I had a friend who underwent hypnosis in a stage show. He described it like being in a dream. The hypnotist would describe something, and it would be real for him. So I think you're right about not being able to make someone do something completely out of character, I mean, there are things I wont even do in dreams, but I still do some pretty wild stuff in dreams. So it could be frightening what they might be able to get you to do.
I think everyone can be hypnotized if it's done by a professional. The human mind is very weak and can be manipulated very easily. Did you know, for example, that many of the people who die from a few gun shots, could have lived had they only believed in that?
If you stand on top of a cliff and say to yourself "Oh, no. I'm gonna fall, I'm gonna fall" Most chances are that you will. Same with tests. If you come with an attitude of "aww, I'm gonna fail", no matter how much you've studied, your results are gonna be drastically different from the opposite case. That's why it's important for Sports that you have no doubt about your victory.
This proves how the mind can manipulate itself. It is nothing, though, compared to how others can manipulate it.
Very interesting topic. My parents took me to be hypnotized for weight loss (many years ago) and it was not very successful. I don't think anyone who does not want to be hypnotized can be, therefore anyone who does not wish to be "under a spell" won't be. Their will does not allow, as JB said, for them to be receptive and 'open'. This is a crucial step in hypnosis. Again, I don't believe hypnosis to be a tool of casting spells, rather a tool of suggestion. People who find it easy to be hypnotized are usually people who have a good imagination and can concentrate/focus well on one particular thing. There is a long list of situations where hypnosis can be quite helpful and benefitial (some of these are listed in the website below).
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Hypnosis is an altered state of awareness that allows access to a person's subconscious mind. During hypnosis, the body and conscious mind are in a relaxed state, while the subconscious mind remains awake and receptive to suggestions. The mind will only accept those suggestions with which the person is in agreement. Hypnosis enables a communication process to a person's mind that allows the conscious and subconscious minds to believe the same message, which is in line with the established morals and ethics. Since 1958 the American Medical Association, the American Psychiatric Association and the British Medical Association have adopted hypnosis as a viable therapeutic tool, and approved hypnotherapy for use by professionally responsible individuals (I state this in bold because although it is an approved therapy, it is only acceptable when practiced by such individuals). Although almost anyone can be hypnotized, it requires willingness to be hypnotized and ability to focus. This is also referred to as the degree of hypnotizability of a person. The induction of hypnosis is never dangerous to the person. However, hypnotized persons may remember unpleasant events and emotionally react. This is when hypnosis comes to the rescue from suffering a lifetime of emotional accidents the conscious mind is unable to change. Because hypnosis is the most functional and reasonable way to reprogram emotional attitudes and reactions. From the website (sorry for the distracting background there, I found this to be the most concise website): https://members.rogers.com/drfatmanur/fact.html |
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I don't think anyone who does not want to be hypnotized can be |
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While it may happen that you strongly object to doing what you are hypnotized to do, there will allways be a part of you that does want it. |
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I think you are never fully decided on an issue...I believe proffesional hypnotizers can expand that part of you, however small it is, so much that it eventually dominates you. |
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Did you know, for example, that many of the people who die from a few gun shots, could have lived had they only believed in that? |
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Even if someone could argue that somewhere in a deep, recessive corner of my mind that I am unaware of that there could be such feelings (which I highly doubt), my conscious mind is too strong to ever let something like that flourish and grow in my mind. |
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Can you imagine someone like Hitler with a tool like that in his arsenal? |
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Do you know this for a medical certainty? While it could be a possibility, is this really true in 'many' cases? If so, I would love to learn more about it. |
I think that it is possible to be hypnotized, but I wouldn't recommend it unless it was done for medical purposes. The reason that I say this is because once you are under the influence of hypnotism, you are not at the same time in control of your own body, instead, somebody else is, and also of your mind.
to me, this can be misused, and dangerous if not handled properly by a professional.
I've been researching self-hypnosis as of recently, and actually tried it on myself twice yesterday. I think the first was successful because I was in what could be called an extremely relaxed, pleasant state. The next try wasn't successful as my mind wasn't at rest. I'm doing it to improve qualities in myself that I find lacking (or excessive). Public speaking, for one, is a thing that absolutely terrifies me, and I think that self-hypnosis, along with prayer and increased mental preparation, can solve that problem, and others. Like someone said, it depends on your attitude. You have to let your self-conscious truly believe what you're tring to do *will* work, otherwise it won't work, which is basically what you're trying to achieve through hypnosis in the first place. Also, I don't see anything wrong with hypnosis techniques as long as they are to be used in a helping matter. Matters that aren't beneficial to anybody except for their entertainment --- are not an acceptable reason for performing hypnosis or self-hypnosis, in my opinion. I'm doing it to improve traits in my personality and to boost my self-confidence, both of which I think are a positive, good thing to seek after. I'll probably perform the method once or twice a day on myself for a while. If anybody's interested, I'll let you know how it worked for me or didn't work.