The Principles and Practice of Hypnotherapy
L. MAX BAKER F.A.S.C.H. (emeritus)
The Principles and Practice of Hypnotherapy L. MAX BAKER F.A.S.C.H. (emeritus)
Edited & Designed by Ian Hayward
DISCLAIMER AND COPYRIGHT NOTICE Although hypnosis is completely safe, many physical and mental symptoms described here within this text may have serious consequences if not treated correctly. For this reason the book or the information contained within, should not be seen as a replacement for seeking the advice of a qualifed health professional. A qualifed health professional must be consulted if there is any doubt about the nature or cause of symptoms. The author has taken every care to provide accurate information for proper use of hypnosis but cannot take any responsibility for health problems of those using this book or the information contained within. Your use of this material means you accept these terms and conditions. COPYRIGHT © 2007 BY SYLVIAN PRODUCTIONS All rights reserved. L. Max Baker Author of The Principles and Practice of Hypnotherapy. No part of this material may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording or otherwise, without permission of the author.
About The Author
L. Max Baker has over twenty ve years experience as a hypnotherapist and more than a decade lecturing at the government accredited Academy of Hypnotic Science. He is a now retired clinical member of the Australian Hypnotherapists Association and a registered member of the Australian Society of Clinical Hypnotherapists. The latter awarded him a Fellowship for services to the Society and to hypnotherapy. He gained a Post-Grad Diploma at The Australian Academy of Hypnotic Science and was awarded a Fellowship for his thesis on The Evolution of Hypnotherapy. He has produced many CDs on guided meditation and developed a program to Stop Smoking. Sylvian Productions recently completed a DVD about him and his career as a hypnotherapist. The DVD also demonstrates a number of techniques. On the occasion of his retirement from the Academy of Hypnotic Science he was created the First Life Member of The Academy and Master of the Academy in perpetuity. Max has also lectured in the Business Studies Dept of Swinburne University for many years and has an early background in engineering, sales and Human Resources.
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Foreword
Once every so often, now and then, a person comes along capable of inuencing a great many people in a very deep and profound way. L. Max Baker is such a person. For over twenty ve years Max has inuenced the lives of many people assisting them to discover the skills and resources within themselves for improving the quality of their lives. To many Max is a hypnotherapist, a teacher and trainer, a mentor and a friend. He is held in high esteem and regard by all that know him. And so it is an honour for me to be asked to write this foreword for The Principles and Practice of Hypnotherapy. The book is the result of Max’s dedication to the art and science of hypnosis and a willingness to share his accumulated knowledge and experience with others in the eld. The methods and techniques in this book describe the many clinical applications of hypnosis and provide an in depth understanding of the mind’s workings and its response to the power of suggestion. It is written in plain easy to understand language with detailed explanations and many script examples. The Principles and Practice of Hypnotherapy is a guidebook, a reference manual, and a practical resource for therapists, students, and lay persons alike serving to increase a greater mastery of the science of hypnosis on these many levels. Ian Hayward N.D., B. Health Sc. Nat.; Dip. Clin. Hyp.
Melbourne, March 2007
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About The Book This book is a response to the urgings of students I have taught or worked with for many years. It will interest anyone contemplating consulting a hypnotherapist. Primarily it will encourage practitioners and students of hypnotherapy to rely less on the conservative practices of age regression, past lives and abreaction. Guidelines show the practitioner how to stimulate the subconscious to do its own healing and how to create harmony amongst the often conicting ego-states. The teacher /lecturer will see it as the why, what and how of hypnotherapy. Numerous demonstrations and scripts are included, accompanied by the relevant theory. The cloak of mumbo-jumbo is pushed aside and hypnotherapy is shown to be a safe and effective health modality worthy of its place alongside other professional health practices.
Key Concepts Covered In This Book A. The Nature Of Mind 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
Mind functions at different levels Selective thinking Hypnosis a normal human function Our beliefs determine our life Our hidden protector B. Inductions
1. Various techniques (a) Lengthy, (b) rapid, (c) confusion 2. Recognising trance states 3. Restoring full awareness C. Deepening 1 .Use visual images 2. Use audio suggestions 3. Use tactile suggestions 4. Use stories and metaphors D. The Therapeutic Process 1. Soliciting the help and cooperation of the subconscious 2. Locating and uncovering repressed information 3. Accessing subject’s internal resources 4. Enabling the assimilation of the information along with moral, physical and emotional adjustment involved
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About The Book E. Therapeutic Techniques 1. Establishing and using ideo-motor signals (Finger signals). 2. Selecting and using appropriate induction technique. 3. Establishing the deepest level of trance that the subject can achieve that is comfortable. F. Therapy 1. Use of authoritarian direct suggestions. 2. Use of permissive suggestions. 3. Use of Metaphors. Subconscious ability to relate to cultural, childhood metaphors and archetypes. 4. Age regression. When appropriate. Procedure to access past sensitising event. 5. Past Life regression. Appropriate use. Procedure to access previous incarnation. 6. Importance of ego-strengthening for all subjects in therapy. 7. Dual Mind Concept. The mature and the sensitive mind occupying left and right hemispheres. Procedure to change dominant role of the hurting mind. Enable mature mind to dominate. Enhance support each gives the other. 8. Healing below conscious level. Procedure to heal through dialogue between the conscious and sub-conscious. Occurs in privacy of subject’s own mind. Subject is not required to talk whilst in trance state. 9. Phobias’ (a) Desensitisation. (b) Projection to safe outcome. 10. Habits and Addictions 11. Physical Conditions. (a) Distress, (b) Improve wellbeing, (c) Procedure to encourage breast enlargement. G. Quantum Consciousness The importance of understanding the nature of our being.
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Contents About The Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . v About The Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix Chapter One - The Conscious and the Subconscious . . . . . . . . . . 1 Chapter Two - As We Think - So We Become . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Chapter Three - Beyond the Critical Mind . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Chapter Four - In and Out of Trance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Chapter Five - Rapidly Boosting Egos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Chapter Six - Private Subconscious Healing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Chapter Seven - Age Regression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Chapter Eight - Past Life Regression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Chapter Nine - Dual Mind Theory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Chapter Ten - We Are A Conditioned People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 Chapter Eleven - Dealing With Physical Disorders . . . . . . . . . . . 64 Chapter Twelve - Dealing with Phobias . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 Chapter Thirteen - Dealing with Common Addictions . . . . . . . . . 73 Chapter Fourteen - The Language of Hypnotherapy . . . . . . . . . . 77 Chapter Fofteen - What’s It All About? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Glossary of Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
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Introduction “Whoever acquires knowledge and does not practice it resembles him who ploughs his land and leaves it unsown.” - James Ross–Gulistan (1258) ost people are ill-informed about hypnosis and they M are unaware of the enormous contribution it makes to the well being of many of its adherents. Available
information is misleading. The word “hypnosis” comes from the Greek “hypnos” meaning sleep. Most denitions of hypnosis refer to induced sleep or sleep like states, so most people think it is sleep. Hypnosis is not sleep. It is very different to sleep. A hypnotised subject may appear to be asleep, but is not asleep. It is of course possible for a subject to fall asleep during hypnosis. Every writer, author and lawyer has a denition of hypnosis they vary widely. There is a need to remove the blanket of mystery that surrounds hypnotherapy. It changes dull, anxious and ailing lives. It can be a valuable power for good in a troubled society. Hypnosis has fascinated people for years, particularly since the late nineteenth century. This is probably due to the writers, novelists, movie makers and television presenters. They emphasise anything that appears fantastic, weird or frightening, with little regard for the truth. Franz Mesmer in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries became interested in a widespread belief that all disease was caused by a disturbance in the magnetic eld surrounding the human body. He called it animal magnetism.
In 1894 George Du Maurier wrote the novel ‘Trilby’. The main character Svengali was a hypnotist who supposedly took control of another person’s mind to cause them to do whatever he suggested. People still have images of swinging watches, hypnotic gestures and characters with mystical powers. Negative aspects are exaggerated whilst little is said or written about the benets. Regardless of the pain relief provided by hypnotherapists to chronic sufferers many medical practitioners are dubious or prejudiced towards hypnosis. Some psychologists and psychiatrists are strangely ignorant of the
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Introduction the subject and it is missing from the training and education of most healthcare practitioners. Happily there has been a growing recognition of the link between the mind and physical health. Hypnosis has been practiced for centuries. It was known in ancient Egypt and in Roman times. It came in to prominence due to the activities of Franz Mesmer in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. He became interested in a widespread belief that all disease was caused by a disturbance in the magnetic eld surrounding the human body. Mesmer called it animal magnetism. He claimed that by using powerful magnets he could correct any imbalance in the distribution of the uid around the body. He is reputed to have had much success with a variety of ailments and gained a large following of patients.
Repression was the basis on which Freud developed psychoanalysis and hypnoanalysis. Fundamental to the idea was the existence of a subconscious mind in which all memories are stored.
In 1784 a special commission was appointed to investigate his activities. They reported unfavourably. Despite this, the practice of mesmerism continued. It is thought that much of Mesmer’s success could be due to the power of suggestion and the expectation and belief of his followers. Modern Hypnotherapy has learned much from Mesmer and his work. In France, Jean-Martin Charcot an investigator into hypnosis decided it was an articially induced neurosis when used therapeutically could cure certain symptoms. In Nancy, a group inuenced by A. A. Liebault determined that hypnosis was a normal psychological phenomenon to which virtually everyone was susceptible. This view became known as the ‘animist’ position. In 1895 Freud and Breuer theorised that symptoms of hysteria resulted from repressed emotions from a traumatic event. As these emotions had not been properly or fully expressed they caused the distressing symptoms. Repression was the basis on which Freud developed psychoanalysis and hypnoanalysis. Fundamental to the idea was the existence of a subconscious mind in which all memories are stored. Therapy involved the release and resolution of these repressed memories and the associated emotions. Abreaction was encouraged i.e. the release of emotional feelings during the reliving of the original sensitising event. British Doctor James Braid was the rst to use the term hypnosis and to identify the difference between sleep and hypnosis. Doctor James Esdaile, whilst in India, used hypnosis to anaesthetise patients for surgical operations including amputations. Hateld and Brown concluded that essential to recovery was a re-experiencing of the original event rather than a simple recollection. However it is no longer considered to be so. During World War 1, hypnosis was used to treat combat neuroses and to uncover the memory of traumatic battleeld experiences. After World War 2 regression was the means of bringing to consciousness previously unconscious impulses. In 1951, B. Gindes in his work “New Concepts of Hypnosis” described two essential stages in hypno-analytical procedure.
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Introduction 1. The location of the repressed information. 2. It’s assimilation along with the moral, physical, mental, and emotional adjustment involved. The study of hypnosis would be incomplete without mention of Milton H. Erickson whose creativity and ingenuity developed the means for the mind to use internal resources to resolve conict. He had a skill with difcult subjects, using fascinating ways and is reputed to have induced hypnosis with a handshake. He was brilliant in the way he adapted stories, metaphors and commands to each patient. Born in 1901, he suffered polio in his adolescence and spent much of his life in a wheel chair. He was in pain throughout his life which he overcame in remarkable ways. His condition meant that he spent a lot of time watching how people behave and became skilful at reading body language. He had a clear understanding of non-verbal communication. He only achieved public recognition late in life and died on March 25th, 1980. Milton H. Erickson developed the means for the mind to use internal resources to resolve conict. He had a clear understanding of non-verbal communication.
Bandler and Grinder in the U.S.A perpetuated the techniques of Erickson and developed Neuro Linguistic Programming, which claims that we have within us all the resources we need to make any changes we wish. A signicant contribution was made to hypnotherapy by Dave Elman. His father had been stricken with cancer and Elman was greatly impressed when his father was give relief by a stage hypnotist. Later he worked briey as a stage hypnotist himself and developed his rapid induction techniques. Later still he became a teacher of hypnosis. He had no formal qualications, yet became the most well known teacher of hypnosis in U.S.A. To really appreciate hypnosis I believe we need to understand that all life is energy. Consequently, our brain is energy, our mind is energy and there is continuous vibration occurring at all levels of mind. When the slower energy frequencies of the brain dominate, the primitive mind dominates. A state of atavism exists. In this state the limbic system, which is the seat of the emotions is subdued and the analytical function of the neo cortex is negated. In early childhood this primitive mind is mostly unaffected by environmental or sociological inuences. It exists to experience pleasure and to avoid pain or discomfort. It does not know fear. To be contented, a small child needs food and to experience pleasurable oral and bodily sensations. Typically it knows what it wants and when it wants it, which is usually NOW. As development takes place the restrictions imposed by society are felt causing a struggle to occur between the primitive forces on the one hand and of society on the other. Later, there is increased inuence from the emotions and the child learns to experience fear, anger, hate and love. The struggle between the conicting forces continues as a mediator in the form of the ego or personality is developed. What we believe and how we deal with the events in our life is affected by what has formed at the deeper level of mind.
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Introduction This is the source of much that ails us and is the part of us that requires therapy to improve the quality of life. In Australia, hypnosis has been viewed suspiciously and acceptance is still slow. For a time hypnosis was illegal in some states unless practiced by a doctor, dentist or psychologist. In recent times the law was reviewed and changed. Today, trained and qualied hypnotherapists with professional accreditation have been accepted. In Victoria, the Academy of Hypnotic Science is accredited by The Government of Victoria as a provider of comprehensive training. Until recently it was the only accredited provider in Victoria and one of only two in Australia. No doubt this will change as hypnotherapy becomes more acceptable to the wider community. The characteristics that we associate with hypnosis are really quite normal and occur in all of us at differing times and in differing situations. The very simplicity of hypnosis may have contributed to the skepticism of many people. Having witnessed seemingly miraculous events they attribute them to spiritual interventions, mystical powers, or black magic. It is to be hoped that the material in this book will help to remove some of the mystery that has surrounded this most valuable therapeutic modality. As a 10 year old boy, my father told me about the work of the great Emile Coué the creator of those words I learned by heart, “Each and every day, in every way I get better and better”. I was also given a valuable and lasting few words of advice, “Son, stand on the threshold of your brow, and monitor the thoughts that you allow in to your mind and if any are unhelpful silently reject them.” I practiced it in my life for forty years before I realised that it was hypnosis.
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CHAPTER
1
The Conscious and the Subconscious
“It is important that we realise that we are not alone inside this body. There is more than one ‘I’ inside this body.”
hen I was a youth I did not believe in miracles. W As I have grown older I have realised that I am a miracle. I live inside this amazing body which has
so many characteristics that it must be considered a miracle of creation. It keeps renewing itself endlessly which makes it a self perpetuating organism, that when created was programmed to last forever. However, it also has the ability to defeat itself and to even self-destruct. I shall explore what we can do to protect the self-perpetuating qualities our bodies have and how we can avoid or overcome those things that stimulate thoughts and behaviours which precipitate the self defeating mechanisms. It is important that we realise that we are not alone inside this body. There is more than one “I” inside this body. There are conversations going on inside our heads, discussions, arguments and at times a constant chatter of seemingly meaningless thoughts. Some of these messages are positive in nature and support and strengthen us. Unfortunately, for many of us the majorities of these messages are negative and sabotage the very nature of our being. They spoil the quality of our lives. There is an overriding inuence that dominates our thinking and determines the way we behave. We nd ourselves acting in ways that are not the way we want to, but persist despite our intention to behave differently. It is an inuence that is not consistent in its intent, it may get us into trouble whilst at other times ensures that we avoid trouble. Of all the organs of the body the brain is the master. All the activities of the other organs are controlled by the brain. The brain is like an overcrowded conference hall during a break when everybody is expressing an opinion. Background noise prevents us from receiving messages we can properly understand. It is not surprising that the wrong messages are received or the correct action is not implemented. Disastrous mechanisms could be set in motion.
The brain is the master organ within the body.
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Life is energy; matter is energy; you are energy and our brains are energy. Energy is alive. It is a force, it is not static. The physical body including the brain is a complex system of structures and processes which vibrate with independent wave formations.
The Conscious and the Subconscious // 1 Brain wave frequencies change as we experience changes in our state of consciousness. With guidance changes can be made in the brain wave frequencies. When we are in a normal wide awake alert state of mind we experience Beta brain waves (14-28 cycles per second). The brain wave frequency declines as we become more and more physically and/or mentally relaxed. We move into an Alpha state (8-13 cycles per second) and our eyes gently close. As we progress to deeper states of relaxation we enter a Theta state (3-7 cycles per second), a dreamy kind of state. Extreme relaxation enables us to experience Delta brain waves (1-3 cycles per second). These latter states can be experienced during sleep as well as when in a hypnotic trance. Whilst certain physical characteristics are evident as someone experiences these states, (eye closure, uttering eyelids, slow breathing and paleness of the skin), they may be measured by
Brain wave frequencies change as we experience changes in our state of consciousness. The brain wave frequency declines as we become more and more physically and/or mentally relaxed.
a device called an electro-encephalograph. This may not always be practical during a therapeutic consultation. The physical characteristics shown by the patient can be a useful guide to the level of consciousness that they are experiencing. It is important to know that as our brain wave frequency changes from a Beta state to an Alpha state; our deeper mind becomes more receptive to suggestion. The mind functions at least at two levels. There is a conscious mind. lt makes us aware of ourselves and aware of our surroundings. There is also a deeper mind which we call the subconscious (often referred to as the unconscious) mind, in which there is cognitive activity taking place that we are normally unaware of. These two minds communicate with each other and the exchange of information between the two minds inuences the way we behave.
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The Conscious and the Subconscious // 1 Whatever is accepted and believed at a conscious level is passed to the subconscious mind and becomes part of our belief system. This process is called auto-suggestion. The deeper the state of consciousness we experience, the more likely we are to accept and let through the suggestions we are exposed to. The surface or conscious mind is a rational, analytical mind. It is the decision maker, it makes choices. It is an intelligent mind which receives numerous suggestions or stimuli and decides what to accept or reject. Once the choice is made, the accepted information goes through to the subconscious mind. it is accepted unreservedly, blindly, without question and stored in our memory bank. Every experience, every piece of information, every suggestion accepted at a conscious level is conveyed to the subconscious and is stored in the memory. Information may date back to the time of birth. There is evidence to suggest that even memories “in utero” may be retained. We have a perfect memory. In terms of storage, our brain more than matches the most sophisticated of computers. A computer, however, is more efcient in retrieving information. The brain is often compared to a computer and there are some similarities. They both perform complex calculations rapidly and solve difcult problems. The brain takes in information and stores it. It processes information according to instructions. Information is received, processed and stored as symbols, words, visual images, or sounds. Like a computer the brain can be programmed or conditioned to assemble information to make sense of it. The Reticular Activating System connects with every other part of the brain and underlies our awareness of the world and our ability to think, learn and act.
The human brain is remarkably compact, it weighs about 1.4 Kilos and requires 1/10 volt of electricity to perform effectively. It functions electrochemically unlike a computer and has tens of billions of nerve cells, (neurons), which gives it a truly staggering capacity. The interconnections, (synapses), give it the potential to process up to 2 x 10 to the power of 13 bits of information. Most of this capacity is unused, as much as 98% in some estimates. Imagine what our lives could be like if we doubled our use of this idle capacity. We receive information from our environment via our senses, (sight, sound, smell touch and taste). Once received by our sense organs the information is relayed in the form of nerve impulses to the brain. The brain receives the information and sends information by means of nerve impulses throughout the body. The nerve impulses reach the brain via specialized cells that form the Reticular Activating System, (RAS). The Reticular Activating System is about 10 centimeters long and the thickness of a small nger. It connects with every other part of the brain and underlies our awareness of the world and our ability to think, learn and act. Conscious sensation is only experienced when nerve impulses arrive at the brain. For example, pain
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The Conscious and the Subconscious // 1 associated with an area of the body can only experienced when the pain impulse arrives at the brain. This applies to all sensory experiences. The brain is stimulated in normal activity by a constant ow of nerve impulses carrying information. The Reticular Activating System acts as a kind of lter or sentry. It interprets information that is passed through to the brain. If the amount of stimulation is reduced, the sentry, (the RAS), goes to “sleep”. It closes down, although never completely. The individual goes into a state of deep relaxation or sleep. The role of the RAS is to create an awareness of our environment, to be analytical, critical and to accept or reject the conditions of our environment. It activates thoughts relative to the conditions of this environment stimulating the mechanisms of our imagination and our will power. When we are hypnotised and go into a trance state, our brain wave frequency slows down to an alpha level or lower, an indication that the function of the RAS has been inhibited or negated. The Reticular Activating System “analyses” the information recieved from our senses and either lets it pass through to the brain or rejects it. The part of the brain at the unconscious level does not have this ability to reject information. Changes are established in our “program”. Conditioning has taken place. Through the power of hypnosis, the analytical function of the Reticular Activating System can be deactivated, allowing direct access to our mind, (Bio-computer), ensuring the best possible program. During a hypnotic induction, the hypnotherapist uses words and images to create an increasingly relaxed state in the subject. Soon the subject’s RAS begins to attach more importance to the voice of the hypnotist than to any other stimuli. As the therapy progresses, the RAS allows the therapist’s suggestions to pass to the subconscious. The brain further inuences the activity of the RAS. The mind becomes conditioned to accept the suggestions and/or implement any suggested action. For the client there is a new perception of reality.
The RAS allows the therapist’s suggestions to pass to the subconscious. For the client there is a new perception of reality.
Later I will describe various methods of inducing hypnosis and give suggestions for the relief of some human conditions. For now, understand what is happening for the client is not visible to a casual observer, but an experienced practitioner will observe clues to what is happening at both the conscious and subconscious levels of the mind. During induction the subject gradually changes his/her state of consciousness, going deeper and deeper into the realms of the unconscious mind. A number of physical manifestations appear, indicating the depth of trance being experienced. The act alone of closing the eyes brings about a changed state. The level of relaxation increases and the subject moves into a deeper trance state. At rst, the state is light. It is called a hypnoidal state. It is recognised by the relaxed state of the physical body, the eye closure. There may be uttering of the eyelids. More suggestions to deepen the
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The Conscious and the Subconscious // 1 state bring about a medium trance known as the cataleptic state. Catalepsy is indicated when suggestions bring about a locking of the eyes. Limbs too, can be locked in position. The subject is unable to unlock them despite much effort. This is a valuable state which can be used to bring about pain relief, anesthesia and implant post-hypnotic suggestions. Post hypnotic suggestions are used to implement behavioral change that continues on after the subject returns to a state of normal awareness. Further deepening may induce somnambulism, in which state the subject remains in a trance but with the eyes open continues to ‘see” the images experienced in trance. Suggestions that are given in this state, that they will see a scene that is not present or that they will fail to see something that is present will, if successful indicate positive or negative hallucination. For example, if whilst in trance the subject is told that someone has left the room, they will not be aware of that person, even though the eyes are open. That is negative hallucination. Posthypnotic amnesia may also be suggested successfully in this state. Somnambulism is associated with sleep walking, but the state of somnambulism referred to here is a hypnotic state which is induced when a subject’s brain wave frequency drops to between 1 and 3 cycles per second, the Delta level. It needs to be restated that hypnosis is not a sleep state, even though a hypnotized subject may appear to be asleep. In fact the mind may be even more active than in normal wakefulness. On occasion a hypnotised subject may fall asleep whilst in a hypnotic trance. This does not interfere with the suggestions being presented, as the subconscious mind remains aware of what is happening. If verbal responses are needed from the subject then the therapist can awaken the subject while retaining the trance state. We will deal with this in more detail later. It is sufcient to say that tests show there is no similarity between sleep and the hypnotic trance. Patterns from an electro-encephalograph differ for sleeping subjects compared to those of a hypnotised subject. In our ordinary awake state, when we are given a suggestion, the receptors of the mind are in a widely scattered state or coping with many diverse stimuli. Consequently, the power of the suggestion is weak. It is also subjected to analytical assessment. If the suggestion is contrary to our existing beliefs or feelings, the suggestion has only a slight chance of reaching the subconscious mind. When we go into a hypnotic trance the mind becomes more focused. It is as if the mind’s receptors are concentrated on the suggestion and are less distracted by other stimuli or nerve impulses. Messages from the sensory systems may be ignored. When the subject comes out of the trance state, the subconscious mind retains the suggestions. Because we constantly experience suggestions and our consciousness is changing during the day, it is important to be alert to the self-talk going on inside our heads. We receive numerous negative messages from our environment, but we give negative messages to
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The Conscious and the Subconscious // 1 ourselves inside our head, which reinforces any existing negativity we already harbor. We must ensure that only positive messages are allowed to change our behavior and quality of our life, with amazing results. Through the power of positive suggestions delivered in a hypnotic state, subjects are empowered to overcome many mental, physical and emotional disorders. Habits such as smoking and nail biting are overcome. Stress and anxiety can be relieved. Pain is reduced, changed and if appropriate eliminated. Physical disorders are often caused by underlying emotional distress. These include afictions such as migraine headaches, and skin irritations. The emotions may also affect or interfere with the normal function of a number of important systems. The most common of these are the digestive, reproductive and circulatory systems. Many physical conditions have been cured or alleviated by the power of the mind aided by hypnotherapy. However, hypnosis is not a magic wand. Hypnotherapists are not miracle workers, although seemingly miraculous effects have been known to occur. Therapy is rarely an instant x. Professional expertise is required to ensure lasting benets are provided. A professional hypnotherapist has the skill to induce a state which is conducive to the healing process. Ideal conditions include establishing a strong focus of attention on the idea being presented to the mind, and in a way that ensures it sinks down into the subconscious. It is important to have the focus of attention upon an idea with all the images and mental pictures associated with it. The mind can then be left to do its work.
Many physical conditions have been cured or alleviated by the power of the mind aided by hypnotherapy.
When the mind accepts the idea, a process commences which brings about a change of behavior in the subject. The subconscious mind knows all the events and experiences in our lives and knows the solution to all the problems that ail us. The subconscious works out a solution to the problem which is in the best interests of the subject. Then it passes it back into the conscious mind where it can be put into action. The action may not always be visible or obvious but may occur covertly to change our perception, or the way we feel and think about something. When the conscious and subconscious minds are in harmony with each other the results can be dramatic.
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CHAPTER
2
As We Think So We Become
“We all use hypnosis, in different ways, in our normal daily lives. We do it often without realising we are doing it. Mothers, for example, are excellent hypnotists...”
Hypnosis has been practiced down throughout the ages by most cultures including the Egyptians.
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ypnosis has been practiced for a long time. It was part of the religious ceremonies of people in ancient H times. Egyptian priests are known to have practiced a ceremony known as “temple sleep”, during which, whilst in a trance state, (self induced), they gave followers advice presumed to have come from the gods to relieve physical problems and personal problems.
By contrast many Christian believers feared that people who were hypnotised were being subjected to satanic powers. It was likened to ‘black magic’. Even today superstition prevails. In the late 20th Century, in the state of Victoria, Australia, as a result of public pressure, the activities of an organisation known as Scientology were banned. There was a widespread belief in the community that the scientologists used hypnosis to inuence people to become members or make donations. Hypnosis was also banned unless practiced by a medical practitioner or a registered psychologist. Scientologists later declared themselves to be a religious organisation and using the freedom of religion policy, had the ban on scientology rescinded. The ban on hypnotherapy remained for many years. Meanwhile much skepticism has continued. Few doctors have studied or used hypnosis. Some psychologists have taken it up as an extra curricula activity and acquired sufcient prociency to use it as a major therapeutic modality. The way in which hypnotherapy is practiced has continued to develop and has gradually gained recognition. There are skeptics and even people who think that hypnotists can take control of their minds. The activities of stage hypnotists have been unhelpful and encouraged this perception. Similarly, there have been the activities of some unprofessional and probably unqualied practitioners who attribute ALL emotional disorders to childhood sexual abuse. This has raised controversy and a practice known as Repressed Memory Therapy has been banned or outlawed by many reputable and professional hypnotherapy organisations world wide. It is accepted that many disorders, particularly of an emotional nature, may be the result of earlier traumas, and that hypnotherapy could uncover the trauma. The subject, whilst in hypnosis, would re-
As We Think - So We Become // 2 experience an event, with the arousal and expression of the emotions that had been involved, the objective being to enable the patient to uncover, review with fresh mature eyes, and resolve the underlying issue. In the past, the subject in this state, would often experience physical or emotional abreaction and become distressed. Now it is generally agreed that abreaction is not a necessary part of the process. Resolution can be obtained in a more comfortable way. Hypnotherapy when practiced by a well-trained and qualied practitioner that is a member of a professional body such as the Australian Society of Clinical Hypnotherapist or The Australian Hypnotherapists Association is probably one of the safest forms of therapy for treating a wide range of disorders. We all use hypnosis in different ways in our normal daily lives. We do it often without realising we are doing it. Mothers are excellent hypnotists. My mother, when I was a child, could soothe away many ordinary hurts that children experience during play. I can recall times when I may have a fallen and started to cry, mother would say, “Come to me, and let me kiss it better.” Once the kiss was delivered, the pain was gone as if by magic. When it was a lesser pain, I was advised to “rub it better”, with the same result. People who use positive language,when making requests, are more effective than those who use negative words. Others will be more co-operative when you tell them what to do rather than what not to do. It is important to be watchful of our own self talk. Those who use afrmations can often perpetuate their problems by giving themselves wrong messages. Emile Coué, who made auto-suggestion a household word in the second decade of the 20th century, coined the words, “Day by day in every way I am getting better and better.” This is a positive powerful afrmation. Saying to yourself, “I am not going to get sick” is counterproductive and better replaced by “I am in perfect health”. “I am not afraid” can be replaced by “I can do it” or “I have all the resources to meet this situation”. Any positive statement that is expressed in positive terms and present tense produces a better outcome than a negative one. Remember, “I will” is projecting to an indenite future. When? Well, sometime, but who knows when? Use “I am”, it is a powerful instruction to the subconscious mind to act in the NOW.
Kirlian photography displaying the energy eld of a leaf. We are part of an energy system. As living human beings we are a force which we call the Life Force.
Unless we change our beliefs we are stuck. What we believe, what we put our faith in, is vital. We are part of an energy system. As living human beings we are a force which we call the Life Force. There are many forces in and around us. Some lie dormant within us. Few of us know what force is directing our behavior at any time or what ability we have for success until something happens. There is a ash of inspiration, an intuitive moment that energises us. We become aroused, our condence is elevated. How does this happen? It may be a spoken word, a thought, a sensation, a visual image or a suggestion
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As We Think - So We Become // 2 picked up. There is a power you can learn to trust and believe in. A power you have access to and you can allow to work through you to solve seemingly impossible problems. You can feel in harmony with the Innite, the Absolute. The Innite or Absolute is the source of all creation. We are part of creation and the Life Force with which we are endowed with has this creative faculty. We are instruments of creation. Everything on this earth created by mankind began as a thought or an idea in someone’s mind. A thought arises and the thought creates a need. The need generates ideas. Images form in the mind. We are able to visualise that which arises, we see it in clear detail. It becomes real for us. It is part of our inner world, where to all intents and purposes, it is real. Desire appears and wants to bring it in to the outer physical world. Another energising force becomes active. It is alert to the physical environment, it inuences our behavior to seek out and nd the most conducive conditions and circumstances for our creation. The behavior is intensied, working, seeking and intent on manifesting that which is desired. All of this takes place below conscious level. When the original thought, the suggestion is accepted, the subconscious acts upon it. In fact any suggestion once accepted, whether true or not, is acted upon without analysis, without rationality, in an impersonal way. Suggestions that are received and accepted, remain in the subconscious memory bank, are held there and can affect us at any time for the rest of our lives. The subconscious does not form beliefs itself, but is conditioned by whatever is held as truth at a conscious level of mind. In effect we are the programmers of our own internal Bio-computer. Under normal conditions the mind is never still. It is alert and responding to all the stimuli that it is subjected to. It is storing information, analysing information, making choices, formulating plans for action and creating possibilities out of probabilities. The subconscious mind always has the intention to protect the welfare of the whole person. From early childhood it learns behaviours often by experience or by observation. The behaviors are many and diverse. They can be physical actions or verbal responses. They are usually automatic responses to particular stimuli. They can be responses that are happening at a subconscious level. They may be stimulating internal reactions, rapid heart beat, increased hormonal activity, ow of adrenaline, or arousing emotional feelings. The ght or ight response may be triggered. All is enacted with the intention of protecting the whole person. There is a catch! The learned behavior may have passed its useful date. The learned behavior may have worked very well when it was rst implemented, but what was a useful response during childhood may be totally inappropriate for an adult. If the subconscious is still initiating the same response, then a problem exists. A habit, such as smoking, acquired during adolescence, may enable us to feel
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As We Think - So We Become // 2 accepted by our peers. We feel grown up and sophisticated, may feel sexy or attractive to the opposite sex. The habit is reinforced when we come to believe that it works. In later life, even though we realise that smoking is harmful and antisocial, there is a part of us, at a subconscious level that is still holding on to the habit. It still believes that it is benecial to do so. We try to convince ourselves to quit the habit, but we try to quit at a conscious level of mind. The power to inuence the part that tenaciously holds on to the habit, evades us. What we once accepted and believed at a conscious level of mind has become xed at a subconscious level. By accessing the subconscious mind we can implement positive suggestions that enable it to release its hold on the undesirable behaviours level. Through hypnotherapy, the subconscious mind can be accessed in order to change the conditioning; to change the program. Nothing happens to your body that does not rst happen in your mind. When you get sick, the sickness started in your mind. It happened because you had accepted a belief at a conscious level or it had got stuck in your subconscious mind through thinking negatively at some previous time. We have a perception of our body as being of a physical nature. We need to stop thinking of ourselves as physical beings. We are a life force; we are thinking stuff in a eld of energy, a non-material world, which is also thinking stuff. The thoughts we think inuence the way the body that we occupy responds. It is affected by the force of our own thinking, and may also be affected by the thoughts of those around us. We have a body but we are not our body. We are the custodians, as it were, of this remarkable creation.
The thoughts we think inuence the way the body that we occupy responds.
The body constantly renews itself. Without realising it we are the architects of reconstruction. We are also the builders of our bodies. The conditions of our lives are the consequence of the thoughts, emotions and feelings that we have entertained. To a degree the thoughts and feelings of those to whom we relate have also contributed. Unless we change our beliefs, we are stuck. In order to change we must let go the past and start afresh. Fear, anxiety, and all that holds us back, must be overcome. All our fears; fear we will get sick, fear that we will lose our job, fear that our house will burn down, fear that our investments will fail, must be let go. We must refuse to let criticism, jealousy, judgment or condemnation by others possess us. If we fail to do this, we may nd ourselves in a sea of negativity. It is time to swim not drown.
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CHAPTER
3
Beyond the Critical Mind
“The subconscious mind is a vast storehouse of data on every person, place, condition, and experience over our whole lifetime.”
o be capable of taking control of our lives, or to help others take control of theirs, we must have an T understanding of how the mind works. The Life Force is the intelligent energy in human form. It manifests itself by the expression of conscious awareness. It is selfconscious so that we are aware of ourselves and of our surroundings. The environment is all around us and impacts upon us. Millions of stimuli are inuencing us, constantly, every day and all day.
From this massive ‘bombardment’ we select the messages to give our attention to. Having selected the messages, we organise them to give meaning to the world. At the same time we interpret them. We create an image of a world which is uniquely ours. Each one of us has our own world, a world that has little resemblance to the real world - if there is a real world. This view that we have of the world, determines how we relate to our environment, and how we relate to other people. Information is processed, and allowed to pass to the subconscious mind, easily, if it agrees with our existing beliefs and feelings. Once accepted, it merges with a lifetime of information and becomes part of our belief system. The subconscious mind is a vast storehouse of data on every person, place, condition, and experience over our whole lifetime. Here, there is great wisdom and understanding. It knows what ails us. It knows how to resolve all the bothers, worries, anxieties, fears, and guilt that trouble us.
Millions of stimuli are inuencing us, constantly, every day and all day.
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The subconscious has other close companions. They are the instincts; the instinct for self-preservation, and the instinct for self satisfaction. The instinct for self satisfaction is often referred to as the pleasure principle. It causes us to act to avoid pain, seek reward or gain pleasure. The subconscious does not decide for itself. It acts according to its belief system, whether it is good or bad, positive or negative. It has another important attribute, and that is its ability to recreate thoughts, feelings, and
Beyond The Critical Mind // 3 reactions associated with its belief system. These may be benecial or destructive to the human organism. This ability to recreate experiences may be triggered by a memory, a casual thought, or some stimulus from the environment. It might be a song, or piece of music associated with a happy moment in the past. It could be a sight or sound, images start to form in the mind. There are times when this recreation process is taking place below conscious level of mind, so we do not recollect the original event. The emotions or feelings aroused by the event however, do come up to conscious awareness and are experienced as if the event had just occurred, We experience all the anxiety, the feelings, panic, guilt, associated with an event that took place years before. It may be an event long forgotten, it may be a trauma that was so distressing at the time that it was suppressed and has remained hidden from conscious awareness ever since. We experience the feelings and emotions of this initial sensitising event with no realisation at a conscious level of the cause or source of our discomfort. In order to relieve this suffering, the original event can be uncovered with hypnotherapy and resolved so that the associated feelings are let go or reprogrammed. It is important that there should be no preconceived assumptions as to the nature of the sensitising event, but that it is left to the subconscious to uncover it. Age regression has long been the means used by hypnotherapists to uncover past traumas and other distressing events. It should not be confused with Repressed Memory Syndrome, whereby a practitioner makes an assumption, before any form of trance induction has been used that the problem was sexual abuse in childhood. It is sufcient to say that not all emotional problems or untoward feelings are the consequence of childhood sexual abuse. My experience suggests that problems could have their origins in much more trivial events than sexual or physical abuse. All children experience what is to their immature minds, a trauma or some form of distressing event. Some are more dramatic than others. Typical examples are; break up of parents marriage; serious accidental injury; perceived or real rejection by one or both parents; witnessing a dramatic event; an unhappy home life; an unhappy school life. Not all emotional problems originate in childhood. Adults can carry unconscious burdens without realising it. Whilst some people are aware of the source of their discomfort, others are oblivious to the cause of their misery.
Not all emotional problems originate in childhood. Adults can carry unconscious burdens without realising it. Typical examples of these are; broken relationships; suppressed anger; guilt over some perceived action or failure to act; unhappy work environment; and any source of unbearable stress. Whilst some people are aware of the source of their discomfort, others are oblivious to the cause of their misery. It is the latter that are often most severely affected. The hidden or suppressed emotions or feelings will manifest in physical ailments, such as migraine headaches, skin rashes, and even more serious psychosomatic illnesses. They may have lowered immune system protection, and become vulnerable to life threatening diseases.
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Beyond The Critical Mind // 3 Every painful experience we have had is safely guarded by the subconscious mind. It is held there with many hidden thoughts, deep convictions, beliefs, prejudices and rst impressions, stored together with the reactions that were experienced at the time. When memories are aroused at either or both conscious and subconscious levels, then we can experience similar reactions to those triggered by the original event. When we experience constant repetitions of these reactions without recalling a memory of their source, the impact on the physical body can be severe. The mind becomes the director of the physiology and of chemical and hormonal processes. The connection between mind and body is sure, constant, and alert. The mind is without doubt the ruler of the body. The mind is like a fertile eld ready to accept every seed of grain or weed that falls upon it. If our mind is always concerned about disease, sickness or threats to our physical well being, It attracts to itself that which it is focused upon. The healthy body is inuenced by a mind that is permanently focused on good health, vigor and vitality. If our behavior, even if it is apparently benecial, is prompted by fear of illness or disease, then it loses most of it’s power to protect us. We have been the builders of our bodies and we get a new body approximately once a year. The thoughts and feelings we have been allowing to dominate our lives, have determined the conditions of our lives. In addition, we attract to us the circumstances of our lives. If we are in the midst of poverty, greed, accidents and misadventure, then we need to change our thinking. In order to x our life we must rst x our thoughts. All of us have the power to access our internal resources in order to turn failure in to success, sickness in to health, anger in to peace and hate in to love. We fail to use this power, because we are distracted by the materialism all around us and the pressures to compete with one another for material wealth. If we just turn our attention inwards away from attempts to justify our self worth by the value of our possessions, the size of our house or our position on the executive ladder. We will nd a new sense of self worth and those other things will be added to us. The ability to re-experience events that we have been discussing relies on the capacity of the brain to store information and is called experiential storage. There are two other forms of storage that we should concern ourselves with. They are word storage and conceptual storage. Word storage gives us the ability to make connections between words and images. If we see or hear the word tree, we are able to generate an image in the mind of a tree. We may not all have the same image of course. The tree that I create in my mind may be that of a huge oak tree, another person may visualise a rose tree, whilst someone else imagines a ‘shoe-tree’, assuming of course that ‘shoe-tree’ is in their stored vocabulary.
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Beyond The Critical Mind // 3 Conceptual storage gives us the ability to conceive ideas and make some sense of things using our stored up knowledge. So that if I should say to you: “I saw a small creature with wings last Christmas in the snow perched on a holly tree, it’s red breast contrasting with the holly berries...” many of you might make the connection with the ‘Robin’, a red breasted bird commonly seen at winter time in thenorthern hemisphere. This is, providing of course, that the necessary information was in you store of knowledge. Just like a computer the brain has input, (information in), and it has programs, (the way the information is assembled), and it has output, (the sense that we make of things). The programs are interrelated to the three kinds of storage; experiential, word and conceptual. Thus we are able to think thoughts. It also means we can think in words and we can think in images. If I ask you to put the book down and cast your mind back over the events of your day so far, you may think back over the day silently talking to yourself using normal language. Others may see the events of the day as a kind of video recording, whilst others may experience a combination of both. So you see, some of us think predominantly with words others think in visual images. The way people think, is reected in the way they talk. People who think internally, with words, say things like “I know what you mean” or “I understand what your saying”. Visual people say things like, “I see what you mean”, “It looks very clear to me”. There are others too. There are the auditory thinkers. “It sounds really good”; “I like the sound of your project”. Then there are the kinesthetic types, the touchy feely people who say, “Feels good to me”; “Yes, I can get a handle on that”. If you listen carefully to people’s conversations and the language they use, you can identify the different kinds of thinking, going on in their minds. If you use similar language to theirs it will be much easier to relate and harmonise with them. A hypnotherapist will be alert to the way a subject expresses thoughts and take it in to account when assisting a subject to get in to a trance state. During the induction it is helpful to utilise and focus attention on those systems that are the most dominant in the subject’s thinking process. One might say: “As you walk through the woods, you see the trees and the colours of nature… The green… the brown… the rust… the gold.” A hypnotherapist is alert to the way that subjects express thoughts, and so use similar language to best relate and harmonise with them.
You are using the subject’s visual faculty. To continue, you could say: “You can hear the sounds of leaves rustling in the breeze… and the sound of birds chattering and singing. You can feel the warmth of the sun… and the ground beneath your feet is soft from recent rain.” In this way you work to the subject’s sense of sound and touch. In the course of a fairly lengthy induction one may continue to focus the subject to turn his or her thoughts inward to create an imaginary world, removed from the reality of the external environment. Once the subject’s attention is removed from their immediate
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Beyond The Critical Mind // 3 environment a trance state can be assumed to be present. This is a changed state of consciousness. As the induction continues, brain wave frequency changes can occur, bringing about deeper states of consciousness. Suggestions, which are then delivered, can get past the critical analytical function of the Reticular Activating System. The subject will, more and more, appear to be asleep, but despite exhibiting the physical characteristics of a sleeping person, the subject is in trance. In this trance state the subject is able to hear what is being said, will be aware of any extraneous sounds or noises and could even have a heightened state of awareness. The important point is that the critical analytical function has been negated. The conscious mind of the subject will occupy itself in any one of a number of different ways, and could in fact go to sleep. Some hypnotised subjects on being aroused have doubted whether they have been hypnotised and said, “I heard everything you said.” Others may say, “I found it hard to concentrate on what you were saying and found myself thinking about something all together different.” What is experienced by the conscious mind is of no importance, providing it is not being obstructive or critically analytical. The subconscious mind does not sleep and must accept any suggestion that is allowed to reach it. Hypnotherapy relies on this receptiveness of the subconscious mind. All the functions of the human body are inuenced by the beliefs that are held in the subconscious mind and how they affect the nervous system. In addition to our beliefs, emotions and feelings have an impact on the physical body. Another key to success is the self-talk that is going on inside your head. The conversations going on inside your head can boost condence or undermine it. The condence that you have in your ability to accomplish your goals through the power of your own mind is one of the greatest powers at your command. Just remember that what you tell yourself has the greatest power over your life. It determines how you feel. It determines whether you are happy, contented or miserable and anxious. The way you feel inuences to a great degree the health and wellbeing of your physical body. The body does not function well if you are miserable or anxious. The messages that you give to yourself will determine what you can or cannot do. Now that we have discussed some of the important aspects of how the mind works and how the instrument of the mind is played, (we are referring to the brain as the instrument of mind), we can start to explore the conditions and practices that ensure the induction of trance states and the factors that make for suggestions that are effective.
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CHAPTER
4 In and Out of Trance “Many hypnotists use a variety of devices for the subject to focus their attention on. Amongst these are spirals, candle ames, a nger or thumb, a swinging pendulum and gurines or small statues.”
n formulating hypnotic suggestions and techniques for use as a therapist, there are some fundamental Iprinciples that apply. Some are equally valuable if used
when practicing self-hypnosis or as auto-suggestions. In a clinical setting the relationship between the therapist and the subject is paramount. I cannot lay too much importance on the need to establish rapport with the subject before attempting to induce a hypnotic trance. Clients often present with little knowledge or understanding of hypnotherapy. The stage hypnotist, some novelists, theatrical producers, television programs and others, have conspired to present hypnosis in a variety of dramatic, threatening or demeaning ways. Consequently with nothing else to rely on, a subject seeking hypnotherapy will invariably experience a decree of apprehension and defensiveness. Remember that whatever change in patient behavior is necessary; it is the patient that will ultimately make the change. The therapist is a facilitator who enables a subject to access resources and abilities they have hitherto neglected or may not even have been aware of. The extent to which the therapist exudes a warm, understanding and caring manner will do much to develop a cooperative relationship. In addition to creating a welcoming warm approach, the extent to which the therapist displays condence, professionalism in both appearance and speech will be conducive to a successful induction. The way we present ourselves is the prime inuence upon peoples’ rst and usually lasting, impression of us. I have long believed that successful inductions are determined well before the formal procedures commence. Many years ago I went to purchase tickets for a musical show at one of the large theatres in the town where I lived. There was a hypnotist appearing in the theatre at the time. His name was Peter Casson. The name Casson was famous in theatrical circles. Peter Casson’s parents, Lewis Casson and his wife Sybil Thorndyke were famous Shakespearean actors. The local press had devoted much space to the performance of Peter Casson, highlighting incidents in his show, proclaiming his
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In and Out of Trance // 4 professionalism and some of the amazing feats of hypnosis he had apparently performed. His stage performance was in the true family tradition His prestige was well and truly established. When I entered the foyer of the theatre I was immediately aware of many posters, large framed pictorials, images of’ Peter Casson in action with subjects drawn from the audience. Some of these images showed subjects in sleep-like states, others showed subjects in a variety of antics performed under hypnosis. Wherever one turned or looked these images confronted every one that walked in to the foyer of the theatre. The effect was to create ‘anticipation’ in the minds of people attending that show of what to expect. Prospective volunteer subjects were being preconditioned and made receptive to the hypnotic inductions of Peter Casson even before they took their seats in the auditorium. His prestige and their anticipation made a powerful pre-hypnotic state of expectation that subjects WOULD be hypnotised. Successful inductions had already commenced. Whilst hypnotherapists operate in a vastly different way to the stage hypnotist, we can learn something from them by building our prestige, our image and creating an expectation that a successful induction and outcome will occur. Efforts will be further enhanced by creating a relaxed, safe, caring environment The decor and ambiance of a hypnotherapy clinic is also an important factor in the therapeutic process. Many practitioners nd that relaxing background music can be helpful. My personal preference is for a quiet serene environment. We are not all alike, and do not all appreciate the same type of music. What can be calming for one person may be distracting or irritating for another. If music is to be used, I suggest it be played softly and just prior to the commencement of the formal induction. The music that I consider most helpful in assisting the induction process is Baroque Music. The characteristics of which are: there is no identiable melody; it has no accompanying words or song; you are unlikely to hum or whistle the tune whilst listening to it; the listener does not verbalise any words or accompany it internally. This music was popular during the 17th and 18th centuries. Music that is sometimes called New Age Music may also have these characteristics.
Visual Imagery of calm, placid scenery that the subject can easily relate to such as the beach, is used as part of the induction process.
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When working with a subject that has not been previously hypnotised, I favour a lengthy induction comprising, progressive relaxation from the feet to the head. This is followed by visual Imagery of calm, placid scenery that the subject can easily relate to. Some subjects respond well to an imaginary walk in the countryside including sights, sounds and sensations to be found there. Another subject may relate more easily to images of the beach, or a ight in an air balloon, or a snow capped mountain. The possibilities are endless. Talking with the subject and discussing the things they like to do as well as identifying any phobias, is the best way to go. The aim is to create the most propitious state of relaxation. Some subjects happily and spontaneously close their eyes when the induction commences, others are, at rst, reluctant. These latter
In and Out of Trance // 4 subjects should be asked to x their gaze on a suitable object until their eyes tire and gently close over. Many hypnotists use a variety of devices for the subject to focus their attention on. Amongst these are spirals, candle ames, a nger or thumb, a swinging pendulum and gurines or small statues. The swinging watches and the hypnotic stare are probably best left to the stage hypnotist. I usually let the client choose their own focus of attention, but most elect to simply close their eyes. By having the subject focus attention on a specic visual stimulus, their eyes will begin to tire and may close. As this begins to happen, the hypnotist’s voice becomes the more dominant stimulus and the mind starts to accept the suggestions that are put to it. A state of atavism is affecting the subject, enabling the by-passing of the critical analytical faculty. The Reticular Activating Faculty of the subject is in repose. The induction process can be further encouraged by the use of dissociation. Dissociation is used to create a perceived separation between body and mind. It can he used most effectively during progressive relaxation. The parts of the subject’s body are depersonalised and are referred to as objects. We might say, “Let those eyes close over”, instead of “Let your eyes close over”, or “As I lift this hand, this body relaxes twice as relaxed as it is now”, instead of, “As I lift your hand, your body relaxes twice as relaxed as it is now.” Another example could be, “Allow these feet to relax”; or “This body is becoming more and more relaxed” or “This arm is becoming stiff and rigid, stiff and rigid like an iron bar.”
As a subject goes deeper into hypnosis certain physiological changes are taking place. Blood pressure is likely to lower, the heart beat becomes slower and catalepsy of eyes and limbs may be present.
It is as well to remember that as a subject goes deeper into hypnosis, certain physiological changes are taking place as well as the psychological changes. The subject’s blood pressure is likely to lower and the heart beat become slower. Catalepsy of eyes and limbs may be present. The circulatory system may be affected causing some subjects to become quite pale. To ensure the wellbeing of the subject, establish before commencing any hypnotic induction that the subject does not suffer from low blood pressure or any circulatory condition that may be adversely affected. As a precaution all subjects should be aroused slowly and asked to remain sitting for a while to allow normal functions of the body return. Many therapists use a count of ve to bring a client back to full conscious awareness. I have always used a count of ten, believing it to be better for the subject. The words I favour are as follows: “In a moment I shall count from one to ten. On completion of the count of ten your eyes will open and you will be wide awake, refreshed and feeling very, very well. One… the energy returns to your feet and hands. Two… the energy returns to your arms and legs. Three… all your bodily functions return to a healthy normal state. Four... Your blood pressure returns to a healthy normal state. Five… your breathing returns to normal. Six… Seven… Eight… Coming up slowly now in your own time... very soon your eyes will open… you will be wide awake and feeling so very good.
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In and Out of Trance // 4 Ten… when you’re ready… eyes open… wide awake… feeling ne.” This procedure returns the subject to full awareness comfortably and gradually. It reduces the possibility of light-headedness or vertigo which is unusual in any event. Importantly it ensures that the subject is restored to full awareness and no longer in a trance. New and inexperienced hypnotherapists have two concerns. “Will I be able to hypnotise this person?” and “If I am successful, will I be able to awaken this person?” Subjects have similar concerns about their own ability to be hypnotised and the therapist’s ability to restore them back to normality. Clients can be assured that almost everyone that wants to he hypnotised, can be hypnotised. Persons suffering from psychoses, schizophrenia or epilepsy are the noted exceptions. If a subject expresses concern about waking up, just say: “Do not worry. We have a very pleasant room in which we store all the subjects that do not wake up.” This usually attracts a smile and a sense of reality.
A subject new to hypnosis almost invariably responds to a lengthy induction made up of progressive relaxation and visual imagery.
There are some occasions when subjects are slow or even reluctant to return to full wakefulness after experiencing the trance state. A snap of the ngers or hand clap will usually arouse a sleepy subject. I am not aware of any recorded instance of a subject that could not be aroused from a hypnotic state. Some instances have been reported of clients being left to sleep and awaken naturally later. I have not experienced this situation in over 25 years involvement with the profession. A subject that is very resistant will usually revive quickly if told the consultation fee is doubled whilst they continue to remain in trance. Now that we know how to arouse the subject, we can feel very comfortable about putting the subject in to a hypnotic state. It is so much easier than most people would imagine. Hypnosis in reality is a very normal condition in which all of us spend most of our so-called waking hours. We are a conditioned people. We are programmed to behave in a certain way in different situations. Repetition is a great conditioner. So many things in our lives we repeat over and over until they are ingrained in us and we manifest the behaviour automatically without conscious thought. This behaviour is being implemented from the subconscious level of mind. Before we can change the program that has been established in the subconscious mind we need to make contact with the subconscious. We achieve this with the hypnotic induction. The client or subject that has not experienced hypnosis previously, almost invariably responds to a lengthy induction, made up of progressive relaxation and visual imagery. The ways of doing this are numerous. What follows is an example that can be varied to match the client’s and the therapist’s experience. The therapist that describes images that he or she is visualising will be more effective than one quoting
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In and Out of Trance // 4 or reading from a book. It creates a feeling in the subject that the therapist is nearby. This can be reassuring for the nervous subject. “Settle back in your chair or couch, make yourself comfortable and when you’re ready let your eyes close over. To begin… take three deep breaths and as you let out the breath, release the breath just like a sigh. That’s very good. So now… put your attention on your feet. As you put your attention on your feet and allow your feet to relax… think of relaxation as something tangible… like treacle or honey… and that the relaxation is going to ow very slowly from your feet through to the rest of your body. So now… as your feet relax… allow that relaxation to ow from your feet past your ankles through to your calf muscles… As your calf muscles relax… let the relaxation ow from your calf muscles through to your thighs and let your thighs relax… As your thighs relax… let the relaxation ow from your thighs through to our lower torso… starting with your lower back muscles and allow your lower back muscles to relax… just by thinking about them.” “As those lower back muscles relax… allow the relaxation to ow through to the stomach muscles and allow the stomach muscles to relax. (Dissociation has commenced.) As those stomach muscles relax.... Allow the relaxation to ow all around the pelvic area as the whole body relaxes deeper and deeper… Now put your attention on the upper back muscles… and allow them to relax… As those upper back muscles relax deeper and deeper, allow the relaxation to ow around to the chest muscles and allow the chest muscles to relax… As those chest muscles relax, you become more aware of your breathing… and the rhythm of your breathing… And now you realise that every breath you take helps you to relax deeper and deeper relaxed… And now the legs are relaxed, the lower torso is relaxed, the upper back muscles are relaxed and you are more aware of your breathing… the rhythm of your breathing and every breath is helping you to relax deeper and deeper. Now put your attention on the shoulder muscles, these are usually the rst muscles to experience tension when you become stressed… so give them your full attention… allow them to relax.” “As those shoulder muscles relax… allow the relaxation to ow from the shoulder muscles down through the upper arms, past the elbows, down through the forearms, past the wrists through to the hands so that even the nger tips are relaxing now and you are relaxing deeper and deeper. And now the relaxation ows on through the neck muscles… through to the jaw muscles. Allow the jaw muscles to relax and then relax all those muscles around the chin and the mouth and the cheeks… Now put your attention on those eyes and the tiny muscles of those eyes… these are some of the smallest in the whole of the body. Let them relax until they are so relaxed that they just want to stay closed. As you continue relaxing just imagine
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In and Out of Trance // 4 yourself in a place that you like to be doing something that you like doing… And when you are in a place that you like to be doing something you like doing, just nod your head to let me know.” By now the subject will have become deeply relaxed and may already be in a trance state. What follows will continue the induction phase and take the subject in to a deeper trance. The purpose of this stage is to remove the subject’s perception of being in the ‘real’ world to an internal reality which is a product of their own imagination facilitated by the hypnotherapist. It is of little consequence whether the subject is visualising precisely what is being described. The client is having an experience which is removed from the reality of a therapist’s clinic or room.
“Each time you take a step… you double your relaxation… so that by the time you get down to the beach you will be more relaxed… more relaxed than you have been in a long, long time.”
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“As you relax, listening to my voice… imagine yourself outdoors on a beautiful day… standing on high ground looking down on to a lovely beach. The sun is shining… the sky is blue… there is an occasional cloud just drifting by… the air is fresh and clear… and a gentle breeze blows through your hair and cools your brow. You look out to the sea which is fairly calm… the waves are strong and you hear them break… and watch the breeze greet them… and blow a stream of spray across the crest back out to sea. Nearby is a stairway leading down to the beach… so go across to the stairs… look down… there are ten steps leading down to the beach… and there is a hand rail on one side.” “In a moment I shall ask you to go down the steps… you can use the hand rail. When you go down the steps… as I count from ten down to one… each time you take a step… you double your relaxation… so that by the time you get down to the beach you will be more relaxed… more relaxed than you have been in a long, long time.” “So make your way down from the tenth step to the ninth and you relax… continue on down from the ninth to the eighth doubling your relaxation… from the eighth to the seventh deeper relaxed… sixth to the fth, more and more relaxed… fth to the fourth, still relaxing deeper and deeper... fourth to the third… third to the second… second to the rst, so relaxed now as you step off and onto the beach… just pause there and allow the stairway to fade away. “Allow the scene to change so that as you look to one side you will now see a lovely garden lled with owers. There are blossoms with so many colours… there are reds, pinks, greens, blues… so many colours. You can smell the fragrance of the owers… and hear the humming of insects as they search for pollen. Now look to the other side… there is a couch on a soft green lawn” “Make your way over to the couch… feel the turf beneath your feet… see the shadows of trees. As you reach the couch you can see the cushions and rugs on the couch. Arrange them to your liking… and then settle your self down on the couch. As you sink down into the couch you know that tonight when you
In and Out of Trance // 4 go to bed… and lay your head down to go to sleep… you will go into a deep restful sleep that will last through the night… unless you have any reason to awake. So… when you awake in the morning… you will awake refreshed and invigorated… looking forward to the new day… with the realisation that each new day is the rst day of the rest of your life… and that nothing in the past can harm you or hurt you unless you allow it do so. Consequently you are more condent than ever before… so be at peace.” The foregoing script delivered slowly, rmly and quietly should ensure a sound medium trance in any receptive subject. However, a professional hypnotherapist will have numerous ways of inducing a trance state. We shall now explore other options, some of which produce the hypnotic state in seconds rather than minutes.
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CHAPTER
5 Rapidly Boosting Egos We are what we think we are! In order to change your life, you need to change your thinking. By changing your perception of your self, you discover an inner reality.
Is life really a bowl of cherries ... and just who decides?
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ne of my favourite entertainers, Ms Shirley McLaine used to sing a song called “Life is just a bowl of O cherries”. It has set my mind thinking along a path I shall share with you.
Imagine that you have walked into the kitchen of your home, (or a friend’s), and on the kitchen bench, before you is a bowl of beautiful fresh, luscious cherries. You pick up one of the cherries and bite into it. You feel your teeth against the smooth, shining, brilliant red skin. As your teeth break through the skin you feel the ow of sweet cherry juice on to your tongue. It is a truly lovely avour and you reach for another cherry. Imagine that as you reach out for the second cherry, that magically the bowl of cherries, with its contents, doubles in size. So now, the cherry you pick up to eat is the size of a large plum. You again enjoy the great taste of cherry, a larger cherry! You decide you will have another one. This time, as you reach for the cherry, it grows in size to that of a large grapefruit. The avour is still wonderful and you feel compelled to have another, wondering how big these cherries might become. Your desire seems to be pushing you now to go on eating the cherries. Before long, you are in a large bowl moving in amongst giant cherries taking a bite here and there. You do not really taste the cherries anymore, just biting off pieces at random. Suddenly, you realise that the cherries are so huge and many times your size. Now you are just another grub crawling around in a large bowl of cherries that have lost their attraction and lost their avour. Life can be overwhelming. We all need to grow and develop ourselves as time passes. If we spend all our time tasting the fruit life has to offer, but neglect our own growth. Sooner or later we lose our identity, we are dwarfed. Many people that come to my clinic in order to bring about change in their lives have lost their identity. They have lost their sense of selfworth. They have no appreciation of their inherent value as human beings. Many have been trying to get their happiness from life, from their environment, from their friends and from loved ones. Happiness and contentment is not out there. It is not something to be grabbed and briey savoured. It is not the accumulation of wealth and material
Rapidly Boosting Egos // 5 goods. It is to be found within, it is a state of mind. We are what we think we are! In order to change your life, you just change your thinking. You change your perception of your self, you discover an inner reality. Hypnotherapy is the most effective means we have to enable us to access our inner world and change the program. In order to access this inner world and make the changes necessary to achieve a state of inner peace for the clients who seek our help, we must master rstly the ability to induce a hypnotic trance. In the previous chapter we outlined a rather lengthy process of progressive relaxation, combined with visualisation and deepening techniques. This method is very effective but is also time consuming. If you reach the stage where you are running a busy practice then you will want to induce hypnosis fairly rapidly, in order to commence therapeutic suggestions. The following methods may be applied individually or in combination. You could experiment, in order to nd the inductions that you nd most effective or that you as practitioner are most comfortable with. One thing you may discover early in your experience is that many of your clients will slip easily into hypnosis whilst you are doing the progressive relaxation. A further number of subjects will achieve a trance state during the visual imagery stage. So when working with an experienced subject, progressive relaxation or visual imagery on its own can produce a trance state. If you endeavour to use as many of the senses as possible in your descriptions, you enhance the process. That means using expressions such as, “you see, you hear … you can feel”, and if appropriate, “you can smell … you can taste.” These suggestions all assist in creating a seemingly real inner world, far removed from the reality of your consulting room. During the induction stage I frequently use a technique that was taught by the man who learned the techniques of hypnotic induction from his father, a stage hypnotist and who for a while was a stage hypnotist himself. He was one of the great teachers of hypnosis during the 20th century. I refer, of course to Dave Elman. His book, “Hypnotherapy”, is a classic volume that deserves to be on the bookshelves of any aspiring hypnotherapist. Elman would say to a subject: “Close your eyes and pretend you can’t open them.” And when the subject responds he would then say, “So long as you keep pretending that you can’t open your eyes you will feel nothing. Nothing will bother you no matter what happens.” Dave Elman was one of the great teachers of hypnosis during the 20th century.
When the client responded to his suggestions, selective thinking was established and the critical analytical faculty bypassed. A similar condition is induced when a subject is asked to close eyes and visualise his or her self performing an activity that they are familiar with. This concept can be adapted and used to achieve a trance state with
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Rapidly Boosting Egos // 5 great rapidity. I may say to a client: “Let your eyes close over and allow them to relax. Let them relax until they are so relaxed that they want to stay closed and do not want to open. When they are so relaxed that they want to stay closed and do not want to open, relax them even more until they are so relaxed that they want to stay closed and they just do not work. When you are sure that they are so relaxed that they just do not work... Test them to be sure that they are so relaxed that they do not work and when you have made your test and are satised that they do not work, allow that relaxation to ow over the whole of your head and right down through you all through you right to the very tips of your toes. Then continue to relax deeper and deeper with every breath you take.” In my experience the subject will invariably go in to a deep trance state when responding to the method as described. Eye catalepsy has been achieved. In the event that the subject does in fact open the eyes, it is indicative that the critical analytical mind has interfered in the process. If this happens, reassure the client with the following words. “That’s all right... you are just making sure that your eyes do work. I want you to relax them to the point where they do not work, try again, you will get it right in a moment. Close your eyes tightly, relax and let them relax until they are so relaxed they do not work. When you are sure, when you are quite sure that they are so relaxed they do not work, again test them to be sure that they do not work. Now let that relaxation ow over the whole of your head and right down through you.” This is usually sufcient to x the problem and it would be very unusual for one to need to repeat it. As I have said, the method enables the induction of trance state very quickly. A professional hypnotherapist will of course have a range of techniques at one’s disposal. We have, so far, considered the use of progressive relaxation, visual imagery and eye catalepsy. I shall now outline a quite different approach which may enable subjects that nd trance difcult to achieve a deep trance. This is the confusion technique. It creates a state of mental confusion which tires the mind. The mind as a consequence seeks solace in the trance state. “Allow yourself to begin to relax, with your eyes closed, getting ready to go into a trance, wondering what it feels like, what kinds of thoughts, emotions, sensations may arise. Sowing the seeds of an idea as the farmer sows his seeds. Up and down the furrows like furrows in the brow of the young buck learning to deal with thevicissitudes of life. His seeds are sown and he may buck the system. What kind of system might he be asked to deal with, like the dealer of a pack of cards? The kings and queens, the hearts are trumps; the jacks are knaves, held in the hand to be discarded or held. Held for a moment, face up or maybe face down.”
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Rapidly Boosting Egos // 5 “Not down for long, not duck down, not down the road, the long road nor the short road, but trying to get on the right road is what it is all about. So just keep right on to the end of the road… you will come to a happy abode. Then it is all aboard… sailing off into the sunset. Riding on the crest of the wave… that we wave to our friends… waiting to greet us… not been waiting long… not getting bored. Not aboard, not rising and falling… just drifting easily and comfortably… carried by the tide. An ebb tide perhaps… ebbing and owing, perhaps rising and falling under the inuence of the moon… under the light of the moon and the stars as they sparkle, shining on through the night, all through the night, waiting for the sun to rise on a new day. Awaken to the gleam of sunlight, the song of the birds and a song in our hearts that seems so comfortable. That seems to be something, but is really nothing in your trance as you just pause, wait, rest and wonder what may drift into your mind, more relaxing thoughts as you relax even more, drifting down deeper down even deeper than before into a deeper comfortable trance. You can go deeper into trance in whatever way you wish, nding the right level, the level that is right for you, where you can make the changes you need to make for a happier, more contented, healthy and purposeful life.” The foregoing script is most effective when delivered slowly, without any particular emphasis. It is suitable for any subject, and seems to be more effective than some other methods of induction when used with those who nd going into trance difcult. Once a subject has entered trance for the rst time, it is usual for them to go into trance more quickly, deeper and easily on subsequent occasions. A procedure known as “fractionation” can be used to achieve this. It just involves putting the subject in to a trance , then telling them to open their eyes, when the eyes open tell them to close them again and go deeper. This can be repeated until the therapist is satised with the state of trance achieved. There is another, partly physical, technique which can induce a deep trance quickly. It works this way. Tell the subject to make him or her self very comfortable on a chair or couch. When settled ask her to: “Take three deep breaths holding each breath for the count of four.” Now ask the subject to give you their right hand. Hold it slightly raised above the arm of the chair and with your left hand touch a spot on the top of the subject’s head and ask them with eyes wide open, to roll the eyes back as if trying to look through the spot. Inducing a trance using a rapid induction that includes a physical technique combined with suggestions.
When the subject rolls the eyes back say: “That’s good. Now whilst you do that, take a good deep breath, let your eyes close over, as I let this arm plop down you go down, all
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Rapidly Boosting Egos // 5 the way down, relaxing deeper and deeper with every breath you take.” This method may then be followed by a deepening technique, such as visualising going down a ight of stairs, descending in a lift or going down an escalator. Most subjects will experience a deep trance state. It is good therapy to reinforce and compliment your subjects before, during and after trance. “That’s good, you are doing really well. Notice how loose limp and heavy your limbs have become. As I stroke your hand, just notice how the anesthesia begins to ow across your arm right up to your shoulder. As I count from ve down to one, feel yourself going deeper and deeper into trance.” It is also good to get feedback from your subject, to conrm what is going on inside the mind, say: “When your eyes are so relaxed that they are locked shut and can’t open, test them to be sure that they are locked shut and cannot open. When you have made your test, nod your head to let me know.” You can observe the subject give a slight nod of the head after appearing to make an attempt to open the eyelids. This is conrmation that your client has entered a trance state. I said earlier that many people are lacking self-condence or have a poor self image. Every client that comes for therapy can benet from a boost in self condence or enhancement of their self image. The following script has proved of great benet to many of my clients. The script is delivered once a trance has been induced and some deepening techniques have ensured a satisfactory depth has been established. If it is felt that further deepening is desirable tell the subject: “I am now going to count from ve down to one and as I do just take yourself all the way down to the deepest level of sleep like trance the you are capable of right now that is comfortable for you.” Count down - then continue: “You have now become so deeply relaxed, so deeply in to a sleep-like trance and your mind is so sensitive and receptive to what I say.... that the things I say will go deep in to the back of your mind… and become xed and imprinted in your deeper mind. They will cause a lasting impression there that nothing can remove. Consequently they will exercise a more and more powerful inuence upon the way you think… over the way you feel and the way you behave. In addition these things that I say will stay imbedded in the subconscious part of your mind where you can use them whenever you wish… and wherever you are throughout your life. The inuence upon you will be and remain powerful at all times… whether you are alone or
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Rapidly Boosting Egos // 5 with others. You are continuing to go deeper and deeper with every breath you take… and at the sound of my voice… all the things that I am about to tell you… that will happen to you for the benet of the whole person will happen in the way that I tell you they will happen… and all the feelings and experiences that I tell you that you will experience… you will experience just the way I tell you. Every day… wherever you are… as each day goes by… your nerves become stronger and steadier… your mind becomes calmer and clearer… you are more composed.... more placid more tranquil. You are becoming much more free of worries… much calmer… you are less agitated and are no longer apprehensive or inclined to get upset. You see things in their true perspective… and refrain from magnifying your difculties as you keep a sense of proportion. Each and every day you become emotionally much calmer… you are more settled... undisturbed. You always remain more and more relaxed… less tense.... as your condence in your self continues to grow.” “Every day you are always anticipating success in so many ways… and you enjoy being at ease with your success… you no longer have fear of failure… or of consequences… you are free of anxiety… and your condence still grows and grows as you become the person you have always wanted to be… independent… self assured… able to stand up for yourself and deal with the events of your life even when they may be difcult. Consequently you start to feel a sense of wellbeing… and a feeling of personal safety… more than you have ever felt before. As a result you change your view of life… you become more optimistic… more contented… much happier. And all these things take place easily without you conscious will or effort.” The foregoing script is very powerful and is lled with posthypnotic suggestions that can bring about rapid changes in the life of a subject. It also has the effect of deepening a trance so that more specic suggestions about specic problems can follow. It is inherently therapeutic. The next chapter will give guidance in dealing with emotional problems.
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CHAPTER
6
Private Subconscious Healing
“Ideo-motor signals in the form of nger signals are a means of establishing good communication whilst at the same time maintaining a deep trance state.”
The pointer nger is the “yes nger” The middle nger is the “no nger” The small nger is the “I don’t know nger”
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rivate subconscious healing necessitates the establishing of a method of communication with P the subject’s conscious and subconscious minds that informs the therapist how the procedure is progressing without the need for the subject to talk about the details of what is being revealed to them. The method employed is called ideo-motor signaling.
A common ideo-motor signal that we are all familiar with is the nodding or shaking of the head during ordinary conversation. We express our agreement or disagreements with what is being said, and are mostly unaware that we are doing so. The use of the voice by a hypnotised person tends to increase their awareness and so lightens the depth of trance being experienced. Ideo-motor signals in the form of nger signals are a means of establishing good communication whilst at the same time maintaining a deep trance state. The subconscious more easily indicates a yes or no response to an appropriately worded question without the need to bring the thought, or memory up to a conscious level To establish nger signals ask the subject to sit comfortably with eyes closed and hands resting on the lap where they are visible to the therapist. Then say, “Please keep thinking yes…yes…yes over and over again... soon as you do so one of your ngers on one of your hands will feel light and will lift… let it lift. As you continue thinking yes… yes... the nger will get even lighter and soon is so light that it lifts higher until it is quite high. There it is... that is your ‘yes nger’. You may now let it oat back down again.” The same procedure is used to establish a “no nger” and you may like to include a nger that indicates “I don’t want to answer’’ or “I don’t know.” It is likely to be more convenient if all the ngers used are on the same hand. As we deal with more complex conditions and use hypno-analysis techniques nger signals will be preferred, although the head nod can still be helpful. In the demonstrations that are outlined here, we assume nger signals are established. The pointer nger is the “yes nger” The middle nger is the “no nger” The small nger is the “I don’t know nger”
Private Subconscious Healing // 6 Many of the conditions that clients bring to us, as hypnotherapists, are symptoms of a deeper underlying problem rather than being the prime source of their discomfort and distress. Typical of such conditions can be smoking addiction, overeating, nail biting, as well as more serious conditions like panic attacks, migraine headaches, skin ailments, and an abusive or violent disposition. These clients are usually people who are carrying unresolved emotions. or feelings suppressed over a long period of time. They may have acquired a defense mechanism at some time in their life which worked for them then, and they have continued to use it even though it may no longer be an appropriate response.
A child at school when threatened physically may resort to physical violence. It may also be a reaction to insults or perceived threats to the self-image.
A child may be humiliated by a parent or teacher causing it to experience intense anger. The child has been brought up to believe that displays of anger are unacceptable and likely to result in punishment. Consequently the child bottles up any display of anger. The anger is felt but not manifested; it is suppressed. This situation may be repeated many times over many years. It may be directed towards a particular person, or even a situation or event. The need to keep this anger under restraint keeps the subject in a state of unrecognised continuing stress and inevitably manifests in some way, at some time. A child at school when threatened physically may resort to physical violence in response to this apparent threat; it may also be a reaction to insults or perceived threats to the self-image. Whilst the behavior may be overlooked when the child is young, it is no longer acceptable for a mature adult. This adult may become physically or verbally abusive to people who are thought to be a real or imagined threat. Alternatively he or she may have learned to suppress the associated feelings in order to meet the demands of society; these suppressed feelings could seek expression through some physical or emotional distress. People are often aware that they are carrying undesirable feelings towards somebody or some thing. However all conscious effort to free themselves from such feelings is unsuccessful. The part that is holding on to these feelings or emotions is seated in the subconscious. The part that is holding on to the feelings or emotions associated with the undesirable behavior must be accessed and convinced to let go the associated feelings or emotions. The process that follows is very effective in accessing the part or ego-state that is holding on to an undesirable behavior. It may be more appropriate to say that it is really holding on to the feelings or emotions which are associated with the behavior. The feelings and emotions must be let go by the part and through this process the associated behavior is also let go. The method that I shall describe now should ensure a successful outcome.
Stage One - The Induction Stage Once the client is comfortably settled and at ease, proceed as follows: “Just take two nice deep breaths, to help you relax. Hold each
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Private Subconscious Healing // 6 breath for a second or two and then let it all the way out. Now just let me have your right hand and l shall hold it like this.” Take the client’s hand by the wrist and hold it about ve centimeters above the arm of the couch on which they are resting, or above the lap if more convenient. “Now with your eyes wide open, just roll your eyes as if trying to look through this spot on the top of your head.” Place your nger close to the crown of the client’s head and watch for the eyes to roll back. When they roll back say: “Take a good deep breath let your eyes close over and as you let your hand go… let it just op down loose and limp like a wet dish cloth.” Release the hand and observe to what degree it is relaxed - and then continue: “In a moment l am going to count from one to three…on completion of the count to three I shall pick up this right hand again and allow the hand to just plop down again and as it does you double your relaxation. One… Two… Three…” (Release hand). “… just double your relaxation. That’s very good. Again, l am going to count from one to three… and this time shall ask you to open your eyes… and you will be able to open your eyes… then I shall ask you to close your eyes… and as you close your eyes you relax four times as relaxed as you are now… One… Two… Three… open your eyes… and close your eyes. Feel that relaxation all through you right through you. Now we are going to do that again. Once again I pick up this hand… One… Two… Three… and this time when I let it go you relax four times as relaxed as you are now…” (Release hand). “Again I shall ask you to open your eyes… and you will be able to open your eyes… then I ask you to close your eyes… and when you close your eyes you relax eight times as relaxed as you are now…One… Two… Three… open your eyes… and close your eyes. Feel that relaxation all through you right through you…”
Stage Two - Deepening the Trance State “As you continue to listen to my voice… let you mind roam around your body and look for any tension… if you nd any lingering tension just let it go… let it go completely. As you continue relaxing, deeper and deeper… use your imagination. Imagine you are standing on the tenth oor of a building waiting for a lift to arrive… when the lift arrives and the doors open… walk in to the lift… turn and face the doors of the lift. The lift arrives… the doors open… walk into the lift and face the doors of the lift. On one side of the doors you will see an indicator board showing you are on the tenth oor of the building. In a moment I shall ask you to press the down button… and the lift will descend slowly to the
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Private Subconscious Healing // 6 ground oor. It is not going to stop at the intermediate oors… but as it passes each oor you just double your relaxation… so that by the time you get to the ground oor you will be more relaxed than you have been in a long… long time… Okay now... you press the down button… and the lift descends slowly from the tenth oor to the ninth… and you relax. It continues on from the tenth to the ninth… double your relaxation. From the ninth to the eighth still relaxing deeper and deeper. From the eighth to the seventh… still relaxing. The seventh to the sixth… more and more relaxed. Sixth to the fth… deeper and deeper relaxed. Fifth to the fourth… fourth to the third… so relaxed now. Third to the second… second to the rst… and now to the ground oor… and the lift stops. Now you are very relaxed… but even though you are so very relaxed… there are deeper states of relaxation even than this.” “So now I am going to allow you to experience an even deeper state of relaxation… a beautiful state of deep relaxation. Look at the indicator board again and you will see there are three basement levels below the ground oor. Each of these basement levels is capable of producing for you a much deeper… a more beautiful state of relaxation. So once again press the down button… and the lift descends down through basement one… continues on down through basement two… and arrives at basement three… and the lift stops. The doors open and now you walk out in to a corridor… and soon you come to a door on the side of the corridor. The door is highly polished… has some wood paneling and a large brass door handle. Behind this door is a beautiful room… I call it the room of complete tranquility. I would like you now to go in to this room.” “So… open the door… go into the room. Now you nd yourself in this beautiful room. There is a thick pile carpet on the oor… lovely drapes around the walls… some works of art… ornaments and a magnicent couch in the centre of the room. At the far end of the room is a large open replace. In the replace there are some logs burning. As you move down towards the replace… you can hear the logs crackle and splutter… you can see the smoke twirl up the chimney… you can feel the warmth of the re… and see its gentle glow. Close by to the re is a table.” Clients may be asked to imagine a safe, comfortable place such as a beautiful room.
“On the table are some documents… let us call them papers. I have a special name for these papers. I call them, ‘paid up accounts’. The reason I call them ‘paid up accounts’ is because… well they’re all paid up of course. Every one is satised… there is no debt… there is nothing owing. These documents represent, for you... old bothers… old worries… old anxieties… fears… guilts… that have been hanging around for some time… but they are all paid up… there is nothing owing… and you do not have to hold on to them any longer. It is okay to let go these old bothers… old worries… anxieties… fears… guilts. You do
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Private Subconscious Healing // 6 not need them… it is okay to let them go. You can let them go. Just take them over to the replace… put them on the re… and watch them burn. Watch them turn to ash… watch the re glow more brightly as it consumes these old bothers… old worries… old anxieties… old fears… old guilts. You do not need them. Let them go. When all that is done… go over to the couch… settle yourself on the couch. As you sink comfortably in to the couch… raise the pointer nger on your right hand to let me know it is all done.” Wait for the nger to rise. “As you continue to relax deeper and deeper… I am going to count from ve down to one. As I do… take yourself all the way down to the deepest level of sleep like trance that you can experience right now that is comfortable for you.... Five… four… take yourself down… three… all the way down… two… and one. As you continue to relax you can experience a dreamy…drowsy kind of state. And now… as you drift in that dreamy… drowsy kind of way… you become aware of a beautiful screen up against one of the walls in this lovely room. It is a really grand screen… and behind the screen there is an equally wonderful mirror. This mirror behind the screen is what one might call a magic mirror. It has some very amazing qualities and characteristics. In a few moments I shall ask you to leave the couch and go over to the mirror… move it aside and look into the mirror.” “When you look into the mirror you are going to see an image of that part of you that has been holding on to the feelings and emotions associated with the distress that that you have been experiencing in your life… and the wonderful thing is that, you will not only be able to see the image of the part… but you will be able to communicate with the part… and it will be able to communicate with you. I need to tell you this… the part that you see may not look the way you expect it to look… it may look younger… it may look quite different… it could look strange… and it may even look weird… but whatever you see will be the part that has been holding on to the feelings and emotions that have been causing you distress… or it will represent or be symbolic of the part.”
Stage Three - The Therapeutic Process The client rst observes an image of the part requiring change in the mirror. Communication between the part and client occurs at a deep subconscious level.
“So now, go over to the screen and move the screen aside and look in to the mirror. See the image and when you have done that, raise the pointer nger on your right hand to let me know. From now on if at any time you experience difculty… you can raise the middle nger to let me know.” Wait for the nger to rise, and then continue. “Good. Now that you can see the image… I want you to start communicating. To begin… ask the part why it has been holding on to the feelings and emotions that have been associated with
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Private Subconscious Healing // 6 the distress and discomfort that have been spoiling the quality of your life. Listen carefully to the part. When you understand why the part has been holding on to these feelings and emotions that spoil you life… let me know that you know by raising the pointer nger” (nger rises). “Now that you know why the part has been holding on to these feelings and emotions… I want you to use all your wisdom… all your understanding… your maturity and experience… and explain to the part why it would be in the best interest of the whole person for it to release its hold on those feelings and emotions. When you have done that… again raise the pointer nger to let me know” (nger rises). “Now that you have explained to the part why it is in the best interests of the whole person for it to release its hold on those feelings and emotions… I want to address myself directly to the part. I want to say to the part rstly… Thank you for taking part in this process… also for receiving the wisdom and reasons why you should release your hold on the feelings and emotions associated with the condition that has been causing distress in (subject’s name) life. I also want to let you know that I believe in the past you have been holding on to these feelings and emotions because you felt it was in the best interest of the whole person to do so… But now you have received new knowledge and information… so in the light of this new knowledge and information I ask you lf you are willing and able to release your hold on these feelings and emotions… if a way can be found… are you willing and able to release your hold. If you are… please raise the pointer nger on (subject’s name) right hand to let me know.” (nger rises) “Good… thank you for that. The part has received the new information and wisdom that you have given to it. It has acknowledged it and has declared that it is willing and able to release its hold on the feelings and emotions that have been troubling you. Now I want you… together with the part… to work out a way for the part to release its hold on the feelings and emotions that are the source of what has troubled you. When a way has been worked out… let me know by raising the pointer nger.” It is normal for there to be a short pause prior to a response. (nger rises) “Now that a way has been worked out for the part to release its hold… I want to again address myself to the part. To the part I say again… thank you for your participation in this process… thank you for accepting the new information… thank you for being willing and able to release you hold on the uncomfortable feelings and emotions now that a way has been found for you to do so. Thank you.” “Now would you please implement this way from this moment on… and as an acknowledgment that it has been implemented…
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Private Subconscious Healing // 6 please raise the pointer nger on (subject’s name…) right hand to let me know.” (nger rises) “Thank you for that…Now that the way has been worked out… and it has been put in to effect… will you also thank the part? When you have done that… reassure the part that you will also be doing your bit to ensure the well-being of the whole person. When that is done place the screen back in position. Return to the couch and settle yourself comfortably. Now you are back on the couch you should be feeling pretty good inside. If you are feeling good inside raise the pointer nger to let me know.” (nger rises) “If you are feeling really good inside… give me a smile to let me know.” (subject smiles) The smile is a powerful conrmation message. “For a few moments project your mind forward in time about six weeks. Are you still feeling okay? Let the pointer nger rise.” (nger rises) “Now project your mind forward six months in time. Are you still feeling good inside? … Let the nger rise.” (nger rises)
Stage Four - Return to Full Awareness “In a moment I shall count from one to ten. On completion of the count of ten your eyes will open and you will be wide awake, refreshed and feeling very, very good. One… the energy returns to your feet and hands. Two… the energy returns to your arms and legs. Three… all your bodily functions return to a healthy normal state. Four... Your blood pressure returns to a healthy normal state. Five… your breathing returns to normal. Six… Seven… Eight… Coming up slowly now in your own time... very soon your eyes will open… you will be wide awake and feeling so very good. Ten… when you’re ready… eyes open… wide awake… feeling ne.”
Comment: There are a number of situations that could arise during the process as dealt with above. Early in the dialogue we suggest to the subject that if any difculty is experienced the middle nger, as opposed to the pointer nger, will rise up. Should this happen, it is necessary to ask: “What is the difculty? Tell me about it.” The difculty once understood is usually easy to deal with. The most common problem is due to the subject being confused by what they see in the mirror. They do not see what they expect to see. The image may not be a likeness of themselves, either as they are or at an earlier time. Some see strange or weird images. Examples I have had described to me include a big black spider, a wolf’s head with bared fangs, streaks of blue light and dark shadows. When asked, the subject might say, “I cannot see anything, just some dark shadows, or there are only blue streaks across the mirror.”
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Private Subconscious Healing // 6 Sometimes, when pressed, the subject insists that the mirror is completely clear, in which case, I tell the subject to ask the image to show itself, or in some cases I may say: “Tell the invisible image to acknowledge that it is really present.” Often, one can ignore the lack of a visible image and carry on as if it was visible and the subject may get verbal responses. It is worth persevering in establishing communication and success usually results. Should all efforts fail to establish communication, change direction and try another approach. Then try again during a later consultation. In the meantime, endeavor to establish a strong relationship with the client so as to ensure a trusting deeper mind that will feel secure enough to open up and participate in the process. I believe this technique is the most valuable and versatile that I have worked with throughout my years as a practitioner. So much of what ails us, phobias, habits, fears and panic attacks are the consequence of an initial sensitising event which aroused intense feelings or emotions. Subsequent events have further strengthened or reinforced these feelings and emotions to the extent that they become attached or held on to. The degree of attachment is held the more rmly in situations where they have formed part of a defense mechanism, thus creating an unconscious perception that it is in the best interest of the whole person and its protection to keep a hold on those feelings and emotions.
Phobias, habits, fears and panic attacks are the consequence of an initial sensitizing event which aroused intense feelings and/or emotions.
It is the practice of most hypnotherapists to deal with these initial sensitising events by using age regression. This requires the induction of a deep trance state, and the uses of suggestions to enable the subject to revivify, that is to say, relive the initial event. Most initial sensitising events occur at a much younger age and the subject is able to re assess the event with greater maturity, so enabling them to resolve the issue. Any subsequent reinforcing events are dealt with in the same way. The method can be quite lengthy and may involve a number of sessions to get resolution. There is the possibility that the subject will abreact, (manifest physical distress and emotional reaction), whilst re-experiencing the trauma of the event. Recent concerns about false memory therapy and insurance indemnity provisions are diminished by using the method I have described. Age regression has been interpreted by many as likely to have some degree of false memory implanted in the mind prior to the induction of hypnosis. A well qualied, professional hypnotherapist will take care to avoid implanting any preconceived ideas in the mind of the subject. There will, however, be times when age regression is an appropriate method to employ. I shall deal with it in the next chapter.
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CHAPTER
7 Age Regression “It is imperative during Age Regression that the subconscious be allowed to describe what it sees without any inuence either by the subject or by any chance or deliberate message conveyed by the therapist.”
any hypnotherapists seem to consider age regression as a panacea for almost every condition M that clients present with. They assume that most
conditions that are diagnosed as not being due to a physical, viral or bacterial afiction, are the result of an initial sensitising event. This event is most frequently thought to be an event that causes trauma, and one that is reinforced by the repetition of similar events over time. It probably occurred in childhood but not inevitably. It may be attributed to abuse of a physical, emotional, or sexual nature. I want to emphasise here that care must be taken to avoid any assumption as to the nature of the event either before or during the trance induction. It is easy to present an idea to the mind which presupposes the nature of the event resulting in an acceptance that it is true. The safest approach is to say to the subject in trance, “Let your mind drift back to the rst event that has anything to do with your current distress (or problem).” Avoid any reference to a specic situation. Allow the subconscious to describe what it sees without any inuence consciously imposed on it either by the subject, due to false assumptions, or by any chance or deliberate message conveyed by the therapist. Age regressions starts with the trance induction, followed by deepening, in order to achieve as deep a trance state that is comfortable for the subject. In such a state the subject’s memory becomes an ‘open book’ or even a re-enactment of past events. During age regression the subject’s memory may function in any of three ways. It may recall an event in great detail, it may experience a visual image of the event taking place or it may relive the event. This latter condition is the most powerful, it is known as revivication. The subject experiences the event as if they are back in time with the same things happening just as they were at that time. There are a number of different techniques used to take the mind back in time. It may be to a specic time, or to an event known or unknown. It might even be to when a feeling or emotion was rst experienced in a distressing way that that has continued to manifest in the subjects life.
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Age Regression // 7 It is the source of the discomfort that is spoiling the quality of life. The process commences with the induction.
Stage One - The Induction The subjects I have hypnotised, in most cases experienced a deeper state of trance with each successive induction. Consequently, I use age regression techniques, when appropriate, during a second or subsequent session. There may be times when it is desirable to use age regression during an initial consultation, but the client is more receptive and, I believe, responsive, when initial apprehension or cynicism has been dealt with. Then the use of a rapid induction technique seems to enable the subject to go quickly into a much deeper trance.
The Method Once the subject is comfortably seated or lying on a chair or couch, request him or her to take a few deep breaths and then say: “When you are comfortable let your eyes close over.” When the eyes close, continue: “Now allow your eyes to relax… and let them relax until they are so relaxed that they want to stay closed and they do not want to open. When they are so relaxed that they want to stay closed and do not want to open please nod your head to let me know.” The subject’s head nods. ( Ideo-motor signal) “Now relax those eyes even more… let them relax until they are so relaxed they are locked shut and cannot open… and when they are so relaxed that they are locked shut and cannot open… test them to be sure that they are so relaxed they are locked shut and cannot open… and when you have made your test nod your head to let me know.” When the head nods continue. “Now in a moment I shall touch your shoulder and your eyes will immediately unlock… you will feel wide awake… it will be as if nothing has happened… but any time I touch your wrist your eyes will immediately lock shut again and you will listen to my voice.” Touch subject’s shoulder. Eyes open. Say to subject: “Are you nice and comfortable? Are you nice and relaxed?” Allow subject to respond and then touch the wrist. The eyes will lock shut again. Say to subject: “As you continue listening to my voice… you can feel yourself in a place that you like to be… doing something that you like doing… and when you feel yourself in that nice place nod your head.”
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Age Regression // 7 Head nods. “And in that pleasant place you can see, you can hear and maybe smell all the nice things going on there. When you can see… hear… feel… maybe even smell all the nice things going on there… nod your head to let me know.” Head nods. “Where is that pleasant place?” “In my garden,” is a typical subject response. “Good. You are in your garden. Is it a nice sunny day or cloudy and dull?” “It’s sunny.” “You feel pleasantly warm I am sure. Are you nice and warm?” “Yes.” “What can you see in your garden? Is anyone else there… are you alone… any sounds?” “I am alone.” Allow the client to visualise themselves in a safe and pleasant place such as a garden.
“What can you see in the garden?” “Flowers… birds.” “Any sounds?” “The birds are a bit noisy” “Anything else happening? In a moment I shall ask you to open your eyes but you will remain in your pleasant place and continue to see… hear… feel… maybe even smell all the pleasant things happening there. All right now… remaining in your pleasant places… open your eyes.” Eyes open. “Are you still in your garden?” Head nods. “Good. Are the birds still being noisy?” “Yes.” “Are you comfortable and warm?” “Yes.” “Are there any owers in bloom?” “Yes the roses are in ower.” “What colour are the roses?” “Some are red and there are white ones at the back.” “In a moment I shall touch your shoulder and all those memories
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Age Regression // 7 will be forgotten… and you will feel as if nothing has happened. But any time I touch your wrist your eyes will close… and you will immediately return to your pleasant place with all its pleasant memories.” Touch the shoulder. The subject is now consciously aware. Say: “Are you still nice and relaxed and comfortable?” Subject verbally responds. Touch the wrist. The eyes close. “Are you enjoying your pleasant place, the garden?” The head nods. “Good. Continue to enjoy it as you relax even deeper than before” Stage Two - Soliciting the Help of the Subconscious Mind Having established a deep trance state we now obtain the support of the subject’s subconscious mind. Say: “I want to address myself directly to your subconscious mind. Does your subconscious mind really want me to help? If your subconscious mind really wants me to help… please allow the yes nger on the right hand to rise up.” When yes nger moves it is wise to seek conrmation of the origin of the signal. “Did that response come from the deep subconscious mind? If so, please allow the yes nger to rise up” Now the yes nger makes a slight movement in an upward direction. (Note that a slight movement is a better indicator of a subconscious response than a strong movement. A strong movement could indicate that the response is coming from the conscious mind. “Is it all right for the subconscious mind to look at some subconscious memories that are beyond the reach of the conscious memory?” The yes nger moves. (Should a no response be given, ask if it is okay to look at some memories.) “Subconscious mind… please project back in time, at a subconscious level to the rst experience which has anything to do with the distress in your life or the feelings and emotions associated with that experience. When you are there let me know by raising the yes nger.” The yes nger gently rises. “Good. Please now review that experience in detail at a subconscious level… and when the review has been completed…
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Age Regression // 7 allow the yes nger to rise to let me know.” The yes nger moves. “If the experience is one that is frightening or causes you to feel scared… let the yes nger rise.” The yes nger moves. “Are the feelings or emotions associated with the experience hurtful… is there any anger involved or is there any guilt present?” The yes nger moves. “Is there any hurt?” The yes nger moves. “Is there any anger?” The yes nger moves. “Is there any guilt associated with this experience?” The yes nger moves. “Is there anything sexual about this experience?” No nger rises. “Did this experience occur at the age of ve or younger?” The no nger moves. “Did it occur at the age of ten or younger?” The no nger moves. “Did it occur before the age of sixteen?” The yes nger moves. “At the time of this experience are you fteen years old?” The no nger moves. “Are you fourteen years old?” The yes nger moves. “You are fourteen years old, is that right?” The yes nger moves. “Would it be all right for (subject’s name) to know about this experience up here on…?” (Current Date) “If it is okay the yes nger can rise to let me know.”
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Age Regression // 7 The yes nger moves. “Would it be okay for (subject’s name) to feel all the feelings associated with this experience? If it is the yes nger can rise to let me know.” The yes nger moves. “Would you now please allow those scary feelings to come up to a level where they can be felt? The yes nger will rise when this has been done.” The yes nger rises. This request is repeated for each of the feelings previously identied i.e. anger, hurt and guilt. Then when each feeling has been felt ask: “Would it be all right to talk to me about this experience?” If the subject agrees to talk about it, the therapist has the opportunity now to guide the person to a reappraisal of the experience during which the subject can see, hear, and feel everything associated with the experience. The difference being that it is now being recaptured by a more mature mind than when it rst happened. Ask the mature mind to use all its wisdom, understanding and experience to help the fourteen year old mind that has been holding on to all these uncomfortable feelings to realise it does not have to go through the rest of life carrying the burden of these feelings. When the realisation is achieved, let the two levels of mind nd a way to let go the unwanted feelings of fear, anger, hurt and guilt. “When all those uncomfortable feelings that have been spoiling the quality of your life have been let go, allow the yes nger to rise up to let me know.” When the yes nger rises it is important to pose a nal question. “Is there anything else that we need to know that may continue to be a source of discomfort in (subject’s name) life?” If anything is identied it must be dealt with in a similar way to what has been done before . Now ask the mind to project foreword in time, so it can see itself going through a typical day in a new enhanced positive manner. The subject can now be brought slowly to full conscious awareness. Of all the procedures using age regression to access initial sensitising events, I believe the way so described is the most effective and comfortable for the client. It virtually removes any unpleasant abreactions. It works with the cooperation of the subconscious mind throughout the process; this is almost a guarantee of a benecial outcome.
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Age Regression // 7 Comment: When the subject talks about the experience, the role of the therapist is one of guide and counselor. A sympathetic and compassionate manner is important. The emphasis should be to enable the mind to see the event in a different way. To recognise the experience is in the past and the past no longer exists, it is just a memory, like a photograph or a movie. It can help to re-assess the perceived motives, feelings and intentions of other people involved in the experience. Things overlooked or passed over at the time of the event can become obvious in review. The task is to gain acceptance that old outgrown outworn feelings and emotions can be let go and are let go.
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CHAPTER
8 Past Life Regression “It is important to be aware that when working with hypnosis a past life may appear spontaneously without any deliberate attempt by the therapist to access it.”
hen we are using age regression it seems that the deeper the subject goes into the trance state W the easier it becomes to access the memories that we need to uncover. Whilst it is impracticable to actually measure the depth of trance without the use of measuring devices such as an electroencephalograph or biofeedback machine, there are a number of techniques we can employ to bring about the desirable state of trance conducive to effective therapy. The most pertinent of these include the use of rapid inductions, fractionation, amnesia, and the employment of ideo-motor signals. Rapid Inductions Experience suggests that rapid inductions, when used subsequent to a previous induction, are conducive to really deep states of trance. A rapid induction can be any procedure that is accepted by the subject as an action which will cause them to go immediately into a trance state. Asking the subject to close their eyes and then let them relax until they are so relaxed that they want to stay closed and not want to open, with a request to nod when they are so relaxed, is the followed by. “Now relax them until they are so relaxed they are locked shut and cannot open. When they are so relaxed they are locked shut and cannot open... test them to be sure they are locked shut and cannot open... and when you have made your test nod your head to let me know.” Observing the subject attempt to open the eyes and then nod the head is conclusive evidence of a deep trance state. The eye roll back as previously described (Chapter Five) can be very effective in attaining a deep trance state. Once a therapist is condent, any gesture with a sufciently powerful suggestion can be used.
It is well worth taking a slow lengthy progression towards a meeting with a past life.
“As I pass my hand down over your eyes… Iet your eyes close over and allow yourself to just drift down to the deepest level that is comfortable for you right now.” Or, “In a moment I shall tap the
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Past Life Regression // 8 centre of your forehead and your eyes will immediately shut tight and you will go into a deep hypnotic trance.” Rapid inductions are very powerful and limited only by the imagination.
Fractionation This is purely a process of repeated rapid induction. Hypnotise the subject and after the subject goes into trance, awaken them and when they awaken, immediately hypnotise them again. The method can be repeated until a satisfactory depth of hypnosis is achieved. It can also be applied at any time the subject is in trance if the therapy might benet from it.
Number losing (Amnesia) When a subject is in trance and the therapist is using visualisation as a deepening technique, the following process is effective.
Visualisation can be used as a deepening technique in combination with suggestions and metaphors.
“As you continue your walk through the park you can see just ahead of you a park bench. Go over to the park bench and sit down comfortably on it. Now look up to the sky and you can see a long line of numbers stretched right across the sky, starting with one hundred and going all the way back to zero. In a moment I am going to ask you to look up again and nd the number one hundred and then I want you to say out loud, the words one hundred. As you do so you double your relaxation and then look for the next number... 99 , .. say 99 double your relaxation and try to nd the next number and say the number. Each time you say a number you double your relaxation… and as you proceed… the numbers become smaller and fainter as you go. By the time you get down to about 95 the numbers will have become so small and faint that you will be unable to nd them and then you say, ‘All gone’...” Ask the subject to start counting whilst encouraging them. “Find the next number… say the number and double your relaxation… notice how the numbers are becoming smaller and fainter. Try to nd the next number and say the number. When they are all gone just say, ‘All Gone’ ...”
Opening The Door To Trance Typical visualisations can be divided into three classes: Spacing out, focused awareness and dissociation. Spacing out includes imagining lying on a grassy bank watching the clouds drift by or listening to a dull sermon or lecture. Focused awareness could be imagining watching a lm and being fully involved or listening to a great orchestra or a repetitive work activity. Disassociation might be playing a musical instrument which you have completely mastered or just doodling whist in a kind of day dream.
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Past Life Regression // 8 Again one is only limited by one’s imagination. Where the therapist guides, the subject follows. Not all subjects are the same and the therapist needs to nd what works best for each person. Some people are very suggestible and are considered highly hypnotiseable. Most are somewhat hypnotiseable and some represent a challenge. The rest that are not appropriate subjects include psychotics, schizophrenics and extreme endogenous depressives, and subjects with Bipolar Disorder. Some students experience difculty in recognising the indications that a subject is indeed in a trance state. Here are a few indicators that can help and reassure the student that they have successfully hypnotised their subject:
Flattening of the facial muscles and uttering eyelids are two key indicators of the hypnotic trance state.
• Flattening of the facial muscles. • Fluttering eyelids • Increased lacrimation (tears) • Eyeballs turn upwards into head • Immobility • Catalepsy • Changes in blinking and swallowing • Altered breathing and pulse • Change in pallor. • Changed voice quality • Time lag in response • Fixed gaze • Far away look • Jerky movements • Relaxed state of the body’s muscles Two or more of these are good indicators of trance. Depth of trance is not as vital as it may seem to be, and new or inexperienced practitioners are often unnecessarily anxious about it. As soon as the undivided attention of the subconscious mind has been accessed, the therapeutic process can be assumed to begin. Hypnosis is present any time that the critical faculty of the conscious mind is bypassed, or communication with the subconscious mind is established. In reality we all spend many of our waking hours in a trance state. We can be fully aware with conscious thought processes going on without interference whilst at the same time exhibiting subconscious responses to suggestion. An idea or many ideas can be accepted without conscious interference. Experienced drivers of motor vehicles are able to consciously plan their day driving to work, whilst at the same time the subconscious mind is focused on driving the car. In the event of an unusual situation arising, the conscious mind immediately takes over in order to make a decision. The subconscious cannot make decisions. A person deeply absorbed in a television program may respond to another person’s suggestion without being aware that they have done so. We have a hypnotic state as long as there is no conscious blocking of communication with the
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Past Life Regression // 8 deeper mind. When using hypnosis it is best to assume that the trance state is established, because if it is not, it probably soon will be. If it does not occur it will become fairly obvious in some way. The subject is unlikely to be a good judge of their depth of trance. Having said all that, still aim for the depth of trance that is the deepest the subject is comfortable with. Age regression is one of the processes that work best when the brain wave frequencies are in the theta or delta range. This applies particularly to a form of age regression which is often referred to as past lives regression.
Past Lives Regression This subject is a controversial one and from a therapeutic aspect needs to be dealt with care and sensitivity. It is not necessary for a therapist to believe in past lives in order to deal with a situation should a past life become manifest. It is important to be aware that when working with hypnosis a past life may appear spontaneously without any deliberate attempt by the therapist to access it. One does not have to be a so called past life therapist to encounter a past life situation, they do occasionally occur uninvited! It is unfortunate that the subject of past life therapy has attracted a lot of interest in the media and publishing industry. The more seemingly dramatic the presentation, the more attention it gets. It is true that some subjects have experienced quite amazing recalls of a past life, many of which have been supported by research into the period concerned. In such cases it is difcult to come up with an explanation other than to accept that the subject has had a past life experience. As a therapist I am not concerned with how true the experience was, but the fact that it must have been present in the mind of the subject and may be the source of what ails them. My role is to help the subject resolve any issues associated with the phenomenon rather than to make judgments about it. If we concern ourselves with the phenomenon we become distracted from our role as therapists. It impacts upon our religious and philosophical beliefs which should be no part of our therapeutic process. It would be strange, however if we were not moved or inuenced in our own thinking about such things. A situation may arise in which the hypnotherapist believes it is in the interest of the client to explore the possibility of a past life. Normally, my preference is to use age regression, in which the mind is asked to orient back to the FIRST EVENT that has anything to do with the client’s current distress. However, it would be strange to discuss past life regression and not give some guidance on how a past life might be revealed. A subject should in any event be advised that they may be disappointed in the event that a past life is not forthcoming. Not every person is able to access a past life, whether this is because they do not have one or because the mind is protective for some reason. When a past life does manifest the client’s expectation that they had a previous life as some famous or notorious gure is seldom realised.
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Past Life Regression // 8
Procedure To Contact a Past Incarnation It is well worth taking a slow lengthy progression towards a meeting with a past life. The induction you use is a matter of personal preference, but once having induced a trance state it is desirable to spend a while further deepening the state. The following is an example of what may be used: “Your body is now very relaxed. Your eye muscles are completely and utterly relaxed. Your jaw muscles are relaxed. Your facial muscles are relaxed. The whole of your being is relaxed… at peace… and any thoughts you have seem to dissolve or just fade away. You are aware of your breathing… as every breath enables you to continue to relax deeper and deeper. The rhythm of your breathing seems to put you in harmony with the entire universe. You feel an inner glow expanding outwards enveloping you. You are at peace… loved and loving. You are in complete harmony with all of life. There is no separation between you and the energetic forces that pervade all of life. As you breathe in now… you draw in a brilliant pure white light… it enters through the top of your head… it lls your whole body. Every muscle… every tissue… every organ… every cell is surrounded by the light. The white light protects you… there is no harm… no negative force that can affect you. You are safe… completely protected. Take one more deep breath and relax even deeper... Let everything go.” “Now imagine yourself in a place that you would like to be… a beautiful place… somewhere in nature. Maybe a place you already know… or a place that exists only in your imagination. In this place you can see… you can hear... maybe even smell all the nice things that are there. Use all your senses to really experience this place. See the trees and listen to the gentle rustling of the leaves. If there are owers smell their fragrance... feel the warmth of the sun’s rays or a cool gentle breeze. This is your special place… a sanctuary from all cares. Spend a few moments in this special sanctuary enjoying the feeling of peace… calm… and security.” “Now we shall commence a journey that leads us to a signicant period in time that will help you to gain insight and benet the whole person. Imagine you have left your pleasant place and are walking along a pathway… out in the open. You can see the green grass, a blue sky and white clouds just drifting by. Just ahead of you is a wooded area and soon you are in amongst the trees… listening to the leaves rustling in the gentle breeze. The ground beneath your feet is soft… and the air is lled with the scent of gum leaves. The path you are on is winding downward. The trees are gradually thinning out… and there is a light haze forming.The path continues on down… and the haze thickens into a ne mist. Despite the mist… the path beneath your feet is
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Past Life Regression // 8 clear… and you know that you are safe and secure. You continue on your journey. In the distance you can hear the sound of water cascading… and you know that a river is not far away. Nearby you can see a pool and lights being reected from its surface. The mist starts to spiral to form a cloud that clings to the earth and from its centre comes a sound. At rst it’s a faint hum that gets louder… and you become aware that your guide is approaching. Your guide has come to you from a timeless state to be with you… to offer unconditional love and support.” “Your guide has come to provide love… guidance… and insight. The cloud lifts a little… greet your guide… ask your guide it’s name… ask for any advice the guide has for you. Then let the guide lead you through the mist. You feel so safe and secure. The sound of water owing and seeming to lap against a bank is clearer now. Is it the ever owing river of life? Then you realise that you are walking along the river bank. The water seems to shine through the mist which has now become quite thick. Your guide leads you on along the river bank… until in a while you can just make out a wooden bridge across the river. Your guide tells you that this bridge leads to another place... another time... and you may cross over if you wish. Soon you are at the end of the bridge… and you are about to cross over the river… knowing that you can return to your pleasant sanctuary at any time. You thank you guide and step on to the bridge.” “You are on the bridge… the bridge leads over the river to another place and time. It leads to a time that may have an important memory… or an event that is causing you problems in your present life. An event that can be revisited… resolved… reassessed or may even be corrected. At the end of the bridge is a past life… a life in the endless stream of lives throughout eternity.” “Then let the guide lead you through the mist. You feel so safe and secure...”
“In a moment I shall count from twenty down to one… as each step takes you closer to your past life. Every step is taking you near to that period in time that has meaning for you. Twenty… nineteen… eighteen… soon you will be in another place another time. Seventeen… sixteen… fteen… every step is taking you closer. Fourteen… thirteen… twelve… getting closer and closer. Eleven… ten… nine… closer now. Eight… seven… soon you will arrive at that time. Six… ve… ever closer. The mist is still thick… but you are ne. Four… just a few more steps. Three… almost there. Two… just a step away now. Take the next step forward on the count of one. One… and you have arrived in another time… you are in one of your previous lives. The mist lifts and all is clear.” “As the mist has cleared take a moment or two to become aware of yourself and your surroundings.” “Look down at your feet. Are you wearing shoes?”
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Past Life Regression // 8 The subject will usually answer verbally. You can encourage it by saying: “Allow the voice to answer Are these the feet of a man or a woman? Decide whether you have the feet of a young person or an old person. Are you a young person or an old person? “ The therapist can continue asking questions to ascertain the nature of the subject’s physical form as well as the environment that the subject is experiencing. Typical questions might be: “Now look around and become aware of whether you are indoors or outdoors. What is beneath your feet? Is it grass, wood, tiles, paving, earth or something different? Are you warm or cold? What is covering your body? Are you in the countryside, a town or village maybe, or a city? Can you see any buildings nearby? What kind of buildings are they! Are they tall, built of brick, stone, wood? Are they modern looking or very old style? Are there any other people about? Do you recognise anyone, or do they look familiar? Notice your feelings and your emotions. Does it feel good to be in this life? Do you feel at all uncomfortable or apprehensive? Now project yourself to a time in this life that has some signicance for you. When you arrive in this time… allow your head to nod to let me know” Once this time and event is established, typical analytical therapy can be conducted as it would for any sensitising event. Once the matter has been resolved and the emotions and feelings released or let go, the subject can be reoriented back to the present. “It is now time to return to your present life. Let this previous life fade away as you now return to the here and now. Having looked through the curtains of life you feel relaxed and calm. Your whole being has been enhanced by the experience.” Normal awakening procedure can now be used: “In a moment I shall count from… ” The foregoing is an example of how a past life experience can be conducted. The subject can be guided to move around within the life to explore a number of events. For example, relationships, conicts, sickness and even the moment of death in that life. Should an abreaction occur at any time, the subject can just be asked to rise above what is happening and become an observer, or just leave the event and move on to some other situation.
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Past Life Regression // 8 Hypnotherapy is founded on the concept that our behavior is almost entirely due to conditioning by the events and people we experience during our life. Past life therapy suggests that we can carry over from one incarnation to another the feelings and emotions that were unresolved in that previous incarnation. The acceptance of this proposition relies on a belief in reincarnation which not everyone is prepared for. Whether one believes or not, the phenomenon does occur, sometimes spontaneously as well as with the help of a procedure similar to that outlined. When it occurs the experienced practitioner should deal with it in a matter of fact way, the subject is having an experience that may provide the opportunity to release a source of discomfort in their life. Whatever one’s personal belief is, the wellbeing of the subject is of prime concern. Conditioning is usually the result of the repetition of some experience or association of incidents. Superstitions are a typical example of this. One event is seemingly always followed by another event. This event is seemingly always followed by a similar event and through repetition becomes part of the belief system. Another form of conditioning is referred to as “Reward and Punishment” or “Pleasure and Pain.” This means that we are likely to keep repeating behavior that is pleasurable or rewarding, whilst endeavouring to avoid situations that are painful, distressing, fearful and perceived as punishing. Superstitions are an example of conditioning where one event is seemingly always followed by another event, and through repetition becomes part of the belief system.
Learning experiences can also be conditioning. When we learn that a particular behaviour solves a problem of some kind, we will expect it to continue to do so every time afterwards. Some behaviours are inherent; we bring them in to the world with us. These relate to our physical needs of food, shelter, sex and safety. We also have an inherent need to belong to a group. We need to be accepted or loved by those we wish to be identied with. The family and work groups are powerful inuences in this regard. From a therapy point of view, the objective is to reveal the conditioned behaviour that is a cause for concern and replace it with a more appropriate, benecial behaviour.
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CHAPTER
9 Dual Mind Theory “Each side of the brain possesses an autonomous, distinct personality so that we have two minds. Each mind has its own memories, motivations and behaviours.”
ost people know that the brain has two hemispheres and have some knowledge of the M functions that are associated with each hemisphere. They also know that the hemisphere on the right side controls the left side of the physical body and vice versa. Whilst this may be taken as true for most proposes, there are other considerations.
We know that both hemispheres are actively involved in mental processes. The right and left hemispheres are able to process information independently, and can continue to do so when surgically separated by the cutting of the corpus callossum, a link connecting the two hemispheres of the human brain. The characteristics exhibited by each hemisphere may be summarised. The Left Hemisphere reasons and deals in logical sequences. It processes stuff step by step. One thing nishes before the next begins. Thinking follows a straight path, has a linear quality about it. Left hemisphere dominent people tend to be logical and see the link between cause and effect. They process material piece by piece working towards the complete whole. Left hemisphere dominent people are planners. When they read, word follows word, when they speak they do so logically, condent in reaching a conclusion. They are time conscious, day follows day, life is lived chronologically. The Right Hemisphere dominant person imagines and recognises whole things all at once. There is little concern for accuracy, preferring a general overall view with immediate recognition or awareness. Final conclusions are of minor interest and so issues are open ended. Images are internalised, resulting in day dreams, fantasies and spacing out. Right Hemisphere dominant people are often intuitive, spiritual and creative. They can make a connection between widely seemingly diverse and dispersed things. The whole picture is their rst priority, before they are concerned with its parts. Time is not an issue for them. They have ashes or glimpses; they have revelations. The world, the cosmos, life, is all in the eternal present.
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Dual Mind Theory // 9 With such differing processes going on in the two hemispheres it is a wonder that we manage to function effectively. It is a fact of life that we are all multiple personalities and, as long as each personality takes its turns in being the leader, life goes on without much distress. The environment is the determinant as to which personality is the leader in any situation. Most of us are aware that we and our friends or relatives behave differently according to the environment. We may be strong and determined in one situation, but apprehensive, fearful or embarrassed in another. We have previously referred to the mind functioning at two levels, a conscious level and an subconscious level. Perhaps we could think of there being two minds, one dwelling in the right hemisphere and one in the left hemisphere.
In Dual Mind Theory, each mind has its own memories, motivations and behaviours.
Dr Frederic Schiffer M.D. in his book, “Of Two Minds”, presents evidence that each side of the brain possesses an autonomous, distinct personality. He says we have two minds. Each mind has its own memories, motivations and behaviours. He portrays each mind as having its own degree of maturity. So we can have one mind that is very mature, strong and self sufcient while the other mind may be immature, sensitive and dependent. Dr Schiffer has applied this concept to individual psychotherapy successfully. He has combined this brain theory with counseling and patient training to treat many mental, emotional and psychosomatic illnesses. I have been encouraged by the work of Dr Schiffer to make contact with these two minds and through hypnosis I have opened up communication with the two minds. The aim is to provide support for a hurting sensitive mind and encourage greater participation from a mature, rational sometime indifferent mind. Every child experiences some degree of trauma. They encounter frightening situations, experience real and imagined fears. In order to deal with these encounters they develop coping behaviours. Some of these behaviours enable the child to deal with the associated anxieties, feelings and emotions. In some, the behaviour will be perpetuated throughout life. This may be all right in most cases, but what may have been an acceptable behaviour in childhood could be socially unacceptable in adults. In many there remains a hurt, or an anxiety, or anger, or fear, or guilt which stays in the mind and continues to manifest in response to life events. Dual-mind theory leads us to expect that these hurts are being borne by the sensitive mind which is so distressed that it has become the dominant mind. We may assume there is a mature, logical perhaps blasé mind that has stood aside and allowed the sensitive mind to take the lead. Therapy involves creating a balance or harmony between the two minds, as well as showing support for the sensitive mind. The mature mind is then persuaded to take over the lead from a willing sensitive mind.
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Dual Mind Theory // 9
Procedure For Using Dual Mind Theory I like to start with Three Deep Breathes followed by a rapid induction. The induction is a matter of preference for each therapist, but should be followed by a deepening technique. “Focus attention on the breathing. Your breathing now becomes relaxed… automatic. As I count from ve down to one take yourself all the way down to the deepest level of sleeplike trance that you can achieve right now that is comfortable for you.” The aim is to attain delta brain wave activity (1-3 cycles per second) or as deep as possible. Then suggest the subject goes to their own special place. And so continue: “As you relax, calm and completely at ease in your own peaceful… pleasant place… your conscious mind has absolutely nothing to do… because awake or asleep your subconscious mind is always present…it hears… it accepts… it understands and remembers the images and thoughts that are brought to its attention. So, having nothing to do your conscious mind can rest… relax... and even sleep if it wishes. Your subconscious mind continues hearing… accepting… understanding… remembering… and using those images and thoughts brought to its attention… to help you. You remain relaxed and composed. All sounds… including the sound of my voice… any thoughts… they pass through your mind effortlessly and easily. They are like clouds drifting lazily… effortlessly through the sky. They are like ripples owing across still water. You too drift effortlessly deeper and deeper… calm... at peace. As this is happening my words are being received at the deepest level of mind in order to bring great blessings and desirable changes in your life. Relax be at peace… experience the bliss as you seek and nd that level of trance that can enhance and facilitate those outcomes that you desire.” “As you continue in this beautiful state of bliss… allow yourself to become aware that deep inside you there are two minds. Two intact… reasonably intelligent… independent minds. Each of these minds has ifs own motivations… its own memories… temperaments and behaviours. One mind may feel very secure and condent. One may be affected by past traumas… bothers… anxieties…shame, fear or guilt. This part may suffer feelings of discomfort… distress or unhappiness. Feelings which may have lingered or been persistently held on to... from the past. This mind could be a troubled mind. It seems that this mind at times encourages you to act or react in ways that are contrary to your present needs and desires. Yet I am sure it is doing so due to its belief that it is acting in your best interest… and for reasons that seem appropriate from its perception.” “The other mind… the secure… mature… condent mind… a healthy mind knows that what is past is past and that it no longer
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Dual Mind Theory // 9 exists. It is a well grounded part that knows that nothing from the past can harm you or hurt you in any way unless it is allowed to do so. This is the mind that faces the world with complete condence… contentment and in the most positive way. It is your healthy healing mind. This healthy healing mature mind has an absolute… unlimited… innite capacity to bring enormous benecial change about for the benet of the whole person. It does so easily… without reliance on any external aid or substance.” “Now understand that these two minds sometimes struggle together… each seeking to be the dominant part… or they can cooperate with each other. It seems that the troubled… distressed… (hurt… angry… or guilty) sensitive mind has been taking control of your life. The mature… condent… well grounded mind has been side lined or just stood aside. So... listen carefully now at the deepest level of mind… as I talk to the troubled… distressed… uncomfortable mind. Pay close attention now… troubled mind… I know you do not yet understand why you are so distressed or troubled… however I and your mature healthy side will now help you to understand yourself. If you feel okay about that just nod the head to let me know. Good.” “I believe that you have had a positive purpose in behaving in the way that you have behaved? That you have used your behaviour as a defence or protection in some way… even though this behaviour has been expressed in some out worn… out grown… obsolete way… or perhaps in an habitual way? If this is correct… please raise the pointer nger on the right hand to let me know.” The nger rises. “Now… please let me speak with the other side… the mature side. Mature side… please pay close attention. I say to you now… arouse yourself! You are the healthy… mature self. You are the mind that knows how to be relaxed… at ease… composed. You have the ability to bring wellbeing to the whole person. You are self assured… relaxed and condent. I know that you can take care of (subject’s name)… and ensure that he or she is in touch with all the resources that are needed for a full… happy and healthy life. So now please assume this important role. Explain to the distressed unhappy part why its actions… and behavior has been inappropriate and out dated. Let it know how that has created considerable disharmony… and ill-effects... and problems. When that is done… give to the part all the help it needs to become whole and healthy. Show it more creative options… more life enhancing processes. Help it to enhance the entire body-mind system which of course includes itself. Give your full cooperation to the uncomfortable part… help it especially by taking a more leading role. Cooperate with the other part… express all your positive qualities in support of new benecial behaviours by the sensitive mind.”
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Dual Mind Theory // 9 Sensitive mind… accept all this help and assistance from the mature mind. It can comfort… renew and restore you as you begin to implement more appropriate behaviors… more healthful and positive behaviours. So now please stop attacking (subject’s name) or negatively affecting (subject’s name). You have new behavioral patterns which can be conveyed to conscious levels for implementation and reinforced by dreams and experience.” “From this time on cooperate with your other side... for the total well being of (subject’s name). Let the other side take a more active leading role. By more cooperation you will prevent life continuing to run off course and get back on track in perfect harmony.” Before bringing the subject to full awareness, ask the subject to project forward in time to a situation, any situation, in which they see themselves dealing with events in a positive way. The nal images that the subject has are images of his or her self coping with life’s situations in a way that they desire. The value of this procedure lies in the underlying message. The subject now acknowledges that they have a mind that is strong and mature. A mind which is there to provide strength and well being. They may have been functioning under the inuence of their sensitive part but now their sensitive mind has the comfort and support that was missing. And the healthful part is able to assume the dominant role.
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CHAPTER
We Are A Conditioned 10 People “The words that we use will inuence the mind more effectively if we avoid putting people down and aim to build them up. Positive messages work better than negative messages”
be useful when using hypnosis to think of the Brain as the home of the conscious mind and IthetLeftcan Right Brain as the home of the subconscious mind. So that when working, at a conscious level, it is better to stick with things known or with facts and apply logic. When communicating with the subconscious we do better with stories, metaphors, images, fantasy and nonsense suggestions. Remembering of course that each mind has the ability to work independently cooperatively or in opposition to the other.
Be aware that the subconscious (right brain) always seeks to protect both the conscious and the whole person. The problem arises when it protects in the best way it knows how according to it’s perception of reality. Whilst these ways may have been appropriate, available, or permissible at one time, the protective behaviour may be quite wrong in the person’s present circumstances. Consequently, it has to be convinced that this old protective behaviour no longer works in the interest of the whole person and a new more appropriate behaviour must be found. Growing up in a particular social environment or culture impacts on the subconscious mind and may produce acceptable behaviour. The subconscious does however, frequently get the messages wrong. It does not know right from wrong, it receives whatever the conscious mind believes and accepts and behaves accordingly. No questions are asked, there is no critical analysis, and it is the perfect servant of the conscious. All of which is ne unless the message was misconstrued or taken literally and quite unintended in the rst instance. The more often the message is repeated, the more impact it has. The result is that in any situation that reoccurs, frequently or with regularity, we are conditioned to repeat the behaviour in more or less the same way. We develop behaviour patterns or responses to the commonly occurring events in our lives.
In the vast memory storehouse of the human mind lies millions of images.
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Typical examples include events such as responding to criticism or perceived threats, or it may be simple every day things like eating a meal, the way we shower, shave or apply make up. Are we punctual, considerate or disorderly?
We Are A Conditioned People // 10 The way we drive a car is determined long before we ever get our licence. In early childhood most of us are taught to be time conscious. The recurring messages we probably received included: “Stop wasting time.” “Hurry up, stop dawdling.” “It is rude to be late.” “Keep up or you will get left behind.” “Get there early to get to the front of the queue.” “I’ll race you to the end of the street.” “Why did you let Jane beat you? “Who is the fastest in your school?” “My Dad’s car does l50kph. It’s faster than your Dad’s.” “First is better than second.” We keep hearing these kinds of messages repeatedly daily throughout life. Our subconscious mind accepts and believes them and responds with ‘appropriate’ behaviour. The conditioned behaviour will manifest in appropriate and inappropriate ways. For example, we value punctuality but feel a compulsion to speed in built up areas, or experience frustration when we are held up in some way. Attempts to change the behaviour at a conscious level are unlikely to succeed. Society exhorts people to drive more slowly but makes heroes of the fastest racing drivers. The subconscious gets the message: - fast is fun; it’s good to be rst; fast people are special. The messages are also confusing. Society puts the fastest performers on a pedestal but nes the ones who break the speed limit. We recieve mixed messages on a regular basis - Society demands people who drive to slow down but encourage us to work faster, or to beat the clock.
Most people have a need to be appreciated. Criticism is more common than appreciation. It must make sense that people are more likely to respond to appreciation than to criticism So in our efforts to change behaviour we need to put the emphasis on appreciation rather than on criticism. Positive messages will be more powerful than negative ones. In fact the subconscious has a habit of deleting the negatives from some of the messages it receives. If you say to someone “Don’t think about crocodiles”, they think about crocodiles. Say, “You don’t have to be afraid?”, and they feel apprehensive. Tell young Johnny, “Don’t go near that vase”, and the vase becomes an item of interest. Put up a sign “Wet paint, don’t touch”, and see how many passers-by can resist touching it. The language of the subconscious must be understood in order to communicate effectively with it. The words that we use will inuence the mind more effectively if we avoid putting people down and aim to build them up. Appreciation is powerful; criticism is counter productive. Positive messages work better than negative messages. So let us tell people that they have all the qualities that they want or need in their lives. Tell them they already have them. The subconscious will accept the message and start to implement appropriate behaviour to match the belief. We can make it even more powerful if we can create visual images to reinforce the power of the messages.
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We Are A Conditioned People // 10 “Now project your mind forward in time and see yourself going through your normal daily routine, see how relaxed and calm you are. Notice how condently you deal with the task at hand. Notice how good you feel and how well you look.” This kind of message can be built in to any script a therapist could use. We can go beyond this through the use of metaphors and stories. The English language is host to literally thousands of metaphors. We use them daily without giving much thought to them so that our subconscious mind is well versed in the interpretation of metaphors. Metaphors add spice to the language; they stimulate the imagination and induce visual images which can be realistic and vivid. So what is a metaphor? A metaphor involves the use of a name, term or a word and applying it to something to which it would not normally apply. One might say that metaphors are in our blood and that any hypnotherapist worth his salt and without going out on a limb will already be in the picture and not have to rely on a bolt out of the blue to develop a script that by any yardstick is a winner. The Australian version of English adds many more. You may come from the Back of Burke or from beyond the Black Stump. You might be awake before sparrow twit and rub shoulders with the hoy poloy. You may get bushed from time to time, but no one ever comes the raw prawn with you, mate. In dealing with metaphors you could say we are all in the same boat.
We learn through stories to make the connection between the hidden language behind metaphors, fables, fairy stories and the circumstances that surround our lives.
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As children we learn through stories to make the connection between the hidden language behind metaphors, fables, fairy stories and the circumstances that surround our lives. The very young enjoy them and they become part of the conditioning process that inuences our view of the world. There are powerful messages in the stories of knights in shining armour saving damsels in distress. Thomas The Tank Engine overcomes trials and burdens. Children’s books such as The Secret Seven, Wind in the Willows and Red Riding Hood all leave a mark on the young mind. Now with the inuence of television there are even more messages. These can be quite diverse ranging from programs like Play School, The Railway Children, and Star Wars through to Rambo and Terminator. For the very young mind these images, these messages present an impression of the world outside the home and school. This is reinforced when a child is subjected to some kind of sensitising event or trauma that relates to or makes a connection with those early impressions. In the vast memory storehouse of the human mind lies millions of images and the brain has the capacity to make trillions of connections. Every stimulus is received brings up to the surface of the mind some image and all the emotions and feelings that are attached to it. Hypnotherapy relies on the premise that the subconscious mind carries the memory of every event ever experienced right back to birth and probably in utero. We do indeed have a perfect memory, even if the recall process is often sluggish. The subconscious has
We Are A Conditioned People // 10 demonstrated an ability to know the cause of our distress and to be able to x it. The skill required of the hypnotherapist is to facilitate the process by giving suggestions that either enable the mind to review a memory and reappraise it in a more mature way, or to help it nd a way to let go the feelings and/or emotions it has become attached to. Direct positive suggestions can be very powerful. Some clients may require more subtle approaches. Let’s look at one example. The process begins with: • The Induction • Some Deepening of the trance state • Some ego-strengthening suggestions followed by:
“You are on a pathway… leading to a magnicent forest...”
“I want you to imagine yourself outdoors on a beautiful day. The sun is shining… the sky is blue… you can feel the warmth of the sun… but there is a gentle breeze that cools your head and soothes your brow. The ground beneath your feet is soft from recent rain… the colours of nature surround you. There are trees and shrubs… there is green and brown… rust and gold. You are on a pathway… leading to a magnicent forest. Soon you enter the forest. The air here is still. You can hear the rustle of leaves in these mighty trees… there is the sound of birds chattering and singing. The undergrowth each side of the path you walk on is thick and lled with life. You sense the presence of many different small creatures. You feel safe here, surrounded by the tall trees, their roots going deep into the earth. The branches form a great canopy that shelters all that is below. They give protection from storms and from a blazing sun. Yet there are shafts of sunlight that penetrate the foliage to bring pockets of brightness along your way…” “Now you are deeper in to the forest… still feeling so very safe and secure… As you go even deeper in… you become aware of a great mound close to the path. As you get closer to it you see that it is the base of what was a massive tree. The girth of the tree must have been greater than any you ever saw.. The tree was felled… removed and this great stump was left. You realise as you get closer… that a beautiful great chair has been carved into this mass of wood. You feel drawn to it and now you are climbing up into this amazing chair.” “You settle comfortably… and almost at once you become aware of forces… powerful forces that are working on you and seem to be draining all the negative thoughts… feelings… emotions that you have been carrying. You look at the arms of the chair… you see green shoots breaking out from them. The base has more shoots… and you know that this chair has life. You feel a sense of eternal bliss… a sense of restoration and renewal. You become even more relaxed… You look towards the depth of the forest.You can see a gure emerging from it...”
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We Are A Conditioned People // 10 “A gure in shimmering white that carries before it a velvet cushion on which rests a small golden casket. The gure moves towards you inviting you to open the casket. The casket is before you… you open the casket. Inside the casket is a quality… an attribute a characteristic that belongs to you. It has been missing from you life… it was always yours… and now it is returned to you. Remove it from the casket and embrace it… make it yours again. Feel it enhancing your whole being… you are whole again. Thank the gure in white. Watch as it moves away back into the depths from which it came.” “For a few moments project your mind forward in time… a few days… weeks… months. See yourself going through your daily routines relaxed… refreshed… and renewed. See yourself the way you want to be… dealing with the events in your life in a positive… calm and self assured way” The session can be concluded by bringing about full awareness. The foregoing is an example of a story entrenched with symbolism. Going deeper into the forest can be interpreted as going into the deeper realms of the mind, with the gure in shimmering white bringing from the depths a solution to the presenting problem. Tall trees are symbols of strength and power or can represent masculinity. Their roots are rmly grounded and the overhanging branches symbolise shelter and protection. The subconscious mind has the ability to understand the relevance of it and to make a connection between this story and the self. Used in the right context it can be a very powerful self healing initiator. The subconscious often uses symbolism in communicating with the conscious mind. In a previous chapter we described the subject whilst in trance looking in to a mirror at the image of a part of itself that was holding on to uncomfortable feelings and emotions. Subjects I have worked with have seen an assortment of images in the mirror, whilst a much younger self, is the most common image. Others have included a wolf’s head, a black spider, a rainbow and just the head of the subject. The subject should be forewarned that what they see may be symbolic or representational of the part concerned. The person who saw the image of the wolf’s head had sought help in overcoming aggressive behaviour, including road rage and verbal abuse to his partner and employees. By the end of the session he had made a deal with the part to keep out of his life unless he was in a life threatening situation! The subject seeing the rainbow when brought back to full awareness declared, “I have been living my life the wrong way, I have lived to please others and to conform to what they want. In future I shall live my own life in my own way.” Those who use metaphors, fables and stories to make contact with the subconscious will become familiar with: • Corridors and tunnels. • Escalators and lifts.
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We Are A Conditioned People // 10 • Water that may be turbulent on the surface and calm below. • Roads that are strewn with boulders and pot holes requiring much ingenuity to travel. • Caves and caverns that are storehouses of memories or the abode of wise old characters. The imagination is so very powerful and it enables us to do things that are not credible to the rational, logical conscious mind. The segment that follows has been in use a long time and its origin escapes me.
The imagination is so very powerful that it enables us to do things not credible to the rational, logical, conscious mind.
“In a moment I shall count from ve down to one… as I do you take yourself all the way down to the deepest level of sleep like trance that you can experience right now that is comfortable for you. Five… Four… going down now… Three… take yourself all the way down... Two… deeper and deeper… One… (pause). And then of course there is zero... Now hold an image of the symbol for zero just out in front of you. See the symbol for zero there in front of you… and watch as it begins to get bigger. It is getting bigger and bigger… bigger and bigger so that now it is so big that you could oat right through it. Now do that... Just let yourself oat right through the centre of zero through to the other side. As you come through to the other side you get a wonderful feeling of eternal bliss. This lovely feeling is accompanied by a sense of renewal and restoration. You have a realisation that life is not a dress rehearsal for something else. It is the eternal moment of now. This is your moment. A moment you can choose to enjoy, so choose. As you continue to experience this endless bliss… I would like you now to go deep inside yourself… right to the very truth in yourself… and see yourself as you truly are. When you can see yourself as you truly are… let me know by raising the pointer nger on the right hand.” The nger rises. “Now decide if you like what you see. If you like what you see raise the middle nger… if you want to change what you see raise the pointer nger.” The pointer nger rises. “Do you know what it is that you wish to change? If you know what you wish to change raise the pointer nger.” The pointer nger rises. “You can change that which you wish to change… so change it. When it is changed raise the pointer nger on the right hand.” The pointer nger rises. “How does it look now? Is this how you want to be? If this is how you want to be… raise the pointer nger.” The pointer nger rises.
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We Are A Conditioned People // 10 “Good. Can you lock it in? If you can lock it in, lock it in and when it is locked in raise the pointer nger to let me know.” The pointer nger rises. “That is very good. Now project your mind forward three months… is it looking good? Raise the pointer nger if it still looks good.” The pointer nger rises. “Project forward six months, is it still looking good? If it still looks good raise the pointer nger.” The pointer nger rises. “Good. Now you can oat back through the centre of zero. As you come back bring with you all those good feelings of renewal… restoration and revitalisation. Once back… settle your self down on the couch and relax.” The subject is now ready to be brought up to full conscious awareness. The possibilities opened up through metaphor, stories, fable and symbolism are limitless. As a hypnotherapist becomes uent in their use, then he or she is uent in the language of the subconscious.
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CHAPTER
Dealing With Physical 11 Disorders “Our physical bodies are in a permanent state of alertness in order to protect ourselves from the effect of environmental forces.”
o far, most of what we have discussed has concentrated on helping clients to resolves issues S in which feelings and emotions are the prime source of their unhappiness or undesirable behaviour. Hypnosis can also be helpful in dealing with physical discomfort and many disorders. Of course we cannot magically repair broken limbs or provide instantaneous cures for life threatening diseases. What we can do is help subjects to deal with pain and speed up the healing processes. This includes stimulating the bodies own self correcting mechanisms, utilising the amazing pharmacy of the body and the hormonal products that have a profound affect on the overall feeling of well being. It is good to think of the body as being created perfect and having everything it needs to continue to maintain this perfection inbuilt. In a perfect world it would continue to remain in this state. Unfortunately we do not live in a perfect world, so we have to cope with whatever our environment subjects us to. This includes the atmosphere, material objects, animals, vegetation and other human beings. Our physical bodies are in a permanent state of alertness in order to protect ourselves from the effect of these environmental forces. These forces stimulate our sensory system and cause responses which may impact in a negative way on our bodily functions. We may witness a particularly unpleasant scene, be startled by a loud noise, receive a knock or cut of some kind, eat something that is disagreeable, or be exposed to disgusting smells. Our body responds by releasing chemicals into our system to meet the apparent attack.
Pain is a message that something is amiss. We, as therapists, must be careful not to interfere with the warning role of pain.
What often happens is an over reaction resulting in too much of a particular bodily uid being released. This in turn creates another stimulus, another reaction in a cycle of negative stimuli, creating negative responses which in turn act as negative stimuli and so on. This condition is self perpetuating and will remain unless the chain can be broken. Through hypnotherapy we can access the deeper mind to break the chain of events and allow the normal function to resume. There are a number of commonly employed techniques for inuencing physical conditions and bodily functions.
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Dealing With Physical Disorders // 11
Glove Anesthesia A well known procedure for dealing with pain is known as glove anesthesia. The subject whilst in trance is asked to visualise a bucket lled with water and ice blocks. The subject then imagines having a hand in the bucket. The hand is so cold that soon it is quite numb and insensitive to touch. This hand can then be applied to any part of the body experiencing pain and transfer the anesthesia to that part. It is important to be sure that the pain to be relieved is not on the arm which has the hand in the water. I have achieved good results with a client with severe toothache using a similar approach. The person approached me in a crowded foyer and requested my help. Whilst standing in a quiet corner, I asked the subject to close her eyes, let me hold her hand which I gently stroked suggesting that it would soon lose all feeling and become quite numb, I asked her to nod her head when this had happened. When she nodded I told her to hold the hand against her cheek near the offending tooth and to nod her head when the pain had gone. She soon nodded her head and we went in to the hail where a meeting was held. When more complex or deeper seated disorders are involved, the subject in hypnosis can enter the control room of the mind to change the way the body behaves. Whilst in trance the subjects visualise themselves standing outside their body looking at the relaxed state of the body. They then imagine the part outside the body to be shrinking in size getting smaller and smaller until it is so small it can re-enter the body in any way it chooses. The part then travels through the body to the brain where it enters the control room of the mind. Once inside, the part nds numerous pedestals with monitors, dials, levers, gauges, and small wheels. Each pedestal is labeled according to the body function it inuences e.g. pain sensitivity. The subject moves through the control room until he or she nds the pedestal relevant to his or her problem. The appropriate adjustment is then performed by the subject, after which he or she leaves the control room, travels to the point where the body was entered, leaves, resumes normal size and reunited with the whole person.
Suggestions can be given to a subject that their T-cells are knights on white chargers going in to battle an invading virus.
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Another variation of this technique requires the part once inside the body to travel to the point of discomfort and perform ‘repairs” to the part of the body aficted. Suggestions can also be given to the subject to visualise their T-cells as knights on white chargers going in to battle to defeat invading ‘monsters’ (viruses). It may sound fantastic but amazing results are frequently achieved. It should be stressed that pain is a message that something is amiss. Frequently it is present to prevent further injury from occurring. We must be careful that we do not interfere with the warning role of pain. The solution where this possibility exists is to remove ‘unnecessary pain’ or change the nature of the pain to one that is more bearable. A sharp stabbing pain might be changed to throbbing pain. A burning pain could be changed to a
Dealing With Physical Disorders // 11 pressing pain. Some therapists get their clients to ascribe shape and colour to their pain, then have them change the colour and shape. Perhaps a pain described as like a red rough object might change to a yellow smooth ball. The script that follows is useful for all kinds of skin disorders. The client is in trance and is wandering through a pretty wood. “You feel very safe as you follow the path beneath the trees, listening to the sounds of so many different birds. Shafts of sunlight add to the beauty of nature and seem to call you deeper and deeper into the wood. Just ahead you see a brightly light area… and as you get closer you nd yourself along side a lovely clear water pool. It is quite large and just deep enough to swim in. There are a few rocks around the edge and at one place there is a small waterfall cascading down over a small rocky out crop. It is very inviting… as the air around is still and warm.” “You nd a grassy bank and sit down at the water’s edge. You reach out and run your hand through the still water… watching ripples spread across the surface. The water is pleasantly warm. The air has a faint aroma of eucalyptus. There is all around a chorus of sounds… the gentle breeze… the leaves in the trees… and the hum of winged insects.” “The pool is a special pool. it has healing properties. All who bathe in this pool… leave its waters renewed… refreshed… restored and invigorated. You prepare yourself to enter the pool. As you enter the pool… it is refreshing and feels a little cooler than it did before. It is safe to swim or oat or just lie in a shallow part of the pool.”
A client in trance is guided through a pretty wood to a pool that has healing qualities. This visualisation benets many different complaints.
“You become aware of its energy as the water caresses your body. It relaxes taut muscles and soothes the skin. After a while you go over to a low rock below the gentle cascading ow of water… and allow it to ow over your head… across your shoulders down your spine, spreading right around your body. Soon it will be time to leave the pool… so you lower yourself back in to the water and propel yourself across to the place you entered… you leave the pool… dry off get dressed… and are ready for the walk back through the wood.” While I have referred to this script as benecial for skin disorders, it can be equally valuable for chronic pain or just general healing. I have also found it useful in a case of breast enlargement.
Breast Enlargement Irene was a thirty-nine year old divorcee, and a part time counselor. She was in good health, a nonsmoker, and nondrinker. Initial appraisal revealed a person anxious to prove herself and achieve recognition. She felt isolated, alone but showed no evidence of depression. She was in a relationship which lacked intimacy, tenderness and seemed boring. She suffered occasional sinus headaches and feared heights
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Dealing With Physical Disorders // 11 and freeways. She described her joy at being full breasted after the birth of her children and felt it had enhanced her intimate relationships. Time had passed and her breasts had lost their fullness and shape. In fact, they sagged. Irene had a nice pleasant appearance and quite a good gure for her age. I had no previous cases of breast enlargement to refer to, and Irene was made aware of this. Whilst I was optimistic about a satisfactory outcome it was not possible to predict the degree of success we might achieve. The procedure to be employed had three stages. 1. Change Irene’s perception of her bodily image from one that was negative to one that is positive. 2. Apply a technique used with sports people, where they visualise themselves performing exercises to develop specic muscles or build up the body. 3. Make contact with the deeper mind and enlist the help of the part that had been responsible for forming the breasts at puberty, in order to restore them to their correct state. Time was spent explaining the basis of hypnotherapy and what we might expect from our work together. She was reassured that she was a suitable subject for the treatment Irene agreed she was ready to go ahead. Sessions were one week apart.
The First Session A slow induction of progressive relaxation and visualisation achieved a deep trance. This was followed by ego-strengthening and the call up of internal resources to achieve the desired goal.
The Second Session Irene reported an improved sense of well being. A rapid induction and repeated deepening produced a deep trance. Visualisation took Irene to a secluded pool in the heart of a wood. The pool is warm, surrounded by a variety of plants, shrubs and trees. Small streams are cascading as small waterfalls. Irene is told to imagine herself swimming in the pool; she feels a pleasant exing of the pectoral muscles. The water is energising and invigorating to her breasts. After swimming, she imagines herself sitting under a small waterfall allowing the water to ow down over her shoulders and breasts. She feels them rm and tighten. She is told to feel a warm glowing energy lling her upper torso as she feels even more relaxed whilst drifting deeper and deeper. Followed by: “From this day forward each and every day you awake feeling t and healthy. Each night when you go to bed and lay your head down to go to sleep… you go into a beautiful deep sleep which lasts through the night… unless there is any reason why you should awaken. Every day when you look in the mirror… when you are dressing… or doing your hair you will think and say to your self, ‘How attractive I am. How good looking I am and I have a
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Dealing With Physical Disorders // 11 nice shapely gure that all my friends and relatives admire.’ Each day you recognise that subtle but desirable changes are taking place to make you even more attractive. You know that you are becoming that person that you want to be… that you can be… and it is happening now.”
The Third Session When Irene returned after a week, she said that she believed her bust measurement had already increased and that her waist was smaller. She was also more aware that she was wearing a bra. Once in a deep trance she revisited the pool and waterfall. The following suggestions were used: “In your normal waking state you may not believe that you can control the ow of blood in your body. Yet you do know that just one word can bring a blush to your face. Your body has so much experience of controlling the blood ow to your face. So it is surely able to control the ow to your upper torso. Your body has experienced turning pale due to something frightening and turning red from the heat of a warm day… or white when cold. Your body has such a great wealth of experience that we could give it a suggestion for it to control capillary ow stimulate salivary glands or stimulate any of the glands. We know that words can cause tears to ow .There is all this knowledge we have… all working below our awareness made manifest when stimulated by the right psychological or physiological message.” “Estrogens allow the deposition of fat in the breasts… the development of stromal tissues and the establishment of a healthy ductile system. Estrogens are responsible for the external appearance and growth of the female breast. Your sub- conscious mind… which never sleeps is continually working for your welfare even though you conscious mind may be unaware of it. It responds to your positive afrmations and develops the “you” that you intend to be… old cells die off… and new cells take their place. Through the power of your positive thoughts every muscle… every tissue every organ every cell is know working to create that new healthy attractive you.”
The Fourth Session Irene was satised that a 2.5 centimetre gain had been achieved. She was given repeated suggestions about bodily change. She visited a room where she discarded all worries, anxieties and guilts. She found a special mirror in which she could see how attractive she was becoming.
The Fifth Session She had decided to get a larger bra size. In this session she was regressed to childhood to access the part responsible for her breast development during puberty. She asked the part to cooperate to
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Dealing With Physical Disorders // 11 ensure that her adult breasts are as healthy, rm and attractive as they are supposed to be. Reinforcement followed, with ego-strengthening and repeat of thoughts when using mirror, etc.
The Sixth Session Irene is happy with her body image and well rounded breasts. The suggestions used on visit four are repeated. The program was considered completed. Two weeks later Irene phoned to say she had increased her bust size from 90 centimetres to 97 centimetres whilst on the program.
Migraine is almost always associated with repressed anger and requires release by the part experiencing that emotion.
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The kinds of images and suggestions used in the foregoing program have been used in other situations including skin complaints, leg ulcers and to reduce inammation. Before leaving this section, I should comment on the treatment of Migraine. Migraine in my experience is almost always associated with repressed anger. The subject is not always aware that they are holding repressed anger which may have its origin back in childhood or even be recent. The therapy involves connecting with the part holding on to the anger and releasing it. The mirror technique discussed in earlier chapters works exceptionally well for migraine sufferers.
CHAPTER
12 Dealing with Phobias “It is rst necessary to distinguish between the fear of an object and the fear of an experience.”
he subconscious mind behaves like a most obedient servant. Whatever the conscious mind accepts and T believes, is passed to the subconscious mind where it is
accepted and forms the basis of much of our behaviour. The subconscious does not analyse, rationalise or consider logically. Once it accepts information, that information forms part of the belief system. It may be reinforced by repetition and by self talk. It is difcult for the conscious mind to change the belief at that subconscious level. Some people through constant repetition of new information can affect a change. A trauma or other dramatic event may do so. The value of hypnosis is its ability to access the subconscious mind and effect a change at that level. Another characteristic of the subconscious is its inability to tell the difference between what is real and what is imagined. Hypnosis relies very much on this quality and the use of visualisation and suggestion. Human beings are protected in many ways. We said that the role of pain is to protects us or warn us. We are also protected by our capacity to experience fear. A problem arises when we are affected by irrational fears, unfounded fears and non-existent threats.
If the fear is of objects such as spiders, snakes or heights, then a process of desensitising is the best approach.
Our existence has always been in the midst of danger and the world becomes an ever more dangerous place as time goes by. Most of us learn to live and cope with this environment. Events and negative messages sometimes impact upon us to create a fear which normally would be analysed, assessed rationally, and resolved at a comfort level. The force of the messages gets past the rational conscious mind and is accepted at a subconscious level. This can result in a phobic condition. People experience fear of so many things. The most common include heights, snakes, mice, crowded places, open spaces, the dentist, and air travel. Less common ones are fear of crossing the road, expressways, re, being mugged, house breakers, and germs. The list is endless. When using hypnotherapy to deal with a phobia, it is necessary to distinguish between the fear of an object and the fear of an experience.
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Dealing With Phobias // 12 If the fear is of objects such as spiders, snakes or heights, then a process of desensitising is the best approach. If it is to do with an experience such as going to the dentist or taking a ight, then projective visualisation works very well. Whichever method is used, a deep trance and vivid images will ensure success.
Desensitisation This method starts with a deep trance state. Once achieved, the suggestion is given that the source of the fear is at a safe distance from where the subject now sees themselves. Gradually the subject is guided in their imagination in the direction of the object. The subject is told that if he or she becomes uncomfortable or disturbed as they get closer to the object, then to indicate by raising the pointer nger. Any time the nger rises as they are guided to the place of fear, the therapist gives additional suggestions of relaxation, reinforcing messages of condence, and security. The guided journey then continues until the nger rises again or the destination is reached and the fear encountered. The purpose may be achieved in one session or could require a number of sessions. In cases where success is not being achieved, the therapist needs to explore underlying emotions or feelings which may need to be dealt with before persevering with this approach.
Projective Visualisation This technique is very effective with a phobia about an experience. Typical examples are going to the dentist or fear of ying. The method involves an in-depth discussion surrounding the environment in which the experience is likely to occur.
The Fear Of Flying Establish the following: • Time and date of the journey. • Departure and arrival. • Day of the week. • Point of departure and point of arrival. • People likely to be present before, during and on arrival. • Transport involved e.g. Taxi, bus, or car. Aircraft type, within understanding. • Stopovers, if applicable. The Projective Visualisation technique is very effective method for dealing with a phobia about an experience such as a fear of ying.
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The foregoing information enables the therapist to create images that are easily accepted by the mind of the subject. The process requires a deep trance state, followed by some powerful egostrengthening messages. These images should always be positive, repetitive and motivational. Suggest to the subject that their journey has just been concluded. Then they visualise themselves leaving the arrival lounge and being greeted by their friends or relatives in an appropriate manner. The client is then guided back in time (from the arrival back to the commencement of the journey), step by step. At each stage, images are used to create a sense of comfort,
Dealing With Phobias // 12 pleasure and safety. The journey is depicted as an experience that is happy in every way. The ight is very stable and smooth. The crew and ight attendants are attentive and caring in their communications with the subject and other passengers. The stages used could feature images such as: the descent at destination; meal times in ight; ascent at departure point; sitting in the departure lounge; arrival at the airport; journey to the airport; ready and waiting to leave home for the airport. Before arousing the subject spend a little time projecting to some happy experiences in the days following the journey. When the subject has been aroused and during the time before they leave the clinic, reassure them as to the effectiveness of the session and that it will work equally well on their return journey. This method relies on creating a powerful idea in the mind that they arrive safely after a pleasant experience. Another technique that has found interest with practitioners is sometimes referred to as the rapid phobia cure. The method requires the subject, in trance, to imagine him or herself sitting in the auditorium of a cinema looking up at the screen. On the screen they visualise a still, black and white picture of themselves just prior to the phobic event. They are then told to imagine themselves in the projection room where they look down and can see themselves watching the picture on the screen. When this is achieved they are told to convert the picture on the screen to a colour movie picture which now moves rapidly through the phobic event. It then rapidly rewinds back through the event and then again moves through the event. The procedure is repeated once more.
Phobias are not always straightforward and may be symptomatic of a more complex underlying problem.
It should be understood that phobias are not always straightforward and may be symptomatic of a more complex underlying problem. In any event it is safe to assume that that the mind is holding on to the problem in the belief that it is protecting the individual from a perceived threat. Whilst the methods outlined above can all be effective, I believe it is wise to include a session which deals with the uncovering and release of fears and emotions that the subconscious has been clinging to. This procedure was dealt with in detail in Chapter Six.
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Dealing with Common 13 Addictions “Addictions are more likely to be destructive and frequently are the symptoms of a deeper underlying problem.”
he most common conditions that clients present with at the hypnotherapist’s clinic are surely a smoking T addiction and an eating disorder. The latter is usually
expressed as a desire to lose weight. However, addictions can be almost anything. Everybody acquires habits, and they are mostly quite harmless, other than perhaps being a nuisance, embarrassing or antisocial. It is when they become so entrenched that we are enslaved by them that we can call them an addiction. Habits are prevalent but can usually be broken with consistent conscious effort. Addictions are more likely to be destructive and frequently are the symptoms of a deeper underlying problem.
Addictions are most often linked to: • Guilt • Lack of self-esteem • Helplessness • Loneliness • Avoidance Behavior • Fears (Real or Imagined) • Escapism The addiction may be a substitute for some other thing. The addiction could relate to a substance, behaviour, or both.
Therapy for addictions such as cigarette smoking should always include a deep trance state, lots of egostrengthening, and strong suggestions that the subject will nd it easy to live without the substance.
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Substance addiction may involve: • Alcohol • Nicotine • Marijuana • Cocaine • Prescription Drugs • Legal Drugs (Analgesics) • Herbs, Vitamin or similar supplements
Dealing With Common Addictions // 13
Behavior addictions may involve: • Smoking • Gambling • Excessive Speeding (Vehicle) • Sexual Practices • Deviant Behavior • Eating disorders including over indulgence, Anorexia, Bulimia • Aggression - physical or verbal • Foul Language. Some substance addictions can be difcult to overcome due to the impact they have on the physical body. They can create a dependency which makes a permanent x unlikely unless dealt with in a holistic way. Hypnosis becomes a valuable adjunct used with other therapies. These may include medical intervention, hospitalisation, and removal from access to the substance and/or environmental change. Social factors may also need to be considered. Friends and relatives can be positive inuences. However, too often they turn out to be a negative inuence. Therapy will be enhanced if there is recognition by victims of their need for help and an acknowledgment that addicts rarely get free on their own. State government health departments provide drug and alcohol services. These services are free and should be involved in helping victims of hard drugs or new drugs that keep appearing on the streets.
Behavioural addictions invariably arise where there is an underlying problem that perpetuates the addiction.
Behavioural addictions invariably arise where there is an underlying problem that perpetuates the addiction. If so, it is essential that this cause be found. Hypnotherapy provides a rapid means of making contact with the part (ego-state therapy or parts therapy) that is holding on to the behaviour. Although in reality it is holding on to the feelings and emotions that generate the behaviour in a search for comfort, appreciation, love, or security. It is necessary to nd out why it is holding on to these feelings and emotions and establish a more acceptable and appropriate way of dealing with the essential problem and/or resolve the issue. The new behaviour is then put in to effect. The method discussed in Chapter Five is suitable for this kind of addiction. Not all addictions are of this type. The conscious mind may have been encouraging the subconscious over a long period and a program of addictive behaviour has been established which the conscious mind now wishes to change. Like a naughty child the subconscious now resists. The conscious is often not consistent in its messages to the subconscious. So confusion is created which the subconscious ignores. If the messages are couched in negative terms they too will be ignored or even be turned into directions of an opposite intent. Repetition is helpful and persistence vital. For many people this is too demanding.
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Dealing With Common Addictions // 13 Self defeating messages abound. For example, stopping smoking: “I’ll give up when things ease up at work” “I get stressed without a cigarette. They relax me” ‘It’s too difcult whilst my partner smokes.” ‘It’s fun and it makes me feel good” “It’s legal, and my mother does it” “It’s something to do when I get bored” “I do really enjoy smoking.” There are many other messages that we can hear every day. Therapy for addictions should always include a deep trance state, lots of ego-strengthening, strong suggestions that the subject will nd it easy to live without the substance; that due to the great control of the subconscious mind, they can resist the craving for this destructive and vicious habit that has been affecting their health and well being. The messages: “You were a smoker but you are no longer a smoker… You will not gain unnecessary weight… instead you treat your body in a healthy… proper manner…” These are valuable suggestions for use with smokers. It is helpful to have the subjects visualise themselves parting with cigarettes. Throw the cigarettes into the basket of a hot air balloon and watch it sail in to oblivion. Put them in a box and take it out to sea and throw it overboard and see it disappear into the depth of the ocean. Finish the session, always with a projection to a future time and having the subject see themselves functioning effectively; all without a cigarette.
Hypnotherapy can help in establishing a liking for good, fresh healthy nutritious foods.
Where weight is the issue, any therapy needs to be conditional on an agreement by the subject that a change in lifestyle is an acceptable part of the therapy. Any therapy is likely to be effective only in the short term unless such change is implemented. The change need not be dramatic or a chore. Provided there is no physical illness or disease we can be sure that the weight problem has much of it’s origin in the subject’s lifestyle. There will be a history of poor nutrition or over indulgence and little if any signicant activity or exercise. It is a simple fact of life that for a normally otherwise healthy person, that if the calories consumed exceed the calories expended, then weight will increase. Any change should be one that the person can be comfortable with and be happy to incorporate into their daily routine. Reducing the consumption of one or more foods or snacks, or just eating less is an option. The exercise component can be an additional 20 minute walk a day over and above any existing plan. Hypnotherapy becomes an adjunct to motivate the subject to establish the new routine. It can help in establishing a liking for good, fresh healthy nutritious foods. It can cause the subject to eat more slowly, thereby feeling full earlier during the meal. It can create a reduced interest in the high calorie, sweet or fatty foods. Through visualisation it can help make the daily exercise interesting and
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Dealing With Common Addictions // 13 motivating. Additional visualisation can help to create an image of the person that the subject would like to be, slim, taut and terric. The examples we have used show different approaches dependent on the nature of the addiction. The techniques can be adapted to most of the more common addictions. It is an unfortunate fact of life that many of the subjects that come to us for help are looking for a magic bullet that relieves them of responsibility for their condition. The rst task is to disillusion them and get a commitment. Obese people may be carrying a fear of being thin at an unconscious level. Thin, to them, means deprivation, sickness or weakness. Images abound of people around the world who are starving and emaciated. No one wants to be identied with such images. These subjects are usually people who are anxious to please. They eat whatever is put before them. It is very difcult for them to say ‘No’. Others have been conditioned from childhood that big is better. Big is good. “Be a big boy”… This will make you big and strong.” For some people fat can be a protection. The unconscious may use excess weight as a means of discouraging unwanted approaches from the opposite sex. It can be perceived as a protection from any kind of threat. In some cases it is a regression back to the cradle, at which time feeding was used to pacify and comfort an unhappy baby. The baby felt safe in its mother’s arms, was being nurtured and was experiencing pleasurable oral sensations. Now as an adult there is an unconscious longing for that same feeling of security. Obese subjects are likely to be long term clients who need regular ego-strengthening, motivation and reinforcement. Addictions are invariably due to some unconscious repressed emotion. The most common addictions are those that are seen as being acceptable in the subject’s social environment. Parents smoke or drink alcohol. Friends use pot, cocaine or ecstasy. The environment must be recognised as a contributory factor in therapy. The prime purpose will always be to uncover the unresolved conict and resolve it.
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CHAPTER
The Language of 14 Hypnotherapy “Positive suggestions, couched in present terms and accompanied by vivid positive visual images are the hallmark of effective therapy.”
e have, in the foregoing chapters, featured the different types of messages and visual suggestions W that a hypnotherapist might use. Whilst the words are very important it is equally important to give life and energy to the words. It is also essential to put them together in phrases that are acceptable to the conscious mind and slide easily past the RAS, then to be accepted by the subconscious mind.
The voice, due to its ability to impact on people, is the most valuable tool in every therapist’s stock in trade. The versatility of the voice enables us to express our feelings and emotions. We can deliver a command or request using the same words. We can sing a lullaby or utter a call to arms. It just depends on how we use it. Words are created in the oral cavity which has a resonating quality that causes each sound to reverberate in a specic vibrating pattern. The vibrations pass through a sounding board in the roof of the mouth, called the palate. These vibrations resound in the brain in particular patterns. The way this is used changes the nature of speech. It is helpful to practice using the voice in different ways. Reading out loud, changing emphasis, being aware of the vibrations being created are excellent exercises. Discover how you make different sounds. Some from the front of the mouth, others in the throat. Singing in the shower is to be encouraged. Chanting can also be benecial. Phraseology is especially important when giving hypnotic suggestions. Our suggestions are often be more effective when expressed as a question. “Would you mind sitting here in this chair?” will invariably produce action, rather than a verbal response. Adopting a permissive approach empowers the subject, but achieves acceptance.
Emile Coué’s phrase, “Each and everyday in every way I get better and better” has stood the test of time.
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“When you are ready… and feeling comfortable… allow your eyes to close over.” or “You might like to imagine yourself in a place where you like to be… doing something that you like doing.” Giving people choices is good. Providing choices for what you want them to do usually produces greater cooperation.
The Language Of Hypnotherapy // 14 “Would you prefer to go in to a trance quickly… or slowly?” or “You can close your eyes now if you wish… or just silently count to ten and then close them.” We grow up in a world surrounded by negativity. Our communications as therapists should aim to be positive. Be alert to the ‘NO’ words and eliminate them as much as possible. This may require a rephrasing of messages or making a positive alternative suggestion. For example, change: “You will no longer feel any distress when…” to: “You always feel calm and relaxed when...” The new sentence is now positive and in the present tense. Messages that talk about changes happening in the now are much more powerful than those which suggest future change. “You are calm… relaxed and free of all unnecessary pain.” is a better message than: “You WILL be calm… relaxed and free of unnecessary pain.” We stress that positive suggestions, couched in present terms and accompanied by vivid positive visual images, is the hallmark of effective therapy. The message “You will be…” is received by the subconscious and interpreted as an event to take place at some indenite future time. Remember the subconscious is not able to distinguish a difference between what is imagined and what is reality. If it accepts something as happening now, it will rally all resources to match that perceived reality. Emile Coué’s, “Each and everyday in every way I get better and better”, has stood the test of time because it suggests something is happening and continues to happen. If a client claims to be unable to accept a suggestion that suggests they are free of pain, it may be easier for them to accept the words “You are becoming free....” Some subjects have difculty going in to trance. Often they are trying to help by making an effort themselves to go into trance. They may be anxious to go into trance, but instead of just allowing it to happen naturally, they try to force it. It does not work. The following induction may be more appropriate for them. They are not told that the induction process has commenced. “Before you go into trance I want you to just be aware of your surroundings. So please become aware of the colour of the walls in this room… think about the colour… at the same time you might notice the sounds of the trafc in the street outside… you can also be aware of the faint aroma of lavender in the air… and notice the warmth where your hand is resting on your thigh.” These are repeated once or twice, and then continue: “Continue to be aware of the sounds of the trafc outside you may still be aware of the aroma of lavender in the air. Notice the
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The Language Of Hypnotherapy // 14 warmth of your hand on your thigh... and feel the pressure of the chair against your body as you relax comfortably… “ Repeat this once or twice from: “Continue to be aware…” “As you remain aware of the aroma of lavender… and the warmth where your hand is on your thigh… you relax comfortably and feel a sense of peace start to ll your being.” Again repeat, and then continue: “You can still feel the warmth of your hand on your thigh as you relax even more comfortably… as the sense of peace grows and grows… and a kind of dreamy drowsiness is taking you over…” Again repeat, and then continue: “You can continue to relax comfortably… the sense of peace still grows and grows… the dreamy drowsiness becomes more pronounced… and your eyes are heavy and want to close over. You can let them close over.” This procedure must be done slowly. It is almost impossible to do hypnosis too slowly. Observe the subject carefully and measure your speed of delivery according to the subject’s reactions. Pause between suggestions. You can modify my words to suit your own conditions. The idea is to start with veriable suggestions and gradually move to less or non-veriable suggestions. The subject’s focus of attention needs to become narrower until soon the focus is on the voice of the hypnotist. There are words I shall call ‘joining words’ that are helpful. They include: and, as, while, when, so, because. “As you do this… this happens” “Whilst you continue to… you feel yourself…” “When I use the word… you will immediately…” The purpose is to link something that is known to happen with something that is expected to happen. Everyone has trance like experiences in the course of the day:
Everyone has the ability to achieve a trance-like experience such as when daydreaming.
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• When watching Television or a DVD • In the cinema watching a movie • At the theatre watching a play • Driving a motor vehicle • Reading a good book • Playing a computer game • Daydreaming When working with a subject in trance it can be a powerful deepening mechanism to re-evoke some of these experiences. There is another category of subjects who claim to be unable to visualise. Some of them do not understand what is meant by visualise and they do not pose a problem. For others it may be true for them in their personal reality.
The Language Of Hypnotherapy // 14 What they are saying is: “I am unable to become consciously aware of the images that my mind is creating at this moment.” Pictures are being created but are being blocked from conscious awareness. Their visual system is an unconscious system that is out of conscious awareness. When one cannot bring to conscious awareness a visual, audio or kinesthetic system then it is an ‘out of conscious’ system. The person may be seeing something distressing but has not the ability to know that they are ‘seeing’ it. This is a problem. The person is aware of feelings of distress but cannot control what is consciously experienced and doesn’t know the source of the feelings. In normal circumstances, when we recall memories and can see the images clearly, we also have an awareness of any feelings associated with the images. For example, “They are playing our tune” or “This is the spot we rst met.” Most of us are able to stop the visions or change them to something else. We remind ourselves that it is all in the past. The non-visual person has past images going on internally, and is afraid of seeing them. They avoid seeing them consciously, perceiving them to be unpleasant and blocking them out. As a result they have the feelings but the source is blocked off. The material presented in this book is intended to provide some techniques and procedures to unblock the system.
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CHAPTER
15 What’s It All About? “As hypnotherapists we can help to free our clients from much of their limited view of themselves.”
ur physical senses are the means by which we are able to enjoy life’s experiences. They are also the O source of what ails and troubles us. They are the
manifestation of life; they provide the receptors that respond to the stimuli that abound around us. They are precious and without them life would be void. So what is life? Life is energy. You are energy. Every part of you is energy. Your brain is an energy converter. It converts signals into something recogniseable, and it responds by creating a fresh signal or implementing an action of some kind. It is all going on in a world of intermingling energy elds. The relevant structures in the brain are tuned to vibrate at different frequencies, the components of our physical body vibrate at varying frequencies and our mental processes nd expression in different wave formations. We are able to interpret these wave forms as thoughts and translate the thoughts in to words. The words can be sent forth as sounds to be received as signals. The process begins again. How is this possible? All matter including our physical bodies, is made up of interacting electro-magnetic elds vibrating at extremely high frequencies. Matter consists of minute particles called atoms. At normal room temperature (23 °C) an atom vibrates at a rate of 10 to the power of 15 cycles per second; the nucleus of an atom even faster at 10 to the power of 22. We are talking about vibrating a million billion times a second as it changes rapidly between positive and negative states. It could be thought of as a system by which the interjection of some attenuation turns into a very fast sophisticated communication mechanism. Atoms combine together to form molecules, which being of greater mass, vibrate at lower frequencies. From the molecules evolved live cells which are the building blocks of all organisms, as
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What’s It All About? // 15 well as nerve cells. The vibration level is slower at about ten to the power of three for these live cells which constitute a nervous system that responds to stimuli in that vibratory range. The cells respond in a positive-negative pattern, or put another way, in an action-rest format. Our senses in effect interpret our environment in a sort of on-off way. In reality our nervous system is a signaling device. When we refer to consciousness, we mean a system that has the capacity to respond to stimuli. This is what a nervous system does. The application of different stimuli produces different responses from the system. The quantity of responses generated represents the degree of consciousness manifested. We associate consciousness only with living things, which is limited thinking. There is growing consensus that consciousness is present in all matter. Humans are created with an inherent ability to interact with anything that has consciousness If we accept there is consciousness in all matter, then we can presume that we are surrounded by an ocean of consciousness. We may not be aware of it through our senses, our physicality. It is at a different level, a level wherein our deeper mind is able to send and receive impressions. By developing our deeper consciousness, we can absorb from this energy eld and interact with this other world; a world that has been and continues to be made up of the totality of all energy, including every thought, idea, and expression ever generated. It may be Carl Jung’s collective consciousness or the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi’s Unied Field. It may be a place that we can experience through deep meditation. The mind can also access it whilst in deep hypnotic states.
Carl Jung’s collective consciousness is a place that we can experience through deep meditation or whilst in deep hypnotic states.
In these very deep altered states of consciousness, we spend increasing time in this subjective space-like dimension. Our vibrations slow down, so we spend more time in the negative component of the wave form. It happens many times a second of course, but it enables us to observe what is there. It occurs at what seems to be comfortable speed. In this way we make a connection with other minds, other thoughts. Through regular experience of these deeper states we become increasingly sensitive to others and to our world. This subjective space-like state is boundless; it is not three dimensional like our physical state. It is limitless. Another interesting thing about energy is that whilst it travels in wave form it can collapse into a particle spontaneously. Light is a useful example. Light leaves the sun as a wave but arrives as a particle. We do not see the wave of light in transit; we only see it when it meets another object. There is scientic support for the theory that wave forms collapse and become particles by the act of observation. This leads to the conclusion that our physical world exists as a consequence of our observing it. We are in effect the creators of our own world, and the three dimensional nature of this world that surrounds us is of our making. We can however escape for a time
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What’s It All About? // 15 from these physical restrictions by the practice of meditation. Hitherto we have discussed the nature of the conscious and the subconscious. Let us now consider the likelihood of a higher state of consciousness. An experiment was conducted at a University in the USA where a blind person was hypnotised to become deaf. Tests were made to establish the deafness. Whilst in the hypnotic trance, the blind and now deaf person was asked if there was any part of himself that could hear what was taking place. The person raised a nger to signal yes and promptly came out of trance. Asked, “why?”, the person replied, “I felt my nger rise and came out to see what was happening.” The part that could hear despite the induced deafness has since been dubbed ‘The Hidden Observer’. The question arises as to whether there is an entity within us that is aware of our condition, but functions beyond the range of our senses. Do we exist as a trinity, a conscious, a subconscious and a super-conscious? We could exist as a being made up of the physical, mental and spiritual aspects, each interacting with the others, and with a direct link via the higher state of conscious with the vast universal consciousness that is the source of all things. We can come to understand that we are more than we have thought ourselves to be. We live in this physical world, seemingly trapped in our physical bodies. Our perception of this existence is what restricts us and is the cause of all our limitations.
Do we exist as a trinity, a conscious, a subconscious and a super-conscious?
As hypnotherapists we can help to free our clients from much of their limited view of themselves. We can all learn to recognise that we are not just isolated entities locked in a human body, but part of a whole universe of consciousness, interconnected and interrelated. We can learn to look at life events afresh, without judgments, recognising that when we judge others we are part of that being judged. Always be aware of our conscious thoughts, because once we accept them they pass to the subconscious which will make them part of our belief system. I was taught as a boy this message: “You must stand on the threshold of your brow and monitor the thoughts you allow into your mind. If there are any that might be unhelpful, silently turn them aside and say ‘I reject that’.”
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Glossary Of Terms Abreaction A physical movement or emotional outburst as a reaction to a suggestion whilst in the state of hypnosis. Usually spontaneous or may be created by the therapist to enhance or deal with revivication. Once considered a necessary part of the healing process. Now felt to be unnecessary and is dissipated in the interest of subject comfort. Age Regression It is suggested to the subject that he or she is of a younger age or at an earlier time so that the subject can re-live certain experiences and/or events. The subject is able to use their now mature resources to reappraise the earlier experience. Alpha A brainwave activity during hypnosis (resting but awake). Also known as a hypnoidal state. A range between Beta (fully awake) and Theta (a deeper state.) Conscious The 12% of our mind that is aware of the self and the environment, it is responsible for logic, reasoning, choosing, and will power. Desensitization In a trance state the subject visualises or imagines an event that they in their normal aware state nd traumatic or frightening. The subject is maintained in a very relaxed state whilst being progressively introduced to the object of their fear The procedure continues until the subject is able to confront the object of their fear comfortably. Defense Mechanisms A behaviour that is based on the instinct for survival which is seated at a subconscious level. The subject acts in ways that deny or distort reality. Typical examples are: Rationalisation, Projection, and Withdrawal. Delta The slowest brainwave frequency and the deepest state of hypnosis (somnambulism). It is present in normal sleep states. Hypnotised subjects may respond with amnesia, anesthesia and hallucinations (both positive and negative).
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Glossary Of Terms Direct Suggestion Suggestions phrased as a command or direction rather than by inference. Glove Anesthesia The creation of a numb feeling in the subject’s hand which can then be transferred to any part of the body where pain is felt. Hypnosis An altered state of consciousness resulting in increased receptiveness and response to suggestion. It may be triggered naturally by environmental stimuli or shocks. It is purposely induced by a hypnotist. Hypnotherapist One who uses hypnosis as a means of helping subjects achieve behavioural change or achieve their goals. The emphasis is on the role of the subconscious and its role in the person’s life. Ideomotor response A response that comes from the individual’s subconscious mind. It is a way of avoiding the inuence of the critical analytical mind (the conscious) and its judgmental nature. Induction The technique of hypnotising a person. Limbic system Is generally concerned with processes associated with the emotional state of the individual; particularly those associated with fear, anger, ight and defence. Modality Anything that attempts to change human behaviour through the inuence or creation of the belief system. Post Hypnotic Suggestion A suggestion given to take effect after the subject has returned to conscious awareness. Progressive Relaxation A method used to induce a trance state, in which the body is progressively relaxed from head to toe, accompanied by a count from ve down to zero. Some therapists prefer a count from toe to head (as does the author). Self Hypnosis A hypnotic state that is self induced. Subconscious The 88% of our mind below our level of awareness. It is responsible for reexive actions, ideomotive responses and holds on to the positive and negative associations we have made throughout our life.
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Bibliography Edgar A Barnett. Ontario, Canada 1981.”Analytical HypnotherapyPrinciples and practice.” Junica Publishing Company. Edgar A Barnett. Ontario, Canada 1985. “Unlock your mind and be free - A practical approach to hypnotherapy.” Junica Publishing Company. C. H. Brooks. London, 1984. “Self mastery through conscious autosuggestion by Emile Coue and The practice of auto-suggestion by the method of Emile Coue.” George Allen & Unwin. E. De Beauport. Madras, 1996. “The three faces of mind.” Quest Books, Theosophical Publishing House. Dave Elman. Glendale. California, “Hypnotherapy” Westwood Publishing Company. D. C. Hammond. New York, 1990, “Hypnotic suggestions and metaphors.” W. N. Norton and Co Ltd. An American Society of Clinical Hypnosis Book. Denise Linn. London, 1994. “Past Lives, Present Dreams.” Judy Piatkus (Publishers) Ltd. F. Schiffer. New York, 1998, “Of two minds - The revolutionary science of Dual Brain psychology” The Free Press. S. Wolinsky. Connecticut, 1991, “Trances people live - Healing approaches to Quantum Psychology.” The Brambles Company. S. Wolinsky. Connecticut, 1993, Quantum Consciousness. The guide to experiencing Quantum Psychology.” Brambles Books. There are numerous books written on hypnosis, and over the last twenty ve years I felt as if I must have read most of them. The books listed above are books that once discovered have become constant companions to me. Anyone wishing to become a professional hypnotherapist should make it a lifetime objective to search for and gain from the experience of others. All practioners should endeavour to share their expertise for the benet of the community we all wish to serve.
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