosis tapes & CDs?

There are many varying hypnotic methodologies that are used to reach the unconscious mind to invoke change. Each method has its pros and its cons. We are all different, so it only makes sense that the best results will be gotten by utilizing the methods that each person will respond best to.

Most people who sell hypnosis CD's and tapes offer cd's that consist of standard traditional hypnosis methods. A few sellers offer much more progressive and effective Ericksonian Hypnosis techniques. And fewer still offer NLP or Neuro-Linguistic Programming methods.

The newest and by far the most powerful technology is video hypnosis. Video hypnosis utilizes the latest Neuro-linguistic programming mind patterns to cause instant change in a hypnotic subject. Video hypnosis methodologies are not subliminal in nature.

With "Traditional Hypnosis," we simply make commands to the subconscious mind. In case you are wondering, as far as I'm concerned, the term unconscious, and subconscious are equivalent -- they refer to the same part of the mind. This type of hypnotherapy works well for a hypnotic subject who generally accepts what they are told without having a lot of questions.

Most recorded hypnosis programs sold today are based on "Traditional Hypnosis" methods. This reason is it really doesn't take much schooling to author a script and just tell someone what to do. Unfortunately Traditional Hypnotherapy is not very useful for people who are analytical or critical in their thinking processes.

By contrast, Ericksonian Hypnosis and NLP techniques work far more efficiently for most people in today's generation! This is because today people are taught to analyze everything they hear, rather than just do what someone tells them to do. So these modalities do work well on people who are critical or analytical in their method of thinking.

While it's true that these modalities have a much better rate of success at reaching and influencing the unconscious, it's also true that it can take a lot of training to learn how to apply these techniques and be successful. So this is a task taken on only by dedicated hypnotherapists.

With "Ericksonian Hypnosis," we use little stories; called metaphors, to introduce new suggestions to the subconscious mind. This is a compelling technique, because it usually eliminates the resistance to suggestions that is often caused by the conscious mind. There are two types of metaphors, "Isomorphic," and those of the imbedded command or "interspersal" nature.

Isomorphic metaphors offer direction to the unconscious by telling a story that has a moral. The unconscious draws a one on one relationship between ingredients of the story and parts of a problem situation or behavior. For example, if a child is telling a lot of lies, the hypnotherapist might tell the child the story about the "Boy who cried wolf." The unconscious would draw a comparison between the boy in the story and the child, and realize that telling lies could lead to disaster, so the child would probably stop lying.

With the Embedded Command technique, the hypno-therapist tells a story that engages the consciousness. It includes covert direct suggestions that are usually accepted by the unconscious. For example: While the subject is in hypnosis, he will hear the hypnotist say something like: I'm going to tell you a story about a [beach that has feelings. Isn't that] strange to [you]? It's a warm summer's day, and the beach [feels great].

The hypnotist pauses, shifts his voice tonality, and emphasizes the bracketed text. The subconscious recognizes a "Selectional restriction violation." Beaches can't have feelings. So it's like the unconscious says to itself: "Wait a minute, a beach can't feel anything, so that must mean that I'm supposed to feel something, and I'm supposed to [feel great]." Since the suggestions are hidden in an article that is distracting the conscious mind, its unlikely that the conscious will realize that it has just received a command, so it won't block it or resist it.

"Process Instructions" direct the subconscious to remember the experience of an appropriate learning experience from the past, and then apply that experience to making a change in the present.

With "Neuro-Linguistic Programming" (NLP), rather than using hypnotic commands, we use the same methods of thinking that are creating a problem, like an excessive appetite or stress, to annihilate the problem. NLP in the hands of an experienced practitioner can be very effective.

NLP Anchoring: Have you ever heard an old song and had it remind you of feelings from the past? When you originally listened to the song, you were feeling those feelings, and they unconsciously became attached to the melody of the music. So the song became an Anchor for the feelings. Now when you hear the song, it triggers the same feelings again.

Anchoring can be a very effective method. Suppose that you have a memory of being commended for having done a good job in the past. If you get back into that memory, you'll be able to revivify the feeling of self-esteem that you had at that time. If you touch two fingers together while you re-experience those feelings of self-esteem, that touch will become an anchor for the feelings of self-esteem.

Now suppose that you want to create motivation to stick to a diet and lose weight. If you make a mental image of yourself with a thin, sexy body, and simultaneously trigger the anchor - (press the two fingers together again), your subconscious will associate together the feelings of self-esteem to the mental image of yourself with the thin body and your level of motivation to lose weight will increase exponentially.

NLP Flash: This is a very powerful NLP methodology that can be used to "flip" things around in the subconscious, so that thoughts and experiences that used to trigger feelings of stress actually trigger relaxation instead.

The NLP Flash technology is also a fast way to obliterate a conditioned response. For example: If a smoker has a cigarette while drinking coffee, his/her subconscious will connect the two behaviors together so that he/she automatically gets an urge for a cigarette anytime he/she has a cup of coffee. The Flash will cause the smoker's mind to disassociate the image of a cigarette from the cup of coffee so that he/she does NOT get a craving to smoke just because he/she is drinking coffee.

With "subliminal" methods, the recording has two different tracks. One track contains a cover sound that is heard by the conscious mind. The cover sound could be anything from music to the sound of a thunderstorm. Track number two contains direct suggestions that are heard by the subconscious mind. These post-hypnotic suggestions are repeated over and over during a session.

Subliminal programs can be played while you are driving or working. You don't have to stop what you are doing and relax like you do with hypnotism or NLP. Subliminals can be used in addition to hypnotic therapy. But Subliminals will never replace Hypnotic suggestion or Neuro-linguistic programming because they are not as effective! They don't even come close!! Some experts have made claims that it can take up to 80 hours of listening to a subliminal recording before it will have any effect on many people.

The last method of hypnotism that we're going to discuss is "Video Hypnosis."
Video Hypnosis is the most effective form of hypnosis! This technology has been perfected for Video Weight Loss Hypnosis and Video Stop Smoking Hypnosis. The methods used in video hypnosis are based on the Neuro-linguistic programming technology, which works based on the utilization of a person's existing way of thinking instead of post-hypnotic suggestion.

Over 70% of the people on the planet learn much more automatically by seeing, rather then by hearing. Think about it. If you feel a craving to smoke or eat when watching television, it's because your unconscious mind recorded the video image of either food in your hand, or a cigarette in your hand, and then joined that image with the depiction of the TV. You never spoke to yourself and told yourself in words to associate them together, am I correct?

And that's why the Video Hypnosis technique is so useful. Video Hypnosis is not hypnotic in the traditional sense, relying on the spoken word. But if you've ever shed a tear when watching a depressing film, then you know how efficient Video Hypnosis can be at reaching the subconscious mind. With this methodology, results usually start with the very first viewing!

(c) 2006 By Alan B. Densky.

Neuro-VISION, Inc.
http://www.neuro-vision.us
Change Your Life In A Flash!
Video and Audio Hypnosis & NLP CD's

Alan B. Densky, CH opened his hypnosis practice in 1978. He is the author of 4 published books on hypnosis and NLP, and the creator of the Neuro-VISION Video Hypnosis Technology. Visit our site for our free hypnosis articles, newsletters and MP3 downloads.