by Tim Brunson PhD
Regardless whether one uses the term change or transformation, the hypnotherapist's obsession with altering human condition too often lacks the appreciation of the true potential of the process. Unfortunately "change" has become the cliché of therapists and even politicians without a comprehensive level of understanding. So, regardless as to whether one feels that a particular new situation or condition is desired or not, the ability to create a desired future can only be intentional if there is an adequate awareness of the journey.
To begin this increased "groking" of the dynamics of transformation, I first turn to leading edge scientific thought. The Biology of Belief, by Bruce Lipton, Ph.D., the consummate new biologist, points out that cells (and people) continually adapt as a result of their perception of the environment. Lipton further points out that such adaptation can either be classified as "growth" or "protection", with the assumption that "growth is good." Therefore, his well thought out theory is that we can focus our emphasis on growth adaptation by a mere alteration of our perceptual filters. While I love the intent and the direction of his train of thought, my feeling is that it lacks completion and the depth needed.
So, then I turn to the writings of Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, whose philosophical legacy not only influenced the intellectual development of the Western world but became the bane of my freshman year of college. I distinctly remember the uncomfortable experience of trying to understand just the first few lines of his book, the title of which can be translated both as the Phenomenology of Spirit and Phenomenology of Mind. Hegel gave us the most enduring model of change. It is now called the Hegelian Dialectic, which states that a condition will inevitably result in its opposite and then merge into an alchemical amalgam as a new state. This cycle of thesis-antithesis-synthesis where the synthesis becomes the new thesis is a yin-yang dance which is what he calls a "march of history through time." And, by combining this with Lipton's growth-protection adaptation theory we are given the opportunity to understanding how change occurs.
To do this, however, I must begin by departing from Lipton's theories. I see the yin and yang of adaptation more broadly. I rename "growth" as "positive" and lump into the concept those combining and unity-oriented concepts such as love, understanding and peace, as well as the ultimate re-unification and transition which is death and decay. Likewise, I rename "protection" as "negative" and ascribe such words as separation, discomfort, disease, opportunity, and chaos. Then combining Lipton's adaptation to Hegel's inevitability of the cycle of change, we see that we are truly constantly moving from one state to the other. It should be obvious that synthesis, which is otherwise the new thesis, may be a desired or an undesired state. Nevertheless, the process is actually the basis or fundamental natural law that we generally call "life". Yes, you cannot "get a life" unless you are willing to ride the waves of change between the yin and yang. Love and peace have the seeds of chaos. The opposite is also true.
But, do we have any choice? Is life one deterministic journey in which we have become the flotsam and victim of the whims of inevitable change? Or, can we become the masters of our fate. Are we victims or creators?
One possible source of a more optimistic answer can again be found in recent scientific discoveries. In 1996 there was an accidental discovery in a rather obscure laboratory at the University of Parma in Italy. Giacomo Rizzolatti and his team of researchers found that there is a tendency in our brains to react or mirror the brains of others when we observe their intentions. The specific clusters were classified as "mirror neurons." So, this means that we are truly wired for empathy. Well, as startling as this discovery appears, I don't think that this is the entire story.
Further research and consideration show that there is a more pronounced human propensity to mirror those in our environment. This not only affects the energy organization and signatures of our neural substrates, but also affects every cell and organ of our body. We essentially become influenced or mirror those in our "community." Indeed, this is the rationale behind riots, swarms, flock behavior, race, denomination, and culture. But, again is this only a proof of Lipton's comments about adaptation? And, do we have a choice. I know that we do.
In Evolving the Brain, a recent book by hypnotherapist-turned-chiropractor, Joe Dispenza, DC, points out that our brains are blessed with a frontal lobe, which makes up 40% of our brain volume and makes us truly human. This evolutionary miracle is not only the seat of happiness and moral control, but also will power. He emphatically states that we have a choice in directing or evolution (or revolution).
What if we use this volitional superpower as a tool for consciously creating our future? My view is that if we use our conscious willpower to create an alternate reality (or fantasy of our choosing) that our natural tendency toward adaptation will through mirroring cause us to change mentally and physiologically into this altered state, this new synthesis. So just maybe, rather than being the victim of an inevitable cycle of adaptation we can truly become the creators of our new realities. If we do not grasp our unique self-creation potential as humans then we just may be doomed to the magnetic propensity that is called mediocrity.
While some will recognize that guided visualization and other hypnosis tools obviously serve to create this altered reality to which we are magnetically attracted, I maintain that through the development of a more unified theory of transformation that we can more effectively and consciously create desired change within our clients and patients (and within our selves). With the vast majority of scientific studies supporting the efficacy of hypnosis for psychological and physiological cures (while simultaneously being bereft of an understanding as to why), there is an opportunity to have even a greater impact. And, to do so will not only change the essence of medicine and psychology as we know it today, but also of hypnotherapy itself.
The International Hypnosis Research Institute is a member supported project involving integrative health care specialists from around the world. We provide information and educational resources to clinicians. Dr. Brunson is the author of over 150 self-help and clinical CD's and MP3's.
Posted: 11/19/2012
