John 8:32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.
The last few weeks have seen some interesting interactions with folks I don't normally hear from - conservative Christians. The first was at the wedding reception of a friend of mine who belongs to a conservative congregation. Then came interactions with a coworker who has conservative religious views. Finally, it involved several hypnosis clients - all of them close encounter experiencers. Of these, one recent event brought home to me the sometimes-bone-jarring discord between narrowly-defined religion (any religion, Christianity, Islam, Rationalism, New Age, etc...) and the quest to determine the nature of the world around us.
In this case, occuring a few weeks ago (the case detals are obfuscated to maintain confidentiality), a client approached me for a regression to understand some unexplained events that had happened to her. A MUFON investigator had previously interviewed this witness and subsequently, I arranged to do a regression with her. We confirmed the appointment and all seemed well...
A few hours before the session, I got a call from her. It turned out that her husband was a fundamentalist Christian and was extremely upset about her going to see a hypnotist. In his view, hypnosis was part of the occult and thus evil. I talked with her over the phone and assured her that hypnosis is not a religious practice and is fully compatible with the client's religious beliefs. I told her that I had worked with clients of very deep Christian faith and that the result had only been a deepening of that faith. In the background, I could hear the husband, increasingly angry, telling her that I was corrupting her, and so on.
Later, as the wife was driving in from outstate to see me, I got a call from the husband, lambasting me for being unChristian, doing evil and corrupting the faithful. I thanked him for sharing his views with me and tried to explain again that hypnosis was actually an everday phenomenon, not having anything to do with the occult. Before I could say anything, however, I was met with a dial tone.
Each of us has our own views of the world. Depending upon how secure one is in their beliefs, those views can be rigid and forceful, or they can be part of an inquisitive search for ever-greater understanding of God's Universe. Furthermore, each of us has a vast repertoire of healing tools available to us. The powers of the subconscious mind, for good or ill, are tremendous. The mind can heal us or it can make us ill. Beliefs can bring us harmony or discord, war or peace. In this case, I was met by the anger of the husband, and then - when the client actually arrived - by a very self-assured, understanding peace.
Was the client's husband threatened by the prospect of discovery? Did the idea that we might learn something counter to his own beliefs frighten him? I'll never know. He wouldn't even talk to me.
I did some exploring on-line and found the website which (I think) was the source of his beliefs: a fundamentalist website, http://www.gotquestions.org/. In this case, the article was entitiled Should a Christian ever get involved with hypnosis?. The answer in the article was, of course, "no." To summarize the article's arguments, hypnosis opens the mind to suggestion. This allows the possibility of evil to creep in; the devil prowls around the periphery and could influence the faithful at any opportunity. It also claims that hypnosis requires the relinquishing of control to the hypnotist. Furthermore, it states that hypnosis shares techniques with other "occult practices" such as Transcedental Meditation and Yoga, both associated with "spiritual darkness."
To me, this dramatizes the lack of understanding of hypnosis by the author. Often, when faced something counter to our beliefs, something we don't understand, the result if fear. Thus, let me address the fears of Fundamentalists, sheding light on the darkness and rigid thinking that causes such fear.
1) Hypnosis requires the client to yield control to the hypnotist, rendering them vulnerable
This argument presupposes that the client has yielded control, which is incorrect: Hypnosis has nothing to do with control. While in a hypnotic state, the client has full control of his/her own thoughts and beliefs. God gave us the power of the human mind for this exact reason.
Rather than control, hypnosis is based upon focus. While one can focus on alot of different things, in hypnotherapy this particular focus is on healing. In any state of hypnotic consciousness, be it the full waking state or the deep trance state, the client has full self control and can choose to exit hypnosis or to reject a suggestion at any time.
2) Hypnosis is an altered state of consciousness which renders the client suggestible, allowing the devil to corrupt the beliefs of the faithful.
Hypnosis is a normal state of consciousness. If you have ever had a daydream, you have been in hypnosis. If you have ever become absorbed in a good book (yes, even The Good Book), you have been hypnotized. Each of us spends a brief period of time in spontaneous hypnosis during each cycle of conscousness (the ultradian biorhythm is about 90 minutes on length). Thus, far from being an altered state of consciousness, hypnosis is a part of our normal every-day state of being.
The human mind is by-nature critical. Each of us has a powerful God-given ability to discern true from false. In hypnotic parlance, this is called the Critical Faculty, and during the hypnotic process, this ability is intact. As stated earlier, no suggestion that goes against the client's own beliefs will pass through this critical barrier. Furthermore no ethical hypnotherapist (or minister, for that matter) will ever ask you to act in a way that is counter to your own moral standards.
3) Hypnotism emphasizes focus within us, rather than a focus on Jesus.
This argument uses the words of the hypnotist, but misunderstands their meaning. Focus is indeed a core of hypnosis. However, the fundamentalist argument misunderstands what is meant by "within us." In most systems of religious belief, including Christianity, what is within and what is beyond are deeply intertwined. Paul, in 1 Corinthians 6:19, states "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own." The idea of hypnotic healing from within is simply another way of describing this focus on God within us. By allowing God to work with and through us, we can allow Spirit to bring us healing, according to whatever religious beliefs we hold.
4) The techniques of hypnosis are similar to those of other occult beliefs. Indeed, the founders of hypnosis practiced "occult" practices. Practices such as Yoga and Transcendental Meditation are descendents of such occult practices and use techniques similar to those of hypnosis.
This argument takes out of context some ideas which have a grain of truth to them. Hypnosis is indeed a set of tools and techniques which can be used for varying purposes. Such techniques are used by many religions, including Christianity. Furthermore, symbols and activities within Christianity, such as chants and hymns in consciousness-altering tones, stained glass windows and similar visual effects, bells, and even prayer itself - all could be seen in terms of the hypnotic process, allowing the faithful to be more open to a spiritual message.
Ultimately, once the rational arguments have been made, we still need to ask, "what does the Christian have to fear from hypnosis?" The key word in this question is "fear." It is fear of the unknown, fear of that which fundamentalism can not control, and fear of that which may challenge a rigid and yet insecure view of the world. For those who are secure in their world view and religious faith, I suggest that there is nothing to fear and everything to gain from spiritual exploration. In exploration, we gain understanding. From understanding, we find truth - and in the words of Jesus, the truth will set us free.
So what is the "Christian view" of hypnosis? In this Christian's view, the answer is that hypnosis is a wonderful gift from God, a normal part of human existence and a powerful tool for healing.
