Most people’s ideas and assumptions about hypnosis are erroneously based on George du Maurier‘s 1895 novel Trilby. Svengali is a man who seduces, dominates and exploits Trilby, a young English girl, and makes her a famous singer through the use of unscrupulous hypnosis. Moreover, Dracula’s hypnotic stare as he bites his helpless victim, or from theatrical stage hypnotists who make audience volunteers do foolish, humiliating, and outlandish things.
These larger than life myths of an all-powerful hypnotist who has absolute control over his subject or victim has created unnecessary fear in the public’s mind and done great harm and disservice to the true value and benefits of hypnosis. Scientific research has proven that a person under hypnosis can not be forced to do something that is against their will – including something that is against their morals.
It is fundamental that you understand that ALL hypnosis is self-hypnosis. Self-hypnosis is a naturally occurring state of mind which can be defined as a heightened state of focused concentration. The competent hypnotist only serves as a guide to your accessing and developing your innate self-hypnotic abilities. The more you practice and utilize these abilities the more efficient and powerful they will become.
I will be offering you some simple self-hypnotic techniques that will build on each other to help you deal with stress, improve concentration and focus, and your performance. The main purpose is to help you focus on a specific goal and use your concentration, imagination, visualization, guided imagery, and autosuggestion to attain the desired result. Your motivation is key here and it is critical that you suspend all expectations and judgement about what you think you should experience, otherwise you will defeat yourself.
Lesson One:
Sit comfortably in a quiet place. Close your eyes and take a slow natural breath. With each breath imagine breathing in relaxation and exhaling tension. Repeat until you begin to feel a sensation of relaxation. Now count back from ten to one and with each count feel yourself relaxing more deeply. You may feel your body feeling lighter or heavier. When you reach the count of one take another slow relaxing breath and let your mind drift to someplace peaceful. A place in your imagination or someplace you have actually been (for example, imagine floating on a cloud without a care in the world). Continue to breathe naturally and enjoy this moment as long as you wish. Then suggest to yourself that whenever you take three slow deep breaths and think about this special calm, tranquil, and peaceful place it will be the trigger for you effortlessly relaxing in the face of stress.
The secret to self-hypnosis success is let things happen without trying to force it. Your creative mind may surprise you with an experience or symbol of relaxation that you would never have imagined. Mastery of this simple process will lay the ground work for future optimal results.
Have fun!
Next Lesson: Utilizing Self-Hypnosis to attain Important Goals