It’s no secret that being a relaxed twenty first century citizen is no easy task. Even before the new millennium had arrived, we were being primed for gut wrenching catastrophe. The year 2000 or Y2K, according to the “experts” was going to unleash all sorts of calamitous consequences. Our bank computers were going to erase all records of our savings and planes were going to fall from the skies as air traffic screens went blank. So many Armageddon-like predictions were made and thankfully those predictions didn’t come to fruition. And if you compound those contrived predictions with actual events such as 9/11, the near bursting of the financial bubble or climate change and other real worries, you can become stressed to the breaking point. This is why we are a nation on mood altering medications.
The cumulative effects from the repeated exposure to all of these predicted and real life events are quite detrimental to the human psyche. As we are hard wired to react to those things we perceive to be threatening through the “flight or fight” mechanism, we imprint the feelings deeply within us and this often results in chronic anxiety, an undercurrent of fear and also the physical expressions of these stressors. This negativity may show up as back problems, high blood pressure, headaches, poor sleep, panic attacks or even serious illness. Therefore, we must find powerful and effective strategies and processes to rebalance our minds, our bodies and our emotions.
That is where hypnosis comes in. Hypnosis is a naturally occurring state that we enter into on our own on a very regular basis. We go into trance day in and day out because our minds need to conserve energy. As intense thinking, analyzing or planning consumes a good deal of our energy, our minds often slip into daydreaming, a form of hypnotic trance to lower fuel consumption and give the brain a rest. All well designed systems do this just as a car idles to lessen its use of gas and our computers may enter hibernation mode to lessen power usage when not being used. Our brains and bodies are infinitely more complex than those mechanisms, and so nature has provided us with this ability to downshift too.
We organically slip into a state that involves less thinking. When we slip away from the critical filter of analytical thought our minds become more suggestible. I like the analogy that the mind is like a computer in the sense that the conscious, analytical mind serves as the program of the computer to structure thought like a Word perfect or Excel spreadsheet and puts information into all the right places. Everything is supposed to make sense there. But the subconscious mind acts like a hard drive, storing information, feelings and habits. No logical structure there. Often those parts conflict and produce tension within. Fears and anxious feelings may arise from deep within and express themselves in the conscious thought.
When you are hypnotized, the conscious mind quiets down and then the hard drive can absorb ideas and suggestions that conform to the individual’s aspirations and belief system. Because that deeper part now has new information stored deep within, it will send better feelings to your conscious mind. It is important to emphasize that the mind will only accept suggestions that conform to the individual’s beliefs, so you cannot be made to do anything that runs contrary to those beliefs.
Even if you just go into hypnosis and aren’t given any suggestions, you will feel wonderfully refreshed afterwards. To continue with the computer metaphor, the very experience of being hypnotized essentially removes the old clutter stored on the hard drive. In other words, you feel calmer and quieter inside after the experience. Your mind will be able to focus better mentally, the chatter within subsides and you become less emotionally reactive to aggravation or fear. For many, the effects are long lasting. The body relaxes and can function better as stress hormones recede.
Now couple the powers of hypnosis with the therapeutic and soothing benefits of massage. Here the body relaxes the mind. And yet massage is amazing in a very similar way. With a professional massage you may have gone into trance. The massage therefore preps your mind for the hypnosis. The massage process also helps break down muscle inhibiting enzymes and flushes toxins from your body. Beyond that, Swedish massage for example, and other slow stroking movements are thought to have a sedating effect leading to activation of the parasympathetic nervous system. So imagine how powerful the synergistic effects are when these two forces meet. Imagine getting a profoundly relaxing massage followed by a subconscious-motivating hypnosis session. Think about liberating yourself from stress, fear or an unhealthy habit.
Submitted by Bob Pargament, CH. Bob is the owner of The Westchester Hypnosis Center based in Harrison, NY and conducts sessions at Ridgefield’s Move2Wellness, 203-403-2522. www.hypnosiswestchester.com, 800-675-7583