Hypnosis Fact & Fiction: Revisisted
“Very few topics in the whole history of mankind can have given rise to so many absurdities, misunderstandings, and misconceptions.”…
James Braid: The Founder of Hypnotherapy
Articles about James Braid, the founder of hypnotherapy.
Cutting through the 5 Myths of Hypnosis – Part 1
Hypnosis as ‘trance’ Welcome to the first in our Cutting through the Five Myths of Hypnosis series! I want to…
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.
The Original Meaning of "Hypnotic Trance"
James Braid, the founder of hypnotherapy, coined the term “hypnotism” but reserved the concept of hypnotic “trance” (from a word meaning “half-dead”) for a tiny percentage of exceptional cases in which a state of total unconsciousness could be induced resembling coma, chemical anaesthesia, or animal hibernation. Braid’s use of the term is therefore more consistent with modern cognitive-behavioural theorists, both preferring to describe hypnosis as an “ordinary” state rather than “trance”.
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.