The big hypnosis show: Why your life is a repeat of Windows 95 (and how to upgrade)

Today we're going to talk about something that I have a completely different take on than the rest of the world. We're going to talk about hypnosis. And no, not the kind of hypnosis that involves cackling like a chicken across a stage, although that also has its charms, but about the hypnosis that you, I, and the rest of the eight billion people on this planet are in right now.

After all, what really is hypnosis? Let's take a deep look at that question.

The science behind the "magic wand"

Most people view hypnosis as a kind of state in which you’re open to suggestions. That’s true in a sense, but it’s only the surface. If we look deeper, at what’s really happening inside your brain, we see something fascinating. Imagine I hypnotize you. How would you feel? Normal? I hope not. Or maybe you would, because for many people, their “normal” is actually already a deep trance.

The legendary Dave Elman, one of the grand masters of hypnotherapy from the last century, described it brilliantly:

"Hypnosis is the bypassing of the critical mind to end up in the selective mind."

It sounds simple, but the implications are huge. Your critical mind is that little voice that shouts all day long, "That's not possible," "That's nonsense," "That's not me." In hypnosis, we park that critic at the entrance for a while. And then what remains is the selective mind: the place where suggestions are immediately accepted as truth.

All sorts of things happen in your brain. Your prefrontal cortex, your visual center at the back of your head (the visual cortex), the brainstem, the basal ganglia... all terms you can forget again, but remember this: hypnosis changes the way you see the world. Literally. Light hits your eyes, travels to the back of your brain, and that’s where the images are formed. Hypnosis influences those images.

A great example is the "shame area" in the brain. Under hypnosis, activity there is reduced. That's why people on a stage do those crazy things they normally wouldn't have the courage to do. The brake is simply off.

From fairground attractions to 70 hospitals

Let's dispel a persistent misconception for a moment. Hypnosis is not "crazy." It is not of the devil. It is now used in more than 70 hospitals in the Netherlands.

This is particularly true for children with chronic abdominal complaints, such as irritable bowel syndrome, where conventional medication often fails. Hundreds of scientific articles can be found in renowned journals such as The Lancet and Nature.

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The evidence is overwhelming. Hypnosis is effective in reducing stress, pain[1], and anxiety. The mainstream is finally beginning to realize: “Hey, this really does something to the brain.”

Anyway, that's the clinical side. My view of hypnosis goes much further. Namely, I argue that we are all in hypnosis.

Welcome to the show: 8 billion realities

This is the radical truth: there is not one world. There is one big hypnosis show in which we all play our own part.

Look around you. There are eight billion people living on this planet. And believe it or not: there are eight billion different ideas about how that planet is put together. You and I are not the same. Nor will we ever be the same. We can agree on some facts, but our real experience of life? That is not comparable to anyone.

Not even with your little brother or sister who grew up in the same family. Does that sound familiar? Same parents, same house, same meal on the table, and yet you’re completely different people. Or take your old classmates. “We were in the same class with the same teacher, right?” Yes, but you thought she was an angel and your neighbor thought she was a monster. Same teacher, different perception. Different hypnosis.

This whole world is one big hypnosis show. And that realization? That's your biggest opportunity.

You're a banana (and a little more)

Let's look at how you became who you are. You are born with a gene packet. 20,000 genes from your father, 20,000 from your mother. You are 60% genetically the same as a banana. Yes, a banana. Apparently we don't need very much more to build a human being than a fruit fly or a piece of fruit.

But your biggest problems usually aren’t found in your genes. Those problems arise from your interaction with your environment. We call this “nature” (your genes) and “nurture” (your upbringing). Your genes determine how tall you’ll be, but your environment determines how those genes are expressed. If we had placed you in Antarctica, your children would have been genetically adapted to the cold. That’s called genetic nurture.

But the real programming? That happens between the ages of zero and five.

The download stage: 0 to 5 years

In those first five years of your life, you were in a state of deep hypnosis. You were there, you were not "gone," but your dominant brain wave was the Beta wave. This is the wave we associate with deep trance in adults.

At that stage, you don’t have a critical mind. You’re wide open to suggestions. And how did you learn? Not by reading a book. You learned through trance identification. You didn’t just model what you saw; you became that person. In the acting world, they call that method acting. Your father, your mother… you copied them exactly.

I saw it in my own little son. He slept exactly like me. He hadn't studied that. He hadn't taken a "Sleep Like Edwin" course. He just did it because he copied me on a deep unconscious level.

That’s an amazing mechanism, because it’s how you learn to talk and walk in the blink of an eye. But—and here comes the “dark” side of the story—you also inherit your parents’ traumas, insecurities, and limiting rules. Unconsciously. Your parents can’t help it—it’s not their fault—but it does happen. Everything gets passed down.

It is not until around age seven that the Beta wave (the critical mind) comes around the corner. That's when you begin to filter suggestions. But by then the basic software is already on your hard drive.

System 1 vs. system 2

Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman talks about System 1 and System 2 thinking[2].

• System 1 is intuitive, lightning fast and unconscious.
• System 2 is rational, slow and takes a lot of energy.

The shocking truth is that we spend almost the entire day in System 1. We do almost everything purely intuitively and automatically. We react based on our subconscious programs. In other words: we are hypnotized by our own conditioning.

Is that helpful? Well, some programs are top notch. That you can talk, read, drive and go to the bathroom decently without thinking about it? Super convenient. But some programs could use an update.

Maybe you have an accent you want to get rid of, or a fear that’s holding you back. Maybe you feel like your life is “crap.” No partner, no money, constant stress. The good news? It’s not your fault. It’s because of your subconscious, automatic programs.

Are you still running on Windows 95?

Look, if you're still walking around with Windows 95 in your head anno 2026, you obviously have a challenge. You're trying to run modern apps (like a happy relationship or a thriving business) on software that's 30 years old and full of bugs from your infancy. It's not going to work. It crashes. It gives error messages.

The big question is: Can you change that programming? Sure.

There are two ways to rewrite your unconscious programs:

1. Practice (repetition): This is a long-term process. Repeat, repeat, repeat. Just like deadlifts at the gym. If you do it often enough, your muscles and nervous system will get stronger. You’ll train yourself to perform the action automatically.
2. Hypnosis: This is the shortcut. With hypnosis, we go back to the state in which you learned those first programs. We go back to the source, to when the programming originated, and we change it there.

It sounds simple, and in essence it is. It's not always easy, but it is effective. You go back to that Beta state, bypass the critical mind, and install the upgrade you need to function decently in 2026.

The fluke of good programming

Some people are lucky. They were born with amazing traits. Perhaps a genetically positive disposition, combined with parents who taught them that the world is a safe place full of opportunities. If that’s the case for you: great! Don’t change a thing. Keep living in that state of hypnosis, because it works for you.

But if you find that you keep running into the same walls, know that you are not stuck. You are not your program. You are the user of the computer, not the software itself.

Getting Started

Gentlemen, the world is a hypnosis show. You can remain a spectator suffering from the special effects, or you can become the director of your own program.

Want to get started with this? I’ve written books on the subject. Break Free, The Last Hypnosis, the Three-Minute Reset … go read those books. Put them into practice. Whether you order them from me or from Bol, I don’t care—as long as you stop accepting those old Windows 95 errors.

It's not insurmountable. The only reason you feel the way you do now is because you are in a hypnosis that is not working for you. Time to wake up in a new trance.

Learn Hypnosis

One way to do this is, for example, by taking a course at the Hypnosis Institute of the Netherlands. Start by attending a free masterclass to get acquainted.

Or register directly for one of our events and trainings.

Have a question about our training? Schedule a 1-on-1 consultation here.

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