Hypnosis....?

[CaribbeanQueen]

I apologize in advanced if this question has been asked before but I would like to know, does hypnosis go against Christian beliefs/principles? I find it interesting that hypnosis can change a person's way of thinking or fears... TIA for your responses.

 

[klb120475]

No deals on hypnosis for me. Hypnosis would eliminate the precious gift of free will my Daddy gave me.

 

[discobiscuits]

i have yet to find something in the bible against it. i use hypnosis mp3s. if some one does post a scripture directly related to that, then i'll reconsider, but for now i don't see anything wrong in God's eyes for hypnosis. i suppose it depends on the type of hypnosis or purpose of it.

 

[carcajada]

Hypnosis is merely a way to talk to your inner self.

You're communicating with your subconscious mind - a part of your psyche that many experts believe help control your habits/actions.

I think there are many misconceptions/myths about hypnosis and people fear it w/o educating themselves on it.

 

[carcajada]

No deals on hypnosis for me. Hypnosis would eliminate the precious gift of free will my Daddy gave me.

No it wouldn't. You wouldn't do anything you wouldn't normally do and you have complete control over yourself, your actions, and your thoughts during a "trance" or a hypnotic session with a professional (or by yourself).

It's similar (but not really) to meditation where you're tapping into your inner thoughts, relaxing your body, and communicating with yourself.

 

[Aviah]

No it wouldn't. You wouldn't do anything you wouldn't normally do and you have complete control over yourself, your actions, and your thoughts during a "trance" or a hypnotic session with a professional (or by yourself).

It's similar (but not really) to meditation where you're tapping into your inner thoughts, relaxing your body, and communicating with yourself.

I'm not sure then how normaly inhibited people then are made to do things that they would'nt normally do when told to (from what I've seen)...
And if you had complete free will the whole time then really, what is the point? Meditation could also help you to acces your subconscious well enough couldn't it?erplexed
And I guess the perjorative connotations associated with it are due to you having to "empty your mind" (If I'm correct) Guess a lot of folks like myself) are wondering, "Who's gonna step in when I 'step out'?"

 

[discobiscuits]

I'm not sure then how normally inhibited people then are made to do things that they wouldn't normally do when told to (from what I've seen)...
And if you had complete free will the whole time then really, what is the point? Meditation could also help you to access your subconscious well enough couldn't it?erplexed
And I guess the pejorative connotations associated with it are due to you having to "empty your mind" (If I'm correct) Guess a lot of folks like myself) are wondering, "Who's gonna step in when I 'step out'?"

see that is a misconception of hypnosis. i suppose ppl can be suggestible and comply with subconscious instructions placed by a hypno-therapist. the type i do are "self" hypnosis. no one is telling me to do or not do anything. it is more like tapping into your subconscious and using it to enhance your conscious.

eta it is not about hypnotizing ppl to hop around like rabbits and bark like dogs for audience entertainment.

 

[kayte]

and like anything else..it's on how is it being used....

if hypnosis is used to help.....like to quit smoking....or....calm a person in trauma......to me it's like a form of healing work...as in the realm of a holistic modality....

& like anything else it can subverted to unhealthy usage but that doesn't mean then that hypnosis is inherently...evil... any more than....say...money is ..or not

 

[Aviah]

and like anything else..it's on how is it being used....

if hypnosis is used to help.....like to quit smoking....or....calm a person in trauma......to me it's like a form of healing work...as in the realm of a holistic modality....

& like anything else it can subverted to unhealthy usage but that doesn't mean then that hypnosis is inherently...evil... any more than....say...money is ..or not

I see what you guys mean...Eh, I don't know, maybe I'm a little small minded in this sense but if whatever you ask of that Father according to His will in Jesus name, will he not do it for you? Obviously you need to make steps toward it yourself but I'm not sure its necessary...

 

[carcajada]

I'm not sure then how normaly inhibited people then are made to do things that they would'nt normally do when told to (from what I've seen)...
And if you had complete free will the whole time then really, what is the point? Meditation could also help you to acces your subconscious well enough couldn't it?erplexed
And I guess the perjorative connotations associated with it are due to you having to "empty your mind" (If I'm correct) Guess a lot of folks like myself) are wondering, "Who's gonna step in when I 'step out'?"

Because they are doing things they would normally do or they are just acting.

The point is to send messages to your subconscious mind, relax, or even revisit memories with your therapist that can help you in therapy. Many therapists use hypnosis as a tool for regressing people to past memories/emotions that are affecting their lives. Sometimes in the conscious mind, people aren't willing to go/can't go to the limit that they need to for therapy. Hypnosis is a way to safely reach that spot.

One difference is spiritual I guess. Hypnosis isn't linked to reaching a higher being/spiritual power. "Emptying your mind" sounds like meditation moreso than hypnosis.

I used hypnosis to stop biting my nails. It was more than just focusing attention or some of the techniques used for meditation. An entire "script" is used to send direct messages to your subconscious and then your subconscious can respond back to you.

How Is Hypnosis Different from Meditation?
Hypnosis and meditation are similar in that they both require a focused concentration in order to go more deeply. The objective of meditation regardless of the varying styles, usually points towards a kind of awareness or mindfulness with no preconceived goal to achieve. You may train yourself to focus on a meditative object, like your breath for example, to develop a passive attentiveness, becoming aware of thoughts, feelings, distractions, etc. as they arise in order to dismiss them and let them go. Hypnosis on the other hand, intentionally focuses on specific outcomes or goals to reach. Specific changes in feelings or behaviors are pursued actively in hopes of making improved cognitive or behavioral changes. While you may be attempting to clear your mind during meditation, while under hypnosis we purposely use mental and affective suggestions to redirect your attention towards predetermined preferred outcomes. source

HTH!

 

[carcajada]

I see what you guys mean...Eh, I don't know, maybe I'm a little small minded in this sense but if whatever you ask of that Father according to His will in Jesus name, will he not do it for you? Obviously you need to make steps toward it yourself but I'm not sure its necessary...

That's where hypnosis or any type of therapy would take place.

Couldn't sending someone a good therapist to help them do what they can't do for themselves/help guide the actions they need to do part of answering a person's prayer?

 

[kayte]

I see what you guys mean...Eh, I don't know, maybe I'm a little small minded in this sense but if whatever you ask of that Father according to His will in Jesus name, will he not do it for you? Obviously you need to make steps toward it yourself but I'm not sure its necessary...

With all due respect...not necessary ..for who? for you? yes certainly it's your privilege..but do you mean not neccesary for people who have been helped with this type of practice? I think that's a rather risky generalization perhaps
I'm fairly certain there are religious sects that would cite what you just said....as license to abstain from....medicine...pyschiatry...etc
In fact there was a recent news item about this,no?
I wish my dad had explored hyponotherapy ..he was a devout Christian and nothing could break his smoking habit which ultimately ended his life

To me ...not speaking for anyone else..hypnosis is another form of healing.....and it is not divorced from God..I believe the Lord empowers all practioners with healing ability...it is no more questionable because it involves the mind....than an optomistrist for the eyes....and does not differ than a adjunct therapy or relaxation techniques all of which as a Christian I participate in and see no conflict with my love of God in following the teachings of Christ. As long as it is used ...for...good...

The Bible does speak prohibitively of other mind practices...I don't think this is one of them

 

[kayte]

if some one does post a scripture directly related to that, then i'll reconsider,

Co-signing......me too..

btw...I have also used MP3S..for affirmations.
will PM you

 

[ajenee]

I did a little searching on the subject and found this website. It's kind of lengthy so I didn't want to post it all here. Ihttp://www.rapidnet.com/~jbeard/bdm/Psychology/hypno.htm

 

[discobiscuits]

I did a little searching on the subject and found this website. It's kind of lengthy so I didn't want to post it all here. Ihttp://www.rapidnet.com/~jbeard/bdm/Psychology/hypno.htm

i skimmed the article (if i missed something i'll go back) but this is what popped out to me:

- Hypnosis began as part of the occult and false religion. The Bible speaks out strongly against all practices of false religion and the occult. God desires His people to turn to Him in need, not to those who practice sorcery, divination, or enchantment. He warns His people about following after mediums, wizards, enchanters, charmers, and those who have a familiar spirit (Deut. 18:9-14). Hypnosis, as it is practiced today, may very well be the same as what is identified as "enchantment" in the Bible (Lev. 19:26 KJV).

In hypnotism, faith is shifted from God and His Word to the hypnotist and his technique. God speaks to people through the conscious, rational mind. He commands individuals as creatures who make conscious, volitional choices. He sent His Holy Spirit to indwell Christians to enable them to trust and obey Him through love and conscious choice. Hypnosis, on the other hand, operates on the basis of imagination, illusion, hallucination, and deception. Jesus warned His followers about deception. After a person has opened his mind to deception through hypnosis, he may become even more vulnerable to other forms of spiritual deception.

Hypnosis can generate Satan's counterfeits of true religious exercise. If hypnosis generates any form of faith and worship not directed toward the God of the Bible, any person who subjects himself to hypnotism may be playing the harlot in the spiritual realm. (See Lev. 19:26,31; 20:6,27; Deut. 18:9-14; 2 Ki 21:6; 2 Chron. 33:6; Isa. 47:9-13; Jer. 27:9.)

- Hypnotism is demonic at its worst and potentially dangerous at its best. At its worst, it opens an individual to psychic experiences and satanic possession. When mediums go into hypnotic trances and contact the "dead," when clairvoyants reveal information which they could not possibly know, when fortunetellers through self-hypnosis reveal the future, Satan is most certainly at work.

wrt the red: i'm confused and maybe i need to go back to church (LOL) and/or brush up on my reading but i thought that god speaks to believers through the spirit (our spirit and the Holy Spirit) not through our conscious mind (which is sinful and its thoughts are far from god's thoughts. the mind is part of the flesh which is at war w/ the spirit so why would god speak to us that way). hypnosis does not speak to the spirit but to the mind and the bible clearly tells us about our thoughts. so if u use hypnosis to enhance your mind, then one could conclude that is a good thing.

i could see if one were doing hypnosis for witchcraft but for something like better concentration, or being more productive etc. how is that dangerous and how does that get us to.....

wrt the blue: 1. i used to fear being "possessed" or opening the door to satan/demons through hypnosis etc. but if one is saved and filled w/ the HS then that person can't be "possessed" 2. the "hypnosis" i do does not entail a trance or trance like state. you are completely "conscious" & aware the entire time. (honestly, i often doubt hypnosis' efficacy). 3. hypnosis does not generate any form of faith or worship apart from God (unless that is what you specifically use it for). 4.as it relates to imagination, illusion, hallucination, and deception; the hypnosis i use does not do any of that.

i suppose if i really look at it, what i do may fall more into "guided meditation" rather than hypnosis as it does not place me in an altered state of mind or consciousness.

again, i will gladly cease and desist if it is against god's will.....

 

[carcajada]

Hypnosis began as part of the occult and false religion.

Mesmer and dem are turning over in their graves at these type of accusations. This is the only part I could read that was reposted that didn't make me x 1000.

 

[kayte]

God speaks to people through the conscious, rational mind He commands individuals as creatures who make conscious, volitional choices. ]He sent His Holy Spirit to indwell Christians to enable them to trust and obey Him through love and conscious choice

the Bible is filled with examples of people being spoken to in ways that are not conscious or rational...faith after all is premised on events that often defy rational mind...... visons... dreams ..etc....are examples
hypnosis does not mean you are not in rational mind

I listen to MP3 tapes of affirming.... love and light..and peace
That's supposed to be of the occult???? .....
I think the term for that...is auto-hynopsis...and this practice...is of evil?
Helping people recover from illness or sickness or addictive behavior
I honestly don't see that is of the occult...or evil...... like anything else it can be used for evil...

I can certainly speak about this with someone I love and trust and go to for spiritual guidance and counsel....that's the AA woman minister at my beloved church....she's someone I trust implicitly and she's a gift in my life
we're both women... both AA..and both devoted to God....and she knows the Bible....

 

[kayte]

Hypnotism is demonic at its worst and potentially dangerous at its best. At its worst, it opens an individual to psychic experiences and satanic possession. When mediums go into hypnotic trances and contact the "dead," when clairvoyants reveal information which they could not possibly know, when fortunetellers through self-hypnosis reveal the future, Satan is most certainly at work.

Hypnosis, on the other hand, operates on the basis of imagination, illusion, hallucination, and deception. Jesus warned His followers about deception. After a person has opened his mind to deception through hypnosis, he may become even more vulnerable to other forms of spiritual deception.

I re-read the article...This article is going off on so many different tangents of the occult..contacting the dead.... fortunetelling...etc etc and lumping everything them into one practice
Hynopsis???.

None of those have been spoken of ..except I said earlier the Bible does
warn against certain practices.
throwing out as many evil practices and calling it "hypnosis" ....I think that's questionable..

as I mentioned... I am checking with someone who will offer a honest and Godly answer..

 

[discobiscuits]

... I am checking with someone who will offer a honest and Godly answer..

thanks :hug:

 

[klb120475]

Co-signing......me too..

btw...I have also used MP3S..for affirmations.
will PM you

PM me too please........

 

[kayte]

thanks :hug:

'

ahhh...hugs back. I so appreciate what you said that you will abide by God's will .... me,too!!! ..... and I will make an appt to sit down with this minister... I have to talk her to about other stuff, but this will be on the table,too.....I'll take notes

PM me too please........

count on it!

 

[HeChangedMyName]

i have yet to find something in the bible against it. i use hypnosis mp3s. if some one does post a scripture directly related to that, then i'll reconsider, but for now i don't see anything wrong in God's eyes for hypnosis. i suppose it depends on the type of hypnosis or purpose of it.

And I've used a self hypnosis book before. But here is an interesting bit of information that I found on one of my favorite sites. It sheds some new light on the topic

http://www.gotquestions.org/hypnosis-Christian.html

 

[kayte]

http://www.gotquestions.org/hypnosis-Christian.html

in reference from the referenced web ..and I truly don't want to get in any more debate but ...I had problems with that article... scriptures that were quoted to me were not in proper context....you can pull anything from the Bible,and call that a truism.. saying it pertains specifically to this particular..when it doesn't say that...at all...it's that person taking a situation and using the scriptures to justify an opinion
honestly .... rather than a definintive statement..There wld be Christian who could also offer or misquote scriptures in defense of whatever...

Hypnotism, along with Yoga and Transcendental Meditation, has always been linked to spiritual darkness.

spiritual darkness? ...yoga...meditation?

 

[discobiscuits]

http://www.gotquestions.org/hypnosis-Christian.html

in reference from the referenced web ..and I truly don't want to get in any more debate but ...I had problems with that article... scriptures that were quoted to me were not in proper context....you can pull anything from the Bible,and call that a truism.. saying it pertains specifically to this particular..when it doesn't say that...at all...it's that person taking a situation and using the scriptures to justify an opinion
honestly .... rather than a definintive statement..There wld be Christian who could also offer or misquote scriptures in defense of whatever...



spiritual darkness? ...yoga...meditation?

i'm just catching up w/ this thread. i have yet to read that web page. but i guess i need to watch out cause i have rodney yee's dvd for yoga. so that makes me spiritually dark b/c i do yoga, meditate, and do self-hypnosis?

i think that the position that is taken that these things are spiritual darkness is b/c they may have had their beginnings or roots in some kind of ungodliness or paganism. it may be true. but then too, the way in which christmas is celebrated part is rooted in paganism too. [i am NOT saying Christmas is a pagan holiday (or am I? hee hee - j/k folx)]. but just b/c some of the traditional christmas stuff may have been pagan at one time does that mean it is wrong to celebrate christmas?

i'm just sayn. i don't mind nixing the hypnosis but i like yoga. then there's martial arts, ppl have alleged that they are rooted in occult as well so there's something else i have to give up. (really, i had a martial arts instructor tell me that he only practices a specific type b/c another type incorporated meditation and his type did not and meditation was against his religion. - seriously true story.)

i don't want a full blown knock down drag out, just splain how it is wrong, i will listen and consider.


eta: there is also a "guided meditation" i was considering b/c you can record your own script in your own voice. that eliminates the listener from being controlled by someone else - they are the someone else.

 

[momi]

I will be the first to admit that my post will not contain one scripture to back my theory (I need to do more research)

I am against anything that will place me into an altered state of being. In my opinion, this is how many people have been possessed. Frank Perettis books really have made me take a second look at practices and believes that many have that mirror the occult. Also, when I was younger I read one of my daddy's books - I will have to find the name - but it was something like "The truth about new age beliefs). It gave many testimonies of people who were possessed and they attributed the possession to deep yoga and/or medication and drug use.

I'll be back (said like Arnold S.) with some scriptures.

 

[discobiscuits]

I will be the first to admit that my post will not contain one scripture to back my theory (I need to do more research)

I am against anything that will place me into an altered state of being. In my opinion, this is how many people have been possessed. Frank Perettis books really have made me take a second look at practices and believes that many have that mirror the occult. Also, when I was younger I read one of my daddy's books - I will have to find the name - but it was something like "The truth about new age beliefs). It gave many testimonies of people who were possessed and they attributed the possession to deep yoga and/or medication and drug use.

I'll be back (said like Arnold S.) with some scriptures.

i used to worry about that till a minister said saved ppl (ppl filled w/ HS) can't be possessed. i've also wondered does possession even happen anymore since christ's ascention?

 

[Evolving78]

I haven't read everything, but I think it falls into the category of witchcraft?

 

[carcajada]

This is very sad.

 

[ajenee]

Hi everyone. I am sorry I wasn't able to respond sooner to the earlier posts from the web page I posted.... It wasn't my intent to offend anyone I just did a quick search and that was one of the first responses that came up... I will say that I don't believe hypnosis would be for me. For myself I just don't want to open my spirit up to anything that I don't have control over.

 

[CaribbeanQueen]

Thank you ladies for your responses.

Personally, I always viewed hypnosis as a form of self-help, like sort of channelling your inner strength, not necessarily being controlled by an outside force.

I know the Bible speaks specifically about channelling the dead ,the occult and so on but I was not, and still am not sure about this particular issue.