Hypnosis is a safe and natural mind state that we experience every day, many times a day. Every time you fall asleep you go through hypnosis – it is simply the brainwaves slowing down. Slow them down enough and you fall asleep. In hypnosis we work in the day-dreamy liminal state between being awake and asleep.
We enter a light hypnotic state dozens of times throughout the day. Have you ever had a hard time getting someone’s attention who is absorbed scrolling on their phone? That is an example of hypnosis – it is simply a focused state of attention, or trance state. Every time we get absorbed in a book or movie, daydream, tap into a creative or athletic flow state, or space out while driving and miss the exit we are experiencing the mind state called hypnosis.
Hypnosis is a completely natural, safe, and consensual practice. You actively choose to go into hypnosis and you can choose to come out at anytime. Entering hypnosis is similar to following a guided meditation, all you need to do is relax and follow along. You will remain awake, aware, and in control at all times. Everyone experiences hypnosis in their own way. Some people may feel very calm, peaceful, or relaxed. Others may have physical sensations, such as heaviness, lightness, or tingling in their body. Some people simply feel more focused or have a heightened sense of awareness. Often people are surprised at how “normal” it feels and don’t even realize they were hypnotized.
Humans have been using this mind state for thousands of years. In fact, the first recorded examples of hypnosis type practices come from Egypt over 2,500 years ago. Imhotep, one of the earliest recorded physicians and later worshipped as a god of medicine, treated patients by utlizing trance states in what were known as Sleep Temples. It is unfortunate that people’s perceptions of hypnosis in modern times have become laden with fear and misinformation, mostly due to inaccurate representations in TV. Hypnosis is a safe, natural part of our every day lives that we can use to our advantage to create change more quickly, easily, and in alignment with our true desires.
Today hypnotherapy helps thousands of people around the world remove mental, emotional, and spiritual blocks so that they can achieve the life they desire.
This article was written by Scenario Silver, CHt. Learn more about them and their hypnotherapy practice here.