Limits of hypnosis and the human mind

[baby_jessica75]

I know these things have been touched on in other threads but I am hoping to avoid any misunderstanding. I am posing my opinions for Philosophical debate and they are just opinions not any type of fact!

Now that my disclaimer is out of the way! I have noticed that there are several differing opions on what is and what is not possible with regard to hypnosis and the power of the mind. I have read how some do not believe that physical changes are possible. some do not believe that eye color or hight can be changed. I would just like to pose a few possibilities that I have been contemplating. I have read many post that advise people that in order for hypnosis to work you have to want the changes and you have to believe that they can happen. We as adults have learned what limits we have and we have formed our belief system on what we have learned. Maybe that is most of our problem we know that it is impossible to change our DNA and maybe that is the thing standing in our way. there is no way to map the potential of the human mind so really we have no real idea what would be possible if we could fully unlock our minds potential. maybe where hypnosis is concerned ignorance truly is bliss! Maybe if we didn't know these things are impossible they might not be impossible. As I said this is just my opinion of possibilities not fact please feel free to critize my opinions (I'm like fake friut I don't bruise easily).

Jessica :D
( with regard to childhood all I can say is I wish I didn't know what I didn't know then)

[Undisclosed]

You can't change your DNA, but you can change which genes are expressed. This is normally done by certain hormones, but hormones have far wider ranging effects then that. In any case, given that the brain contains the pituitary gland and had connections to the rest of the endocrine system, it's fully possible for it to modify how hormones are released. The adreneline rush is a perfect example of this. Of course, this extends to other factors as well, such as HGH (Human growth hormone), which is normally released at night, and so is clearly triggered by the mind. Similairly the release androgens (e.g. testosterone) and estrogens can be triggered by emotion, and thus the mind. Hypnosis, meditation and more generally extreme concentration can in theory alter your mental state, in turn altering how these hormones are released.

As we know, these hormones are responsible for many physical effects. To name a few, baldness, breast growth, body growth, alertness, distribution of fatty tissue, sholder broadness, muscle growth, sleep, hunger, lust, attraction, emotion, metabolism and many more. Also, keep in mind that for many of the hormones, too much of them can have serious side effects. In particular, while more HGH can increase your hight it will also enlarge your heart and eventually kill you. Again, adrenaline overdose can cause nervous system damage, leading to Parkenson's like tremors. Other problems, cancer included, are caused by too much of the various other hormones. In general, just because you can doesn't mean you should, but if you're careful about what your doing then it might be safe.

Of course, just because your brain can release these hormones, and for any brain function in general, doesn't necessairly mean you can control it. After all, how does a person know what it feels like to release HGH? Just telling them under hypnosis that they are going to release more won't do much if they don't have the slightest idea how to do it to begin with. Many of these functions are below even the subconcious, in the autonomic nervous system. As a rule of thumb, without a source of feedback you can't learn anything or control any function. With most hormones the feedback is very slow and indirect, so there can be very little, if any, control. On the other hand, mental functions that do have decent feedback (e.g. adrenaline release, bladder control) can naturally be controlled to a large degree.

Finally, there's a definite difference between thinking something is working and it actually working. The brain is notorious for how it fudges and alters our perception. It's probably that in most cases of people altering their body, it's simply the perception of an alteration. Perhaps made additionally real by external modification (e.g. makeup). Personally, I've seen pictures of so-called male to female "transformations" and the person looks exactly the same, the only difference being makeup, posture and perhaps better skin (no doubt due to moisturisers though).

Now, it may be possible to alter the lower level brain functions and hormones, but first you would have to learn to sense their release in order to create feedback. One way is to strap and EEG machine to yourself, and this has proven extremely effective for controlling the heart. Another possibility is to simply train your mind to detect such impulses. In other words, extend your conscious and semi-conscious mind deeper into the functions of the body, so that they may be made aware of them. This can probably be aided by hypnosis, but I imagine it will still take a long time.

[baby_jessica75]

thank you for your input on this subject your reply was very educating. you seem to be a very knowlagable person and you have given plenty of food for thought!

Jessica

( everyone says change is goo so why doesn't wal-mart like it when you pay for a tv in pennies?)

[Undisclosed]

lol, thanks for reading it.

You know my brother once went to a movie and paid for all his drinks and snacks in nickels! They didn't much like that either. :lol: