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To understand how this
applies to hypnotherapy, it is helpful to understand more how
your mind learns.
The Five Principles by which
Ideas Become Fixed in the Subconscious Mind:
1. Repetition - The slow, hard way
to convince the subconscious
2. Identification with a Group or Relative - If you are Irish,
you may have a subconscious desire to show off your "Irish
temper," which is merely an accepted idea because you are a
member of that group. You may have been told "you are just like
your father" often enough to accept some of his habits as your
own. This is subconscious programming by identification.
3. Ideas Presented by an Authority Figure - An authority figure
is anyone we consider to be smarter or more powerful than
ourselves. Examples would include parents, older siblings,
teachers, doctors, etc..
4. Intense Emotion - Emotion is to the mind as light is to the
camera. It opens up the mind and allows the image or concept to
become fixed. It can be any emotion that does this. Positive or
negative.
5. Hypnosis - Hypnosis is a more reliable and less traumatic
route to the subconscious. While hypnotized, you can allow new
learning, and change old.
Rules of the Mind:
1. Every thought or idea causes a
physical reaction - Your thoughts can effect all of the
functions of your body. Worry thoughts trigger changes in the
stomach that in time can lead to ulcers. Angry thoughts
stimulate adrenal glands and increase adrenaline in the blood
stream causing many body changes. Anxious and Fearful thoughts
affect your heart rate. Emotions and feelings trigger hormones,
neuropeptides and chemicals in your body.
2. What is expected tends to be realized - The brain and the
nervous system respond only to mental images. It does not matter
if the image is self-induced or what your eyes perceive in the
external world. The mental image formed becomes the blueprint,
and the subconscious mind uses every means at it's disposal to
carry out the plan. Worrying is a form of programming a picture
of what we don't want, but the subconscious mind acts to fulfill
the pictured situation. Our physical health is largely dependant
upon our mental expectancy. Physicians recognize that if a
patient expects to remain sick, lame, paralyzed, helpless, even
to die, the expected condition tends to be realized. Here,
hypnosis or self-hypnosis can become the tool to remove negative
attitudes and bring a hopeful positive expectancy. The
expectancy of health, strength, and well-being, which then tends
to be realized.
3. Imagination is more powerful than knowledge when dealing with
your own mind or the mind of another - This is an important rule
to remember when using hypnosis. Reason is easily overruled by
imagination. This is why some persons blindly rush into some
unreasonable act or situation. Violent crimes based upon
jealousy are almost always caused by an overactive imagination.
Most of us feel superior to those who lose their savings to
confidence men, or blindly follow a demagogue. We can easily see
that such people have allowed their imagination to overcome
their own reason. We are often blind to our own superstitions,
prejudices and unreasonable beliefs. Any idea, such as political
and religious beliefs, accompanied by a strong emotion such as
anger, hatred, love, can not be modified through the use of
reason. In using hypnosis, we can form images in the
subconscious mind, which is the "feeling mind", and can remove,
alter, or amend the old ideas, if the client is willing.
4. Once and idea has been accepted by the subconscious mind, it
remains until is replaced by another idea. The companion rule to
this is, The longer the idea remains, the more opposition there
is to replacing it with a new idea - Once an idea has been
accepted, it tends to become a fixed habit of thinking. This is
how habits of action are formed, both good and bad. First there
is the thought and then the action. We have habits of thinking
as well as habits of action, but the thought or idea always
comes first. It becomes obvious that if we wish to change our
actions, we must begin by changing our thoughts. We accept
certain facts as true. For example, we accept as true that the
sun rises in the East and sets in the West and we accept this
even if the day is cloudy and we cannot see the sun. This is an
instance of a correct fact conception which governs our actions
under normal conditions. We have many thought habits which are
not correct and yet are fixed in the mind. Some people believe
that at critical times they must have a drink of alcohol or a
tranquilizer to steady their nerves so that they can perform
effectively. This is not correct, but the idea is there and it
is a fixed habit of thought. There will be opposition to
replacing it with a correct idea. Please note, we are speaking
of fixed ideas, not just idle thoughts or passing fancies. We
need to alter the fixed ideas or use them. No matter how fixed
the idea may be or how long they have remained, they can be
changed through hypnosis.
5. Each suggestion acted upon creates less opposition to
successive suggestion - A mental habit is easier to follow the
longer it lasts unbroken. Once a habit is formed it becomes
easier to follow and more difficult to break. So, once a
hypnotic suggestion has been accepted by your subconscious mind
it becomes easier for additional suggestions to be accepted and
acted upon. This is why, when you are using hypnosis (or
self-hypnosis) it is suggested that you start with simple
suggestions like a tingling sensation or a warm and pleasant
feeling. Then these have been accepted, you can move on to more
complicated suggestions.
6. An emotionally induced symptom tends to cause organic change
if persisted in long enough - It has been acknowledged that more
than 70% of human ailments are functional rather than organic.
This means that the function of an organ or body part has been
disturbed by the reactions of the nervous system to negative
ideas held in the subconscious mind. This does not at all imply
that every person that complains of an ailment is emotionally
ill or neurotic. There are diseases caused by organic and
inorganic outside influences. However, we are a mind in a body
and the two cannot be separated. Therefore, if you continue to
fear ill health, constantly talk about your "nervous stomach" or
"tension headaches", in time, organic changes must occur.
7. When dealing with the subconscious mind and it's functions,
the greater the conscious effort, the less the subconscious
response - Stronger conscious effort to change an idea only
creates stronger "conscious interference", blocking the
subconscious from changing.
Note:
a. The hypnotist does not
treat, prescribe for, or diagnose any condition.
b. They Hypnotist is a
facilitator of hypnosis and hypnotherapy and in this role does
not practice any other profession that requires a license under
the laws and regulations of the state of Oregon.
c. Hypnosis is not a
replacement for medical treatment, psychological services, or
counseling.
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