How To Find Success With Self Hypnosis

I like to think, no I'll go further than that, I 'believe' that we are all in control of our own destiny. By this I mean that to a very large degree our health, wealth, happiness, good fortune and most of the things that happen in our lives are down to us. For instance, if I am poor, sick and sad or alternatively rich, healthy and happy it's because I have made myself so. I realise that it's easy to find an argument against this theory, that is okay by me. I'm not out to influence others, I'm just saying things as I have come to believe them.

Many won't want to agree with what I have said because it is more comfortable to blame something else other than ourselves, if life isn't as we would wish. It's easier to say it is the fault of fate, bad luck, God or some other power, even the stars. To me though, I feel that once we have reached maturity we create our own lives.

The way our lives turn out, our health, happiness and wealth is all because of the way we act, think, talk and visualise ourselves and our future.

This is why I see self-hypnosis as a tool that can be used to improve some aspects of our lives. Much of how we are is down to reflexes and habits. These may have been developed from childhood or formed later in life. Some reflexes and habits are good but many aren't. If we can alter the negative ones, in this case by suggestion, it will go some way to improving our lot.

Self-hypnosis is a highly suggestible state of mind which, with practice, we can all produce. In this state we can give our mind suggestions and instructions that create mental impulses for the purpose of eliminating or altering various mental and physical conditions.

Our thoughts and suggestions have an effect on our body and mind. Let's look at some examples.

Someone might be suffering from indigestion but come to believe that he or she has in fact got heart disease. They may well, therefore, start to suffer palpitations and breathlessness. After a medical examination and reassurances from a doctor, that there is no disease, the associated symptoms will vanish.

It's similar to if we see a friend and he says, "You're looking a bit pale, not feeling too good then?" The suggestion will seep into our mind. Later we may find ourselves not feeling well because of what has been said to us. This may be very simplistic but all of the time we are being bombarded with negative suggestions. It's up to us to keep these at bay and to feed ourselves with positive words of how we are fit, happy, confident and can achieve anything we want. Very much of how we are, mentally and physically, is based on how we believe ourselves to be.

What we believe we become.

With self-hypnosis we can plant positive suggestions into our mind and start to create new beliefs of how, and even who, we are. Some psychosomatic anxieties may also be overcome.

We all have conditioned reflexes that make us act automatically in different situations. These are psychological or physiological responses to specific stimulus built up through training or our experiences. They are often established by repetition until eventually they become involuntary. We sometimes respond to things that happen in a manner similar to Pavlov's dogs, who were taught to salivate at the sound of a bell.

I was reading another example of this recently regarding how they used to train dancing bears. This was accomplished by having the bear walk over warm coals while a fiddler played a catchy tune. The bear would obviously raise his feet high in the air every time he touched the warm coal and so appeared to be dancing. After following this procedure for a period of time the bear became conditioned to 'dance' whenever the fiddler played the tune. The coals eventually become unnecessary. (Hopefully this isn't being practised today).

We likewise may have been programmed or conditioned to act in certain ways by parents, teachers, the media and all sorts of life experiences. I remember seeing a friend, who has an allergy, start to sneeze when she saw some roses in a vase. The flowers turned out to be artificial and when she was aware of this she stopped sneezing.

If we can become conditioned without realising it hopefully we can also 're-condition' ourselves to become the healthy, balanced person we would like to be. I don't think that self-hypnosis can re-make us completely or is the answer to all of our problems by any means. What it can do is help alongside visualisation techniques, positive thinking and altering the way we act and look at life.

~ How To Hypnotise Yourself ~

Self-hypnosis sounds a bit grand but it's really only a form of relaxation and giving the mind positive suggestions. By being relaxed the mind becomes more receptive. Repeat a suggestion enough and it will become part of us, a belief.

Suggestions may be given either silently or aloud. Find somewhere comfortable, where you won't be disturbed. Sit in an armchair or lay down on a couch or bed. Focus your eyes on a spot on the ceiling and keep looking at it. Repeat slowly to yourself, several times, words along the lines of the following :-

"Presently I shall notice a very pleasant feeling of heaviness coming over all of my body .... every muscle and nerve in my entire body is completely relaxed and at ease .... my legs are getting heavy .... my entire body is very heavy and sleepy .... my head and eyes feel very tired now and I just want to close my eyes and fall fast asleep .... my eyelids are becoming very heavy and I just want to close my eyes and fall asleep .... the moment that I close my eyes I shall be in a deep, sound, hypnotic sleep .... I shall be able to give myself suggestions and I shall be able to wake up at will .... when I complete the count of three it will be impossible for me to keep my eyes open and I shall close them and fall into a deep sound sleep .... one .. two .. three .... I am now in a deep hypnotic sleep and I can give myself post-hypnotic suggestions. I have perfect control of myself and can wake up at will .... deep sleep .... sound sleep ...."

Once a proper level has been reached it is then that your positive suggestions should be made. It's not necessary to be in a deep state of hypnosis. A lighter level is okay as an alert mind will respond to your suggestions. There is no need to turn yourself into some sort of zombie! Complete relaxation of the body is the aim.

After your session it is important to come out of the 'hypnosis' by saying something like:-

"When I complete the count of three I shall open my eyes and wake up feeling good .... I shall awaken feeling full of energy and vitality .... I shall be wide awake and feel perfectly well .... One .. two .. three .... I shall now open my eyes and feel fine".

Welcome back to the 'real' world!

Your suggestions when in the hypnotic state should, of course, be positive with plenty of  'I am', 'I will', 'I can'. As an example, something along the following lines may be suitable for more confidence:

"From this moment I will have complete confidence in myself and in my abilities .... I will enjoy being with people and look forward to making new friends .... I now have complete self confidence in myself and my ability .... I know that I can succeed".

Use your own words as they will be more meaningful. A good way is also to record the whole 'session' beforehand and just listen.

I believe we can all do and achieve virtually anything we want. We just have to believe. Maybe self-hypnosis can play a small part in helping us reach our goals, whatever they may be.

Good luck!