There are many similarities between hypnosis and conventional meditation techniques. Like meditation, hypnosis involves entering a deep state of relaxation and attaining a state of one pointed concentration. In this article we’ll discuss these similarities in a little more detail and then talk about how one can be an effective tool for improving your performance and effectiveness in the other.
The first parallel between hypnosis and mediation that you’ll notice is that they both involve a deep state of relaxation. This state of relaxation can be achieved in several different ways but the most common is to concentrate on your breathing. Basically what you want to do is take in deep abdominal breaths and concentrate on the rise and fall of your chest. This is an integral part of almost all meditation practices and is used to develop one pointed concentration.
The next parallel between hypnosis and meditation is the use of one pointed concentration to focus in on a specific topic. This is basically the ability to concentrate on one thing without being bombarded with an array of thoughts. When you sit down for the first time and actually assess your mental continuum you’ll quickly find that you have literally thousands of different thoughts popping in and out of your head throughout the day. It’s extremely difficult to get a stronghold on the mind but once you do, one pointed concentration will benefit you in every aspect of life.
Some common techniques for developing one pointed concentration in addition to watching the breath is to look at a picture or an object and focus on it with all your concentration. Each time a thought pops into your head acknowledge it but don’t pursue it any further. With practice your thoughts will fade away and becoming few and far between. This is one of the most important parallels between hypnosis and meditation as it grants you the ability to do the necessary internal work.
Once you have improved your concentration you’re onto the next similarity between hypnosis and meditation, which is visualization. In both hypnosis and meditation you use visualizations to work on aspects of your conscious and unconscious mind, as well as bring on a desired emotional state.
For example, if you’re trying to conquer your fear of water then you could do a visualization where you go for a swim or dive into a pool. Since you’ve developed one pointed concentration the experience of swimming in real life or in your mind will bring about much of the same feelings. So if you desensitize yourself to the experience you’ll be much more likely to conquer your fear of swimming.
As you can see the similarities between hypnosis and meditation are numerous. Either one you choose to partake in will improve your performance in the other as they’re both based on the same principals. Hypnosis and meditation are both great ways to conquer your fears, gain confidence and work to improve the overall quality of life. So if you’re looking for a cheap way to improve yourself and your state of mind then look no further because meditation and hypnosis provide a cheap and effective solution.