Hypnosis Is Not Blood-letting

Historically, anything that runs counter to culturally accepted values and thinking has been deemed the work of ‘the devil.’

Take bloodletting.

At one time bloodletting was the accepted preventative and medical treatment. Anyone who did not adhere to such treatment methods was accused of doing the ‘work of the devil.’ The men and women lay practitioners who took care of births, illness and injury through the use of herbs and folk medicine were tortured and slaughtered for their ‘evil doing.’

Today we have chemical therapies. The body and mind are separate. And any naturalistic approach to healing is considered unscientific and, therefore, suspect.

Including hypnosis.

The Devil’s Therapy is about hypnosis. Therapeutic hypnosis. Hypnosis for healing.

The Devil’s Therapy is for hypnotists. To illustrate the process of facilitating healing with hypnosis I chose a Grimm’s Fairy Tale. The story begins with a discharged soldier who, having nothing to live on, goes into the forest. There he meets a little man. The little man is ‘the devil.’ A bargain is soon struck with the soldier agreeing to serve the devil for a specified term in return for having his problem permanently resolved.

And a process of healing ensues.

Fairy tales, like dreams, have multiple meanings. They can be interpreted on many levels – literally, psychologically, and spiritually. 

The devil represents everything that runs contrary to the ways of the world. So anything judged unacceptable must be denied or rejected and sent straight to ‘hell.’

Hell is within. It’s “the shadow.” The subconscious mind. And it will wreak havoc in your life.

The good news is this: the devil holds the keys to your liberation because the subconscious mind is his domain. If you wish to be free from uncomfortable feelings and unconscious drives or impulses, you must go to the devil. And be willing to do the work necessary to earn your freedom.

Doing your own shadow-work will bring you face to face with your deepest pain. It will also reward you in unexpected ways.

Like the devil, the hypnotist is counter-culture. After all, hypnosis is not bloodletting. It’s not chemical therapy. It’s an approach to self-healing that requires going within and working with the subconscious mind.