Is There Free Will? Finally an Answer (Alfred Barrios)
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Short article on freewill and determinism in relation to behavioural psychology, reproduced by kind permission of the author Alfred Barrios PhD. Continue reading
Category Archives: Self-Hypnosis
Excerpt: On Autosuggestion from The Philosophy of CBT
This is a brief excerpt from the new book, The Philosophy of Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT), which describes the relationship between Émile Coué’s emthod of “conscious autosuggestion” and the maxims of ancient philosophical traditions. Continue reading
James Braid on Self-Hypnosis and Hindu Yoga
Excerpt from James Braid’s collected writings, The Discovery of Hypnosis, in which the founder of hypnotherapy discusses the relationship between hypnotism and yogic meditation, from a sceptical perspective. Continue reading
That Hypnosis Never Meant Sleep
It is a common misconception that hypnotism involves being asleep or unconscious. To some extent this is due to the fact that the word “hypnotism” comes from the Greek word for sleep. However, James Braid, the founder of hypnotherapy, bemoaned this misconception himself and was emphatic that 90% of his patients were conscious during hypnosis. Continue reading
Did Hypnotism Originate as a Form of Meditation?
This short article explains how hypnotism actually originated, in part, under the influence of Oriental meditation techniques, described in the writings of James Braid, the founder of hypnotherapy. Continue reading
The Hypnotic Symbol Suggestion Technique
This short piece outlines the self-hypnosis method of “symbol suggestion” as found in hypnotherapy and developed by the followers of Emile Coue. Continue reading
Émile Coué’s Method of “Conscious Autosuggestion”
This detailed article reviews the central concepts and techniques used by Émile Coué in his famous method of “Conscious Autosuggestion” an important self-help system, cousin of hypnotherapy and precusor to modern self-hypnosis and cognitive-behavioural skills training methods in psychotherapy. Continue reading
The First Account of Self-Hypnosis
The first account of self-hypnosis from the writings of James Braid, the founder of hypnotherapy. Continue reading
James Braid on Hypnotic Meditation
James Braid, the founder of hypnotherapy, was unaware of oriental meditation techniques until a few years after introducing his technique of eye-fixation hypnotism. He subsequently embraced the notion that hypnotism and yogic meditation were distant cousins, and even that they were more closely-related than hypnotism and its immediate precursor, Mesmer’s animal magnetism. Continue reading