In order to understand how hypnosis works, it’s very important to understand briefly how your mind works. You have basically three minds -- you have the conscious mind, that part of you that you’re using right now, you have your unconscious mind that operates in the background to keep your body working correctly without you even being aware of it, and you have the subconscious mind that controls many important aspects of how well you operate in your environment, and how you relate to others. Let’s first look at the unconscious mind, and understand its three basic functions. Then we’ll concentrate on the conscious and subconscious minds – the ones that are really important for us to understand hypnosis and how it works.
The first function of the Unconscious Mind is to regulate your normal body functions and to ensure that they continue to work properly at all times. Even when you’re sound asleep at night, your heart continues to beat, and you continue to breathe regularly, even though it’s pretty shallow. When you’re resting or asleep, you don’t need near as much oxygen as when you’re active, and you always breathe just the right amount to sustain your body.
The second function of the Unconscious Mind is to ensure that the Immune System continues to function properly to help you ward off disease, germs and viruses. And even if you’re injured, the tissues will automatically begin to heal without having to give it a second thought, and you can go on about your business.
