Posts Tagged ‘psychology’

Positive Thinking Hypnosis

A lot of people confuse one of these terms for the other, and authors tend to compound this problem by using these terms interchangeably in their writing. Let us take a closer look at these two related, but different methods of relaxation techniques.

Meditation is supposed to help you focus your mind, center it onto nothing. Yes I say nothing, because that is the most difficult thing for our conscious minds to do. Apart from periods of sleep or unconsciousness, our waking moments are filled with thoughts which we are not even aware of most of the time. Only when you sit down and try to make an effort in emptying your mind do you realize how hard it could be. You need specific techniques to accomplish this state of mind where you are consciously not thinking about anything in particular.

Hypnosis, be it self-hypnosis or administered by someone else, seeks to actively reach an area of your mind for some specific purpose. For example, if it is a part of some therapy session, hypnosis can be used to explore the hidden or repressed memories of the subconscious mind and bring them to the conscious attention of the user. This allows the person to get over the issues emanating from the suppressed memories. Hypnosis can also be used to create a positive frame of mind through the repetitive mention of key phrases known as “affirmative statements.” One example of such a statement is “I am the master of my fear” that could be used in the context of recovering from panic or stress attack symptoms by placing the thought constantly in your conscious mind and waiting for it to filter down to the subconscious, which is the root of the problems and the key to solutions.

There are also guided or group meditation sessions in which an expert or a recording voices instructions which the user is supposed to follow to reach a trance-like state. This tends to blur the lines between meditation and hypnosis, even though such sessions might not actively employ any affirmative statements. I personally do not think that such instances qualify as true meditation. Let me explain why.

What many people consider as mantra, the repetitive sub-vocalization of a word (often nonsensical or devoid of any meaning) such as “Om”, to be somehow similar to key phrases employed in hypnosis sessions are missing one important point. Affirmative statements are meant to be understood and accepted by the rational mind, so that it may trickle down to the creative subconscious mind. Meditative mantras on the other hand are most often purposefully meaningless so that they do not distract the attention of the person, and by their very nature provide an anchor for drifting minds.

To conclude, proper meditation involves the complete cessation of conscious thought to bring about a higher understanding, and may employ mantras for the beginner, may not be required for the advanced practitioner. Hypnosis on the other hand requires active participation of thoughts and images or symbols to be visualized by the user, to affect a particular state of mind with a specific targeted goal such as getting free of debt, losing weight, giving up smoking etc. The repetitive action phrases are in no way similar to mantras.

The author is an active practitioner of meditation and self-hypnosis, and has tried most of the popular methods. She enjoys writing about her experiences and passing along valuable lessons learned. She also enjoys writing about Thermos Food Jar and Cloth Training Pants.