Islam & Hypnosis – Is Self/Hypnosis Permitted?

Is self/hypnosis permitted in Islam?, I know some Christian priests claim it is evil {hypnosis that is}, and is not allowed, what does islam say on this matter.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1021712/Yoga-horoscopes-lead-possession-Devil-claims-Cardinal.html

Hypnosis, Self-Hypnosis is useful in relaxation and relieving stress, as well as for motivation, goal setting, and programs the subconcious mind {like in Salah, this is induced as you may already know, by fixing the eyes on one spot}, which is a more powerful area of the brain/mind.

Hypnosis is also used in Medicine, Clinical Hypnotists use hypnosis to treat mental illness, trauma victims {from rape or war PTSD}, and to alleviate pain {if medication does not help}.
I would appreciate your thoughts/advice on this.
As the Islamic website say that scholars believe it is committing ’shirk/blasphemy’ since it involves help from the Jinn, although they recommend it if absolutely necessary…
like if someone is mentally ill, this makes no sense, if it is ‘Shirk’ then it should not be used in any circumstance, including for treatment of mental illness!
Islamic Scholars have conflicting attitudes towards programming the Subconscious mind, via hypnosis:

http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?cid=1119503543716&pagename=IslamOnline-English-Ask_Scholar%2FFatwaE%2FFatwaEAskTheScholar

http://www.makelifehappen.com/hypnotherapy/pg.php?&Id=1&SId=12&CId=57

Please clarify this to me, referencing if possible to the Hadith, Qur’an, or websites.

ask on sunnipath.com – they’re really reliable.

you’re best asking a reliable scholar that you trust. though u might have to first learn which scholars you do trust and which ones you don’t, and then decide who to follow.

it isn’t for laymen like us to say if it’s allowed or not.

in terms of what i believe and what i follow, i haven’t seen any reason why i would link hypnosis with shirk, and i would consider therapeutic hypnosis to be fine.

here’s a QA on self-hypnosis http://qa.sunnipath.com/issue_view.asp?HD=7&ID=3348&CATE=17 which the scholar has disapproved of – though it’s worth noting that the question isn’t referring to therapeutic hypnosis but some kind of make-yourself-happy hypnosis.

i’ll copy-paste it since i’ve seen links that stop working on that site:

"Q:Is hypnotising your own self allowed in Islam? I mean dreaming of nice stuff that would put your mood up. I know that doing zikr would be a better alternative but if you are completely used to hypontising your own self and you do it now and then would you get a sin?

A: Auto-hypnotic exercises devoid of dhikr keep you in the lower dark areas of the world where the spirit does not receive its share of the light it is asking you to feed it. This will affect your states as well as leave you vulnerable to the whisperings of ego among other enemies, inevitably causing what the Prophet, upon him blessings and peace, called rust of the heart. May Allah protect you and us from such and keep you on the right path. Hajj Gibril"

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how do i meditate for relaxation?

such as thinking. relaxing. even self hypnosis for relaxation. how?

Don’t meditate. SLeep, rest, relax, read a book, pray, meditat on the Bible…etc. Meditation is a way of opening up your spirit man by silencing your body and mind… and what might you be opening it too??

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How do psychiatrist or mental hospitals determine what is wrong with a person?

what types of tests do they do and do they use any form of hypnosis or relaxation techniques to question the persons childhood, etc?

which other methods do they use and how does this help them determine what is wrong with the person?

why and how so?

Thanks for your answers!

Generally, its not a good idea to use hypnosis for diagnostics. It has been used successfully for some types of treatment.

There are several types of tests that can be helpful in determining a diagnosis. Two books are good sources of available tests. ‘Tests In Publication’ and ‘Burroughs Mental Measurement Yearbook’

Objective tests include the MMPI (Minnesota Multphasic Personality Inventory) for diagnosis. While Myers-Briggs Temperment Scale and TJTA (Taylor-Johnson Temperment Assessment) provide infomation on personality and temperment. These generally provide a tool to compare the client with others and narrow the possible diagnosis as well describe how the person prefers to interact with their world.
Other objective tests can be used for a specific reason, for example, The Beck Depression Scale, SASSI for Drug abuse.

Another type of test is the ‘projective test’. This is the typical ‘ink blot’ or picture story. The idea is that the ‘inner’ person will be revealed by how they describe the pictures. The draw back, however, is there is some interpretation by the therapist and results can be easily argued.

The process to determine a solid diagnosis should be based on several types and souces of information. Using just one source leaves more room for mis-diagnosis and mistakes.

The client or family who will cooperate and communicate are good sources. The type of information would include,
Presenting problem (why are you here?)
History of the problem (how long has it been this way? When did it start?)…Some mental issues manifest at different ages or are due to some environmental factors.
Developmental history (did the client, as a child, eat well?, sit up? jabber? talk? walk? potty train? on time as expected?)…Some issues show up as the child develops (autism, aspergers, ADD, mental retardation,learning disabilities etc)
Pyscho-Social history, (What was the family like? What were their relationships and school like? etc)…many illnesses are hereitary or run in families (bi-polar, depression, anxiety etc)
Prior Psych History (Has the client been treated before? What was the diagnosis and treatment? Is this recurring? etc) This will help show a pattern and provide more information on possibilities.
Medical History – childhood diseases, current medical issues (several medical problems can affect the brain and behavior etc )
Drug / Alcohol Abuse – What have they used? What is the pattern? etc. (some drugs cause permanent brain damage and add particular stresses that may effect behavior).
Legal Issues – anything that involves conduct in society (may show ADD, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, peer relationships etc)

After collecting all the data from all the sources (tests, client, family, friends, social agency / police / court etc) and organizing them into related patterns, ithey are compared to ‘known’ mental disorders found in the Diagnostic and Statisical Manual (DSM-IV-TR), frequently referred to the ‘bible’ of mental disorders.
From that point, it becomes a clinical OPINION (hopefully based on the facts), as to what the diagnosis should be. Usually, most clinicians are in the same ballpark (mood disorder as opposed to phobias).
Sorry it was so long. I hope it helps.
Good luck

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Why do they say their are differant levels of "hypnosis"?

how are they different to each other?

what are they like, etc?

what does it mean "deep hypnosis" how is it different than "light hypnosis" ….effects on the brain, relaxation, etc?

Thanks for your answers!

I think it may be fully hen pegged and partially hen pegged.

It is bad to allow our mind to be hypnotized. It is not a kind of relaxation.
One loses mental stamina in this process and the mind becomes weak thereby. We should be self confident with lot of will power.

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Does anyone have a full hypnotherapy script? One that is most effective for relaxation and bliss induction?

I need to do a full hypnosis session where I take them under lead them through the imagery and bring them out so they feel the most bliss possible. Please the more detail and length the better.

most experienced hypnotists do not use a prepared script. the hypnotist ad libs the whole thing changing the induction as information is developed and choosing direction to facilitate the deepening

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What’s the weirdest place you have ever fallen asleep?

I can go to sleep anywhere at anytime… I just use a self-hypnosis/relaxation technique and I am gone! But what’s the strangest place you have actually slept in?

when i was a kid, i had a phase of tipping over my wardrobe and sleeping in that.. ??

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How to perform self hypnosis?

I am interested in hypnosis and the power that the mind has over the body. I’m not trying to do some "lose weight, get over a fear, gain confidence" mumbo jumbo. I just want to be able to not only experience full mental and physical relaxation but also explore the subconscious.

As you probably know, there are different methods to achieve self-hypnosis or to "go into trance." One of the most popular and effective methods is to physically relax the body from the feet up to the head or from the head down to the feet. You can do this simply by verbal suggestion or by tensing and relaxing the various body parts. It sounds like you already know about that.

Also, you can just breathe slowly and deeply, giving yourself the suggestion that you will get more relaxed the more you breathe in this fashion. Another method is through visualizing yourself at the beach, in the mountains or the country, whatever is most serene for you. You probably have heard of these techniques as well.

Your question seems to be how to explore the subconscious once you are relaxed. There are many things you can do, and I am not sure exactly what you looking for. One possibility is age regression. This can be done different ways. Let’s say you are 30 years old. You can start recalling incidents in your late, middle and early 20s. Continue back through your teenage years and even into your early childhood. What lessons can you learn by your early experiences?

You can also age regress by walking down a hallway and seeing different doors with numbers on them representing the years of your life. Your might feel drawn to a door marked 16. Going into that room you can see and re-experience events when you were 16.

Therapeutically, if you suffered from depression, for example, you can guide yourself back to the initial event(s) that caused your depression. There are different techniques for dealing with that initial depressive event so that you can let go of that past trauma and overcome your depression. This whole topic is complex and I can only give you a general picture of this procedure.

On a positive note, if you want greater confidence, you can picture yourself having that confidence while you are in trance. You can also picture someone who does have confidence. In trance, you can "jump into their shoes" and feel what it is like to have their confidence. Alternatively, you can move a year or so into the future, when you do have that confidence. The "future you" can guide you toward achieving that goal.

When I use a phrase like "picture yourself," please note that the more vividly you re-experience that past or future event, the greater result you are likely to get.

When you are more experienced with self-hypnosis, you can go into trance and ask your subconscious a question like: What are my special talents that I was never conscious of? Maybe one of the most advanced questions is very general, for example: What is something I really need to know about myself? A tough question (if you were really sick) would be: Can I use my mind to overcome this illness, or do I really need medication?

The answers to your question are complex and can’t be fully addressed on YA. There are hundreds of books devoted to hypnosis. These range from the superficial to the mediocre to the excellent. If you want to, go to amazon.com, and just type "hypnosis" in the book section. You could spend hours looking through books and reviews of them. I hope this points you in the right direction.

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How can I get better at self-hypnosis and meditation?

Does anyone have any tips or articles on this subject? How deep into self-hypnosis/meditation have you gone? How can I go into a deeper relaxation?

Self-hypnosis and meditation are skills that get better with time, like riding a bicycle. Intuitively, I feel you are pushing yourself a little too much to "go deep." Lighten up around the subject and also remember that you can start with just 5 minutes once or twice a day. When that becomes easy, increase to time to 8 or 10 minutes. Later on, when you are ready, practice more.

In the beginning, it helps to use guided meditations or hypnosis CDs. You can find them cheap on eBay or google for them. Maybe the link the other answerer suggested is good.

Over a thousand years ago, a book was written in India detailing over 100 forms of meditation! What works best for one person may not work so well for someone else. Find a form of meditation that feels right to you. A great book on all these forms of meditation is http://www.amazon.com/Book-Secrets-Keys-Love-Meditation/dp/0312180586/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1270623371&sr=8-3.

In general, some people visualize easily and can picture themselves in a relaxing environment. Tibetan Buddhists visualize themselves as forms of the Buddha or other deities.

Some people meditate best by using a sound like a mantra. Other folks are body oriented and can meditate on the breath or other body sensations.

I can’t go into self-hypnosis, except to say it is similar to meditation. It involves physical and mental relaxation and usually focuses on peaceful visual images. Best of luck to you.

EDIT: I recommend the site www.wendi.com for great hypnosis CDs.

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question for those who know meditation, hypnosis or relaxation techniques?

I notice that when I am doing a relexation/meditation or even hynosis, I use cd’s and listen to them before goign to bed and on occasion there are times when I can’t lay still like I have this sudden almost painful sensation to move my body, like a very restless feeling, like a very very strong urge to move and obviously this affects my relaxation level and concentration. Anyone know what could cause this, its on sometimes but its just a powerful urge to tense up or swtich positions….hard to explain.

It could be that your energy is being interrupted from flowing smoothly by a blocked chakra. Try balancing and clearing your chakras before meditation. If you can pin point the area on your body that becomes uncomfortable , that will be the chakra that needs attention, but if one chakra is not functioning properly it is likely it will be effecting the function of others, so it is a good idea to work on all of them .

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hypnosis or relaxation and stress releif?

I am either going to study relaxation/stress relief techniques or hynosis. which do you think i should study? and for the project we have to interveiw someone so what kind of person would i interveiw??

Without knowing the scope of your project it is hard to answer. For example, are you doing a one page middle school report or college project? The fastest way to find people to interview is to call (or ask in a quality health chat room that lets you print out the interview) around to everyone you know and ask if they have tried either or know anyone who has tried, or know anyone you can call who has tried it. Have your questions ready, starting with the most simple, for example, what was your goal, did you reach it, did other actions work better, etc. See if you can find patterns in their responses. Good luck

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