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How the Mind Works

Below is a visual example of the theory of hypnosis for behavior modification. The
small sphere is the conscious mind. It is active during hypnotic states, though less
active in the mental processing. The gray area is the critical faculty. It can limit
information that is shared between conscious and subconscious minds. It fluctuates
in this capacity depending on the current situation and existing behaviors.
In the following graphics, the darker the critical faculty is, the less information is
allowed to impact the subconscious mind. Like when tinted glass blocks light.

Critical Mind
The 'critical mind' is unlikely to be influenced. An example of this is listening to
someone talk whom you do not trust. You hear them in a very analytical way and
tend to not remember what they say, unless something they say causes a strong
emotional reaction within you. The critical faculty acts to keep the information away
from your subconscious mind and long-term memory.

Analytical Mind

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The 'analytical mind' is less easily influenced, and also less aware of emotional
states. The analytical state is not as "shut down" as the critical mind. It is active,
maybe like when you are doing math.

Typical Mind
The 'typical mind' is what most people experience at least 75% of the day. Examples
are; driving to and from work, day dreaming, planning (worrying) for possible
outcomes, doing your job in a 'zoned-out' state, reading a good book, watching TV.
It would be easy to call this a 'relaxed' state of mind, but that would be incorrect.
This state of mind is also experienced when a person is highly stressed, worried,
angry, and more emotionally reactive. People in this state of mind have more
'critical faculty bypass'. They are a little more on 'auto-pilot' and more behavioral.
People can experience a sense of dissociation, hyper-focus, suspended disbelief
and/or time distortion (the sense that time has passed more quickly or more slowly).

Receptive Mind
The 'receptive mind' is very similar to the typical mind. There is increased critical
faculty bypass and very little conscious mind analysis. There can be an increased
sense of time-distortion, dissociation, hyper-focus, and suspended disbelief. When
deeply emerged in the TV, a person tends to filter out things like; background noise
from traffic, they don't 'see' the wall and carpet around the TV, etc.

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Pleasurable events as well as traumatic events can create a receptive mind. Some
medications can create this state. This state is very receptive to suggestions. It is
more likely to take suggestions as beliefs and therefore more likely to create a
dominant neural pathway. This does NOT mean the mind is open to all suggestions.
The suggestions must be allowed by, and fit in with, the currently held beliefs.
Some medications seem to make this mind state more persistent.
What is Hypnosis?
The most commonly accepted definition of hypnosis is: critical faculty bypass. While
this state is consistently achieved naturally, it is also easy to achieve artificially.
Everyone is capable of achieving a state of hypnosis. In that way, it is the same as
any other skill. It is easier for some people to learn and become proficient at. A
skilled hypnotist is able to help clients achieve hypnosis within minutes. Once this is
accomplished, behavioral work can begin.

A common misconception is that a hypnotized person 'loses control'. This ignores

the fact that the subconscious mind is still active and pre-existing beliefs and
behaviors are present. There can be a 'sense' of losing control as the conscious
mind becomes less active, but it is only a perception. In practice, the conscious
mind has relatively little control to start with.
The Negative Motivator
Finding and working with the negative motivator in a behavior is the first goal. If this
is skipped, the initial chance of success is reduced and the chance of long term
success is even lower. If only the positive motivator, the most obvious part of a
habit, is removed, the mind will look for balance. It will often replace the positive
motivator that was removed with an alternate positive motivator.

If you take away cigarettes from a smoker, they will often replace them with food,
gum, or candy. And sometimes, if they do not, they experience increased stress.
Correctly addressing the negative motivator will often drastically reduces a person's
reported stress levels. Sometimes the client finds that this alone will create the
desired change. Once the negative motivator is addressed, the job of addressing the
positive motivator is much easier.

The Positive Motivator

Addressing the positive motivator is what the client has come in for. It is the
hypnotist's job to do this effectively. There are rare instances when replacing a
positive motivator is appropriate and can be seen as progress. Moving from regular
cola to diet cola can be relative progress. But, should not be seen as the end goal by
the hypnotist, unless that is specifically what the client has requested.

There are times when a client has high stress but is not aware of, or is unwilling to
discuss their stress (depression, anxiety, worry, etc..) When their positive motivator
is removed, it is sometimes possible for them to have more severe stress and
anxiety. It is important to discuss this possibility with these clients.

Step the Next

When the old behaviors are correctly addressed, it creates room to form new
behaviors. This can be things such as forming a positive emotional association with
drinking water and exercising. Starting new routines to keep the mind focused on
creating these new patterns. Finding ways to create and maintain emotional
balance.

Basic Hypnosis Techniques

I separate hypnosis techniques into two basic groups. First are passive techniques
and second are active techniques.
Passive Hypnosis Techniques
Passive techniques are most often thought of as 'clinical hypnosis'. Ericksonian
hypnosis and its branches, such as the now popular neuro-linguistic programming.
This style is often referred to as suggestion based hypnosis. After attaining sufficient
hypnotic depth, suggestions are given in the form of scripts using metaphor and
symbolism.
Suggestion Hypnosis Techniques
Passive hypnosis techniques are commonly attributed to Milton Erickson. His
modality uses a 'storytelling' approach. It is said this allows the subconscious to
learn what it is willing to learn from the use of metaphors in the story. This is
accomplished over several sessions. Erickson was a psychiatrist. These credentials
allowed for his methods to be more palatable to the established medical community.

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This acceptance led the way for Ericksonian hypnosis to be the most popular
method. Ericksonian techniques make use of a progressive relaxation hypnotic
induction. This induction is lengthy and has a tendency to be ineffective for a
significant number of people. I believe this is the reason for the common
misconception that "not everyone is hypnotizable". It is more accurate to say "not
everyone is hypnotizable using progressive relaxation".

Active Hypnosis Techniques

Active techniques are commonly thought of as "analytical hypnosis" or
"hypnoanalysis" techniques. After quickly attaining sufficient hypnotic depth, the
client actively participates in the process. Suggestions are used for reinforcing the
results of active techniques.

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Analytical Hypnosis Techniques
Modern active techniques are commonly attributed to Dave Elman. Dave Elman's
techniques use a more rapid and focused approach to hypnosis. Elman taught
hypnosis to medical doctors and dentists in the '50's for pain reduction and
emotionally based issues (stutters, allergies, and obesity), very often creating
notable improvement with the issue in one session.
Elman's techniques make use of a rapid induction (Elman induction). This method
has shown itself to be more consistently and reliably effective for people when
compared to progressive relaxation.