Sensible Hypnosis.

C

Caleb

Member
I think as long as I don't be stupid with Hypnosis It should be OK.
I heard that different types of music noise can affect
happiness and sadness and moods.
Maybe I'll let some music noises hypnotise me a little
bit by listening to it and liking it to help me with stuff
like fear.

There are Christian websites that say negative stuff
about hypnosis but maybe they don't know the full
story about hypnosis.

Witchdoctors say that instrumental music can invite in
demons or drive them away.

Do you believe Physical Hypnosis and supernatural Hypnosis
is separate?
 
The biggest thing about hypnosis is the questionable value of leaving yourself wide open with no defense against any kind of outside influence. It's hard enough to love in this world with your defenses up..why would you willingly invite anything to come in and have no real recourse? I spent a decade as a druid and one of the ways you "attune" to the earth is you put yourself or have somebody else put you into a trance. YOu never know what's being put into your brain at that point. Now that i looked back to things I realized how terrifying that should have been...and how dangerous it truly is now.
 
Caleb, are you talking about hypnosis or simply listening to music while you sleep? I would imagine the two are very different: hypnosis is intentional and active while listening to music during sleep, while often intentional, is passive.
 
Some of my friends and I used to do a quasi-hypnosis at parties when we were in high school. Basically, one person would fall into a semi-unconscious state. They'd be living in a dream and we'd ask them questions and they'd give silly responses. It was always a lot of fun, and from what I saw, not harmful at all.

That doesn't mean there aren't kinds of hypnosis that can be harmful.
 
What needs to be kept in mind is that if someone does not want to be hypnotized, they cannot be hypnotized.

If you are not calm (meaning if you are not comfortable in the situation), then the hypnotizing will not happen.

(I saw it on Mythbusters.)

Hypnotizing ≠ Sleep
 
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Odale said:
Hypnotizing ≠ Sleep
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Depends on your definition of sleep. Interactions and ramblings of your subconscious is a lot like sleep. Furthermore, after "waking up" from being hypnotized, it is common to have the person feel like having just gotten a full nights rest. It's basically REM sleep on crack.
 
tjguitarz said:
Depends on your definition of sleep. Interactions and ramblings of your subconscious is a lot like sleep. Furthermore, after "waking up" from being hypnotized, it is common to have the person feel like having just gotten a full nights rest. It's basically REM sleep on crack.
Click to expand...

Ho ho, I'm in!
 
AS a Psychologist I have a little (repeat little) experience in this area.

Hypnosis is technically just a different state of consciousness that is somewhere between sleep and wakefulness. Essentially we all experience hypnosis on a semi-regular basis especially in areas where we are occupied with task that our procedural memory (e.g. you know when you are driving and you don't remember half the journey - same brain wave patterns as hypnosis) or during states of complete absorption and relaxation (e.g. meditation).

Do you leave your self open? Well technically no, Odale is correct when he says that you can't get hypnotized if you don't want to. Nor will you do anything that you would not want to do. The concern comes in relation to the environment were hypnosis is taking place. For instance hypnosis shows (and occult stuff) are successful in getting people to do stupid things for several reasons 1) they are excellent at picking people who are both suseptable to hypnosis but are also people pleasers 2) it generally happens where expectations of the collective group (that is usually large) expect something strange will happen. 3) There is a general social acceptability to do stupid things during hypnosis that is rarely present in other places and people can unconsciously exploit that situation to throw of the chains of rational behaviour.

My advice would be:
1. Don't do it unless you feel ok with it (both emotionally and morally).
2. Only go to a registered professional (e.g. psychologist), who uses hypnosis as one of many tools and can ensure that it is relavent to your situation. As with all Psychologists don't just look at qualifications also make sure you feel comfortable and feel like you can trust the person.
3. Only go for issues you are seriously trying to change rather than just for the fun of it.
 
I am not sure about hypnosis. As someone who has traveled the New Age path and had some experience with hypnosis and meditation, I would approach it with great care. IMO, as a Christian, I think praying about a problem, trusting God and having accountability partners will help change a something in a Christian setting.

If you are dealing with a fear issue, it might be helpful to see where the issue is really coming from. Getting to the root of a problem will usually deal with problem rather effectively.

Gen
 
I'll start with saying that I'm not a professional. I've read, understand, and generally agree with the things that those above me have said. The following is just my thoughts after reading your post.

Caleb said:
I heard that different types of music noise can affect
happiness and sadness and moods.
Click to expand...

Kinda, if you let it work. The whole thing with the CDs full of birds chirping and babbling brooks is supposed to be subtle, peaceful, natural distractions from what's going on. Stuff like this should be fairly harmless. It could potentially be a great way to relieve stress, anger, worry, and fears.

If you mean music...like what you hear on the radio... then yes, it can definitely effect what you do, if you let it. If you listen to a sad song about self-destruction, low self-esteem, and hopelessness, you can more easily fall into the traps of identifying situations related to that in your own life, and believing those are all you should feel. Listen to something supportive, upbeat, positive, loving... and you'll fall more in line with those things.

Not always, but more likely. IMO, it's a subtle form of brainwashing. Why do young girls feel the need to be ridiculously thin, sexually active, and do drugs? Because that's what the magazines tell them. That's what Hollywood tells them. They get convinced that's how they need to act because that's what they see/hear. Change the message and you change the outcome.

Do you believe Physical Hypnosis and supernatural Hypnosis
is separate?
Click to expand...
Hard to tell. Jesus leads us one Way, Satan tries to lead us another way. You should be careful how you open yourself up..make sure you're picking up the right influences. You have to decide what's okay for you.
 
Aldous Huxley includes some very interesting chapters on these very topics in his book Brave New World Revisited, though from a secular viewpoint.

Huxley is best known for his book Brave New World, which imagines a world where a small power elite uses mass media and high technology to maintain control over a nation's population.

I don't agree with Huxley on all his views, but he's an excellent writer who raised very important concerns.
 
I was hypnotized 8 yrs ago to quit smoking...and I am still not smoking :)

I had smoked for 19 yrs (started when I was 16) and was about a 2 pk a day smoker and tried so many times to stop before I heard about the Smoking Cessation Hypnotism at a local Hospital.

It was in a controlled environment and it really focused on quitting and NOT picking up another cig to smoke cuz then you'd have to quit all over again, and how bad cigs are for you and how you will be revolted by smelling cig smoke and how you will be free from them for good! The time of the actual hypnosis lasted 2 hrs. but felt like 20 mins!! It really gave me the brakes I needed to not pick up another cigarette where before I was weak and gave in to temptation every time.

It was a 4 week group and the first meeting was to prepare you for the next week's visit: the hypnosis and the day you really stopped smoking (cold turkey). It was hilarious to see all of us outside smoking a few 'last' cigs before we went in to be hypnotised LoL

Then 2 weeks of group support and then you could go anywhere the other Cessation groups were being held if you needed more support after that.

I still cannot stand the smell of cigarette smoke to this day. :cool:

Do I condone hypnotism without a qualified professional? IMO no. Be careful who you leave yourself open to. I am just giving you a real life moment that happened to me and was successful because I wanted it to be and it was professionally and skillfully done. But at that time in my life, I didn't have Jesus to hang on to because I didn't know Him...

Also, The posts above me are excellent :)
 
As a side note, Im pretty sure that research on Hypnosis in clinical settings has a reasonably poor track record when used in isolation (not to say it never works but rather it may not be the best first option). If I were you I would consider tracking down someone who uses either Cognitive Behavioral Therapy or Solution Focused approach. Both, I think, are generally more aligned with Christian values in general and are thus less concerning to Christians and as a result more likely to work. I also think such approaches lead to life skills that you can apply to all sorts of issues. In other words you can come away not just with a handle on your problems but with a set of strategies that you can apply to any issue you are having (something hypnosis can not do).

For a general trial of what such a program might look like consider getting the book on Optimism by Martin Seligman and skipping to the last few chapters in the book where he describes the ABCDE procedure. Also, try signing up to www.authentichappiness.sas.upenn.edu and having a look on what is on offer.

I stress that this should just be used to see if these type of procedures sit well with you and not as a substitute for real counseling with a registered profession.
 
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