What is this Hypno Stuff?

“Humans on average use the conscious mind to control their behaviour-regulating cognitive activity about 5% of the time, therefore, 95% of our cognitive activity is controlled by previously acquired programs downloaded into the subconscious. The subconscious primarily learns through hypnosis and repetition”

Bruce Lipton

Ok, so you’ve heard some ‘stuff’ about hypnosis, you’re becoming familiar with what hypnobirthing is. But you also may have seen people do crazy things on stage at a hypnosis show, so really, what exactly is it?

Let’s take the mystery out of the subject and say straight up that the state of hypnosis and self-hypnosis is very natural, focused and relaxed.

You have often experienced this state in your day-to-day life. Recall the times you’ve driven from one place to another and upon arriving, not really remembered the drive? Your subconscious and conscious mind work together like a dynamic duo. As you drive off to work each day you can think about what you did at the weekend, what you’re going to do next holidays. This is your creative, conscious mind zipping in and out of the past and future.

Meanwhile, your ‘autopilot’, the subconscious, is doing the driving, without veering off the road or ploughing through a red traffic light. You are operating in the same state as the state of self-hypnosis. We refer to this as ‘highway hypnosis’. But you didn’t do this the first time you started driving, did you? Remember learning to drive, and all the concentration it took for you to focus on what you were doing? Then over time, you had ‘downloaded’ the program, and now, it’s just an automatic function – off you go and you can drive while having a fascinating conversation with your passengers (or you can have a negotiation with your stroppy toddler), or you could be listening to an engaging podcast.

Can you remember the times when you’ve zoned out staring into the flames of a fire, or become hooked on a book or movie? These are the same states as the state of self-hypnosis.

Every time you drop off to sleep you pass through a light sleep state before entering into deeper states. So, you are very well experienced at passing in and out of this state – you’ve been doing it since the moment you were born.

Hollywood contains the greatest hypnotists – think about the movies you have ‘escaped’ into. You are drawn into the storyline and the next thing you know you are laughing, crying, or tensing up, in response to the drama playing out. This focus is a state of hypnosis.

Hypnosis is a deeply relaxed state of body and a normal, natural healthy state of mind. You are aware and in control. In hypnosis, positive suggestions are more easily accepted and acted upon.

Within this state, you are fully aware and in control – and you allow yourself to go into this state. Nobody can hypnotise you without you wanting or allowing it.

It’s when we get into this state of relaxation that the ‘magic’ happens.

When we access this state of relaxation, we can directly access the subconscious mind; the part of our mind that is far more influential than the conscious mind.

The conscious creative mind runs our life only about 5% of the time, while the programs that are downloaded into the subconscious have a huge influence on our behaviours, habits, who we are and how we perceive the world.

Our subconscious mind is pretty amazing. It processes thousands of pieces of information per second and it stores an incredible amount of our life’s experiences.

The mind is habitual and will play out the same responses to life’s events over and over and over again. For example, if you have the belief downloaded that you have a low pain tolerance, or you’re a bit of a ‘wuss’, then this is exactly how you will respond time and time again.

if there is a strong program running in your subconscious which conflicts with your rational conscious mind, then the subconscious will win over every time. This is because your body and your behaviours automatically respond to the programs in your subconscious

When we can download positive programs about pregnancy, labour and birth into our subconscious the body will automatically follow and prepare to do it’s best to work towards a positive experience.

So let’s use the power of your subconscious to make this journey one that you are super proud of and happy to be on.

Excerpts from the book: Positive Birth in New Zealand using Relaxation, Hypnobirthing and Mindfulness by Helen Bartrom.
To order your copy head to: https://www.positivebirths.co.nz/book-positive-birth-in-nz/