Many of us are sure that we have only heard about the phenomenon of “instant hypnosis.” You will be shocked to know that you are exposed to it almost daily. Moreover, sometimes you yourself apply it in practice, but intuitively, on an unconscious level.
This book will allow you to learn more about the amazing phenomenon of instant hypnosis and explain the mechanisms of its action. The recommendations given in the book will reveal the secret mechanisms of the functioning of human consciousness. You will receive a powerful tool for self-development, learn to enter trance states when you need it, and protect yourself from energetic influences that are aimed at suppressing your psyche.
How does hypnosis work?
Hypnosis is a temporary state of consciousness, characterized by a narrowing of its volume and a sharp focus on the content of suggestion.
Occurs as a result of special actions of the hypnotist or targeted self-hypnosis. In this state, the functions of individual control and self-awareness change. It is not known exactly what the nature of hypnosis is, how and why it appeared. There are hypotheses that this is a natural state of the animal brain. It allows you to temporarily become numb, pretend to be dead, but remain awake - control the environment and monitor the situation.
Since most predators are guided by the movements of their prey, animals that can pretend to be frozen carcasses in case of danger have a better chance of survival. Therefore, evolution preserves this mechanism, including in humans - albeit in a slightly different form.
“Apparently, hypnosis is a natural phenomenon developed during the evolutionary process for situations when, in difficult conditions, the organism is resubordinated to a more experienced fellow tribesman or even a potential predator for an automated, more advantageous adaptation to the environment that does not require the construction of cunning plans. External influences during hypnosis have a depressing effect on the functional state of the cerebral cortex. This creates conditions for direct influence on a person, that is, without his conscious control. A person in a hypnotic state becomes a kind of avatar for executing external instructions,” explains Alexander Kaplan, Doctor of Biological Sciences, head of the Laboratory of Neurophysiology and Brain-Computer Interfaces at the Faculty of Biology of Moscow State University. M. V. Lomonosov.
It is known that in a state of hypnosis, activity in three areas changes. Researchers at Stanford University studied the brain activity of people under hypnosis using MRI and this is what they saw:
- Connectivity between the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the insula of Reille increased. This means that under hypnosis the brain better controls the internal state of the body.
- In contrast, the connection between the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the passive mode network weakened. Therefore, a person under hypnosis cannot control his actions.
- Activity in the salient network of the brain decreased. This system is responsible for the perception of external stimuli - that is, under hypnosis a person does not worry about anything and feels less pain.
The first to test hypnotherapy in a clinical setting in the 19th century was the neurologist Hippolyte Bernheim. He believed that approximately 80% of people are suggestible. Modern scientists agree with this opinion. They classify 10% of people as “especially suggestible”. It is believed that children aged 7–14 years are most hypnotizable; patients who have suffered a traumatic brain injury; people suffering from alcoholism or hysterical neurosis.
Suggestibility increases during collective hypnosis sessions. This occurs due to the participants inducing each other. The most striking example is the visiting sessions of pop hypnotists and the hysterical dances of sectarians.
“Usually the content of the suggestion formula is used in medicine as a therapeutic effect to activate the internal resources of the body, as well as to reconstruct memories with the removal of traumatic events from them. However, often a person can be put into a hypnotic state for criminal purposes against his will. To prevent such a hypnotic effect, a person must have some kind of “antidote”, which must be used immediately. In particular, do not allow a suspicious interlocutor to conduct a continuous monologue, interrupt him with questions and your own judgments,” recommends Alexander Kaplan.
Description of instant suggestion
Instant hypnosis is impressive in its effectiveness. Manipulations with someone else's consciousness require:
- experience;
- constant practice;
- the ability to control your consciousness;
- skills to distinguish the states of the suggestible, recognize his desires and reactions.
It is a mistake to believe that after one or two influences it will be possible to change preferences and behavioral line. This myth arose due to a misunderstanding of the laws of mental processes. The object of submission subconsciously agrees with the influence: if the brain resists, then it will not be possible to suppress it.
Hypnosis does not allow you to control a person like a puppet, forcing him to fulfill other people's desires.
The possibilities of any hypnosis technique are colossal, but not limitless. While in a trance, the consciousness turns off and cannot perceive information critically, that is, everything that is imposed on it is accepted as one’s own beliefs.
The hypnotist can instill insensitivity to pain
Hypnosis affects people predisposed to suggestion. These are emotional individuals with a high degree of hypnotizability and a developed imagination. They obediently accept any instructions. Phlegmatic people, lacking imagination, are less susceptible to hypnosis. Instant suggestion may have a delayed effect on them or may not have an effect at all.
History of hypnosis
Hypnotherapy has been known since prehistoric times. It is even called the first of all methods of treating mental disorders. However, its scientific justification began only in the 18th century. Hypnotherapy began to be used seriously in medicine only in the last century. However, there are still regions on the planet where hypnosis is practiced not by psychotherapists, but by shamans for religious purposes - just like thousands of years ago.
Historically, the development of hypnotherapy can be divided into four stages: pre-medical, the period of temple medicine, pre-scientific and scientific.
Pre-medical stage
Cult ministers used hypnosis to strengthen people's faith in spirits and gods. He was considered something supernatural and inaccessible to mere mortals. To enter a state of trance, it was necessary to be in communication with the deities. Priests and shamans became intermediaries between the world of people and the world of higher beings.
Treatment through hypnosis is in the background, but is practiced, since medicine during this period itself is similar to a cult or magic. Sick people tried not so much to defeat the disease as to pray for it with sacrifices and rituals.
In the pre-medical period, hypnotherapy was used mainly to heal mental disorders that were attributed to possession or the infestation of evil spirits.
In a similar way, hypnosis is still used by African priests, South American shamans, and Indian magicians. Many cult ministers go into trance with the help of drugs and dance practices.
For example, Siberian sorcerers eat fly agarics, and dervishes quickly spin in one place. Self-hypnosis is used for religious purposes by Buddhist monks. Their way of entering trance is prayer.
Temple medicine period
Temple medicine is a form of healing that is closely associated with religion. For example, the Asclepiads, the ancient priests of the god Asclepius (Aesculapius), immersed their patients in a state of hypnosis. To do this, they used the same techniques as modern hypnotherapists: monotonous sound, fixation of gaze on shiny objects, stroking with hands.
During sleep, patients were told that Asclepius had personally visited them, asked them about their suffering and freed them from their illness. Thus, hysterical loss of hearing, vision, the ability to speak or walk, and other functional disorders were successfully treated. This was facilitated by an atmosphere of religious ecstasy and self-hypnosis.
Cases of healing were called miracles. Evidence of them is preserved in ancient literature.
Pre-scientific stage
In the Middle Ages, knowledge about hypnosis disappeared. They tried to treat the mentally ill with exorcism or simply burned them at the stake as witches and wizards. The teachings of hypnosis began to develop only in the 18th century.
The pre-scientific stage is primarily associated with mesmerism - the theory of the German physician and astrologer Franz Mesmer about animal magnetism. Now it is recognized as pseudoscientific, but then it was very popular.
Mesmer developed the ideas of Paracelsus, an alchemist and physician considered one of the founders of modern science. Mesmer believed that people emit a special magnetic energy (fluids), which allows them to establish a connection with each other.
Mesmer saw the cause of disease in the uneven distribution of fluids in the body - if you harmonize it, you can be healed. The scientist believed: the doctor’s fluids are transferred to the patient during touches with a magnet. Mesmer noticed that some patients recovered even when he simply touched them with his hand.
The doctor organized collective healing sessions - using a crystal wand to “magnetize” a large vat, around which dozens of patients stood, to calm music. At the climax, they began to cry, scream, and convulse. After that, they were taken to a separate room, where they fell asleep and, upon waking up, felt healthy.
A special medical commission in 1774 examined Mesmer's practice and stated that patients were cured of hysterical symptoms by suggestion and not by fluids. The doctor was declared a charlatan, but he still had followers.
One of them, Chaustenier de Punsegur, practiced magnetic passes in 1818 and discovered the deepest stage of hypnosis - somnambulism. He came to the conclusion that a person is immersed in this state not only as a result of touch, but also thanks to verbal orders.
Scientific stage
This period began with the research of British surgeon James Braid in the early 19th century. At a session with one of Mesmer's followers, he noticed that the patient in a state of magnetism resembled a sleeping person: he could not open his eyes or move his hand.
Braid decided to conduct an experiment on magnetization. He asked patients to fix their eyes on the neck of the bottle and think only about sleep. After a few minutes, all of Braid's subjects entered a state that he called hypnosis. The term itself was coined by one of the fans of mesmerism around 1820.
After Braid's death in 1860, researchers tried to scientifically substantiate hypnosis: hundreds of experiments were conducted in clinics. The phenomenon was studied by psychiatrist and teacher of Sigmund Freud Jean Charcot, neurologist Hippolyte Bernheim, doctor Ambroise Liebeault and others.
In Russia, the physiologist Vasily Danilevsky was involved in experimental hypnosis, and the benefits of hypnosis for medicinal purposes were proved by the psychiatrist Ardalion Tokarsky. In the 1890s, he first began teaching a course in hypnotherapy at Moscow University.
In the 20th century, scientists recognized hypnosis as an independent clinical, psychotherapeutic and experimental field of research.
Team Construction
Now we will talk about how to properly construct teams. There are several basic rules.
A simple phrase
It is advisable that the phrase be simple - without any complex sentences: do it, go, you are confident in yourself, you feel good.
Action or evaluation
Commands concern either specific actions:
- take out the trash;
- do your homework;
- feel confident;
- Relax;
- call tomorrow.
Or rating changes:
- you are successful;
- you like to study;
- you are diligent;
- I like to run in the morning (for self-hypnosis);
- it's easy to do.
Unambiguous interpretation
It is desirable that the phrase has only one meaning.
For example, the phrase “start a project” has at least two meanings: start a project and abandon a project.
Also, use only phrases with a direct meaning, and not idiomatic expressions, such as “bury talent in the ground”, “play the first violin”, “separate the wheat from the chaff”.
Examples of successful commands:
- I'm confident.
- I easily remember new foreign words.
- Call me tomorrow.
- Sign the contract.
- You like to run in the morning.
- You relax.
- It's easy for you to concentrate.
- You are recovering quickly.
- The pain goes away.
Exercise “Constructing Teams”
Come up with 3-4 commands for each of the stated problems/tasks:
- I regularly plan to go to bed early, but stay up late at the computer.
- A teenager is afraid of taking exams.
- My husband forgets to take out the trash.
- I can't bring myself to run in the morning.
- It is difficult to remember foreign words.
Please note that the same problem can be solved in different ways. Firstly, it is advisable to find out what exactly prevents a person from doing what he wants. For example, “it is difficult to remember foreign words” may be because:
- A person lacks the motivation to repeat them.
- He keeps putting off his classes.
- He doesn't remember well.
- He is inattentive during class and is distracted all the time.
- He doesn't like learning this language.
- And so on.
Accordingly, the teams will be different.
Secondly, you can give commands both for action and for changing the assessment.
— You are able to quickly learn new French words.
— You like to learn new French words.
Methods of hypnotization
The most common method of putting a person to sleep is directive. Classical hypnosis is based on it. There are about a hundred hypnotization techniques in total. Conventionally, they can be divided into three groups depending on which sense organs they affect: visual, auditory, skin. Here are the most common ones.
Verbal method of hypnotization. Usually a sound source is placed in a dark room - for example, a metronome. The patient lies down and listens to him. After 10–15 minutes, the therapist begins to use words to instill muscle and mental relaxation in the person. He speaks quietly and monotonously, makes pauses - during them the metronome continues to work.
Fascination method (from Latin fascinare - “to captivate with a glance”). The therapist sits the patient on a chair or sofa 30–50 centimeters away from him and asks him to look into his eyes without blinking. Then he takes the person by the shoulders, slowly rocks him back and forth, looks intently at the bridge of the patient’s nose and induces sleep with words.
Fixation method. The therapist asks the patient to stare at some object, usually shiny, and think about the dream. At the same time, it instills in him the desire to sleep. Long concentration and immobility of gaze cause nervous fatigue, the person falls asleep. This technique is loved by pop hypnotists.
Pass method. The patient is placed on a couch or sofa. For 15–20 minutes, the therapist runs warm hands from his head to his feet, touching his face, neck and chest. The hypnotherapist's movements are leisurely, their speed is the same. Over time, even without verbal suggestion, the patient falls asleep.
Characteristics and Signs
The result of the impact on a person’s consciousness depends on the degree of suggestibility of the individual. Any type of communication can be equated to suggestion, but its main type is hypnosis.
The main characteristics of hidden hypnotic influence are the following methods:
- Manipulation of the psyche through influencing the victim’s inherent stereotypes by creating a sense of guilt, using human weaknesses.
- Harmless but unethical methods of neurolinguistic programming that work on the basis of human communication abilities.
- The use of criminal hypnosis is accompanied by a loss of clear control over the mind, which is necessary to stimulate illegal actions.
- The zombie technique is used by sectarians to recruit by immersing new members in an environment of caring love, which turns into complete dependence.
People with a weakened psyche, those under the influence of alcohol or drugs, or the mentally ill are best susceptible to hypnotic influence.
Hypnotic suggestion can be positive or negative, and the hidden influence is recognized by the following signs:
- copying gestures, communication style, breathing rhythm of the interlocutor;
- feeling of awkwardness, guilt, impatience in making decisions;
- excessive fussiness and activity with involvement in one’s problems;
- unnatural behavior with excessive gesturing and shifting gaze.
A person under the influence of hypnosis is overcome by pleasant fatigue, he is subject to sudden drowsiness, and there is no clear thinking. Externally, the hypnotic effect of the suggurant is manifested by a fixed gaze, dilated pupils, an unnatural posture, and slight redness of the face.
To protect against such suggestion, it is necessary to train willpower to ensure maximum resistance of the subconscious under extreme circumstances.
Models of therapy
- Hypnosuggestive programming
The therapist programs the patient under hypnosis for certain behavior, well-being and reactions. For example: “From this day on, you are calm and balanced, no matter what happens around you. Nothing can make you angry." This way a person can get rid of excessive irritability or temper.
- Hypnosuggestive modeling
The therapist instills in the patient an imaginary positive experience. He can slightly adjust a person’s biography to reduce the impact of previously suffered mental trauma.
For example, sex therapist and psychotherapist Garnik Kocharyan used this technique to help a 38-year-old woman who was raped as a teenager. At the age of 16, she dated a young man, and one day he took her to the forest on a motorcycle, where he and his friends abused her.
During hypnosuggestive modeling, the patient experienced an alternative history. The specialist suggested to her that shortly before the traumatic event she began to lose interest in her boyfriend. On the day of the rape, she refused to go with him, citing housework. After this, the girl allegedly saw the young man only a couple of times from afar. There was no abuse of her.
- Hypnocatharsis
The therapist guides the patient under hypnosis through a traumatic situation from the past: the death of a loved one, a fire, an attack. It is believed that with the help of this technique it is possible to release unreacted pathogenic energy, which feeds painful symptoms.
- Age regression and progression
During a regression session, the therapist takes the patient back to childhood. Seeing oneself as small from the outside, a person can discover the cause of his psychological problems. This technique is useful for subsequent diagnosis and development of a treatment plan.
For example, it is used by the main character of the mystical detective series “Insomnia” from the PREMIER online cinema - hypnotherapist Yuri Stahl (Gosha Kutsenko). Colleagues tell him about the competitive swimmer Alena Smirnova, who suddenly developed a panicky fear of water. If the problem is not solved, the successful career of the champion can be given up.
Yuri conducts a session with Alena. Before immersing herself in hypnosis, the athlete reports that she seems to be falling through when she swims: everything around her becomes black, and the girl is afraid that this darkness will swallow her up.
Stahl invites Smirnova to go back in time; he convinces her that she is in the elevator. “You walk in, you see a panel with buttons, one of them lights up. Press it, the elevator will take you to where you first experienced your fear,” Yuri says insinuatingly.
Under hypnosis, Alena pronounces a phrase that becomes the key to her recovery and helps reveal a family secret.
Progression, on the contrary, allows the patient to see himself in the future and find out what he will be like, say, in ten years. The practice is effective for treating addictions. For example, a person can imagine what his lungs will look like in 2030 or how much money he will save on travel if he stops smoking today.
Hidden command method
In everyday communication, a person consciously or unconsciously emphasizes the words that are most important to him. Experienced speakers and pleasant interlocutors can skillfully place such semantic and emotional accents through pauses, gestures, changes in intonation, etc.
Usually people on a conscious level simply do not pay attention to this. However, their subconscious can be “deceived” in the right direction
You just need to highlight the desired phrase in your speech in one way or another.
If a young man invites a girl to a cafe, he might say something like this: “I really like this cafe. It’s so cozy, there’s a calming atmosphere, you can relax and think only about good things.” The last part of the phrase is pronounced with a changed intonation, so the girl forms a command on a subconscious level: think only about good things.
Another example. After a quarrel that just happened, a young man can say to a girl: “Right now we’re all on edge. We’ll talk when you calm down and cool down.” That is, he programs the girl to calm down and cool down.
Hidden influence must have two levels of perception. You cannot combine the conscious and subconscious, otherwise there will be only one level, the conscious, which does not work. That is, the call must be implicit. It must be present in a hidden form, veiled within the semantic content that affects consciousness.
For hidden commands to work, they need to be highlighted in one way or another.
All other information should be just a frame for the commands. It is better to pronounce minor phrases monotonously, ordinarily. As an option, a short pause before and after the key phrase.
If you need to motivate a person directly to perform some action, it is recommended to select word forms in the imperative mood, skillfully veiling them in speech.
What does hypnotherapy treat?
Hypnotherapy helps patients with post-traumatic stress and sexual disorders, phobias, and increased anxiety. It can effectively treat alcohol, nicotine and food addictions. This method is commonly known as encoding.
With the help of hypnosis, one can control pain, prepare a person for surgery, and program one to achieve high results in sports.
The success of hypnotherapy largely depends on the patient's motivation. He must trust the doctor and have a passionate desire to avoid or achieve something.
Hypnotherapy does not cure cancer, AIDS or Covid. If a hypnotist offers such services, he is a charlatan.
Forms
Remember, in the article about alpha visualization, I talked about the fact that our thoughts are in fact material, and that the brain is capable of emitting impulses of various frequencies? So, in order to inspire something with the power of thought to another person, you do not have to be a magician or wizard; having been born with such a gift, you should apply effort and patience to develop these abilities in yourself through constant practice. So there is nothing supernatural about this, you just have to figure out how it works and what methods exist.
There are two forms of suggestion:
- sensory - that is, when sensations and feelings arise in the nervous system of another person that you deliberately tried to convey.
- Mental - respectively, ideas and beliefs that he accepts as his own. Sometimes images and sounds may form.
Learning telehypnosis is more difficult than regular hypnosis, but it has a huge advantage - the person you are trying to influence from a distance will not be able to resist you, since he will not even know what you are doing now. Although mastering the methods of conventional hypnosis will only play into your hands. You can read more in detail in my article about the basics of hypnosis.
Risks of Hypnotherapy
The main risk is running into scammers, sectarians or criminal hypnotists. No one is immune from this, but vigilance and common sense will help avoid problems.
There is no need to be afraid of complications during a hypnotherapy session. They may arise, but a competent specialist knows what to do in unforeseen situations. They are mainly associated with the loss of rapport - the connection between the hypnotist and the patient. As a result of this, hypnotic sleep, for example, can turn into natural sleep.
In severe cases, a patient with certain hysterical characteristics may experience spontaneous somnambulism. In this state, a person walks in his sleep, communicates with imaginary people, does not recognize the therapist, mistaking him for someone else. Sometimes during a session of regressive hypnosis or hypnocatharsis, the patient may become ill due to negative experiences.
Therapists are taught to respond correctly to such difficulties and mitigate their own risks. The doctor may be slandered: for example, accused of rape under hypnosis. Sometimes this happens because patients (often with sexual disorders) fall in love with the specialist and begin to experience erotic feelings towards him.
The Power of Social Proof
By nature, 95% of people are imitators, and only 5% are initiators. Many of us are sure that if the people around us do the same thing, share the same views, then they probably know something that we don’t know.
Just imagine the scope for all sorts of manipulations this “small” delusion opens up...
Even in ancient times, hunters learned to get large prey by driving wild herds to steep cliffs. The racing animals looked at the individuals running nearby, pushed those running in front, and as a result the entire herd became food.
Do you know where the term “scapegoat” originated? At meat processing plants! This is the name of an animal that is specially trained to lure herds into the slaughterhouse.
By the way, in this regard, there is not much difference between the psychology of animals and people.
Beggars put a few bills in their hats, supposedly already thrown by other people, and encourage you to follow their example.
Realtors warm up potential clients by telling them that a similar apartment in the next entrance did not “stand” even for a day - it was immediately bought by a very respectable person...
Success
“I am an adult and mature person. Positive changes strengthen me. I accept changes easily. I easily transform negativity into positive action. My success brings me joy and harmony. I approve of my actions and myself. It's normal when I'm predictable or unpredictable; after all, I'm human.
I'm strong. I like to take responsibility for myself. I am responsible for my happiness and my achievements. I love my job. My work is my game. My game is my work. I'm rich.
I deserve to have what I want. I do everything easily and harmoniously finish what I start. I am making my dreams come true. Life has been good to me. I'm rich".
Areas of application
Hypnotherapy is used in the treatment of neuroses, phobias, psychosomatic diseases, neuroses, as well as to overcome communication difficulties, improve concentration and memory, and introduce attitudes towards new sporting achievements. Suggestion techniques are used in political propaganda, advertising of goods and services, religious sects and military organizations. The classical technique of trance induction is necessary for the treatment of hysterical paralysis, stuttering as a result of fright, alcohol and drug addiction. In mild cases, non-directive methods of regressive, Ericksonian or generative hypnosis are usually used, since they are easy and safe.
Positive emotions
“I breathe light into any real or perceived frustration or negativity I may have had in the past... I let it go. I am filled with peace. I am a worthy, calm and protected person.
My emotions flow freely. I learn from my emotions. My emotions are messages from within me. I maintain my dignity in my emotional splendor by shouting or laughing freely. My emotions flow through me easily and I always return to joy. My inner radiance comes out - and attracts others to my light.
I respect myself. I am confident and can easily express and assert my own ideas. I'm happy to be myself and to be alive."
Lose weight with inner wisdom
Your inner wisdom is a great friend when it comes to suggestions to help you lose weight: “Tap into your deepest inner wisdom, which is your true self, and say the affirmation: I am open to achieving what is good for me.
I trust my innate ability to take the right actions; With every breath I become wiser and maturer. I am an open channel of love and light. Inner wisdom, please rid me of any unwanted weight. Let me eat right. I say yes to my deepest wisdom.”
