Choices and Illusions (21 page)

hypnosis. In the homicide case that I spoke of earlier, for example, a man charged and convicted of the murder of his mother was able

to detail precisely the events of the evening in question, despite

his otherwise drugged stupor. We were able to verify his informa-

tion, which provided an iron-tight alibi, and he was subsequently

released from prison.

I have also used hypnosis for assisting others in improving their

lives—from childbirth to weight loss, from priming behaviors to

uncovering buried memories. I believe hypnosis to be an invaluable

tool in anyone’s self-improvement armamentarium, especially as

this is something you can carry out on yourself—you can employ

self-hypnosis to achieve your goals as opposed to having someone

else hypnotize you.

Demystifying Hypnosis

First, let’s demystify hypnosis. When called to testify in a

court of law, hypnosis is defined according to two standards: objective and subjective states. The objective state is simply a slowed

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brain-wave activity. Instead of operating at our normal beta con-

sciousness, we slip into alpha or even theta. let me unpack that a

bit and put some direct relevance on what it means:

• normal consciousness is referred to in terms of brain-

wave cycles as beta. This is a state equal to 15 cycles

per second and up, typically 15 to 30 cycles per

second.

• Below beta is alpha, a state typically thought of as

represented by 8 to 14 cycles per second of brain-wave

activity when measured by an electroencephalograph

(EEG).

• Below alpha is theta, which is 4 to 7 cycles.

• Below that is delta.

Alpha and theta brain-wave patterns are those manifest when

the subject is in hypnosis. These brain-wave cycles are also those

present when sleeping, and perhaps this partially explains why so

many hypnotists use the word
sleep.
Entering hypnosis is indeed similar in the sense that brain-wave activity follows the same pattern, and visualization while in hypnosis can be very much like the rapid eye movement (REM) experienced during sleep.

now for the second measure, that of the subjective state—when

in alpha, as stated earlier, you are hypersuggestible.

A number of studies have demonstrated the power of sleep

learning. They show us that it is during those states we call REM,

or the thresholds of falling asleep and waking up—all of which are

also what we know as alpha-dominant brain-wave patterns—when

we are particularly responsive to learning stimuli. I think of this state of activity and its accompanying association with accelerated learning and suggestibility, or hypnotic effects, as analogous to

fencing material. When the brain is functioning in beta, perhaps

under some stress at 30 cycles per second, the fencing material is

very tightly woven (many lines per inch). When slowed down to 8

cycles per second, the fencing material is much more loosely woven

(fewer lines per inch), and the result is simply a matter that more 122

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information can pass between the lines or gain entry to the other

side of the fence. (See Figure 25).

Figure 25

From the drawing, it should also be easy to see why so many

meditators have used self-hypnosis to learn to quiet the mind, to

open those supposed fence grids in an endeavor to “be still and

know.” Indeed, this altered state, whether called meditation or self-hypnosis, has been shown to positively affect the brain when done

regularly for as little as 30 days. In one study, reported in november of 2012, meditation was shown to produce enduring changes in

emotional processing.1

Other research has shown that meditation can cause funda-

mental changes in the brain, including new brain cells, axons,

dendrites, and synapses. These studies showed dramatic brain

alterations that are brought about due to quieting the mind. In fact, simply daydreaming, again an alpha-dominant state, increases creativity and probably brings about the same sort of brain changes.

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Practical Uses of Hypnosis . . . and More!

Some of the most amazing things come through when you

quiet the mind. In this state, you can access deep memories, even

those that you decided at some point that you wanted to hide. You

can also rewrite some of your own personal script—the script that

is often at the root of your self-sabotaging behaviors. Many have

argued that in a hypnotic state it is also possible to access your

higher self, that part of you that knows whatever it is you need to know to become your personal best in any given situation. In fact,

there are some simply amazing things that can be achieved with

hypnosis. I have personally experienced many, but none more

striking than this story that I will share with you.

The abbreviated version goes this way:

I once had a young woman come to me on the recommenda-

tion of her surgeon for pain management. She was in continuous

chronic pain due to a back injury and repeated surgeries. After a

couple of sessions, when it was time to return to normal conscious-

ness, I suggested that I would count her up. However, she inter-

rupted and informed me that there was a man who wished to speak

with me. This man began speaking in a tongue I did not know. I

recorded her speaking and later had the language department at

The University of Utah inform me that it was an ancient Chinese

dialect. The man speaking through my patient was informing me

of a great battle that took place and some hidden scrolls that were tucked away in the Great Wall of China. The woman knew no

Chinese, had never been around the language, and, for that mat-

ter, this ancient dialect was not generally spoken any longer even

in China. (For the full story and many more like this that simply

challenge our conventional view of the world, see my book
What

Does That Mean?
)

Bottom line, I have often been asked for tools of change, and

the two most powerful technologies that I know of are self-hypnosis and subliminal technology. Your mind dictates your life, at least

from the perspective of your choices when dealing with all that life brings you. Your thoughts may actually belong to someone other

than you. Perhaps you are only storing them so as to be prepared

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to act on them and buy, vote, feel, or emote on cue. Think of it this way—only someone concerned about the possibility of drowning

buys a life preserver. Given that simple understanding, it’s easy to see that most ads are based on informing you of your inadequacies

or heightening your fears.

Hypnosis can be a powerful tool for uncovering all of the infor-

mation stored in your mind, selectively choosing that which you

no longer wish to store, and assisting in discarding it.

It is your mind, but odds are that not everything in there is of

your choosing. But then, what exactly is this stuff we call
mind?

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Mind is noT

a loCal evenT

“All I have seen teaches me to trust the

Creator for all I have not seen.”

— r A l p h W A l d o e m e r s o n

Mind. Consciousness.
What is it we mean when we use these

words? Bruce lipton once told me of an experiment where divid-

ing cells were scraped with a tongue depressor; half remained in a

petri dish in the laboratory, and the other half were taken five miles away. On cue, the cells in the lab were shocked with low-voltage

current. The cells five miles away immediately responded as if

they were in the dish back in the lab. Cell consciousness? Indeed,

according to lipton’s book
The Biology of Belief,
not only are the cells conscious, but they also respond to thoughts and beliefs—and

the “they” in cells includes the dnA. The dnA can be “turned on”

by belief, or, in the words of dr. Ernest lawrence Rossi, “The mind drives the body, which drives the genetic code.” The implications

lead Rossi to this conclusion: “The dynamics of gene expression and brain plasticity can be initiated within the time frame of a typical psychotherapy session.”

“The mind drives the body, which drives the genetic code.”

Cleve Backster became famous overnight, not for his lie-

detection school or his special version of the polygraph, but for

his plants. Headlines ran: “Your Plants May Tell on You.” Cleve

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wired a philodendron to the galvanic skin response (GSR) readings

of a polygraph. Three subjects passed through the room, looking

first at the goldfish in the bowl next to the plant, then at a Bunsen burner heating water, and then at the plant. The same three passed

through a second time, but this time the last one took a goldfish

and dropped it in boiling water. The plant responded as though

it were conscious, aware and even shocked at what happened.

Then, in a stroke of genius, Cleve mixed up the order in which the

subjects entered the room. Every time the fish killer entered the

room, the plant responded. The plant was apparently identifying

the perpetrator, perhaps in fear. What do you think?

There is a tremendous new interest in the study of conscious-

ness. For years the subject was taboo in science, simply because it was seen as inherently unverifiable. That is, your consciousness

and my consciousness are uniquely subjective. Science is all about

objective and verifiable inquiry. Indeed, the scientific method

requires that. Today, in part due to investigations directed at artificial intelligence and new experimental designs, consciousness is

again being examined.

What is consciousness? language is often thought to be the

tool of consciousness and evidence for the kind of consciousness

that makes humans different from monkeys. Indeed, language has

often been referred to as the “jewel of cognition.” Some scientists have argued that neanderthal man possessed advanced talking

ability. This assertion is largely based upon a neck bone found in

1988, which allegedly (due to its shape alone) allowed for vocal

articulation.1 Other scientists argue for a more recent origin to

speech—recent, in this sense, being between 50 and 100 thousand

years ago. By contrast, early origin theorists date the beginning of language at more than 2 million years ago.

What Is Consciousness?

The evolution and history of language have a bearing on cer-

tain philosophical issues where consciousness is concerned. For

example, take any date for the first appearance of language. For fun, 128

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Mind Is Not a Local event

let’s just assume some hairy bipedal creature that has never spoken.

Is this creature conscious? Conscious in the sense that humans are

conscious? now one day the creature utters some meaningful form

of speech. not a grunt or guttural sound, as all animals do, but

some form—beginning—of speech. Is the creature now conscious?

What is the difference between the consciousness of animals

and the consciousness of humans? What is intended by distin-

guishing between the two conscious forms as different, and why?

If a primate species shows the ability to learn, remember, and

associate learnings, some insist this is evidence for reason. Most

flatly refuse to recognize it as such. Is it possible that by recognizing consciousness as worthy and ripe for study that man’s consciousness will lose its unique, elevated status? What precisely is it that one means by consciousness, anyway?

Certainly reason preceded language. It would be rather odd if

it were the other way around. Still, that’s an interesting thought.