J. Kingston Cowart works with people
and organizations that want to make
important changes quickly.

Need a speaker for your event?
Contact 619.561.9012

HISTORICAL ASPECTS OF HYPNOSIS
J. Kingston Cowart, M.S.

In one form or another, and by many different names, hypnosis has existed in all ages and civilizations.¹

James Braid, the British physician who first used the term hypnosis, recognized that all hypnosis is essentially self-hypnosis to begin with.²

For this reason self-hypnosis is best understood against the background of hypnosis itself.³

Research shows that hypnotic phenomena, whether produced autonomously or with assistance, have been known since earliest recorded history.

In ancient Greece and Egypt there were "temples of sleep" where essentially hypnotic religious and psychological healing methods were practiced more than 3500 years ago.⁴

Egyptian pictographs show healers making hand passes over their patients, an old and still effective form of trance induction.⁵

Some Judaic scholars have found allusions to the hypnotic state in the Hebrew scriptures.⁶

SELF-HYPNOSIS

Significant connections exist between self-hypnosis and Jewish cabalistic mysticism, as well.⁷

Other researchers have noted the practice of self-hypnosis in the cultures of Japan,⁸ Korea,⁹ Central Asia,¹⁰ the Caribbean,¹¹ and the Indian subcontinent.¹²

Philip Kapleau’s description of the bompu level of Zen seems identical with self-hypnosis.¹³

Alan Watts was struck by significant similarities between eastern meditation systems and western styles of therapeutic self-hypnosis.¹⁴

Some people, in fact, believe that self-hypnosis might easily be thought of as "Judeo-Christian meditation"—which Roy Masters referred to as the "divine hypnosis," saying of it that

"the same process that created compulsions from the outside corrects those compulsions when it is inwardly directed."¹⁵

Indeed, long before its applications to western medicine and psychotherapy, self-hypnosis was an effective and beneficial part of human religious practice and healing.¹⁶

Today, self-hypnosis has achieved widespread acceptance as a secular and scientific approach to self-change.

Understood as "an art of inner communication which can be used for many purposes,"¹⁷ self-hypnosis is now widely available to those seeking self-discovery as well as lasting solutions to personal concerns.

References

¹ Morton, R. Hypnosis and Pastoral Counseling. Los Angeles: Westwood, Publishing, 1980.

² Braid, J. Braid on Hypnotism. New York: Julian Press, 1960.

³ Simpkins, C. and A. Simpkins. Principles of Self Hypnosis: Pathways to the Unconscious. New York: Irvington, 1991.

⁴ Wolberg, L. The Principles of Hypnotherapy. Vol. 1. of Medical Hypnosis. New York: Grune and Stratton, 1948.

⁵ Kroger, W. Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippencott, 1963.

⁶ Glasner, S. "A Note on Allusions to Hypnosis in the Bible and Talmud." International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 1955, 3, 34-39.

⁷ Bowers, M. & Glasner S. "Autohypnotic Aspects of the Jewish Cabalistic Concept of Kavanah." International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis. 1958: 6, 50.

⁸ Marcuse, F. Hypnosis Throughout the World. Springfield, Illinois: Thomas, 1964.

⁹ Kim, W. "Korean Shamanism and Hypnosis." American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, 1967: 3, 193-197.

¹⁰ Hallaji, J. "Hypnotherapeutic Techniques in a Central Asian Community." International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis. 1962: 10, 271-274.

¹¹ Bowers, M. "Hypnotic Aspects of Haitian Voodoo," International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis, 1961: 4, 269-282.

¹² Das, J. "Yoga and Hypnosis." International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis. 1963: 1, 31-38.

¹³ Kapleau, P. The Three Pillars of Zen: Teaching, Practice, Enlightenment. 4th ed. Boston: Beacon Press, 1969.

¹⁴ Watts, A. Psychotherapy East and West. 1961. Reprint. New York: Vintage Books, 1975.

¹⁵ Masters, R. How Your Mind Can Keep You Well. Los Angeles: Foundation Books, 1978, 81.

¹⁶ Bryan, W. The Religious Aspects of Hypnosis. Springfield: Charles C. Thomas, 1962.

¹⁷ Simpkins, C. and A. Simpkins. Principles of Self Hypnosis: Pathways to the Unconscious. New York: Irvington, 1991, xi.

Thank you for your visit.
We hope you found what you were looking for.
If not, perhaps we can help you find it.

or call
619.561.9012

HOME PAGE