Once a theory or belief is accepted as fact, it is closely guarded — and, in some cases, defended to the death. Our beliefs help us make sense of the world we live in, and so form the foundations of our lives and the way we live them.
Yet it is these same beliefs, once accepted as fact, that stand in the way of change. We forget that every fact began as an idea in someone’s mind. Like a baby in its mother’s womb, the idea grows and is eventually born when it leaves the womb of the mind in the words used to describe it. When enough people embrace the idea, it becomes accepted as truth — and once that happens, it rises above question.
Every theory starts out as an opinion or belief. Only once it is proven does it become fact. The world was once considered flat, and at the centre of the universe. Everyone accepted as fact that the planets revolved around the earth, not the sun.
It was only when this ‘accepted fact’ was questioned that we came to hold a very different understanding of the earth and how the planets behave. It takes time for people to change what they have accepted as fact. Some people simply refuse to change; they prefer to hold on to what they have always believed to be true, regardless of the evidence presented to the contrary.
We rarely question something we believe to be true, because once an idea is labelled ‘true’, the mind protects it — much as you might protect your computer from spam. The critical factor acts like a filter standing between us and everything we observe. If what we observe doesn’t fit our world view, it is automatically rejected.
This is why hypnosis is so effective in treating conditions created by the mind. Once such a condition becomes accepted as a person’s reality, it becomes woven into everything they consider to be true.
In this way, “I am fat” or “I am bad at maths” are beliefs that some people absorb into their self-perception and accept as fact. Once this happens, no amount of reasoning will shift a truth accepted by the individual at the subconscious level.
To affect change, the critical factor must be suspended — like temporarily disabling the spam filter on your computer. Once the critical factor has been suspended through hypnosis, the individual is free to entertain ideas that would otherwise have been sent to the recycle bin, or deleted for good.
If any of this feels familiar — beliefs that quietly shape how you see yourself, holding you back from the change you want — hypnotherapy offers a gentle, effective way through. By working directly with the subconscious mind, we can help you question what’s no longer serving you and open the door to lasting change.
Ready to find out more? Get in touch, book a free consultation and start your journey today.
