We often hear of the altered state of hypnosis in the same way that we hear of guided imagery, visualization work, and meditation, yet are all of these things the same? In this upcoming Monday Night Conscious Community Class, we will explore the differences and the similarities when it comes to various types of altered states. Most importantly, we will explore the difference between simple hypnosis, basic and advanced meditation techniques, as a well as clinical hypnotherapy training and how the altered state of hypnosis can be used in extremely powerful ways once we know how to apply it properly. Join us this Monday Night at 7:00pm EST with Institute of Hypnotherapy Founder and Lead Instructor, Matthew Brownstein.
What is hypnosis?
We define hypnosis as a natural, yet altered state of mind, where there is responsiveness and communication with the subconscious. This essentially means that a person who is in hypnosis is allowing an uncritical acceptance of suggestions so that the deep inner mind, known as the subconscious mind, can respond to suggestions that it might not normally respond to. For instance, when someone is in hypnosis, they can be told that their pain is now vanishing and oftentimes it does. When not in the hypnotic state, that suggestion might easily be rejected, and no response would occur. When hypnotized, the suggestion is more easily accepted by this very powerful part of our being and our perception of our reality can be changed for the better.
What is meditation?
We define meditation as the act of placing your attention upon any given object of consciousness. For instance, we can meditate on a candle flame or on a sunset. We can place our attention upon our breath or on our hearts. We can place our attention upon the words of someone guiding us to relax or we can place our attention upon our own consciousness itself. Meditation, in this sense, is simply an act of directing attention to where we want it to be. It is a practice that we get better with over time, and like hypnosis, there are many applications and styles.
What are the differences?
Based upon the above definitions, hypnosis implies communication with and response from the subconscious mind, whereas meditation only requires that we place our attention on something or someone. If we meditate on the hypnotist and his/her suggestions, and we choose to allow ourselves to respond to the suggestions, then there really is no difference at all, yet the topic is not as simple as that. Hypnosis expands into the field of hypnotherapy, where powerful modalities are used to make profound change in people’s lives, whereas meditation also expands into profound altered states of consciousness that have been known to offer great insight into one’s own inner being and into significant spiritual experiences.
We will see how all of this applies to hypnosis and hypnosis certification as we explore the meaning of the many words that have been given in this short blog post. Join us this Monday Night, July 23rd, 2018 at 7:00pm EST as we discuss this multi-faceted topic and how it relates to hypnosis and hypnotherapy training. Join us at www.InstituteofHypnotherapy.
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