Will Hypnosis Brainwash Me?

Whenever we hear the term ‘brain washing’, it automatically conjures up negative associations of people being forced into having certain beliefs by an outside party. But think about it – couldn’t everybody’s mind benefit from some different input.

I like to think of self-brainwashing as the practice of deliberately replacing old, outmoded thought patterns with new, improved positive ones, which are directly related to the goals I want to achieve.

Another way to look at it is to return our minds back to the state it was in when we were children and we thought anything was possible – the state it was in before we became adults and became inundated with negative beliefs, fears and limitations. Imagine being able to ‘wash out’ all of these seemingly harmless remarks we have been hearing since childhood and replacing them with remarks that affirm how positive life can be.

The key is belief. If you believe you can do something, you can. If you believe you can’t do something, you will be right too.

But how do we change our beliefs? Probably the best way is through the use of affirmations, which is a positive self talk statement, said in the present tense that addresses something you want to achieve and that ‘overrides’ any negative beliefs you may have about your ability to achieve that goal. Try, for example:

‘I am in a loving, healthy relationship.’

‘My business is attracting money easily.’

‘I am self-confident when it comes to talking to women.’

By repeating these affirmations over and over, your mind will actually start to believe it and make this statement a reality. At some stage, you may do some work on your business plan, which leads to a change in the way you do things, or ask a female friend for some advice about speaking to women and pick up a tip or two.

But before this can happen, it is imperative that you reflect on your beliefs, and sort out the good beliefs from the bad beliefs. After you do this you should gradually eliminate these beliefs. For each negative belief, compose a positive affirmation that is opposite to your negative belief, and repeat it to yourself every day. Writing them down also helps, so long as you put the written affirmations in places that you will see them over and over again. If you have trouble sticking with your affirmations and find that you need a boost, you could also use the subliminal method, which sends the messages directly to your sub-conscious mind without the interference of your conscious mind.

So brainwashing is not such a bad thing after all!