~Newsgroups: alt.hypnosis ~From: sunil@magnetic.demon.co.uk (Sunil Gupta) ~Subject: An amateurs guide to self hypnosis (long) ~Date: Sun, 10 Apr 1994 22:39:52 +0000
IMHO this is all a starter needs to know about hypnosis. Its is a combination of reading and experience. The regression bits are verbatim from books.
In a moment I will enter a state of complete relaxation, also known as hypnosis or trance.
I will feel as if every muscle in my body has gone limp.
My whole body, from the top of my head, to the tips of my toes will feel numb and relaxed.
I will concentrate on my thoughts at all times.
In the event of an emergency I will automatically come out of trance and be fully awake. I will be able to do whatever is necessary to get out of the crisis.
I may not enter the state of hypnosis while in control of any kind of machinery, or where remaining awake is important.
I may enter the state of relaxation only if my are lying or sitting down, listening to this tutorial, under the guidance of an experienced hypnotherapist, or under self-hypnosis.
[close your eyes]
To start the relaxation here are some deep breathing exercises.
Take a deep breath in through the nose. Hold it for a second. breathe out through the mouth, and go limp.
I can feel my body relaxing already.
Do this, slow inhalation and quick exhalation, three or four times.
Deep breathing is a very effective way of relaxing. It also helps to lower the pulse rate.
It will be easy for me to continue this deep breathing for the remainder of this tutorial.
From now on, I will be able to concentrate on my thoughts. I will ignore any other noises, no matter how loud they may be. If someone wishes to talk with me, or there is an emergency, I will awaken from trance feeling totally refreshed, and in full control of my body.
The next time, I will easily enter an even deeper state of trance.
My muscles are already beginning to relax. As my muscles relax, I feel a pleasant sensation of numbness coming over me. It is beginning with my feet and legs growing numb.
Next my hands and arms are growing numb, And then a very pleasant sensation of numbness spreads over my entire body. I will begin to enter a state of complete mental and physical relaxation.
It is a wonderful feeling to relax, and I am going to relax from my head to my toes. I will begin with my mind.
my mind will ignore any other noises. If my hear a noise it will only make me feel more relaxed. I will concentrate on my thoughts at all times. I want to relax because I know how good it feels.
my mind will, in a few moments, become lazy. So lazy that it will think of, and do nothing. my mind will see only darkness, emptiness, a complete blank. my will hear, feel the meaning of, and live, every word I think.
I am visualizing a pleasant country scene. I am standing on a hill, looking out towards the horizon.
There is greenery everywhere, I can see the sky, it is a light blue, hedges and fields, it is a very pleasant scene
The air smells clean and is cool.
I turn around slowly, the Horizon swings out of sight. infront of me I can see the green contours of the hill reaching for the sky.
I can see something at the top of the hill, I walk towards it.
As I walk towards it I can see it more clearly. It is a well. I am now at the well. it is made of white stone and has a quaint red roof covering it.
I am looking into the well, it is dark and comfortable.
I am going down the well. its is getting darker and more comfortable. The walls are going darker and darker, so it is so dark that I cannot see anything at all. All I see is blackness complete perfect blackness.
I will remember this blackness, for this is what it is like when the mind is completely relaxed.
My mind has relaxed. the relaxation is beginning to spread to every part of my head. Every nerve and muscle in my head is relaxing. I can feel the tenseness leaving my head. Now the skin and flesh on my forehead is softening up, smoothing out, relaxing.
All the tenseness, wrinkles and frowns have left my forehead.
As I breathe deeply, the muscles in my throat are relaxing. As I swallow, I can feel my throat relaxing.
The relaxation is spreading into my jaws. As I open my jaws slightly, my jaws relax.
My tongue, teeth and gums are all relaxing. I can feel them growing numb.
The relaxation is spreading out into my lips, which hang loosely and comfortably.
The numbness and relaxation is spreading across the whole of my face. My chin, cheeks, nose and ears are all relaxing and growing numb.
My entire head is growing more numb with every second that passes , and the relaxation is spreading into my eyes.
The numbness travels through the bottom eye lid, across the eyelashes, and into the upper eye lid. I can feel the tension leaving my eyebrows. The relaxation enters my eyes. I can feel every part of my eyes becoming relaxed, and pleasantly numb. The numbness enters the centre of each eyeball, first the left, and then the right. The numbness in my eyes grows larger and larger, expanding to fill both eye sockets.
I are driving out all the tension from the muscles in my chest, my neck, the back, and the top of my head. I can feel the relaxation going down, deep down, between my shoulder blades, and right down my spine. The relaxation has traveled through each of the bones in my spine, and is now at the base of my spine. Every muscle in that region of my body is relaxing. As those muscles and nerves relax, a very pleasant sensation of numbness, and detachment is spreading over my entire body.
I will now count from ten to one. At each number, every part of my body will become twice as relaxed.
ten. I am feeling twice as relaxed.
9. ... I am four times as relaxed.
8.
7.
6.... I am relaxing all the time.
5. I am going deeper into relaxation.
4. 3.
2. deeper,... and... deeper, feeling so... relaxed.
1.
Every part of my body is feeling very, very relaxed. So relaxed, that my body is pleasantly numb and feeling detached.
I am going deeper and deeper into complete relaxation of mind and body. with every breath, I am getting more and more relaxed.
I am driving out all the tension from both my shoulders. The relaxation is traveling down my arms, through both elbows, through the for arms, into both wrists, out through the palms of my hands, and down into my fingertips. I can feel the tension leaving every part of my body.
I am driving out the tenseness from the nerves and muscles of my stomach and abdomen. The relaxation is spreading around my waist, into the small of my back.
It feels so good, as the nerves and muscles in the small of my back, soften up and relax. it is so ...restful, so ... comfortable. I am going deeper,... and deeper, ... into complete relaxation of mind and body.
I am driving out, all the tenseness from the muscles in my hips and thighs. The relaxation is traveling down my thighs, through my knees, legs, and ankles, into the small muscles of my feet. I can feel the pleasant numbness, traveling through my feet to the tips of my toes.
It feels so good as all the tenseness leaves my entire body. Every muscle and nerve in my body, from the top of my head to the tips of my toes, is feeling completely relaxed, pleasantly numb, and detached. With every moment that passes, I am feeling more and more relaxed.
I am feeling so detached, that I can hardly feel that I have a body at all. I am experiencing a complete state of mental peace, serenity, and tranquility.
I am now going to relax even more than I am at this moment.
I am going to count from ten. backwards, all the way down to zero.
With each lower count, I will feel twice as relaxed.
Beginning with the count of
ten.
9. (pause)
8. (pause) (pause)
7. (pause) (pause)
6. (pause) (pause)
5. (pause) (pause) (pause)
4. (pause) (pause) (pause)
3. (pause) (pause) (pause)
2. (pause) (pause) (pause) (pause)
1. (pause) (pause) (pause) (pause) (pause)
0. (pause) (pause) (pause) (pause) (pause) (pause)
I am in a perfect state of complete rest, and relaxation.
I am enjoying perfect peace of mind.
I am in complete control of all of my senses, emotions, and desires.
I am at peace with myself and my environment.
In future, I will find it easy to relax. the next time I will be able to relax, quicker, and to a deeper level.
I will now bring this session of hypnosis to a close. remember that I can only be hypnotised if I wish it, and I know who is hypnotising me.
I will awaken at the count of 5.
At the count of 5, I will awaken, feeling completely refreshed and wide awake. Beginning with the count of,
1. I am feeling fine, wonderful, perfect.
2. I am completely refreshed and awake.
3. all the numbness and detachment is leaving my body.
4. my eyes have opened. I can feel the sensation returning to every muscle and nerve in my body.
5. fully alert and wide awake.
This method methodically works through all the muscles in your body, clenching and unclenching them. Note that when you unclench the muscle, the sense of relaxation is overwhelming. This is essentially a method of energy direction and if you hit a chakra, things can get very weird indeed.
This is not really a relaxation method, so tread with caution if thats the path you choose.
anyhow I find visualisation is a much better and natural way to relax. you can do weird things like
This one is for experienced self hypnotist. With this you should be able to enter a trance within less than a second (with practice).
Choose a direction to stare in.
stare in that direction for a few seconds.
close your eyes and feel the difference. Your eyes feel much more relaxed than when they were open. savor this feeling and expand it as much as you can.
The feeling is so relaxing that you dont want to open your eyes, but you must try. The next time you open your eyes they will be heavier and want to remain closed.
Open your eyes half as much as you did last time. stare for half the time.
close your eyes. The relaxation is so soothing, so total so wonderful. your eyes are so relaxed. Your eyelids will be heavier the next time you open your eyes and they will only open half as much as they did this time. Savor this relaxing feeling for as long as you are able.
Continue this process until you are unable to open your eyes, despite your many attempts. when you are no longer able to open your eyes, you are in trance.
maximize this relaxation, fee it flooding throughout your entire body, washing from your eyelids, through your eyes, head, neck, body. entirely relaxed . In one split second, your entire body has totally relaxed.
A useful suggestion is: I will find that memory will gradually improve. My capacity to memorize and recall at will, will improve noticeably.
You may wish to make the process of hypnosis easier by giving yourself a keyword
give your self a post hypnotic suggestion. You may not think it has any effect but you're wrong
for example
I will be able to enter a deeper state of hypnosis the next time if I think and say the word "relax" three times.
or
I will relax when I visualize the word relax in my minds eye
snippets taken without permission from:
follow the hypnotic induction techniques until you believe the your subject is in a deep a trance as possible. You can use various trance deepening techniques such escalators or lifts to get your subject to deeper levels of trance
A particularly nice one is to have the subject stand on the side of a hill overlooking a beautiful landscape and suggest that there is an escalator in front of them. Have them step onto the escalator and feel themselves going down to the bottom. Give suggestions to the effect that as they descend that they are getting more and more relaxed and going deeper into trance.The downwards motion must be linked to some sort of target. for example say that at the bottom of this escalator, is the island of their dreams. They can see the golden sand...
When you are satisfied that they have reached a really deep level of trance, suggest that they are moving backwards through time to their last birthday. Ask for a few details about that birthday. Ask them what they were wearing who was there. This hardly requires hypnosis as most people are capable of remembering in detail what they were doing on their last birthday. This part of the regression gets them familiar with the process as a whole.When they have described what they were doing, suggest that they are going to a birthday 5 years earlier.. Follow this with a series of birthdays at 10 year intervals until your subject reaches childhood. At this stage your subject should show signs of actually living the experiences.
You may at the start of the regression suggest that the subject will be able view what is comfortable to him/her. Reinforce this suggestion along with the fact that you will always be able to contact them by their real-life name. Stress that they what they are observing is far memories that are very vivid.Stress that they will always be able to communicate with you in English and that you will always be able to contact them.
when they are at childhood you may want to speed up the backwards march in time. The reason for this is that the trauma of birth is something that you dont want to expose your subject to at this moment. Suggest in quick progression that your subject is five years old, four years old..., three years old,... Two years old, One year, six months, three months and further back , still further back in time to beyond the moment of birth, back ... into the womb.Few subjects are aware of passing through the process of birth. This is a blessing as even though Birth is an interesting experience, it is unpleasant for the unprepared subject.
The more you repeat the suggestion that they are moving back in time, the earlier the subject is likely to experience. Once the subject has experienced a past life, in further session it is often sufficient to suggest that that is where they are and they will spontaneously regress.
Your subject is now regressed. Now the interesting part begins.
Ask the following questions:
People are not aware of their colour. You may wish them to look at their hands or feet and tell you. Its an obvious thing, but do you even take your colour as a description of your appearance?
- Who are you
- What year is it
- How are you dressed
- What do you look like
- what do do for your living?
Continue probing their life and document as much as you can. Have a tape recorder handy. Hypnotic amnesia is likely to make the subjects forget that they were ever regressesed.
Should you chance to happen to hit on a trauma, dont panic. Strongly suggest that the person is moving back or forward in time so that they leave the trauma behind. Reinforce with urgent suggestions of calm, peace, relaxation detachment and freedom of pain. It looks scary! but you must reassure the subject that they only experienced a vivid memory and they are better for it.
To make life easier you may want to suggest near the start of he regression that when you physically touch them they will fell at ease, peaceful and be detached from their traumatic memories.
Have a truly fascinating experience. You may want to go back to previous incarnations.
To terminate the session suggest that they are coming back to the present time. back to their current life to the room in which they are lying down in which the experiment is taking place. Suggest that they are leaving their emotional attachments in their previous life (where it belongs) but that they will be able to remember everything that has happened in the regression.
Then wake the subject up as usual with the countdown.
You may want to allow the subject to choose the past they go to. One way is to et them to visualize a row of feet stretching back into infinity. Each pair of feet represent one of their past lives. Suggest that the feet are in all shapes and forms (human, animal, vegetable.. maybe not mineral).suggest that they are being drawn to one set of feet and they enter the feet. As they do suggest that they can recall memories associated with those feet. suggest that when they look up they will be in the environment of their past life.
Be careful with animal births as people have been known to have very short animal lives entirely in captivity leading to a slaughterhouse.
You may want to have the subject experience death. This is a very therapeutic thing and should be handled with care. The subject will convulse in their physical bodies. They will show the symptoms of drowning, being burnt alive etc.You must stress that they will only experience what is comfortable for them. You must keep watch of their responses. If they suddenly freeze it is likely that they are about to die or are paralyzed by fear.
As you guide them through their death they will separate from their physical (regressed) body and become astral entities. You may wish to experiment and see what happens to someone after they die. Where do they go? How do they feel.
The moment after death is the most exhilerating for the subject. They realise that death is only a temporary affair and that they are eternal. Note that even though a person has witnessed their own death, they will someimes deny it. This denial will someimes occur after they finish the regression and they will convince themselves that they were never really regressed at all!
The hypnotist needs to reassure them that they were only experiencing memories and that they will be able to remember whatever is comfortable for them.
Despite many stories about people experiencing memories from other lives, it is still a controverisal subject, subject to the whims of the cynics. The technique described above should help you decide.
Overview of relevant sections
It isnt always neccessary to use hypnosis for the recall of far memories.
--
"Remember what the Shamen use to say 'Man is the dream of the Dolphin'"
Enigma, The cross of changes
This may be a cannonical Disclaimer