“Nothing living should ever be treated with contempt.”
― Elizabeth Goudge
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Warts
As an intellectual person I have a hard time believing that one can affect a virus through the power of mind alone. In spite of my belief, there are repeated claims that hypnosis can cure warts. Unlike a bug bite which heals more quickly if you stop scratching it, warts are caused by the human papilloma virus living in your skin. Healing only comes from the action of your immune system.
You can cure a wart by surgically removing the tissue that supports the virus. Alternatively, your immune system can kill the virus. If your immune system is your body’s only internal power against a wart, then how can hypnosis cure warts?
I recently returned to the work of Dr. Dabney Ewin, a surgeon and medical hypnotist. His book “Ideomotor Signals for Rapid Hypnoanalysis,” written with Bruce Eimer (Thomas Books, 2006), presents photographs and case histories of medical aliments they cured by hypnosis alone. An extensive papillomavirus infection presented in one case was entirely resolved by a single session of hypnosis.
The gist of Ewin’s approach is to uncover ideas fixed in the subconscious. These are not “your” ideas, or ideas that you profess. They are a secondary from of reasoning in conflict with your conscious train of thought. Because of this contradiction, the subconscious idea is rejected, overlooked, suppressed, or forgotten, but it is not removed.
Clearly, not everyone is in a position where their conscious and subconscious minds are of clear and contrary opinions. Yet it is increasingly recognized in psychology—in the area of trauma in particular—that problematic subconscious thought patterns often exist. These thought patterns are difficult to consciously access, and their resolution can have a great positive effect on one’s health.
Autonomic Control
According to Ewin and Eimer, hypnosis can speak to the subconscious mind, and it is the subconscious mind that has power in directing the immune system. In cases of medical hypnosis, the client presents with a medical condition that is not clearly of mechanical or exogenous origin. The origin of the difficulty cannot be found, or previous treatments have failed without explanation. It is to these cases—sometimes judged as psychosomatic, hypochondriac, or malingering—that Ewin and Eimer applied hypnosis in hopes of engaging the immune system.
The immune system is complex. It involves a dozen types of immune cells of vastly different function, a separate vascular system, as well as a kind of learning and memory for which there are no known theories. Yet, judging from the success of Ewin, Eimer, and many others, there is a powerful connection between the subconscious and various autonomic processes controlling the muscular, vascular, and immune systems.
From the outcome of hypnotic treatment we can infer that the subconscious mind works in alliance with the immune system even though there is little understanding of how. There is no concept of “thinking” in the immune system, although emotion powerfully affects our endocrine system and our thoughts.
We don’t understand the subconscious as an integral, rational system operating beneath our awareness. We don’t really understand it at all. Our subconscious seems to have access to different memories from those we’re aware of. We can only conjecture that these things exist: the immune system “thinks,” the subconscious maintains a separate existence, and our conscious mind remains largely oblivious to both.
If ideas carried by the subconscious create illness, and the immune system can be directed by the subconscious, then the subconscious can effect healing. Here, our usual dichotomy between the body and the mind becomes an obstacle. If the two are talking to each other, aware of, and responding to each other, then aren’t they really two sides of the same system?
What I find most surprising about Ewin and Eimer’s work is the simplicity of their treatments. It’s possible that they’re cherry picking the results: that they’re reporting only the successful cases. We would like to apply a more scientific analysis to more carefully curated data. The trouble is that the scientific protocols for collecting physiological data and psychological data are different.
Issues, outcomes, measurements, and even notions of repeatability, falsifiablity, and objectivity are different in these realms. To pursue psycho-somatic medicine will require methodological changes. This is why for now, we find ourselves relying on clinical records and case histories. It would not be difficult to build a more compelling mind-body science, but, so far, we don’t have it.
Interoception
If it’s true that the subconscious can cure illness, then we want to know when, how, and how to apply it. If true, then it suggest the possibility of a proactive approach. Why wait until the psyche and the soma are out of balance before one intervenes? Why not foster greater balance to begin with? If the subconscious can be enlisted to cure illness, why not enlist the subconscious to maintain health?
On August 15th, 2021 an article authored by David Robson appeared in The Guardian titled, “Interoception: the hidden sense that shapes wellbeing,” (https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/aug/15/the-hidden-sense-shaping-your-wellbeing-interoception). Robson says, “There’s growing evidence that signals sent from our internal organs to the brain play a major role in regulating emotions and fending off anxiety and depression.”
The word “interoception” refers to both conscious and non-conscious perception of the internal state of the body. “Non-conscious” can mean both unconscious, as in reflexive, and subconscious, an alternative awareness.
The article goes on to quote psychologist Manos Tsakiris who says, “We are seeing an exponential growth in interoceptive research,” with academic conferences devoted to the subject and a wealth of new papers. Research on interoception is now one of the fastest growing areas in neuroscience and psychology.
I would like to make a modest proposal: I propose that we all have greater control over our autonomic systems than we are aware of. I suggest we can improve this awareness without much difficulty if we are subconsciously encouraged to do so.
Following this suggestion, I have been creating a series of self-hypnosis audio files that any person can listen to in order to subconsciously improve their self-awareness. That is, to become more interoceptive.
The Large Intestines
I have a growing set self-hypnosis audio files that address various systems in the body. One of these concerns the gut. I divided the gastrointestinal tract into the stomach, small intestines, and large intestines. Each recording is about 20-minutes long. You can find all of these interoception audios on my products page here: https://www.mindstrengthbalance.com/product-category/mind-body/page/2/
These self-hypnosis explorations are factually informative, perceptual, and interoceptive. In addition, they are positive and empowering. Some cases were difficult to create. In particular, the exploration of the large intestines presented me with a problem.
People are averse to the subject of defecation, yet no treatment of the large intestines would be complete without it. The subject of feces is taboo. We can employ the topic for invective, and engage it for humor, but in normal conversation it seems out of bounds.
I didn’t find the right perspective until I had a client whose problems related to the large intestines. There was no avoiding it: I needed to fully address interoceptive issues of the colon including evacuation.
By connecting what I know about the enteric nervous system, the immune system, and the gastrointestinal tract I have completed the third and last self-hypnosis audio in this series. I’m offering free access to the large intestine audio to anyone reading this. You’ll find the link to the audio file below.
Listen to this audio when you’re in a contemplative state. That could be before mediation, relaxation, or sleep. I suggest listening before sleep, because sleep is a time when your subconscious and autonomic processes take control.
You don’t need to do anything, let your conscious mind relax and drift into a light sleep. In this state, your thoughts are more plastic and your concepts more varied. You’re more likely to experience moods and associations that you would not have during daily life. New connections are made in these situations. When you’re conscious mind is less dominant, your subconscious mind is more present.
Your subconscious is easily directed to topics it finds pertinent. If it’s true that your subconscious mind has a connection to your autonomic processes, then listening to this audio file may readjust the function of your large intestine.
Depending on what balance you have and what rebalancing you need, I expect the effects will differ. Listening to this tape may improve the regularity of your colon. If you are somewhat constipated, it could also create some urgency. If you are over-active, it might settle you down. The idea is that you will gain an improved connection, better homeostasis, stability, control, and comfort. Why not try it? It’s free.
WARNING: This is a hypnotic audio file.
DO NOT listen to this recording while you’re driving a car, operating machinery, or doing anything that requires your attention!