Inspiration, Motivation and the Link to Hypnosis (Article Two)

Motivational business conference speaker John Bell is a former stage hypnotist. He is also a popular speaker at medical, healthcare and pharmaceutical meetings. In this the second in a series of articles on the connections between inspiration, motivation and hypnosis you will learn something of the history of hypnosis and why it is more about an understanding of human behaviour than any so called ‘special power’.

A common misunderstanding is that only weak-minded people can be hypnotised – by someone who uses his or her superior mind power to overcome them. In other words, hypnotism is created by something passing from one person to another.

Helena Petrovna Blavatsky (1831-1891), considered to be the founder of modern theosophy, had this to say about the process of hypnotism: ‘The process by which one man of strong will-power plunges another of weaker mind into a kind of trance; once in such a state, the latter will do anything suggested to him by the hypnotist.’

This is not totally correct. Hypnosis has little to do with people of a ‘weaker mind’. The opposite is usually the case as hypnotised subjects are often intelligent, well educated people who are prepared to keep an open mind on most matters.

I developed my interest in hypnotism some years ago. It arose out of my studies into applied psychology and the mechanisms that help people to learn. I realised many of the techniques used by teachers, lecturers, trainers and the like had a common link. That common link was hypnotism. Usually without being aware of what they were doing, some instructors were using techniques that were similar to those used by hypnotists. They were motivating and inspiring their students.

Hypnotism has never been fully accepted into the world of the mainstream professions. It is only given passing recognition by medical professionals, the legal profession and academia.

The reasons why hypnotism is usually confined to the margins of conventional human activity are twofold: firstly, it is little understood, and what we do not understand we fear; secondly, it has acquired an association with trickery and unsavoury popular entertainment.

Hypnotism ahs been around a long time – references can be found as far back as recorded history goes.

Modern medicine is little more than a few hundred years old. Yet illness has been treated for thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of years. A cave in France shows an engraving that dates back 20,000 years depicting what is thought to be the earliest picture of a doctor.

He is shown wearing a deer-mask over his head. Such masks were worn to frighten away evil spirits. Spells were cast and rituals of the day adhered to.

Daemons and unwelcome spirits were, in many ages and in many cultures, thought to dwell in the head of the patient.

Ancient skulls show evidence of tooth extraction and trepanning (making a hole in the skull to allow the escape of evil spirits). Tools used for trepanning have been discovered from as far back as 10,000 BC.

This, of course, does not preclude the possibility that such procedures had been going on for centuries before. Burial remains suggest that amputations and all manner of operations were taking place well before that time.

Early medicine men had many skills. They used medicinal herbs and were experienced bonesetters. They used knowledge that was handed down from one generation to the next.

Many of the treatments they used were accompanied with chants and ritual ceremonies. The effect of this was that their power and mystery was reinforced, but it also caused the patient to fall into a trance. Sometimes hallucinogenic drugs were used in conjunction with hypnotism to strengthen the hypnotic state. Ancient man must have known that a phenomenon we now call hypnosis had the ability to reduce or even stop pain.

It seems strange to reflect that, in our modern times, the medical profession is now appreciating the benefits of herbs and spices for treating ailments and yet there still seems to be a reluctance to use the power of hypnosis to alleviate pain.

Modern medicine undoubtedly has its origins in superstition and magic. A fear of death caused early man to investigate the treatment and cure of illness and disease.

The form of dress worn by sorcerers was their ‘badge of office’. Even early physicians realised it was important to instill in the patient a belief in the competence of the doctor. Today, the white coats of doctors and a stethoscope draped around the neck are the current badges of office.

This has been known for centuries. Take for example the father of modern medicine, Hippocrates. Hippocrates was born on the island of Kos around 450 BC. He realised the importance of creating the right image in the mind of the patient. He wrote,

‘. . for the physicians it is an undoubtedly important recommendation to be of good appearance and well-fed since people take the view that those who do not know how to look after their own bodies are in no position to look after those of others’.

Hippocrates suggests he was practising hypnosis when he wrote, ‘The afflictions suffered by the body the soul sees quite well with shut eyes’.

Sleep Temples were set up in Egypt, and later, in Greece. Those seeking cures went there to find relief. We have an indication of how the cures might have been effected. A bas-relief taken from an ancient tomb in Egypt clearly shows a priest in the act of hypnotising a patient.

On belief and medicine Hippocrates said, ‘. . the fact that even those who do not believe in it can be cured by it is strong proof of its existence and power’. He also rightly identified that the body can cure itself in many cases.

Faith, belief and motivation play an important part in hypnosis as they do in all aspects of the treatment of illness and disease.