by Joy Johnson

Created on: July 03, 2009   Last Updated: July 16, 2009

Who's Hypnotizing Who?

The utilization of language in transforming your life

As a Certified Clinical Hypnotherapist I know very well how the language we use affects our body and mind. All hypnosis is self-hypnosis and the benefits are powerful. We can accomplish so much when we quiet our minds and tap into our inner creative resources. During that process we quiet that inner chatter and establish a focused state used to solve problems and overcome barriers. But what about when people become entranced in a form of "group think", which like hypnosis requires a focused state of mind based on repetitive ideas.

The way we use language and the labels that are contrived to unite or divide us are powerful forums to influence people's thoughts and actions. Even more than that it affects the lives of those around us more than anyone could appreciate at first blush. To illustrate this point, consider the task of getting someone to do something they really can not bring themselves to do. Sometimes when we have to do things that we don't want to do, the way we utilized our language and apply labels helps us to justify those acts. Sometimes we are called upon to do things we can't bare to admit to doing. Other times the labels we use for ourselves and others are actually used to unite or divide us in times of extraordinary circumstances.

One example of the use of language was utilized in order to divide us was during the Vietnam War when the enemy was referred to as Victor Charlie or the Viet Cong. The label VC was used by the military during the war and was derived from the phonetic alphabet short for Victor Charlie. There is a reason for labeling one's enemy in such a way. Consider for a minute that when one man faces off to kill another it may be difficult to pull the trigger in the beginning. When one considers that the person who comes face to face with his enemy is a person just like himself and has a spouse, children and a will to survive, it may be difficult to commit to the termination of another. After all, this is a person who, under any other circumstance, could likely be a friend or colleague. While that may be the case, when we change the way the enemy is labeled the circumstance changes considerably. For example, if the enemy is now Charlie Cong, the groundwork is laid for a dissociative means of liquidating one's enemy. If one believes, Charlie Cong is NOT like me in fact, he is not a person at all, rather he is the face of the enemy, then it isn't

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