Maximize Your Brain
A Hypnosis Handbook
John Cressman, C.Ht., C.S.H.
Published by John Cressman at Smashwords
Copyright © 2010 by John Cressman
ISBN 978-0-9844087-2-6
Dedication
This book is dedicated to my father, John, who has sacrificed throughout the years for our family and has shown me the type of man I want to be – patient, kind, fearless and always ready to put family before anything else.
And in memory of my cousins, Nicholas Murray and Tanya Murray and J.R. Murrary, who loved life and left behind families who will always love them because love never dies.
Acknowledgments
I would like to personally acknowledge several people who have made this possibly through either direct or indirect involvement.
Geofrrey Ronning, Sean Michael Andrews, John Cebrone, Richard Nongard, K.C. Johnson, Nathan Thomas, and the many other hypnotists who have contributed to my knowledge of hypnosis.
I would also like to acknowledge my good friend Helen Paulus, whose guidance and programs have helped me achieve so much more than I thought possible.
And of course, I have to acknowledge my parents, John and Diane, and my brothers and sisters, David, Tammy, Melody, Carl and Sam for always supporting me and being there for me.
Foreword
It's been said that we only use a fraction of our brain's capability. And yet, as much as science has learned about the physical make-up of the brain, the “mind” remains somewhat of a mystery.
Most people don't understand the difference between the conscious mind and the unconscious, or subconscious, mind. And in not understanding the unconscious mind, they become slaves to behavior patterns that have formed at an unconscious level.
This book teaches the basic fundamentals of hypnosis, a way to tap into the unconscious mind and make real changes in our behavior.
Table of Contents
Introduction
What Hypnosis Is – And Is Not
The Science of Hypnosis
The Many Personal Benefits of Hypnosis
Hypnosis and You
Hypnotizing Others
The Future of Hypnosis
The Misuse of Hypnosis
Conclusion
Appendix A - Glossary
Appendix B – Elman Induction
Introduction
I want to thank you for your interest in hypnosis. The practice of hypnosis can be complex or simple and can be used in a variety of applications. I hope that you find hypnosis to be as fascinating and useful as I do. Every year through hypnotic shows and corporate seminars I introduce thousands of people to the power of hypnosis, and I am happy to have you join me on this journey today.
It is my desire in this book to reveal to you how you can take control of your life and achieve your goals with remarkable ease using hypnosis. This book will guide you to higher personal and professional satisfaction while revealing the power of hypnosis.
I know these are strong claims. Coming from a skeptical and scientific background I would hesitate to even suggest such benefits, but the data is irrefutable.
In the Introduction of this book it may be too early for me to tell you that your life may never be the same – but it will not.
You alone hold the control and power of your mind. You see, with hypnosis as your tool, you have the ability to tap into the power of your mind, to control your destiny and enrich your life and the lives of others.
This tool does not take a lot of time, nor is it expensive. It only requires a small investment of your energy and willingness to experience its usefulness. Nothing more.
Hypnosis is a gift. My goal is to teach you how to use this gift in a way that will positively influence your life. You can make healthy physical and mental changes to yourself to become the person you want to be.
Only you can change your attitudes to become a better person. Continuous improvement is not something that just happens – just like anything else; you have to put effort into working on it.
You, and those around you, will be happy that you invested time in yourself. May you enjoy the journey as much as the destination.
I’ll see you on the path.
Chapter 1 - What Hypnosis Is – And Is Not
Most people are conditioned by movies and television to think hypnosis is an evil tool that is used by scowling, menacing figures who live in the shadows. This shady character is a far cry from the professional hypnotist. Negative portrayals degrade the value of the state of hypnosis and spread misinformation.
In fact, hypnosis is a natural state of mind that all of us experience every single day. Have you ever found yourself engaged by a project that focused all your attention on the task at hand, and the time seemed to fly by? Have you ever tried to speak with somebody who was working behind a computer keyboard and you had trouble getting his or her attention?
These scenarios describe a natural state of hypnosis, which is also called a natural hypnotic trance. A natural hypnotic trance is a state of mind where intense focus eliminates distractions from the external world, and your internal world expands. The door to your subconscious opens wide.
Another common state of hypnosis in our day-to-day lives is daydreams. How often have you “spaced out” and found yourself not using your conscious mind at all – simply thinking of nothing?
Most researchers are now in agreement on the definition of hypnosis:
Any person who is willing to be hypnotized can experience hypnosis. The only requirements needed for self-hypnosis are the knowledge of basic methods and the desire to do it.
Hypnosis is…
the state of mind that provides you with the ability to follow suggestion without conscious intent.
There are traits that can identify if a person has reached a state of hypnosis. Look for these characteristics in yourself or someone who is being hypnotized:
* A reduction of inhibitions
* Complete physical relaxation
* Focused concentration on what is being said
* Mental and emotional dormancy
* Fluttering rapid movements of the eyes
* Concentrated awareness of the senses (taste, touch, feel, smell, and hearing)
* Stationary, still body position
What does hypnosis do? Hypnosis is a tool that is used to help people reach their goals. It is not a cure-all that can be administered once and never revisited. Hypnosis is useful and highly effective when applied for subconscious issues such as weight gain, stress, insomnia, pain, and shyness.
There are dozens of uses for hypnosis.
As mentioned earlier, the definition of hypnosis is the quieting of the conscious mind to allow access to the powerful subconscious mind. The process of hypnosis is a natural state that involves complete relaxation and passivity.
The activation of the subconscious mind allows suggestions to be made easily without passing through the judgment of the conscious mind.
Why Does Hypnosis Work?
Hypnosis uses the power of suggestion to influence the subconscious mind. Tapping into the subconscious provides lasting results in a person’s exhibited behaviors.
The subconscious mind is the primary influence on a person’s attitudes, beliefs, and behavior. Hypnosis is the tool that can be used to reprogram the subconscious to make lasting changes to undesirable behaviors and thought patterns that are evident in the conscious mind.
Hypnosis is used to change your fundamental beliefs in the way in which you view yourself and others, and the underlying reasons why you feel and act the way you do.
The brain is like a tape recorder. Your thoughts are like recordings in your mind. The thoughts that you have throughout every day are really just the recordings being played back. Once your mind is programmed to think a certain way, then that is how you think. If this way of thought is hindering you from living up to your full potential, then you can benefit from hypnosis.
Hypnosis is used to reprogram old thoughts and beliefs to give you more desirable behaviors and attitudes.
Hypnosis is all about specifics – a general statement like “I want to be a better person” won’t work. Pinpointing specifically which behavior you want to change is necessary in effective hypnotherapy.
In order to fully understand how hypnosis works, it is important to discuss the mechanics of your conscious and subconscious state.
Each day we fluctuate between the conscious and subconscious state of mind. Almost all of our activities are performed subconsciously!
When activities are performed subconsciously, there is no decision-making process that takes place - no consideration of the outcome is thought out. The activity is simply performed. Conversely, when activities occur on a conscious level, there is often resistance, reluctance and the opportunity to discard the activity.
Here is an example:
If I’m a smoker then I don’t say to myself: “a cigarette sounds really good, I will have one in ten minutes.” I simply pick up a cigarette and light up without any consideration.
It’s a habit that is done on a subconscious level.
Now, here is a workplace example to consider:
If I’m in the habit (again, an unconscious behavior) of not getting any work done for the first thirty minutes of my shift, I am exhibiting unproductive behavior. Instead of getting right to work, I have a routine of visiting co-workers, clearing my desk, getting coffee, surfing the Internet, or other inefficient activities. For me to consciously address this issue would be difficult, if not impossible. In my mind, I would form numerous reasons to support the wasteful, inefficient behavior. This is because my habit runs deep into my subconscious mind and can only be fundamentally changed through focused work on the subconscious – also known as hypnosis.
If I changed the behavior at a subconscious level, there wouldn’t be any resistance because activities that occur at a subconscious level occur without consideration or effort!
They simply happen and you automatically adopt what is programmed subconsciously on a conscious level.
Recall the last time you operated your vehicle. Perhaps it was while you were going to work, shopping, or to the doctor’s office. Think about that trip. Do you recall the details of that drive? I doubt it. Most people do not consciously drive their vehicles.
For most people driving is something done in our unconscious mind. You don’t say to yourself, “I must put the vehicle in gear, release the parking brake, check over my shoulder for oncoming traffic, signal to turn left, release the steering wheel to right the vehicle and stay in this lane.”
Driving is typically done subconsciously. Your subconscious is aware of everything that is happening but consciously you’re thinking about errands you need to do, television shows you want to watch later that evening, or things you wished you would have said or done throughout the day.
We tend to multitask, all day long. We operate on both levels and easily and naturally move between the conscious and the subconscious.
Take this simple test:
I fly a
a kite everyday
What did you see? Your selective consciousness would probably have you focus on just the letters in the sentence structure. I’m certain you also saw the book you’re holding; perhaps you saw your hands or some of your fingers, possibly the floor beneath the book, and maybe the surrounding furniture. But although you saw these things, your mind didn’t direct you to pay conscious attention to them.
Consciously, you automatically became very selective of what you were processing. Subconsciously your awareness was fully engaged by all these other factors.
In addition there are certainly other factors involved as well. Perhaps once directed consciously you will become aware of the sounds in the background, the temperature of your surroundings, the contact your body is making with the furniture, or the contact your feet are making with the floor.
More than likely while taking the test, those items were not in your consciousness. You may have also missed the repeated letter “a”.
Sometimes during stress control seminars people say, “I have so much to juggle that it is hard for me to stay focused. I end up not getting anything accomplished because I can’t seem to stay on track to reach my priorities.”
Do you ever feel this way? Have you ever had an issue you could not resolve? Have you ever found yourself trying to remember the answer to a question that you were certain you knew, but could not recall? Your conscious mind blocked the retrieval of this bit of information.
Everyone at some point in their lives has found themselves struggling to remember someone’s name. As soon as you stopped trying to remember the name, it probably came to you. Maybe you awoke in the morning with it, or maybe as soon as you consciously directed your attention to other things, your subconscious took over and delivered that information to you.