In my previous post, I talked about what Hypnosis is not. Now it’s time to discuss what Hypnosis is.

Hypnosis is a state of relaxed concentration which makes it easier to have a ‘single pointed’ focus and a removal of other distractions from the mind. When one can achieve this state, it is much easier to make changes, insert new suggestions into the unconscious which are easily accepted (suggestibility), find lost or forgotten memories (regression and past life regression therapy) and access to motor and bodily processes (metabolism, pain, heart rate, blood pressure etc.). Also, it is believed that you have access to DNA, Spirit Guides or “other worldly guidance”, other extra-sensory intelligence (psychic visions for example) and other transpersonal visions (seeing the wholeness of all life and its connectedness). All of these are articles and studies all on their own, for the purposes of this article however, we’ll stick to the very basic, elementary explanation, which once understood are easily translated to these other subjects.

Simply put, the mind is the computer and the body is the robot. What the mind commands the body does. The result of what the body does is information for the mind which transmits it back to the body. This is a cyclic relationship that can cause or heal trauma, cause or heal ignorance, aversion, etc. Any physical or emotional state is a result of this relationship.

So when placed in a relaxed state, the mind tells the body to relax, the body relaxes and the mind becomes more relaxed. This is a cycle of relaxation that is often used in hypnosis to calm the body which calms the mind.

You can see this relationship by visualizing a “bright yellow lemon”. Cut into the lemon and taste the juice and you might find that your mouth waters and/or puckers. In reality, however, there is no lemon, no juice, only the mental image and the body reaction. If you continued to eat the lemon in your mind, you might find that your mouth waters more, or that you give yourself heartburn. Whatever your body’s reaction to this would be, it has all occurred because of the mind and nothing solid or in ‘consensus reality’.

So, if you then can change your mind about the lemon and your reaction to it, you can then change your reaction to the same stimuli in consensus reality. You could perhaps change how you experience the taste of the lemon or your body’s reaction to the lemon.

These same principals then can be applied to life situations, physical dependencies or health concerns because your mind, the commander of the body, literally dictates how the body functions. There is ample research on physical healing, pain control, post-operative healing, and even cancer that point to the mind’s role in the healing of the body.

Robert Morrison © 2010