Today, I had a brief conversation on-line with someone on a hypnotherapy list I subscribe to - yes, the same one I talked about earlier. A hypnotist on the list, working somewhere in the Middle East wrote in to ask if anyone had any advice he could use with a client who was having a problem with black magic. He indicated that the person had an overall good disposition, but had had negative experiences with a sorcerer - a person who had put a curse on her.
I wrote back to ask several things:
- How intense is the person's belief in black magic?
- What was her history, especially with regards to the person(s) associated with "magic"?
- What are the emotions associated with the "curse" - what is their history in the client's life?
My suggestion was that the hypnotist could work backwards in regression to the source of the emotional effects. Another would be to work backwards to the source of the beliefs. My bet is that the source of the emotion might be similar to the source of the beliefs, connecting the two in what hypnotists call an initial sensitising event (or ISE for short).
In an earlier blog post, I discussed a relationship between hypnosis, magic and religion. I stated that many religions use similar techniques, related to hypnosis, without the "hypnosis" label. Principal among these are using various techniques such as rituals, symbols and stories to bypass the suspension of disbelief.
In hypnotherapy work, key to suspension of disbelief is the rapport between the client and hypnotist - a climate of safety, comfort and healing. In other cases, such as negative religions practices, this critical bypass is far less positive. In practices such as "black magic," suspension of disbelief includes attribution of powers to the sorcerer. If the sorcerer casts a dark spell - a curse - the victim believes that they are cursed, opening the door to the subconscious and allowing a toxic belief to enter. Suspension of disbelief in a very negative sense. Where issues with toxic beliefs are involved, hypnotherapy can be an ideal way to provide healing. Thus, far from being evil, as my earlier fundamentalist caller maintained, hypnotherapy can indeed be a powerful force for good. This is especially true when dealing with negative beliefs such as "black magic."
Another note: In spite of the relatively skeptical-sounding tone of the above comments, I am very open to possible paranormal explanations of some "magical" actions. In the words of Arthur C. Clarke (Clarkes third law), any technology sufficiently advanced is indistinguishable from magic. Perhaps a corrolary is that a physical process which we don't understand might also be taken as "magical." We know very little yet about parapsychology. Could there be a PSI connection associated with some "black magic" practices?
Then there is the spirit-mind-body connection - the powerful core of healing with hypnotherapy. The mind has the ability to heal or sicken you. It is a powerful wholistic epiphenomenon, and so far, it is very little understood. This, in association with non-local/PSI effects might indeed afford a physical mechanism for such a process. So who am I to say that "magic" is purely belief.
Having said that, in order for something like a curse to work, it seems necessary for both the sorcerer and the victim to believe in it. Thus hypnotherapy, a vital tool in the effort to heal the toxic belief systems behind mind-body illness, can be valuable in reversing the influences of dark religious practices. It can truly bring the light of healing to the darkness of "black magic."
