triciak
08-31-2005, 10:29 AM
Hi to all of you! I have spent some time thinking about my response to Lisa and others who have expressed an interest in learning more about guided imagry and hypnosis. This will be quite long, so I thought dividing it into at least 2 segments would be best. Let me say at first that I am using the term "guided imagry" here because both my husband and I prefer it to "hypnosis". Hypnosis is a perfectly good, succinct word, and the word preferred by the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis, which my husband and I have belonged to since its beginning. The society is striving for absolute professional use of hypnosis, and one has to be a PhD, MD, DDS, or RN to belong. We feel personally, however, that the word hypnosis is sometimes misunderstood, and so we seldom use it except in explaining "self-hypnosis", which everyone does to some extent. What I am talking about is the totally relaxed, altered state of consciousness where one goes into a subconscious, totally right brain state. It's something like when you are daydreaming, or when you are looking into the flames of a campfire or fireplace, or listening to the gentle sounds of a brook and you kind of "space out". Everyone knows how to do it, though you don't usually do it deliberately except in self-hypnosis or guided imagry, and often you aren't even aware that you're doing it. The difference in guided imagry is that you have a guide, a person whom you trust, or a tape or CD, which may even be your own voice. We also use the terms "in the mind's eye" or "seeing with the eye of faith". I hope you are comfortable enough with the idea of guided imagry to go on now to Part 2, actually trying it. If any of you have questions or comments please don't hesitate to "voice" them here. There have been some wonderful comments already from StephN and others on this subject, and I believe everyone who has successfully overcome the big "C" has learned a form of this, even if you only call it "positive thinking". Hugs, Tricia