Monday, April 30, 2007

If you follow my instructions...


'nother cup of coffee. The dregs of the ever-burned tasting Starbucks.

There is an echo in my head reverberating from a few recent clients I've had. And these words are - I'm not sure I was hypnotized because I was trying to hear what you were saying.

But lets step back a few paces. One of the important elements in the concept of a person being hypnotized is his or her ability to follow basic instructions. If you were a newbie to hiking and I was your experience guide over rough terrain, would you heed my directions for safe passage? One would seriously hope so. If you have spent your money investing in my skills, would you not pay attention and do as I asked? Hypnosis is the same. When you go to a hypnotist, it is important to follow his or her instructions for the best experience. Hopefully this is addressed in the initial conversations or pre-talk before you are sat in a recliner and the induction begins.

The inductions, part of the hypnosis process that help your mind and body relax (we'll save this for another day), is where it is important that you follow instructions to the best of your ability. There are times when you may be asked to focus on a concept such as counting backwards and concentrate as much as you can on that while the hypnotist continues talking. At this point you will probably be asked to no longer pay attention to the words of the hypnotist but to think about or focus on the task you have been given. Sure you'll probably hear the hypnotist's voice and words periodically, but you need to be more concerned with the task. It will help you out in the long term. Chances are (or should be) that all the hypnotist is saying in the background are words about the suggestions, modifications, and/or changes you both discussed. Trust me, you probably won't be missing anything as wonderful as the next "This American Life" - though in a sense, your subconscious mind will hear something even better and manifest what it is you are trying to accomplish.

Other hypnotist, feel free to join in.

3 comments:

Australia's Hypnosis Online said...

Great post! Keep up the good 'work' I'm looking forward to sharing another 'cuppa'

David
webmaster at Australia's:
http://hypnosisonline.com.au

The Transparent Hypnotist said...

Well thank you! I'm just pleased that anyone out there is not just reading but participating.

Lee Darrow said...

Brilliant! As a subject, it took me a long time to overcome the "listening to every single word" problem that I had.

Yes, I could experience post hypnotic amnesia, but my experience of that was radically different than just "missing the words as they went by," which I do now, when I go into deep trance.

Post hypnotic amnesia, in my early days, had to be directly suggested and I would often be aware that it had been. Now, though, it seems like I "zone out" and miss what's being said, even though I often still respond. Active versus passive listening, I believe.

Practice over a long period of time has made this possible for me - that and my finally deciding to "just let things happen!"

As a hypnotist, myself, I used to always analyze the practitioner's technique, much like a journeyman musician does to another musician's technique - and often misses out on the music! Just like I missed out on the full trance experience!

It's only later, when one can "let go" of technique, that one, as a practitioner (I believe), can let the words flow by without necessarily consciously and actively listening to them...

Other people's mileage may vary, of course...