What is it anyway? Who nose? Hypnosis is everything and everything is Hypnosis. Our best definition is that it is communication.
Hypnosis in neither mystical or scary. It can be either malevolent or benevolent.
It is simply suggestion. We spend a great deal of time hypnotizing ourselves: “I’m afraid,” I can’t do that”, “I can forget about the unreasonable fear”, “I can do this”. “I’m smart”, “I’m intelligent,” ”I look really good”.
Or hypnotizing others: “You look tired”, “Have you been sick?, Are you feeling alright?”, “You look great!”, “Have you lost weight?” “You look hot!”
Milton Erickson, father of American Medical Hypnosis was once asked, “Are you aware of the way in which you use your words?” He replied: “I certainly am, and I want to emphasize the importance of that awareness in all of you. In any work, you are going to use words to influence the psychological life of an individual today; you are going to use words to influence his organic life today; you are going to also influence his psychological and organic life twenty years from now. So you had better know what you are saying. You had better be willing to reflect upon the words you use, to wonder what their meanings are, and to seek out and understand their many associations.”
So, since we are all hypnotists, let’s use our words and language skills for the best possible outcomes for ourselves and others, especially our children.