Hypnosis, religious experience, and the predictive brain.

What is it about?

I propose that behaving as though you believe can provoke not belief itself but mystical or other unusual experiences, which can then serve as the basis for belief. I also propose something similar happens in hypnosis: Go through the motions, play along, and you may find that hypnosis becomes real for you. What creates this feeling of realness in both hypnosis and religion, I contend, is the reality-making engine of our brains.

Featured Image

Photo by Rémy Penet on Unsplash

Photo by Rémy Penet on Unsplash

Why is it important?

This article argues that hypnotic and religious practices are techniques for altering the reality-generating function of the brain and that closer attention to mystical and other unusual experiences can help resolve longstanding debates over the nature of hypnosis and religious belief.