Izzy wrote:
I still have no idea how hypnotism works.
Nor does the scientific community.
With it, the Controller seems to be able to turn a person on and off like a lightswitch--so weird!Things are not always as they appear. The subject is merely acting out the hypnotists commands. One does not have to be hypnotized to do that. But, hypnotism adds a mysterious nature to it, and it is performed exactly as the hypnotists suggests it will (with the exception of acts that violate the subjects conscious will.)
Yes we can be seduced by Sin. We can also be seduced into hypnotism, which is probably sinful, too.We cannot be "seduced" into hypnotism. No one can be hypnotized if they do not want to be hypnotized. All of those people that run up onto the stage at a stage hypnotist's show ALL want to be hypnotized.
I do not believe that a persons yields control of their mind to the hypnotist. It is believed that no one will do anything under hypnotism that they would not do when conscious. Think about it. Anyone who would run onto the stage when the hypnotist calls for people that want to be hypnotised are exhibitionists to begin with. They do not mind barking like a dog or clucking like a chicken or slithering like a snake when asked by the hypnotist.
I do not believe that a person can regress to past lives, as some claim. If the hypnotist suggests to a subject to regress to past lives, the subject may invent past lives to report.
Extra Reading for the Enthusiastic Student of Hypnosis:
In his Autbiography, Samuel Clements wrote very entertaining account of his experience, as a young boy, with a stage hypnotist (http://www.boondocksnet.com/twaintexts/autobiography/mtauto09b.html).
Edgar Alan Poe wrote an interesting story about hypnotism called "Mesmeric Revelation" (http://eserver.org/books/poe/mesmeric_revelation.html). It is fiction, of course, but he weaves an interesting tale in a way that only he can.
And, I am sure you know the origin of modern hypnotism, or originally Mesmerism, after the Reverend Franz Anton Mesmer, and it was also known as "animal magnetism". The origin and beliefs (and myths) about hypnotism is a very interesting study, indeed.
I have a cousin that is a dentist and successfully used hypnotism during dental procedures instead of anesthesia. As far as uses for hypnotism in the counseling room, there are many claims, many of which are false. For example, some hypnotists claim that perfect recall is obtainable under hypnosis, but that has been proven to be false. Any therapist who believes this and relies on it in therapy stands a very real chance of causing damage to the patient, and s not the hypnosis causing the damage...it is abuse of the trust relationship between the therapist and the patient, even though the therapist most likely has good intentions.But are there valid medical uses for it?
Is hypnotism just a spiritual thing, or is there some physical aspect of the brain that can provide an explanation for it?I do not think it is that it is a spiritual thing, but lies in the nature of the mind itself. Anyone who can focus their thoughts can be hypnotized, if they trust the hypnotist and want to be hypnotized. (Interestingly, feeble individuals cannot be hypnotized.) It is obviously a capability that God has built into the human mind. I cannot help but to believe that it was intended by God for good. Do we have any capabilities or features that God did not design into us, or that He designed into us that have only evil uses? I think not. After all, we are made in His image. That is not to say that hypnotism cannot be used for evil purposes, but remember...the subject has to be willing at some level.
Perry
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"Let your speech be always with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer every man." (Colossians 4:6) http://www.InnGlory.org
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