I just tried hypnosis for the first time. In a workshop for actors (free with my Actors Center membership!), I surrendered myself to a certified hypnotherapist, who helped me and a dozen other hopefuls to fill our minds with positive affirmations in order to increase our confidence and ease our anxieties in auditions.
I feel like someone just massaged my subconscious.
I used to think hypnotherapy was a non-scientific, spooky, old-fashioned brainwashing or regression technique used to sort through trauma. I would picture a Freud-like figure dangling a golden pendant in front of a gullible (beautiful, young) lady's eyes, commanding her to "sleep... sleeeeppp..." Instead, I found it a lot like meditation, but with exterior positive reinforcement. That's right: hypnotherapy is mind programming.
There is, actually five kinds of mind programming: 1. by repetition, 2. in a highly emotional state, 3. in an altered state (this is hypnotherapy), 4. by an authority figure, and 5. by your peers. In television advertising, we typically see all five of these techniques at work at one time. Scary thought, no?
So, what was it like? Besides meditating (which I don't do enough of), it reminded me of the first time I went scuba diving. Weighed down with an oxygen tank and additional weights, I submerged 25 feet under the water with the help of a rope tied from the boat to the a rock on the ocean floor. Little by little, I "climbed" down this rope, adjusting my ears every few feet. It was a pretty brilliant means of descent, actually. This is what it felt like to sink down into deep relaxation, as I held onto the "rope" that was my instructor's voice.
We all went "under" twice, but don't let the word "under" alarm you. I did not feel under anyone's influence, but rather, awake, in control, and just so, so relaxed. My body felt like a liquid blob. When she brought us "out" of this state, I felt happy and refreshed, like I just awoken from a good night's sleep and a pleasant dream. She said we were in a theta state, which is that feeling you may get if you are in the process of dozing off but still can hear what's going on around you.
I have yet to put my new auditioning affirmations to test, so the effects remain to be seen. I hope very much that when my anxieties start to creep up in a high-pressure performance situation, my newly-programmed subconscious will take the wheel and steer me towards smooth, confident sailing. I know one thing: hypnosis felt good, and I think I want more.
