Self-Hypnosis - Soliciting Your Comments

[Kyle Jackson]

Hi All.
I'm currently just a hobbyist of sorts, saving money in order to train and begin transitioning into a more professional role as a hypnotist. I have lots of theory from books and some distance learning, and quite a bit of fun practice with my wife and friends. I truly love it and want to make it a more substantial part of my life.
In the mean time, I'm focusing on mastering self-hypnosis. I want to be able to take a 15 minute break at work and trance out, refresh and de-stress. Or even five minutes. That is not the only thing I'd like to do, just an example. I am, however, no good at it. Currently, the best I can do in 15 minutes is a slightly more vivid, consciously directed, day dream like state. I want to reach a deeper, more satisfying level of trance with relative speed. So, I invite you all to share your tips and techniques regarding self-hypnosis. I am perusing all the older discussions as well, so if there is a thread that you could recommend please also share that.

Thanks,
Kyle Jackson

[Kyle Jackson]

Hi Roger.

Great info! Thanks for sharing. I'll dive in more deeply this evening, but at a glance I like the technique.

~K

Roger Moore, PhD said:

Hi Kyle - Here is how I do it and how I teach self-hypnosis. This method works for 1 minute or for 60 - I usually get in at least one 15 minute session each day using this method, most of mine tend to be 1 - 3 minutes. The main thing is discover what works best for you. The self-hypnosis techniques are limitless.

Hypnosis Health Info Self-hypnosis

Have fun

Roger

[Kyle Jackson]

Lol, me either. Great advice too, Thank you!

Kyle

Aino / Akpolarmom said:

I haven't yet met a trance I didn't like

[Kyle Jackson]

Hello Robert,

"my core point is that externally provided suggestion allows the subject's mind to release all control and therefore achieve a more primal change in their reality."

Yes! I completely agree. Well said. It is simply not always convenient to have someone else hypnotize you. I enjoy playing with reality, and like to do it on a whim at any time. That said, I need to find some local hypnotists interested in getting together to trade trance...

And yes, I think recording yourself is external too. I was being facetious. :-) Good analogy though. I like that.

As much as I enjoy semantics and splitting hairs (not so much to prove a point but just because it's fun) that is a topic for another discussion. So yes, enough of that. :-)

Cheers,

Kyle

Robert Shanks said:

Hello again Kyle,
Looking back I probably overlooked my intended point. Hypnosis from someone else is FAR more effective than self-suggestion in my experience. My case is based on the concept that somnambulism and the Esdaile state can't be employed by the subject, but have to be from an external stimulus. Once you are in that state, you can get fantastic results, but you are unable to actually provide the suggestions at this point.

As for the recording of yourself, I would have to consider that as external, because it does not involve feedback. Your voice in the recording makes it no more "self-hypnosis" than taking prescription drugs is consider "self-medicating". Without the doctor to provide the prescription, you would not have had that medication.

But enough of our semantics (unless you wish to riposte), my core point is that externally provided suggestion allows the subject's mind to release all control and therefore achieve a more primal change in their reality. Any stage hypnotist volunteer (unless they are a stooge) will verify that the hallucinations presented in a show are more 'real' than any daydream. Their temporary existence is purely because the hypnotist makes them so.

Robert

[Kyle Jackson]

Using self-hypnosis to make yourself pee...Hah! That's great stuff there.

~K

James Hazlerig said:

Sure enough, it flowed like a river then.

[Jackie Spencer]

Great story, James! Thank you for sharing, and I'm glad your story had a happy ending!

You've proven once again that we are only limited by our imaginations!

[Kyle Jackson]

Thanks everyone for your replies. I've been going over the various techniques you all have suggested. Great stuff! I appreciate all of your advice and encouragement.

~Kyle

[Jan Krüger]

Personally, I find that self-hypnosis works best for me when I step away from premade techniques.

One of the many definitions of hypnosis/trance involves being intently focused on something. I find that it really is as simple as focusing on the right things (for some value of "right"). For example, I can now relax most of my muscles rather rapidly (I frequently get my legs all tensed up... and these days it takes me less than a minute to get them back to fully relaxed). To do this, I decide on an outcome (I want my muscles to relax) and then I focus on what those muscles feel like... and just wait for something to change, which is pretty much inevitable. Once that happens, I just make a note of whether the change is something I want or whether it's something I don't want. I don't even do that in words or anything... I just "know" that I want more of this, less of that, etc.

I find that this works best if you do it with absolutely no expectations. Simply focus on your experience and have some sort of outcome in mind.
A fun little tool to potentially speed things up is utilization. In my case, I take any change i experience and reinterpret it in such a way that it becomes meaningful as a step into the right direction. For example, suppose my leg twitches. I might interpret that as evidence that my muscles are all tense and nothing is really changing, but if, instead, I interpret it as a way for the muscles to naturally transition into a different, more relaxed state, it becomes much easier to observe the experience without any negative feelings (impatience, frustration, ...) derailing the process.
I think you can get the most impressive changes by focusing on the smallest changes in experience that you can notice, and really treating every small little thing as a breakthrough... which, in a way, is true. After all, every breakthrough starts with a tiny little idea, and all the great geniuses in history have one thing in common: they really focused on that small idea and wondered about it, and it started growing, and eventually became a Nobel prize. Or something like that.

I suppose this is my alternative to achieving A Very Deep Trance Indeed by Relaxing Your Mind By Frustrating Yourself (none of these terms trademarked to my knowledge... be the first!).

[Kyle Jackson]

Jan,
Thanks for the reply. Premade techniques, IMO, are simply what the person who made them finds works best for them, and not perhaps everyone else. But, they certainly offer a great starting point for further experimentation and development. Being fairly pragmatic myself, I take all the bits that I find work for me and compile them into "my" technique. And, so far, there has been a wealth of valuable tidbits shared on this thread.

Jan Krüger said:

I find that this works best if you do it with absolutely no expectations. Simply focus on your experience and have some sort of outcome in mind.

Excellent point! Aleister Crowley referred to this as "Lust for Result" and was also something Coué observed which later was termed the law of reversed effort. Aldous Huxley described it thus: "There is a Law of Reversed Effort. The harder we try with the conscious will to do something, the less we shall succeed." That is why I think self-hypnosis, well hypnosis in general, works. It gets us out of own way.

Great post, Jan. I am certainly incorporating your advice into my evolving-as-I-go self hypnosis method!

Cheers,
Kyle

[Richard Nongard - HypnosisGurus.com]

Here is a one hour video on the subject, for the beginner in self-hypnosis:

[Kyle Jackson]

Hi Richard,

That was a very informative video. Thank you for the generous post. Tons of good stuff there. It never occurred to me to use "magnetic hands" as a self-hypnosis induction. I can see how the clock induction would be effective, but honestly that is a bit tedious for me. Ormond McGill was an incredible guy. I read some of his work, but didn't really get feel for him until I saw him on video. I then had a whole new appreciation for his written work. :-)

I've done a lot of experimenting with brainwave entrainment, with mixed results, but mostly useful. I keep a couple of tracks on my MP3 player for random use.

Again, thank you for sharing that video.


Much Obliged,

Kyle

Richard Nongard - HypnosisGurus.com said:

Here is a one hour video on the subject, for the beginner in self-hypnosis: