The Top 5 Myths About Hypnosis: Breaking Through The Stereotypes

An insight into some of the most pervasive myths about the science and art of hypnosis from Taylor Peterson, Lead Practitioner of Discoverselfhypnosis.com.

Minneapolis, MN (PRWEB) August 13, 2008 — Although hypnosis has been repeatedly shown to be able to assist individuals with a number of different problems, ranging from overcoming phobias to kicking bad habits and from reducing pain to speeding up the healing process, a number of different myths and misconceptions remain in place to this day. Some of these misconceptions include:

• Mind control. Thanks to a number of different movies, comic books, and other works of fiction, many people believe that hypnosis is a form of mind control or brainwashing. While this certainly serves for an interesting plot line and can help sell books and tickets to movies, it is entirely fictitious. Hypnosis does not give a person control over another person. Rather, it helps that person to gain control over his or her own mind.

• Special powers. Some also believe that hypnotherapists have special powers. After all, they must be able to perform some sort of magic in order to get such great results, right? Wrong! A hypnotherapist doesn’t have any special powers. Rather, he or she simply understands the techniques necessary to help a person unlock the powers of his or her own mind and to make the person more susceptible to suggestion. This misconception has been brought about by stage shows, which may be quite entertaining but do not reflect the true use and purpose of hypnosis.

• Losing awareness. Another popular misconception is that the person being hypnotized is unaware of his or her surroundings or is unconscious while in a hypnotic trance. To a certain extent, this myth is perpetuated by hypnotists as they use the term “sleep” when putting a person in a hypnotic state and the term “awake” when bringing them back out. In addition, the word hypnosis is actually derived from a word that means sleep in Greek. In reality, the hypnotized person is in a relaxed trance during which he or she is always aware at some level and remains alert.

• Only the weak can be hypnotized. Some also believe that only weak-minded individuals can e hypnotized. This goes back to the misconception that hypnosis is a form of mind control and, as such, a person capable of being hypnotized is too weak-minded to resist the control. According to research, however, a person’s intelligence or level of gullibility has nothing to do with how easily he or she can be put into a hypnotic trance. Sex and race have no bearing either, though some research does suggest that their could be a genetic link associated with how easily a person can or cannot be hypnotized.

• It’s all imaginary. Some also mistakenly believe that hypnosis is all the result of an overactive imagination. In actuality, research has found that those people that are more imaginative actually do not do quite as well with hypnosis. In addition, PET scans have actually showed changes in blood flow in the brain while in a hypnotic state.

As hypnosis becomes more understood, it also becomes more accepted by the medical community. Numerous studies have found that hypnosis can be very beneficial in a variety of ways and that it is time to put these top five myths to rest.

In fact you can control people to some extent, what you actually do is tap into their existing schemas, most of us have automated responses to questions, stimulii, etc, people like the Italian robber might not actually control the subjects mind. What he does is to work their mind to respond in a way that is beneficial to him.

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This is an amazing story of a man who appears to hypnotise people in order to rob supermarkets and banks. Now I am not recommending that you should be doing this, but it does show how powerful this technique can be!

“Italian police have issued video footage of a man who has been hypnotizing supermarket checkout staff and getting them to hand over the cash.

In every case, according to reports, the last thing staff remember is a man leaning over and saying ‘Look into my eyes’ before suddenly finding the till is empty.

In the latest incident captured on video footage the man walked into a bank in Ancona in northern Italy.

He waited until he got to a female bank clerk and, according to the video footage, appears to hypnotise her into handing over more than £600.

He then calmly walked out.

The cashier who was shown the video footage reportedly has no memory of the incident. She only realised what had happened when she saw the money missing.

Checks of CCTV cameras in the bank showed her being hypnotised by the man.

Italian police are now looking for the suspect - who bears an uncanny resemblance to Saddam Hussein - who they believe is either of Indian or North African.”

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You might think that this is such a huge responsibility and you might not be able to succeed. However, keep in mind that we all have different ways of helping people. Who knows? Maybe learning how to hypnotize someone can open your eyes to new possibilities!

Before we talk more about the future though, it’s important to get down to the basics. So how do you hypnotize someone?

The target must be willing and relaxed.

A willing person is always easier to penetrate. However, you might come across a situation where your target has given the consent but is unable to relax. You must then lead them to a more comfortable state.

Start by keeping your voice relaxed and instructing the person to do breathing exercises. Tell them to inhale through the nose, and exhale with the mouth. Let your subject do this until they loosen up.

The environment also plays an important role in achieving a peaceful state of mind. Such relaxation techniques always go hand in hand when learning how to hypnotize someone. The more techniques you know, the better the whole experience will be for both parties.

Get rid of all excess thoughts and focus.

The next thing you must do is to ask your subject to get rid of all excess thoughts. Worries, fears, apprehensions, bills… These things have no place during your session.

If you want, you can tell your target to visualize a bowl of their thoughts pouring everything away until the bowl is empty.

You can also make the person become more aware of their body parts. From the neck, the arms, etc. Instruct them to feel their arms and the energy flowing within them. That will help focus their mind on their own existence and not on other problems.

Make your move.

When all is well, you can now begin making suggestions. At this point, your subject is completely relaxed and open to what you have to say.

Be careful with your words because you don’t want them to come out the wrong way. Keep your voice in the same relaxed state because your target is still in a “trance.” End your session with a positive note and don’t be afraid to give positive encouragement.

Learning how to hypnotize someone is that easy. However, there are more ways and levels of hypnosis you might want to read about. As you learn more about them, you’ll also be given more opportunities to exercise your techniques and help people get over their problems, too!

http://EzineArticles.com/?How-to-Hypnotize-Someone&id=1361573

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Just like any developed skill, to learn how to hypnotize someone through conversation takes a lot of practice. But with persistence and a strong desire to learn, anyone can develop this ability. Think of it as learning how to play the guitar. Everyone understands the fundamental of concepts of strumming the guitar and placing your fingers on specific areas of the fret board in order to produce different sounds. Become a skilled player, on the other hand, takes practice - even though anyone can learn how to do it. Learning how to hypnotize someone through conversation is exactly the same. The fundamentals are easy to grasp, but developing the ability takes time.

Once you acquire this ability, the amount of success you can achieve has no boundaries. Imagine what you could do by getting anyone to think or do anything you say. Imagine being able to confidently give a presentation and wow a crowd, or to convince your boss that you deserve a promotion, or to instantly form intimate relationships with complete strangers. These are just some of the things that you can do with this powerful skill.

It may sound far fetched, but this is not unrealistic. In fact, many sales people, military personnel, and lawyers go through conversational hypnosis training in order to become more effective at their jobs. When you learn how to hypnotize people just by talking to them, you can be extremely persuasive and alter the way people perceive you; a very powerful skill in the business world.

By simply using sleight of mouth, you can manipulate and control the actions and emotions of people around you - without them ever even knowing. This is something anyone can conceivably achieve with practice and determination. It is just a matter of knowing how.

http://EzineArticles.com/?Learn-How-to-Hypnotize-Someone-Through-Conversation&id=1232135

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