 | |  | |  | |  | |  |
Christina von Dorrer-Hildebrand
ACHE and NGH Board Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist
Certified HypnoBirthing® Practitioner
Hypnosis is a naturally occurring altered state of consciousness. It is
characterized by alpha brain waves, increased relaxation, focused attention
and concentration, and increased acceptance to suggestions. It has been
used throughout history, dating back many thousands of years allowing
people to endure extreme situations or perform unthinkable feats of healing
that would normally be impossible.
Everyone enters a hypnotic state at least twice a day - once just before
entering the sleep state, and once when waking. In addition, most people
enter a natural state of hypnosis many other times during the day, when
their conscious mind relaxes and they fail to notice what goes on around
them or when they do something so routine they do not think about it. For
example, when immersed in a good book, while daydreaming, when
brushing one’s teeth, or when driving on the highway, a person may enter a
focused state of concentration similar to hypnosis. One of the most
effective hypnotizers is television, making it a very effective medium for
advertising. It is no wonder that so many Americans are overweight given
the number of commercials for junk food!
The mind is like a computer, made up of two parts - the conscious mind,
which constitutes about 10%, and the subconscious mind, which makes up
the remaining 90%. If the conscious mind is all that is displayed on the
computer screen, including access to all files on the hard drive, then the
subconscious mind is that hard drive itself, constantly being programmed.
It stores everything that a person has ever experienced, all they have ever
seen, smelt, heard, tasted, imagined and dreamed. However, unlike a
computer, the mind has a realization of itself.
The conscious mind is the critical thinking, state of awareness that
processes information while a person is awake. The conscious mind
directs four ways of thinking, using its judgment to filter information:
- Logical or analytical thinking
- Reasoning or rational thinking
- Willpower
- Short-term or temporary memory
The subconscious mind is the literal thinking, state of unawareness that
processes information 24 hours a day. It is non-judgmental and accepts
information as factual. The subconscious mind has seven key
responsibilities:
- Emotional responses and feelings
- Permanent memory of all experiences
- Imagination
- Intuition
- Habitual behavior (good and bad)
- Direction of energy
- Control of automatic body functions (e.g. breathing, physical healing)
Traditional therapy usually uses the conscious and analytical mind to work
through problems and is therefore limited to the information which the
conscious mind can access. The subconscious mind is the seat of
emotions, intuition and imagery, and therefore using hypnosis allows
information that is not readily available to the conscious mind to be
uncovered, such as the underlying reason behind an unwanted habit or
emotion. This speeds up the evaluative process and helps address it long
term.
Hypnosis allows the conscious mind to be bypassed and the subconscious
mind to be accessed directly. This diverts the critical, reasoning mind that
may filter out information that is key to understanding issues, changing
habits and feelings, and therefore can accelerate healing permanently.
When positive suggestions are directly communicated to the subconscious
mind, they are accepted with greater ease and efficiency. Therefore,
hypnosis accelerates the process of change. This is what makes hypnosis
so favorable in reinforcing positive thoughts and routines, and in stopping
negative habits, such as smoking or overeating.
Among other things, hypnosis can result in an increased pain threshold,
accessing traumatic memories that have been blocked by the conscious
mind, an extremely literal interpretation of ideas, and the ability to perceive
oneself differently without impeding on a person’s existing values.
Anyone can have positive results with hypnosis as long as they:
- Want to make a change (i.e., someone else is not pushing them into it)
- Want to be hypnotized
- Can use their imagination
- Can focus their attention
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| | | | | | | | |
 | |  | |  |
60 Descanso Drive, #1408, San Jose, CA 95134 (408) 835 9353 christina@mind-matters-usa.com