Hypnosis and the Treatment of Cancer

The science of mind known as hypnosis has gained a great deal of traction lately given its many uses in a broader scope of medicinal arenas. With the advent of certain forms of cancer treatment that seem more detrimental than curative to the overall wellbeing of the sufferer, I'm not surprised that patients and their families who align with a more 'mainstream' approach are finally searching for alternative methods.

One thing must always be remembered when dealing with cancer: the ailment will rarely be remedied thoroughly through the treatment of the symptom alone - there will almost always be a resurgence of the initial malady if the mere symptom is addressed. This isn't to say that there are not statistics stating that chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, and medication are ineffective in the treatment of tumors or other physical signs of cancer. These methods have their place and must be acknowledged as helpful. I am merely proposing that there is an adjunctive angle that needs to be considered when looking into the permanent removal of cancer from the body. This is done by examining and addressing the emotional underpinnings of the disease's presence in the system.

If we can begin to see cancer as an expression of an unmet need within the body from which the symptom is merely an extension, we can begin to locate and address the underlying emotional cause(s) of the disease itself. Under this model, we can work with the current understanding that cancer is never contracted but instead developed from within. And to go even further, if we can for a moment assume that the mind has dominion over the body, we can easily see that a disease that is developed from within, has at its core, has also a skewed personal belief structure that aided in its inception.

Ok, you may think, perhaps I'll go out on a limb and begin to think of disease as an emotional construct as opposed to an affliction; well how, you may ask, does hypnosis fit into the equation?

Glad you asked. Hypnosis as a practice, works to discover and clear the very obstacles that, in a sense, invite the expression of disease into the body. Imagine for a moment that an old resentment left toiling and festering in the very fabric of your psychological makeup, and by extension in the body, might prove to be more deadly than any disease known to man. Why would we just assume that because western medicine does not acknowledge the harm done by unexpressed emotion, we can just wash our hands of the very notion and take a pill instead? Are we this indifferent to our own somatic sanctity? Profound personal truth can be found in our symptoms and diagnoses, and hypnosis is the mechanism through which said truths can find revelation.

Using the sophisticated science of trance work, a hypnosis practitioner easily coaches a cancer patient into a relaxed state of body which in turn calms the mind. Just as a trip to the beach soothes the conscious mind, removing its sharp and stern commands only exacerbated by immersion in a working society, so too does the hypnotherapist help the patient's conscious mind slow and subside to a mere whisper. This recession of the conscious mind allows the awareness to automatically drop through the liminal border. Once a transcendence of this border between conscious and subconscious is achieved, we can notice subtle changes in both the rate of brainwave activity and perception of the patient.

Entering into the subconscious produces a palpable euphoria and feeling of 'peace' which is again notated even on an Electro Encephalogram or EEG. This subconscious framework becomes the psychological realm within which the belief structures of the patient, both supportive and detrimental, find their home.

Now here's where it gets interesting. The hypnotherapist then suggests to the patient that their awareness can be guided to the cause of the cancer itself. At this point, the patient has given control of the outcome over to the powerful and at times curiously autonomous subconscious mind itself. This surrender of conscious control allows the process to evolve unfettered and because of this non-intervention, the patient is then taken directly to the heart of the problem. The patient reports when a figure, an old memory, or a feeling surfaces, and they are then guided into the symbol of the disease to process it out of the system.

A good example of this technique is a client of mine who was dealing with an unshakeable disease which she decided to try to remedy using trance. She discovered in-session that her diagnosis was intrinsically linked to an improper processing of her divorce from many years ago. Eventually she realized too that her symptoms had surfaced shortly after the incident and had persisted ever since. It was as though her body was shouting at her, using the symptom as its voice, "no, no, no! I will not process these heavy emotions for you! This is your job, wake up and deal with it!" She was then coached into a place of raw effusion and literally purged the long-held feelings from her body shouting them out and away just as her body was shouting at her.

She yelled, cursed, cried, and shook her fists in the air until she was too exhausted to continue. And then, as the fog of hearty emotion lifted, she was reborn in an absolutely euphoric moment of emotional liberation. Color returned to her face, her muscles were impregnated with empowerment. She smiled outward from the heart.

At this point in the session, it is assumed (through a quick mental assessment of the inner constitution) that the very foundation of the ailment has been removed. As the roots of the tree die, eventually the pervasive trunk will fall. Removing the emotional underpinnings by addressing the unmet need of the body allows the symptoms to dissipate as there is no longer a need for their 'signal' - the message had been received loud and clear.

This particular client found that her next visit to the doctor's office produced an astounding reduction of her symptoms. She was able to receive rather non-invasive treatments to clear the remainder of the now floundering and extensively weakened symptomatic expression. The clearing of the emotional counterpart using the power of the mental capacity resulted in a veritable healing of the body. Truly amazing.

Applying these results that have been reported across the board by hypnotherapists to the cancer diagnosis shows that we begin to work with a two-pronged approach. (1) Emotional detachment from the ailment itself by removing its foundational resonance in the subconscious using trance work. Following then with: (2) less invasive western medicinal options such as antibiotics or oxygen treatments used to rid the system of the residual symptomatic expression once the foundation is removed. This, I believe can be our formula of success in the coming future.

We must allow reason to reign again by remembering that edging out alternative forms of healing by only suggesting symptomatic remedy is a bastardization of the scientific method itself. Western medicine is a bold tradition that for most of its history honored a firm resignation to the wonderment of scientific discovery and saw clearly the pitfalls of myopia. Western medicine's process of reformation and return to this pure state of being will unfortunately require an overhaul of the very educational system from which its practitioners are born. But we must start somewhere. Lives have been lost and there are many more at stake until something has changed in the way we view this pernicious disease.

It starts with the education of the sufferer and their families. Luckily, we can still choose our own path to wellness. Move forward informed and empowered. Your body has the power to heal itself. It always has. Now we must remember this fact as a people and reclaim the power that was once ours!

Be well, grand healers. I leave you in continual good health.