We’ve all seen it before…you
are getting sleepy…sleepy…and before long, the subject is under the power of
the hypnotist…while the art of hypnosis is usually associated with sideshow
performances or for comedic affect…but the fact of the matter is it's not some
kind of magical act…instead, it's a technique for putting someone or even
yourself into a particular state of concentration where you are more free to
the power of suggestion and hence more open to specific messages…maybe about
breaking bad habits or changing in other positive ways…this induction of a
state of consciousness in which a person apparently loses the power of
voluntary action and is highly responsive to suggestion is controversial…it has
been used in therapy, typically to recover suppressed memories…memories which
sometimes can be used in criminal cases, and in some cases, hypnosis has been
used to get people to do things they ordinarily wouldn’t do for someone else’s
benefit…or to allow modification of behavior by suggestion such as quitting
smoking…much debate has occurred between those that firmly believe in hypnosis
and those who believe it to be a sham.
