More Awake…Not More Asleep

More Awake…Not More Asleep

The old idea of hypnotherapy consists of this phrase, “You’re getting sleepy…”

Some people are only familiar with a kind of hypnotherapy that’s all about getting people into a sleep-like state- hypnos means sleep in greek- and that the client would be open to suggestions in that state. James Braid, a Scottish surgeon coined the term. He performed more than 1000 recorded surgeries using hypnosis as the only anesthetic. For his work, the fact that hypnosis can be used in that way was all he needed to know.

But, we now know that hypnotherapy can be used for so much more. When someone is going into surgery, a state similar to sleep may be the best choice. When someone has a problem in their lives, they are already in a ‘problem state’- a state that’s already trance-like- in which they repeat a pattern that’s not working for them.

What that client needs is to become more awake to the possibilities available in the moment. They need to expand their identity beyond the same patterns that they are available to them in their usual waking state, and to connect with a deeper intelligence- to wake up to who they are and all of the resources and possibilities available to them. This is where hypnotherapy excels.