Someone told me recently about a church they had attended years ago that preached that hypnosis is a tool  for the devil to gain access to your mind.  The church taught that hypnosis opens up pathways in the mind through which the Devil can put ‘bad’ thoughts into your mind.

Let me explain how hypnosis works with the mind: 

There are three parts of the mind:  The Conscious mind, which is the part that directs all of your actitivities.  This is also the “just the facts, ma’am” part.  This part will do anything to be in control, including rationalizing your behavior and your thoughts.  This part tells you what you ’should’ and ’shouldn’t’ do.  The Conscious mind also likes things to stay predictable; it likes facts and logic, and is not particularly fond of change.

The Critical mind is that part that filters what goes deeper into your subconscious mind.  This is the gatekeeper to the subconscious.  In order for hypnosis to work, the critical mind needs to approve of the suggestions being given, and then let them penetrate into the subconscious in order to take effect.

The Subconscious mind is the underlying part of your mind, where all of your experiences, memories, dreams,  and beliefs are stored.  This is the part of the mind that produces  new changes or holds on to old ideas, depending on your belief system.  The subconscious wants  to protect you,  and therefore, will do whatever you tell it to do.

During hypnosis, the Conscious mind is bypassed so that the appropriate suggestions can be given to produced the desired change.

The conscious and subconscious are the only parts of the mind  that contain  thoughts; there are no other pathways or different directions  where thoughts or ideas could go.  Thoughts are either in the conscious mind,  where you are listening to and/or acting  on them,  or they have been “approved”  by the critical mind and are on their way into the subconscious mind.

Everyone has their own built in moral code, or set of rules that they live by.  if a person were to be given a suggestion that violates their moral code, the suggestion would  either be ignored outright, or the person would come out of hypnosis as soon as the suggestion was given.  so you see, no one can put things into your mind without your knowledge and consent.

For Christians who would  like sensible, easy to understand information on hypnosis and Christianity, follow this link:  Hypnosis for Christians:  Good or Bad?