The whole idea of eye fixation has some merit. It’s true that concentration and focus are key ingredients in achieving hypnosis. And eye fixation was in fact used commonly, decades ago, in inducing hypnosis. The desired state of a hypnotic subject is to have them completely relaxed, eyes closed, so that their focus is internal, rather than external. To really shut out the external channels, you need to eliminate your visual sense temporarily, your external visual sense that is. Eliminate what you see on the outside, so that you can focus on what you see inside your own psyche. So that means having your eyes closed. Eye fixation achieves this. It helps someone’s eyes to become tired, and eventually close. A hypnotist might ask a client to focus on any specific object or point in the room. Obviously something above eye level will tire the eyes more quickly, and that’s the whole point of using eye fixation.

Some clients expect that I will ask them to look straight into my eyes during an induction, or that I will produce some sort of visual tool like a swinging watch to induce hypnosis and begin their therapy session. I personally do not usually employ this method of induction. The theory that there needs to be complete visual focus in order to achieve hypnosis is essentially false. It doesn’t get you there any faster nor does it induce a deeper state of trance. In the event a client expects to be subjected to that visual focus, or believes it will help in some way, I do carry around something in my briefcase, which I have in fact used once or twice.

The image of the swinging watch is a visual reference that most people readily associate with hypnotic induction. It’s a pop culture classic, really. That’s because it’s been frequently used in television and movies, and for many people who’ve never experienced hypnosis or self-hypnosis, they know only what they’ve seen or been exposed to. Watching an induction on television would be rather boring if it didn’t have some sort of visual element for the audience to witness and capture. Watching someone lying silently on a sofa with their eyes closed is not nearly as engaging as the image of the swinging watch. A viewer almost feels like he is part of the experience too. There have been many variations represented as well, it’s not always a watch or pendulum, but all have the same basic premise, which is that eye fixation is the route to achieving that hypnotic state. In the movies it’s always done in such a way that it suggests an element of strangeness, or mystery, almost fear.

I personally believe that there is a strong connection between the eyes and the brain. But I don’t think eye fixation is necessary to induce hypnosis. In fact I know that it is not. I’ve induced hundreds of clients to various levels of hypnotic depth without the use of any visual concentration off the top. None of our recordings dictate any kind of eye fixation, either. It’s a method that hasn’t been used in years. In fact, rather than advancing the hypnotic state, it actually takes longer to achieve it when you use eye fixation because you are starting with the eyes open. Most current methods of induction simply require that the client start by closing their eyes. This essentially bypasses that whole stage, the whole process of getting the eyes to shut. We skip right over that and go straight to vocal induction with eyes already closed, thereby achieving hypnosis much more quickly and deeply.

There are many different methods of induction. Verbal induction can sometimes include what I call the internal external experience, to help with hypnosis. This is where I might suggest to my client during induction that he should concentrate on how the palm of his hand feels, for example, as he listens to my voice. No matter the approach, the common practice in inducing hypnosis is progressive relaxation. The more relaxed your subject becomes, the deeper the hypnotic state they will achieve. And progressive relaxation can be achieved in different ways, including with the use of eye fixation.

When someone asks me about eye fixation or the swinging pendulum, I just tell them what I truly believe: that it’s an old fashioned approach, and that it takes time, and has no benefit in terms of improving the outcome. It may have been thought to be necessary at one time, but it isn’t so in modern times, and can be bypassed in favor of a simpler and more rapid execution. There is absolutely no benefit to the results in using eye fixation, nor is there any compromise in not using it.

When you see a hypnotist portrayed in a movie, the script was presumably not written by a professional hypnotist, but rather by a writer who is calling upon his own interpretation of hypnosis. Presumably, that interpretation has been fed over the years by misconception. The product of his script continues to perpetuate that misconception. And so on it goes. It becomes a self propelling cycle of misinformation.

As for the media, we can’t really expect to see or read stories about the successes of clinical hypnotherapy. There’s no media value to such a story. It isn’t sensational and it doesn’t merit a space in the newscast. We already know that media is fundamentally a business, and that producers have a mandate to achieve a certain readership level, and therefore choose their features based on what they know will get ratings. They have to be selective about the angle they choose to feature. This is true of any news story or subject, and hypnosis is no exception. It’s an unfortunate reality in society that we feed on bad news and negativity, and drama. So what you see in the media is the sensationalism, and the burden of reporting factually on clinical hypnotherapy is left to those of us who know the difference, because everyone else is happy to believe what they hear.

We’ve come a long way, no doubt about it. But the dated impressions certainly continue to prevail. While both stage hypnosis and clinical hypnosis continue to build in popularity, clinical hypnosis does not elicit the same kind of mainstream media attention as stage hypnosis does. Entire campaigns are conceived to promote the theatrical effects of stage hypnosis. That’s the purpose, to entertain.

But clinical hypnotherapy doesn’t elicit that kind of attention because it’s not at all newsworthy, or dramatic, or sensational. It isn’t intended to awe an audience. Therefore it fades in the background and fails to make its essence understood, except to those who make an effort to find out.

The ongoing lack of awareness, lack of knowledge, or education on the subject is often evident in my therapy sessions. I usually investigate my client’s starting point before I proceed with their therapy. I like to assess their interpretations when they come to me, to identify what their expectations or fears may be. That way I know exactly where I have to start from, how many myths I have to dispel, how much foundation work I have to do before we can really proceed with therapy.

Essentially, the word hypnosis is just another word for relaxation. Yes hypnosis is brought on by suggestion, but it’s that deep state of relaxation that qualifies hypnosis. I sometimes use the term creative relaxation. When I say that, I’m referring to the fact that it’s the use of hypnosis that I call therapy. I’ve always defined hypnosis as just what it is, an altered state of awareness through deep relaxation.

Some people define relaxing as just taking time to read through a magazine or have a cup of tea. But really just changing activities is not relaxation. When you reach a state of total relaxation through hypnosis, you will see the difference. And it’s in this totally relaxed state that you can bring some balance back into your life. Some people call it recharging their batteries or use any other metaphoric term, but it all means the same thing.

Real, deep, relaxation used daily or regularly has a terrific effect on all our internal systems, far beyond what a coffee break can do.

As to the question of whether sleep is equivalent to relaxation, most of us know from experience that it is not. Experts even state that hypnosis, or deep relaxation, is actually more beneficial to the overall well-being than merely sleeping nightly. We know that sleep can be disturbed by stressful energies and that we can wake up feeling even less rested, less energized, than when we went to sleep. However a deliberately executed session in hypnosis, or relaxation, has you concentrating very pointedly on just that, relaxing. You lie very still, and you let only positive energy consume you. Essentially, when you practice self-hypnosis, you control the result by guiding the entire session. All hypnosis is based on total relaxation. This is certainly more beneficial than just going to sleep because you are tired.

Power naps are useful in recharging as well, and addressing fatigue, but during deep relaxation or hypnosis, you are also creating the opportunity to reduce or alleviate a particular ailment through concentration. Sleep, whilst absolutely necessary, doesn’t allow this opportunity. If you spend ten or twenty minutes a day or several times a week, practicing self hypnosis, you are sure in a few short weeks to feel a difference in your life, to feel more balanced, and more relaxed, and more in tune physically, emotionally, and in every other way.

There are probably hundred of ways you can achieve a deep state of relaxation, but they have one common element, which is deep breathing. It is a natural human occurrence that when you exhale, your body relaxes. This is a known fact, and a biological certainty. That’s why it’s the first thing that a medical professional will ask a patient to do when he wants his patient to relax.

In any type of emergency or panic situation, the victim is always instructed to take deep breaths. This is intended to calm, or relax the individual.

The more deeply you inhale, the more you will exhale, and therefore the more you will relax. So when we want to induce hypnosis, deep breathing is the first suggestion we make, typically because it starts to bring on relaxation. And when the person starts to relax and regulate their breathing, they will become gradually more relaxed.

We know also that when we sleep, our breathing slows and settles into a quiet, deep rhythm. We seek to achieve the same thing in hypnotic induction, to slow the breathing rhythm, because slowing our breathing slows down our system, and helps to bring about a shift in awareness. We achieve this state by slowing a person’s breathing naturally and comfortably.

Starting an induction with a few deep breaths immediately creates a shift, and sends the message to the person that now it’s time to relax. When you add concentration to the equation, you have a terrific recipe for hypnotic induction. Because concentrating on your breathing helps you become more aware of your internal experience. A person’s breathing pattern can often be a telling sign for a hypnotist that a subject has achieved a deep state of relaxation, and slipped into a state of hypnosis.

In my hypnotherapy sessions I don’t impose any set technique to deep breathing. Whatever a person’s natural breathing method is what they should continue to do. There seems to be a typical pattern of breathing in through the nose, while exhaling out the mouth. If that’s the comfortable breathing technique fro someone, that’s perfect. If it’s in and out through the nose, that’s also fine. Whatever you are used to or whatever comes naturally.

You can practice this on your own, at any time. Just concentrate on taking a few deep breaths, and you will feel your shoulders drop, and your heart rate will settle. This is relaxation and the basis of hypnosis.