We live in exciting times! The mind-body connection is being more and more accepted by individuals and various fields of Science. There is so much incredible research on the power of meditation and Hypnosis is often likened to states one can reach in deep meditation.
Much of the research offered in mindfulness and meditation practices can be connected to hypnosis as well. Hypnosis however does not need to ride on the coat tails of meditation or mindfulness research as currently it is beginning to find its position in the healing arts and healing sciences worlds.
You may be surprised to know that hypnosis has been practiced in the west for over 300 years. Recently it has gained popularity due to its powerful and immensely effective results. Presently, it is rapidly gaining credibility due to research conducted by reputable researchers, neuroscientists, universities and other institutions.
One thing we know for sure is that during hypnosis our brain rhythms get slower. The thinking mind generally uses much faster brain waves called beta brain waves. This is your conscious mind, where you try and try to change. What hypnosis helps us do is to get below the rapid brainwaves of the thinking mind and into the deeper brainwaves where we find the insight and intuition areas of the brain awakened.
I recently did a session with my partner with the MUSE, a dry EEG (brainwave reading device). As you can see in the picture below, right away his thinking mind drops down into the deep brain waves.
And just like a husband would, moments later he fell asleep on me! What do you expect? Fine. From there I gently guided him out of the sleep and continued the session.
As you can see while he was awake but still under hypnosis, he once again quickly entered the hypnotic brain waves zone. This is the magic place!!! This is where one takes on life changing and life affirming suggestions that the hypnotist carefully plans and strategizes to transform your life!
Dr. Jensen, a prominent hypnosis researcher, suggests that theta and alpha waves (slow brainwaves) may be the ticket to pain relief. This can be true when we’re actually feeling pain in the moment. As to be expected, this pain usually goes hand in hand with anxiety and stress. So, if hypnosis can cause slower one’s brain waves, those waves may replace the faster thinking mind patterns and thus replace the perception of pain in real-time! How amazing is that? A lot of research is being done on hypnosis’ power to reduce chronic pain, help patients with cancer and other debilitating illnesses to cope with pain and to have a better experience with life in general.
Now, let’s meet David Spiegal, he’s the Associate Chair of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, Director of the Center on Stress and Health, in addition to the Medical Director of the Center for Integrative Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine. He recently presented to the Dalai Lama himself, the benefits of hypnosis, especially it’s ability to relieve pain. His holiness was very impressed indeed!
He mentions in his interview with Time Magazine, in his experience that hypnosis was highly affective in helping people stop smoking. To learn more about all this 40 years of research with hypnosis you can do so here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0JxV6fB2Ghs
Hypnosis is a well-studied and legitimate form of adjunct treatment for conditions ranging from obesity and pain after surgery to anxiety and stress. In some cases a single session can be life transformative, in other cases, some other therapeutic support helps bring a person back to balance.
A recent Time magazine article has this to say about Hypnosis:
“In terms of weight loss, some of Kirsch’s research has found that, compared to people undergoing cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT)—one of the most evidence-backed non-drug treatments for weight loss, depression and many other conditions—those who undergo cognitive behavior therapy coupled with hypnosis tend to lose significantly more weight. After four to six months, those undergoing CBT+hypnosis dropped more than 20 pounds, while those who just did CBT lost about half that amount. The hypnosis group also maintained that weight loss during an 18-month follow-up period, while the CBT-only group tended to regain some weight.
Apart from aiding weight loss, there is “substantial research evidence” that hypnosis can effectively reduce physical pain, says Len Milling, a clinical psychologist and professor of psychology at the University of Hartford.
The implications for health were investigated in a third study in patients with virulent and chronic herpes simplex virus-2 HSV-2). Six weeks of training almost halved recurrence, improved mood and reduced levels of clinical depression and anxiety. Immune functions were up-regulated, notably functional natural killer cell activity to HSV-1. Individual differences in hypnotic susceptibility and absorption have typically been found to predict efficacy “
Another useful analogy to help understand hypnosis is that it’s like using a telephoto lens. Imagine that you hone into one specific issue and the rest of the picture fades away. With the one-pointed focus you and your hypnotist can get to root of many obstacles you could be facing in life. You can see hypnosis as a kind of guided mediation. Another analogy could be that you shut off everything on the computer, but the basic functioning, the basic code of the computer you have access too and now you have the power to rewrite some of your own coding.
Some people wonder if they will lose control in a hypnosis session. Actually it’s quite the opposite, it will help you enhance control over your won mind and body. Instead of letting anxiety, stress, fears, or other negatives states run your life, hypnosis helps the receiver have more control over their own thoughts and perceptions of there world.
Lastly, let’s not forget about the huge wide world of neuroplasticity. A world renowned neuroscientist Dr. Joe Dispenza, has a great talk about this subject. The power of neuroplasticity, the power of the brain to change itself, truly holds the key to the power of hypnosis.
All of your thoughts and actions are causing neurons to communicate with one another and the more you repeat those thoughts and actions, the more the neurons talk to each other. Eventually they’ll create a NEW synaptic network! Take a moment to let that in. You can actually, over time, create new structures in your brain that support different thoughts and actions. WOW! So this is the reason that in hypnosis we repeat suggestions over and over and over again. We are helping your brain create new permanent pathways so that the habits you wants to change can be changed for good!
