Hypnosis

2004-4-28 12:00:00

Evelyn writes:
Just so people are not confused by a hypnotherapist, what you have described is called "covert" hypnotism. This procedure is usually used in undercover operations, such as with the CIA. In reality, a hypnotherapist cannot make you do anything that you would not do in your normal state. Hypnotherapy is simply an altered state of consciousness. A better word would be deep relaxation, which allows you to put your ego aside and connect with your subconscious mind.

JJ:
The suggestions that I mentioned are done by stage hypnotists all the time - and are not like CIA type of brainwashing techniques.

I first studied hypnosis starting when I was 16 years old and performed many experiments on my high school friends. This got me in trouble with my teachers, religious authorities and other adults, but I learned from study and experiments the limits of standard hypnosis - though I never in my life gave any suggestion that went against anyone's moral principles. Other experimenters have though and have published their results.

Under standard hypnosis, such as that performed by a stage hypnotist, the subject will do many crazy things that she would not normally do. For instance if he is shy and afraid to sing in public and you tell him he is Elvis Presley he will sing away in front of a big crowd like he has done it all his life.

What a subject will not normally do under hypnosis is to do something contrary to his moral principles. Because it is not against the moral principles of most people to scratch their head or stand on their head, a subject under a reasonable trance would fulfill these post hypnotic suggestions without question just as I presented.

In other words, a subject under hypnosis will do some wild and crazy stuff he would not normally do as long as his internal programming does not morally object. If you were to tell a subject to kill his mother-in-law and he hated her and was already entertaining the thought he may obey, but the normal person would either snap out of the trance at such a suggestion or just disregard the order.

Early in my life I concluded that repeated hypnosis has a watering down effect on the discriminating mind and ceased working with it. There are many degrees of trance state and even a television commercial puts us in a light one so there is no way of getting away from it entirely. But I have found, however, that one can achieve such things as past life regression and retrieve memories with the similar power as the deep hypnotic trance by using harmless methods such as guided meditation as well as some of the Scientology technology.

While 'the camp of Zion' was on the way to Missouri in 1834 Joseph was some ways ahead of the company one day, when there was seen walking with him by the roadside a man, a stranger. When the company came up there was no person with him. When at camp that night, Heber asked the Prophet who that man was; Joseph replied it was the beloved Disciple, John, who was then on his way to the Ten Tribes in the North.
Heber C. Kimball letter to Addison Everett, Oliver B. Huntington Journal, 13th January, 1881.