Healing via hypnosis and meditation from a Neuroscience perspective

[Still_Waters]

I recently attended an online live interview with Dr. David Spiegel MD/Psychiatrist/Professor at the Stanford University School of Medicine. The primary subject was healing via hypnosis but meditation was also discussed.

Dr. Siegel pointed out that, in both hypnosis and meditation, the default mode network (neurological) is quieted and thus the power of suggestion/visualization in curing illnesses (among other things) is significantly increased. He cited one particular respiratory illness case where he used hypnosis to facilitate a person breathing normally after other medical treatments had failed.

For those unfamiliar with the default mode network,here is the Wikipedia link. The section on "Modulation" is particularly interesting (at least to me ).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Default_mode_network

Dr. Spiegel suggested a self-hypnosis technique for dealing with illnesses which is very similar to the very simple centuries-old yoga meditative practice called Shambavi Mudra (briefly, it's gazing upward towards the third eye).

https://www.yogicwayoflife.com/shamb...azing-gesture/

I discussed Dr. Siegel's healing practice (and its neuroscience basis) in lengthy conversations with a Sufi Shaik friend and a Hindu sannyasi friend. Like myself, they are aware of a number of cases where this healing practice (meditative visualizations) have had impressive results. (Obviously, there can be other factors involved so this is not necessarily as simple as it sounds.) Personally, I have a friend who had been on dialysis since May 2022 who started the visualization practice and has just recently (February 2023) became only the 2nd person in 9 years to get off dialysis at a huge dialysis center in my neighborhood.There are more personal cases like this that can be cited but this should suffice to start a dialogue if there is any interest.

Comments? Thoughts?

NOTE: This reminds me of one of my favorite Biblical passages: "Be still and KNOW that I AM God" (Psalms 46:10) as stilling the mind in meditation seems to quiet the default node network, as noted above, and thus facilitate one's Inner Light shining through.

[saurab]

I am unfamiliar about the default mode network. FRom what I have understood so far, it seems to me that hypnosis works because it blurs the distinction between what I can accept and what I cannot accept as my reality. So, any suggestions bypass the conscious mind (which thinks in terms of acceptance and rejection more than the subconscious mind). My mother in a trance twisted (not just bent) a steel spoon when she was given the suggestion to do so, because she believed that she could do it and so energy flowd to her hands to do the near impossible.

[Redchic12]

I’ve tried hypnosis and it doesn’t work on me.

I have heard that some people just cannot be hypnotised. I guess I’m one of them.

[Maisy]

Originally Posted by Redchic12

I’ve tried hypnosis and it doesn’t work on me.

I have heard that some people just cannot be hypnotised. I guess I’m one of them.

My mother took me to a hypnotist once as a kid to try to cure me of something. The hypnotist took me to a room the size of a small closet, sat me in a chair and tried to hypnotize me. I just closed my eyes and pretended to be asleep because I didn't want to get in trouble. He did nothing to me. He said a few words and left me in there with the door closed for an hour.

I was wondering why he just left me sitting there for an hour. I assumed he wanted to make it look like his bill was worth it. Like he did an hour of work or something.

I've experienced stuff like that before. One time I had a tooth pulled and they put me to sleep. They left me asleep for over an hour. It takes like 3 minutes to pull a tooth. I was charged for an hour of being asleep. The charge was over 2k.

[Miss Hepburn]

Sounds fabulous Still Waters! And I rem the remarkable healing of your friend!!

[Still_Waters]

QUOTE 2 EXCERPT:

Originally Posted by saurab

I am unfamiliar about the default mode network. FRom what I have understood so far, it seems to me that hypnosis works because it blurs the distinction between what I can accept and what I cannot accept as my reality. So, any suggestions bypass the conscious mind (which thinks in terms of acceptance and rejection more than the subconscious mind).

Like yourself, I was largely unfamiliar with the default mode network prior to Dr. Siegel's presentation but it really resonated with me (from a medical perspective) once he explained the effect of hypnosis (and meditation in a similar way) on quieting the mind/brain-activity.

Your understanding of the process is very similar to mine though our terminology may differ slightly. In reducing the brain activity as demonstrated by the quieting of the default mode network via hypnosis, suggestions/visualizations "bypass the conscious mind" (bypass conditioning in my terminology) and allow the awesome unconditioned energy inherent in all "to do the near impossible" as in the example you provided regarding your mother's experience.

Your point that "hypnosis works because it blurs the distinction between what I can accept and what I cannot accept as my reality" is very well taken. By thus bypassing conscious/unconscious conditioning, virtually anything (if not everything) is possible as I personally witnessed with the extraordinary yogis and healers of the Himalayas.

Great post !

NOTE: I am planning to attend another continuing education class on hypnosis in psychotherapy for mental health professionals this coming Friday, March 3rd. If there are any questions here that I can't answer, I will submit them at that class and hope that the speaker chooses to respond to them.

[Still_Waters]

Originally Posted by Redchic12

I’ve tried hypnosis and it doesn’t work on me.

I have heard that some people just cannot be hypnotised. I guess I’m one of them.

That is an excellent point that you just raised, and Dr. Spiegel specifically mentioned that there are a number of people who resist hypnosis for various reasons and hence cannot be hypnotized against their will (conscious or unconscious).

That is precisely why he suggested self-hypnosis for such people as they may feel more in control with such a practice.

[Still_Waters]

QUOTE 4 EXCERPT:

Originally Posted by Maisy

My mother took me to a hypnotist once as a kid to try to cure me of something. The hypnotist took me to a room the size of a small closet, sat me in a chair and tried to hypnotize me.

I'm curious to hear HOW the hypnotist "tried to hypnotize you", whether he was successful, and whether you were cured of whatever it was that caused your mother to bring you to the hypnotist.

Dr. Spiegel pointed out that the key to successful hypnosis treatments includes (1) belief in the hypnosis treatment and (2) "intense focused concentration" to break through the default mode network conditioning (in his terminology). It's not clear if those elements were present during your session with the hypnotist.

[Still_Waters]

Originally Posted by Miss Hepburn

Sounds fabulous Still Waters! And I rem the remarkable healing of your friend!!

Thank you for everything, including your excellent suggestion.

[Still_Waters]

Here is an interesting case about a 16-year-old boy with the genetic Brocq's disease, which is incurable. The boy was a good hypnotic subject and, through hypnosis, the unsightly scaly skin characteristic of the disease fell off within 5 days of treatment ... revealing "soft healthy flesh beneath".

http://deeptrancenow.com/brocq.htm

If I recall correctly, there is more detail about this case in Michael Talbot's book, "The Holographic Universe". I recall that the hypnotist suggested that the boy wash thoroughly for 5 days and the boy bought into it as evidenced by his confident washing for 5 days at which point the scaly skin fell off as he believed it would.