Blog
In the past I have presented articles, bios and updates from friends and colleagues, so it is my honour to present to you, an editorial from Dr. Tim Brunson from the International Hypnosis Research Institute which is pertinent to the current legislation being considered in Canada. Please take the time to read and consider Dr. Brunson’s comments as an American professional viewing what some have termed a Complimentary Medicine ‘witch hunt’.
Future trends in mental health and hypnotherapy
The relevance of suggestion and imagination as a tool for human transformation is still inadequately being explored. On one hand, the benefits of considering the validity of volition as a tool is largely prevented by those self-styled critical thinkers who sincerely believe that they are protecting the public rather than more likely defending the sanctity of their identity. They insist that their well-established and often legally protected beliefs are valid and supported by scientific evidence. Yet, when actually explored, almost always the strength of their thinking is not found in solid scientific research but rather in popularly held beliefs and editorials that grace staid academic journals. On the other hand, the foes of these skeptics are most likely idealistic thinkers, who insist that what they wish to believe is in fact true. Clearly, there must be a middle ground that both addresses unfiltered reality and allows space for human intellectual evolution to occur. The advancement of intellectual understanding, which must center on epistemological traditions, almost always has all the sophistication of a sausage factory. The process includes a multitude of components, which are amalgamated in a rather disgustingly messy manner. Innovative ideas, such as the fact that the Earth is not the center of the universe, that the Earth is indeed rotund, and that the brain has a high degree of plasticity, first had to go through stages where Inquisitors resisted with a vengeance what they considered to be heretical change. That was until the preponderance of evidence became so overwhelming that just a few bolder authorities began to ward off criticisms of their colleagues as they slowly embraced the new paradigms. Still many legacies, such as the belief in the subconscious mind, continue to linger as adherents to the old way of thinking insist in integrating their fundamentalist thinking into the emerging concepts. This results in the self-delusion that they are open-minded thinkers.Another obstacle to open-mindedly, yet rationally and empirically accepting new concepts is the absolute refusal to listen to ideas that come from those who do not fit in with the reader or listener’s self-concept. That is, these are people who don’t have the listener’s education, licenses, or other credentials. This results in one-dimensional thinking and beliefs. The resistance to divergent thinking and the almost intellectually incestuous obsession with vindication of one’s limited views means that many people constantly entrain to the level of mediocrity that is acceptable at the moment. Intellectual evolution is almost always can be characterized as a process of achieving a (hopefully) higher level of mediocrity that by the time of its acceptance is already obsolete. This low-risk strategy not only vindicates one’s self-importance. It is deemed to be safe in that we avoid rejection and may even justify our narrow-mindedness by believing that as clinicians we are less likely to be challenged legally. More
Tags : brain science, future, health, medical, success
