What Hypnosis Is In reality, there is a specific state that the brain enters into when it is receptive to suggestion. This has been discovered on brain scans during hypnosis. It is not an unusual state of mind, and may feel like you are not in hypnosis. We enter into the hypnotic state naturally before we go to sleep at night, when we are daydreaming and many other times during the day. For most people, when they are hypnotised, they simply feel relaxed. There is a change in the brain wave activity, similar to  just before sleep when the alpha  state is entered. Your brain's waking state is a beta brain  cycle, just as you are going to sleep it changes to alpha and then to theta and delta in deep sleep. The alpha state is a very dreamy, relaxed and pleasant state. During this time the mind is very open to visualizations and creating a rich sensory experience. The more real the experience becomes in the subconscious mind during this state, the more effect it will have on your waking behavior. When you are in a state of hypnosis, you always have complete control as to how you choose to respond.

Safety of Hypnosis Being in Hypnosis is a normal state of mind, one which most people experience off and on every day. When you are watching a movie that you are immersed in, driving down a long familiar road or listening to music that relaxes you, you are in hypnosis. Most people experience hypnosis every day and aren't even aware of it. When you are in a guided hypnosis session, or driving down a familiar road feeling mesmerized, you have an observer self, which is an actual part of you that is always aware and watching out for you. During hypnosis you can trust that your observer self will watch over you. This is a scientific discovery of a function of our brain. During a hypnosis session you would instantly get up and leave the room if the building caught on fire or you were in any danger, even if it had previously felt like your arms and leg were too heavy to move in hypnosis. In fact, since hypnosis can help make us sharper and more mentally aware, it actually may help keep us safer, by making us more aware of our surroundings every day. If your perception of what is happening around you is better, you will notice things that are happening with greater clarity and perhaps even make better decisions.

History of Hypnosis Most people aren't aware that hypnosis has been used very effectively for anesthesia for surgeries and dental procedures. We often don't think about the fact that anesthetics are a more recent use of drugs. During the 1800's, James Esdaile had performed over 300 painless surgeries using hypnoanesthesia prior to the discovery of ether or chloroform for this use. There were many other medical professionals that had used hypnosis over the years for various ailments and as an analgesic and anesthetic, but it wasn't until 1958 that the American Medical Association officially endorsed hypnosis. This was endorsed in the Journal of the American Medical Association in September, 1958.  And in 1960 the British Medical Association actually included Medical Hypnosis as part of their curriculum. Today, Hypnosis continues to be  used for a vast array of health concerns and includes physical, emotional and psychological results. With the safety and non-invasiveness of hypnosis, it may well be our main medicine of the future....as we acknowledge that all healing originates in the mind.