An Applied Self Hypnosis Guide
By Melvin Powers – Published George Barron Productions for Self Hypnosis USA.com Website edits and links added by George Barron. Related hypnosis download sessions have been inserted where applicable.
Forward
There really is no mystery in how self hypnosis can influence your sub conscious mind. We all believe that our actions and reactions are a result of our own logical thinking, but the fact is that suggestion influences our thinking a great deal more than logic. Consciously or unconsciously, our feelings about almost everything are largely molded by what wee see, hear and read in the media. We cannot buy a bar of soap or a tube of toothpaste without its influence. Right or wrong, most of us place more confidence in what we hear from other sources than we do in our own reasoning powers.
Despite the tendency to adopt our attitudes from others, man has always been dimly aware that he can influence his own destiny by directing his thoughts. The mind exerts a powerful influence on the body, and thoughts can have harmful or helpful effects on your emotional and physical health.
In 1952 the unprecedented sale of the now classic book, The Power of Positive Thinking 
Related Hypnosis Session: Positive Thinking
Self hypnosis creates a highly suggestible state in which you can direct suggestions to yourself. It is a powerful tool for focusing and directing your thoughts into actions. Highly motivated people can achieve results similar to treatment by a hypnotherapist. Self hypnosis can be used to temporarily adjust emotions and behaviors and can often have lasting results. Self hypnosis can alleviate distressing symptoms, substitute strong responses for weak responses, help overcome bad habits, create good habits and increase your power of concentration.
Related Hypnosis Sessions: How To Stop Bad Habits
In learning self hypnosis, you will not relinquish control of yourself as is commonly believed. Actually, you’ll gain more control over yourself. Self-sufficiency and self-confidence are inevitable results of the process. But remember, that even good things may be overdone, and good judgment is necessary for the best results. Neither hypnosis nor self hypnosis should ever be used indiscriminately. The effectiveness of self hypnosis depends upon many factors. Strong motivation, intelligent application of suggestions and diligence are prerequisites.
This is not to suggest that self hypnosis can take the place of all forms of psychotherapy. However, used properly, it can contribute a great deal to your physical and emotional well-being and happiness.
Related Hypnosis Session: A Dose of Happiness
Astounding and apparently miraculous results have been achieved by individuals using self-hypnosis. Many cases seem unbelievable to those not familiar with hypnotic phenomena. It should be remembered, though, that many individuals seek hypnosis only when all other forms of therapy have failed. This is so common that hypnosis has come to be known as a port of last call. Yet, despite the seeming hopelessness of such cases, medical literature lists thousands of remarkable successes.
There is nothing hit or miss about hypnosis. Used intelligently, the results are the same for all those who are properly motivated. Nor are the results exclusive to only modern hypnotists. In reviewing the literature going back more than 100 years, the same gratifying results were obtained. You would do well to Google some out-of-print books on hypnosis to verify this point.
Article based on the forward to the classic book, A Practical Guide to Self Hypnosis by Melvin Powers