Written by: McKing Lee, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
So what is hypnosis?! And no, it isn’t some hocus pocus magic show ‒ Of course, coming from a hypnotist, I will say that hypnosis is an important tool for everyday living.
However, that might be a bit hard to digest or accept at the moment
I will be sharing what is hypnosis and how it works over 4 parts
Yes, you can tell how passionate I am!
Unfortunately, what I can share with you over such articles will be a simplified version of all the stuff that is happening in the mind, under hypnosis, etc
But I want you to know that you will definitely learn something today!
And for today, let us break down what is hypnosis
Hypnosis Is A Naturally Occurring Phenomena
Now you might recall that there is a conscious mind and an unconscious mind
If you do not know this yet, you can read How The Mind Works Part 1
Essentially, the conscious mind is like a logical gatekeeper, while the unconscious mind is like an emotional sponge
Now what happens is that the two minds are not really separate from each other
You must understand that both minds need each other to be fully functional
And so, because the two minds are dependent on each other for certain functions…
That is what I call hypnosis or a trance!
Think of it as a way for the conscious mind to effectively communicate with the unconscious mind, and vice versa
That is also why I say it is a naturally occurring phenomena!
For example, consciously you might know it is dinner time and you can decide whether you want to cook, eat out, or order delivery
That’s conscious, that’s logic
However, any emotion is coming from the unconscious mind
So, if you are feeling lazy, you might order delivery
The laziness is communicated from the unconscious mind to the conscious mind and you decide to order in
Or you might feel lazy, but you know you need to do some shopping so you might as well eat out
On top of that, what are you going to eat for dinner?
Cravings will come from the unconscious mind
However, if you are following a certain nutrition plan, then you got to use your conscious logic to decide what is good for dinner
You can start to see how such a simple meal has a lot of activity going on between the conscious and unconscious mind!
What Else Do We Trance Out For?
And I’m not talking about the use of any form of substance!!!
Some of the main functions we trance ourselves out is to feel emotions and to recall memories
If you recently lost someone and feel the grief, you need to cry
But can you hold out at work or can you cry at work?
The context or external environment can affect whether you can or cannot do something
Another important function is imagination
Whenever we imagine something, we are tapping into the unconscious mind to visualize or create an image
This can also mean when you plan the perfect date or proposal, you need to be able to tap into this easily!
Of course, you might even play out how are you going to negotiate with your boss for a pay raise?
You imagine the scenario, handle your emotions, etc
So many things are going on!
Another big thing is focused attention
Whenever you focus on something to such an extent, you are tapping into your unconscious mind too
Just in case you are wondering, if you ever watch stage hypnosis shows before?
Now you might realize why the hypnosis ask the subjects to imagine something, or focus on this point!!
Yes, since these are natural ways we can connect the conscious and unconscious and thus, go into hypnosis (even if its mild), the stage hypnotists will naturally do that too to aid in their shows
Now here is something that you might not know of
That if you are able to tap into this naturally occurring trance phenomena, you can solve quite a few issues in your life
Of course, if you can cure yourself of anxiety, that will be awesome!
But let us not go into that yet
What I am talking about, is finding solutions to problems, whether it is life, work, relationship etc
Leonardo da Vinci was a great inventor, among other things
And what he did, was to have a question in his mind, hold a giant metal key, and fall asleep in his chair
When he fell asleep, his hand will naturally open and the metal key will hit the floor with a loud sound that will jolt Leonardo da Vinci awake!
And because he did this to enter a hypnotic trance with a question or a problem, he got an answer back!
Enabling him to draw blueprints, create designs and invent so many things!
And he wasn’t alone!
Other famous people such as Albert Einstein and Thomas Edison have also used self-hypnosis to find solutions to problems or to think of new amazing ideas!
So if anything, I hope this opens your mind to the possibilities within yourself!
From Hypnosis To Hypnotherapy
Of course, what I mainly do is hypnotherapy to help my clients resolve issues such as mental health issues, to relationship issues, mental blockages etc
And in fact, the words hypnosis and hypnotherapy can be used interchangeably
This is partly because the hypnosis world has recognized that the word “therapy” seems to suggest the clients are sick, which in fact, they are not sick
They just have baggage or issues, which we can guide them to resolve or release those baggage or issues
Which is why I call myself a hypnotist, instead of a hypnotherapist
Some actors have used hypnosis to resolve stuttering, like Bruce Willis, or even to quit smoking, such as Ben Affleck, Anthony Hopkins and Drew Barrymore
Sports people, like Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods, also use hypnosis to attain a high level of focus and concentration for their games
Once you realize you have this gift within, to grow and reach your potential in an effective manner, I believe you might start to see results very soon 😉
In the next article, I shall share more about what goes on in a hypnosis session and how issues can be resolved with hypnosis
Read more exciting articles on my blog.
Thank you for reading and I’ll see you next time! :D
McKing Lee, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
McKing Lee is a conversational hypnotist, NLP Practitioner, and a student of life. After nearly dying in his sleep when his lung burst for no reason, McKing develop Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and fell into depression. He subsequently sought his own recovery through learning NLP and hypnosis. Having a unique understanding of how the mind works, he has helped many people with mental and psychological issues, relationship and emotional issues, and interestingly enough, sometimes physical ailments too. McKing was recognized and won APAC SEA Business Awards Hypnotist of the Year 2020, and has been featured in local and overseas media over the years. He aims to help people as effectively as possible, through sharing of knowledge and with the right application of skills.
