John Hodgkinson Hypnotherapy works by the use of images (the imagination) in that half-way state between sleeping and waking.
Here, it seems that images suggested by oneself or a therapist bring about the healing of inner conflicts, strengthen the will and give a general sense of well being.
For example, many have given up smoking through hypnotherapy. Take Robert who sought help in this. He was asked to make himself comfortable, to close his eyes, and to consciously relax. When a state of complete relaxation had been achieved he was asked to visualise his blackened lungs, his threatened life, and all the ill effects of smoking. Could he imagine himself walking through a pine forest and breathing the pure scented air, and the feeling of health and well-being that comes from not smoking? On the final session Robert was asked to visualise all the tobacco he had ever smoked and put it into a heap. ‘‘Now I want you to dig a hole big enough to bury it all... Shovel that filthy mess into the hole and cover it up... Finished? You are no longer a smoker’’, Robert has never smoked since. Hypnotherapy is a witness to the power of suggestion in a trance-like state.
Many have achieved a similar sense of wholeness and purpose through the rituals and imaginings of religion. In the controlled position of kneeling, or in the lotus position, be still, let nothing distract you. As you gently breathe, turn your mind to images of peate and tranquility; or, reflecting upon an infinite love, focus your thoughts on the needs of the world.
Religious rituals induce many trance-like states, and suggestions made or implied at such a time enter deeply into the unconscious, and as with curative hypnotherapy they can lead to a healing of the spirit, to wholeness.
Religion and hypnotherapy are two sides of the same coin. Of course they can be used for evil as well as good, by the implanting of negative images, like some of the self-destructing sects, or the stronger imposing his or her will on the weaker. There are however many positive images which can be used. ‘‘Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely... think on these things’’. It is possible to draw on the rich heritage of images and worship of the past, from every age and nation, and we can find abundant pictures in the world of nature. We must choose images and rituals with great care, knowing that they have the power to go deep into the unconscious, where wholeness and healing begin.