TALK FOUR HYPNOSIS SELF-HYPNOSIS AND CHANGE

In the last post on fears and phobias we experimented with using self-hypnosis to create change. Let’s look at this phenomenon in more depth.

Just as dreams can be a passage-way into the vaults of our unconscious, hypnosis can be a tool that also allows us access into this hidden realm.

We can think of the unconscious part of our mind as a kind of underground repository of old sensory experiences and actual and perceived memories that are outside of our normal daily awareness. Entering this territory seems to allow us to improve both physical and mental skills and change outdated beliefs. Without the inhibitions and negative thinking of our ‘conscious’ selves we seem able to tap into a powerful source of under-utilized abilities and talent.

Hypnosis allows us to heighten awareness and intensify focus without the visual, auditory and judgmental distractions of our surroundings.

Artists, athletes, writers, musicians and even scientists have instinctively known the usefulness of this altered state. (Albert Einstein is a case in point. When asked how he came to some of his beliefs about the Universe, he claimed that he often just allowed his mind to wander as he stared out the window. Einstein was probably describing the creative surge that can be triggered by a self-induced hypnotic trance state.)

You have most likely been in this mesmerized condition. For instance, staring into space, losing track of real time, and tuning out what’s going on around you can all be the characteristics of a trance state. In all probability, it’s a state of mind we enter when we need ‘time out’. If we want to stretch the definition of trance state we might also include hours spent in front of the television, listening to music, and reading a book. If you are immersed in another time and place when your body is in the present, you are in a trance state!
Think about when you enter into trance states. How aware are you of this?

The exact characteristics of a trance state and the process that enables us to enter it might be somewhat different for different people. It does seem however, that most of us enter this altered reality more often than we think.

Some of the things that trigger or induce trance states are:
Repetitive sounds
Echoing sounds
Humming sounds
Flashing light
Flickering light
Eye focus on one spot
Deep relaxed breathing
Rocking repetitive motion
Think of all the times that you unconsciously slipped into a trance with one of these triggers.

Without being aware of it from early childhood until the present moment, we are walking around in a hypnotic state. Think about the last time someone said, “Gee, you don’t look so good. Are you feeling okay?” Even if you were feeling great before they said this, chances are that you experienced a drop in energy and a vague sense of malaise. Opps! You just got caught in an unintended hypnotic suggestion.

In early childhood we are particularly open to these ‘suggestions’. As we grow older, these earlier ingested beliefs become fertile grounds for newer ‘postings’ of the same messages. Without intention, parents, teachers and others are planting ‘post hypnotic suggestions’ (thoughts that stick with us after the ‘trance’ is over) in the minds of their impressionable charges.
Think of all the messages you received as you were growing up that were negative. How many of these do you think continue to influence you today?

Once you realize how often you are walking around in a trance, it isn’t too big a leap to take conscious control of this process. By piggy backing on times you naturally “trance-out”, you can use hypnosis to:
Explore memories
Change negative beliefs
Change negative habits
Induce relaxation
Eliminate phobias

Here are two simple experiments to try: Plan to induce a trance state using one of the ways you naturally find yourself floating off. Make sure you do this in a safe environment. Increase the depth of your trance by breathing deeply and feeling your muscles relax.
Experiment # 1:
Once you are in this trance state, think about some belief that you want to change. Maybe you hate exercise? So, in your trance state tell yourself that you LOVE exercise. See yourself in the gym smiling and feeling great. Hear cheers as everyone around tells you how great you are to be exercising. Imagine how wonderful your body feels and how great it looks. Keep breathing deeply, take in all the good feelings and tell yourself that when you come back into this present moment you will remember and retain all the good sensations, and feel the desire to exercise.

Experiment #2:
Once again, induce your trance state.
Now imagine that you can float backwards in time. You slide down a time line into the past to an age you’d like to explore. Let yourself be aware of what you see and feel. Where are you? Who is around you? What do you experience? What do you hear? Tell yourself that you are going to bring back memories that make you feel good.
What happened when you tried this experiment?

You can now take this a next step by thinking of one of the negative messages you got as a child. Remember who gave you that belief. Using the same process as you did above, imagine that person saying something that makes you feel good about yourself instead. Assure yourself that you will come back into the present with the new message instead of the old one.
What do you feel when you try this?


Becoming conscious of the extent to which we are susceptible to being ‘hypnotized’ allows us to take back the power – become our own hypnotist and use this power to change old negative suggestions and add our own new positive beliefs.

Hypnosis is both a tool and a state of being that we can use more deliberately in our own lives for change and well being – and perhaps even more consciously in our interaction with others.