Meditation & hypnosis: Meaning and key differences

From work deadlines and household chores to traffic jams, the daily grind requires you to juggle between multiple things which can increase your stress levels. That's why even 10 minutes of pause can help you rewind and reset. Finding calm in moments of chaos can be done through meditation and hypnosis.

Hypnosis is defined as a deep state of relaxation. That sounds pretty much like meditation, right? Both involve a shift in consciousness and can have profound effects on the mind and body. These two are different in many ways, despite sharing several similarities. This blog post delves into the meaning of hypnosis and types of meditation, explains the practice of self-hypnosis, explores the concept of mindfulness and understanding what you should opt for between the two.

Understanding their differences and purposes can help you choose the right approach for your personal self-improvement journey.

Hypnosis: Meaning and types

Hypnosis, derived from the Greek word 'hypnos' meaning sleep, is a therapeutic technique that provides you relaxation, both mentall and physically, inducing a deeply focused state of alertness or concentration, often compared to the dreamlike state. Hypnosis can help you be more relaxed and in turn, cope with various ailments or conditions, including chronic pain, anxiety, stress, and addiction. As it is quite evident, hypnosis can either be done through a hypnotist or by your own self through the way of self hypnosis. Let's explore the different types of hypnosis:

Clinical hypnosis: This type of hypnosis is performed by a trained therapist using verbal repetition of words and phrases as well as mental images to help you enter a trance-like or hypnotic state. It helps tp reduce symptoms of stress, anxiety and addiction.

Conversational hypnosis: It is less formal than a clinical hypnosis and focuses on the use of words, phrases and gestures to induce a hypnotic state during a normal conversation.

Self-hypnosis: Also known as auto-hypnosis, it involves a practice where you place yourself into a hypnotic state. It is an effective tool for relaxing in times of stress and improving yourself in the long run. Some even use self-hypnosis to program their mind while they sleep, to tap on their subconscious mind as it is more receptive during this time.

Stage hypnosis: As the name suggests, this type of hypnosis is generally performed in front of an audience for entertainment purposes. The hypnotist makes the volunteers perform unusual actions, seemingly against their will.

Meditation: Meaning and types

Meditation, in contrast to hypnosis, is a practice where you use a technique, such as focusing your mind on your breath, object, thought, or feeling, in order to train the brain to be more attentive, calm, aware and alert in such a way that your cognitive abilities are improved and you are more emotionally calm and stable.

There are various types of meditation, let's walk through the most common meditation types:

Mindfulness meditation: This type of meditation helps you cultivate present moment awareness by being mindful of the thoughts, feelings, surroundings at that point of time and accepting it without judgment. This practice helps you be less stressed, anxious and more alert.

Walking meditation: It helps you be aware of the sensations of each of your step. It helps you focus on grounding the awareness in the body in order to calm your mind.

Compassion meditation: This type of meditation helps you cultivate empathy (loving kindness) towards others as well as yourself to get relieved from feelings of anger or past trauma.

Breathing meditation: One of the most common types of meditation practices, this technique involves focusing on the process of inhale and exhale to increase self awareness and alertness and whenever your mind is distracted, you need to gently bring it back to your breath.
To understand the different types of meditation, read this blog:

12 types of meditation: Which is the right one for you?

Apart from mindfulness, there are also spiritual, focused and movement meditations. In spiritual meditation, reflect on the silence around you and seek a deeper connection with your God or Universe whereas focused meditation involves concentration using any of the five senses, such as breath, listening to a gong or counting mala beads. Movement meditation, involves a gentle flow of movement and focus on your body.

Similarities between hypnosis and meditation

The biggest similarity between hypnosis and meditation is that both these practices are used to induce calmness and stillness and reduce stress into the mind of the practitioner. This relaxed and focused attention affects the same part of the brain, altering the states of consciousness. You can either perform them on your own (self guided) or with a guide.

Hypnosis vs Meditation: A comparative analysis

While both hypnosis and meditation involve a shift in consciousness, they serve different purposes and have distinct methods.

State: The primary difference between meditation and sleep or hypnosis is the level of consciousness. Meditation is more about being fully aware of the present moment (conscious) whereas many people explain the experience of hypnosis as a dream-like state (subconscious).

Techniques: For hypnosis, verbal repetition of words, phrases, suggestions or mental imagery (series of instructions or suggestions) are used whereas meditation can be done through techniques like observing your breath, chanting mantras or concentrating on a particular object or thought (concentration and relaxation techniques).

Result: Hypnosis tends to offer immediate results by tapping on the subconscious mind whereas meditation involves improving present moment awareness and requires consistent practice to show effective results.

Goal: Hypnosis is done keeping a specific outcome in mind be it pain management, modifications in behaviour pattern or recalling suppressed memories whereas meditation helps you be emotionally calm, stress free, focused and relaxed, without any specific outcome.

Meditation or Hypnosis: What should you choose?

Meditation and hypnosis both induce a state of relaxation and hence, you might be confused with regards to what you should opt for. Choosing between the two often depends on your personal preference and the specific benefits you're seeking. Well, to give you some clarity, meditation requires consistent practice to give you results in some weeks. Hypnosis can be used for specific goals like for people who find it difficult to relax, can't get over past trauma, undergoing minor sleep disturbances or low confidence.

So, if you need to decide between the two you should ponder upon the seriousness of the symptoms, whether you need immediate results and if you are ready to commit to the practice of meditation.

Does hypnosis work to forget something? Research suggests that hypnosis can help you forget unwanted memories. However, forgetting is not always the goal, as hypnosis can also help you confront and deal with traumatic memories in a safe environment.

On the other hand, meditation practices, particularly mindfulness, can help you become more aware of your thoughts and feelings without becoming overwhelmed by them. It can help you understand and  manage your emotions better.

Understanding your past life is a concept often explored in hypnosis, particularly in a branch called Past Life Regression. It isn't scientifically proven, but many people claim to have uncovered memories from past lives under hypnosis. In conclusion, both hypnosis and meditation offer unique benefits and experiences.

Also read:

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How to hypnotize someone and self-hypnosis

Hypnosis is an effective tool to make behavioural changes by tapping on your subconscious mind like reducing anxious thoughts, alleviating pain or influencing behavior, such as to quit smoking or lose weight.

To hypnotize someone, the hypnotist will typically start by assiting the person in unwinding and cocentrating. This can be done through various methods, such as guided imagery or progressive muscle relaxation. Once the person is in a relaxed and focused state, the hypnotist will make suggestions that align with the person’s goals. These suggestions are made to sink into the subconscious mind to influence your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors even after the hypnosis session is over.

Self-hypnosis is the practice of hypnotising yourself with the help of a trained hypnotist for various purposes be it reducing stress, altering behaviour or enhancing performance. Guided imagery, progressive muscular relaxation, and self-suggestion are a few self-hypnosis approaches. Some people also use self-hypnosis to explore their past lives or program their minds while they sleep. However, there's no scientific evidence to prove whether hypnosis can help you explore your past life or not.

While meditation involves maintain awareness and focusing on the present moment, sleep is characterized by reduced levels of consciousness. Hypnosis lies somewhere in between, involving focused attention a middle ground between full consciousness and complete lack of awareness.

Also read: Mediation vs sleep: Can meditation replace sleep in 2023?

Self hypnosis and Meditation on Level Supermind

Choosing between hypnosis and meditation can be confusing. The best way to decide? Try both these powerful tools for self improvement and find out the one you need and resonate with. And you don't have to search for different techniques at different places as you can experience both these practices on Level Supermind, your mind performance app. Whether you're seeking specific behavioural changes or looking for peace, calm and focus, you don't need to go anywhere else.

Self hypnosis series: Guided by Danish Sheikh, popularly known as the Indian mentalist, this series will help to increase your motivation levels and feel empowered by transitioning to a trance state that will reprogram your mind to achieve your goals.

Beginner's series (Meditation): Available in 7 different local languages including Hindi and English, there are a variety of meditations catered to your needs, be it reducing stress, improving focus or reducing feelings of overwhelm with durations that suit your needs, from 5 minute stress busters to longer meditation for habit building based on different techniques like mantra chanting, loving kindness, sound meditation, nature meditation, breathwork and much more.

Meditation and hypnosis, both are powerful tools for self improvement and relaxation in the long run. You can benefit from both these practices by understanding the purpose you're required to fulfill.