As mentioned in the previous chapter, reaching the ‘asleep’ stage of hypnosis can be challenging. Hetero-hypnosis is more effective in reaching this stage, but it is still possible to achieve this stage without a hypnotist. Understanding the complexities of entering a hypnotic state is more crucial than testing and deepening methods.
As we have discussed, some people have trouble getting into deeper hypnotic states. Be patient, and keep working on yourself. Your therapy does not have to get to the point where you fall asleep. At every level of hypnosis, big changes can happen. In clinical hypnotherapy, the deep trance state is needed when the patient needs to remember.
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Many hypnotherapeutic techniques, such as amnesia, hypermnesia, progression, paramnesia, automatic writing, dream induction, regression, the production of experimental conflicts, and crystal or mirror gazing, require a deep trance state.
Most people who study hypnosis think amnesia is the same as the deep trance state. The mistake they make is trying to forget, like the dog chasing his tail. The subject cannot suggest to himself that he has lost his memory. If he remembers what he was supposed to forget, he fails.
After each step, the reader should remember the general form and the goal, which is to increase suggestibility and deepen the hypnotic state. The reader should not memorize any of the tests used to prove the trance state.
Some hypnotists tell their subjects to “make their minds blank.” I think they mean that you should try to only think about what the hypnotist is saying. Have you ever tried to stop thinking about something? Just give it a try. It just can’t happen. If the hypnotist keeps going in this direction, he will never be able to do his job.
It’s the wrong way to do things. The subject is fighting a losing battle because he can’t do what this suggestion says. It is also hard for the person being hypnotized to only pay attention to what the hypnotist is saying. Any word the hypnotist says can start a train of thought, whether the person is aware of it or not.
So, in reality, this is also not possible. But the person being studied doesn’t have to keep his thoughts only on what is being said, as long as they stay in the same general area. Sometimes, the harder you try to focus, the more your thoughts get all over the place. If I told you, “Don’t remember the address 8721 Sunset Boulevard,” what would you do?
“As I count to ten, I will experience a fly crawling on my right hand. This illusion will seem real to me. One: My right hand is relaxed. Two: I feel at ease. Three: I feel a pleasant tingling feeling on my right hand. Four: This feeling strengthens. Five: It feels like a fly is moving on my hand. Six: I have experienced this same feeling.
“As I count to ten, I will experience a fly crawling on my right hand. This illusion will seem real to me. One: My right hand is relaxed. Two: I feel at ease. Three: I feel a pleasant tingling feeling on my right hand. Four: This feeling is stronger. Five: It feels like a fly is moving on my hand. Six: I have experienced this same feeling.
“When I count to three, I will wake up feeling great and have a strong desire to smoke a cigarette. When I light the cigarette, I will notice that it has a very bitter, strong, and repugnant taste. As I smoke the cigarette, the distasteful effect will become stronger and stronger. Even though I realize that I have given myself these posthypnotic suggestions, they will exert a strong force outside of my control.
Test No. 8 is the “sun” test. Imagine yourself in a bathing suit on a beach taking a sunbath. Imagine a cloud blocking the sun, but count to three to remove it and feel the warm glow of the sun on your face and hands. Here are some suggestions:
As I count to three, I will feel the warm, pleasant sun’s rays on my face and hands. One… The cloud is moving, and I can begin to feel the sun’s warm, pleasant rays. Two… The cloud is moving more and more, exposing more and more of the sun.
Another test is to imagine yourself lying comfortably in front of a fireplace. As someone adds wood, you feel the warm glow of the fire more and more. If you “hear” rain, you have a positive auditory hallucination and are an excellent subject.
You can also visualize a situation where you would be cold. This is not as pleasant as the picture that one can conjure up about a fireplace and thus creates a bit more resistance since no one wants to feel uncomfortable.
Test No. 9 is the “breeze” test and can be combined with the previous test. After feeling warm, count to three and imagine feeling the cool ocean breeze on your face and hands. This is an olfactory illusion that can be achieved.
“As I count to three, I shall gradually feel the cool ocean breeze coming over the waves. It will be a very pleasant feeling. One … I am beginning to feel the cool ocean breeze, especially on my face and hands. Two … The breeze is becoming stronger and stronger. Three … I can definitely feel the cool ocean breeze. As I continue to count to five, I shall smell the pleasant, healthy aroma of the salt water. Four … I am beginning to smell the salt water. Five … I can definitely smell the salt water.”
Now you give yourself appropriate suggestions that the feeling (illusion) will vanish as you awaken or at a specific count. It can be as simple as this: “As I count to three, I shall open my eyes and awaken feeling very refreshed. The feeling of the cool ocean breeze and smell of the salt air will have vanished completely.” At this point you count to three and open your eyes.
Test No. 10 is the “handclasp” test. This is used frequently to test the depth of hypnosis. You fold your hands with your fingers tightly interlocked and place your palms together. You then give yourself a hypnotic suggestion that at the count of three, it will be impossible for you to unlock your hands. After you try and are unable to unlock your hands, you continue counting to five, suggesting that you will be able to do so when you reach the count of five. Incidentally, you should remove any ring you may be wearing before trying this test. Here are the suggestions you can follow:
“As I complete the count of three, I shall try to unlock my hands but will be unable to do so until I count to five. One … My hands are locked tightly together. Two … My fingers are locked tighter and tighter. Three … It is impossible for me to unlock my hands until I count to five. Four … As I reach the count of five, I shall be able to unlock my hands very easily. Five … I can now unlock my hands very easily.”
Test No. 11 is the “arm” test. Here is another test used frequently to test the receptiveness to hypnosis. Make a tight fist and extend your arm in front of you as far as possible. Visualize your arm as one solid mass, as stiff and rigid as a bar of steel. After your arm is extended, give yourself a hypnotic suggestion that you will be unable to bend your arm when you complete the count of three. As you continue to count to five, you will be able to bend your arm very easily. Here is a form of suggestion you can use:
“As I reach the count of three, I shall try to bend my arm, but it will be impossible to do so until I count to five. No matter how hard I try, it will be absolutely impossible. One … My arm is stiff and rigid as a bar of steel. Two … I can feel the rigidity in my arm. Three … It is impossible for me to bend my arm until I count to five. Four … I can feel the stiffness slowly leaving. Five … I can now bend my arm easily and it feels normal in every respect.”
Test No. 12 is the “eye” test. This is probably the most widely used test in hypnosis. Many subjects equate the inability to open the eyes with hypnosis. Many assume that if they can open their eyes, they have not been hypnotized. I must emphatically point out that this is not true. The subject can fail the eye test and yet have been under hypnosis. In the deep, somnambulistic state, the subject can open his eyes without affecting the depth of the hypnotic state. In fact, this is done many times in getting the subject to do automatic writing, crystal gazing, mirror gazing, hypnodrama and revivification. In carrying out posthypnotic suggestions in any state, the subject is frequently told that he will open his eyes and carry out the suggestion.
I have found that there is more anxiety connected with the eye test than with any other test. I feel that it is a normal reaction and one that must be anticipated by the hypnotist as well as the subject. Occasionally, while hypnotizing a new subject, he will open his eyes. This can happen when the subject feels he is losing consciousness. His ability to open his eyes proves to him that he is in control. One of the main fears that the subject has is his belief that he will lose voluntary control of himself. The fact that he can open his eyes lessens his anxiety.
If there seems to be too much threat to the individual, I use a method that you can follow. Instead of suggesting that the subject will be unable to open his eyes at a specific count, I suggest that he will be so relaxed that it will be too much effort to open his eyes until a further count is given. Actually, what could take less effort? Here are suggestions you can use:
“As I count to three, I shall try to open my eyes, but I shall be unable to do so because I feel so relaxed. It will just take too much effort to open my eyes until I reach the count of five or tell myself to awaken. One … My eyes are closed, and I am in a very deep state of hypnosis. Two … My eyelids are stuck tightly together. Three … It is now impossible for me to open my eyes. I shall be able to open them though at the count of five. Four … I shall be able to open my eyes very easily at the count of five. Five … can now open my eyes and wake up feeling alert and fully refreshed.”
In accomplishing the eye test, you try to create a vivid picture of yourself being completely and fully relaxed. If you really exerted a great deal of effort, you could open your eyes, but because of the pleasantness of the completely relaxed state, you prefer not to do so. It can be likened to your enduring the cold winter air when you are half asleep in bed instead of getting up to close the window which has been left open too much. You can, of course, get up and close the window, but it becomes a matter of expending too much energy. Instead, you choose to endure the discomfort or suggest that your spouse close the window.
For the following three tests, you give yourself the suggestions as outlined in the previous tests. It should be pointed out again that at the conclusion of the test, you give yourself a suggestion that you will feel normal in every respect.
Test No. 13 is the “music” test. This test involves creating an auditory hallucination. Give yourself the suggestion that at a specific count you will hear your favorite song. It will last for one minute and then fade out.
Test No. 14 is the “dream” test. It is incorporated in a great deal of hypnotherapy. The subject is told that as the hypnotist counts to three, the subject will have a dream lasting for several minutes which he will remember. This dream, furthermore, will call his attention to an important incident that he has long forgotten, yet which will be relevant to his problem. In self-hypnosis, you suggest to yourself that at a specific count you will have a very pleasant dream lasting for several minutes, at the end of which time you will awaken feeling refreshed. For those readers further interested in producing dreams, I can highly recommend a very fascinating book called The Experimental Production of Dreams During Hypnosis by Professor David Ballin Klein.
Test No. 15 is the “anesthesia” test. This is conducted by telling yourself that you will not feel the pain associated with the act of pinching yourself. You suggest that you will feel the pressure of your fingers but will not feel the pain involved. I urge the reader not to stick pins in himself to test the anesthesia. This can be dangerous, lead to infection and cause other harmful results. You should also not dig your nails into your skin to make sure that you don’t feel pain.