As is usual when I write an article, I start by opening my browser and typing in some keywords. Google then displays a list of links and I dwell among these, reading a number of articles to help me gain a deeper understanding of the topic I am exploring. As I wanted to write about the differences between hypnosis and meditation, I did the same thing this morning, but I was stopped right in my tracks by the very first link I opened.

It was on a website called Psychology & Neuroscience Stack Exchange, which is a question and answer site for practitioners, researchers, and students in cognitive science, psychology, neuroscience, and psychiatry. On this particular thread, one of the comments answered this question as follows:

I believe this question is impossible to “answer” because the inherent premises in the question are based on the assumption that there are two discrete dichotomous phenomena, “hypnotism,” and “meditation,” which can somehow be meaningfully “defined,” and, then, “compared.”

Both “hypnosis” and “meditation” are figuratively vast conceptual collages of imprecise multiple-meanings, observations of what appear to be “special” states of human awareness, and consciousness, admixtures (sic) from what in “western science” is termed “psychology” with an equally vast mix of practices, lumped-together as “spiritual,” from the world’s religions, etc.

I mean: “Whoah dude! That’s too deep for this early in the morning! I haven’t even had my coffee yet!”

The thread goes on to concisely explain different Buddhist traditions and how even they have different viewpoints about meditation. It touches on hypnosis and gives direction by providing some suggested reading on the topic.

I scrolled down and found another answer to the original question posed on the page. It read: “Both the terms hypnosis and meditation are nebulous terms and are incomparable.” It goes on to explain that they are similar in that “both have a single point of focus to the exclusion of all other stimuli. […] The biggest difference I can see between self-hypnosis and meditation is that meditation is viewed as a fixed teaching coming from ancient practices whereas hypnosis is a growing body of knowledge.”

So okay, this was a bit more palatable and closer to what I have read on other websites. My coffee was getting cold as I continued to scroll down…

A third comment was more in line with how I used to explain it to my clients, and I’m copying it exactly as it appears on the site (sic):

Main difference is that the meditation is self-induced and with full self-awareness, whereas hypnosis is usually induced by another person (unless is self-hypnosis which is self-induced) and the person is in state of trance, amnesia or unconscious.

Hypnosis is defined by the U.S government as “the bypass of the critical factor of the conscious mind and the establishment of acceptable selective thinking”. Hypnosis can help you in various ways and is a calm state of altered-consciousness that allows a person to recall memories or be guided to change a behaviour (in example to help someone stop smoking).

While meditation is a practice in which an individual trains the mind or induces a mode of consciousness. An ordinary person may be consider meditation as a prayer or total stillness, but the goal of meditation is to focus and quiet your mind, eventually reaching a higher level of awareness and inner calm.

I pondered these answers and went on to read a few more articles on the topic. By this time my coffee had become ice cold, so I made a fresh cup and pondered how I would approach writing this article. How to explain the differences in a simple yet not completely idiotic way? How to touch on the unexplainable of both and at the same time highlight some similarities?

Then I remembered that I had an excellent book on my bookshelf, Unveiling Your Sacred Truth Through The Kalachakra Path written by Khentrul Rinpoche. It’s the first in a three-part series that deals with many aspects of Buddhism. It uses a different model of the mind than the one I usually use to explain hypnosis to my clients and it has a really insightful chapter about meditation.

According to his teaching, from a Buddhist viewpoint of course, meditation “is best described as the technological foundation for its science of the mind” (his italics, not mine). He compares it to an electron microscope with which one can “look deep within [your] own experience and […] gather valuable insights into the nature of [your] reality”. Apparently the Tibetan word for meditation is gom, which both means “familiarity” and the process of “becoming familiar”. In other words, it is a way to understand yourself by working through your mind.

He goes on to explain that there are two different categories of meditation:

• Placement meditation (shamatha) consists of a collection of techniques that are used to develop a focused and flexible mind which is known as single-pointed concentration. Shamatha means “calm abiding” and through practising this form of meditation more subtle levels of the mind are revealed.
• Insight meditation (vipashayana) is any meditation technique with which one can develop insight into the nature of any given phenomenon. Whereas placement meditation is the microscope, insight meditation is the experiments that one conducts using that microscope. In other words, by using insight meditation one can analyse the characteristics of a phenomenon by directly observing that phenomenon.

As to the structure of a meditation practice, Khentrul Rinpoche explains that it has four steps:

• Create calmness of body, speech and mind;
• Become aware of the object;
• Inspect for distractions;
• Adjust with antidotes;
• Then return the mind gently to the object of meditation.

One of the simplest meditation techniques that I usually teach first is a breath meditation. One gets into a comfortable seated position and you start to relax with a few deep breaths. Then you start to concentrate on the breath, perhaps putting the attention on the nostril openings and becoming aware of the sensation of the air moving in and out of the nose. Then, inevitably, the mind starts to wander, and before you know it, you are thinking about what you’re going to make for dinner of whether you locked the door when you left the house, or some other thought like that. Wherever the mind goes, at some point you will become aware that you have lost your concentration. Then you correct it by bringing your attention back to the breath. And repeat.

Needless to say, it takes a lifetime to master a technique like this, if at all. And that indeed is the beauty of it. Inevitably one goes through various stages of meditation and as one gains experience and starts to train the mind, your meditation practice will deepen and bring many benefits. These benefits may include increased awareness, creating a space for choice, while your health improves and enlightenment becomes possible.

Buddhists usually talk about the mind being like a mad monkey and meditation being a method to tame that monkey. I suppose most Westerners are controlled by their undisciplined minds and learning how to meditate can be a way to calm the mind, to think more clearly and to be able to control your thoughts so as to improve your life.

Enough books to fill a library have been written about meditation, mindfulness and all the associated topics. I’m sure if you are curious about it you will find the right books to guide you along this path.

So how does that differ from hypnosis, and more specifically, hypnotherapy?

Well, first of all, you need to understand that all hypnosis is self-hypnosis (this time the italics are mine). In other words, it is something that you have to do yourself. Nobody can do it for you or even force you to do it. In that way I suppose self-hypnosis done on your own is not so far removed from meditation. It can be learned and used very much in the same way meditation is used. (Side note: Perhaps the Buddhists were the first self-hypnotists?)

However, the techniques used to enter self-hypnosis are a bit different than that used for meditation. It is relatively easy to learn a technique to put yourself in a trance-state and any hypnotist worth their salt can probably teach it to you in less than fifteen minutes. But whereas meditation is a way to train the mind and inspect phenomena, self-hypnosis is a way to make changes to your thinking patterns so as to improve your life, whether by using affirmations, autosuggestion, emotions or imagery.

Most usually, hypnosis involves the participation of a second person, the hypnotist. I suppose if we were all taught how to use self-hypnosis as part of Life Sciences at school, hypnotherapy would largely become redundant. But alas, this not being the case, we have to rely on an expert to help us both enter the hypnotic state and affect the changes we desire in our lives, whether to resolve past trauma, change habits or make other positive changes that we desire.

The American Psychological Association describes hypnosis as a cooperative interaction in which the participant responds to the suggestions of the hypnotist. In other words, the participant enters a trance-like state by reacting to the suggestions that are made by the hypnotist. Normally it would start with: “Close your eyes and breathe deeply and evenly”. Building onto what is called the spiral of belief, a good hypnotist will initiate a yes-set where the subject will agree with one suggestion making it easier to agree with the next suggestion and so on.

Starting with the easiest suggestions first (close your eyes) the hypnotist will gradually take the subject ever downward using the spiral of belief, so that eventually they can suggest things like “you will never smoke again” and the mind will just accept and believe that suggestion without judgement, saying yes to it as it has been saying yes to every suggestion preceding it. This will result in a major change in the near future (like a smoker never smoking a cigarette again.)

Okay, I’m on my third cup of coffee by now and realise I might be oversimplifying both these possibly unexplainable phenomena, but you will forgive me for that, because I have to get to the point. So, while there are most certainly some similarities between meditation and hypnosis, there is also a vast difference between the two.

I can only use my own personal experience of both as an attempt to clarify what the differences are. For me meditation is a personal process of becoming still and sitting with myself. It is a way of disciplining my mind, while at the same time resting in the awareness that there is a universe inside of me. By just becoming quiet I can sometimes have unexpected insights or revelations. This is most probably because the process of meditation removes some barriers I may have when the Divine/God/the Universe/whatever-IT-is wants to communicate with me.

Self-hypnosis and hypnotherapy, on the other hand, is an active process of using suggestion, whether from myself or another person, during which I may be reminded of the Divine/God/the Universe/whatever-IT-is inside of me and in the process access that power so as to make changes for the better. Whether I want to manage my back pain, improve my memory, reduce my gout symptoms, overcome a failed relationship or whatever other internal problem I may have that needs resolution, I can be guided so as to find the solutions within myself and activate the power of my own mind, in the process even rewiring my brain. This can lead to lasting positive change.

So, in my opinion, while there are many similarities between hypnosis and meditation, the reasons we use these processes and the outcomes may differ substantially. Both are equally valuable, if for different reasons. A regular meditation practice will have many benefits for you, creating self-discipline and revealing the worlds within. Hypnosis and hypnotherapy on the other hand can be used very effectively for solving very specific problems and should be used when necessary.

I trust that I have been able to shine a little light on the subject and that I have helped you to understand it a little better. I’m on my fifth cup of coffee by now and starting to feel just a little bit jittery. Perhaps I should go sit quietly for a few minutes and concentrate on my breathing so as to calm down, before making an appointment with my hypnotherapist to help me overcome my very obvious coffee addiction!

I help clients overcome their problems using hypnosis and also teach basic meditation practices. Have a look at my website for more info.