Some time ago, I referred to our inner guidance system using the phrase “Inner SatNav”, when I was writing about the importance of listening to our intuition and our innermost stirrings. I am delighted to find that the same idea has been picked up by a notable clergyman ― none other than the venerable and hugely characterful Archbishop of York, Dr John Sentamu. The venerable Archbishop has taken the satellite navigation metaphor to a higher level, and a very connected one. The Archbishop wrote: “SatNav? God will take you in the right direction.” Which leads me to my Contemporary Hypnotherapy message for today. Like hypnosis, prayer is the gateway into a mildly altered state of consciousness, in other words a mild trance ― and it is a way for you to connect fully with your Inner SatNav.
People in prayer often close their eyes and in so doing they at once enter a state different from when the eyes are open. With that gesture, a person who prays moves by one small step from the outer world of the material and mundane, to the inner world of the spirit wherein the Inner SatNav resides.
Whoever is officiating at a service of faith will suggest to those gathered, ʺLet us pray!ʺ and after some shuffling and adjustments to posture, people accept the command and action it. Those gathered close their eyes and listen. They listen to the words of the given prayer and they can also participate. Participatory words and phrases can almost sound like the words of an incantation. Groups gathered together for the purpose of worship often chant or repeat words of a holy and worshipful nature. Repetition induces a change in the person who says or hears them. Repetition brings about a sense of centring within the individual being who is entering into the prayerful state. And naturally the repetition provides a focus for the gathering. It narrows down the focus and the concentration, allowing the person to begin to experience a quietening within … and a peacefulness within.
One positive prayerful experience leads to another. Devotees report that the repeated acts of prayer are ʹcharacter buildingʹ. Virtues like patience are given an airing and plenty of opportunity to deepen and to grow. People who pray say that it is comforting and that it is relieving ― relieving of emotions such as guilt and worry. As a result people who pray feel increasingly calm after prayer and emerge from prayer feeling they have done something good for themselves ― something fulfilling. Such is the power of repetition, good intention and action. A daily dose of prayer is for many a vital antidote to a soul-less and pressurised modern world.
Prayer is not an ‘out-of-your-mind’ state; rather, it is an ‘inner-mind’ state. In this way, it is like hypnosis. With practice it fosters a relationship with oneself and with the divine.
Hypnotherapy can be thought of as a kind of secular equivalent to prayer.
Interactive dialogues in hypnosis are often spoken entirely in whispers. A hypnotherapist may sit closely alongside the client because she needs to be able to hear what he says, even quiet murmurs. A London hypnotherapy session can be a prayerful experience.
Often, I find that clients come to seek hypnotherapy as a last resort when they have already tried other things and been disappointed. People often come to prayer as a last resort too, so it seems that therapeutic hypnosis and prayer have even more in common. Both are blessings in disguise. Dr John Sentamu wrote in his column “He’s [God] a far more reliable SatNav than anything this world provides!” Ditto for your Inner SatNav that you can switch on using interactive hypnotherapy.
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