In
a recent episode of Downton Abbey, Mrs. Hughes, the
housekeeper at the estate, observed that “Downton Abbey is catching up with the
times we live in” by bringing a Wireless (radio) in to
hear King George V’s speech. Although automobiles existed in England during the
early 20th Century, horse-drawn carriages or wagons were also still
in use and trains were the primary mode of long-distance public transportation.
Telephones were rare, and most of them had multi-party lines, which limited
opportunities to have a private conversation. Typewriters existed but there were
no computers or Smartphones to
send text messages or e-mails. Therefore, the only ways to listen to music or
keep up with events going on around you when they happened meant you had to go
to a club or attend an event at a town hall.
Needless
to say, the butler, Mr. Carson, was not impressed. He was worried about the
different ways the new machine and other modern inventions of convenience would
destroy the order and way of life he has known throughout his life. He worried
that those devices that were being created to make people’s lives easier and
more convenient also threatened his livelihood and even identity by making the
role of a household servant redundant. Mr. Carson didn’t know how to do any
other job other than his roles in a life of service. Where would he and his
colleagues go, what would they do, if the Wireless and similar machines took
hold and squeezed him out of the only life he knew how to live?
According
to Hypnosis Motivation Institute founder
John Kappas, Ph.D.’s Theory of Mind, human behavior is based on the
subconscious mental scripts that we create during early childhood. From birth until
about eight years old, the SCM is accumulating and storing various message
units that will ultimately comprise the subconscious life script. Each message
is ultimately categorized as a positive (pleasure) or negative (pain)
experience. Anything that the subconscious mind does not recognize falls under
the category of “pain.” According to Dr. Kappas, the subconscious mind is
uncomfortable about and resistant to doing new or different things even when
the conscious mind (logic, reason, will-power/free-will and reasoning) says
that it’s okay to do so. The SCM likes and wants to stick to what is familiar,
comforting and safe: i.e., knowns.
To
put this model in the context of the scenario I described above, Mr. Carson
likely perceived the opportunity to listen to the King of England give a speech
as a threat to his concept of normal social order. As a butler to and not a
member of the aristocracy he served, this experience would not ordinarily have
been available to him based on his role in society. In addition, he did not
understand how the Wireless worked (let alone the mechanisms that enabled it to
work), which likely made the idea of this experience that much more frustrating
and anxiety-inducing. Meanwhile, several younger members of his employer’s
family and younger members of the household staff were more excited about and
open to the idea of having a Wireless. Scientific advancement was a “known” for
them; it made their lives more exciting, a little easier and more fun. They
were accustomed to enjoying modern conveniences that Mr. Carson and many of his
peers had only recently, begrudgingly accepted as part of their lives in a
modern era.
Sara R. Fogan, C.Ht. is a certified hypnotherapist based in
Southern California. She graduated with honors from the
Hypnosis Motivation Institute in 2005. For more information about
Calminsense Hypnotherapy® and to set up an appointment, please visit http://www.calminsensehypnotherapy.com/.
© 2015
