Chapter 16: Hypnotising Your Audience 259
altered or dream-like state, the mind is relaxed. When the unconscious mind
becomes more available, the therapist helps a client make changes, whether
that’s giving up smoking, letting go of a phobia or fear, or making other
positive changes to improve the person’s confidence and well-being.In Chapter 5, you can read about George Miller’s conclusion that the conscious
mind can cope with only seven chunks of information, give or take two pieces
at one time. Change in your thought and belief processes takes place at an
unconscious level. The Milton Model allows change by pacing the person’s
reality, and by that we mean truly acknowledging and respecting the qualities
of somebody else’s experiences that are likely to be different from your
own. The model distracts the conscious mind and lets people access their
unconscious mind.When under hypnosis, some people go deep into the experience, others less
so. Your brain becomes less active and muscle movement, blinking rate, and
swallowing reflexes all slow down.Getting comfortable with the idea of hypnosis
Words are powerful – they conjure up all kinds of memories and sensations
and stir imaginations into action. If we say one word to you, hypnosis, what
does your mind conjure up? If we ask you to let us hypnotise you, would you
ponder the question for a second and answer ‘fine’, or back away shaking
your head. What reaction sticks in your mind?If you’ve ever experienced hypnosis, you’re likely to remember a pleasant
and relaxing state of being. If you haven’t, you may be curious or even
downright terrified. ‘Don’t start fiddling with my mind,’ we hear you say!Some stage hypnotists give hypnosis a bad name by the way that they
encourage people to perform all kinds of embarrassing acts to entertain
others. Such shows engender fear about the huge control of a hypnotist over
the minds of the subjects. Little wonder, therefore, that many people are
sceptical as regards hypnosis.If this scepticism applies to you, you may appreciate another way of looking
at hypnosis. Simply think about it as a dream-like state in which the possibility
of change becomes more available. The Collins English Dictionary defines
hypnosis as ‘an artificially induced state of relaxation and concentration in
which deeper parts of the mind become more accessible’.When you’re stuck with a problem, hypnosis simply accelerates the process of
getting to the solution and help you need.