I've been to stage shows and wondered how the hypnotist got people dancing/singing like Elvis.
How do they do it???
There are a few factors involved here...these stage shows are usually in the evening (cue after work/pre-show drinks) and they encourage groups to buy tickets for a discount (you're with lots of your mates).
They do what we call a 'suggestibility test' with the whole audience and pick those the people who appear to be highly suggestible. They get those audience members on stage and do another suggestibility test to see if you're just as suggestible (it can be more daunting on stage then when in the crowd). If not so suggestible, you will be asked to sit back in your seat in the audience. They have made a pre-conscious decision to reject the suggestion ("No chance...I'm not doing that...I'm a date...she'll think I'm a loser").
Those remaining on the stage have made a pre-conscious decision to go along with the hypnotists suggestions ("sounds ok, I can do that"). If there's a group of lads out, the subconscious might accept the suggestions, especially is there are benefits to be gained...e.g. we're have a laugh about this at work tomorrow...or this could get me a few pints. People will only do what's in their moral code and ethical to them.
So there you have it...stage hypnosis will only work on around 15% of the audience.
So, can anyone be hypnotised?
• Have you experienced hypnosis before? Some say no but you all have!!! It’s a natural process our brains need to go through daily.
• Adults trance 120 times a day
• Examples of natural trance states, day dream, auto pilot, trance, staring into space...
• Your senses are 30% heightened – so something funny will be 30% more funny - you’re very aware of your surroundings.
There are 3 groups of people who can’t be hypnotised - Under 5 - mentally ill - don’t want to.
• You need to have a certain amount of intelligence to be hypnotised.
• Children are in hypnosis 95% of the time
Facts/Myths/Misconceptions
• All Hypnosis is self-hypnosis - hypnotherapists are simply the facilitator
• What if I get stuck in trance? You won't
• Will I tell all my secrets? Nope
• Do things against my will? Not at all
You are in control at all times.
Hypnosis is safe, natural, non-magical and produces very predictable results. Full co-operation is required, at all times.
We go into Hypnosis all day long and it is part of the sleep cycle but is not sleep itself.
What is this conscious and subconscious?
CONSCIOUS MIND: - Relatively weak - tip of the Iceberg
ANALYSE & CRITICISE
• Judgemental, makes decisions, makes voluntary body movements
• knows how to cross road safe
• Is the Wall blue? Conscious mind analyses - sub conscious accepts it
• It knows small house spider not dangerous in the UK
SHORT TERM MEMORY
• Remember phone number, name, postcode then forget it.
E.g. used frequently with repetition it will down fall into sub-conscious mind
APPLIES LOGIC
• knows if you put hand in fire it will burn
• basic arithmetic functions 2+2=4
• evaluate risks and make predictions
SENSE HUMOUR
• part of us that laughs. This is a conscious function which sets us apart animals
LANGUAGE IS VERBAL
• Communicates to you - that voice you hear in your head, questioning etc
SUB CONSCIOUS MIND – Contains all your wisdom, memories all the things that you don’t have to think about to do
AUTO PILOT
• Heart beats, blinking, breathing, body temperature, all our vital processes, digestion, blood circulation. Things we are trained to do like driving, touch typing
• It never sleeps, it never rests, it’s a program running non-stop in background – responsible for keeping us alive & healthy and are bodily functions working
LONG TERM MEMORY
• It can remember names, experiences. The conscious mind may forget but the SC remembers.
• The only reason we consciously recall long term memory is when emotion is attached.
• Long term memories can last a lifetime, the more useful they are to our survival & well-being, the longer they last
CANNOT ANALYSE & CRITICISE
• It doesn’t think or analyse, it just produces a response for you to react to either good or bad
• This part of the mind contains many inaccurate and faulty pieces of information, which is why we have unwanted, unnecessary sicknesses/illness etc. It cannot decipher what is needed or not needed
• For instance, you see a small spider run past and it makes you jump. The spider can’t hurt you – but autopilot kicks in to protect you. When you are driving along and a sheet of paper hits your windscreen and you flinch!
• It creates fears / phobias as a protection mechanism, that’s its main purpose but it can get it wrong!
TAKES THINGS LITERALLY
• Accepts things like a child, takes everything literally. Words have a single meaning to the SC mind.
CAN’T TELL DIFFERENCE PRETEND & REAL
• It cannot tell the difference between reality and imagination. A fact that we utilise positively in hypnotherapy.
• When small children wake from a nightmare, they can take a while to convince it was only a dream, for us when wake up conscious mind can analyse “oh was just dream”
• All thoughts of what if? When our thoughts go into negative overdrive, thinking of things happening to our kids etc.
• Horror movies, SC watching and takes it all literally which is why we feel the fear even though conscious mind can rationalise it
• No sense time, e.g. with smoking- it can’t analyse & criticise, it still thinks about that first reason you started, its smoking for same reason, even though consciously we know that cig could kill us.
LANGUAGE IS ICONS/PICTURES AND IMAGINATION
• We all have an imagination, just like we did as a child, just used in different ways now.
PROTECTIVE OF OWNER
• Its function is to keep us alive & healthy, right up to the last breath
NO SENSE OF HUMOUR
• Consciously we might laugh at jokes about our age etc...be careful what you say cause sub conscious is listening and it doesn’t find it funny!
In hypnosis, the hypnotherapist can communicate directly with the clients subconscious. We use suggestion to change behaviour and we get the subconscious onboard and accept the upgrade.
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