Conscious Mind is our point of focus or what we are attending to at any particular moment. As you read this article you are using your Conscious Mind to read and retain information. Sadly enough this part of our mind can only hold 7-9 bits of information at any given time. Many people rely too much on the Conscious Mind to change and that is why most people fail.

 

 Critical Factor acts as a filter between our Conscious Mind and our Subconscious Mind and decides whether the information entering our Subconscious Minds is true or not true. When information is untrue this new information still enters into a database into our subconscious minds but is given little or no credibility which in turn is unlikely to ever change existing beliefs or habits. The Critical Factor is responsible to keep what is in the subconscious mind consistent.

 

Subconscious Mind is the part of our consciousness that defines who we are and what we do on a consistent basis. The subconscious mind is unlimited in capacity  and retains informations throughout our lives. The information retained in the subconscious mind is turned into habits and beliefs. The subconscious mind resists change which ultimately helps us maintain our personalities. 

 

 Unconscious Mind is fully developed before birth and helps keep the body running smoothly. Some examples of our unconscious mind in use is how we breath, digest food, defend from infection, etc. The unconscious mind can learn to generate symptoms such as the child who becomes sick when he or she does not want to go to school. Since the  mission of the unconscious mind is to help us it can cause us to desire unhealthy substances if it believes they can help us relax or cope with stress.

 

 

Now that we have divided and defined the important parts of the mind how does Hypnosis help us make lasting change? When in a heightened state of mind/suggestibility the critical factor which acts as a filter between the conscious and subconscious mind will slowly lower and allow suggestions to travel into the subconscious mind *as long as the suggestions given are not going to endanger the individual. The critical factor will still protect the individual in a state of Hypnosis and if a suggestion given is unethical or against the persons will, he or she will instantly emerge. When in a state of Hypnosis the subconscious mind will accept this new information and neutralize old behavior patterns and beliefs.

 

Lets take a look at the smoker for instance. Johnny Smoker has been smoking since he was 13 years old. Johnny was introduced to smoking by his older brother Patrick who told him it was cool to smoke and would help him cope with stress in his life. Johnny tried smoking and although he did not like it, the cigarette gave him a slight buzz and helped him escape for a moment or two. Johnny is now 33 years old and has been smoking to cope with stress for 20 years. Johnny wants to stop smoking and as a Hypnotherapist I look at this situation as the following:

 

Feel Bad ----> Smoke-----> Feel Bad------> Smoke-----> try to quit ------> Become Frustrated-----> Smoke----> try to quit ------> Become Frustrated------> Smoke-----> Become Depressed.

 

Johnny uses his cigarette as a distractor when he feels bad/stressed and when he attempts to quit, a new emotion evolves. Johnny becomes frustrated and begins to smoke again. As time passes Johnny keeps trying to quit and the more frustrated he becomes it eventually leads to a new emotion also known as feeling depressed. 

 

As a Hypnotherapist I understand that all of our feelings are good. Our feelings are indicators as to what is wrong in our lives. Like a light on a dashboard our feelings tell us when we need to slow down and or change certain behaviors. If Johnny were to utilize the power of Hypnosis he would still feel the emotion of being stressed, since we are human but instead of reaching for a cigarette the suggestion given may be to have a glass of water.  The urge to have a cigarette would cease to exist which in turn would allow Johnny to proceed with his life without having to deal with the high cost of cigarettes, possible lung cancer, foul breath, and so forth.

 

I mention this in the FAQ section but we do go into a state of Hypnosis 1,000's of times each day. You may not even realize that you are in a state of Hypnosis but some common examples are; Spacing out while driving your car down the highway and not realizing if you have missed your exit or not, Not seeing the ketchup bottle in the refrigerator only having a spouse, child, or friend point it out to you moments later,  and waking up with bruises and or cuts and not realizing how they got there.  Hypnosis is 100% safe and was recognized by the American Medical Association in 1958. Many people undergo Hypnosis for whatever reason each and every day and no one has reported ever losing their willpower and or getting stuck in Hypnosis. If you want to rid yourself of a bad habit and or improve your life by becoming more motivated, feeling better, becoming more focused, etc. Then I would highly recommend Hypnosis for change. I may be biased being a Hypnotherapist but I have seen Hypnosis work miracles not only on myself but in the lives of others all over the world.