I am amused by the term altered states of consciousness because to be altered you have to ask, “From what was I altered?” This assumes that there is a normal state of consciousness.

The truth is this term is rather misleading as it presumes that there is a normal state of consciousness. Well, at this point I’m sure that you are aware that brain waves have four major levels: Beta (or full awareness), Alpha (light relaxation), Theta (deep relaxation), and Delta (sleep).

So again, which is normal, and which is altered? I’ve studied under Dr. Dan Amen, a child psychiatrist working in Newport Beach, who has reviewed over 40,000 SPECT scans of the human brain. He points out that if you define normalcy as an electrically balanced brain, less than 1% of our population has a “normal” brain.

In light of this information, let’s move away from the terms altered and normal. However, remember that anyone who has experienced hypnosis knows that something is happening in the subject’s mind. And Elman, who was a very serious student of hypnosis, devised the most elegant definition for this occurrence.

Once again let’s look at the concept of critical faculty. I sometimes call this the commonsense detector. It is the part of the mind that filters sensory or perceptual experience, and then attempts to fit what is perceived into context. For example, by connecting new input with previous experience, when we see a curb while walking, we know what the curb means and why we may want to be cautious. So, this ability to filter perception through the “reality” of our previously programmed brain maps is a factor in our day-to-day lives and even part of our survival mechanism.

Brunson, Dr. Tim. Elman Hypnotherapy:

I am a trained hypnotherapist & regressionist devoted to enhancing the well-being of our community through top-notch services. I am dedicated to a mission to craft innovative solutions addressing an array of health issues, spanning from weight management to chronic conditions.