Visualisation and hypnosis

[Wood]

I have been wondering about this for a few months. I recall from the PC interview with Dr. Pete Peterson that about 15% of people are immune to hypnosis or suggestion, independently of intelligence, culture, gender or race. I have read comments about a similar percentage of people that can't visualise things (see images with "mind's eye").

There is much talk about how this reality, the way we perceive it, is to some degree an illusion. We have that idea in pop culture with movies like Matrix, and in religions where they use to talk about the trap of the mundane things (maya, lower three or four chakras, Satan's trick, left-hand path, etc).

Now, I am wondering, maybe both the subset of the people that can't visualise and that of the people that can't be hypnotised are largely the same? That is, does visualisation skills open a big door to hypnosis/suggestion? From my understanding of how the brain works I think it is at least an interesting hypothesis.

[Ahkenaten]

Maybe it has something to do with part of the brain being turned off................................

[Gone002]

Very interesting, when i was doing my degree in psychology we had to do a couple of experiments with hypnosis we came across some interesting information regarding natural defenses against hypnosis and suggestion. an example is im dyslexic so my brain patterns are in flux alot switching randomly between left and right so when hypnosis and suggestion was tried on me it didn't work in a control expirement and field expirement. this also happened with ADHD and other conditions that affect logic thinking, language centers etc.

[Wood]

Maybe it has something to do with part of the brain being turned off................................
Sure, that's an option for lack of visualisation skills, but maybe that part turned off prevents hypnosis...


Very interesting, when i was doing my degree in psychology we had to do a couple of experiments with hypnosis we came across some interesting information regarding natural defenses against hypnosis and suggestion. an example is im dyslexic so my brain patterns are in flux alot switching randomly between left and right so when hypnosis and suggestion was tried on me it didn't work in a control expirement and field expirement. this also happened with ADHD and other conditions that affect logic thinking, language centers etc.

That made me think of neurolinguistic programming. I am watching many videos/audio interviews and other alternative stuff in english without worrying much about NLP because english is not my mother tongue. I'd be worried otherwise. I think I've read that second languages learnt during the teens or later use a kind of translation layer in the brain into the native concepts, and that, I guess, is an insurance against NLP.

[Ahkenaten]

Wood - How about part of the brain being turned OFF ( I am speaking metaphorically here) actually accentuating the ability to visualize and thus susceptibility to hypnotic suggestion, subliminal messaging, etc. rather than the reverse................in other words the "ability" to visualize has been deliberately engineered all the better to control us subliminally?

[Wood]

Wood - How about part of the brain being turned OFF ( I am speaking metaphorically here) actually accentuating the ability to visualize and thus susceptibility to hypnotic suggestion, subliminal messaging, etc. rather than the reverse................in other words the "ability" to visualize has been deliberately engineered all the better to control us subliminally?

That conclusion was what I had in mind :) I am not sure on how it works but my gut feeling is that both things are connected and done on purpose. There are many remarks about ETs tweaking our DNA for ages to control us but not so many about how that control system works.

[Gone002]

Very true, neuro-linguistic programming may get alot of critics becasue its on the fringe of psychology, but its work is very interesting. again saying that its not foolproof, you would have to train your subconscious to trigger it when you being attacked.

[Gone002]

An example would be when batmans mind was trying to be read he thought of a water fall, that same princple has to be applied to the subconscious.hypnosis and suggestion on some level have to be accepted by your consciouness by calling on a memory or event for it to work. so scramble your conscious and stop your subconscious from doing all the work, theres no way for this to be done official.

[Ahkenaten]

Or using principles of magik you place a luminous energetic white circle around one for protection

[str8thinker]

I'm very difficult to hypnotize (unwilling?) yet am reasonably good at visualizing imagery. It's not intuitively obvious to me why the two functions should be related. What about the auditory equivalent? Are subjects unsusceptible to hypnosis less able to imagine voices and sounds?

[Wood]

I'm very difficult to hypnotize (unwilling?) yet am reasonably good at visualizing imagery. It's not intuitively obvious to me why the two functions should be related. What about the auditory equivalent? Are subjects unsusceptible to hypnosis less able to imagine voices and sounds?

It is just an hypothesis. It is useful to find counterexamples too.

[Sabrina]

I have been wondering about this for a few months. I recall from the PC interview with Dr. Pete Peterson that about 15% of people are immune to hypnosis or suggestion, independently of intelligence, culture, gender or race. I have read comments about a similar percentage of people that can't visualise things (see images with "mind's eye").

There is much talk about how this reality, the way we perceive it, is to some degree an illusion. We have that idea in pop culture with movies like Matrix, and in religions where they use to talk about the trap of the mundane things (maya, lower three or four chakras, Satan's trick, left-hand path, etc).

Now, I am wondering, maybe both the subset of the people that can't visualise and that of the people that can't be hypnotised are largely the same? That is, does visualisation skills open a big door to hypnosis/suggestion? From my understanding of how the brain works I think it is at least an interesting hypothesis.

I do it for a living, and in it's gentlest form, hypnosis is a partnership between the hypnotist and client to enter an altered state - and we all go into altered states throughout the day. If someone isn't good at visualization, you can easily use the other senses to induce hypnosis (how you feel/what you hear/smell/sense) or use confusional techniques. Anyone can fight being hypnotized if they want to, but if, for instance they wanted to solve a problem and are paying good money for it, I can hypnotize anyone who sees me.

I can be hypnotized if I choose to participate in it, but I don't believe I can be mind controlled. I thought that was what the 15% was about that.

Mind you, who hasn't sat at a computer and been hypnotized?

[Carmody]

Yes, Doc Pete stated, in one way of seeing it...that the percentage of 15% is the 'won't get fooled again' percentage.