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Survival of Bodily Death
An Esalen Invitational Conference
May 4 to 9, 2003
Hypnotic Suggestion for Surgery Patients
Ken Robins
Esalen staff member Ken Robins presented next. He joined the conference for Monday afternoon only so that he could give a short introduction to a hypnotic surgery technique that he has developed in which positive pre-recorded messages are listened to using earphones while a patient in under general anesthesia. While describing this technique, Robins said that several doctors and nurses have provided testimonials affirming the ability of these pre-recorded messages to facilitate not only the surgery itself but the post-operative recovery as well. As part of his business practice Robins works with clients several weeks before a scheduled surgery in order to tailor an audio tape cassette with specific positive messages spoken by the patient’s own voice. Robins hypothesizes that what happens when a patient is under anesthesia is that the unconscious super-ego is temporarily disabled. This opens up a great opportunity to send positive messages to the deep unconscious mind. Robins mentioned a few of the dramatic results that have come from his procedure, including a time when Robins himself was able to nearly stop his own bleeding during a surgery he underwent several years ago. Overall, Robins’s work in the field of hypnotic suggestion is a robust example of how "mind," in the form of well-intentioned thoughts pre-recorded on a tape cassette, can influence physical well-being and functioning. Robins’s work, as well as that of many others doing similar research, suggests that the mind does function autonomously from the human body and that there is a much more pronounced ability than often considered possible by mainstream cognitive researchers for it to causally effect and influence the brain and body.
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