Chapter 6 - How To Atain Self-Hypnosis - A Practical Guide to Self-Hypnosis

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Episode Transcript

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Chapter six, How to attain selfhypnosis. Let us begin with the hypothesis
that any one can learn in practiceto some degree, the science of self
hypnosis. We shall assume that youhave carefully thought out what you want to
accomplish. You have, through selfanalysis, come up with reasonable goals of

(00:22):
therapy and self improvement. The nextstep is the acquisition of the hypnotic state
per se. Before giving you thespecific instructions, I would like to clarify
a question which invariably arises in teachinga student self hypnosis. It is are
the suggestions that I give myself aseffective as the ones you would give me

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in hetero hypnosis? It is naturalto assume that the suggestions of the hypnotist
would be more effective than those givenby the subject himself, but both have
the same intrinsic value. It iswell to remember that all hypnosis is really
self hypnosis, and all hetero suggestionsare transposed into self suggestions. If the

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hypnotists firmly suggests from this moment,you will feel very confident in all life
situations. The subject automatically and unconsciouslyrephrases the statement from this moment, I
will feel very confident in all lifesituations, the subject ordinarily mentally or allowed,

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repeats all suggestions using the pronoun Iinstead of you. The easiest and
quickest way to learn self hypnosis isto be hypnotized and given a post hypnotic
suggestion to the effect that you willbe able to put yourself into the hypnotic
state at a given stimulus whenever youdesire to do so. The hypnotists need

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not be a professional. Any oneunderstanding the rudiments of hypnosis can do this.
However, let us assume you wantto learn self hypnosis and cannot find
help. If you understand and consciouslypractice the instructions that I shall outline,
you will attain your goal. Sitin an easy chair or recline on a
sofa or bed. Next, choosea point of eye fixation on the ceiling,

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preferably a spot behind you, whichwould normally cause eye fatigue or strain.
Now, breathe very slowly and deeply. As you do this, repeat
aloud or mentally the words sleep asyou inhale and deep sleep as you exhale.
Do this for several minutes in avery monotonous manner, and tell such

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a time as you find yourself gettingdrowsy. Next, suggest to yourself that
your eyelids are becoming heavy and tired. The goal is to acquire eye closure.
Using this method, you want toreach a state where it is uncomfortable
to keep the eyes open. Onceyou get your eyes closing seemingly of their
own volition, you have reached thefirst step in achieving self hypnosis. You

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can repeat to yourself such suggestions asmy eyelids are becoming very heavy and tired,
my eyes are becoming very watery,my eyelids are blinking. I just
want to close my eyes. Themoment I close my eyelids, I shall
fall into a deep, sound hypnoticsleep. Even though in a deep state

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of hypnosis, I shall be awareof my surroundings and be able to direct
post hypnotic suggestions to my subconscious mind. When your eyelids actually become heavy,
or when your eyes actually begin towater, you intensify these feelings by repeating
affirmative suggestions along these very lines.This is known as the feedback technique and

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helps to reinforce the actual condition thatexists. Proceeding in this way hastens the
actual closing of the eyes. Anattainment of the hypnotic state. Per se
let us assume that you practice thisprocedure and seemingly nothing happens. Continue to
practice it again and again until sucha time as you are able to achieve

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an eye closure. You will eventuallybe able to do this within a relatively
short period of time. One ofthe best times to practice the technique just
given is when you are falling asleepat night. The lights are out and
you are lying in bed. Choosean imaginary spot above and behind your eye
level so there is some strain onthe eye muscles. Now begin giving yourself

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suggestions that your eyelids are becoming heavy, etc. The reason this period is
such an excellent time to practice selfhypnosis is that the suggestions you give yourself
spill over into your subconscious as youdrift from consciousness to unconsciousness. It's like
telling yourself to wake up at acertain time in the morning. The suggestion

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reaches your subconscious and activates you consciousto awaken. Using this approach, you
can give yourself dynamic, constructive suggestionsat this time, as well as giving
yourself the post hypnotic suggestion. Thatthe next time you practice self hypnosis you
fall into a deeper sound hypnotic state. At the count of three. You

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also emphasize that your eyelids will closeinvoluntarily whenever you relax for five minutes and
afterwards count to three. This conditioningprocess will be augmented by the use of
the sleep period. The suggestions willtend to work unconsciously during this period and
hasten your attainment of the constructive goalsas well as the self hypnotic goal itself.

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Once you have achieved eye closure,deepen the hypnotic state by the following
suggestions. As I count to three, I shall go deeper and deeper into
a profound hypnotic state. By countto three, I shall find myself become
more and more relaxed. As Icount to three, I shall fall into
a deep hypnotic state. You repeatthese suggestions many times, actually trying on

(06:11):
a conscious level to feel sleepier,more relaxed, more at ease. In
doing this, you take on thecharacteristics of a deeply hypnotized subject. Part
of the difficulty in learning self hypnosisis that the subject is aiming at a
state of mind in which he hasno experience. If I say act happy

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or act sad, there is animmediate reaction from your experiential background, and
you can react accordingly. If youhave never seen anyone hypnotized, and I
say act as though you were hypnotized, you must of necessity act in a
manner that you would assume approximated thatof hypnosis. If you had actually seen

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someone hypnotized, you would naturally takeon the characteristicks you had observed. This
would either be done consciously or unconsciously. Some individuals describe the hypnotic state as
a state of complete relaxation. Manyget a feeling of detachment, others a
feeling of dissociation, as though theirentire being was only thought. Some get

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a floating or drifting feeling, likeningthe experience to lying deep clouds. Others
experience a heavy, pleasant sinking feeling. Still others get a feeling of peace
and serenity. Many describe the hypnoticstate as being akin to the state just
prior to falling asleep, or likedaydreaming, and they experience the same reactions.

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Yet there are some who do notfeel a definite change. They describe
it by saying, I just feltthat I had my eyes closed, I
heard everything and was completely aware atall times. Since it is possible to
direct your feelings reactions, I wouldsuggest that you aim for a completely relaxed,
comfortable state. You have now reachedthe point where your eyes are closed

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and you have given yourself further suggestionsto deepen the state of hypnosis. This
has taken from about six to tenminutes. You are not sure, though,
that you are under hypnosis. Thereare many ways to test this,
and I shall outline one of thesetests later in this chapter. However,
for your initial attempts, it isn'ttoo important whether or not you are under

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hypnosis. You are still to giveyourself the post hypnotic suggestion that the next
time you attempt to hypnotize yourself,you will fall into a deeper and sounder
state. After you have relaxed forabout five minutes and counted to three.
In your initial attempts, you willbe trying to establish a conditioned response to

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the count of three, which willsubsequently cause your eyes to close and put
you under hypnosis. Eventually, youshould react instantly to the count of three
or any other que you may useto trigger the response. The keywords or
stimulus become associated with the action thatyou seek. Through repetition, just thinking

(09:16):
about the stimulus can bring on theresponse. This is known as ideo motor
action, and is present in thewaking as well as the hypnotic state path.
Law's famous experiments, which induce dogsto salivate when a bell was rung
after previously having food fed to themat the same time. Our examples of

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this type of conditioning. Don't wegenerally become hungry if someone tells us it's
noon and time for lunch, whenin fact it's only eleven o'clock. I
had a common experience recently that I'msure many readers have shared. One of
my neighbors, seeing my car wasparked in front of my house and knowing

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I was home, called say hewas dropping in to see me. While
working on the manuscript of this book, I thought I heard the doorbell as
I was typing. I went tothe front door, and no one was
there. I even walked around thehouse looking for him because I was so
certain I heard the bell. Thisis another example of an ideomotor action.

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I told my friend about it whenhe arrived approximately thirty minutes later. He
looked at me rather whimsically and weboth shared a laugh. Haven't you thought
you heard the phone ring when youwere waiting for a call. In the
chapter how does self Hypnosis work?Stress was laid on the importance of the
visual imagery technique. During every attemptto a chief self hypnosis, you attempt

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to visualize yourself going into the hypnoticstate. Once you have deepened the state,
you begin the process of visualizing yourselfexactly the way you want to be.
You may experience difficulty at first,but as you keep at it,
you will be able to picture yourselfthe way you want. You use the
visual imagery technique whether you think youare under hypnosis or not. These images

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become clear as you constantly hammer homethese suggestions. This is the exact procedure
necessary, and you needn't complicate it. Let us suppose that you are getting
your eyelids to close at the countof three and have achieved a good state
of relaxation. With these prerequisites,you can anticipate going deeper into the hypnotic

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state. Actually being able to getthe eyes to close at a specific count
is the first level in determining ifthe subject has gone under hypnosis. If
you have conditioned yourself this far,then you can go to the next step
The next test is called the swallowingtest. You mentally give yourself suggestions that

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as you slowly to yourself count toten, you will get an irresistible urge
to swallow one time. You furthersuggest that this will happen even before you
reach the count of ten. Youthen begin to count. One My throat
is parched, and I feel anirresistible urge to swallow one time. Two,

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my lips are becoming very dry,and I feel an irresistible urge to
swallow. Three, my throat feelsvery high, and I feel an irresistible
urge to swallow one time. Fourbefore I reach the count of ten,
the urge to swallow one time willbecome irresistible because my lips and throat are

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so dry. Five. Once Iswallow, I shall no longer have the
urge to swallow again. And asI swallow one time, I shall fall
into a deeper and sounder state ofhypnosis. Continue with similar suggestions, repeating
and affirming the suggestions about swallowing.Once you actually swallow, you discontinue the

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suggestion and instead give yourself suggestions thatyou are falling deeper and deeper into a
sound hypnotic state, and that theconstructive suggestions you now give yourself will work
for you. Once again, youpractice visual imagery, seeing yourself the way
you want to be, while fortifyingthis image with forceful positive suggestions. You

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close by giving yourself suggestions that youwill enter the hypnotic state whenever you relax
for five minutes and count to three. The suggestions are just as effective,
whether given aloud or mentally. Manysubjects report that they are reluctant when it
comes to giving suggestions to themselves.I can only say that as you continue

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to work with yourself, you willdevelop confidence in giving yourself suggestions. In
order for the suggestions to be effective, they cannot be given in a reticent
or hesitant manner. They must begiven with enthusiasm and anticipation. If you
assiduously follow these instructions, you willderive the benefits you seek in the shortest

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possible time and witness the positive,tangible results of your suggestions and efforts.
In the next chapter, you'll learnhow to deepen the self hypnotic state.
End of chapter six