Hypnosis for Learning and Recall
Hypnosis for Learning
and Recall
All levels of the mind are involved in memory retention and
recall. Firstly, the conscious mind is responsible for looking at information,
thinking about it and reflecting upon it before the learned information could
be processed and retained in the long term memory. Once it is stored, it
becomes part of the subconscious memory and is available for action by the
unconscious mind. The unconscious mind is also involved in the learning and
storing of information as well as the retrieving and recalling of information. When
a person is in a hypnotic state, their subconscious and unconscious minds
become more active and can promote hypermnesia by suggestion. Hypermnesia is a
state of having increased memory and recall. In a hypnotic state, a person is
able to get in touch with the internal processes that could provide solutions
to many of their challenges. The unconscious mind could be considered as part
of the deeper levels of the mind which have access to cellular and molecular
memory, hence facilitating learning and recall.
When we memorize information like phone numbers or formulas,
they are available for unconscious recall. The mind-body connection has been
discussed for a very long time and will continue to be discussed in the future,
but practically it is clear to many researchers and quantum biologist Deepak
Chopra (Chopra, 1989) that neuro transmitters have contact with every cell in
the body and not just with the brain as previously thought. The advent of
neuroscience has made it possible to measure the presence of neurotransmitters
in different parts of the brain and studies have shown how the mind affects the
cells of the human body. The mind-body connection is therefore accepted by many
researchers and practitioners but the effect of hypnosis on the internal
processes and the unconscious mind is something that still needs to be
understood by the majority.
Hypnosis is not the new kid on the block. As far back as
1860, hypnotic techniques were used by Pierre Janet and Alfred Binet (Brown,
1991) to show how dramatic changes in physiological functioning could be produced.
In the late 1800s, researchers were using hypnosis to remove physiological
symptoms. It was only after Sigmund Freud rejected hypnosis as a science that
it fell into disrepute for about a hundred years. This is changing now with
more interest in this field and with more research showing the efficacy of
hypnosis. Amongst other things, hypnosis has been successfully used for
learning, remembering and recalling information.
References:
Brown, P. (1991). The
Hypnotic Brain, Yale University Press.
Chopra, D. (1989). Quantum
Healing, Bantam Books.
