This is 1 of the 10 topics from Richard van der Linde's – Bukuru founder – research into superhuman skills.The main source to be credited is www.dmtquest.com. At the bottom of the page is a link to the other topics.

Summary: Several academic journals have published experiments and studies of cases where intended bodily growth takes place after a series of hypnotherapy sessions or a prolonged period of daily self-hypnosis. Apparently, women who'd like their breasts to be one size larger can achieve this without implants, bone fractures healing can be accelerated and there's even a case recorded where the growth spurt of a 20-year old man was triggered through hypnotic suggestion. The mechanism by which hypnosis possibly leads to growth, is that it leads to increased melatonin levels. This could translate into increased Human Growth Hormone levels and through visualization we can alter the direction of the flow of our bio-electric current for the specific body parts we like to grow. Similar changes in current flow directions have been recorded with salamanders and rats who's bodies are regenerating limbs.

Hypnosis and bodily growth

In 1960, famed hypnotherapist Milton Erickson would publish an interesting case study in the American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis. He claimed that two of his female patients had experienced breast growth as a result of suggestions for breast growth sensations during hypnosis sessions.

In 1969, the first known study was conducted to test this hypothesized mechanism. The setup comprised eight adult women who received two to four months of hypnotherapy. The result: seven out of the eight participants recorded an increase in breast size of at least 1 inch up to even 2.5 inches. At a later date, the experiment was repeated, but with group hypnosis sessions. Again, 10 out of 12 participants saw their breasts grow by up to 2 inches over the course of four months.

In later research similar results were recorded. In a study with 19 women, chest measurements were also taken on the outbreath, to see if the effect might be due to enlargement of the rib cage or upper torso. It was found that this was not the case, as there was even an overall decrease in chest measurements. This experiment was replicated a few years later by other researchers, also to verify whether the increase in breast size would remain after the treatment. They found that 81% of the gains were retained three months after the treatment had finished. The researchers concluded, “Whatever the psychobiologic changes which are involved in the mechanisms associated with breast growth, it appears a reality that hypnotic suggestions can influence them to a significant degree.”

In 1977, in the American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, a study was published by psychologist Dr. Richard D. Willard regarding the potential for hypnosis to induce breast growth in women. Here are the details from the study outlined in the book Bodypower:

22 female volunteers, ranging in age from 19 to 54, were asked to use self-hypnosis and visual imagery in an attempt to enlarge their breasts. At the start of the study, which was eventually described in full in the American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, five individual breast measurements were taken for each woman – circumference, height, width and other measurements were recorded by a doctor who was not involved in the experiments. The volunteers then attended Dr Willard’s clinic once a week for six weeks and once every two weeks for an additional six weeks.

At the first session the women were taught how to relax their muscles. Subsequently, they were asked to do this and then to imagine that they had a wet, warm towel draped over their breasts. They were asked to imagine that the towel was making their breasts feel warm, or – if they found this difficult – to imagine that a heat lamp was shining directly onto their breasts.

Once the women were satisfied that their breasts were getting warmer, they were asked to develop an awareness of a pulsation within their breast tissue. It was suggested to them that they should become conscious of their heartbeats and feel each new beat pushing blood into their breasts. They were told to practise this exercise every day at home.

At the end of the 12-week experiment, 28 per cent of the women had achieved the growth in breast size that they wanted, 85 per cent had confirmed that a significant increase in their breast size had been achieved and 46 per cent had reported that they had had to buy bigger bras. The average increase in breast circumference was 1.37 inches; in breast height, 0.67 inches; and in breast width, 1.01 inches. Most women reported that by the end of the experiment they could feel warm blood flowing into their breasts simply by thinking about their breasts.

There were other advantages, too! Those women who had – at the start of the experiment – complained of having breasts of unequal size, reported that their breasts had become equal in size. All the women reported that their breasts were now firmer. And some 63 per cent of the women, who had complained of having pendulous breasts when the experiment had started, reported that the fullness and the contours of their breasts had returned. Incidentally, to make sure that the extra breast size hadn’t just been achieved by an increase in weight, the women were also weighed at the start of the experiment. At the end of the 12-week period 42 per cent of the women had actually had a weight loss of greater than 4 pounds, but had all nevertheless noticed an improvement in their breast size.

When he studied the changes, Dr Willard found that there was no correlation between the increase in size and the size of the breasts at the start of the experiment. He did, however, find that there was a correlation between the ease with which the women were able to visualize blood flowing into their breasts and the increase in size which they obtained. The only two women who subjectively felt that their breasts had not increased in size (but who did, in fact, have a measurable increase in bosom dimensions) had both had difficulty in feeling the effect of the warmth on their breasts.

Besides the physical effects, the protocols also established a psychological effect. “Erickson recognized the importance of healthy body imagery. He used hypnosis to help at least two young women allow their breasts to grow in response to their own hormones. They had previously inhibited such interaction, considering themselves unfeminine and unattractive” (Erickson and Rossi, 1980b, p. 183–5).

Could it really be that weekly hourlong sessions of hypnotherapy over 12 weeks produce the same effect for which people undergo surgical procedures with generally less natural-looking results? If we take a look at the scientific research on the effects of hypnotic suggestion on our physical state, it might seem to require not such a big leap of faith.

Examples of improved recovery

A 2016 study published in the International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis examined the effectiveness of hypnosis in the treatment of acute procedural pain, based on randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The researchers include in the abstract, “Results from the 29 RCTs meeting inclusion criteria suggest that hypnosis decreases pain compared to standard care and attention control groups and that it is at least as effective as comparable adjunct psychological or behavioral therapies. In addition, applying hypnosis in multiple sessions prior to the day of the procedure produced the highest percentage of significant results. Hypnosis was most effective in minor surgical procedures.” They found that patients who received hypnotherapy before and after surgery had significantly faster healing times and less scarring than patients who did not receive hypnotherapy. It suggests that hypnosis can promote cellular growth and repair.

Another fascinating example comes from a study titled “Using hypnosis to accelerate the healing of bone fractures”, which was published in 1999 in the journal Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine. Here are the study details:

Patients: Twelve healthy adult subjects with the study fracture were recruited from an orthopedic emergency department and randomized to either a treatment (n = 6) or a control group (n = 6). One subject, randomized to the treatment group, withdrew prior to the intervention.

Intervention: All 11 subjects received standard orthopedic care including serial radiographs and clinical assessments through 12 weeks following injury. The treatment group received a hypnotic intervention (individual sessions, audiotapes) designed to augment fracture healing.

Main outcome measures: Radiological and orthopedic assessments of fracture healing 12 weeks following injury and hypnotic subjects' final questionnaires and test scores on the Hypnotic Induction Scale.

Results: Results showed trends toward faster healing for the hypnosis group through week 9 following injury. Objective radiographic outcome data revealed a notable difference in fracture edge healing at 6 weeks. Orthopedic assessments showing trends toward better healing for hypnosis subjects through week 9 included improved ankle mobility; greater functional ability to descend stairs; lower use of analgesics in weeks 1, 3, and 9; and trends toward lower self-reported pain through 6 weeks.

Conclusion: Despite a small sample size and limited statistical power, these data suggest that hypnosis may be capable of enhancing both anatomical and functional fracture healing, and that further investigation of hypnosis to accelerate healing is warranted.

Probably one of the most improbable sounding cases is found in the book Ericksonian Approaches: A Comprehensive Manual: “In 1960, he told me about a 20-year-old man who grew 12 inches in height in the span of one year. In hypnosis, at the start of therapy, this stunted young man looked out on his world as though unwilling to grow, a modern-day Peter Pan. For example, he described a room as though he were standing beneath a table. Similarly, a cow on his farm was visualized as though it were ten feet tall; his eyes were on a level with cow’s udder. Growth began to take place when Erickson encouraged the man to hallucinate his world as though he were standing part way up a staircase.”.

At the biological level, how would it even be possible to explain a 20-year-old man's growth by 12 inches in one year?

Possible mechanisms for growth by suggestion

HGH (Human Growth Hormone) is a natural hormone secreted by the pituitary gland. Throughout our lifetime, the production of this hormone speeds up during puberty which leads to our growth spurts. Once we reach our general adult age (18-20), the production levels decrease drastically. Generally speaking, our genetic code appears to read the internal hormonal environment that correlates with the ability to reproduce, and once certain parameters are met, the purpose of growth is complete.

However, the administration of exogenous HGH appears to be able to physically alter a person’s ability to grow well past their perceived natural age limit. As shown by certain scientific studies (British Medical Journal, 2002; Journal of Endocrinology Metabolism, 2004; International Journal of Pediatric Endocrinology, 2014), growth stimulation is entirely possible through externally supplying the human growth hormone (HGH). To quote from the conclusion of one such study, “Long-term administration of growth hormone to children with idiopathic short stature can increase adult height to a level above the predicted adult height and above the adult height of untreated historical control children” (N Engl J Med 1999;340:502-7).

Somatostatin is a growth hormone–inhibiting hormone (GHIH). It is produced in the hypothalamus region of the brain, small intestines, stomach, & pancreas. This hormone suppresses the release of HGH (human growth hormone) amongst numerous other hormones. In 1993, a study was published in the journal Clinical Endocrinology outlining the effects of Melatonin and it’s effect on the stimulation of Human Growth Hormone secretion. The study found: “it is likely that melatonin plays this facilitatory role at the hypothalamic level by inhibiting endogenous somatostatin release.” In 2004, a study in the journal Pineal Research showcased the effects of externally administered melatonin on somatostatin-binding sites. The study found: “The present results demonstrate that melatonin decreases the activity of the SRIF (somatotropin release-inhibiting factor) receptor-effector system in the rat hippocampus, an effect which is apparently not mediated by melatonin receptors”.

If we now consider that hypnosis is considered to slow down brain wave frequencies, which correlates with increased melatonin production, we see the following relation emerge:

Hypnosis => melatonin up => Somatostatin down => HGH up => more growth

But this doesn’t explain why the suggestion during hypnosis sessions direct the incited growth potential towards the desired body part. In one study, hypnosis by itself had no effect on breast growth. It was only hypnosis with suggestion for breast growth that actually stimulated the positive effect. This might be a result of an interplay of attention (the focal direction of our mind) and bio-electricity.

Bio-electricity

In 2011, Tufts University published an extremely interesting finding on their website. It outlines the fact that bioelectrical signaling imprints were observed prior to the formation of a physical structure. They state that “Developmental biologists are used to thinking of sequences in which a gene produces a protein product that in turn ultimately leads to development of an eye or a mouth. But our work suggests that something else – a bioelectrical signal – is required before that can happen”.

In Dr. Robert Becker's book The Body Electric, he outlines an experiment in which he simulates the bio-electrical current that salamanders utilize to regrow their severed limbs. By directing currents through body parts either in one direction or another, Becker and his team found that they could either promote or impede the regenerative capacity of salamanders. In other words, the polarization – which body parts are the positive and which the negative poles of the salamander’s body – determines whether it is in a regenerative state or not. And when in the regenerative state, the salamander's state of consciousness too appeared to differ from that when in the non-regenerative state.

Becker would then also investigate this within rats, which are often used for scientific experiments for their genetic, anatomical, and physiological similarities to humans. Traditionally speaking, a fully mature rat isn’t capable of regenerating an arm that has been clearly severed past the elbow. However regeneration is exactly what was observed in his experiments in the 1970s and has been replicated recently in a study published in 2015 in the journal Scientific Reports.

From The Body Electric: “[We] decided to find out how the brain’s DC (direct current) potentials behaved in humans. … We immediately found that the back-to-front current varied with changes in consciousness just as in the salamanders. It was strongest during heightened physical or mental activity, it declined during rest, and it reversed direction in both normal sleep and anesthesia.”

Becker found that waking states generated negative frontal potentials while sleeping states generated positive frontal potentials. This means the direction of the current flow in the brain is measurably different according to the changes in perceptual states. Becker would find that this change in the DC directional flow in the brain would also coincide with changes in the DC directional flow throughout the body.

Besides sleep and anesthesia, practices that slow down the brain wave frequency can also shift the polarity of the frontal lobes of the brain, with the currents within the body also changing polarity. John Chavez from DMT Quest proposes that once a slow brain wave state is achieved, for example through meditation, the visualization of the growth of a certain body – which is known to produce bursts of gamma waves – creates the neural pathways that induce the polarity shift we see in salamanders and rats, which leads to that certain body part being most affected by the incited HGH release.

To summarize, how the increased HGH would function in the desired area, for example, in increasing the size of breasts, can be equated as follows:

Meditation => slower brain waves focus => DC shift

+

Visualization of desired effect => gamma bursts => neural pathway change => signaling to the body parts

From DMTQuest.com: "It’s been noted that children as young as 11 have been able to regenerate the tips of their severed fingers. This was observed in cases documented by the Journal of Hand Surgery in 1993 & 1995. This ability is also acknowledged in the journal Regenerative Medicine in 2014. Perhaps it’s important to note the predominant EEG state of children and their ability to regenerate vs. the average adult. If an adult could be brought into the right state and helped to direct their attention on the desired outcome, it might just be a matter of hormone production and bio-electricity enhancing an already natural ability of the human body and mind.

Besides the desired effect of breast augmentation from the hypnotherapy sessions, it is also noteworthy that some agreeable by-products have been recorded. According to one study, 42% of the women experienced spontaneous weight loss greater than 4 pounds and still had an enlargement of their breasts. An interesting add-on was that 78% of the subjects reported other positive changes in their lives such as improved golf games, better bowling scores, etc."

Conclusion

It remains a matter of speculation what the limits are of humans to grow or change their body through the mind. In order to make up your own mind, it might help to read some of the other articles.