A CLOSER LOOK AT HYPNOTIC REGRESSION by Jack Weller Regression in hypnosis is an effective means of releasing suppressed or hidden memories with emotional content which contribute to fears, phobias and seemingly unsolvable problems. The regression can be to an earlier age in this life, even to one, two or three years old, or to a previous lifetime if the person?s belief system supports such a possibility. Pastlife therapy will automatically raise the question of reincarnation and whether or not we have lived before or can exist apart from the physical body. Reincarnation can be a stumbling block for most Christians who take Christ?s words and teaching in a literal way. Few are aware that some elements of the early scripts and forgotten groups of Christianity included reincarnation as part of its tradition. It was only by 533AD that this side of Christianity was exclude. Who or what you may have been in a past life is only meaningful if it can help to understand this lifetime better, either as a learning experience or as a therapy for better physical, emotional and mental health. The subconscious part of the mind includes not only dreams and automatic functions such as heartbeat etc. but a storehouse of forgotten memories. Sometimes in childhood a person can have experienced a trauma or deep emotional shock which the infant cannot understand or explain because its intellect and reasoning are not yet functioning. There is also not enough experience and material accumulated in the mind for comparison. Therefore the shock of that moment is lodged at a very deep level in the back of the mind and even blocked out The emotional content of that trauma, or conditioning, tries to release itself in an attempt to maintain harmony and balance. It emerges as an inexplicable feeling, sadness or depression, perhaps as a phobia. The first step to helping the person with such a problem is to see if the solution lies in this lifetime and, if it does not, then quite often the past lifetime memory will reveal the answer. A person can and does relate, in great detail, a description of what seems to be a previous existence. The description can appear convincing and full of minute detail and feelings. When a negative content (if there is any) is understood and realised the person often experiences great emotional relief, as if a great weight has been lifted. The question then arises ?- Is this imagination, fantasy or a genuine pastlife memory ? ? It be any of those or a mixture but it is possible for a trained observer to spot the difference. The important element is that the experience leads to a cure or sense of relief. The therapy is not used to find out if a person a famous historical figure or to escape reality. The experience is best carried out in a safe, clinical setting. The form a hypnosis requires a greater skill than that used for day-to-day complaints. CURING HABITS WITH HYPNOSIS by Jack Weller Habits which lead to weightgain, smoking or excessive alcohol use are deeply ingrained and under normal circumstances are difficult to change. Suppressing the desire to eat sweet fattening foods usually ends in frustration and subsequent compensation by eating more of the very thing one is fighting against. Smokers who try to force themselves to give up something they believe they need or can?t do without, experience a similar reaction. It is as if there are two different people inside the mind, one desperately wanting to change over to a healthier lifestyle and the other continuing stubbornly along the old path of self-destruction. Habits become ingrained at a deeper level below the day-to-day awareness, much nearer to the subconscious mind. This part is also linked to emotional and automatic responses rather than to logical thinking. How does clinical hypnosis help habit control ? To answer that question your definition of the word hypnosis needs to be reviewed and seen as a natural, pleasant and healthy state of mind. Fiction, stage hypnosis in particular and films have created a false image of the hypnotised person in a state of sleep, without control and being made to do things they would not normally do. This leads people to either fear hypnosis as a therapeutic process or to expect a miracle cure. Many people seeking help through hypnotherapy believe hypnosis works because of something inherent in the hypnotic procedure. That is why some come for a one off session to lose weight or to stop smoking. The successful one-off session does indeed happen but results from someone already having made a final decision, for example, to stop smoking. That person might only need some special process like hypnosis, which can then act as a powerful tool, to legitimise or ratify the change of habit. People succeed better when they believe hypnosis will help rather than do it automatically for them. To understand how clinical hypnosis helps, we must focus on how therapy works, what helps people change and be motivated to make new, healthy decisions. Hypnotherapy works by augmenting, strengthening and speeding up processes. A successful habit control programme must be comprehensive. . The nature of the habits must be understood within the context of the person?s life and personality. Sometimes subconscious thoughts and feelings which belong to the harmful habit need to be brought nearer to the surface and seen clearly. This process in itself brings about a change. Changes need to be permanent, not short term and therefore to reach a deeper level of the mind. Reasons for losing weight or stopping smoking, as well as reasons for not giving up cigarettes or overeating, history of habits, previous attempts to stop, medical information, are all important. Is the habit a reaction or an attempted solution for feelings of anxiety, depression or boredom, or just an ingrained habit ? Many attempts have been made to base hypnosis on a scientific foundation by testing subjects in controlled, laboratory conditions or sifting through the many thousands of cases now on record. Most of the theories which try to explain hypnosis are inconclusive and influenced greatly by the operator. Serious practitioners of clinical hypnosis all agree on one point: the depth of the hypnosis can vary from very deep to very light. It would be incorrect to assume that, as far as habits are concerned, the deeper the state the better the cure. The very deep state is used mainly for pain control, preparing for a relaxed childbirth, helping someone with a fear of needles so that they will not feel, it or age regression and also as an adjunct to therapy. Good results such as weightloss and cessation of smoking can be obtained in a surprisingly light state of hypnosis, providing of course the therapist has the required sensitivity and skill. Hypnosis in itself will not necessarily change anything, it can be just a relaxing and interesting experience. What is done with that state of mind is the deciding factor.