Examples (in my book) of people in a state of hypnosis in everyday life:

1.) Being in a cinema and feeling absorbed in the movie you’re watching. You don’t notice the minutes ticking by on the clock. You’re deeply interested in the plot and the action on screen. But you’re still more than aware you’re in a cinema and the next person next to you who crunches on crisps or talks too loudly is more than enough to break the state of relaxation. And, of course, you can break it yourself should you need the loo. I mean, if the fire alarm goes off in a cinema you leave the building as soon as possible- no matter how absorbed in the movie you’d become.

2) Reading a thriller on a train. This happened to me a few years back. I started reading a book on the train and loved it so much that I kept reading the next chapter and the chapter after that. A train journey of an hour and forty minutes felt like seconds because I was absorbed in the book. However, if someone had come up behind me with an axe and tried to chop my head off whilst I was absorbed in the book, I’d have been more than capable of running like heck and calling the police.

3) Playing a computer game. I like to play a racing game on my PS2. Whilst playing this game I am fully aware that I am sat in my bedroom and not at Silverstone. But I am willing to entertain the idea that I am an amazing racing car driver who can zoom around the circuit and beat the whatsit out of my opponents- which I normally do. I might become very absorbed in this game and my concentration on it might become very deep but I can still stop playing the game any time I wish and I am still more than aware that I am not at Silverstone.

4) Every teenage lad’s favourite: the “men’s” magazines. You barricade yourself in a room and get a bunch of the lad’s mags out on the bed. You become absorbed in an activity that I won’t go into too much detail about now. But what’s that noise? Is that slight creaking sound the first sound of your Mum coming up the stairs with a cup of tea for you? Your mind snaps you out of your daydream about being so hot that Kelly Brook or whoever really fancies you and you struggle to hide the mags where Mum can’t possibly find them. Even though you were deeply absorbed in your activity, your mind sensed a danger and alerted you to it.

5) Driving to and from work: You’ve done it a thousand times and you could quite possibly do it blindfolded (though I don’t think you should because the police really don’t like that sort of thing). But imagine, for one tiny moment, that on one of your journeys back from work you see a huge pink elephant in the middle of the road. Now, you’re going to notice that. Never mind whether you’re “behaving on autopilot” or not. The sight of that elephant is going to make you stop. You could be absorbed in your journey. You could be thinking about a million other things whilst allowing the unconcious mind to take charge of your route. But the minute you spy that pink elephant, the whole mind is going to be shouting: “What the F is that!” and you’ll stop.

I’m not sure if such a thing exists already or if such a thing would work. But I would like to try to form an alliance between members of the media and leading hypnotherapists.

I’m not talking about converting people to believe a certain thing or think a certain way. That will not work. I’m also not talking about some kind of “love in” where members of the media who already wax lyrical about the benefits of hypnosis just sit and chat with hypnotherapists over a nice, warm mug of tea. I’m talking about an alliance where both parties respect each other but both parties challenge each other over and over again and the results of those challenges form articles and or interviews.

Think about it: Nobody is going to buy into the idea of a couple of journalists who like hypnosis to begin with writing reams and reams about how hypnosis is a great tool to use to make great changes in your life. It’ll just look like propoganda- whether it is or it isn’t.

What would work is some sort of on-going debate between members of the media and hypnotherapists. Both parties respect each other but both parties challenge each other. The hypnotherapists challenge the media to give up their stereotypes and the “look into my eyes” rubbish and, in turn, the members of the media challenge the hypnotherapists to a clear, frank, logical discussion about their industry on an on going basis.

I’m not saying that hypnotherapists aren’t rational or critical thinkers and I am aware that the vast majority of hypnotherapists are always clear, frank and logical when you ask them about any part of their industry. But it is quite clear that the image of hypnosis in the media is incorrect and I think an attempt by members of the media to change things should be embraced. On the other side, I think an offer to discuss hypnotherapy and hypnosis and answer questions from the media, should be embraced by members of the media.

It’s time the media and hypnotherapists started working together. Not to create an image but to rescue an image. This isn’t about replacing one image with another. It’s about trying to get rid of the rubbish and nonsense that surrounds the image of hypnosis. Both members of the media and hypnotherapists are needed to make it work and I think it could work.

It’s just an idea at the moment and, like I said, I don’t know if something like that already exists or if it would work. But I think it would be worth a try.