Jeff asks, “Are hypnosis and meditation the same thing?”
Great question! Similar in many respects but not quite the same.
There’s physical and mental relaxation involved. Brain waves going from beta to alpha and even theta or gamma can occur in both.
Most people equate meditation to clearing the mind or observing the mind without judgment. While that may be the most popular form it’s not the only one. There are also mantras, breath counting, staring at a flame/mandala/etc.
So we can say in most cases the goal of meditation is to clear the mind or at least to focus the mind to the exclusion of other things.
Meanwhile, the point of hypnosis is on something else.
For instance, with my recorded hypnotic tracks, you can focus on getting stronger, more flexible, reforming your body, get out of pain, etc. These are somewhat general and somewhat specific purposes quite a bit different from emptying the mind (although focus is still good).
Or to put in another way hypnosis has a specific intention while meditation aims to free you of intentions.
One thing I do want to point out is that hypnosis tends to be more relaxing, both physically and mentally which can lend itself to greater physiological benefits. Why is this? Simply because various relaxation commands are used in hypnosis, while in meditation you’re typically allowing any relaxation to emerge on its own.
In general, I would say that hypnosis, done right of course, can be a faster route down to deeper relaxation and brain wave levels because that is what it is focused on in the beginning.
When I presented at Dragondoor’s Health and Strength Conference and hypnotized a group of attendees on stage to become stronger in the kettlebell press (most of them did!) I remember one of them telling me afterward that they did lots of meditation but were surprised at how quickly they got into a deeper state when I led them through it.
So what do I personally do?
I’ve experimented with all kinds of things but mostly do hypnosis.
Never tried hypnosis? Here’s an easy way to get started.