The links between hypnosis and Buddism

Hi everyone,

You probably did not read my others posts but I've been reading about hypnosis and Buddhism and IMHO the two are basically identical.

Buddhism is an oral tradition and hypnosis is an oral tradition.
Buddhism talks about the cessation of suffering and hypnosis offers glove anesthesia.
The Buddha would talk for many hours and tell many stories to explain his point, hypnotists do the same.
The Buddha would by accident use embedded commands and expectations to guide a person to enlightenment and hypnotists do the same but on purpose.
Both use meditation as a tool but I read about how meditation in Buddhism has been mis-explained because it encompasses ideas of culture and development and hypnosis uses these same tools when post hypnotic commands are installed to acheive self-hypnosis.
The Buddha spent many years meditating and afterwards said to followers than awakening can be explained in the morning and achieved in the evening, in hypnosis the ideas can be communicated in just as quick a time.
The Buddha would explain stories in an identical way to some of the stories of the late great hypnotist Milton Erickson.
The Buddha explained about different levels of trance which are identical to hypnosis and the hypnotic coma.
Guided meditation is identical to a guided hypnosis.
Meditation talks about a narrowing of the field of consciousness and guess what...

Possibly not many here on ATS that are very interested but I found looking at the two in comparison has been very beneficial but Buddism seems to be larger and its focus on the conscious brain is similar to NLP too.

So my main point is that although meditation and hypnosis appear very different the similarities are glaring to the point that it becomes one thing, for example,

"Close your eyes, relax you mind, focus on the thoughts in your mind and just watch them flow over you" am I talking about hypnosis or meditation?

If you want to know more you can read about Milton Erickson and the 4 noble truths leading to the 8-fold path the last of which is trance work which when described fits perfectly with the sensations experienced within hypnosis

In conclusion awakening is not some mysterious thing out of reach, the Buddha taught how to achieve it and hypnotists teach the same thing. I am searching for this level of mental clarity ( the 3rd noble truth) and will update when I achieve it, I am going to see a hypnotist soon because I feel that modern Buddhists have lost sight of the teachings of the Buddha.

Peace out now and forever

PS, if you disagree please tell me

PPS vipassana meditation is identical to self-hypnosis and if you notice in meditation you are more calm and you tell yourself this like you should, this acts as a hypnotic command and sends you deeper into the mind
Also samatha meditation is explained as a single focus mediation which is then combined with vipassana, in hypnosis the aim is to make quiet the conscious (samatha) and then explore from there (vipassana).

Buddhism and hypnosis are opposites.

Buddha means "Awakened One".

Hypnosis means "to induce sleep".

Gnosis teaches how to Awaken Consciousness.

Hyp-nosis might awaken aspects of the mind, personality, and ego, but it puts the Consciousness to sleep.

reply to post by Tamahu


Thanks for replying:
Buddhism and hypnosis are opposites - maybe but the similarities are striking

Buddha means "Awakened One" - yup

Hypnosis means "to induce sleep" - - yup but the menu is not the food, hypnosis was so-called by a Scottish surgeon who quickly realised his mistake and wanted to change it to monoideaism.

Gnosis teaches how to Awaken Consciousness - gonna read up, thanks, could you add your own experiences of gnosis if you have any

Hyp-nosis might awaken aspects of the mind, personality, and ego, but it puts the Consciousness to sleep - and the Buddha talks about making the conscious mind quiet and still - we only have one brain which does many things, but to my mind consciousness is over-rated inasmuch as its the so-called subconscious which does all the work but this isn't really true because we only have one mind and the conscious/subconscious idea is used to explain things easily but its not really true.

I learned about open disclosure and hearing about gnosis from you really makes it worthwhile to make this thread. What I've learned is to ask people at the start, which is more interesting to you, meditation or hypnosis of self hypnosis, and then I explain exactly the same stuff but with the right word, people in general are very fearful of hypnosis but I feel that is mainly because hypnotists are really really bad at PR.

Peace

PS this is just the first google search I found - guided meditation, can anyone tell me the difference between this and a progressive relaxation induction with deepener, because it looks the same to me www.innerhealthstudio.com...

Nonsense......the ultimate goal in Buddhism is to obtain Nirvana. A state in which you can only achieve through meditation and opening of the chakras, total 7 major ones. What is chakras? Life energy that spins and vibrates at its own frequency. It isn't talking here. Is an actual heat sensation, pulsing, one feels. When you get to the 6th chakras, your third eye is open and you are confronting major moral issues dealing with your life (past and present). Even finding yourself in situations that you normally don't see yourself to be in. Another effect with opening the third eye is that your meridians are generally fully open, not blocked. You would feel the whole body pulsing as a result, which leads to better health.

Hypnosis? I don't remember reading up on hypnosis that can help you with your health or being used to rise your Kundalini energy.

reply to post by ChiForce


Hypnosis and cancer patients, Stephen Gilligan, Milton Erickson working with mental patients, Patrick Coleman on youtube dealing with back pain, glove anesthesia, smoking cessation I could really go on. can't really comment on the rest without confirming my ignorance - the Buddha was just a man, spent a long time meditating and then taught others what he learned by sitting them down and explaining slowly so they understood and followed his instructions after raising their expectation levels - the same as hypnosis - its just with hypnosis the hypnotist thinks he's just invented the wheel

One more point, the Buddha when going through his awakening was meditating and experienced many hundreds of past lives - witness past life hypnosis therapy. Hypnosis is the short cut to right concentration on the 8-fold path but the Buddha just did not realize he was hypnotized, just as hypnotists don't realize they are meditating.

It's gonna take some strong stuff to change my mind on this.

edit to add ChiForce - if the idea of opening up chakras floats your boat then good luck - its simply a utilization pattern, for example reiki made a lot of sense to me but hypnosis is a much more elegant explanation.

Originally posted by yyyyyyyyyy
reply to post by ChiForce

 

Hypnosis and cancer patients, Stephen Gilligan, Milton Erickson working with mental patients, Patrick Coleman on youtube dealing with back pain, glove anesthesia, smoking cessation I could really go on. can't really

It appears you are trying to obtain some sort of enlightenment via hypnosis. I do advise you to speak to a guru or a yoga master on meditation, instead of reading up on Buddhism and trying to approximate the experience via hypnosis. Enlightenment is obtainable but you need to practice meditation and working on opening and activating your chakras. The source of life energy can be experienced because they are heat sensations and lights. You need to meditate. You need to practice breathing. You need to focus your consciousness on a single object during meditation.

Originally posted by yyyyyyyyyy

[...]

So my main point is that although meditation and hypnosis appear very different the similarities are glaring to the point that it becomes one thing, for example,

"Close your eyes, relax you mind, focus on the thoughts in your mind and just watch them flow over you" am I talking about hypnosis or meditation?

[...]

I like very much to ask what is the advantage in either or both Buddhism and hypnosis in everyday life, making a living, maintaining a home, living in marriage, and raising a family?

What about the concern of every living thing, where to get food?



Pachomius

Dude, Chakras isn't a concept. I feel them every night when I meditate, total of 4 hours per day. Chinese medicine, couple of thousands years old, relies on the activities on the many Chakras system in the body to diagnose illnesses. Dude, you can't take out the Chakras system out of Buddhism. If it flows your boat to articulate and approximate enlightenment rather than to actually experience it, is fine by me. I rather prefer to experience enlightenment and having my experiences confirmed by ancient meditation practices. No, I am not a new age religion worshiper.

Pachomius




Please, don't confound hypnosis with Buddhism. This whole hypnosis religion thing looks more like some new age religion stuff. Read this book by Gurmukh Kaur Khalsa "Kundalini Rising." Including myself and few others, we experienced the Kundalini energy by accidence. What is Kuandalini energy? A dormant female life force energy located at the tail bone of your spine. When it is activated or triggered (usually from stressful events like near death experiences or some other life changing situations), it will literally surge through your spine and up to your skull, crown area. It opens all 7 of your major Chakras. You feel massive heat inside your body. Loud ringing sound. Massive pressure on your forehead accompanied by very intense white/blue light. Your internal senses are all channeled inside you. You become aware of the Self. For the first time, you know you exist as the Self. The feeling is so powerful and exciting that quite often people who had experienced once would try to reproduce it.

Some people meditate to release stresses but the purpose of meditation is to feel this Kundalini energy and to keep it under control. There are people who meditate in their life time and not able to experience the Kundalini energy. Also, a well balanced chakras system will lead you to live a peaceful and well thought life. If various of your Chakras are blocked or not open, you can exhibit various behavioral issues or patterns (fear, anger, low self esteem, and etc).

reply to post by yyyyyyyyyy


OP, I feel as if you are stretching the message and teachings of Gautama Buddha to fit your personal perception. Also your understanding of meditation does not accurately portray its reality, although I do see how a novice may see similarities between the two. I am happy you are interested in striving for enlightenment, and I recommend you study further into Buddha's teachings and meditations, but ultimately you must simply practice and experience it for yourself. That is the only way for you to see it as it truly is. And yes, enlightenment can be found within a single day's time, but one must already have the disposition to achieve this (which is rare, especially in today's world) and must receive a silent transmission from a Buddha. Still enlightenment can be achieved without these things, however one must strive on their own with much more diligence to actualize its reality. Check out some of my previous threads, you may be interested in them.

ChiForce: My friend, Buddhism does not speak of "Chakra's" and Buddhist meditations are not aimed at opening them. That is more of a New Age Hindu belief that grew in popularity as the West became introduced to these eastern concepts 50 or 60 years ago, in the same way as Yoga did. In fact, you will find that Hindu's in India do not ascribe to these ideas and no where in their "scriptures" (Vedas) does it speak about either. I have spoke to many Hindu people and none of them knew of or practiced these things back in their home country, in fact, a few of them asked me to explain it to them. Not saying "Chakra's" or Yoga isn't real or helpful, just that it is a newer aged thing that has arose from the west.

Originally posted by LifeIsEnergy
reply to post by yyyyyyyyyy

 

ChiForce: My friend, Buddhism does not speak of "Chakra's" and Buddhist meditations are not aimed at opening them. That is more of a New Age Hindu belief that grew in popularity as the West became introduced to these eastern concepts 50 or 60 years ago, in the same way as Yoga did. In fact, you will find that Hindu's in India do not ascribe to these ideas and no where in their "scriptures" (Vedas) does it speak about either. I have spoke to many Hindu people and none of them knew of or practiced these things back in their home country, in fact, a few of them asked me to explain it to them. Not saying "Chakra's" or Yoga isn't real or helpful, just that it is a newer aged thing that has arose from the west.

That's interesting. However, the chakras system as well as the concept of meridians or energy path has been used in Chinese medicine for ages.... I seriously doubt that the Chakras system is a new age thing since they are closely associated with the Kundalini energy.

Originally posted by Pachomius

Originally posted by yyyyyyyyyy

I like very much to ask what is the advantage in either or both Buddhism and hypnosis in everyday life, making a living, maintaining a home, living in marriage, and raising a family?

What about the concern of every living thing, where to get food?

Pachomius

I recommend you look into Vipassana or Mindful Meditation, it will most definitely help you in your everyday life. It's aim is to train the mind to become fully mindful, or aware, solely of the activity which you are embarking upon. This will help you clear your mind of past and future distractions, which also is what gives rise to stress, and allow your mind to become completely immersed and focused on what it is you are doing. Mindful meditation is done sitting down, but it can be practiced and should be practiced at any time during the day, during any activity (from walking, to cleaning, to reading, to listening, to speaking...) and after a short while you will notice it's great effects on your life. Other forms of meditation, such as "Loving Kindness" or "Compassion" meditation, can also help with your daily life and more directly with your personal relationships (friends, family, co-workers, strangers...).

Here are a few links for you to check out and start with:

Vipassana and Mindful Meditation:
www.buddhanet.net...
www.accesstoinsight.org...

Loving Kindness and Compassion Meditation:
www.buddhanet.net...
www.sciencedaily.com...

Originally posted by LifeIsEnergy

Some interesting read on the history of Kundalini energy. New age? Not at all...

www.sol.com.au...
www.indianetzone.com...

And Chinese medicine using the meridians path way....wish I could find you a complete chart. Couple of the ones I saw it plotted the 7 major chakras.

en.wikipedia.org...

reply to post by ChiForce


Most definitely, Qi energy or as we in the west name it Chi energy is surely an ancient Chinese medicinal and healing practice. And there does seem to be a close resembelance between "chakra" meditation and the practice of Qi energy, although there may be slight differences in the way it is used or implemented.

I am no Hindu scholar, I am merely passing on what native Hindu's have told me, and it does seem these "Chakras" and Yoga ideas do come from a newer aged philosophy, although again that doesn't mean they are not helpful (To clarify: the basic idea of "chakras" may not be new but.the word and modern understanding of them seem to be.) Actually, some Hindu's back in India have begun to implement these idea's into their practices which is pretty cool.


ETA: Ok I will check those out! Thx!

Originally posted by LifeIsEnergy
reply to post by ChiForce

 

I know the chakra color system is new. Personally, I don't see the supposed correct colors at all. I am pretty sure that at certain point in your meditation progress, all the chakras colors would look white/blue. I also don't suppose your ordinary Hindus would be well versed in Kundalini yoga. Same as I don't expect the ordinary Chinese would practice Tai Chi or Chi Kung. Many of these spiritual endeavors are esoteric by nature. If the Kundalini energy rises by accidence, you have no choice at all....

reply to post by yyyyyyyyyy


its not surprising for me that you have come to this conclusion

studying self-hypnosis when I was 14 is what lead me down a path of identifying myself as buddhist for for most of my adult life

the methods of self-hypnosis are very similar to the methods of meditation used in Buddhism, centering ones self, calming the body and mind, and manifesting a belief and investing it into the subconsciousness

I used these same methods to also help me in past life regression(weird stuff) and at one point I was able to enter an alpha state of relaxation in just a few minutes

of course many years later and having grown cynical, I can barely relax these days

someday I hope to possess the ability to relax myself like I did all those years ago, but I imagine the world will be a much different place long before I am able to do that again.

Just needed to say that there is no way that a person who is hypnotised is in any kind of enlightened awareness state as the hypnotist is filling up the mind with thoughts and suggestions ..guided meditation is very much the same thing ,,,

natural meditation is about stilling the mind ..empting the mind ...

a hypnotist can suggest you have an empty mind yet the mind is still full up with being empty (if you know what I mean) ....it is still a thought ...I am thinking my mind is empty

to be in a state of enlightenment is to be with out reflection

enlightenment is not a state of hypnotic suggestion.


"In the kingdom of heaven, there is no self"

yyyyyyyyyy,

I just wanted to say that this is one of the most stunning new theories I've read in a long time. An old black & white movie sprang to mind while reading your OP that parallels what you are saying. The 1944 movie the Razors edge. About a WWI vet who goes east and spends quite a bit of time in India. When he returns he is very philosophical and uses Hypnosis to cure and old friend.

The wiki article History of Hypnosis seems to support your contention.

en.wikipedia.org...


David Grouchy

reply to post by davidgrouchy


Steady on, there is much better out there on ATS!

Until recently, the last week or so I would say the two ideas are polar opposites but now I am not so sure.

For the poster looking for the utility of hypnosis check this out its only 7 minutes

www.youtube.com...

Or if your wondering what is the benefit of Buddhism try to read the chapter called The Fruits of the Ascetic Life partly found here

books.google.co.uk... &hl=en&ei=V9DjTKiWCdGLhQeik8DMDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBYQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=fruits%20of%20the%20ascetic%20life&f=false

Peace

PS the Coleman youtube video is really cool

PPS any medical issues, you must consult with a doctor

Originally posted by kalisdad
reply to post by yyyyyyyyyy

 

the methods of self-hypnosis are very similar to the methods of meditation used in Buddhism, centering ones self, calming the body and mind, and manifesting a belief and investing it into the subconsciousnes