Can hypnosis be used to trigger mystic/spiritual/ heightened-awareness experiences?

Question

Should it be used that way?
A hypnotist, using the power of suggestion, convinces the subject he/she will experience second degree burns when touched. The subject is then touched with an unlit cigarette and reacts accordingly...blisters actually begin forming on their skin.
For all practical purposes, would this be considered a "real" experience?
Could the same techniques be used to trigger enlightenment? Would it be real?

Cindy W: there's other areas besides R&S? Do tell.

jimi4950: thank you...next witness, please.

Answer 1

Great question.
According to some researchers, a light form of hypnosis *is* used in some religious contexts and *does* trigger mystical or spiritual experiences. These researchers point to the altered states that can be produced through chanting, ecstatic singing, meditation, dancing, prayer, and so on, especially if they continue for a long period of time.

Whether it's a "real" experience or not depends on your criteria for judging that. Did someone really have the experience itself? Yes, of course. But was there a valid spiritual force behind it? Maybe, maybe not. That's where it gets tricky.

I think this is why many religions caution against seeking experiences for their own sake and warn that it can be a "false path". Many of them put much more importance on becoming spiritually mature. If a religious experience helps to produce that, then perhaps that's one way of judging whether an experience has validity or not (even if it could have been induced through light/group hypnosis). Other methods of judgment include whether the experience delivered helpful information not known previously, and whether the person who had the experience improved somehow as a result.

It is a really interesting question. You might find some additional ideas to play with along these lines in William James' book The Varieties of Religious Experience.

Answer 2

Enlightenment is characterized as a state of 1) lack of previous conditioning, and 2) integrated awareness. Hypnosis is a form of embedded conditioning done by disintegrating the awareness. The "suggestion" has to be held in one area of the mind, while the rest of the mind is subject to that suggestion. I don't see how this could bring more than an hallucination of enlightenment, an approximation based on the level of understanding of the subject.

Answer 3

You can slap me now, I am prepared!

I once ask this same question to a man from the east, his name was Swami Rama while he was in the U.S. in 1969.
It was at a meeting that had to do with Bio-feedback, at a place called "The Menninger Foundation". This is how he responded to my silly question:

One can do many things with the mind.
Control the elements. Control the elements that make up the human body. Juggle them and toss them around, if one has mastered them. The human mind has limits. If the human mind has been put to sleep (hypnosis as an example), then suggestions to such a sleeping mind will allow it to command over the elements. To go beyond the mind is not possible with hypnosis or Bio-feedback. He went on to say if one wants to go beyond the mind one must, "Love, Serve, & Remember". I will never forget what he said.

The Intellect (Mind) is but the Third Level of Consciousness within man. If one wishes to transcend the mind then one must develop "Wisdom", and trick the mind into submission. Let it think that it is in control. Take the mind and tie it to a nearby tree, a Banyan tree perhaps!

Heightened states of awareness can be perceived within the clarified mind. A Mystical or Spiritual experience is perceived within the soul of man. This becomes a permenant fixture within man, when the soul has the experience. This continues with man throughout his unending journey.

Forgive me, but I must say no regarding the question dealing with Hypnosis (Hypnos).

** footnote - Clarification of this may be found in the "Mandukya Upanishad".

** footnote #2 - The truth has no safe haven, within these times we are living in!


"Peace be always with you."
Meechum Anbu (Much Love),

Answer 4

It's possible it could, but not in the way you describe.

What you describe is just reprogramming a conditioned response, so that is not a heightened awareness. You are dealing on the level of sensory neurons, and programming a motor reaction in the brain to the sensory response, which gets carried to the muscles as a reaction.

If you are looking for ways to induce expanded consciousness, for obvious healing reasons, then I know of some ways to do this.

Here is a list of more commonly known ones:
estatic dance; sweat lodge; fasting; truly creative art, poetry, writing; meditation

There are also ways to directly induce expanded state into other people through touch and communication (speaking, writing, drawing, etc.), which both hold the same principles. You must make contact with the structure and the energy behind the structure, which is an essential contact. Of course to be able to do this, you must have the skill to do it, meaning you've expanded your own consciousness. From the receiving end of encountering such a contact, it causes in the receiver a 'freak out' of the mind, the mind doesn't know how to deal with what was received, thus expansion happens. The person disidentifies with their mind and you could say 'energy takes over'. As long as this contact is held, it does it's work and afterwards the changes manifest.

But there is one more variable to this equation that's needed for it to work, the receiver has to be open to receive this contact. Another way to say it is that they have to have an open question, an essential question. Without that, nothing can be exchanged. One can take down their own wall and make an offering, but it can only be received by someone whose has an opening in their wall. Mostly the previous has to do with outside communication forms, but if one can get their hands on somebody then it's easier to get past this resistance because it's like one can inject a very high vibration directly through 'neuron sensor contacts' through one's fingers. This injected high vibration will merge with their own, and the other body will naturally try to meet the higher vibration through the principles of resonance and entrainment.
When the lower vibrating object 'entrains', what is happening in the physical body is a kind of work, due to excitation of the vibration as it tries to raise itself higher. This can easily induce an expanded state in the receiver, if the giver indeed has a higher vibration and knows how to engage with essential touch - making contact with form and structure. Along these principles there are several more ways one can enhance one's touch and use it intelligently to build higher vibrations in both oneself and the other.

As far as I know however, it's not like enlightening someone, it's more like giving a healing, and you do it by temporarily boosting their energy. Their own body then uses this boost to make a change in an essential way. I see awareness as a growing process, not a one time thing.

Betsy

Answer 5

Awareness is the key. When hypnotised the subjects awareness is over ridden as so to "speak" and words can be used as direct commands, their meaning moves to the very core of being, essentially they become truth for that moment with one. Because awareness is removed by hypnosis this acts as proof to others quicker then the one who is under it.

To one actively seeking awakening it is a great source of proof. Just like watching someone perform an amazing act, observing it to be true and accomplished but without understanding the method or process we walk away impressed but incapable of the same performance. We must pay attention to what is actually happening. The burn is created by the mind, why is the question? :-) Who knows the answer!

I have noticed how many people are hypnotised to one degree or another? As has been said only use the force for good Luke! :-)

Answer 6

Yes. It can be used the same way hallucinogens are used by some cultures, to blast open the doors of perception. Ultimately however, we all must be able to get there with out sacred drugs or hypnosis. I used hypnosis for a time. It enabled me to get past my conditioned mind with help, when I was not strong enough or focused enough to get there on my own. Care must be used however that you do not stop there, or get too dependent on it, then it becomes a crutch.
Blessings.

Answer 7

The first time I found my center, it was under hypnosis. It caused some confusion, but I had learned that there was this "place" within me. I kept looking for it after that. It was a useful experience.

Could it "trigger" enlightenment? No, no more than talking about Zen is Zen. Some things can't be taught or given.

Answer 8

Not really sure about the "real experience" ...obviously the person who got burned thought it real enough!
As for using hypnosis for "triggering enlightenment", I think the person would have to be looking to be more open to having a spiritual experience...perhaps seeing life from a different perspective...

Let me stop now before i start to confuse myself even more! lol... great q!

blessings to you and yours
)o( Trinity

Answer 9

Probably, but it will never become anything more than subtle. And it isn't truly geniune unless you do what it takes in order to have those experiences. All that matters is what you are willing to live, the truth lived suffices the truth gained. There is a big difference from staring at the Light from a distance to becoming the Light.

You have to be that change to be changed. Embody it.

Answer 10

Hello Sunman

Yes it can be used that way. I am a psychic development teacher & a Hypnotherapist.

Hypnosis can be used in two ways.

1 - If someone has tried, unsucessfully to develop & contiually fails, it will be due to a subconscious block. This is usually down to beliefs placed there in childhood/religion etc. Hypnosis can remove those blocks.

As you have mentioned Suggestion Therapy, I would say that any suggestions given will only take any affect if the subconscious mind is willing to accept those beliefs, if not obviously a block is in place.

2 - I teach development via Guided Meditations, they do not take the individual as deep as hypnosis, but deep enough to stimulate & bring results.

~
Any hypnotherapist who suggests the above should not be out there working with people! True hypnosis is about healing the mind & body, & enabling people to be who they wish to be.

Pam