andrea@hp-sdd.UUCP (andrea) (01/15/85)
When I took a workshop to learn hypnosis as part of the
Holistic Health Practitioner curricula, we were told that there
are three basic levels or stages of trance.
In the lightest stage, the subject feels "awake" and conscious,
much as you have described. This stage is sufficient for relieving
anxiety (dentistal patients need only 2/3 as much anesthesia in this
stage) and doing simple self-programming such as overcoming stage fright.
The practitioner can tell that you are in this stage (as opposed to
your "normal awake" state) by micro-signals such as the slight
involuntary fluttering of the eyelids, which you would not be
aware of.
The intermediate stages of trance are used for serious therapy,
such as regressing to early childhood (DO NOT ATTEMPT WITHOUT
PROFESSIONAL GUIDANCE! can be very dangerous). The deepest
levels of trance are used for anesthesia. I saw a medical film
which had to be about thirty years old, judging from hairstyles,
in which a woman underwent a c-section using hypnosis as the sole
anesthesia. She was just fine (sang softly throughout) and was
"out" and holding her baby within ten minutes of being back in
her bed! Note that the doctor worked with her for six months,
building both her ability to go that deeply into trance and their
working relationship.
I am a little surprised that the doctor told you what the signals
would be - it tends to be more effective to give a "content-free
suggestion" such as "one of your fingers will twitch when you
have a 'yes' answer" and then asking a question with an obvious yes
answer (such as asking you if your name is really your name) to
establish which finger. You can consider the signals to be a
semaphore between your conscious and unconscious minds; since the
unconscious mind is more closely related to the autonomic nervous
system, it tends to manifest in the microscopic "involuntary" type
of movements such as muscle twitches (which are seldom noticed or
noticeable by the conscious mind).
Your doctor could have given you better "proof" if that's what
you're after - one common one is to pick a fairly innocuous
physical signal which the person does not experience spontaneously,
and tie it to a simple physical gesture. Example: "whenever you
place your finger and thumb together to make an 'o', your shoulders
will relax, sag 1/2" lower, and feel warm". Immediately upon bringing
you out of trance, the doctor could ask you to do that and observe the results.
It works amazingly well, and can be reinforced by repeated sessions with
the same suggestion.
Andrea Frankel, Hewlett-Packard (San Diego Division) (619) 487-4100 x4664
net: {allegra|ihnp4|decvax|ucbvax}!hplabs!hp-sdd!andrea
...searchlights casting for faults in the clouds of delusion