Three Tips to Make Self-Hypnosis Fun and Effective

As winter season Self-Hypnosis for a Better Life class is starting in two days in West End Community Centre, I’m writing the blog to remind you that Self-Hypnosis doesn’t have to feel like “work”. It can be Fun.

One thing I saw a lot was impatience. The reason people get impatient with any practice is that they want a certain outcome, and they want the outcome right now.

Attachment to outcome causes impatience; however, whenever we have fun, we don’t feel time pass. We enjoy the process and we don’t care about the ending.

So, to make your self-hypnosis practice effective, the first key is to make it fun. How do we do that?

Tip 1: Start from easier techniques to more complicated

Start with a very simple technique, as simple as a statement, for example, “I am going into hypnosis for the purpose of _______________________, for ________ minutes, so when I wake up, I’ll be _________________________ (feeling words such as energized, refreshed, confident) and ready for _____________________ (a task, or a job interview).”

This way, your subconscious mind is controlling the timing. It can be as long as half an hour, when you really enjoy it, or as short as two minutes. Part of the reason we get frustrated about doing a practice is the fear that we don’t do it right, but when we are playful, there is no way we can do it wrong.

Tip 2: Engage hands or arms to absorb our attention

The reason a lot of people find hard to meditate is that they can’t get their mind quiet. Of course, mind does what it does all the time – making noises! It’s mind’s job to do it. We can’t fire our mind either, as it claims to be us, and it’s scary not to be without any identity.

Practicing Self-Hypnosis can certainly help meditation practice. In fact, I have a lot of regular meditators taking my on going Self-Hypnosis class, to help themselves to be better meditators. One of the techniques we practice is to be curious about our hands, moving towards each other as if there are magnets on each end; or if you wish, moving away from each other as if there are other forces pulling or pushing them. However it occurs, you will not fail, just stay curious, and let the hands movement absorb your full attention. Mind then naturally calms down, and you drop into a deep trance.

Tip 3:  Mix and match different techniques

One of the good things about self-hypnosis is that there are no rigid rules. You can learn different techniques to induce, and deepen the trance state, so you can go into it to program your subconscious mind, or to find answers within. All of the techniques are easy to learn. You can start by reading a book, or taking a group class. Hiring a professional hypnotherapist can accelerate the process because the hypnotherapist can directly give you post hypnotic suggestions to set your subconscious mind right on the process and practice.

Trance muscles are like body muscles. They can’t be built over night, but the more we practice, the better we get. And when you let the practice be fun, you enjoy the process more, so Self-Hypnosis gets more effective.