Third Eye as Door to Unknown: Hypnosis and Beyond

Hypnosis as a complete practice seems to encompass a wide range of techniques designed to produce very different effects or achieve particular ends. The art of hypnosis blends into mediumship and spiritism. It borders on the occult closely enough to be used in combination with sorcery and voodoo, yet finds itself equally at home in the doctor’s office where it can replace morphine and psychiatric drugs. Hypnotic suggestions can cure apparently organic diseases, eliminate all so-called mental or functional illnesses, and even put a stop to “nasty habits.” Suggestions can also cause a calculated reaction in the subject at a later time, cause the hypnotic subject to hallucinate, and even make certain subjects perform a series of automatic actions of which they will not be aware at the time and will have no memory of afterwards.

Types of Hypnotherapy
There may be as many different types of hypnotherapy as there are different healers who employ hypnosis. However, some broad categories of hypnotherapy can be outlined, keeping in mind that not everyone’s technique will fit neatly into one of these pigeonholes. Firstly, we can divide hypnotic techniques generally into two classes: self-hypnosis, and induced hypnosis.

Through self-hypnosis a person puts themselves voluntary into a trance state where normally unconscious parts of the mind can be accessed for healing or psychic purposes. Mediums practice self-hypnosis for the purpose of contacting spirit entities, which means that their trance must be deep enough to allow them to access the most hidden regions of the collective unconscious mind. The relative depth of trances will be discussed later. However, suffice it to say that emotional healing and mental suggestions can be effected in correspondingly lighter trances than those demanded of mediums. The trick of self-hypnosis lies in remaining consciously aware while at the same time attaining the necessary depth in the trance state. As one might guess, deeper trances can often be accompanied by a complete loss of consciousness on the part of the self-hypnotist. Self healing and suggestions must be carried out in an at least partially conscious state of awareness. This is why most hypnosis has traditionally involved both a hypnotist and a subject.

Induced hypnosis can be alternately called simply “hypnosis,” without qualification. Most hypnotherapy requires an operator (hypnotist) as well as a subject or patient. The operator uses a method of “induction” to hypnotize the subject. Such induction methods can be changed and even invented to suit the disposition of the subject. Hypnosis can be induced in some subjects without their consent, and sometimes can even take place without the subject having been aware that they have been hypnotized. Memory loss can occur in the subject, so that suggestions can be given by the operator that the subject will follow on awakening without knowing why. The hypnotist who can induce deeper trances in the subject can give correspondingly more powerful suggestions, or effect healing at deeper levels of the subject’s consciousness. Some subjects can resist the best methods of trance induction while others can be hypnotized easily and instantly. Of those subjects susceptible to trance induction, only a small fraction can be brought to the deep trance of somnambulism, the level at which mediums operate. Furthermore, certain subjects prove resistant to suggestions of any kind, possibly because the hypnotist cannot bring them to the deeper trance states in which the mind becomes more susceptible to outside influence. Such uncertainties may account for the inconsistent results of healing through hypnosis, with apparent miracle cures in some cases and little or no effect in others.

It can be seen from the preceding comments that self-hypnosis and induced hypnosis both have advantages and disadvantages relative to one another. Self-hypnosis takes place voluntarily, and puts the subject firmly in control. However, the process of trance induction may be difficult for the subject to control with the necessary degree of precision. Induced hypnosis has the advantage of an operator who retains consciousness and knows what to do in order to heal or make a beneficial suggestion, but this also gives the hypnotist a great deal of responsibility. Hypnotic trances may be difficult or impossible to induce in certain subjects, and care must be taken lest suggestions prove ineffective or, worse, harmful to the subject.

Hypnosis as a whole can be further subdivided into three basic types, each of which can be either self guided or outwardly induced. These three categories may be no more than arbitrary divisions, but they may prove useful to the hypnotherapist in gaining an initial grasp of the subject. The first type of hypnosis can be called autosuggestion, or suggestive therapy. It can be effected by means of a light trance, or even by the simple method of momentary distraction. The latter method operates on the premise that when the subject’s conscious mind becomes distracted by means of a gesture or other device, an instantaneous suggestion can be implanted in the subconscious mind by means of a few words or symbols. The former method, in which the subject falls into a light trance, tends to blend into the second type of hypnosis: conditioned response therapy. The “conditioned response” refers to a posthypnotic suggestion implanted in the subject’s subconscious or unconscious mind. A suggestion can change the behavior of the subject after the hypnotic session has ended. This second type of hypnosis can also alter the perception of more suggestible subjects, causing them to see the world in a different and hopefully more adaptive way. The third type of hypnosis might be called meditative hypnotherapy or guided visualization. This type of hypnotherapy actually accomplishes the same ends sought by the first two types, but has the advantages of being easier to control and of bringing the subject into a deep trance with a minimum of effort. Meditative hypnotherapy may allow the self-hypnotist to control the trance induction process and to choose the level of trance induced. Guided visualization or path working can also lead the subject to an awakening of previously dormant parts of the mind where creativity and psychic potentials can be brought into the light of conscious awareness. A skilled psychic or trained hypnotist can guide the subject through healing sessions and make suggestions at different levels of consciousness. Solo path working often involves the use of an audio tape, but can be accomplished just as effectively with the help of persistent practice.

Course Continued…

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