This short article will teach you how to use the power of hypnosis for yourself. Read the article all the way through before making a start on the process; you will then have a much clearer idea of the steps you’ll need to take. Self hypnosis is a wonderful tool to achieve change for oneself, although it can take longer to achieve the desired result than when working with a skilled Hypnotherapist. Self hypnosis gives you the freedom to address whatever issues you have in your life. Whether you achieve a true hypnotic state or simply a state where the mind is quieter and more open to suggestion is debatable and will vary from person to person. But in any event the power of auto suggestion will ensure that positively phrased suggestions for change will be accepted by the inner mind.
WHAT DO YOU WANT?
Whilst in the hypnotic state give yourself a positive statement to repeat or picture yourself how you would like to be. These statements need to be simple and positively framed to be effective.
THE USE OF PROGRESSIVE RELAXATION
One of the simplest methods for achieving self hypnosis is to use a progressive relaxation technique. The idea is to bring your focus of attention inward by relaxing each major muscle group in turn. This can be very simple and easy to do, I find it easiest to start with the muscles around the eyes since we relax these completely each and every night and work down towards the toes. Start by finding a comfortable chair to sit in or a bed to lie on. (A chair is preferable to bed or you may be tempted to drift off to sleep!) Turn off or unplug anything that might disturb you and allow yourself 20 minutes or so of time. You might like to follow the basic order of the list below. Relax each group in turn and then move down the list. If you miss something, just go back and relax that individual area then continue as you were.
o Eyes
o Temples
o Forehead
o Upper cheek
o Jaw muscles (let the mouth open just a little at this point)
o The muscles of your neck
o The muscles of your shoulder
o Upper arm
o Lower arm
o Wrist, hands & fingers
o Chest (allow your breathing to slow just a little)
o Tummy muscles (it’s OK, no one is looking)
o Imagine that feeling of relaxation gently pushing down through your waist and hips.
o Tops of your thighs
o Backs of your thighs
o Shins & calf muscles
o Ankles
o Feet
Now with practice, your body will be relaxed and your mind turned inward, ignoring the sounds outside. At this point a Hypnotherapist would introduce something to focus your attention even more, we call it a deepener and a very common one is the marble staircase.
Imagine ahead of you a marble staircase with ten steps leading down to a closed wooden door. As you imagine taking each safe and gentle step down the staircase so you can allow your body to relax more and your mind to focus on what is beyond the door. In your mind’s eye imagine taking those ten steps down towards the door and allow your sense of relaxation to grow even deeper.
SPECIAL PLACE
Your special place is simply somewhere that feels safe and comfortable to you. It might be the memory of a wonderful holiday location by the sea or simply a place that you find relaxing. It’s important to remember that this is your safe place and even if you struggle to picture something in your mind’s eye you can still use whatever seems right to you. For some people this is a picture but for others it will be a feeling, a colour a word or even a sensation in your body. Use whatever feels right for you. Your safe place is beyond the wooden door at the foot of the stairs. In your mind’s eye go through that doorway and use all of your internal senses to experience what you find there. Remember that the only things that are here are things that you want. There will only be the people that you want. This is your haven of peace and tranquillity. Resting here will allow you to restore your energy and boost your sense of wellbeing. With practice you will be in a light, day-dreamy hypnotic state. Now is the time to use whatever simple affirmation you want to achieve. Remember that with self hypnosis simple suggestions will be more effective for you. If the suggestion is too complex your mind will be become too cognitive to remain in the hypnotic state.
HOW DO YOU LEAVE THIS PLACE?
Simple just count to five and on the last count give yourself the suggestion of being alert, aware and filled with energy. Practice makes perfect with self hypnosis and it really is much easier to do than explain on the page!
THE SIMPLE RECAP
- 1. Set aside 20-30 minutes of free time
- 2. Set an alarm clock for 30 minutes ahead, just in case you fall asleep!
- 3. Find somewhere safe to relax
- 4. Use the progressive muscle relaxation
- 5. Imagine your marble staircase of ten steps with the wooden door at the bottom
- 6. Go down those steps relaxing deeper with each step
- 7. Go through the door to your special place…enjoy!
- 8. Give yourself the positive suggestion or visualization that you want
- 9. When ready, count from one to five and re-orientate yourself to the room
OTHER WAYS TO INDUCE THE HYPNOTIC STATE
Eye fixation on a candle flame
A flickering candle flame can provide a useful alternative way to induce a hypnotic state. It should be obvious but please pay attention to the usual safety concerns with an open flame. Arrange yourself in a comfortable seat so that a candle can be placed above your normal sight line whilst seated. Ideally, as you gaze up at the candle flame it should be sufficiently high up that you should feel a small amount of strain or tension in the eyelids. The longer you focus on the flame with an unblinking stare, the more tired your eyes will become. Resist the initial temptation to close them until the point where it becomes impossible to keep them open. At this stage allow your eyes to close and relax your whole body. Take a deep breath in and exhale slowly but full allowing your body to relax deeply. Do this deep breath exercise three times and use the staircase deepener as in the progressive relaxation example.
Eye fixation on ceiling spot For this method, simply lie back in a reclining chair or lie on a bed. As you look at the ceiling choose a spot to stare at that is well above your natural eye-line; almost as if you were attempting to look through the top of your eye socket. This strain on your eye muscles, as you focus on the spot on the ceiling will eventually cause tiredness in your eyes. Your vision may go blurry or your eyes may close naturally, at that point allow your eyes to close completely and use the staircase deepener as in the progressive relaxation example.
Swinging disc/pendulum
This induction goes right back to the very first days of hypnosis. Once again it is an eye fascination technique but this time linked to what is termed an ideo-motor response. An ideo-motor response is a muscle movement that happens outside of conscious control.
Choose some item that can act as a pendulum. Whilst sitting down, extend your right arm (if right handed) with finger and thumb holding the thread or cord, so that the arm is parallel to the ground. Look directly at the pendulum and fix your attention on it. As you look at the pendulum it may begin to move back and forth or it may begin to swing in a circle, however it starts imagine that it can change direction, all the while keeping your hand still and your eyes fixed on the pendulum. The movement of the pendulum will change to how you imagined it and when this happens, focus all your attention onto the swing or movement of the pendulum and begin counting backwards in 3s from three hundred.
At some point whilst counting down and watching the pendulum your eyes will become tired and the effort of counting will seem like too much to do. When this occurs simply allow your eyes to close and let any remaining numbers fade away; imagine rubbing them out as if they were on a whiteboard or old style chalk board.
Let your arm (and pendulum) drop to a restful position. Then relax deeply, allow your mind and body to become still and let your mind drift to wherever your safe place is. This is the point at which you can use positive suggestions for what you want to achieve.
Remember that the suggestion must be simple and positively phrased to be effective. It may even be a single word like ‘content’ or ‘calm’; the nature of suggestion needs to be simple so that the mind does not slip back into every day cognitive thought attempting to remember a particular phrase thus undoing the transition into the more suggestible state.
IN CONCLUSION
You can use self hypnosis in every part of your life. The skill is easy to learn and the ability to use it will enhance every aspect of what you do. It sometimes needs a little time to get the most from the technique but persevere, the results will be worth the effort. Remember to have fun with it!
John C Burns is a personal change specialist who uses hypnosis and other techniques to help clients break through old limiting barriers to progress. He also runs the personal development web site http://www.gift4life.com from where you can get a free hypnosis MP3 download as well as high quality hypnosis MP3s to download.
Author: John C Burns
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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