How to Hypnotize Yourself Using the Best Me Technique

You can paint upon the canvas of your experience almost any masterpiece you may desire. 

The "Best Me Technique" is a form of hyperempiria, or suggestion-enhanced experience, which involves your whole person in the content of a suggested event. Every letter in "Best Me" corresponds with an element of suggestion. These elements can be applied in a variety of ways, including visualization exercises and other forms ofhypnosis and self hypnosis. Instead of merely picturing something in the mind’s eye, high-responders to suggestion are able to use the Best Me Technique to exceed the limitations of "virtual reality" by utilizing all the building blocks of experience. 

Whether you experience it a higher form of reality or a guided daydream, the Best Me Technique is a systematic, comprehensive way to harness the power of suggestion in your own life. So relax, and get ready for some exciting new experiences!

A partial list of some useful applications of self-hypnosis on this blog is presented at the end of this article, after the Sources and Citations. You might also want to use this article together with the Blog posts entitled, Self-Hypnosis Training and Demonstration Tape and How to Achieve your Goals Without Using "Will Power".

Steps

Things to Keep in Mind 

1. Find a quiet time and place to practice the Best Me Technique. An induction procedure is like the theme music to a motion picture or a television drama. It allows us to shift our thinking from a strictly logical mode of thought to a more flexible, more imaginative way of looking at the world. And we can all do that!

o Unless you actually intend to do so, choose a time when you are not too sleepy or

tired, so that you are not likely to doze off.o Turn off your cell phone or pager, if you have one, and take the telephone off the

hook or put it on answer mode with the ringer turned off.o Sit down or lie down in a position which will enable you to relax deeply. If you

should find yourself becoming uncomfortable during the session, it should not disturb you to gently adjust your position in order to keep yourself as comfortable as possible.

2. Guide yourself through the elements of the Best Me Technique using whatever words feel most natural to you. The following example is merely for purposes of illustration. In actual use, Best Me suggestions may be presented in any order and varied as often as

necessary, much as you might vary the verses and choruses of a song. (You can make sure that you are including all the steps of the Best Me Technique by silently counting them off on your fingers as you go along.)

o Belief systems. Picture yourself in a happy place, either real or imaginary, where

you can drift off into a calm and peaceful nap. For the sake of illustration, we will use the example of lying on a blanket in the middle of a beautiful meadow, late on a warm spring morning.

o Emotions. Let your entire being absorb the peacefulness which is all around you.o Sensations and physical perceptions. Feel the cool breeze upon your skin,

and savour the freshness of the pure, country air. Listen to the twitter of the birds in the distance, and the sound of the water quietly splashing against the rocks in the brook, as you gently relax into the blanket and that warm, golden glow of the sunlight relaxes you completely from head to toe.

o Thoughts and images. Sinking down and shutting down, and sinking down and

shutting down. Sinking down and shutting down. Shutting down completely.o Motives. It’s so calm, and so peaceful that all you want to do is keep drifting, and

dreaming, and floating on, and on, and on, into your own personal paradise.o Expectations. And the deeper you go, the deeper you're able to go, and the

deeper you go, the deeper you want to go, and the more enjoyable the experience becomes."

o As you go through each step, believe it will happen,expect it to happen, and feel

it happening. The exact number of repetitions is not as important as the degree to which you are able to believe in your suggestions, as well as merely believing them.

3. If you are inclined to doubt whether or not you have achieved self-hypnosis after a few minutes, you probably have. For many people, there is no such thing as a "hypnotized" feeling.

o A private paradise is like a private room. When you enter a private space, it's not

unusual to close the door to leave all worries and cares outside. You've already done this by closing your eyelids.

o Of course, you can lock that door so that you can be safe and secure anytime you

want. Now, after locking a door, it's natural to check it by tugging in vain at the doorknob and finding it locked tight. So, when you're certain you've locked your eyelids shut, make sure by tugging in vain at the doorknob and finding you've locked those eyelids shut, until you're ready to conclude your self-hypnosis session.

o As soon as you're certain, you can stop trying, relax the eyelids, and allow that

relaxation to flow through your body as you feel a sense of pride that you have just hypnotized yourself. You have given your body a suggestion, and your body has carried it out.

4. Practice regularly. Just as people who practice meditation must incorporate it into their life style in order to be able to benefit from it, and just as a driver does not turn off the ignition until the destination has been reached, you also need to continue to use the Best Me Technique as often as needed to maintain your desired level of performance. However, once you have become sufficiently familiar with the elements of the Best Me Technique, you will be able to use them automatically and seamlessly in order to provide yourself with a self-hypnosis experience which is both enjoyable and effective.

Pre-Experiencing the Rewards of a Future Goal 

1. Choose the goal. This example illustrates the accomplishment of a specific goal: graduation, in order to provide the incentive to get there, reducing or eliminating the need for "will power."

o You can increase the incentive value of the Best Me Technique still further by pre-

experiencing other rewarding aspects of your goal, such as celebrating at a graduation party with friends and family, or relaxing on the deck of a cruise ship as you treat yourself to a much-deserved vacation after your goal has been achieved.

o You may also want to pre-experience the rewards of sub-goals along the way,

such as completing a unit of study, presenting a paper, or passing a major examination while overcoming the stress that goes with it, secure in the knowledge that you are on the way to a pre-determined and inevitable success.

o The Best Me Technique can also be used to enhance performance in many other

areas, such as singing, dance, athletics, creative writing, motivating yourself to work out, or starting your own business. It may also be a helpful part of a program to lose weight, stop smoking, or to rid yourself of other forms of addiction.

2. Take all the time you need in order to thoroughly pre-experience the attainment of your goal. Use whatever order and wording you prefer as long as you include all of the "Best Me" steps. Allow yourself to experience each step as strongly as possible, but don't just daydream. Hyperempiria is like riding a bicycle. It takes a while to get the hang of it, but after a bit of practice it feels very natural. You can generally tell how well you are doing in your BMT experience by how good it makes you feel.

o (B) Imagine yourself in the future, at the very moment you receive your diploma.o (E) Feel the admiring looks of your friends and family upon you, and enjoy to the

fullest your sense of pride and accomplishment as you dwell on the glow of your success.

o (S) See it happen, hear it happen, and feel it happening, as you allow yourself to

experience this thrill of achievement throughout every part of your body, from head to toe.

o (T) Visualize this goal so clearly that it feels as if you were actually willing it into

existence.o (M) Let yourself believe that you are headed toward a certain and inevitable

success.o (E) And as a result, allow yourself to act, think, and feelas if it were impossible to

fail.

If you can see it, you can believe it.If you can believe it, you can believe in it.

If you can believe in it, you can make it happen!

Re-Creating an Earlier Mood 

1. You can also think of a time in your past when your confidence and motivation were at a level where you want them to be right now.

2. Go through the steps of the Best Me Technique to allow yourself to experience this mood again. As before, you can generally tell how well you are doing in your BMT experience by how good it makes you feel.

o (B) Imagine yourself in the past, when you were feeling the mood you want to feel

now, in the present.o (E) Let yourself feel the emotion you were experiencing then as strongly as you

can, as you re-live those moments in your mind.o (S) See it happen, hear it happen, and feel it happening, as you allow yourself to

experience this feeling state once more throughout every part of your body, from head to toe.

o (T) Visualize this mood, and the events which produced it, so clearly that it feels

as if you were actually willing them back into existence.o (M) Let yourself believe that you are headed toward a certain and inevitable

success once again.o (E) And as a result, allow yourself to act, think, and feelas if it were impossible to

fail.

Turning it Up Even Higher

When you have created the mood you want, you can turn up the intensity to the level you desire by picturing a dial such as a ship's speed indicator, and slowly moving it up to where you want it. While allowing yourself a reasonable amount of time for breaks, if you should feel your motivation slipping you can always pause for a moment to re-adjust the controls.  You can also use an image like this to slow down your sense of how fast time is passing when you have time off from your duties, and to speed it up when you have work to do, so that it feels like your tasks

will be over quickly.

Preparing to End Your Hyperempiric Session 

1. Whenever you are ready, you can think to yourself that you will gradually emerge from hyperempiria as you silently count from one to five, telling yourself that by the time you get to five, you are going to be back in the normal, everyday frame of mind in which we spend most of our waking lives.

2. You can also give yourself a suggestion that each time you enter hyperempiria, you will be able to go in deeper and more rapidly, and derive even more benefits, from the experience, some of which you may already know and some of which you may not yet realize. (This will allow your unconscious to provide you with additional benefits which you may not yet be aware of.)

3. Conclude your hyperempiric session. Silently count from one to five, telling yourself that at the count of five you will be back wide awake and feeling wonderful, using words like this:

o One. Beginning to return now, as your mind begins to return to its normal level of

functioning.o Two. You will be smiling, happy, and confident as you prepare to resume your

life’s adventure.o Three. Coming back more and more now.o Four. Almost back.o Five. You can open your eyes now, feeling wonderful. You can open your eyes

now, feeling wonderful.

Tips

If you are inclined to doubt whether or not you have achieved self-hypnosis after a few minutes, you probably have.

o For many people, there is no such thing as a "hypnotized" feeling.o An induction procedure is like the theme music to a motion picture or a television

drama. It allows us to shift our thinking from a strictly logical mode of thought to a more flexible, more imaginative way of looking at the world. And we can all do that!

Regular practice using the Best Me Technique is essential until your long-term goal has been achieved.

o People who want to realize the benefits of meditation make it a regular part of

their life, and the same is true with hyperempiria.o When you are driving a car, you don't want to turn off the ignition until you have

arrived at your destination!. Whenever you would like to increase your level of motivation, here's a neat

suggestion that you can give to yourself at any time. Just picture a dial in your mind (a clock with only an hour hand, with the hour hand set at one or a ship's speed indicator such as the one shown previously), and turn this dial up to an even higher level as you raise your motivation along with it. With a little practice, this can become a handy way to give your motivation an extra push whenever you need it most.

As a general rule, it is better to use as few words as possible with your Best Me suggestions. The images and experiences you encounter at each step, and the conviction with which you hold them, are much more important in determining the final outcome.

The building blocks of a Best Me experience need not be conceptually "pure." The purpose of the Best Me Technique is comprehensiveness; and each part of a Best Me experience may contain elements of the others.

If you already know how to perform self-hypnosis, you may prefer to use your own induction at the beginning, and then use the Best Me Technique for goal achievement.

You should focus on only one goal per session, rather than making up a "laundry list" of things to pursue. Having too many goals at once might tend to interfere with your ability to clearly focus your imagination on the rewards of goal attainment.

If other thoughts should start to distract you during your BMT session, just passively observe them and let them go, as one might do while practicing meditation.* Recordings are also used to extend the effectiveness of hypnotic suggestions provided by someone else (or you can make your own). You may need to experiment a bit to find which method or combination works best for you.

You can also use the Best Me Technique to re-experience a time in the past when your motivation and confidence were at very high levels. When you have caught that mood, hold it for a moment and then bring it into the present to power your present tasks.

If you should find that you need to build self-confidence in order to pursue a much-desired goal, and if self-help books and articles are not useful enough, you may need to seek the services of a psychologist, counselor, clinical social worker, or life coach to provide the necessary support and encouragement, and to help you sort out your goals more clearly.

If you are finding it difficult to put the necessary degree of conviction into your suggestions to accomplish a goal, you may need to go back and analyze your goal to see if there are any hidden conflicts which may be preventing you from focusing completely upon its achievement.

Don't forget the importance of "environmental engineering." In addition to using self-hypnosis, you need to make whatever changes you have to in yourself and in your daily life in order to bring your goal to completion, such as learning to control your emotions, or to deal with impossible people you may meet along the way.

The potential applications of the Best Me Technique are quite large. When used correctly, suggestion may be regarded as an artistic medium which enables us to work directly with the ultimate art form: human experience itself.

Warnings

The desire to take calculated risks is an important part of what makes us human.

There is an old saying which goes, "Be careful what you wish for, you may get it." Things almost never turn out exactly as we expect them to. But the desire to take calculated risks, to "dream the impossible dream," and, if necessary, to make our own luck -- is part of what makes us human -- and it's what having free will is all about!

o Suggestion should not be used to treat any type of mental condition, or to recover

old memories, except under the direction and supervision of an appropriately qualified and licensed mental health professional.

o Do not use the power of suggestion to eliminate pain or other physical symptoms,

except under appropriate medical supervision. Such symptoms are often a natural warning signal from your body that something is wrong (or that something may be GOING wrong). Similarly, you should not attempt to use the power of suggestion to overcome depression, mood swings, hearing voices or seeing things that do not exist. And unless you are a physician or a licensed mental health professional yourself, there are probably a large number of potentially serious conditions that you have never evenheard of!

o You should not stop taking any type of prescription medication while using self-

suggestion without talking to your doctor. Don't try to use the Best Me Technique to "scare yourself" into achieving your

goal, and don't include any shoulds,oughts, or musts in your

suggestions. Psychological research has conclusively shown that human beings are motivated primarily by reward rather than by the threat of punishment. Keep it positive!

Don't try to use positive suggestion to maintain a failing relationship, or to rescue a relationship which is in trouble.This is most likely to be a form of denial. See a therapist or counselor.

Hypnosis and hyperempiria will not weaken your will, leave you susceptible to demonic or occult influences, or turn you into someone else's willing servant.

Do not allow yourself to be misled by the exaggerated claims of advertisers, or by or phony or unregulated degrees, accreditations, and "board certifications."

o Self-hypnosis is not difficult to learn. People can end up paying thousands of

dollars to acquire these skills, but they can just as learn master them free of charge if they are willing to put forth the necessary time and effort in order to do so.

Many self-improvement projects may require the additional professional assistance of a licensed psychologist, counselor, or social worker for their successful completion.

o Psychiatrists can perform these services too, of course. But, with a few fortunate

exceptions, the demands of today's marketplace have led many psychiatrists to concentrate primarily on diagnosing mental illness and prescribing psychotropic medication.

o Many insurance companies do not pay for consulting a hypnotist or

hypnotherapist if this is their only professional qualification. If you have insurance which covers mental health, you can call your State psychological, counseling, or social work association and ask for the names of members near you who include hypnosis as one of their specialties, or you can check your phone book listings under these headings.

o You may want to check ahead of time to see whether or not your particular need

is covered and, if so, which types of mental health providers your insurance carrier is willing to recognize. You also need to determine whether or not the particular provider you have chosen is in your insurance carrier's network or is able to accept out-of-network reimbursement from that particular provider. Your insurance carrier or your mental health services provider needs to inform you whether or not pre-authorization is necessary, if there is a deductible which has to be met first, how many visits they are willing to authorize, and how much the co-pay, if any, is going to be.

We must always retain the ability to recognize when a goal is really not worth pursuing, in order to keep from wasting our lives in futile effort.

o If we can learn to overcome the discouragement which has protected us in from

our own mistakes in goal selection, we have an added responsibility to make certain that the goals which we have chosen really areworth going after, and that they are within the scope of our ability to attain them.

o The world is full of people whose "impossible dreams" will always be impossible.

But there are many others for whom an iron determination can make all the difference, no matter what the odds against them. As we put this powerful new technology into use, it is up to each of us to decide just how idealistic or how practical we choose to be.

Finally, just as there are some people who are color blind cannot comprehend the experience of color, some people are hypnosis blind and cannot comprehend the experience of hypnosis.

o The ability to respond to suggestion is distributed in the general population in

much the same way that height, weight, and intelligence are. Some of us have a little, and some of us have a lot, but most of us have enough to get by.

o But for everyone whose ability to respond to suggestion is extremely low or

virtually nonexistent, there is someone else who can harness the power of suggestion for many areas of personal growth and self-improvement. Such is the potential and the promise of hyperempiria for those who are able and willing to make use of it.

---------------------------------

Hypnosis is Easy When You Know How!

All you really need is a willing volunteer.

Adapted from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

(According to statistics available at the site, the following article has been read by over a million people and

edited by dozens of others. I have watched and participated in its development over the past few years, and

can vouch for its accuracy and effectiveness.) 

It is very easy to hypnotize a person who wants to be hypnotized and is able to do so, because all hypnosis is

self-hypnosis. The hypnotist merely functions as a guide or a personal trainer to help you to focus the power of

your imagination more effectively. The progressive relaxation method presented here is one of the easiest to

learn and to use.

Steps

1. Before you begin, make sure that your partner clearly understands what you are going to do and what

he or she is going to get out of it.

2. Keep in mind what you say to the partner before the induction is just as important, and perhaps even

more important, than what you say during the hypnosis itself. How well people respond to hypnosis

depends not only on their ability to respond to suggestion, but also on their beliefs and expectations

about hypnosis and their trust and confidence in the person providing the suggestions.

3. Ask your partner if he or she has been hypnotized before, and inquire what the experience was like, if

they have, ask them what they had been told to do and how they responded.This will give you an

idea of how responsive the partner is likely to be to your own suggestions, and perhaps what things in

the procedure that you should avoid.

4. Tell the partner ahead of time that he or she will clearly remember everything that happens. This

serves as a "waking suggestion" which defines the experience in such a way that the partner is likely

to remember everything, even if they otherwise might not. It is very useful in building trust, and in

obtaining feedback when the session is over.

5. Reassure the partner that they cannot be made to do anything under hypnosis that they do not want to

do.

6. Ask your partner to sit or lie down in a comfortable position in a dimmed room where you are not likely

to be disturbed for a while. Turn off cell phones and pagers. Make sure that your partner is not so tired

that he or she will be inclined to fall asleep

7. Ask your partner to close his or her eyes, and imagine being in a "happy place" where one can feel

comfortable and secure, such as relaxing in a meadow beside a gently running stream.

8. Speak slowly, in a low, soothing, "hypnotic" voice timed to your partner's breathing, with considerable

elaboration and repetition far beyond the point of boredom in an ordinary conversation.

9. Ask your partner to relax all over, using words like these: "Just let your feet relax, and your legs relax.

Feel your hips relaxing, and your waist relaxing. Feel your chest relaxing, and your arms relaxing. Your

shoulders relaxing, and your neck and head relaxing. Feel your entire body relaxing, all over."

10. Gradually change your instructions into suggestions which increase the strength of the feeling of

relaxation. "You can feel yourself relaxing now. You can feel a heavy, relaxed feeling coming over you.

And as I continue to talk, that heavy relaxed feeling will get stronger and stronger, until it carries you

into a deep, peaceful state of hypnosis."

11. Using your partner's breathing and body language as a guide, gradually make your suggestions more

directive, using suggestions similar to the following. Repeat the suggestions a few times, much as you

might repeat the verses and choruses of a song, until your partner appears to be totally relaxed.o "Every word that I utter is putting you faster and deeper, and faster and deeper, into a deep,

peaceful state of hypnosis."o "Sinking down, and shutting down. Sinking down, and shutting down. Sinking down, and

shutting down, shutting down completely."o "And the deeper you go, the deeper you are able to go. And the deeper you go, the deeper

you want to go, and the more enjoyable the experience becomes."

12. You can conclude your induction with words like: "Now you are resting comfortably in a deep, peaceful

state of sleep, going deeper and faster and deeper and faster all of the time, until I bring you back. You

will only accept those suggestions which are for your benefit, and that you are willing to accept."

13. Provide positive suggestions which are specifically geared to achieving the goal. This will allow the

partner to try out new attitudes, feelings, and behaviors which often are not voluntarily attainable. If the

suggested changes are more adaptive than the old patterns after everything is taken into account, they

will be retained. More than one hypnosis session may be necessary until the suggested changes are

firmly rooted in the partner's life. Don't try to "scare" somebody into achieving their goal by dwelling on

the consequences of failure, or by using "shoulds," "oughts," or "musts" in your suggestions. Research

has conclusively shown that fear is a poor way to motivate people, and the side effects usually

outweigh any possible benefits. Here are some examples of simple positive suggestions that you can

elaborate on:o "You will look back on this experience as a game-changer in your life which will turn each day

into a thing of wondrous beauty."o "As a result of these suggestions, you will feel as if you are headed for a certain and pre-

determined success.."o "You will be able to act, think, and feel as if it were impossible to fail."

14. Conclude the hypnotic session. This is easier than inducing it, because all you have to do is essentially

ask your partner to stop imagining. You can begin by saying, "I'm going to count from one to five, and

at the count of five you will be feeling wide awake, fully alert, and completely refreshed."o It's also helpful to suggest, "And as a result of this hypnotic experience, you will find many

exciting changes taking place in your life, some of which you may already be aware of and

some of which you may not yet realize." This provides the partner with an extra measure of

encouragement to process and complete any constructive changes they are already working

on.o Then repeat for emphasis, "And as you continue to explore these deeper dimensions of

experience, you will discover even more exciting changes taking place in your life, some of

which you may be aware of and some of which you may not yet realize."o Suggestions of this type tend to serve as self-fulfilling prophecies, because the mind acts

upon them in such a manner as to bring about the outcomes which have been suggested.o Start counting, interspersed with suggestions to the effect that the partner is waking up more

and more, "and by the time I get to the count of five, you will be fully awake and

feeling wonderful!"

15. Discuss highlights of the session with the partner, and ask if there are any questions or if there is

anything they would like to change.

16. Now you should be able to re-induce hypnosis more easily. If your partner has responded well, repeat

the session using a shorter induction and go over the positive suggestions you gave previously.o A series of two or three short inductions is usually more effective than a single longer one.

This also allows more opportunity for the partner to provide feedback.o At the conclusion of each session, suggest that whenever your partner is willing to be

hypnotized by you in the future, they will be able to enter hypnosis faster and go deeper each

time because of the practice they have had.o Always be sure to emphasize how good the partner is going to feel when the session is over,

to insure that the experience is an enjoyable one.

Frequently Asked Questions 

1. Prepare by familiarizing yourself with questions which are frequently asked by people who are about to

experience hypnosis for the first time and the answers to them. It's good to have a general idea about

how to answer questions like these ahead of time, because confidence and trust are so important in

determining how a person is going to respond to your induction.o What are you going to do? I will ask you to visualize some pleasant scenes, while I talk about

how to use your own mental abilities more effectively. You can always refuse to do anything

that you don't want to do, and you can always come out of the experience yourself if an

emergency should come up.o What does it feel like to be in hypnosis? Most of us experience changes in our conscious

awareness several times a day without realizing it. Any time you let your imagination go and

just flow along with a piece of music or a verse of poetry, or get so involved in watching a

movie or a television drama that you feel like you a part of the action instead of a part of the

audience, you are experiencing a form of trance. Hypnosis is just a way of helping you to

focus and define these changes in consciousness, in order to use your mental abilities more

effectively.o Is it safe? Hypnosis is not an altered state of consciousness (as sleep is, for example), but an

alteredexperience of consciousness, which is brought about by using suggestion to re-

configure the properties of the imagination. And anything that can be imagined can be un-

imagined just as easily.o If it's all just your imagination, then, what good is it? Don’t be confused by the tendency in

English and many other languages to use the word "imaginary" as opposite in meaning to the

word "real" -- and neither should it be confused with the term "image." The imagination is a

very real group of mental abilities, whose potential we are just now beginning to explore, and

which extends far beyond our ability to form mental images!o Can you make me do anything I don't want to do? When you're using hypnosis, you still have

your own personality, and you're still you -- so you won't say or do anything that you wouldn't

do in the very same situation without hypnosis, and you can easily refuse any suggestion that

you don't want to accept. (That's why we call them "suggestions.")o What can I do in order to respond better? Hypnosis is very similar to letting yourself become

absorbed in watching a sunset or the embers of a campfire, letting yourself flow with a piece

of music or poetry, or feeling like you are part of the action instead of part of the audience

when you are watching a movie. People who do not feel that they have been able to respond

very well, on the other hand, sometimes find it difficult to relax in new situations. It all depends

on your ability and willingness to go along with the instructions and suggestions that are

provided.o What if I enjoy it so much that I don't want to come back? Sometimes you might not want a

movie to end, because the movie is so enjoyable -- but you still come back to the real world,

because you know it’s only a motion picture. Hypnotic suggestions are basically an exercise

for the mind and the imagination, just like a movie script is. But you still come back to

everyday life when the session is over, just like you come back at the end of a movie.

However the hypnotist might need to try a couple times to pull you out. It is enjoyable being

completely relaxed but you can't do much when hypnotized.o What if it doesn't work? Did you ever become so absorbed in your play as a child that you

didn’t hear your mother’s voice calling you in for dinner? Or are you one of the many people

who are able to wake up at a certain time each morning, just by deciding the night before that

you are going to do so? We all have the ability to use our minds in ways we are not usually

aware of, and some of us have developed these abilities more than others. If you just allow

your thoughts to respond freely and naturally to the words and images as your guide, you'll be

able to go wherever your mind can take you!

Warnings

Don't try to use hypnosis to treat any physical or mental condition (including pain) unless you are a

licensed professional who is properly qualified to treat these problems. Hypnosis should never be used

by itself as a substitute for counseling or psychotherapy, or to rescue a relationship which is in trouble.

Don't stop taking any type of prescription medication while using hypnosis without talking to your

doctor.

Don't suggest anything that is against a person's morals or value systems, or that might be

embarrassing to the partner, or anything that you wouldn't want someone to suggest to you.

Though many people have tried, post-hypnotic amnesia is notoriously unreliable as a means of

protecting hypnotists from the consequences of their own misconduct. If you try to use hypnosis to get

people to do things they would not normally be willing to do, they will usually just come out of hypnosis.

If you are going to venture down this road, get them to agree to what you are going to do before the

induction. Otherwise, they may never trust you again, tell everyone what you did, take you to court, or

worse.

Don't just sidle up to someone at the mall, or someone who is asleep, and try to hypnotize them on the

sly. Though not impossible, it is extremely difficult to hypnotize someone covertly or against their will.

Although covert approaches can work occasionally with an unsuspecting person who is caught by

surprise, much more often than not, people will catch on to what you are trying to do. They will either

laugh at you, or become angry for insulting their intelligence, and/or suspect that you have an ulterior

motive and report you as a suspicious person.

Don't try regressing people to when they were young. If you want, tell them to 'act as if they were ten.'

Some people have repressed memories which you really do not want to bring up (abuse, bullying etc.).

They shut out these memories as a natural defense. Oddly, these people are often good at being

hypnotized.

Don't get hung up on technique. When something works dramatically with some people, and not as

well as you want it to with others, this creates a "partial reinforcement" effect which may cause people

to go from one book to another, or one training program or conference to another, in search of a

"magic bullet" that is going to work with everyone. But despite claims to the contrary, most induction

procedures work about equally well, and the differences in responsiveness are due to other factors.

Decades of laboratory research involving hundreds of investigators have conclusively demonstrated

that for everyone who responds poorly, you are statistically certain to find someone who responds so

well that your perseverance in the use of hypnosis will be amply rewarded over time.

Don't allow yourself to be fooled by the sensationalism and commercial distortion of advertisers, or by

false and misleading portrayals of hypnosis in the mass media, which commonly leads people to

believe that hypnotism allows anyone to make other people act like fools with a click of the fingers.

Ask your partner if he or she has any questions about what has happened, and be prepared to answer

them! 

Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original

wikiHow article on How to Hypnotize Someone. All content on wikiHow can be shared under aCreative

Commons license. 

How to Achieve Your Goals Without Using "Will Power"

 

"If you can fill the unforgiving minutewith sixty seconds' worth 

of distance run,Yours is the Earth, and all that's in it . -Kipling

If we were being secretly observed by alien beings from afar, what would they be likely to notice about us first? Close to the top of the list is likely to be the fact that our evolutionary development has been lopsided. Our highly developed forebrains have enabled us to form complex and distant goals. But, with 99% of the same genetic makeup as our closest monkey cousins, the chimpanzees, our ability to regulate our emotions and behavior well enough to achieve those goals frequently falls short of our aspirations. As we work toward the goal we have chosen, without yet having the rewards of success to keep us going, we experience a considerable amount of craving, frustration, and annoyance -- especially if we have to work directly against other sources of pleasure in order to get to our goal. If we smoke, for example, we know that smoking could take years away from our lives but we want that cigarette! If we are trying to lose weight, we know how much healthier and more attractive we would feel if we could stick to the diet we have chosen -- but we want that extra dessert!

So we try to use “will power” in an attempt to spur ourselves onward. We tell ourselves how important the goal really is, congratulating ourselves when we are able to stay on track, and mentally “beating ourselves up” when we don’t work as hard we think we ought to. We attempt to bridge this time gap between present efforts and future sources of satisfaction when we daydream about a goal which we desire very much. But for most of us, daydreams still do not capture the full richness of the rewards which will one day be ours -- if only we can persist long enough to get there! Autosuggestion, "Positive thinking," affirmations, visualization, and fantasy techniques often don't help very much either, because they also don't do enough to involve thewhole person in the satisfactions of goal attainment. Eventually, even though our long-term goal remains as attractive as ever, if our efforts yield little short-term satisfaction and encouragement from other sources along the way, our motivation begins to falter, and sooner or later we give up. But hyperempiria, or suggestion-enhanced experience, is the journey that makes the destination worthwhile!

The following videotape illustrates the use of hyperempiric suggestion to bridge the gap between present rewards and future sources of satisfaction. By projecting clients mentally to a point in the future when their goal has already been attained, they will have access to the rewards of these future goals now, in the present, when they are most needed for motivation; and they will be able to act, think, and feel as if it were impossible to fail!

Regardless of the fact that she confirms that she has not been prepped in any way for the experience, few people would disagree with the statement that the demonstration subject whom the hypnotist has chosen is one who is highly responsive to suggestion. For most clients, a more detailed procedure such as the Best Me Technique, described below, is more likely to produce the desired effect.

The Best Me Technique (Gibbons, 2001) is a method of suggestion-enhanced experience for involving the whole person in the content of a suggested event, which enables those who are properly trained in this procedure to experience now, in the present and in concentrated form, the rewards and satisfactions which would not normally be theirs until a goal has been achieved. This in turn can provide the motivational fuel to pursue whatever goal we may have chosen, no matter how distant or difficult that goal might otherwise appear.

Each element of the Best Me Technique corresponds with a dimension of experience (Beliefs, Emotions, Sensations and physical perceptions,Thoughts and images, Motives, and Expectations); and these elements can be combined in a variety of ways. In the hyperempiric episode which follows, the Best Me Technique is used to pre-experience the rewards of a graduation ceremony in order to enhance the motivation to purseue a course of study leading to an academic degree. However, the Best Me Technique can also be used to as part of a comprehensive program to enhance performance in other areas, such as athletics, music, dance, and theater or, as previously mentioned, as part of a program to lose weight or become a non-smoker, or to rid oneself of other forms of addiction. 

The suggestions are presented in B-E-S-T-M-E order for the sake of illustration; but in actual use, Best Me suggestions may be repeated in any order and varied and repeated as often as necessary in order to maximize involvement with their content, much as one might repeat the verses and choruses of a song. Rather than memorizing a specific set of suggestions or reading them to the client as a script, I usually count out the steps of the Best Me Technique on my fingers as I am improvising an induction or a therapeutic suggestion, going back and forth to make sure that I have adequately covered them all. This gives me more freedom to individualize my suggestions to better meet the needs of each individual, and to use their body language to gauge the speed and content of my delivery.

The incentive value of the Best Me Technique can be further enhanced by pre-experiencing the rewarding results of the goal, such as celebrating at a graduation party with friends and family, or relaxing on the deck of a cruise ship on a much-deserved vacation after the degree is actually in hand. It is also helpful to pre-experience the rewards of sub-goals along the way, such as doing well on an upcoming major examination, or enjoying semester the break in the certain knowledge that one is on the way to a pre-determined and inevitable success. 

At the conclusion of either a traditional hypnotic or an expressly hyperempiric induction (Gibbons & Lynn, 2010), experiential suggestions such as the following may be given. (For even more complete involvement in the content of the suggested experience, clients may be mentally transported to pre-experience the achievement of their goals in a parallel Universe!) Clients may be instructed, "Use the power of the imagination to allow yourself to experience each part of the journey as strongly as possible. You can tell how well you are doing by how enjoyable it is. If you can believe in it, you can believe it. And if you can believe it, you can make it happen!

Belief systems. Now you can feel your awareness of the present beginning to fade, as you become ever more clearly aware of yourself seated at your graduation ceremony, waiting to go up and receive your diploma. Just picture the scene, and imagine yourself excitedly waiting there, until it becomes just as real and just as clear to you as if it is happening right now.

Emotions. Let yourself feel an ever increasing sense of pride and achievement as you savor this moment to the fullest. As you look around at your fellow graduates and at the crowd of family, friends, and well wishers who have come to share in your success, you can truly rejoice in the thrill of all you have worked so hard to accomplish.

Sensations and physical perceptions. The graduates are getting up one row at a time to form a line beside the stage until their name is called. When it is your turn, you join the line and await your turn to go up and shake hands with the Dean and receive your diploma.

Thoughts and images. And all the time, you are realizing how much this means to you, and how much it has all been worthwhile.

Motives. Now, as you walk across the stage and shake hands with the Dean, he smiles and hands you your diploma, and you return to your seat, let yourself take a few moments now to bask in the satisfaction of a job well done, and savor your achievement to the fullest. [Pause.]

Expectations. And each time that you return to this treasured memory of the future, it will become easier for you to act, think, and feel as if it were impossible to fail. Believe it will happen, expect it to happen, feelit happening, and savor in advance the fruits of your success!

After allowing time to fully enjoy the experience for a few moments longer, the induction may be concluded in an appropriate manner (Gibbons & Lynn, 2001). Methods of auto-induction should also be taught, so that the client can continue to practice at home while learning. Once the technique has been mastered, it should be repeated daily as a form of experiential meditation until the goal is actually attained.

When there is no clearly-identified goal upon which to focus, or when existing goals are not desired strongly enough to fully motivate a person to achieve them, suggestions such as the following can be given to increase the enjoyment of goal attainment in general. 

Belief systems. Now we are going to help you to experience in concentrated form, both your desire to achieve

and your ability to feel the satisfactions you are going to feel in the future from the fulfillment of a job well done.

Emotions. We are reaching down into the depths of your vast, untapped potential for feeling happiness and joy.

Great waves of happiness and joy are flooding out from the depths of your potential, growing stronger and

more beautiful and more intense with every passing second.

Sensations and physical perceptions. The waves of joy are becoming stronger and more intense, filling and

flooding every muscle, and fiber, and nerve of your entire body with a beauty and which is greater than

anything you could possibly imagine.

Thoughts and images. Your mind is filled with such beauty and such joy that it is impossible to think of anything

else, and all you can do is feel these waves of joy washing over you., growing in beauty and intensity with

every passing second.

Motives. This is the kind of fulfillment you will be able to feel when you put your whole self into doing a job –

any job – well. And you will have plenty of energy left over to enjoy every other aspect of life to the fullest.

Expectations. And I don’t know whether this experience will leave you with new goals, or with a re-dedication to

the ones you already have. But in either case it will be a transforming moment, for it will have the power to

change your life.

By using the Best Me Technique along with the necessary changes you need to make in your environment in order to accomplish the goals you have chosen, you will be able to provide yourself with the inspiration and incentive for a lifetime of accomplishment and personal growth. 

A Word of Caution

Of course, we must still be able to give up on goals which are really notworth pursuing, no mater how attractive they may seem at first, in order to protect ourselves from our own mistakes in judgment. The world is full of people who want to become a success as writers, actors, sports heroes, and a host of other things, but are simply not cut out for that kind of work. On the other hand, many goals which may may seem impossible at first are attainable if we are willing to work long enough and hard enough. As we develop the ability to choose our motives as well as our goals, i.e., to have free will in the truest sense of the term, it is up to each of us to decide how practical or how idealistic we want to be.

Recently, Lenny Cavallaro and I have been suggesting to hypnotized clients that they are being transported to an alternate universe where time and space do not exist. After orienting them to this universe and inducing emotions which are as pleasant as possible -- i.e., "dissolving  into an ocean of infinite, unbounded, and everlasting love," we suggest the following: "with practice, you will be able to feel this kind of fulfillment

whenever you put your whole self into working towards a goal you have chosen. As you think about achieving the goal ahead of time, you can believe it will happen, expect it to happen, and feel it happening! And with practice, you will be able to act, think, and feel as if it were impossible to fail!"  \

Clients have been saying things like, "I can't thank you enough!" and, "I'm at a point in my life now where I think I can accomplish anything!" The changes which they are reporting in their lives seem to bear this out.  It's too early for any hard data, as we have just begun to use these techniques. But we would like to invite you to join us in exploring these fascinating new realms of experience, and sharing with us in the thrill of discovery! 

With much fanfare and without further ado, here's the link:

Gibbons, D. E., & Cavallaro, L (2013).. Exploring alternate universes: And learning what they can teach us. Amazon Kindle E-Books. (Note: It is not necessary to own a Kindle reader to download this e-book, as the Kindle app may be downloaded free of charge to a standard desktop or laptop computer and to most cell phones.) 

See also:

The Storytelling Animal: How to Compose Suggestions that Will Not "Wear Off."

How to Create Winning Goals

Phyllis Dilller with Claude Bristol's The Magic of Believing

-------------------------------------------------

 Here is

Hyperempiria for "Dieting Outside the Box"

A married woman in her mid-forties sought my help in order to lose weight. She had obtained clearance from her physician to proceed with a weight loss program, along with a recommend diet; and she was not currently taking any medication. She described her relationship with her husband and children as warm and affectionate, and told me that her life was fundamentally happy, with no major stressors which might serve to distract her from her weight loss goal.    

Her anniversary was some eight months away. She was going to surprise her husband by arranging a getaway weekend for him at a hotel. Her plans included dinner at a stylish restaurant where she would like to be able to once more wear a treasured dress which she had saved from her honeymoon.

I taught her how to to hypnotize herself by using the Best Me Technique and to pre-experience the attainment of her weight loss goal,using the anniversary restaurant dinner as one of the settings in which she could enjoy the multi-modal dimensions of its fulfillment. 

Belief systems involving suggestions of a change in place and time at the completion of the induction prepared her to pre-experience the anniversary dinner as if it were already taking place. 

Suggestions of Emotion included responses to both her husband’s admiring glances and the increasing physical attraction they felt towards each other as the evening wore on. 

Suggestions of many different Sensations and physical perceptions heightened the reality of the experience still further: the lighted candles on the dinner table, the soft music, the sight and smell of a bouquet of flowers, the taste of the dinner wine, etc. 

Thoughts and images included suggestions of the couple sharing their mutual declarations of love as they looked deeply into each other’s eyes. 

Motives became stronger as the evening wore on and their warmth became desire. 

Their Expectations for the rest of the night increased apace as the couple hurriedly paid their check and made their way out the door and took an elevator to the hotel room in the same building which she had rented for the remainder of the evening. . . . 

The client had a rich imagination and that she responded well to suggestion. Once she had mastered the technique of multimodal suggestion using the Best Me Technique for preliminary scenarios such as the one just described. To increase her motivation still more, she was able to devise multimodal autosuggestions for much more intimate experiences during the remainder of their anniversary evening without additional coaching from me. She reported that these were also highly effective in maintaining her motivation to diet at a high level.

Follow-up sessions were scheduled at progressively greater intervals as her self-imposed deadline drew near, to ensure that her progress continued and that her goal was satisfactorily reached, which it was. 

The secret of her success was that she was not just "fantasizing in a vacuum." She was selecting visualizations which would increase the meaningfulness of her life story as it unfolded.  These were changes that she could not merely believe, but that she could also believe in.  Whatever personal goal you have set for yourself, look for ways to incorporate it into your own life story in such a way that you can believein it as well as merely believing it.  If you can believe in it deeply enough, you can make it happen!