Hypnosis Essays - Hypnosis, Hypnotherapy, Trance, Animal Magnetism

Hypnosis Essays - Hypnosis, Hypnotherapy, Trance, Animal Magnetism Hypnosis Hypnosis Recently, I was watching an episode of the Ricki Lake Show that featured a master hypnotist. Glued to the television, I witnessed a group of volunteers make fools of themselves - dancing with mops, impersonating animals, and other abnormal acts. Thus, my curiosity peaked. Over the years, hypnosis has been a topic studied by scientists, doctors, philosophers, new agers, and those such as myself. The Encarta Encyclopedia defines hypnosis as, an altered state of consciousness and heightened responsiveness to suggestion. It may be induced by normal persons through a variety of methods and has been used occasionally in medical and psychiatric treatment. Most frequently brought about through the actions of an operator, or hypnotist, who engages the attention of a subject and assigns certain tasks to him or her while uttering monotonous, repetitive verbal commands. Such tasks may include muscle relaxation, eye fixation, and arm levitation. Hypnosis also may be self-induced, by trained practices and rituals that are found in many mystical, philosophical, and religious systems. Hypnosis has many useful situations. One would be in the area of memory. When you are entranced in the hypnotic state, your sense of memory is enhanced. Although this is true, the things that are remembered cannot always be regarded as the truth. Sometimes when a person is entranced, they will remember things that never actually happened, but have great personal significance. One area that has caused tremendous controversy is in the area of hypnotizability. The question has been raised many times if there are certain people who can be hypnotized and certain people who cannot be hypnotize. There are people indeed who can and cannot. The only thing it depends on is how well you can focus. People who have better focus generally have better results with hypnotism, and people who have a harder time focusing tend to be less susceptible, as a general rule. Although hypnosis is totally safe as long as your hypnotist is competent and trustworthy, some skeptical people still have fears and concerns. This once again, all relies on how ethical your hypnotist is. Some people also think that people lose control of their actions when they are hypnotized. In a way, you do lose control. From what I have learned, you enter what I describe as an uninhibited state, where things that you would normally find horribly embarrassing would seem perfectly normal, but you do not give up control over moral decisions. A person in a hypnotic trance can come out anytime they want to if they are asked to do something that goes against their moral values. Another use of hypnosis is in therapy. This is called hypnotherapy. Hypnotherapy can be defined as the use of hypnosis for self-improvement and/or the release of problems. All hypnotherapy employs hypnosis, but all hypnosis is not hypnotherapy. Hypnotherapy has a wide variety of uses. Some surgeons and anesthesiologists use it in controlling pain, relaxing the patient, relieving postsurgical depression, and controlling nausea. It is helpful in treating sexual disorders such as impotence, frigidity, and the psychosomatic disorders. Treatment of problems using hypnosis has been used throughout history. Although evidence suggests that hypnosis has been practiced in some form or another for several thousand years (such as coal walking), the earliest recorded history of begins in 1734 with a man named Franz Anton Mesmer. Although, he was eventually disavowed by the scientific community because of his unorthodox methods that made him more of a mysticist than a scientist, he is generally known as the father of hypnotism. Mesmer called his methods mesmerism, thus came the word mesmerize. But the name didn't stick, it later changed to hypnosis, its name being derived from Hypnos, the Greek god of sleep.

Indefinite Articles When to Use An Instead of A - Proofeds Writing Tips

Indefinite Articles When to Use An Instead of A - Proofeds Writing Tips Indefinite Articles: When to Use An Instead of A The problem with the English language is that it rarely sticks to its own rules. This can be confusing when it comes to ensuring high grammatical standards. The indefinite article, for example, can be either â€Å"a† or â€Å"an† depending on the situation. And while this is probably a word you use on a daily basis without even thinking about it, it is still one that many people find confusing. Why Are There Two Versions of This Word? There are two versions of the indefinite article in English because it is easier to pronounce â€Å"an† than â€Å"a† when it comes before a word beginning with a vowel. Using â€Å"an† separates the article from the following noun, so â€Å"an office† is correct but â€Å"a office† would sound wrong to most people. The general rule is to use â€Å"an† before words beginning with vowels and â€Å"a† before words beginning in consonants. But, as with most rules, there are exceptions to this, which is where things get tricky. Hard Vowels One important exception is words beginning with hard vowels. This includes any word that starts with a vowel but sounds like it doesn’t, such as â€Å"university† or â€Å"Europe.† Although these words start with â€Å"u† and â€Å"Eu† respectively, they are pronounced with a â€Å"you-† sound at the beginning. For instance, it is â€Å"you-niversity† rather than â€Å"oo-niversity.† In cases like this the word should be preceded with â€Å"a† rather than â€Å"an,† as in the following example: The koala lived in a eucalyptus tree Correct The koala lived in an eucalyptus tree Incorrect Soft Consonants Another issue that many find confusing is whether to use â€Å"an† before words starting with â€Å"h.† This is, in fact, much simpler to resolve in American English than in other English speaking countries, where words like â€Å"historical† and â€Å"heroic† are sometimes pronounced with a silent â€Å"h.† In Britain, for example, you might meet people who write â€Å"an hotel† rather than â€Å"a hotel.† But in the US this is very rare. If in doubt, the key again lies in the pronunciation. Do you pronounce the â€Å"h† at the start of the word? If so use â€Å"a†; if not use â€Å"an.† For example: There was a house on a hill Correct There was an house on an hill Incorrect Basil is an herb commonly used in Italian cuisine Correct Basil is a herb commonly used in Italian cuisine Incorrect In summary, if you’re ever confused about whether to use â€Å"a† or â€Å"an† in your writing, try reading it out loud; if it starts with a consonant sound, use â€Å"a,† while words which start with a vowel sound need â€Å"an.† And if ever you see a horned horse flying a rotary aircraft, remember that it’s â€Å"a unicorn piloting a helicopter† and not â€Å"an unicorn piloting an helicopter.† You’ll find more helpful grammar tips on our academic blog, while if you’d like to have your work checked by one of our expert proofreaders here at Proofed we offer a variety of services to meet your specific requirements.