How Does It Work?
Logic works with the conscious mind, but often not with the subconscious.
Hypnosis helps the subconscious. While a person is under hypnosis, the hypnotherapist is able to communicate directly with the subconscious part of their mind. Since the subconscious does not analyze or criticize anything that is said to it, it will accept almost anything that is said as literal and will do this automatically without the person even knowing.
When you believe in something that has been proven to be more effective for you – then it works for you. This is the case when you receive hypnotherapy. Being open to it is a sure way to make it work.
A good example of the conscious and subconscious mind is:
When you learn to do something, for example driving a car, you use your conscious mind. You might think “I’m never going to remember all this”, but once you’ve passed your driving test, suddenly things seem to get easier. You seem to be going on “autopilot”. This is because all the information has been passed on to your subconscious, so you no longer have to think about what you are doing.
Remember how difficult it was when you learned to drive and compare this to how easy it is now.
Why Does Hypnosis Work?
Hypnotherapy works by empowering people to change and update subconscious beliefs. Through hypnosis, we can reframe and update old beliefs – that quitting smoking will be difficult and painful, for example – and replace them with new, more helpful assumptions.
Hypnosis is a very relaxed mental state where we bypass the critical mind. In other words, the mind is relaxed and ready to learn; The mind becomes much more receptive to suggestion.
In deep relaxed hypnosis, we can override these automatic thoughts and update this thinking with new suggestions. Hypnosis works by allowing us to change our unconscious thought processes to help us achieve specific goals.
Hypnosis works with the power of suggestion.
As a baby, we are born a completely blank canvas with no fear or hang ups. But as we grow up and are influenced by our parents, teachers and peers, we are bombarded with suggestions of how life should be. We take these suggestions to heart and turn them into reality.
How many times in life have you not done something because someone suggested to you that it would be a bad idea? That person has changed and influenced your life path.
So what you are today is a result of all your accumulated experiences from the day you were born right up to this moment.
Reframing our preconceived beliefs through hypnosis
Here is a good example of the power of our preconceived beliefs. A group of participants were asked to take a wine taste test.
They were given two choices: One glass of “expensive” wine and another of moderately priced wine.
The truth was: Both glasses were the same wine. But the participants expected the expensive wine to taste better, and therefore gave it much higher marks for taste.
The suggestion was subtle – one was more expensive – but it clearly shows how easily a suggestion is used to construct our perception.
Unfortunately, the critical mind is not so receptive to suggestions. You hear a proposal, and then you analyze and criticize it.
But with hypnosis do we allow the mind to better accept suggestions? In the deeply relaxed state of hypnosis, our minds are more receptive to suggestion.
