🚀 go-pugleaf

There's an article of interest to this group in Consumer Reports magazine
(Feb.'93), entitled "Can Your Mind Heal Your Body?"  Although the article's
emphasis is on health issues, it offers a concise intro to many different
"new age" disciplines.  The following is excerpted without permission:
 
pg.113
"Hypnosis
  ...is a process of focusing attention that can be used to help people
relax and to help them control the body's functions.  ...is a state of high
suggestibility, and suggestions given can be used to affect physiological
processes in a number of different ways.  ...has been used successfully to
decrease headache pain, reduce bleeding in hemophiliacs, control the
severity of asthma attacks, reduce the discomfort of dental procedures, and
ease labor for pregnant women.  ...can also eradicate warts - a rather
mysterious phenomenon that may involve the immune system, and that is now
the subject of a major research study...
 
  ...is most effective when a person does not just rely on a
hypnotherapist, but also practices self-hypnosis regularly for weeks or
months.  The most reliable way to learn self-hypnosis is by working with a
professional, since different methods of hypnosis are most effective for
different people.
 
  ...audio tapes that promise to teach self-hypnosis often give
disappointing results.  In particular, there is no good research behind the
many "subliminal learning" tapes that are supposed to help you lose weight,
improve your attitude, or sharpen your memory through hypnosis."