Return to Sleep
Thoughts
Hypnotism Revealed
People have
been using hypnosis for about 230 years to reveal lost memories or make
suggestions to the subconscious mind. Franz Mesmer stumbled upon
the 
technique in the 1700's (mesmerizing, animal magnetism) but
proceeded to completely miss the point. James Braid, taking a more scientific
approach, coined the term hypnotism in 1841. We all have the image in
our collective conscious of the exotic gentleman with the swinging pendulum
inducing a hypnotic state. He seemed to know something we didn't. Read
on and that will no longer be the case.
The human race
experiences self-hypnosis every day. We don't think of it as self-hypnosis,
however. We think of it as falling asleep. When we are awake and active our
brains are in what has been termed the Beta brainwave state. When we are
relaxed, watching television or looking at the ocean, our conscious mind
slows down and enters the Alpha brainwave state. In the processes of falling
asleep, meditation and hypnosis the subsequent state; the Theta brainwave
state, is where all the magic happens. If the Theta brainwave state is
allowed to occur then the Delta brainwave state (deep sleep) soon follows. If
one accepts this scientifically proven brainwave transition to sleep
then I suggest that this is knowledge we can use. In the Theta brainwave
state one is neither asleep nor awake. The Theta state is a different level
of awareness as our conscious mind has loosened it's control of the thought
process. It is the inability to reach the Theta brainwave state that is
the root of most sleep issues.
Simple Hypnotism
To
hypnotize someone (or yourself) one must induce the Theta brainwave state.
This requires that you relax the subject and apply one simple technique. You
must get them to visualize, via the mind's eye, something. One could hold up
a non-threatening object; lets say a coin or marble, in front of the
relaxed subject's eyes and suggest that they close their eyes and
imagine the object in their mind. Have the subject then imagine a series of
non-threatening objects... all while speaking in an unemotional tone. This
monotone speech pattern is important as you do not want emotion to play a
part in the hypnosis induction as it is counter-productive. If the subject is
too relaxed (i.e. laying down on a bed) they might fall asleep so you must
continually gage where they are at in the sleep process. Let me state, once
again, that hypnosis and falling asleep are part of the same
process.
Once the
subject is in the Theta brainwave state you can begin making
suggestions. Common uses for hypnosis are smoking cessation, weight
loss and anxiety reduction.
A brief theory about a more effective hypnosis
technique
If one accepts modern sleep and
dream theory then the induction of sleep after a hypnosis session could
greatly enhance the effectiveness of the procedure. Modern sleep theory
suggests that the human brain crunches data, during sleeping and dreaming,
from our day's experiences; discarding unneeded information and assimilating
important experiences. In theory, suggestions from a hypnotic session could
take on greater significance if sleep were allowed to happen, even for a
short duration, directly after the hypnosis.
A word about
why visualizing induces the Theta brainwave state and, therefore, the
hypnotic state. In the rear of our big human brain there exists a smallish
chunk of gray matter called the Occipital lobe. This area contains the
Primary Visual Cortex and the Secondary Visual Cortices. The combination of
the Secondary Visual Cortices is generally referred to as the Secondary
Visual Cortex. When you visualize you are stimulating the Secondary Visual
Cortex. Why is this important? Because this is the same area that is
active in dreaming and dreaming is one of the first things our brains do when
in the Delta(sleep) brainwave state. Visualization is part of the brain's
process to deep sleep. To hypnotize someone, or yourself, you must willfully
simulate the process of falling asleep without allowing deep sleep to
occur.
About Mass Hypnosis
Lastly, when
our minds wander we are in a form of self-hypnosis. Falling asleep during a
lecture has as much to do with daydreaming as the subject matter of the
speech. A daydreamer is stimulating the Secondary Visual Cortex and
unknowingly beginning the process of falling asleep. If you do not want
listeners to fall asleep then continually stimulate their Primary Visual
Cortex with visual aids.( i.e. powerpoint presentations). The primary visual
cortex is humming when we are in the Beta (alert and aware) brainwave state
and processing the things we see with our eyes open. This also works in
reverse. To attempt a mass hypnosis of an audience you must first relax them
and then stimulate their collective visual imagination without
external visual stimulation.
You are now a
Hypnotist. Congratulations!
Dream good
dreams!
Brad McBride
Comments?
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