4 Hypnosis myths, debunked
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What is hypnosis, anyway?
If you’re asking, you're in good company, because there are a lot of people who have either heard about, or are maybe considering hypnosis as an option for healing, recovery, or self-development.
But because hypnosis is an alternative modality that is still gaining traction, there are still a lot of myths about what hypnosis actually entails.
Hypnosis Myth #1: Hypnosis is just like it’s shown in the cartoons.
If you grew up watching cartoons, you’ve probably seen a cartoon version of a “hypnosis,” in which one character swings a shiny object back and forth while saying, “You’re getting verrrrryyyyy sleeeeeeppppyyyyy,” and the hypnotized character walks around doing whatever the hypnotist says, saying ridiculous things or clucking like a chicken, all the while being completely oblivious to their own free will.
This is not at all what happens, and totally not the point, of QHHT.
When someone is seeking out hypnosis as a healing, recovery, or self-development modality, they are looking to connect with the natural answers they have within themselves, within their own consciousness.
Connecting with those answers directly can be elusive for many of us, even those of us who are very intuitive, highly sensitive, or spiritually awakened. That’s where your QHHT practitioner steps in.
A QHHT practitioner is a trained facilitator whose priority is the client and helping them connect with the information that will help them in the very best way possible. QHHT is the process they happen to use to facilitate the experience.
Hypnosis Myth #2: You’ve never experienced hypnosis or can’t be hypnotized.
In truth, everyone is actually an ace at hypnosis because everyone goes through various hypnotic states all throughout the day, very seamlessly, so much so that it feels totally natural and you might not even recognize that's what's happening.
When you’re in a state of hypnosis--also called a trance--you're just a little bit relaxed, a little bit checked out.
For example, have you ever been on your phone, watching TV, reading, or driving, and you suddenly become aware you've been zoning out, and you’re now back to reality?
Well, where you’ve “been” is a hypnotic trance.
Anytime you haven’t been aware of or fully present in absolutely every moment that has passed, you have actually been in a trance. You don’t even have to have your eyes closed to be in a state of trance.
Hypnosis is a completely natural, substance-free state of being that you go in and out of, all day, every day.
Some people worry about whether they'll be able to be hypnotized. The truth is, since you're hypnotizing yourself all day long whether or not you realize it, you’ve got this. In fact, you're an ace at it.
Hypnosis Myth #3: Hypnosis is only for woo-woo (weird) people.
Also false! The benefits of QHHT are many, which is why so many people seek it out. My clients might surprise you. They include all types of people: serious people, creative people, non-creative people, business people, non-business people, non-religious/non-spiritual people, religious/spiritual people, parents, non-parents, woo-woo people, non woo-woo people...you get the idea.
Even people who don’t consider themselves “open” to this type of experience have had transformative sessions.
So, why do people seek out hypnosis?
QHHT brings you to a highly relaxed state of being, where you're conscious, but you're not in your fully awake state. From this place, you can more readily access the part of you that is beyond just your Personality Self.
Dolores Cannon, founder of QHHT and author of more than a dozen books about her work, called this part of you the Subconscious. Others call it the High Self or Source or Higher Consciousness. (I tend to call it the High Self).
Whatever you choose to call it, all of us have this element. And this part of you knows everything about you, even what your Personality Self may have forgotten, such as what your purpose is, or why you’ve become ill.
Some say that all of the answers you seek lie within. And, certainly that’s what QHHT is all about, because it brings you into contact directly with that “within you” place that has your answers: your High Self.
Hypnosis Myth #4: Hypnosis is mind control.
Again, when you're highly relaxed and/or in a hypnotic state, your brain waves actually slow down. This is why it’s possible to access a different part of our consciousness than when we are fully awake.
QHHT works at the deepest level of trance, the Theta brainwave state, which you go through twice per day completely naturally, right before falling asleep and just before you wake up. This Theta state of trance is completely natural and a vital part of your routine as a human being.
You might be familiar with this state. It’s when you start feeling heaviness in your body. For instance, even though you may feel pretty aware at this level of trance, if you get the impulse to move your body while in this state, you’ll notice it’s challenging because your body has become very heavy. The same is true with sounds. You can still hear sounds but your response to them shifts from interaction to more of a perceiving or sensing.
Some people ask me, "Will I fall asleep?" And I always say, it's okay if you do, because we'll find a way to communicate with you. It’s never happened with my clients.
So, Theta is just before sleep but not yet. It’s a state where you can hear, and it’s also where you are seeing lots of visuals and pictures and images, just like you do in dreams, because this is the part of the brain that is active at night when you're sleeping. And so there's a lot of visualization that happens from this place.
The Theta state is highly visual, it's where your imagination is. In this state, you may feel you’re daydreaming or watching a story. That's the state that we work in during QHHT.
Because the session flows around what you’re experiencing, your practitioner is not seeing or directing the session, but responding to you and what you see. This means they will ask you lots of questions while you keep describing what is happening as the session unfolds.
You’re not asleep or unconscious, and most clients remember their session with clarity. Plus, all clients get a recording of the session to keep and listen to, for further study and to help reinforce any healing that might have happened during a session.
To recap:
Hypnotic states are completely natural, very deeply relaxed states of being you experience multiple times per day.
You experience Theta twice a day, at least, just before you fall asleep and just before you wake up.
It's from this state of just this deeply relaxed place where we can access the part of you that has answers to whatever is on your mind, the things about your life, about your relationships, about your family that you'd like to answer, to move forward in your life, in the very best way that you can.
All types of people use QHHT! It’s an easy method where people can find answers and experience transformation or healing.
I hope sharing this information has been helpful. As founder of Quantum Healing Miami and a Certified Level 2 QHHT Practitioner, I’d love to help you find the answers that can help you move forward in your life.
If you have any other questions about hypnosis, QHHT, or the experience itself, please feel free to reach out to me here or here.
And remember, You're beautiful. You're powerful. You're amazing.