Hypnosis works first by achieving a certain state of mind. The best brain wave state of mind for Traditional Hypnosis is the Alpha state. The Alpha brainwave state opens the bridge to the subconscious mind where powerful and long lasting changes can be made. Which is known as the Theda state.
Hypnosis induces a natural, relaxed state of mind (Alpha) which in turn relaxes the body. Alpha is the brain wave state of mind associated with beginning hypnosis. It’s a simple, natural state of mind we are in every day. Whenever you close your eyes and take a deep breath, you’re beginning to generate alpha brain waves.
The Four Brainwave States
There are four brainwave states: Beta, Alpha, Theta, and Delta.
Beta–Beta is our normal, walking around awake state with brainwaves in the 14-30 Hz range. We generate beta brainwaves by moving around and thinking . Beta is the awake conscious state we are in everyday.
Alpha–Alpha is a lightly relaxed state; a beginning hypnosis and visualization state; a daydreaming state in which our brain is operating in the 7-14 Hz range. Take a deep breath, close your eyes, and relax. Alpha is a relaxed, drowsy state.
Theta–The theta state is the meditation, deep hypnosis, and light sleep state. This is also the lucid dreaming state and OBE state (out of body experience) in which our brain is operating in the 3-7 Hz range. Theda is the light sleep state or deep meditative state. We get there through guided meditations that take us on a journey deep within ourselves. We also, of course, can get there by simply going to sleep. We cross Theda twice a day, when we go to sleep before going in to Delta and awakening from sleep in the Delta state.
Delta–Delta is the deep sleep, healing state, generating brain waves in the 0.5-3 Hz range. This occurs during our sleep cycles at night. Delta is the deep sleep or coma state.
Alpha is an important state of mind for a number of reasons. Alpha operates as a bridge between the conscious mind (beta state) and the subconscious mind (theta state). The alpha state allows us conscious access to the unconscious material located in our subconscious mind. When in a hypnotic state, this “alpha bridge” affords us the opportunity to reprogram your subconscious mind. We can access information in the unconscious part of our mind to help us better understand our actions and motivations, and we can change our habits and belief systems.
It’s important to understand that brainwave states are not exclusive. You can be in the beta state of mind (walking and talking) but still be producing some alpha waves. And if you begin to relax a little bit, you might start generating more alpha waves than beta waves. Close your eyes and take a deep breath and you’ll likely deepen your alpha state further. But you’ll probably be generating some theta waves too. If you’re daydreaming, you’ll likely have a mixture of alpha and theta waves and a few beta waves. Keep in mind that you are the one who generates these different brainwave states. And by learning to manipulate your brainwaves just a little, you can learn how to generate the brain wave state necessary for effective self-hypnosis.
Getting into the Alpha State
It all begins with relaxation. Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths, and you’re already generating some alpha waves. To deepen the alpha state, sometimes a fractional relaxation is used. A fractional relaxation is an induction method that directs a subject to relax different areas of the body one area at a time, usually starting at the top of the head and moving downward. By focusing the mind on relaxing specific areas of the body, three things are accomplished. First, the subject moves into an even more deeply relaxed state. Second, the subject’s awareness becomes focused on the process of relaxing the body to the exclusion of all else (the mind becomes highly focused). And thirdly, the conscious mind begins to take a backseat to the subconscious mind which comes to the forefront of the mind.
How to Effectively Communicate with the Subconscious Mind
When someone achieves an alpha state, the subconscious mind is ready to be programmed. At this point, suggestions and visualizations can be used to send effective messages to a subject’s subconscious mind to facilitate a desired change. Visualizations are especially effective because the subconscious mind works best with symbols and imagery.
In some cases, old belief systems may need to be let go of or core issues may need to be dealt with. If the old belief systems are left intact, our mind may be conflicted trying to reconcile two opposing beliefs systems and our results will likely reflect that. So it’s important to bring the beliefs held in our subconscious mind into alignment with the desires of our conscious mind. First, we let go of beliefs or core issues that created the unwanted behavior in the first place, and then we go about the task of influencing our subconscious mind to help us create the desired behavior.
The most effective way to influence our subconscious is to utilize the emotional motivation behind our desire to change. For instance, let’s say we have a strong desire to quit smoking. Let’s say we have an emotional desire to be a good role model for our children. Visualizing ourselves interacting with our children, sans cigarettes, is one way to get that message across to our subconscious. Imagining our children telling us how proud they are of us for quitting would send a powerful message to our inner mind.
A Quick Summary
So again, hypnosis is a natural state of mind characterized by an extraordinary state of relaxation in which there is a heightened awareness and focus and an increased responsiveness to suggestion. First, a relaxed state of mind (an alpha state) needs to be induced. This is usually accomplished during an induction where suggestions are given to relax. The simple act of following the given suggestions helps to focus the mind. Once a deep state of relaxation and focus is achieved, the mind is ready to accept suggestions. Metaphors, direct suggestions, and visualizations are used to communicate with the subconscious to help create the desired change. Sometimes old belief systems need to be discarded or core issues need to be resolved in order for the desired change to be effective. That’s it in a nutshell.
To simplify it even further, here are the basic keys to hypnosis:
- Breath is the key to relaxation.
- Relaxation is the key to suggestion.
- Suggestion is the key to hypnosis.