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Hypnosis was accepted by the AMA in 1958 as an acceptable scheme for treating nervous tension and stress related symptoms. Does it really work? What should a person consider critical when seeking out a therapist, or procuring hypnotic recordings?

There are many different hypnotic methods that are used to reach the unconscious mind to trigger change. Each method has its good points and its bad points. No two people are the same, so it only makes sense that the best results will be obtained by using techniques that each person will have the most success with.

Most companies that sell hypnosis recordings offer products that consist of standard traditional hypnotic methods. A few hypnosis vendors offer much more up-to-date and effective Ericksonian hypnosis techniques. And fewer still offer NLP or Neuro-Linguistic Programming techniques.

The newest and by far the most powerful technology is video hypnosis. Video hypnosis uses the latest Neuro-Linguistic Programming thought processes to produce instant changes in an individual. Video hypnosis techniques are not subliminal in nature.

With "Traditional Hypnosis," we simply make suggestions to the unconscious mind mind. In case you are wondering, as far as I'm concerned, the term unconscious and subconscious are indistinguishable - they refer to the same part of the mind. This type of hypnotherapy works well for a subject who generally accepts what he/she is told without questionning everything.

Most hypnosis programs that are sold today are based on "Traditional Hypnosis" methods. This reason is it does not really take much training or experience to write a script and just command a subject to do something. Unfortunately Traditional Suggestion Therapy is not very compelling for people who are analytical in their thought processes.

By contrast, Ericksonian Hypnosis and Neuro-Linguistic Programming techniques work much better for most individuals in today's generation! This is because today individuals are taught to analyze everything they see and hear, rather than just follow the flock. So these methodologies do work well on people who are analytical in their thought processes.

These methods are much more effective at reaching and influencing the unconscious mind. However, it can take years of training and experience to learn how to apply these techniques with a high rate of success. This is a challenge that is only accepted by truly dedicated hypno-therapists.

With "Ericksonian Hypnosis," we use little stories, called metaphors, to present suggestions and ideas to the unconscious mind. This is an effective technology, because it usually eliminates the mental blockage of suggestions that is often caused by the conscious mind. There are two types of metaphors, "Isomorphic," and those of the imbedded command or "interspersal" nature.

Isomorphic metaphors offer direction to the unconscious mind by telling a story with a moral. The unconscious mind draws a one-to-one relationship between the elements of the story and the elements of a problem behavior. For example, if a child is telling a lot of lies, the parent might tell the child the story about the "Boy who cried wolf." The unconscious mind would draw a comparison between the boy in the story and the child, and realize that telling lies could lead to disaster, so the child would probably stop lying.

With the Embedded Command technique, the hypnotherapist conveys an interesting story that engages and distracts the conscious mind. The story contains hidden direct suggestions that are almost always accepted by the unconscious mind. For example: While the client is in hypnosis, he/she may hear the hypnotherapist say something like: I'm going to tell you a story about ...[a beach that has feelings. Isn't that] ...strange to... [you]? It's a warm summer's day, and... the beach [feels great].

The hypnotist pauses, shifts his voice tonality, and emphasizes the bracketed text. The unconscious mind recognizes a "Selectional restriction violation." Beaches can't have feelings. So it's like the unconscious mind says to itself: "Wait a minute, a beach can't feel anything, so that must mean that I'm supposed to feel great."

Since the suggestions are hidden in an article that is distracting the conscious mind, it is not very likely that the conscious will realize that it has just received a direct command, so it will not resist or block it.

Process Instructions direct the unconscious mind to recall a memory of an appropriate learning experience from the past where something useful to the present situation was learned, and then to apply that experience to correct negative behaviors in the present.

With "Neuro-Linguistic Programming" (NLP), rather than using post-hypnotic suggestions, we use the same thought processes that are creating a problem, like stress of nail biting, to do away with the symptom. NLP in the hands of an experienced hypnotherapist can be very effective.

NLP Anchoring: Have you ever heard some old music and had it remind you of feelings from the past? When you originally heard the music, you were feeling those feelings, and they unconsciously became attached to the sound of the music. So the song became an Anchor for the feelings. Now when you hear the song, it triggers the same feelings again.

Anchoring can be a very effective technique. Suppose that you have a memory of being commended for having done a great job in the past. If you revivify that memory, you'll be able to revivify the feelings of self-esteem that you had at that time. If you touch two fingers together while you re-experience those feelings of self-esteem, that touch will become an anchor for the feelings of self-esteem.

Now suppose that you want to create motivation to stick to a diet and lose weight. If you make a mental image of yourself with a thin, sexy body, and simultaneously trigger the anchor - (press the two fingers together again), your unconscious mind will attach the feelings of self-esteem to your image of you with the thin body and your level of motivation to lose weight will increase dramatically.

NLP Flash: This is a very effective and powerful Neuro-Linguistic Programming method that can be used to turn things around in the unconscious mind, so that thoughts and experiences that used to trigger feelings of stress actually trigger relaxation instead.

The NLP Flash method is also a fast way to obliterate a conditioned response. For example: If a smoker has a cigarette while driving a car, his/her unconscious mind will associate the two behaviors together so that he/she automatically gets a strong urge for a cigarette anytime he/she sits behind the wheel and drives.

The Flash will cause the smoker's mind to disassociate the image of a cigarette from the steering wheel and dashboard so that he/she does NOT get a compulsion to smoke just because he/she is driving.

With "Subliminal" methods, the recording has two tracks. One track contains a cover sound that is heard by the conscious mind. The cover sound could be anything from music to the sound of a running stream. The second track contains direct suggestions that are listened to by the unconscious mind mind. These suggestions are repeated hundreds of times during a session.

Subliminal programs can be played in the background while you are working, or driving or partisipating in any other activity. You don't have to stop what you are doing and relax like you do with self-hypnosis. Subliminals can be an addition to hypnotic programs. But Subliminals will never replace Hypnosis or NLP because they are not as effective! They don't even come close!! Some studies have claimed that it can take up to 80 hours of listening to a subliminal recording before it will have any effect on many people.

The last hypnotic method that we're going to discuss is Video Hypnosis. Video hypnosis is the most efficient form of hypnosis!

The methods used in video hypnosis are based on the Neuro-Linguistic Programming technology, which works based on the utilization of a person's existing thought processes instead of direct commands.

Over 70% of the planet learns more quickly based on what they are able to see rather than what they hear.

Think about it. If you feel an urge to eat or smoke when watching TV, it's because your subconscious mind recorded the video image of either food in your hand, or a cigarette in your hand, and then connected that image to an image of the TV. You never spoke to yourself and told yourself in words to associate them together, did you?

And that's why the Video Hypnosis mechanism is so compelling. It's not hypnotic in the traditional sense, relying on the spoken word; rather, it relies on transmitting images to the unconscious mind. And if you've ever cried when watching a sad TV show, then you know how effective video hypnosis can be at reaching the unconscious mind. With this technique, results usually start with the very first viewing of the video!

The Video Hypnosis / NLP modality is sold under the registered trademark of Neuro-VISION. It trains the unconscious mind using a high-tech simulation process. This frees a person of their cravings and tensions and allows a person who smokes to quit without willpower, and a dieter to lose their cravings and appetite. Results start with the very first viewing!

(c) 2007 By Alan B. Densky, CH. This document may be re-printed as long as it is not changed in any way and the author's name and clickable web address links are retained.

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