BURNED AT THE STAKE IN INDIANA?

by
David P. Armentrout, PhD, CHT

Copyright 2000

 

BURNED AT THE STAKE IN INDIANA?

Various hypnotherapy groups fostered a movement to license or
certify hypnotists during the 1990's. Most states felt that,
because there is no recorded damage due to hypnosis, the public
needs no protection from hypnotists. However, the Indiana Health
Professions Bureau established an Indiana Hypnosis Committee.
This worthy group has defined hypnosis is an broad manner,
including just about everybody who makes any type of suggestion
to anybody else.

 

 

The Indiana Professions and Occupations Code, excludes licensed
and certified health care professionals, law enforcement
officers in line of duty, Lamaze coaches, and stage hypnotists.
All others who practice hypnosis are included. According to
Indiana law, hypnosis is "a temporary conditioned of altered or
intensified attention induced in an individual by a person who
professes to be a hypnotist ... characterized by a variety of

phenomena which appear spontaneously or in response to verbal
or other stimuli, including ... (1) Alterations in consciousness
or memory. (2) Increased suggestibility. (3) The production of
responses and ideas unfamiliar to the ... individual's usual
state of mind. The term includes neurolinguistic programming,
transformational imagery, guided imagery, and visualization."
The term hypnotist means "an individual who practices hypnotism
or trains an individual in self-hypnosis." In essence, any
technique which manipulates visualizations or alters
consciousness or suggestibility defines one as a hypnotist,
subject to licensing under Indiana laws. The definition is
over-generalized and circular, but will certainly include most
past life techniques. Meditation involves imagery and alters
consciousness, so it too could be included under this law as a
form of "self hypnosis". Yoga gurus beware.

 

 

Of more interest to past life workers is the newest addition to
the code. "A hypnotist may not use, advocate, teach or condone
the following practices while engaged in the practice of
hypnotism ... (1) Satanism. (2) Satanic rituals. (3)
Spiritualism. (4) Spirit or demon depossession." Spiritualism
may be difficult to define, but may include any activities which
imply the existence of spirits, as found in past life
regression. The law against "spirit or demon deposession",
prohibits therapy for a person bothered by eg. Aunt Gussie's
ghost, an entity seeking to "help out", as well as for Aunt
Gussie, whose ghost is trapped in the material world when it
would be better served by continuing into the Light. In sum,
Indiana residents without a hypnosis license may not work with
altered states of consciousness, and even with a license, they
may not do past life regression or therapy.

 

Potentially, more of us will be affected than simply those who
practice past life regression. For example, what of authors,
such as Police Captain Robert Snow, who works with past life
phenomena obtained through hypnosis? Dare he tell us to
visualize what he describes. Fortunately, because Capt Snow is
Commander of the Indianapolis Homicide Dept his work may qualify
as "line of duty", since both his research and his job deal with
the same topic: past lives.

 

 

For those worried about hypnosis or casting out demons etc, The
San Jose branch of the Crown of Life Fellowship offers
ministerial ordination. This will provide protection of pastoral
counseling from the Indiana Inquisitor under the Constitution's

guarantee of freedom of religious practices. Traditional
religious methods include "guided meditation", exorcism, and
related activities for spiritual well being. For more info fax
the author at 408-871-0999 or send email to info@changework.com.

For more information, send e-mail to info@changework.com

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