I was going to post this in the Science and Nature forum, but from my own experience I have learned that those who are interested in hypnosis typically come from the spiritual side of things and not so much the scientific side (despite hypnosis' proven scientific reliability as a therapeutic technique). Hypnosis is actually what initially got me interested in the mind, language, and consciousness. Anyone ever been hypnotized before? Was it self-hypnosis or was it by a hypnotherapist or stage hypnotist?
I'm not sure where you're getting the idea that those who practice hypnosis are more prone towards the spiritual, as it has nothing at all to do with anything of that kind? The article you link to pretty well says as much? Hypnosis is both more and less powerful than most realise: it isn't scientifically reliable, as each subject will tend to react in different ways; it isn't capable of enhancing memories, curing diseases or regressing subjects into former lives (regressional hypnosis is nonsense). It IS useful - but not always - in reducing the symptoms of PTS, can cause temporary anaesthesia, paralysis, etc. I've been not-hypnotised by both a therapist, and a stage hypnotist - there is no real hypnotic state, as the article says. When I was in my teens we used to go to a large theatre during the summer weeks and offer ourselves as subjects for the stage hypnotist Karma, which was a great insight into both hypnosis and subject reaction. I later went on to perform stage hypnosis, and I have a couple of books out at present on the use of suggestion and hypnosis in a stage context. MelT
Hypnosis doesn't have anything inherently to do with the spiritual but it is practiced by many as a spiritual tool. I only meant by my post that from my observation many who are into hypnosis are also into spirituality - I understand this is not true for everyone, but I have been interested in hypnosis long enough to sense the correlation. It often gets a better rep from the spiritual than from science. This is true, but it expresses more of a limitation of science rather than hypnosis. It can enhance memories by improving one's attention and clarity within mental faculties. Rarely do I see legitimate hypnotists claim it can cure [physical] diseases. And the idea of "past lives" in general I find to be a bit nonsensical. What isn't a "temporary" anaesthesia? It is still effective enough to be used for some surgery, pain management, etc. Hypnosis is also a great tool for personal development and cognitive-behavioral therapy. Very cool. Hypnosis can bring you into a trance state however; it just isn't what hypnosis IS in and of itself. It's merely a communication tool. Everything else is self-hypnosis.
Not at all, what it shows is that every person is an individual who may or may not respond in a classic way to any hypnotic procedure. I can assure you that no two people are alike, and each will respond in their own personal way. We agree on that one. But there is no evidence at all that it can improve memories. There have been studies into this effect by the police forces of at least two countries and at other times by psychologists (I'll try and find you one of the research references) and it was found that hypnotised people were no more accurate at recalling incidents than someone who was un-hypnotised. In fact, the hypnotised person was more prone to fill in gaps that he or she didn't recall by making something up, albeit subconsciously. Hypnosis certainly is useful, but not in ways that many people think; the enhancement of memories above for instance. What I'm pointing out for those other than yourself is that it isn't the all-powerful beast that some think it is - many still see it as dabbling in arcane arts. I say temporary effects because there's also an idea that hypnosis (usually after a brief exposure to a hypnosis act somewhere) can lead to permanent mental damage of some kind. You may well know this, others here don't I'm not sure if this is what you're alluding to, but I would have very serious doubts about any results from trying to use hypnosis (particularly self-hypnosis) as a means to reach an altered spiritual state, primarily because hypnosis is a state of extreme suggestion, and what you hope to find - or fear finding - you will find, creating it subconsciously for yourself. MelT
And this is true for much of a person's psychology, not just how they react to hypnotic suggestions. I am not at all saying science is useless when it comes to the mind, but it has obvious limitations - especially with something as subjective as language and hypnosis. Science relies on quantitative information and statistics, but a person's inner world is flooded with qualitative information and meaning. I see, you are talking about hypnosis eliciting past memories, and you are right: the research on the validity of past (and especially repressed) memories is extremely fuzzy, especially considering all the evidence of how easy it is for the mind to create false memories. But what I meant to say was hypnosis can improve one's capability of retaining future memories, because it can make one more attentive and mindful of their surroundings. Sorry for the confusion. Yes, there are definitely some falsehoods regarding the power of hypnosis. But it does do wonders for phobias, anxiety, overcoming bad habits, enforcing good habits, relaxation, letting go of limiting beliefs, etc. I would like you to find some evidence of this. I imagine a person who experiences mental damage from hypnosis has probably had prior mental issues. I find it hard to imagine stage hypnosis causing damage unless someone is extremely confused about what hypnosis is and does. Hypnosis has been known to cause abreactions tho, which can be extremely traumatizing to people - but this would usually occur in a hypnotherapy session requiring deep trance, and in which case the hypnotherapist should know how to deal with the patient. Hypnosis is not a state of anything - it simply is "suggestion" itself. There is no such thing as a particular state of suggestion, but there are certain states that can lead to being more suggestible than others, depending on the environment and the nature of the suggestion. And no, I am not alluding to any altered "spiritual states" - I, personally, would only call them states of trance, just as they are in deep meditation or prayer. By the way, "trance" for me just means awareness. I believe we are all in different kinds of trance throughout the day. Sometimes our awareness is contracted to a pain in our foot, while other times our awareness is spread over a view of the night sky. To me, it is all different states of awareness and trance. In Buddhism, they call these "states of absorption" or Jhana. But we are all talking about the same natural process of "awareness." Hypnotherapists that try to get their patients to meet spirits should be put out of business...they are only perpetuating lies about the mind and the subconscious. I am sure we both agree.