What I Thought Hypnosis Was

Before I became a certified hypnotist, I will admit, I had my reservations, especially as a Christian. Truthfully, hypnosis was foreign to me, and because it was foreign, there was fear. And up until then, I bought into the belief that it is human nature to fear what is not understood. Now I know, with an open mind and curiosity, there is freedom on the other side of fear, if one is willing to confront it.

I thought hypnosis was what I had seen on TV. From an early age, I remember seeing cartoons where characters would learn hypnosis to control the minds of others. Naturally, the first things most people think about when it comes to hypnosis are: mind control, manipulation, and doing embarrassing things like clucking like a chicken.

I was also cautious about hypnosis because as a Christian, it seemed like magic, sorcery, or some other dark art. Hypnosis is often grouped into occult practices, and often the occult refers to witchcraft. The word occult doesn’t mean that at all. The definition of occult is “hidden.” And when something is hidden, like the Apocrypha for example, it makes me ask the question: Why is it being hidden?

Is it being hidden because it is evil? Or is it hidden because if people really knew that hypnosis was happening all the time, they wouldn’t be easily fooled, controlled, or manipulated?

In some respects, I kept my guard up. One of the lessons in my hypnosis training was titled, “The Confusion Induction.” My Christian training immediately reminded me, “The devil is the author of confusion.” But here’s what I learned: before we learn anything, we are in a state of confusion. Confusion is a precursor to learning. Think about your first job. Before you knew the policies and procedures, before you knew what to do and what not to do, you were confused and asked numerous questions to clarify expectations and hone your skills and abilities. So confusion is not necessarily a weapon of the devil, it is the natural first step in learning anything.

Why confusion works well as an induction: it overloads the conscious mind. When the conscious is preoccupied with trying to figure it all out, the unconscious mind is receptive to suggestion.

After all my reservations, I entered my studies with an open mind and discovered hypnosis was not anything I expected. It turns out, it is about effective communication, teaching, and learning. And that’s when I realized hypnosis is everywhere and happening all the time.