View Cart     Frequently Asked Questions What is hypnosis? Hypnosis is a heightened state of awareness where incredible changes can be made in the way a person thinks. Hypnosis is a completely natural path from conscious mind to subconscious mind. It is defined as the bypass of the critical factor of the conscious mind and the establishment of acceptable selective thinking. In the alternative state of consciousness, attention of an individual is focused away from the present reality and towards particular images, thoughts, perceptions, feelings, motivations, sensations, behaviors or any combination of these. In this state one can access creativity, retrace certain inhibitions, reprogram patterns and work with pain relief. Hypnosis uses the subconscious mind to help you identify and release self-limiting beliefs.  In hypnosis, your ordinary negative thoughts and bad habit patterns can be replaced with new, more positive beliefs. Through post-hypnotic suggestions, this new information can be incorporated into daily life.  How does hypnosis work? What hypnosis does is this. It relaxes the conscious mind and opens the subconscious mind to the point that suggestions can be accepted. Once the suggestion is accepted and agreed on by the person hypnotized the suggestion then becomes a stable, strong pillar in that persons belief system. Why is SuccessWorld hypnosis different? SuccessWorld hypnosis programs are designed to help you learn to be what you want instead of ordering you do something. This indirect technique was created by the famous psychiatrist, Milton Erickson. You are provided an opportunity to accept the suggestions you are most comfortable with, at your own pace, and with an awareness of the benefits. You will  know you are not being taken advantage of and will take full ownership of, and participate in your transformation. Erickson’s theory was that it was not possible to consciously instruct the unconscious mind, and that authoritarian suggestions were likely to be met with resistance. For example the authoritative "you will stop smoking" is likely to be find less leverage on the unconscious level than "you can become a non-smoker". The first is a direct command, to be obeyed or ignored (and notice that it draws attention to the act of smoking), the second is an opening, an invitation to possible lasting change, without pressure, and which is less likely to raise resistance. For more information see Learning Programs. Is there any proof that hypnosis works? The following components are proven techniques of hypnosis for human healing, learning and changing. All of these components have been found to be helpful in many human change processes and all are part of SuccessWorld hypnosis programs. Relaxation. These include physical and mental relaxation and meditative states. Visual imagery. Visualizing what we want, who we are, and where we are going. Self-image change. Positive reinforcement on being the person you want to be. Changing self-talk. Changing how we talk to ourselves. Goal setting. Setting and achieving a goal. Structured practice. Practicing and rehearsing until we are good at the task or it becomes a new habit. Consistent coaching. Affirmations on the things we are doing. Positive expectation and belief. Changing negative attitudes and thought processes. Who can be hypnotized? Everyone in the world can be hypnotized. Studies have shown, however, that individuals who have a good imagination and who are highly suggestible have a greater ability to achieve deep hypnotic states. How long will it take before I see results? The results will vary, some people will have immediate results, others will have results within a short period and a few may take a longer period of time. If use the Programs frequently you should see positive results within a month to six weeks. Will I know when to stop using the programs? There is no need to ever stop using the program. We recommend continuing to use the programs even after reaching your goals, but on a less frequent basis. How long will the results last? If you continue to use the programs after success is achieved, the results are usually permanent. Can a person in hypnosis be controlled? These programs were created to help you with your issues and need your cooperation with the process. If a program were to give you suggestions that you didn't agree with or were morally against your beliefs, you would either refuse them or you would stop listening. You must also understand that when hypnotized, you do not black out. You actually hear and see everything very clearly. Can a person be stuck in hypnosis? What if I was to be hypnotized and something were to happened while still hypnotized? You can snap right out of hypnosis whenever you are ready. When you are in a state of hypnosis, anything alarming or of importance would pop you right out of this state. There is absolutely no danger to you in a state of hypnosis. However, never drive or operate heavy equipment while listening to a hypnosis program. Can you explain brain waves and how these program work with them? Beta Waves – Your conscious awareness. The Beta state is associated with peak concentration, heightened alertness, hand-eye coordination and visual acuity. Alpha Waves – Catching yourself in a day dream. This is a place of deep relaxation, but not quite meditation. In Alpha, we begin to access the wealth of creativity that lies just below our conscious awareness - it is the gateway, the entry point that leads into deeper states of consciousness. Theta Waves - Experienced twice a day when falling asleep and waking. These waves play an important part in behavior modification programs. Theta is an ideal state for super-learning, re-programming your mind, dream recall, and self-hypnosis. Theta rests directly on the threshold of your subconscious. Delta Waves - Delta is profound sleep and the further slowing of body functions. This triggers the release of Human Growth Hormones which lead to healing, cell regeneration and other necessary body functions. Do I need to use headphones to listen to hypnosis programs? It is not required, but stereo headphones make it easier to experience the benefits of the brain wave frequencies. They also help reduce background noise and help you to concentrate. How often should I listen? For hypnotic learning, we suggest listening to the program one half hour to an hour. You can listen to the programs as long as you want. However, if you feel spaced-out or hyper, stick to the recommended time. For subliminal learning, you should be able to listen as long as you want, we suggest listen to a whole subliminal program once a day, most programs are around one half hour. If you can’t listen to the programs once a day, just listen as often as possible. Ultimately only you can know what works best for you. Feel free to experiment, but if you're not liking the results, stick to the recommended times. How do subliminal messages work? Is it safe? Subliminal is defined as "below the threshold of consciousness". SuccessWorld subliminal programs send messages in a way that cannot be perceived consciously, only subconsciously. The subliminal messages are delivered via barely audible sounds on CDs; they are too quiet for the conscious mind to comprehend. Subliminal messages are sent directly to the impressionable subconscious mind, where they're rapidly absorbed and used to create positive, lasting change. Subliminal messages are sent in such a way that they bypass the critical conscious mind, which may filter out positive affirmations and thereby reduce the chances of success. What are the messages that I will be getting? We don't give out the list of subliminal messages. We do get asked for the subliminal messages quite often.  This is because subliminal learning works by telling your subconscious positive messages and helping you to believe that those messages are true. Bringing too much cognitive involvement decreases the effectiveness and thus may fail to really reassure the doubtful user no matter what is provided. Once your conscious mind is aware of the messages it may try to disprove them. For instance, one of the messages on the Peak Performance Sports program is "have fun", if your conscious mind sees it and negatively thinks "sports are hard work, not fun, I'm not going to believe it", then that message will no longer be effective in making sports more fun. Plus, you would be able to sense if any negative messages are sent to you. What are affirmations? Affirmations are positive statements repeated over and over. Our affirmation CD, Weight Loss/Self Improvement, uses two sound levels of positive affirmations, one on your right side is louder and the other on your left side is softer. Although you will be able to hear both levels, your mind will focus on the louder message and the softer message will slip more easily into your inner mind. For more information see the affirmation section of our hypnosis page. Can I use these audio programs while working or driving? We recommend you DO NOT use the hypnosis learning programs while working or driving. You can us the subliminal learning program at any time as long as they don’t make you feel sleepy. Is there any harm in playing a program around my children? No, all of our programs are completely safe and may even help your children as well. The SuccessWorld messages are all very positive. For example, if a child listened to your Weight Loss program they may start eating better. When will you have CDs of all of the programs? Right now we have most of our programs on CD with the exception of Maintaining Weight Loss and Taper Off Smoking. These two programs will not be remastered for CD. How are the CDs setup? Most CDs are the tapes remastered. They have two tracks just like the tapes, one with self-hypnosis and the other with subliminal messages. Two programs are subliminal only; Sleep Better and Practice Meditation.  I've had several tapes a few years ago. Any change in the scripts? There are some subtle differences between the current programs and the programs from 1985. In some cases the CD name has changed and in other CDs the scripts have been updated with more timely messages. Could listening to the Weight Loss Program give me an eating disorder? There are multiple messages of various types guiding your system to eat amounts that lead to healthy weight loss and to keeping weight off. These messages are focused on teaching you to eat less unhealthy foods also. The messages focus on knowing what healthy amounts are and stopping when you have eaten what you need. There are also messages helping you to determine your healthy weight. Use of the program will result in being satisfied with eating less improper foods and more healthy foods. Does the practice of hypnosis conflict with religion? No, hypnosis is a natural state that everyone possesses within themselves. Hypnosis and Religious Faith is interesting article on this topic.   2005 © SuccessWorld. All rights reserved.