Dr. David Spiegel

Our major evolutionary advantage as humans is our brain, this three-pound object on the top of our shoulders. It doesn't come with a user's manual. There are a lot of things our brains can do, and that's what you do, teaching people mindfulness, that you can use your brain in ways you hadn't thought of.

Our major evolutionary advantage as humans is our brain, this three-pound object on the top of our shoulders. It doesn't come with a user's manual. There are a lot of things our brains can do, and that's what you do, teaching people mindfulness, that you can use your brain in ways you hadn't thought of.

And if they didn't have the basic ability to do it, it wouldn't work. And the same is true. That's what I'm doing with hypnosis. I'm not projecting anything onto someone. I'm teaching them how to use what they already know. When automobiles were invented some hundred and something years ago, there were a bunch of state laws against windshield wipers. Why?

And if they didn't have the basic ability to do it, it wouldn't work. And the same is true. That's what I'm doing with hypnosis. I'm not projecting anything onto someone. I'm teaching them how to use what they already know. When automobiles were invented some hundred and something years ago, there were a bunch of state laws against windshield wipers. Why?

Because remember the oldest image of somebody inducing hypnosis was the dangling watch, you know, and it doesn't work very well with electronic watches now. But they thought people would be waving their eyes back and forth with the windshield wipers and going into hypnotic states when they were driving. It doesn't happen. But so it's an ability that people have and we just teach them how to use it.

Because remember the oldest image of somebody inducing hypnosis was the dangling watch, you know, and it doesn't work very well with electronic watches now. But they thought people would be waving their eyes back and forth with the windshield wipers and going into hypnotic states when they were driving. It doesn't happen. But so it's an ability that people have and we just teach them how to use it.

Well, that's a fairly controversial area. Hypnosis, it can be a powerful thing. It can help people relive events and with not just remember, but relive them with the same kind of emotion, sort of like a flashback in PTSD, but under control. And then help people come to a new understanding of what happened.

Well, that's a fairly controversial area. Hypnosis, it can be a powerful thing. It can help people relive events and with not just remember, but relive them with the same kind of emotion, sort of like a flashback in PTSD, but under control. And then help people come to a new understanding of what happened.

Now, does it mean that the hypnotic, what we call age regression, is an absolute, totally accurate recollection of what happened? No, but then none of our recollections are. You know, they're a combination of what we experienced and put down in memory stores and what we interpret and what we've learned later.

Now, does it mean that the hypnotic, what we call age regression, is an absolute, totally accurate recollection of what happened? No, but then none of our recollections are. You know, they're a combination of what we experienced and put down in memory stores and what we interpret and what we've learned later.

But it can help people in a controlled way to get back to relive and remember things that they previously might not have been able to remember, in part because the emotions are so painful and difficult that one way to protect yourself is to just keep it dissociated, just put it away somewhere and not think about it. And hypnosis can be a way of cutting through that and helping people understand

But it can help people in a controlled way to get back to relive and remember things that they previously might not have been able to remember, in part because the emotions are so painful and difficult that one way to protect yourself is to just keep it dissociated, just put it away somewhere and not think about it. And hypnosis can be a way of cutting through that and helping people understand

come to terms with situations that they previously hadn't thought about or didn't want to think about. So what I tell my patients and what is the case is that hypnosis is no true serum. It's not like your memory is a tape recorder and you just rewind the tape and look at it. But it can be a way of

come to terms with situations that they previously hadn't thought about or didn't want to think about. So what I tell my patients and what is the case is that hypnosis is no true serum. It's not like your memory is a tape recorder and you just rewind the tape and look at it. But it can be a way of

dealing with the emotional implications of things you're remembering and get a better look at what happened. One example, I don't know if you remember this, but not far from here, there's a town called Chowchilla, where a school bus full of children was hijacked by two idiots who literally buried the bus underground in an old mining pit. And they finally found the bus and freed the kids.

dealing with the emotional implications of things you're remembering and get a better look at what happened. One example, I don't know if you remember this, but not far from here, there's a town called Chowchilla, where a school bus full of children was hijacked by two idiots who literally buried the bus underground in an old mining pit. And they finally found the bus and freed the kids.

And the bus driver couldn't remember much about the guys who overtook the bus. So he was hypnotized and he of course was traumatized too. And he had to help keep these kids alive in a terrible circumstance. And he recalled seeing this car overtaking the bus. And he remembered in hypnosis all of the numbers and letters of the license plate correctly.

And the bus driver couldn't remember much about the guys who overtook the bus. So he was hypnotized and he of course was traumatized too. And he had to help keep these kids alive in a terrible circumstance. And he recalled seeing this car overtaking the bus. And he remembered in hypnosis all of the numbers and letters of the license plate correctly.

He got the order wrong, but he remembered it all. And that led to the arrest and conviction of the two guys who did it. There are times when, yes, you can add new information that is accurate. It doesn't mean it's always accurate, but it's additional and often useful information.

He got the order wrong, but he remembered it all. And that led to the arrest and conviction of the two guys who did it. There are times when, yes, you can add new information that is accurate. It doesn't mean it's always accurate, but it's additional and often useful information.