n the spontaneous sense of wellbeing of a self that flows on effortlessly through changes, one that does not need ideas to help it remember who it is. In other words, when you are fully involved in being who you are, you don't waste time keeping track of who you are. It isn't necessary to do this if there is no sense of shame or threat to ward off. And the de-hypnotized, free-flowing self—not perceiving anything as separate—is simply blissfully existent and awake, without a need to ward off anything that comes its way.

The hypnotic self is a powerful set of trance phenomena. Growing up from infancy to early adulthood means being in the cultural and familial hypnotist's arena 24 hours a day! Everyone is hypnotizing you—telling you what

Hypnosis has been given many definitions over the years, and many authors have debated whether it even exists. These debates and definitions themselves are evidence of what I consider to be the most basic and profound form of hypnosis. My definition identifies the discursive thinking mind (what most of us identify with as our ordinary sense of self) as an ongoing hypnotic process. From this perspective, the ordinary conscious mind contains all the process elements of what traditionally have been called “trance phenomena.” And although the conscious mind approximates reality and makes its constructs seem workable, the mind itself is never accurately in touch with reality. More and more people are now beginning to subscribe to this view, as quantum physics continues to bear out scientific evidence that the nature of reality as described by spiritual masters throughout the ages is not merely metaphor, but actual truth. In fact, this approach to hypnotherapy could as appropriately be called “quantum hypnotherapy” as well as “transpersonal hypnotherapy.”

The transpersonal definition of hypnotherapy assumes that:

1) We are not who we "think" we are. Who we think we are is our deepest trance state (actually a "bundle" of trance states).

2) To the degree that our awareness is absorbed in and identified with our thoughts, we are in a hypnotic state—a defined state rather than a spontaneous, "real" state, an "awake" state.

3) All communication, both intrapersonal and interpersonal, to the degree that it is a sharing of thoughts about reality rather than a direct experience of reality, is a sharing of hypnotic states, “dream” states, even deluded states.

The Hypnotic Trance of Self

Not being who we think we are is the root of our dilemmas. (Or, more accurately, believing that we are who we think we are, and not noticing that we are not, is the root.) We are selectively attending* to our ideas about ourselves in order to make choices* which define and determine our lives. If the root idea of who we are is a mistake, then our whole accustomed process of strategizing to improve our lives is a “mishap” having varying degrees of painful and pleasurable consequences.

The most profound aspects of the hypnotic trance of self (or the bundle of trances of self) are established in childhood prior to our development of a discriminating perspective. As children, we accepted the overwhelming vividness and prestige, good and/or bad, of the stimuli and messages acting upon us as “truth.” Learning to identify our sensory functions and our bodily delineation happens quite naturally, but extending that to the healthy expression of our mind/body in interpersonal relationships is rare. The degree to which our first relationships were unhealthy, i.e. shaming, confusing, or threatening, determines how profoundly we develop the trance of false, hypnotic self. This trance of self refers to a fixed idea of a rigidly defined self, rather than the spontaneous sense of wellbeing of a self that flows on effortlessly through changes, one that does not need ideas to help it remember who it is. In other words, when you are fully involved in being who you are, you don't waste time keeping track of who you are. It isn't necessary to do this if there is no sense of shame or threat to ward off. And the de-hypnotized, free-flowing self—not perceiving anything as separate—is simply blissfully existent and awake, without a need to ward off anything that comes its way.

The hypnotic self is a powerful set of trance phenomena. Growing up from infancy to early adulthood means being in the cultural and familial hypnotist's arena 24 hours a day! Everyone is hypnotizing you—telling you what e

ntum physics continues to bear out scientific evidence that the nature of reality as described by spiritual masters throughout the ages is not merely metaphor, but actual truth. In fact, this approach to hypnotherapy could as appropriately be called “quantum hypnotherapy” as well as “transpersonal hypnotherapy.”

The transpersonal definition of hypnotherapy assumes that:

1) We are not who we "think" we are. Who we think we are is our deepest trance state (actually a "bundle" of trance states).

2) To the degree that our awareness is absorbed in and identified with our thoughts, we are in a hypnotic state—a defined state rather than a spontaneous, "real" state, an "awake" state.

3) All communication, both intrapersonal and interpersonal, to the degree that it is a sharing of thoughts about reality rather than a direct experience of reality, is a sharing of hypnotic states, “dream” states, even deluded states.

The Hypnotic Trance of Self

Not being who we think we are is the root of our dilemmas. (Or, more accurately, believing that we are who we think we are, and not noticing that we are not, is the root.) We are selectively attending* to our ideas about ourselves in order to make choices* which define and determine our lives. If the root idea of who we are is a mistake, then our whole accustomed process of strategizing to improve our lives is a “mishap” having varying degrees of painful and pleasurable consequences.

The most profound aspects of the hypnotic trance of self (or the bundle of trances of self) are established in childhood prior to our development of a discriminating perspective. As children, we accepted the overwhelming vividness and prestige, good and/or bad, of the stimuli and messages acting upon us as “truth.” Learning to identify our sensory functions and our bodily delineation happens quite naturally, but extending that to the healthy expression of our mind/body in interpersonal relationships is rare. The degree to which our first relationships were unhealthy, i.e. shaming, confusing, or threatening, determines how profoundly we develop the trance of false, hypnotic self. This trance of self refers to a fixed idea of a rigidly defined self, rather than the spontaneous sense of wellbeing of a self that flows on effortlessly through changes, one that does not need ideas to help it remember who it is. In other words, when you are fully involved in being who you are, you don't waste time keeping track of who you are. It isn't necessary to do this if there is no sense of shame or threat to ward off. And the de-hypnotized, free-flowing self—not perceiving anything as separate—is simply blissfully existent and awake, without a need to ward off anything that comes its way.

The hypnotic self is a powerful set of trance phenomena. Growing up from infancy to early adulthood means being in the cultural and familial hypnotist's arena 24 hours a day! Everyone is hypnotizing you—telling you what

sonal and interpersonal, to the degree that it is a sharing of thoughts about reality rather than a direct experience of reality, is a sharing of hypnotic states, “dream” states, even deluded states.

The Hypnotic Trance of Self

Not being who we think we are is the root of our dilemmas. (Or, more accurately, believing that we are who we think we are, and not noticing that we are not, is the root.) We are selectively attending* to our ideas about ourselves in order to make choices* which define and determine our lives. If the root idea of who we are is a mistake, then our whole accustomed process of strategizing to improve our lives is a “mishap” having varying degrees of painful and pleasurable consequences.

The most profound aspects of the hypnotic trance of self (or the bundle of trances of self) are established in childhood prior to our development of a discriminating perspective. As children, we accepted the overwhelming vividness and prestige, good and/or bad, of the stimuli and messages acting upon us as “truth.” Learning to identify our sensory functions and our bodily delineation happens quite naturally, but extending that to the healthy expression of our mind/body in interpersonal relationships is rare. The degree to which our first relationships were unhealthy, i.e. shaming, confusing, or threatening, determines how profoundly we develop the trance of false, hypnotic self. This trance of self refers to a fixed idea of a rigidly defined self, rather than the spontaneous sense of wellbeing of a self that flows on effortlessly through changes, one that does not need ideas to help it remember who it is. In other words, when you are fully involved in being who you are, you don't waste time keeping track of who you are. It isn't necessary to do this if there is no sense of shame or threat to ward off. And the de-hypnotized, free-flowing self—not perceiving anything as separate—is simply blissfully existent and awake, without a need to ward off anything that comes its way.

The hypnotic self is a powerful set of trance phenomena. Growing up from infancy to early adulthood means being in the cultural and familial hypnotist's arena 24 hours a day! Everyone is hypnotizing you—telling you what

d aspects of the hypnotic trance of self (or the bundle of trances of self) are established in childhood prior to our development of a discriminating perspective. As children, we accepted the overwhelming vividness and prestige, good and/or bad, of the stimuli and messages acting upon us as “truth.” Learning to identify our sensory functions and our bodily delineation happens quite naturally, but extending that to the healthy expression of our mind/body in interpersonal relationships is rare. The degree to which our first relationships were unhealthy, i.e. shaming, confusing, or threatening, determines how profoundly we develop the trance of false, hypnotic self. This trance of self refers to a fixed idea of a rigidly defined self, rather than the spontaneous sense of wellbeing of a self that flows on effortlessly through changes, one that does not need ideas to help it remember who it is. In other words, when you are fully involved in being who you are, you don't waste time keeping track of who you are. It isn't necessary to do this if there is no sense of shame or threat to ward off. And the de-hypnotized, free-flowing self—not perceiving anything as separate—is simply blissfully existent and awake, without a need to ward off anything that comes its way.

The hypnotic self is a powerful set of trance phenomena. Growing up from infancy to early adulthood means being in the cultural and familial hypnotist's arena 24 hours a day! Everyone is hypnotizing you—telling you what

n the spontaneous sense of wellbeing of a self that flows on effortlessly through changes, one that does not need ideas to help it remember who it is. In other words, when you are fully involved in being who you are, you don't waste time keeping track of who you are. It isn't necessary to do this if there is no sense of shame or threat to ward off. And the de-hypnotized, free-flowing self—not perceiving anything as separate—is simply blissfully existent and awake, without a need to ward off anything that comes its way.

The hypnotic self is a powerful set of trance phenomena. Growing up from infancy to early adulthood means being in the cultural and familial hypnotist's arena 24 hours a day! Everyone is hypnotizing you—telling you what everything means, telling you what you are, and what your actions mean regarding your worthiness—by delivering suggestions to you with repetition and emotional force.*

Children learn by modeling; they are master mimics. Thus begins the process of self-hypnosis (or self-talk, if you like). Have you ever had the opportunity to eavesdrop on a young child playing with toys while he is repeating the judgments he has heard about himself in an innocent, singsong voice? We master these skills of hypnosis very early in life.

In this way we quickly develop the veils of perception—we are no longer able to see a tree, hear a bird, taste a hamburger, or experience anything (including ourselves) simply and directly, without a running commentary going on inside. The stimulus of a tree, a bird, or a hamburger, or the spontaneous movement of our own mind, body or emotion, triggers an instantaneous, uninterrupted barrage of associations, judgments, and memories, filling our mind with sights, sounds, and sensations. This onslaught of associated responses refers to the past and projects into the future with such speed and force that, not only do we not notice we have missed the experience of the tree (its mounds of soft leaves, its mottled trunk, its gnarled mass of roots sinking deep into the earth who knows how deeply) but we also don't notice that we have been distracted from seeing the tree. We are anesthetized to the pain of our severed relationship to the tree. How many of us are already habitually numbed to the pain of being disconnected from the natural world? Does it seem a strange notion that it could be painful not to really see and experience a tree that was right in our midst?

Distraction by association, forgetfulness, spontaneous anesthesia, positive hallucination (seeing something that isn't there), negative hallucination (not seeing something that is there), time distortion and time displacement, spontaneous regression—all these are signs and qualities that traditionally indicate a deep state of hypnosis, And yet all of these take place in our ordinary waking consciousness. We will examine the signs and qualities of hypnotic depth from the traditional standpoint, and then explore how they blend into what is usually considered the non-hypnotic or “conscious” state. In this way we will begin to understand why it has become so difficult for us simply to see a tree.

Therapeutic Hypnosis Defined

Conscious, subconscious, unconscious: these concepts pervade our culture, and we freely use them in talking about ourselves. To the degree that we do this without having contemplated the meaning of these terms in the context of personal experience, or to the degree that we haven't determined the usefulness of labeling various kinds of experience with these terms, we really don’t know what we are talking about. We are merely engaged in hypnotizing ourselves by the very familiar process of sloganeering. For example, the political slogan, “Ame