Worship and Prayer most often involve shutting one’s eyes, staying still, listening to something repetitive (such as music or chanting) and blocking out the world around you.
This seems to be common to many religions of the world.
But these are exactly the sort of things a doctor might ask a person to do in order to put that person into a hypnotic trance. All of these things tend to put the logical/rational parts of the brain to sleep and enhance the emotional parts of the brain.
When a person is in a hypnotic trance they are more in touch with their feelings and more open to suggestions.
When I was a Christian, I went to a charismatic church where this hypnotic trance was also enhanced by lowering the lights[1]. Some people would lift their hands and relax as they sang or listened to repetitive music playing. In this state some people would begin to have strong feelings that they would attribute to being touched by an imagined invisible father figure which was the appeal of the worship. Later on after I awoken out of Christianity I realized that nothing of the sort was actually happening. This experience was all simply going on mentally and physically inside of the worshipper rather than being imposed externally by some sort of spiritual realm.
Much of the same effects happen during prayer/meditation where eyes are also closed, the person is immobile/still, shutting out the outside world, etc…
Rods and Gods
With eyes closed, the person also begins to become dark adapted. This is natural reaction by our eyes in order to see better in the dark. Dark adapted eyes use photo receptor cells called rods. These rods are very sensitive to light, but there are fewer of them than of daytime vision cells so we get a grainy sort of vision with them which some people mistake for the “presence of God” when they eventually open their eyes again.
[1] – By the way, I’m not saying that the people who run places of worship are intentionally producing conditions contusive to people entering trances or even that they are aware they are doing so. My guess is that the vast majority are simply following tradition.
Yes, it is most definately a trance state and can be easily duplicated.
http://selfleadership.com/blog/topic/nlp/is-stage-hypnosis-real/
I have even had pastors and ministers in my progams to specifically learn how to increase their impact.
Yeah, I went to a pentecostal service as I was losing my faith. It seemed so obvious that the preacher was working the crowd like a hypnotist and they wanted to be hypnotised.
I don’t think worship is like hypnosis, but like hypnosis, it can be “fake” :0)
I’d be interested in what you think distinquishes worship from hypnosis? Can you point to something that contradicts the idea that hypnosis is happening when people pray or worship?
I agree that some people can pretend to worship, but I think most who worship enjoy the experience because it’s repetative, meditative, puts one more in touch with their emotions and their subconsious, exactly what hypnosis does.
Unfortunately in the context of religious settings, it also puts one into more of a suggestable state.
It’s very interesting to go to churches/places of worships of different religions and see how they have a different approach yet share a lot of commonalities.
I do think that these places of worships aim to put people in an (elective) trance state, although I never thought of it that way before. Heh.
That is a great way to look at it. But i tend to disagree because in hypnosis, I assume you lose all your control in making decisions for yourself (thus, hypnosis). In worship and prayer, you still have a certain grip and control over what you are doing. Interesting point though
It is interesting to note that across all religions the method of prayer involves closing ones eyes and moving into a relaxed and potentially suggestable state. The same as hypnotism.
They say you can only be hypnotised if YOU WANT and i suppose that could be unconditional acceptance of that state whilst in prayer???
No, that’s the exagerrated fictional TV/movie version of hypnosis. In actual hypnosis you just lose a certain amount of awareness of your surroundings and you become more emotional and suggestible. Exactly what happens when people pray or worship, especially with closed eyes and prolonged amounts of repetitive music or chanting of phrases as is common in many churches. The brain’s critical thinking processes tend to go somewhat to sleep, but the person is otherwise fully awake and in control of their behavior.
A Buddhist monk and a Catholic nun can experience a hypnotic trance while in prayer/meditation, and both will use it to validate their particular religion.
Given this isn’t it curious that religious types often fear hypnosis? They perceive it as a dangerous thing to do because you might lose control of your mind leaving it vulnerable to suggestion. When the very religious services they readily participate in may produce the same result. Interesting. Hypnotist = bogyeman. Preacher = bogeyman then too?
Hypnosis is different from worship because in hypnosis, you have no control. But in worshiping, you can still control your self even though the spirit of God is with you.
@Zoe – No, that’s not true that you have no control during hypnosis. That’s only in the movies and TV comedies. In real life a person under hypnosis knows what is going on and has control, although as with prayer/meditation/worship the person under hypnosis is more suggestible.
I am wondering if there is any correlation between being an atheist and having a resistance to hypnosis. I have never made the cut at a hypnotist show as a “suitable volunteer”, not for lack of trying. And I have never been able to attain any kind of “spiritual feeling” despite others around me apparently doing so. ???
Hi, such an interesting debate about hypnosis and worship. Does this include meditation? I meditate on my own and I don’t think I am hypnotized at all. maybe maybe not!
Hypnotism in the real world isn’t like the characture portrayed of it in TV and movies. A person under hypnosis is still aware of their surroundings and although more suggestable and less critical in their thinking, in general wouldn’t do anything they wouldn’t normally do.
Hypnosis and meditation are very similar. Meditation can be thought of as self-hypnosis. I’ve seen a lot of disagreement on the definitions, but both seem to ultimately involve a disassociated trance. The difference being whether the trance in induced internally by the meditator or externally by someone else as in the case of a hypnotist.
What’s the real meaning of ‘worship’, ‘prayer’ and ‘hypnosis’?
I’ve already broadly explained what worship, prayer and hypnosis are in the article. As a person that’s done all three extensively, I can state that there’s very little difference between the three if the prayer and worship are done in a meditative way.
At one time I went to pentecostal meetings – I agree that it is a trance like state that the people present went into. One I went to after the sermon (the pastor misquoted 2 bible verses) everyone went berserk. I sort of got carried away myself. People were running around the room, dancing, singing, crying and laughing. My friend brought me back to reality and said lets get out of here – its a circus. I instantly realised she was right and left with her and let them get on with it. It a form of manipulation.
I accidentally put myself in a hypnotic/trance state while having a homebirth (which I had for practical, not “new-age,” reasons). It was going slow, so the midwife told the father and I to go get some sleep (I found out later at that point she didn’t think I was going to give birth that night). He went to sleep and I didn’t want to wake him up, so I tried to be very quiet. I was looking at the red, glowing numbers of the digital clock, wondering how much longer this was going to take, and trying to concentrate on what I was supposed to be doing, namely, dilating. The room was quiet and dark, I could hear our breathing, and as time passed and the contractions and pain intensified in waves, I kind of went inside my own mind, like a waking dream. I wasn’t aware of my eyes being open or shut. My thoughts merged into visions of circling swirls of colored lights, like glowing hula hoops or a poi dance. At one point my sister checked in on me, but I didn’t want to be interrupted, and ignored her. She said later she thought I was asleep. I am a child of the suburbs, and I went from 4 to 9 centimeters in 2 hours, hardly making a sound, because I didn’t want to disturb the person sleeping next to me. I will never doubt the power of conformity again. I will note that up until that time, I too had been a disappointing (three times) hypnotic “subject,” and had never meditated. Along with low-light and droning sounds, I think my determination to be “good” coupled with physical restraint and pain, were the perfect conditions to bring on a trance-state, involuntarily. If I was a good Christian instead of merely an awesome wife, I might believe God had visited me that night. In the same vein, I wonder if religious self-flagellation doesn’t cause the same effect (or for that matter, to a lesser degree, standing for hours at a concert or political rally).
(Or, come to think of it, the process of dying.)