1 Comments on “What’s the Difference Between Meditation and Hypnosis?”

• Lynette Sali on March 25 said:

  I enjoyed the article on hypnosis and meditation.  I comment as a grateful recipient of hypnosis and one who seeks a more effective meditation time in my spiritual walk. 

  As a Christian I was, at first, very cautious of the concepts of hypnosis and meditation, thinking them not necessarily compatible with my faith.  I was in need of help and entered therapy with a compassionate, well-educated Christian psychologist who assured me that rational hypnotherapy was nothing to fear and could be an effective tool in treatment.  I learned one does not “give over or lose control” of the mind. I found hypnosis to be very helpful for pain management, relaxation, coping with anxiety and depression, stress management, and trauma resolution.

  On his clinic website www.livinghopeclinic.org (click on ‘your visit’ and then ‘forms’), clinical psychologist Charles M. Rice Ph.D. has posted information about hypnosis from the American Society of Clinical Hypnosis (ASCH), founded in 1957 by Milton Erickson M.D.  The ASCH is a interdisciplinary group of medical, dental, and mental health professionals interested in the clinical use of hypnosis.  There is great information on the ASCH website at www.asch.net

  The Living Hope Clinic website contains information from American Hypnosis Clinic.  Most interesting is a Checklist for Utilizing Life Experiences,Interests,and Values, developed by D Corydon Hammond Ph.D. of the University of Utah School of Medicine, copyright 1982, 1984.  The hypnotherapist can then use the checklist results to individualize hypnosis scripts with descriptions of those things pleasurable or relaxing.  This is much like the description of “green pastures” in Psalm 23.

  I also worked with James Hollingsworth D.C. (known as Dr. H.), a Certified Hypnotherapist with over 20 years experience and pain management training.  He also works with athletes, professionals, and individuals to improve performance.  His website http://www.drhexcel.com explains hypnosis: “Hypnosis is process of communication that induces trance. Ericksonian Hypnosis, simply put, tells stories or metaphors with indirect suggestion utilizing the patient’s current state of awareness and frame of reference of the world around them. The change that occurs for the patient is from the inside out, rather than from the therapist in.” In addressing the concept of a “trance” Dr. H. states: “Trance is a naturally occurring phenomenon in which an individual’s attention is focused and becomes narrowed as trance develops. Distractions become less significant. The Hypnotherapist may then make suggestions that help the patient or client make changes at a conscious or an unconscious level that elicit the desired outcomes of the patient.”

  My therapists made a CD of each session so I was able to continue to benefit by listening repetitively at home.

  I love words and often do dictionary searches in my Webster’s Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary to gain a clearer understanding of words.  Zondervan’s Exhaustive NIV Bible Concordance references the original Hebrew or Greek word in a given scripture.  Greek and Hebrew are much more descriptive languages than English, so there is often the rich reward of a fuller understanding of a word or concept. 

  For the English words “meditate” or “meditation I found eight Hebrew words used 18 times in the Old Testament (16 times in Psalms). The most commonly used word “siah” (used seven times) means to muse on, consider, think on, to be deep in thought.  “Muse” means to think or meditate in silence (Webster’s).  “Chew” also means to meditate (Webster’s). One pastor likened it to a cow chewing its cud, a long process of digestion as the cow has four stomachs! 

  The word “meditate” appears twice in the King James Version of the New Testament according to The Complete Word Study New Testament by Spiros Zodhiates, Th.D.  The Greek word “meletao” means to take care of, to resolve in the mind.  To be mindful is defined in Webster’s Dictionary as “attentive, aware, thoughtful”  Webster’s defines meditate “to engage in thought or contemplation, to reflect.  Synonyms are to ponder, ruminate, study, or think.
   
  To be mindful is defined in Webster’s as “attentive, aware, thoughtful”  Webster’s defines meditate:  “to engage in thought or contemplation, to reflect.”  Synonyms are to ponder, ruminate, study, or think.  The Bible references the words “mind” and “think” in many passages.

  As I meditate on scriptures and am mindful of spiritual things, I chew and “digest” them to hopefully be able to apply them to live in a state of peace.  One of my favorite meditation topics is the Serenity Prayer:  “God, help me to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”

  I began to understand how hypnosis could help me with Dr. Hollingsworth’s concept of “mindfulness” and how mindfulness could eventually lead to a more successful practice of meditation.  One of the benefits of hypnosis was to learn to relax and let go of the burdens in my mind, which in turn loosened some of the knots of pain in my physical body.  As I learned to connect the mind and body and began to master the concept of physical and then mental relaxation, I could then relax to the point of being quieted in my mind, which in turn maximized the benefit of the hypnosis.

  Conversely, as I became more accustomed to the hypnosis/relaxation process I began to learn a form of self hypnosis or self relaxation. I found as I quieted my mind and shut out the concerns, burdens, and demands of life, I was then able to be “mindful” and able to meditate and listen.  I have found that I must be still and quiet in order to hear God’s voice.

  For me hypnosis and meditation walk hand in hand, perhaps viewed as close family members.  While not the same, each can certainly help facilitate the other.  I am becoming a healthier, more balanced, and more spiritual human being because of these two valuable life tools.

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