We explore some basic facts about the way in which the brain and body work. Specifically we See how words and images can activate other systems in the brain which relate to feelings, muscles, Senses, sense of balance etc. These are compared with "tests of hypnotisability" and "hypnotic Inductions" ENTERTAINMENT hypnotists love to make hypnosis look dark and mysterious and complicated. They love to pretend that they have special powers that no-one else possesses. I love to make things bright and clear and open, and I do not claim any special powers. In this first chapter I am going to ask you to try out various things and to think about them. These things are simple and every day, and will turn out to be not at all mysterious, and yet they are a foundation on which much of hypnosis is built.
If on the other hand you want to call what happens when a particular collection of subsystems is active "an hypnotic state" then I would not mind, though I would simply note that it has proved impossible to find ONE such collection, so that you have simply found one of many possible "hypnotic states". In practice I avoid the use of the word "state" myself because of this vagueness, preferring to be more precise and instead to describe what is happening in a particular person at a particular time by as detailed a list as possible of what systems are active and inactive, and how they are interconnected.
Nevertheless the generalisation that they all tend to have a focused or limited awareness compared with normal, outward oriented functioning makes a useful step towards the matter of the next chapter. You have probably already noticed in the above experiences that they are most effective if the mind is focused. If there are no distracting thoughts. If there is nothing else distracting happening. In other words it is best if there is no other mental activity. If other mental and physical activity is switched down or off.ded as
The first exercise in this chapter is something that might be familiar to you. It is a relaxation technique that is sometimes called "progressive relaxation". Something similar can be met in ante-natal clinics; stress-relief courses and so on. But it is also a common starting point for many hypnotists. The simple idea is that you pay attention to a particular muscle or muscle group and think "relax", NOT in a spirit of "For heaven sake, RELAX! I tell you. RELAX!!" but rather of, "I am asking nothing of you now and so you can stop doing anything, you can go to sleep." Alternatively you can use the word "sleep" rather than "relax". It is not that YOU are going to sleep but that a group of muscles are going to sleep.
Once you have demonstrated for yourself the ability to switch off all right-hand related activity you can proceed to some other group of muscles such as the left hand and repeat the process, with yourself and with others. And you will not be surprised by the Standard Finding: that these muscles too will slowly get less and less tense, less and less active. You may also notice the now familiar variations between people. In some, for example, the process is accompanied by a series of small twitches. In others there may be feelings of heaviness or lightness or warmth or cold or tingling and so on which accompany the process.
The approach, at it simplest, is to sit or lie with eyes closed, and with an intention NOT to dwell on any pictures that come to mind. Instead you will be repeating to yourself "I feel wonderful." Pause. "I feel calm." Pause. "I feel happy." and repeat ad lib. The idea being to see if you can work solely on arousing the feelings and then see how effective they are for you in switching off muscle tone. And of course students should attempt the same on a number of other people. As a model to start with you might try something on these lines.. - 30535
If on the other hand you want to call what happens when a particular collection of subsystems is active "an hypnotic state" then I would not mind, though I would simply note that it has proved impossible to find ONE such collection, so that you have simply found one of many possible "hypnotic states". In practice I avoid the use of the word "state" myself because of this vagueness, preferring to be more precise and instead to describe what is happening in a particular person at a particular time by as detailed a list as possible of what systems are active and inactive, and how they are interconnected.
Nevertheless the generalisation that they all tend to have a focused or limited awareness compared with normal, outward oriented functioning makes a useful step towards the matter of the next chapter. You have probably already noticed in the above experiences that they are most effective if the mind is focused. If there are no distracting thoughts. If there is nothing else distracting happening. In other words it is best if there is no other mental activity. If other mental and physical activity is switched down or off.ded as
The first exercise in this chapter is something that might be familiar to you. It is a relaxation technique that is sometimes called "progressive relaxation". Something similar can be met in ante-natal clinics; stress-relief courses and so on. But it is also a common starting point for many hypnotists. The simple idea is that you pay attention to a particular muscle or muscle group and think "relax", NOT in a spirit of "For heaven sake, RELAX! I tell you. RELAX!!" but rather of, "I am asking nothing of you now and so you can stop doing anything, you can go to sleep." Alternatively you can use the word "sleep" rather than "relax". It is not that YOU are going to sleep but that a group of muscles are going to sleep.
Once you have demonstrated for yourself the ability to switch off all right-hand related activity you can proceed to some other group of muscles such as the left hand and repeat the process, with yourself and with others. And you will not be surprised by the Standard Finding: that these muscles too will slowly get less and less tense, less and less active. You may also notice the now familiar variations between people. In some, for example, the process is accompanied by a series of small twitches. In others there may be feelings of heaviness or lightness or warmth or cold or tingling and so on which accompany the process.
The approach, at it simplest, is to sit or lie with eyes closed, and with an intention NOT to dwell on any pictures that come to mind. Instead you will be repeating to yourself "I feel wonderful." Pause. "I feel calm." Pause. "I feel happy." and repeat ad lib. The idea being to see if you can work solely on arousing the feelings and then see how effective they are for you in switching off muscle tone. And of course students should attempt the same on a number of other people. As a model to start with you might try something on these lines.. - 30535
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