[img]560|left|Nicholas D. Pollak||no_popup[/img]Just recently I delivered a lecture on the amazing benefits of hypnotherapy to a local YMCA. There was a good crowd, and all had a great time. They enjoyed learning about something they knew little about.

As I always do in introducing myself, I gave my titles (clinical hypnotherapist, certified master hypnotist and handwriting analyst) and talked a little about handwriting analysis. As always, I invited the audience to ask about hypnosis. It is better to ask the audience what they want to know rather than spending time on subjects they may have no interest in.

As often happens, one person asked how hypnosis was created, whether it was fake or real. He said what many others have. They had seen stage hypnotists and were very leery of hypnosis that appeared at stage shows because it seemed people were doing things they normally would not do, and the hypnotist was exercising mind control over the people on stage.

Only One Way: Voluntarily

A hypnotist never, I repeat, never, can make a person do anything in hypnosis that he or she would not normally do in a normal waking state. You wouldn’t jump of a 20-story building if asked so why would you do it under hypnosis? The answer is, you wouldn’t.

We have all seen crime dramas and other fiction that alludes to or says straight out that hypnosis created a brainwashing effect causing the hypnotized person to do strange things. Let me assure you this kind of thinking is exactly where it needs to stay, in the realm of fiction.

For anyone to be hypnotized there has to be an agreement between the hypnotist and the subject. It is a requirement of hypnosis that the person being hypnotized is a willing participant. The agreement is implied when a person goes up on stage at a show or when a client goes to see a hypnotist at his office. If the person did not want to be hypnotized, he would not volunteer. Anyone who does not want to be hypnotized will not be.

Just to Prove

A hypnotist does not have any kind of power. He cannot force someone to relax if the subject dos not consent. Back in the 18th century, a hypnotist named Mesmer thought a hypnotic power emanated through magnetism. A committee,which included Benjamin Franklin, disproved the theory. Any hypnotist who has you believe you are hypnotized because of a power from him is delusional.

It is important for anyone coming to see a hypnotist, to understand the hypnotist cannot create changes for you without you doing some work also. In the end, it is up to the person being hypnotized to follow the suggestions given quickly, without thinking too much, for the changes to be effective. If what is said to you during a session is not something you can agree with, no changes will take place. If what is said to you during a session resonates, you will follow the suggestions.

A few years ago a doctor went to see a famous hypnotists, Milton Erickson, and said he wanted to be hypnotized even though he was skeptical. Erickson attempted to hypnotize, but he realized after a half hour realized the doctor was resisting. The doctor’s state of mind would not allow Erickson to hypnotize him.

Erickson admits that the time he spent with the doctor was more for show because he knew the doctor’s attitude. It is important to understand the intent of the doctor was not to allow Erickson to hypnotize him. Knowing his secretary was a good hypnotic candidate, Erickson called her into his office. When he hypnotized her, he asked her to stand in front of the doctor and stare at him until the doctor went into hypnosis. Erickson left the room, returning ten minutes later.

His secretary was standing as he had left her, the doctor was on the couch fully hypnotized. Why did the doctor went into hypnosis? While he did not want Erickson to hypnotize him, at no time had he thought about someone else hypnotizing him.

The upshot is to prove again that unless you want to be hypnotized you won’t be. But if you are open to it eventually, you will enjoy a remarkable experience of a trance and the wonderful benefits that the hypnotic effect can create.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact me by telephone, 310.204.3321, or by email at nickpollak@hypnotherapy4you.net. See my website at www.hypnotherapy4you.net