What’s Hypnosis? The key to Unlocking the Past (and Your Future).

Vancouver Hypnosis and Hypnotherapist Trainer Leslie McIntosh looks at the key to unlocking the past (and your future!)

Clinical Hypnotherapy has become a very popular way to make changes because it is quick to bypass the conscious and critical minds and can either deliver a new “picture or story” to the subconscious or can get to the root cause of a person’s issues- bringing permanent healing- or both.

Is it Magic?

Magic is the word that a lot of people use when they think about Hypnosis. When they see someone being hypnotized on Screen Shot 2014 09 10 at 11.35.43 AM 300×238 Whats Hypnosis? The key to unlocking the past (and your future).television, it is always appears surrounded by mystery, trickery and magic. It seems the person being hypnotized does not know what they are doing. In fact, it appears as though the Hypnotist is totally in control and has that poor hapless victim in some sort of state of doing anything they want them to do. That, folks, is entertainment. It doesn’t work that way in real life.

Hypnosis is something which really doesn’t have any mystery attached to it. It is a controlled science of the mind. It is a way to help the mind go into a natural state of relaxation normal to us in our day to day life. When a client is hypnotized by a Hypnotherapist who is well trained, her experience will feel like a lovely deep relaxation. That is exactly what it is- relaxation of the mind, which in turn can be used to relax the body as well. It is a method of finding a neutral place where our conscious and subconscious minds are simultaneously hearing and accepting the same message.

Natural Hypnosis

It is the way to allow ourselves the natural state that we enter so often each day on our own. Hypnosis is a state of knowing and awareness at a deep level, and yet, such relaxation that we don’t dwell on or pay attention to those things we are aware of.
Watch your children and see how often they go into that state in a day. Eyes open but bodies still.

An example of a time you naturally drift into this state may be a time such as when you are driving down the road, focussed on a situation or problem in your life, and you suddenly realize you have travelled a mile or two further than you thought you had because you were not aware of how much time had passed or how far you had driven.

The day I travelled through the Massey tunnel to Vancouver, and didn’t remember doing so was the day this really hit home for me. Although I knew it happened sometimes when I didn’t remember passing the gas station on the corner, or the library on the way home, I really became aware of how “out of it” we can get in this state when I drove through the tunnel without being aware of it. Driving through this route is something requiring focus and caution all on its own! But for me, who actually hit something lying on the road in the tunnel once and got two flat tires, to be so “out of it” was a shocker. I was flabbergasted by my total lack of awareness when I realized I had not only passed through the tunnel but I was miles further down the highway.
Was I aware of driving? Absolutely. Was I driving carefully? Certainly. But was I aware, at a conscious level, of doing it? Not at all. This is just one example of how we can be in a state of natural hypnosis as we go through the day.
Consider television. How often do you find yourself completely glued to a commercial? With the same numb focus you had during the television program you were watching, you may find yourself still in that state and absorbing the commercial the same way you absorbed the television program- in an altered state of awareness even though you knew you were watching television. You just didn’t realize at a conscious level that the program had ended and you were now soaking up the commercial. The television show and the commercial have put you into Hypnosis – but because it is natural state, you might call it daydreaming, or focus. In fact, it is simply a deep relaxation of the mind.

How can the Hypnotherapist help me and what can I do to help?

Nurtured is what you will feel when you are with a good Hypnotherapist, because putting your best interest first is what he or she has learned to do. They will help you, the client, achieve what you wish to achieve, with no judgement, no analysis and no diagnosis. This nurturing comes in the form of taking care of you from the minute you walk in the door. When you walk into an Ht’s (Hypnotherapist’s) office, it should be evident from the first moment that they will take care of you. Not baby you, not do whatever you want, not listen to your ramblings about what you think is wrong, but to get you into hypnosis and to find out from your subconscious mind what is actually causing your symptom, or condition, or situation, or problem.

Because of the respect and care they will give to you, you will be encouraged to let the Ht help you to use your imagination. That wonderful imagination that we all have and yet some of us don’t realize we have. The wonderful exciting feeling that comes from letting your most wonderful thoughts and dreams become a reality in your mind is second to none. Hypnosis is fun! And empowering!

When you are in hypnosis, you are enjoying the ability to make any changes you wish to make in life and your imagination is the key to doing that. You can make those changes because the subconscious mind cannot tell the difference between what we can imagine and what actually happened. Whether you are improving your golf swing by imagining you have the most perfect swing on the course, or whether you are re-writing the story of a childhood memory, your subconscious mind will accept whatever you can imagine-as long as you are in an altered state such as Hypnosis.

You don’t have to be able to visualize. You have many other senses that you use when you close your eyes and imagine. You have taste, sense of smell, ability to feel textures, feel temperatures, sensations, emotional feelings, and more. They are all a key part of your imagination and of creating change during hypnosis.

Try This:

Do this exercise at home: close your eyes when you are in a nice calm, safe place, and begin to pretend. Whether you pretend you are a knight on a white steed, or the princess in the tower, just let your imagination flow. You may be surprised at what you will “see”, or “sense”, or “pretend you see or sense”. Just getting the flow of imagination started will lead to a fun, few moments.
The wonderful altered state of hypnosis – a state of relaxation, combined with the use of our imagination- is a natural way to be. One we go in and out of it all day long. Hypnosis simply empowers you to use that natural ability to make positive changes in your life.

How do we get into that relaxed state with a Hypnotherapist?

The task of your Ht is to move you from your present “state” or “speed of brain wave”, to a much slower brain wave or “altered state”. There are many ways the Ht will do this. The foremost ingredient for Hypnosis is focus. Using focus, sound, touch, words, and various combinations of these things, the Ht will confuse the conscious and critical minds into standing down and becoming observers rather than protectors. They may hear everything, and even run a subliminal critique at the same time, but the important thing is that they are not impeding the flow of information to the subconscious. The Ht, with your cooperation, opens a clear pathway into the deepest parts of your subconscious mind- an open doorway to that amazing limitless knowledge residing at the very core of your mind.

At this juncture, I would like to assure that you will know exactly what you are doing and saying in Hypnosis. You can refuse to tell your Ht things. You can lie in Hypnosis. You can leave parts of your story out. But if you wish to find the very best solution to your problem, you are better to find an Ht you trust so you don’t feel you have to do any of those things and you will find yourself empowered to make whatever change or changes you wish to make.

Is it safe?

Hypnosis is completely safe when used by a properly trained Ht who has your best interests in mind. You may hear me use the term “well-trained” often. I am very passionate about this – for good reason. Hypnosis is no more dangerous than a hot red sports car. The safety of the passengers depends totally upon the driver. I recommend a well-trained driver for your trip into your subconscious mind.

The foregoing is an excerpt from Leslie McIntosh’s recent book entitled “Your Soul – Past, Present and Future”. To learn more about how to make permanent changes in your life with Hypnosis, you can purchase the book online at http://www.friesenpress.com/bookstore/title/119734000014893809/Leslie-McIntosh-Your-Soul—Past%2C-Present-and-Future

Leslie is Dean of Education at Coastal Academy of Hypnotic Arts and Science, serving students from across Canada from cities like Edmonton, Vancouver and Surrey, as well as international Students from around the world. Online Hypnosis Training will soon also be available to enable interested individuals to learn more about the thought provoking world of Hypnosis and Hypnotherapy.