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athenasius
Guest
Peopel being hypnotized cannot be forced into a trance. Also, if they are asked to do somthing that they view as moraly wrong they will either not respond or will snap out of the trance…
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LisaSojo
Guest
I just graduated from a graduate program for mental health counseling. I have been a ardent Catholic since high school. I am loyal to the magisterium and am currently working for the Church (have been for years). My graduate program at Rollins College required 10 sessions with a counselor as part of the course work. Reticent to receive counseling from anyone that might not understand the teaching of the Church I asked my priest and spiritual director (now studying in Rome) to suggest a counselor. The counselor that he suggested, and knew well practices, hypnosis, Christian hypnosis.
Again, as many have already said, hypnosis is morally ambiguous. There can be those that misuse it and those that use it to initiate a healing process. All hypnosis sessions I did with my counselor were centered around Catholic themes: giving worries and anxieties to God and repetitions of different Psalms. Again, I trusted this individual after many conversations about faith and what kind of hypnosis he was using (as there are many different types).
In reality hypnosis allows the conscious mind to view the unconscious mind. The calm voice of the professional and the rhythmic repetition of words, causes brain waves to move into a different form of consciousness, namely REM (rapid eye movement). This is what we do with children when we sing and rock them to sleep, although in hypnosis the individual is fully awake and conscious. Most would agree that our dreams show us thoughts and feelings that we are often afraid to look at during conscious moments. Hypnosis allows an individual to move into a REM cycle while fully conscious and in full faculty of their free will. No one, under hypnosis, can be made to do or think anything that they are not will to do or think.
The main reason I decided to post on this particular thread (and actually had to register although I have been using catholic.com for years) was because I realized that there is one very very Catholic practice that mirrors hypnosis. The Rosary. We use the rosary as a form of self hypnosis. The use of the bead allows us to not focus on the number of prayers and the Hail Mary becomes a secondary prayer to the meditation of the mysteries of Christ. As I said before, repetition, rhythm, and focusing on key themes are hallmarks for hypnosis. We say the Hail Mary and at the same time we are looking at deeper mysteries. Is this not the apologetics of Mary? Mary leads us to Christ?
Hypnosis is a meager and insufficient substitute for prayer. I would automatically question anyone who comes to me for counseling wanting only hypnosis. It is only a tool to be used by a profession and for a larger purpose. Hypnosis can be used as a tool for uncovering those things we are too scared to look at in conscious moments. It is a means, not an end. If it isn’t leading my client to Christ I won’t use it. To reference back to the original poster of this thread, if the tapes are not leading your family to Christ, then no, they are a waste of time at best. If they help your family to recognize their need for prayer and relationship with the Lord, then by all means use them!
Again, as many have already said, hypnosis is morally ambiguous. There can be those that misuse it and those that use it to initiate a healing process. All hypnosis sessions I did with my counselor were centered around Catholic themes: giving worries and anxieties to God and repetitions of different Psalms. Again, I trusted this individual after many conversations about faith and what kind of hypnosis he was using (as there are many different types).
In reality hypnosis allows the conscious mind to view the unconscious mind. The calm voice of the professional and the rhythmic repetition of words, causes brain waves to move into a different form of consciousness, namely REM (rapid eye movement). This is what we do with children when we sing and rock them to sleep, although in hypnosis the individual is fully awake and conscious. Most would agree that our dreams show us thoughts and feelings that we are often afraid to look at during conscious moments. Hypnosis allows an individual to move into a REM cycle while fully conscious and in full faculty of their free will. No one, under hypnosis, can be made to do or think anything that they are not will to do or think.
The main reason I decided to post on this particular thread (and actually had to register although I have been using catholic.com for years) was because I realized that there is one very very Catholic practice that mirrors hypnosis. The Rosary. We use the rosary as a form of self hypnosis. The use of the bead allows us to not focus on the number of prayers and the Hail Mary becomes a secondary prayer to the meditation of the mysteries of Christ. As I said before, repetition, rhythm, and focusing on key themes are hallmarks for hypnosis. We say the Hail Mary and at the same time we are looking at deeper mysteries. Is this not the apologetics of Mary? Mary leads us to Christ?
Hypnosis is a meager and insufficient substitute for prayer. I would automatically question anyone who comes to me for counseling wanting only hypnosis. It is only a tool to be used by a profession and for a larger purpose. Hypnosis can be used as a tool for uncovering those things we are too scared to look at in conscious moments. It is a means, not an end. If it isn’t leading my client to Christ I won’t use it. To reference back to the original poster of this thread, if the tapes are not leading your family to Christ, then no, they are a waste of time at best. If they help your family to recognize their need for prayer and relationship with the Lord, then by all means use them!
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puzzleannie
Guest
I see no link to the actual video mentioned by OP.
it sounds more like a relaxation video
his dad says it is a relaxation video
so until proven otherwise it is probably benign
OP does not say what the weird images are that bother him. He also does not say why, if it bothers him, he is watching it.
it sounds more like a relaxation video
his dad says it is a relaxation video
so until proven otherwise it is probably benign
OP does not say what the weird images are that bother him. He also does not say why, if it bothers him, he is watching it.
speak for yourself, may it is self hypnosis for you but it is contemplative prayer for me, and about as far away from hypnosis, as professionals here have described it, as you can get.
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puzzleannie
Guest
speak for yourself, may it is self hypnosis for me but it is contemplative prayer for me, and about as far away from hypnosis, as professionals here have described it, as you can get.
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ahs
Guest
My opinion:
If it’s just a self-relaxation video, I don’t see any harm in it.
If it leads to a state of mind where one would start to reveal secrets against one’s wishes, or reveal secrets of a third party, it would be immoral.
Pope Pius XII addressed methods in his address called “Applied Psychology” (though I don’t recall the word “hypnosis” actually being mentioned). He said this:
“…Two points especially have been brought to Our notice: the widespread use of certain tests[1] by which one goes so far as to delve unscrupulously into the intimate depths of the soul, and the related, but larger problem, of the moral responsibility of the psychologist, that of the extent and limitations of his rights and of his duties in the use of scientific methods, whether in theoretical research or in practical application.”
“…In short, it can be said that one must sometimes deplore the unjustified intrusion of the psychologist in the depths of the personality and the serious psychic harm resulting therefrom to the patient and even to third parties.” (Pope Pius XII, Applied Psychology, emphasis mine)
The message I took away from that address was this:
The main theme in regards to accessing the subconscious or hidden psychology of a person revolves around consent and the right to expose secrets. A person can give consent on his/her own behalf. So, methods where a person has the ability to reveal truths about him/herself with their own consent are moral. However, hypnosis delves in to the subconscious during a semi-conscious state, and a person in a hypnotic state does not have to ability to choose what to reveal or not reveal. Therefore, they are in a position where they can reveal secrets of a third party, which is prohibited. Therefore, hypnotism would be immoral. And all of this, mind you, is only my thoughts on the matter, not based on any significant education or experience…and probably really has no application to the relaxation video in the OP.
-ahs
If it’s just a self-relaxation video, I don’t see any harm in it.
If it leads to a state of mind where one would start to reveal secrets against one’s wishes, or reveal secrets of a third party, it would be immoral.
Pope Pius XII addressed methods in his address called “Applied Psychology” (though I don’t recall the word “hypnosis” actually being mentioned). He said this:
“…Two points especially have been brought to Our notice: the widespread use of certain tests[1] by which one goes so far as to delve unscrupulously into the intimate depths of the soul, and the related, but larger problem, of the moral responsibility of the psychologist, that of the extent and limitations of his rights and of his duties in the use of scientific methods, whether in theoretical research or in practical application.”
“…In short, it can be said that one must sometimes deplore the unjustified intrusion of the psychologist in the depths of the personality and the serious psychic harm resulting therefrom to the patient and even to third parties.” (Pope Pius XII, Applied Psychology, emphasis mine)
The message I took away from that address was this:
The main theme in regards to accessing the subconscious or hidden psychology of a person revolves around consent and the right to expose secrets. A person can give consent on his/her own behalf. So, methods where a person has the ability to reveal truths about him/herself with their own consent are moral. However, hypnosis delves in to the subconscious during a semi-conscious state, and a person in a hypnotic state does not have to ability to choose what to reveal or not reveal. Therefore, they are in a position where they can reveal secrets of a third party, which is prohibited. Therefore, hypnotism would be immoral. And all of this, mind you, is only my thoughts on the matter, not based on any significant education or experience…and probably really has no application to the relaxation video in the OP.
-ahs
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LisaSojo
Guest
Really it’s a matter of what you define as hypnosis. If it’s a state in which you are less focused on outside physical matters and more focused on interior thoughts and movements, then the Rosary would be a form of hypnosis, but with something deeper and greater, God’s grace. Personally I don’t like the term “hypnosis” because there are so many people who do different things under that title. There are those who use manipulative techniques to impinge on the will of others. There are those who are taught to initiate brain waves (REM) that are also found in contemplative prayer in a professional counseling setting. Both might say they practice hypnosis. Again, I say look at the fruits of what is happening. Is it leading you closer to Christ? Yes? Then keep doing it.
I know I enter a contemplative/soothing state both in hypnosis and in my praying of the rosary and both are leading me into deeper relationship with Jesus. I know a tree by it’s fruits…
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LisaSojo
Guest
I would also amend myself and say I’m talking about meditation and not contemplation…sorry about that… contemplation we cannot force circumstances that will cause contemplation, it’s a gift from God…
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tallbeard
Guest
I am considering hypnosis as I have some bad habits (some sinful) that l can’t seem to shake any other way. Despite all the reassurances, I am still leary about it. Though it has been said that one does not give up his free will, videos of people doing very embarrassing things in public suggest the contrary. I have also heard that one becomes very susceptible to the demonic in that state.
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