The Hypnosis SCAM
By Rene A. Bastarache, CI
Misunderstanding what’s going on or how something works can create fear and hypnosis is one of the most misunderstood topics around. When people are afraid of something they tend to try to push it away or separate themselves from it by calling it a SCAM or other names that are even worse rather than trying to understand it.
If you find yourself in this category and would like to eliminate your fear and find something that works better than you could have ever imagined at the same time then be brave and read on.
The years of negative and mysterious stigma created around hypnosis especially by the media can sometimes scare people away from a treatment that should have been their first resort for change. Instead I‘ve found that by the time people come to my office to be hypnotized for a problem they’ve usually tried “everything” else making hypnosis their last resort. Not only is this unfortunate but it’s also a huge loss for the client in time and income on unsuccessful treatments before finding what finally works.
Let’s get right down to the point and lay out the FACTS. Hypnosis is not scary, dangerous or even mysterious. It’s something very straight forward that simply works. One of the easiest ways to explain it is that hypnosis is just following suggestions and using your imagination. If you look at it that way you’ll see that you’ve been hypnotized just about every day for your entire life without even knowing it.
That’s right, you’re following suggestion and using your imagination most of your waking hours. In fact if you’re reading this article then you’re in a light form of hypnosis right now according to my definition. As I’m giving you the suggestions of what hypnosis is you’re imagining in your mind what that means to you. If you accept what I’m saying then you’ve accepted my suggestions and I’ve succeeded. If you don’t and suggest to yourself the opposite of what I’m saying and believe that instead then you’ve given yourself a “counter-suggestion” but you’re still following a suggestion; so I’ve succeeded again.
See how simple that was? You weren’t under my powers, a trance, or seeing laser beams coming out of my eyes. It’s just hearing suggestions and imagining what they mean to you. There’s nothing scary about that; right? It happens with your eyes open or closed or if your relaxed or not.
The advantage is that when you do things with hypnosis such as quitting smoking, losing weight or changing other habits you’re doing them relaxed and through you subconscious mind where changes are made. You’re creating habits of the positive traits you’d like to have. There’s much less resistance to change and it’s an easier transition. The conscious mind as you may know is very negative and resists change. It’s a creature of habit which is why it’s so hard to change using physical means such as talking, reasoning or rationalizing. Your conscious mind simply resists, resists, resists.
The subconscious mind however which is the part of the mind where you’re using your imagination is positive and accepting. That’s why it’s so much more successful in helping you to change. Anything you want to do in fact from changing a behavior or developing a new trait can be done better with your imagination helping or the use of hypnosis which is one and the same.
Now the fear is hopefully gone and you realize that hypnosis is NOT a Scam. It’s a straightforward, powerful and simple tool for positive change. You can let the Boogie-man go and try it for yourself. If you’d like to know more about hypnosis you can download or free 446 page Clinical Hypnosis Manual from the sidebar of this blog, review our many web pages or contact your local Hypnosis Practitioner.
Feel free to use this article if you’d like to share it with your friends, family or clients. To your success!