What is the difference between Meditation and Hypnosis? Many people who have experienced meditation before hypnosis are initially surprised by how similar they seem. In this article I will help you understand how hypnosis and meditation differ and how they are the same.
Both disciplines share many, almost identical, techniques, such as breathing and visualization exercises. For instance, the Progressive Muscle Relaxation technique is frequently used in both disciplines. This is where the subject focuses on one part of the body relaxing, before methodically moving down or up to the next part. Creative visualizations, such as imagining you are strolling past a quiet lake, are also used in both hypnosis and meditation. So, what is the difference?
Meditation is commonly described as the absence of all thought. Practitioners aim to have a still mind, free from conscious thought. If any conscious thoughts in words enter your mind, you must find a way of making them disappear. Often repeating mantras or focusing on something such as the breathing or specific images can help accomplish this.
Hypnosis is aimed at a specific outcome. This might be weight loss, quitting smoking, removing phobias etc. At the beginning of a hypnosis session, the hypnotist may employ some meditation-like techniques in order to quiet down the conscious part of the mind. Once the chattering conscious mind is still, they are then most able to give the subconscious part of the mind pre-agreed suggestions.
So both a hypnosis session and a meditation session might lead you to a relaxing guided visualization on a calming tranquil beach, but a hypnosis session will then use this state of mind to suggest change to the subconscious mind. The mediator will receive their benefit purely from the stillness of mind and the relaxation they experience.
Based on an article written for EvolvingBeings.com by author Jon Rhodes.
