A
hypnotic state is a pleasant, relaxed state of heightened
suggestibilty during which the hypnotized person has greater access
to the subconscious mind. When a hypnotist talks about
suggestibility, they are not referring to suppression of the
patient's will or any form of "mind control." Suggestibility merely
refers to how well subconscious ideas can be challenged by you, the
conscious.
To
understand why this is necessary, one must realize that the
subconscious holds tremendous power. In addition to
controlling internal organs and reflexes, the subconscious is
continuously sorting through your experiences and making predictions
about what you can expect from the world around you. When you hear
the voice of a friend, your subconscious reacts by influencing the
level of tension in your muscles, the dilation of your pupils, and so
on. The same is true when you run into someone you would rather avoid
– you may develop sweaty palms, a dry mouth, or you may squint.
Trouble
comes in when the subconscious makes incorrect generalizations about
what causes pleasure or pain. For example, you may want
nothing more than to drop ten pounds for swimsuit season. However,
your subconscious might have come to associate chocolate cake with
success and celebration. Even though you'd love to look good on the
beach in a few months, you would find yourself eating cake whenever
you've lost a pound or two. The cake may be your subconscious trying
to spur you on to victory, but it really has the opposite effect.
Whenever your conscious and your subconscious disagree, the
subconscious will always come out on top. And while you may think you
eat the cake because it tastes good, your subconscious often has
different reasons.
That is where hypnosis
comes in. By slowing down the conscious mind, you access the
subconscious. The subconscious is not concerned with everything
in your conscious, or else changing it would be as easy as talking to
yourself – so easy, you would never be the same person twice.
However, once in a hypnotic state,
carefully worded suggestions can be used to address the subconscious
and change its beliefs. Once the desire for chocolate cake is
eliminated, you will no longer feel compelled to eat it, and will
lose weight.