In order for someone to be hypnotised, they must enter into a mental state known as a "trance". When someone is in a trance, they are highly susceptible to what's called "suggestion". When someone is suggestible, they are much more likely to act upon words that are said to them.
All of us, at one time or another in our lives, have entered into a state of trance, and will again in the future. Many people send us into trances - the media, politicians, advertisers, charismatic figures - even people we speak to on a day to day basis.
If you've ever felt a feeling of warmth when speaking to someone, a feeling of deep relaxation and connection every time that person speaks, then that person has sent you into a trance. If you've ever bought a product based purely on impulse after reading or hearing a sales pitch, then chances are, you were sent into a trance.
We are sent into trances every day so that we become more suggestible to do things - be it to buy a product, believe in a cause, or to experience a lasting relationship with someone. Good communicators are able to establish rapport with people and send them into trances much easier than average communicators.
How is it that person A is able to influence people to do things easily whilst no one listens to person B? It's because person A knows how to send people into trances, even if they're not aware that they're doing it. It can become such a subconscious part of ones personality that some people either seem to have the talent, or they don't.
The truth is, is that we can all acquire the talent to send someone into a trance, as it is a purely psychological process. By understanding what a trance is, how it is caused, and how it can be exploited, anyone will be able to send another person, even themselves, into a trance.
Understanding the subconscious mind -
No doubt you have heard of both the conscious mind and the subconscious mind. Understanding the difference between the two is of critical importance before attempting to understand what causes a trance.
The conscious mind is best thought of as the "thinking" part of our mind. Right now, you're aware that you're viewing a computer screen, you're aware that you're reading this text, you're aware of what time it is and you're also aware of any thoughts you're currently thinking of. This is your conscious mind operating. Everything that you're consciously aware of is related to the conscious part of your mind.
How about your ability to read this text without having to consciously sound out every single letter as you did in your first year of schooling? How about your ability to breath every few seconds without you even having to think about it? What about your heart beating? All of this information is being opreated by your subconscious - you're not aware you're thinking of it, it's happening subliminally.
Believe it or not, you are still sounding out each and every letter that you're reading in your head so that your conscious mind can comprehend this text. You're actually telling your heart to "beat" in rythmic patterns, even though you're not aware of it. You're telling yourself to breath, even though it seems to happen automatically. But you're doing this thinking "subconsciously", you're not "consciously" aware that you're telling your body to do these things. This is the difference between the conscious and subconscious part of our minds.
Entering a trance -
The thing separating our conscious and our subconscious is what's called the "critical mind". This is the part of our mind that analyzes all the information we're given, and determines whether or not we should act upon that information. If someone were to tell you to "cluck like a chicken", you would critically analyse that information and obviously ignore it.
When we enter within a state of trance, our critical mind is almost completely overpowered. This means that any suggestions made to us are not capable of being critically analysed. Therefore, telling someone to "cluck like a chicken" when they're in a trance may cause them to do just that.
We enter into a state of trance when our critical mind is overwhelmed with information, referred to as "message units". This overwhelming of message units may be quite subtle and unnoticeable. An example of overwhelming yourself with message units may be when you're listening to a hypnosis audio tape. There may be simple commands to imagine your arms being calm and relaxed, followed by your legs, then more parts of your body.
As your conscious mind is thinking about relaxing all parts of your body, you may become overwhelmed with this sense of relaxation. It is in this state that you enter into a trance and become suggestible. For the purposes of self hypnosis, the process of suggesting things to oneself is refered to as "autosuggestion".
(see autosuggestion)
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