Andrew Newton

If you are reading this essay to find out ‘how it’s done,’ then let me save you some time. Now would be a good time to move on to another article because the answer to that question lies elsewhere.

Andrew Newton, an internationally renowned hypnotist with 30 years experience has 6,000 live performances and television shows under his belt, and has hypnotised over 60,000 people. Here, he spills the beans and tells us what it is he really does for a living!

Hypnosis has come a long way in the last two hundred years. Today’s therapists are more likely to be casually dressed and relaxed in manner; the swinging pocket watch has been banned and the words ‘you are feeling very sleepy’ are a very definite no-no!

For the last two centuries, scientists have struggled to define hypnosis. Now, it seems that at long last, they may have succeeded. Why is it that some people can be hypnotised while others seem able to resist? Why do hypnotised subjects appear to be asleep when in fact they are wide awake? And why do hypnotists themselves disagree so strongly about what hypnosis is in the first place?

Hypnosis is very difficult to define. Some hypnotists even disagree amongst themselves about a true definition, but I think the simplest definition would be ‘Hypnosis is an artificially induced state of relaxation where the susceptibility of the mind to suggestion is increased.’
When we talk about hypnosis, we are really talking about suggestion. To induce hypnosis, suggestions are given for relaxation and are accompanied by the repetition of carefully chosen key words and phrases that focus the attention and induce a state of increased suggestibility.