Help understanding hypnotherapy?

[Athena]

I started listening to hypnotherapy and subliminal programs on audio, and would like to continue, but first need justification for making it a routine activity.

Part of my mind is still attaching hypnotherapy to negative connotations, 'brainwashing' and subliminal messages, and shying away from it, because it seems unnatural on some levels.

I mean, I can understand shaping the mind through learning, clearing it through meditation, focusing with affirmations, etc, but what exactly is hypnotherapy doing to our minds, in abstract terms?

Is it a focusing/optimizing activity?


Can someone please help with justifications for doing hypnotherapy?

[Brutha]

I started listening to hypnotherapy and subliminal programs on audio

The two are two seperate things. Subliminalprograms are Placebos.

In a good hypnosis seasion you are put into a trance. The second step are affirmations or commands are directed at your unconscious mind.
When you hear those affirmation and are in a trance your mind doesn't go, heh that is not true but accepts the suggestion instead.

In addition hypnosis is a way to communicate with your unconscious mind.

[Alvin]

Hi Athena,

Why not have negative associations with hypnosis?

We can define hypnosis as 'unconscious communication', that is, communicating with your unconscious mind.

(Your unconscious simply means the parts of your mind you're aren't aware of right not...like how it keeps your heart beating without you breaking a sweat!)

There are insidious ways of using unconscious communications out there, like how advertising and the mass media want you to buy their stuff, or the methods certain cult-like groups use to influence people to join them.

The more conscious you can be of unconscious communication, the more aware you'll be of these techniques and go, 'aha, I see what they're doing now, but they're not getting me-suckers!'

(Btw, if you're not trained in hypnosis, don't be scared that you won't be able to detect these hypnotic cues, as long as you keep yourself fairly aware and 'live consciously' you'll be able to sense something wrong from far away.)

Now, the other part of insidious unconscious communication is directed unconscious communication. Can you communicate to the unconscious parts of you to do what you want them to do more of and less of what you want?

That's what a lot of PD is working on, really, things like using intentions to drop a signal into the unconscious and let it work on it. So does hypnosis.

Subliminals aren't counted in the field of hypnosis, as they aim to go below the radar and influence your mind directly, personally I don't believe they work. But Steve's recommended Subliminals are, because they use a method of hypnosis known as the 'double induction', where one voice says something to you in one ear while another says another thing in the other ear.

You can read even more about hypnosis to sooth your mind here:

The Dilbert Blog: Who Can’t Be Hypnotized?

[Brutha]

Originally Posted by Alvin

Subliminals aren't counted in the field of hypnosis, as they aim to go below the radar and influence your mind directly, personally I don't believe they work. But Steve's recommended Subliminals are, because they use a method of hypnosis known as the 'double induction', where one voice says something to you in one ear while another says another thing in the other ear.

The thing Steve recommends are not really Subliminals.
They are a product ofbrainwave entertainement and affirmations for each ear.

[Alvin]

Oops! My bad, I meant the Paraliminals

[Athena]

Thanks, Alvin and Brutha!

That helps to understand it more simply, as focusing the subconscious mind.

I wonder, btw, is the subconscious also shaped through normal conscious learning? Is it a similar process, but less direct?

[Alvin]

You're welcome Athena

Yes, of course it is. Learning can be described in 4 steps.

1) Unconscious incompetence. You don't know what you don't know.

2) Conscious incompetence. Aha, you realized what you don't know.

3) Conscious competence. You start getting good at what you know.

4) Unconscious competence. You're so good you don't even have to think about it.

The oft-used analogy is learning to drive a car, first you have no idea what's involved. When you start, you realize how much you don't know. Then you get good at it, but you still have to focus on how and when to turn, signal, shift gears and press the pedal. Then one day, you reach your destination without remembering how you got there, only that you had a good time singing along to the radio.

[Athena]

aah okay that makes sense. So learning can happen at different levels.. hypnotherapy is just targeting it directly at the subconscoius.

Great! That demystifies it a lot.

Thanks again