What is past life regression hypnotherapy like? How does it help?
Quoting: “As a counselor and hypnotherapist, I specialize in behavior modification for the treatment of psychological disorders. A large part of my work involves short-term cognitive restructuring with clients by helping them connect thoughts and emotions to promote healthy behavior. Together we elicit the meaning, function, and consequences of their beliefs because I take the premise that no mental problem is imaginary. In the early days of my practice, my orientation was towards traditional therapy. I used hypnosis and age regression techniques to determine the origins of disturbing memories and childhood trauma. My interest in reincarnation and metaphysics was only intellectual curiosity until I worked with a young man on pain management. This client complained of a lifetime of chronic pain on his right side. One of the tools of hypnotherapy to manage pain is directing the subject to lessen the pain and thus acquire control. In one of our sessions this man saw the image of being stabbed – he had uncovered his former life as a World War I soldier who was killed by a bayonet in France, and was subsequently free from the pain altogether. Initially I was concerned that a subject's current needs, beliefs, and fears would create fantasies of recollection. However, it didn't take long before I realized that deep-seated memories linking events of past lives and current life are therapeutically important. Then I stumbled on to a discovery of enormous proportions - I found it was possible to see into the spirit world through a hypnotized subject who could report life between lives. The case was a middle-aged woman who had feelings of loneliness and isolation. Undergoing hypnotherapy, she finished recalling her most recent past life and slipped into the highest state of altered consciousness by herself. Without realizing it, I suggested she go to the source of her feelings of loneliness. Suddenly, my client started to cry. When I asked her to tell me what was wrong, she blurted out, "I miss some friends in my group and that's why I get so lonely on Earth." I was confused and questioned her further about where this group of friends was located. "Here, in my permanent home," she answered simply, "and I'm looking at all of them right now!" Journey of Souls – Dr Michael Newton
Does hypnotherapy work as well in a patient's second language as in their native language?
In the second language of who? The therapist or the patient?And what is the level of competence in the 2nd language are you talking of? A person can control a second language almost as well as the first.For the patient, if the 2nd language is well integrated then it would make little difference, unless one was inducing a regression to an early age, where using the maternal language might strengthen the experience.For the therapist, as long as (s)he masters the language reasonably well, there is no problem, although there can of course be problems of misunderstandings, or mistakes.For a personal anecdote, I was leading a group of (auto)-hypnosis, in which I was using the imagery of snow falling. My partner, who was leading the group with me, was half in the induction, and half listening to what I was saying. Having French as a 2nd language, badly learned, late in life, I am apt, from time to time, to make the 'odd' error when speaking. (Actually quite a lot, according to my kids!).What I was saying was, 'look at the flakes of snow falling from the sky'.'regard des flacons de neige qui tombe du ciel', unfortunately 'flacons' mean flagons / decanters, (flakes are 'flocons'). My partner, although totally aware of the mistake, couldn't help herself but notice, gently falling from the skies were beautiful crystallized snow decanters, which when they touched the ground, exploded in a glorious shower of sparkling snow shards.However, in general, over 15 years of group and individual sessions, often in French, I have not found the language barrier to have had much of a limiting effect.As for the patients that control the language poorly, for relaxation and destressing, the tone of voice and pacing works perfectly well, however for more complicated work, an interpreter, with an understanding and appreciation for hypnosis is necessary.However, the subject of using interpreters for hypnosis, is quite another subject.
A friend told me that hypnosis has its bases in the occult. how true is that?
Hypnosis, like alot of things is popularly misunderstood. In the 18th century Franz Mesmer developed a method of healing he called "animal magnetism" which he conceived of in mystical terms, but is now recognised as based on hypnotic suggestion. Hypnosis does not involve anything supernatural. Most people have a natural ability to enter a hypnotic state to some degree, and the hypnotist's role is to assist them in entering this state through a process of suggestion. People associate hypnosis with the occult because they mistakenly believe that it is something magical.
How does hypnosis work?
I like to think of hypnosis as a permission slip to communicate with your other-than-conscious mind. This is something that we all do, all the time. The question is just how well you do it, and under what circumstances. Like most things, the more you practice , the better you get.The key question with using hypnosis is always: “What is your desired outcome?” Hypnosis is only one way to communicate with your other-than-conscious mind, but admittedly it is a good one. Often people think of hypnosis as mind control in the Hollywood sense, which it is not.If you want information on how to do hypnotic inductions, HMI has a free online video class which is a good place to start. You can find it here:Accredited Hypnotherapy Certification TrainingSpecifically, you want the The Foundations in Hypnotherapy Course. It is a course I have taken myself, and I enjoyed their unconventional approach. You get a lot of good information, and for something that is free, it is outstanding. And (shocker) they will spam you about taking their other classes.If you want to do more than just a hypnotic induction, well, that’s another topic entirely.Best of luck to you.