Heart Centered Hypnotherapy – a key to loving the self.
When you hear the word hypnosis or hypnotherapy, it may conjure up a vision of people on stage or on television quacking like ducks, squawking like chickens or acting in embarrassing ways. They appear to be in a trance, completely under the control of the hypnotist. These staged demonstrations are created for entertainment and have nothing to do with therapy or even hypnosis. So, now that we know what hypnotherapy is NOT, let’s talk about what hypnotherapy IS and how it may be the key to a profound and life changing experience.
Let’s start with hypnosis. According to the American Psychological Association:
“Although hypnosis has been controversial, most clinicians now agree it can be a powerful, effective therapeutic technique for a wide range of conditions, including pain, anxiety and mood disorders. Hypnosis can also help people change their habits, such as quitting smoking.”
Hypnosis involves an induction to a deep state of relaxation and a shift from the conscious to the subconscious mind. The conscious mind accounts for about 10% of our mental activity. This is the analytical mind with which we think and plan and includes our short term memory. The remaining 90% of mental activity takes place in the subconscious mind. This is where our emotions, long term memory, relationship patterns, developmental stages, creativity, intuition, habits, and involuntary bodily functions reside.
The mind naturally shifts back and forth between our conscious and subconscious throughout the day. For example, when we are daydreaming or engrossed in watching a television show or engaged in a task we do automatically we have likely transitioned to a subconscious state of mind. While in a hypnotic state, the individual is in a deep state of relaxation yet remains alert and in complete control of their actions and behavior. In this relaxed state the mind is more open to receiving suggestions. A post-hypnotic suggestion is introduced to help people change unwanted behaviors or habits.
In hypnotherapy, a therapy session takes place while the individual is hypnotized. From a deep state of relaxation, it is possible to move beyond conscious thoughts to access feelings and emotions more readily as well habit and relationship patterns.
Heart-Centered Hypnotherapy is a specialized and highly effective modality developed by Diane Zimberoff at The Wellness Institute in Issaquah, Washington.
In Heart Centered Hypnotherapy age regression is used to trace core emotions and feelings back to their source. Early life experiences are explored and conclusions drawn about the self and decisions about behavior are uncovered and examined. Suppressed emotions and blocked energy are released, and cravings that trigger unwanted behaviors may be reduced or extinguished.
Heart Centered Hypnotherapy is a lovely complement to traditional talk therapies such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. It may help an individual move past a place of feeling stuck or help them to better understand the core beliefs that subconsciously influence their thoughts and behaviors in negative ways.
Through this process it is possible to increase clarity and insight, heal emotional wounds and develop greater self-confidence.
