HYPNOSIS ARTICLES

Nobody knows exactly how hypnosis works, just that it does. Scholars and scientists have spent decades formulating and debating definitions of hypnosis and theories on how exactly it works, and they’re not really much closer to agreement than they were when they started. While science has made amazing discoveries in how the brain works, there’s still a great deal that hasn’t been figured out yet. Fortunately, just as you really don’t need to know what a microwave is in order to defrost dinner in a microwave oven, you really don’t need to know literally what’s happening in your brain during hypnosis.

People are always asking me whether hypnosis can help with their individual problems, and my answer is usually yes. Now, that doesn’t mean that hypnosis is a cure-all that can solve any problem, but it can *help* with almost anything. For instance, if you’ve broken your leg, you should call an ambulance before you call a hypnotist. However, once the paramedics are on their way, you can use hypnosis to manage your pain, release your stress, and enhance your body’s natural ability to heal.

I define willpower as the conscious ability to override the urgings, habits, compulsions, signals, and emotions of the unconscious. Willpower can take many forms. The dieter who turns down a dessert he really wants is practicing willpower. The runner who decides to push on when her body is crying out to quit is practicing willpower. The depressed person who decides to get out of bed, smile, and engage in life is exercising willpower. The diabetic who sticks himself with a needle several times a day despite the pain is practicing willpower. The student who commits to studying a subject an hour every day—and actually succeeds in doing so, all semester—is demonstrating willpower. The rescue worker who runs into a burning building despite knowing and fearing the dangers is showing a type of willpower we call courage.

Chances are you’ve heard of affirmations, and you may have even used them from time-to-time: those cheery sayings that your therapist told you to say to yourself in the mirror every morning. Now, there are some people who can stand in front of the bathroom mirror, looking like hell because they just crawled out of bed, and still convincingly tell themselves that they radiate inner beauty. But if you’re like me, you’ve stood in front of the mirror trying to say these things while a loud internal voice full of doubt shouted you down. You see, an affirmation is a description of the world (or your self) as you want it to be, not as your senses detect it at the moment. The idea is of course that belief shapes reality, which is absolutely true; by confidently affirming that the world is how you want it to be, you begin to make it that way.

Some people have a natural talent for dancing. The first time they step out on the dance floor, they do amazing things. With training, they become the Fred Astaires, the Barishnikovs, of this world. Most people don’t have that kind of talent, but they can still dance, and they can get better by working with a dance instructor, someone who shows them the steps and walks them through the process.