Hypnosis or Meditation?

Meditation v Hypnosis

What is the difference between hypnotic trance and meditation?

Clients ask me this all the time and often when I’m speaking in public. What is the difference between meditation and hypnosis?

In my experience, the truth is, not much. A trance state is completely natural and a brainwave we all drift into and out of all day long. The difference between this happening throughout the day and hypnotic trance is our intention and our awareness. Meditation is the exact same brainwave as hypnosis. Yet the two experiences have different purposes.

Hypnosis is typically used as a tool for personal growth, making changes and overcoming areas of our lives that are causing us challenges.

For example: to lose weight, stop smoking or another bad habit, relieve stress and anxiety, facilitate a restful night’s sleep, overcome a fear or phobia, create an organized mind, overcome procrastination, success motivation…just to name a few.

The purpose of meditation is to quiet the mind-chatter so we may seek our higher power in the spaces between the mundane thoughts. Therefore we become one with “God” or our Higher Power and raise our vibration to a higher level…..a level synonymous with bliss.

East meets West when we discuss these two paradigms. The Western Ericksonian “hypnosis” or “alpha’ brainwave when measured by machines, is called hypnotic trance.

While Eastern philosophy call the same brainwave – meditation. Both of these states of awareness assist us in achieving a feeling of happiness and well-being.

We can use this state of being with intention and the direction of a qualified professional (Hypnotist) to make specific changes in our lives, to improve our lives and move forward towards our desires. Sometimes people believe that using hypnosis is a bad thing because you’re giving control over to another person. This is not any more true than you doing what your doctor tells you to do and believing that she has all the answers. We’re all walking around in our own hypnosis based on our beliefs about the nature of reality.

So, we act upon suggestions given to us daily based on these beliefs about what is true and real for us.

Nothing makes me more disappointed than to hear someone say that their pastor forbids them to use hypnosis because it is considered a “sin.” Or that they don’t believe in it.

This is very self-destructive and keeps people stuck in mediocrity when the mind is “God” given, if we must go there. Furthermore, the funniest thing about this to me, is pastors and priests use hypnosis every day in their sermons and by impressing upon anyone a set of rules and beliefs. It is the same thing. Priests, pastors, teachers or anyone in a position of “perceived” authority can cast “spells” of belief on another with their words.

150 years ago, I probably wouldn’t have believed that God meant man to fly…yet, we fly every day in airplanes and have even traveled to the moon and soon to Mars.

Why shouldn’t we be able to use our minds to create happiness and success? (scratching my head.)

So you can use hypnosis to improve your life in an intentionally, skilled and positive way, or hypnosis will “use you” as you allow others to dictate what you believe and allow into your mind and into your life.

I know there is a place for both hypnosis and meditation in our lives as a practice of keeping our mind and our spirit, healthy, clear and energized. Meditation for 10-15 minutes a day can have amazing health benefits, relieve stress, lower blood pressure and help you keep your emotions positive more of the time. Drop in a positive affirmation or two and ShaBaaam…you have the winning combo of both hypnosis and meditation to help you create an amazing life experience!