Hypnosis
A state of altered mental attention which can be self-induced or induced by another person (a hypnotherapist or health care professional trained in hypnosis). During hypnosis a person is able to focus all their attention, concentrate intently on a particular subject, and experience increased knowledge about the subject, including knowledge contained in his/her subconscious mind. Hypnosis is a natural state of mind, common to all human beings. The trance, or focused state of mind under hypnosis, can vary from a light state to a heavy or “deep” state. A light state of hypnosis is experienced whenever a person is concentrating on something so intently that they lose awareness of their environment, as is the case when you go to your local cyber-café and sip coffee over your laptop, so engrossed in what you’re doing that the noise in the café fades into the background. An example of medium hypnosis exists in the case where a consultant, his mind engrossed on developing a new proposal as he commutes home, is unaware of the details of the drive, perhaps even unaware of having driven, right up until he pulls into his driveway (called highway hypnosis). An example of deep hypnosis exists in a case where a person is induced into full anesthesia without medication, using the power of the mind to block what would otherwise be excruciating pain in a normal state of consciousness.
State-of-the-art clinical hypnosis utilizes the natural ability of the focused mind and the mind’s willingness to accept positive suggestions to improve health and well-being. Medical research reveals a growing list of ailments that are positively affected through hypnosis when it is properly utilized by a trained professional for clinical purposes: 1) reducing or eliminating anxiety-related disorders, especially phobias, 2) alleviating many ailments, especially those with a psychogenic component, such as ulcers, colitis, asthma, arthritis, dysmenorrhea, fibromyalgia, and hypertension, 3) altering automatic responses to old trauma via “release” of subconscious experience of previous trauma and restructuring subconscious reaction to further “cues” of trauma, 4) eliminating unhealthy habits, such as smoking and overeating, 5) alleviating chronic pain and achieving full anesthesia, as in the case of painless childbirth, 6) improving clinical outcomes related to medical and dental procedures, and 7) enhancing learning, from improved memorization to receiving/understanding complex insights regarding physical, psychological and spiritual issues.