|
We all seek ways to improve our lives. Most methods involving change are difficult and don't work all that well.
Will power is one of the worst ways to try to change because you are fighting with yourself and therefore YOU simply can't
win. For example, part of you wants to quit smoking but another part most emphatically wants to be left alone with that pack
of cigarettes. No matter what happens part of you loses out.
I believe there is little difference between many types of meditation and the practice of self-hypnosis. Both are trancing.
Hardly anybody objects to meditation but hypnosis has acquired a bad reputation.
First, let's talk about, hypnosis, hypnotherapy and stage hypnosis. Then, more about self-hypnosis and meditation.
Hypnotists can, if you let them, help you go into a trance. They take a short course or read a book or two and, practice on
a few friends and, voila, they are effective hypnotists. Hypnotherapists claim additional training but evidence of clincal
effectiveness is lacking. The same is true of psychotherapy. Your Aunt Beth, assuming she is a good listener and you trust
her, is a much more effective counsellor than a psychiatrist you don't particularly like.
WHY? Because it is YOU who is choosing to change and allowing the change to take place. Simple as that.
A few hypnotists claim to be able to manipulate people without their consent or awareness. Obviously, it's best to avoid these
people as they are trying to do something unethical. Stage hypnotists, the honest ones, will tell you they quickly learn to
spot audience members who want to jump on stage and act silly. Most hypnotic subjects report they are faking throughout the
performance but the reality is a bit more complicated -- they want to perform, they want to please the hypnotist and the audience,
they are willing to be agreeable. Choice is ALWAYS the truth about trancing
Self-hypnosis or mediation are both gentle, non-invasive ways you can allow yourself to trance. Daydreaming is the same thing
but we have been carefully taught not to do that, haven't we?
You can learn to trance from a book or a tape or you can attend one or more sessions with an experienced hypnotherapist or
meditator. Either method will teach you the basic skills needed to change your life, meet your goals, and solve your problems.
If you enjoy working with another person, you can find a meditation "guru", take up yoga or Tai Chi, or get yourself into
five years of psychoanalysis. All are ways of reaching the same goal: to find out what you really want and clear pathways
to getting those things.
Self-hypnosis is best when you already know several goals.Self-hypnosis will resolve or greatly improve:
- smoking
- weight control
- procrastination
- shyness and lack of confidence
- insomnia and
- restless sleep
- many forms of depression
- anger management
- many other emotional, personal, and even financial issues.
If you know what you want, I'd recommend self-hypnois. It is not much different than being hypnotized by someone else except
YOU DO IT. Nobody else is even in the room with you. Most people buy a cd or record a hypnotic script on tape. Basically,
nothing can go wrong.
The same is true of meditation. The difference between them is that self-hypnosis can be more proactive as you give yourself
suggestions about the ways you want to improve your life. Most meditators just let the improvements come when they will. Meditation
can be slower, of course, but there is less chance of conflict between aspects of your personality that want different things.
Conflict is what slows down change so meditation might be just as fast, in the long run, for many people
Is Changing Really Safe?
First, self-hypnosis: the answer is Yes, because you are consciously in control and you are not about harm yourself. You set
the goals, you develop the script and listen to yourself read it, you create the schedule, you start when you want and stop
when you want. How much safer can it get?
Second, meditation: the answer is still Yes, because with most forms of meditation you are simply getting in touch with your
inner being and allowing it to connect with the universe. You don't have an agenda. Yet, I believe the long-term results are
the same.
In both situations, you may find it hard to believe that you were trancing. After all, you were aware and awake throughout.
As your experience grows, you can choose to go deeper to where you are still awake and aware but a half hour feels like five
minutes. It's always your choice.
In many years of experience with self-hypnosis, I have only encountered one person who did himself harm. He hated studying
and used self-hypnosis to FORCE himself to spend endless hours hitting the books. One day, he flipped. Nobody got hurt except
some furniture but here's the lesson: don't do that. All successful hypnosis depends on respect and that includes respect
for yourself.
One last thought: you may find the most challenging part about using self-hypnosis or trancing will be continuing to move
ahead. The negative suggestions we have accepted in the past may try to sabotage our efforts or divert our attention.
If you find yourself slipping into old habits, pull out your favorite tapes or find a new trance script that will let you
feel wonderful again.
Life is all about process so let's enjoy it.
|
