To understand clinical hypnosis and hypnotherapy, it's useful to understand the concept of the subconscious or unconscious mind. This is the part of your mind that is the most powerful, containing infinite wisdom and memory and a very deep level of intelligence. It is your untapped resource for creativity and imagination. Your unconscious mind is the seat of all your emotions and therefore directs nearly all of your behaviour. Most importantly, your unconscious is also responsible for maintaining your body in good health and for all autonomic processes (e.g. breathing, blood circulation, tissue regeneration, repair, fight or flight responses etc.) There are over 20 trillion cells in the human body and over 2,000 chemical reactions in every cell every second of every day all of which happen unconsciously.

Your unconscious is constantly monitoring millions of bits of information every second and it is making decisions for you about the data. Studies show that we are only consciously able to process 7 unique pieces of data at any one time [Miller 1956 "The Psychology of the magic number 7 plus or minus 2"]. This is why there are so many processes which happen unconsciously or outside of our normal conscious awareness. Consider the unconscious as the part of you which looks out for you and learns how to guide you through life. Most of the time it does a good job but sometimes it makes mistakes and it needs re-education or re-training.

There has been considerable research work done with hypnosis to clearly demonstrate that it is the basis of many therapeutically useful methods of facilitating mind-body communication and healing. The work of Hans Seyle [1936 1976 "General Adaptation Syndrome"], Milton H Erickson M.D [The seminars, Workshops & Lectures of Milton H Erickson Vol 1 to 4] and Ernest Rossi [ The Psychobiology Of Mind-Body Healing] all validate the view that psyche, mind and brain are all pervasively linked to modulating body processes in health and wellness. The relatively new science of Psycho-Neuro-Immunology has developed from the understanding that mind and body are inextricably linked in a psycho cybernetic loop.

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What does it feel like to be hypnotised?

You already know what hypnosis feels like; because you have experienced many natural hypnotic states every day of your life, when daydreaming or driving or watching TV. These are those, dreamlike states where you "drift off". The hypnosis you will experience during your appointment is a systematic method that allows you to enter these "natural dreamlike states" and communicate directly with your unconscious mind and issue new suggestions or instructions. These suggestions are tailor-made for your individual needs. All you have to do is relax and enjoy the experience!

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Will I be under the hypnotist's power?

No you are not under the hypnotist’s power this is an image created by stage hypnotists back in the Victorian times. You cannot be made to do anything against your will or against your morals. Nor is it like a stage show where the suggestions made are for pure entertainment purposes only. During a hypnosis stage show the process of hypnosis is a selection process to not only find out who can be hypnotised quickly but who will also be entertaining. I have assisted Paul McKenna with his hypnotic stage shows on many occasions, however, the hypnosis you will experience in a hypnotic audio programme is for behavioural and therapeutic change, although I am sure you will find it fun, it is not for entertainment purposes. Extensive tests show that a subject will only comply with hypnotic suggestions that fit their moral and value codes. While hypnotised you will know perfectly well what you are doing and saying. You will not do or say anything that contravenes your inner most principles although you will be aware of changes.

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No one really knows how exactly hypnosis works but there are some useful theories which help us to understand an amazing and very useful phenomena. One particularly useful approach to understanding hypnosis is through the ultradian rhythms. Ultradian rhythms happen naturally at 90 minute intervals, plus or minus 30 minutes; they are subtle behavioural rest phases where people spontaneously enter a quiet or inner-directed resting mood. The Ultradian Rhythm is a naturally occurring trance state. A hypnosis programme such as the Inner Space Series™ is able to guide someone into this natural trance state for a given purpose.

Once in a trance state the mind is more receptive to suggestions. Imagine you are talking to a child aged 6, at that age you can tell a child about the "Tooth Fairy" or "Santa Claus" and they will accept what is said as being real. As they grow up the brain develops the ability to be critical and to question these suggestions (this is known as the "critical factor"). Through the use of language, metaphor, rhythm, and tone the hypnotist is able to effectively switch off the "critical factor" so that with hypnosis we can once again make suggestions that the brain is likely to accept. Hypnosis is a safe way of accessing your natural intelligence and issuing new instructions to enable you to create seemingly miraculous changes in your behaviour and your body.

Famous users of hypnosis include Einstein, Leonardo Da Vinci, H G Wells and Sigmund Freud. Hypnosis is also used by top athletes, successful entrepreneurs, entertainers and high achievers to imagine and condition themselves for success. Hypnosis has been in use for thousands of years.

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Will I be asleep in hypnosis…what if I can’t wake up?

You are safe at all times hypnosis is like daydreaming and if ever something were to happen while you were in hypnosis (i.e. a fire alarm were to go off) you would awaken alert, refreshed and calm and ready to handle any situation as effectively as you would in your normal awakened state. It is impossible for anyone not to awaken from hypnosis... stories of this are pure myths and Hollywood fiction. Hypnosis is not like sleep and has a different brain wave signature, it resembles the sleep state in many ways you may feel sleepy it is similar to the moment when you are drowsing and about to drop off to sleep. The idea of not waking up from hypnosis is the stuff of Hollywood fiction.

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What if I can't be hypnotised?

Studies show that everyone is able to enter the hypnotic trance state. The only thing that varies is the amount of time it will take for you to go into a trance state. When you see people staring at TV they are in a trance. A useful belief is that we are all in and out of different trance states throughout the day; with hypnosis we are able to get out of limiting trances and into more resourceful ones. Hypnosis is like any skill that can be learnt, the more you practice it the easier it becomes.

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How long do hypnotic suggestions last?

While you are in a trance you will be given positive suggestions, options and new ideas to your unconscious mind giving it new information so that you can begin to change your mind about things. The suggestions made can be reinforced by repetition. Suggestions will be made to your unconscious mind, these will by-pass the conscious logical thinking process. The Inner Space Series™ hypnotic audio programmes will also support and reinforce the work you are doing whilst following the book or programme.

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