Hypnosis, dreaming, lucid dreaming, directed dreaming, dream
Can anyone be hypnotized? Or is there a way that hypnotists cheat when working with an audience to find the people who are the most likely to see the pink elephant?
For some people, hypnosis seems like a strange and dangerous thing, this is because most people have only been exposed in a commercial way. For example, watching people being hypnotized on a television show or at a Seminar.
This commercial/entertainment type of hypnosis is very different from self-hypnosis. In self-hypnosis, you are in complete control and able to hypnotize yourself to make your life better, or change a bad habit such as drinking too much or smoking. And, in fact, not everyone is able to be hypnotized as quickly and easily, as the people in the entertainment business might lead you to believe.
There is a lot of screening being done to select the most outgoing people; the ones who make the best “subjects” for hypnotism because they are already outgoing, and at a party fi given the chance to get a little attention, would probably do these things anyway. You cannot be hypnotized against your will; you must be a willing participant and trust someone else to relax you completely before the hypnotic trance can begin.
I remember my first experience with hypnotism. It was in college, at a special seminar put on by my Psychology class Professor. We were studying the conscious and subconscious mind and he wanted us to get a first-hand look at the art of hypnotism. I am not a very outgoing person by nature, and there was no way I was going to be hypnotized and bark like a dog, or moo like a cow, or do a dance on stage, or any of those things that I had seen people do under
hypnotism on the television. So, while the Hypnotist was telling everyone that they were getting very sleepy, and their eyes were getting very heavy, I wasn’t listening. Instead, I was putting different thoughts into my head like: I WILL NOT be hypnotized, I WILL NOT be hypnotized, my eyes are NOT tired and neither am I and I will not be barking like a dog in a moment!
Needless to say, I did not go into a trance because I was an unwilling participant. I didn’t want to make a fool of myself in front of all my classmates. However, a few of the football players and more outgoing people did end up seeing a green elephant and trying to catch it – it really is amazing that this can be done, and entertaining to say the least.
The reason I tell you this is to make you understand that hypnotism is a voluntary thing, and you must be a willing participant in order to make it work. That is why most people prefer self-hypnosis, because they can be sure of what will be said to them, and they can concentrate on a particular area of concern for them. The reality is,
you actually enter a state of hypnosis at least twice a day, just before falling asleep and just before waking. It is this time of true relaxation when it is possible to access the subconscious mind as well as the conscious mind.
In the book “Directed Dreaming,” there are clear instructions on the best way to tap into your subconscious mind (while sleeping or awake), to help you remember the things that are hiding there that could be very useful to you; if only you could remember them.
You will be amazed to find that there are clues everywhere about what direction to take as you travel down life’s roads, and by accessing and paying attention to these clues, you will find that most of the time, you have the amazing feeling that you are always in the right place at the right time as you travel down the road to success.