Who can be hypnotized ?
As hypnosis is everywhere, it now makes sense to explain how anyone can be
hypnotized.
Indeed, we are all hypnotized, or able to be hypnotized, every day. Whether
we are aware of it or not, whether it is for a few seconds in a day or if we willingly
devote a few hours to it, we all experience different levels of waking and conscious
states, which sums up the full complexity and efficacy of human understanding.
We can go even further. For example, we cannot remember all the
complexities of a particular scene. Nevertheless, some details that would seem lost
to us, have been unconsciously incorporated at the time. When becoming conscious
of the scene, the insignificance of some details makes the brain dismiss them as
unimportant and so inhibits their expression.
Sitting at a café terrace with an engaging friend, I probably would not be able to
remember the color of the shirt the person two tables down was wearing, for
instance. And yet, my eyes saw it. The neighbor was in my field of vision. So, if my
eyes know, I know.
But the fact is that at the time the color of the shirt does not matter at all to me : the
brain therefore hides this seemingly insignificant detail.
Now imagine something unfortunate then happens. I come out of my trance because,
for example, there is a car accident not far from away. Suddenly the state of
consciousness is more immediate. The details become more visible again, and that
particular shirt, back in my field of vision where the accident happened, is yellow. Did
we know?
Yes, indeed.
If before the car accident we had been asked some straightforward questions
and answers under simple conventional hypnosis, we would have recovered the
memory of the yellow shirt, although we did not even register the fact that we had
seen it. This means that at any time we are able to transform the conscious reality of
our experience at will : we can blot out what does not interest us as constituting too
may afferent visual messages, because it could disrupt our pleasant little interlude. It
means that everyone goes in and out of a state of hypnosis all day long and
experiences different states of consciousness.
We can all be hypnotized, although we do not know it, because hypnosis is a
natural phenomenon.
But then why is it that some subjects are responsive to hypnosis and others
are not ? In actual fact all subjects are responsive. It just takes different lengths of
time, a different number of sessions, more or less spontaneity or evidence, and more
or less immediacy.
New hypnosis is aimed at everyone as unique individuals but does the work of the
“Absolute”. Above all everyone has their own story, their own path. The latency
period before reaching the hypnotic state depends on the level of trust that each is
prepared to place in the encounter, and in the relationship. For some people, the
empathy is immediate. For others it may take longer. Of course, there are several
hypnotizing techniques, but they are only efficient if the subject is willing and open to
suggestion.
Not only is it not possible to hypnotize a subject against their will, it would be
counterproductive for both parties.
Suggestion travels from the practitioner to the patient. There is a scale of receptivity
to suggestion, called the “suggestibility scale”, which very simply measures the
degree of willingness and the response to suggestion.
In stage hypnosis shows, the subjects ready to go on stage are duly selected
according to a series of discriminatory physical or mental maneuvers- joined hands,
fingers apart, forefingers up and touching, which then cannot be pulled apart - only
the most demonstrative and the most suggestible people will be invited to participate
to the show.
Finally, the state of consciousness is fluid, elastic, and adaptable. A person’s
suggestibility can vary with the context, the moment, external factors in their life, their
emotional state, and whether or not they have been hypnotized before.
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