A System for Transformation

by Tim Brunson, PhD

In this article I will explain a system for transformation can be used for just about any endeavor. Of course, my focus at this point is on how it can be used in a hypnotherapy session. Nevertheless, the core ideas that I am about to share with you can be easily applied to many different areas of a person's business or personal life.

Transformation requires a person to pursue any possible and probable option. I often call the decision making that this entails "selective thinking." Going back to pattern theory for a moment, remember that resistance to change is a natural enemy of selective thought. Any intention or goal is going to initially be faced with inertia. The ability to overcome this and to start pursuing desired options is critical for transformation to occur. Reducing the power of pattern resistance and allowing more efficient selective thinking is the essence of hypnosis. Doing this for clinical reasons is called hypnotherapy.

This affects transformation within an organization and within the person's brain. In the former, the ability to bypass naysayers and others who always resist innovation is absolutely critical if the organization is to evolve. Likewise, in the human brain one of the functions of the left prefrontal cortex is to maintain stability. This can be interpreted as pattern resistance. In both organizations and in a person it is vital that such resistance be negated if transformation is to occur.

A second precondition for transformational change is overcoming interference, which has the effect of redistributing resources. In the human brain, obsessive thought-switching – to include multi-tasking can easily be associated with a hyperactive anterior cingulate cortex, which is a bicameral section of the brain that is located just in front of the limbic system. Once the ACC is calmed, additional energy is provided to nearby parts of the brain. When this happens a person tends to feel like their brain has been switched on. Meditators and people who experience hypnosis experience this as feelings of increased awareness.

In Advanced Neuro-Noetic Hypnosis^TM I state that there are Two Ubiquitous Hypnotherapeutic Requirements. Taking from the points just mentioned, these are reducing pattern resistance and mitigating interference from the ACC. This makes the brain a more efficient tool for transformation. Luckily, the process which is commonly known as a hypnotic induction does this quite nicely. However, as I studied stage hypnotists and looked deeper into Elman's hypnotherapy methods, I discovered that anytime a series of suggestions are given pattern resistance is reduced. In the human brain this happens because suggestions and imagination activate the right orbitofrontal cortex, which is adjacent to the left prefrontal cortex. The shift in energy caused by this activation has a reciprocal inactivation effect on the neurological center of stability and resistance. Multiple suggestions and the concomitant focus that ensues also slows down ACC hyperactivity and thereby wakes up or enhances several dormant parts of the brain.

Once these two conditions are met, the next step is for the hypnotherapist, consultant, manager, or other change-agent, to use five tools. These are inhibit, release, activate, learn, and entrain. These may be used in just about any order and even simultaneously. For the hypnotherapist, they provide conceptual structure for script production. For the organizational change advocate, they likewise serve to provide considerations for planning the transformation process. Thus it is important to understand each of them.

Actually, satisfying these two prerequisites is an example of inhibiting. However, this goes much further. Inhibiting happens anytime scarce resources are removed from one activity or component and shifted to another. If one is dysfunctional, depriving it of energy and resources is a matter of increasing the allocation to the desired activity. Initially, activating the right orbitofrontal cortex precipitates inhibition of the left prefrontal cortex and ACC, thereby starting the hypnosis process. Reducing visual experiences as happens in blindness, enhances hearing. The goal is to recognize the function of the neighbors of dysfunctional components and shift energy to them. Should a hypnotherapist understand the major functions and dysfunctions of primary substrates of the brain, they would be able to master the ability to negate problems merely by the use of suggestion and imagination.

Thinking of the release tool should automatically conjure up feelings of safety and security. Other than in traumatic, crisis situations, I've never seen an organization or person truly change unless there existed assurances that all would eventually be well. In the brain this occurs when there is sufficient oxytocin in the cerebral cortex to facilitate a disconnection of the neural pathways that are involved with unwanted thoughts and behavior. Strangely enough, oxytocin is a product of the hypothalamus, the limbic substrate that is involved with hunger, libido, and nurturing. Therefore, when I write a hypnotic script I almost always include suggestions and imagery mentioning that members of a subject's support structure are approving and accepting of the desired change.

When I mentioned the inhibit tool, I also brought up the concept of activation of a neural substrate. However, here I want to go a little deeper. When component is activated, it seems to develop more capabilities. Like exercising a specific muscle group, continual use will lead to a significant increase in potential. The recurring use of a part of the brain or a certain thought pattern – provided that it does not reach an overload threshold – will improve results. Despite their seemingly superhuman capabilities, even savants find that their amazing abilities will wane if they are not nurtured.

The learn tool is closely related to the activate tool. In this case, the desire is to create substantially new capabilities. In the brain this normally involves the development of new neural pathways and the genesis of new neurons. This requires a level of stimulation that achieves sufficient frustration as to warrant the brain's reorganization. Although relaxation may help set up the environment for change, a respectable amount of stimulation is necessary if learning is to occur.

The last tool involves entrainment. Remember that the second characteristic of a pattern is to adapt. Also, adaptation requires a situation that is sufficiently antithetical to result in a change. As patterns exist within an interconnected matrix, the ability to adapt and maintain harmony is synonymous with health and vitality of any system. In hypnotherapy, it is vital that the experience with the therapist – to include the content of the hypnotic script – be sufficiently antithetical to inspire an adaptive change.

The two requirements and five tools set forth in this article serve as a workable, yet simplistic model. Together they provide a very effective framework that can be used by any agent of change whether it involves one individual or a collection of people. When these ideas are employed in a hypnotherapeutic situation, they are extremely concise and effective. This is partially since they are firmly based upon a scientific foundation and the core concepts and principles discussed in previous articles.

This is the final article discussing the fundamentals of Advanced-Neuro-Noetic Hypnosis^TM. My intent here was to give readers a broad-brush overview of a very complex system. Advanced Certified Clinical Hypnotherapy students with The International Hypnosis Research Institute go through a competency-based certification program, which is designed to help them master these concepts.

For more information on ANNH, please visit www.Advanced-Neuro-Noetic-Hypnosis.org.

The International Hypnosis Research Institute is a member supported project involving integrative health care specialists from around the world. We provide information and educational resources to clinicians. Dr. Brunson is the author of over 150 self-help and clinical CD's and MP3's.