Did you know what every day we only use about 12% of our mind? This is the part you use to make decisions everyday, logic, reasoning and will power. This part is called our Conscious mind and we don't develop it until we become older.
But what about all of those things we learned in our childhood, the other 88%? This is called our Subconscious mind. It is the part where we store information that we know to be true. For example, we like ice cream, but we don't like broccoli or we like when someone smiles, but we don't like when someone yells at us.
Part of our conscious mind is an area called the Critical Mind. This area is in between our Conscious mind and our Subconscious mind. It acts like a buffer between the two and makes it difficult to change our thoughts and behaviors that are stored in our Subconscious mind. For example, if you have the thought "I want to stop smoking" that thought goes through your Conscious mind and all the way to your Critical mind. Your Critical mind is like a security guard and checks that thought and says no you cannot go through because that behavior has been used to help you in some way. Smoking for some people can be used to alleviate stress. This blockage causes you to continue the same behavior patterns.
How can hypnosis change your mind and behaviors? Hypnosis allows you to be in a state of total and complete relaxation. Because your critical mind is at peace, it is not playing security guard, and allows new associations to access and form in your subconscious mind. In hypnotherapy we use positive suggestions input in your subconscious mind to help create behavior changes you desire.