The Bible and Hypnosis

Hypnosis has been among the dark arts throughout
ancient history until the present. In his book on
the history of hypnosis, Maurice Tinterow says, “Probably
the early soothsayers and oracles relied largely
on the hypnotic state.”

Deep Hypnosis

Professor of psychology Charles Tart spent much
laboratory time investigating hypnosis. He reports an
experiment measuring hypnotic depth with a man
whom he identifies as William. He recorded the experiences
of William, an intelligent, well-adjusted twentyyear-old
college student.1
 After hypnotizing William a
few times to explore hypnotic depth, he asked William
to indicate the various depths while under hypnosis.

Hypnotic Memory

The most important factor in early life or past life
hypnotherapy is memory. Hilgard says, “No matter how
one dips into the recesses of the mind, one stumbles
on the same problems – the storage and retrieval of
information, some true, some false.”
 From examining
the research on memory, social psychologist Carol
Tavris concludes:
Memory is, in a word, lousy. It is a traitor at worst,
a mischief-maker at best. It gives us vivid recollections
of events that could never have happened,
and it obscures critical details of events that did.

Age Regression and Progression/Hypnosis

Age regression is a common procedure in hypnosis,
because so many people erroneously believe that
hypnosis will help a person recover forgotten memories
or details from vague memories. Mark Twain once
said, “I find the further back I go, the better I remember
things, whether they happened or not.”

Induction/Seduction/Hypnosis

Pierre Janet, an early practitioner of modern
hypnotherapy, had no qualms about deceiving his
patients into a trance. He clearly declared:
There are some patients to whom . . . we must tell
part of the truth; and there are some to whom, as
a matter of strict moral obligation, we must lie.1
These startling words call us to take a closer look at
hypnosis and how it is being used today. Let’s start at
the beginning. What happens when a hypnotist begins
hypnotizing someone?