Last week I wrote a short essay on Auto-Suggestion, which had been suggested by my purchase of some handy Fonix ISpeak 3.0 Software. This ISpeak program can read a WORD document script, and can record it onto either WAV or MP3 format for repetitive playing. As I played with that software over the span of the entire week, I began to think that if I were really serious about suggestion, then perhaps I should go all the way to what amounts to actual hypnotism.

Years ago I had read a number of books on hypnotism, and this last week I had brushed up on what On Line references there are to hypnotism. Surprisingly, it seems that some people are still looking at bright little objects or watch chains. How silly! But generally the state of the Art is how I had remembered it. Let’s discuss the basics.

If you decide to write an Auto-Hypnotic Script, the following factors must be kept in mind. First, the hypnotic state is simply one of relaxed attention. You must script a narrative which asks for a gradual to complete relaxation of the body. You must talk away all tension and all anxieties. Then you must focus the attention of the mind, particularly the subconscious mind. So you must suggest the words “deeper”, and the ideas of ‘going down’. The words ‘heavier’ suggest both the ideas of profound relaxation as well as the idea of sinking ‘down’ to a deeper level of mind.

One must tailor one’s script narrative to the time one would suppose it would take a person to actually relax. If it typically takes you five minutes to fall asleep during your afternoon naps, then you should probably give your narrative a similar length of time to unfold. No, it is not necessary or even desirable for the subject of hypnotism to fall asleep. It is quite okay to remember everything that was said. It is okay to retain body consciousness. Even if one does not seem to relax or go as deep as what is suggested in the narrative, it does not mean that Hypnotism is not taking place. Trances do not have to be very deep in order to still have effect. Also, remember, that being hypnotized is an acquired skill. As one practices being hypnotized by these auto-suggestion programs, one will find that in time one can almost instantly fall into a very relaxed state.

In writing your hypnotic scrips, when you have spent sufficient time establishing relaxation and attention. Then move into your working Suggestions. Repetition, Repetition, Repetition. Suggest what you want to suggest, and then suggest it again. Find every way you can think of to phrase your suggestion. Use every metaphor you can think of. Tie it into your subconscious in every way you can consciously imagine. Also, never go more than several sentences without again bringing back the attention of your hypnotic subject, that is, yourself. “Please, give me your entire attention”. “Keep listening to my voice”. “Do I still have your undivided attention?” When you begin to use these Auto-Suggestion programs, you will be surprised at how often your attention is called back by such phrases. When even our Conscious Minds have a tendency to wonder off, the Subconscious Mind is even more wayward. It must be called back again and again. ‘Are you still paying attention?”

Now, as far as suggestions go, one can design suggestions in order to in effect re-engineer the Subconscious and Persona. People who want to auto-hypnotize themselves in order to quit smoking or for eating disorders are basically in the business of re-writing their basic motivations. So repeated suggestions in these regards would be sufficient for what they require.

But remember that one of the good things about Hypnotism is the potential to create Post-Hypnotic Suggestions. “You will awake calm and peaceful and with a glow of a continuous joy”. Or you can create Post-Hypnotic Suggestions that will take effect on cue, such as, you can suggest that when one touches or twirls one’s thumbs one will experience a burst of Ananda and feel one’s self bathed in Spiritual Light. Even though such suggestions may be extremely exaggerated, your subconscious mind will certainly deliver whatever it has, in that regards. And remember, what may be an exaggeration for the Waking Self, might be well within the capability of the Dream Self. Post Hypnotic Suggestions on Cue, can also be arranged to be triggered by certain words. For instance, pick a word that one might hear maybe five or six times a day and make it the trigger of a real feel-good post hypnotic suggestion. It will be an occasion for giving you little psychological treats throughout the day. Being an old man, many people call me ‘Sir’ and so a good word for a post hypnotic ‘feel good’ suggestion would be to feel a wave of ananda every time I hear the word ‘sir’. Well, not everybody is called ‘sir’, but you know what I mean.