What is hypnosis? Hypnosis is a fancy name for altered states of perception that everyone goes in and out of all day long. By “altered states of perception” I just mean being in a state of highly focused attention. In other words, one aspect of hypnosis is the state of being highly aware and focused at the same time. You drive on the highway, you are very aware and focused, and the time just disappears. You get involved in a movie you are watching where you are focused and aware, but nothing around you can distract you from that movie. Hypnosis does just that same thing. Are you hypnotized driving on the road and in the movie theatre? Yes, you are!

However, the effective role for which we use hypnosis is in dealing with the subconscious. So a highway and a movie may be hypnotizing or hypnotic, but it is passive. The word "hypnosis" has a lot of negative connotation. Part of the reason for this negativity is the misnaming of hypnosis after the Greek God of Sleep "Hypnos". This creates a belief that when a person is "under hypnosis" that they are asleep and therefore lack control. This couldn't be further from the truth. So hypnosis is a highly focused state of attention, and awareness, but is not literally sleep, as the name suggests. "One of the interesting ironies about hypnosis is that old fantasy that it takes away control," Dr. David Spiegel, professor and associate chair of psychiatry at Stanford University School of Medicine and a leading expert on the practice, is quoted as saying in an October 2004 Newsweek article by David Noonan.

"It's actually a way of enhancing people's control, of teaching them how to control aspects of their body's function and sensation that they thought they couldn't."

In fact, your mind has a type of morality center that keeps you within your personal integrity; it keeps you honest and true to your values of decency. These will keep you safe and personally intact, as important issues are dealt with during a hypnosis session.

This begins to roll into the question of what fascinates us about hypnosis? Again, this is where Spiegel addresses the stereotype about hypnosis. “The other reason for the negative hype around hypnosis is because for years hypnosis was only used as a type of entertainment called stage hypnosis. Stage hypnosis tricks create an unrealistic image of hypnosis as having the ability to control other people. Stage hypnosis is actually set up to select exactly those volunteers who like to show off and will be willing to bark like a dog or crow like a rooster given the right circumstances”.

So those people we see on stage, want to be on stage, and agree to show off on stage. We often tend to confuse that with people involuntarily changing their behavior. You will notice that stage hypnotists tend to screen people and re-seat them as that stage hypnotist sees fit. He doesn’t want some of those volunteers to spoil the effect. So people who do not wish to change or act in a manner that is not in their best interest will not while participating in hypnosis. Historical facts regarding hypnosis reveals its relevancy for practical application. Hypnosis was first used as a surgical anesthetic in India in 1845 but was quickly abandoned with the introduction of ether the following year. In 1958 it was sanctioned by the American Medical Association for use in medicine and dentistry. Since then, doctors have hypnotized patients to help ease such ills as migraines, depression, anxiety and chronic cancer pain.

How will it help my life? There are countless aspects and ways in which hypnosis can be applied. It is used in assisting relationships, curbing insomnia, clearing negative emotional barriers and blockages, leaving one available for prosperity and abundance, ceasing smoking, assisting with weight loss, being creative, assisting in academic studies, overcoming fears, and more.

The mind is a brilliant and powerful tool. Our experience, our fears, our encounters often changes us in a negative and sometime destructive way. Emotions are a potent means of guiding us through our life. Through the subconscious, we change our lives from the smallest of events which often prohibit us from reaching our potential, and at times, slow us down in day-to-day living. When hypnosis communicates with the subconscious and changes become reality, you then begin to spark your fearless self.

Debbie Papadakis is a consulting hypnotist and hypnotherapist practicing in Toronto, Ont. She appears on Remedy Me! produced by Creative Atlantic and airing on the W Network. Visit Debbie’s website at www.hypno-healing.com