One of the most powerful ways to apply self-hypnosis to your journey of learning, healing, and growth is through hypnotic suggestion.
Your subconscious mind is always learning. In fact, learning is one of your greatest super-powers. When you are open and receptive to new learning, your subconscious mind absorbs new information and ideas effortlessly. Depending on the complexity of the learning, it can take some repetition but generally speaking, you are capable of generating new learnings instantaneously.
There are only two things that can sometimes get in the way of learning something new:
- Overthinking or over-analyzing.
- Holding onto a previous learning that tells us that new learning is either not possible, not safe, or is somehow going to deprive us of a fundamental need.
Self-hypnosis is one of the best ways to remove those obstacles. That’s because, by definition, hypnosis is a state of focused awareness where the “critical faculty” of the mind is temporarily bypassed. This allows new information to be absorbed with ease.
Once we’ve entered into this state of openness and receptivity, there are a few simple ways that we can optimize the suggestions that we want to offer our subconscious so that they are accepted and acted upon even more effectively.
- Be specific.
- Keep the suggestions positive.
- Make your suggestions in the present tense.
- Frame the suggestions as an ongoing process.
Be Specific
There’s a saying that “specific is terrific”. It makes sense, right? When we are clear about the outcome we desire, it becomes easier to steer towards it and stay on track. When creating hypnotic suggestions for yourself, be as specific as possible about the change you want to create, the mental/emotional state you want to experience, or the result you want to achieve.
Keep It Positive
Most of us spend a lot of time thinking about how we don’t want to be. We want to get rid of anxiety, stop procrastinating, quit smoking, or stop eating sugar. When we are thinking in terms of what we don’t want, we are actually reinforcing the undesired way of doing things.
When creating effective hypnotic suggestions, be sure to focus on the desired outcome. So, instead of “quitting smoking” you are a “nonsmoker”. Instead of “I don’t want to be anxious”, you are “calm, peaceful, and at ease”. Instead of “not procrastinating”, you are “efficiently and appropriately getting things done”.
Present Tense
Have you ever heard the old saying, “Never put off to tomorrow what you can do today.”? Your subconscious mind is always living in the present moment. That being said, if you are always thinking in terms of your goals, dreams, and aspirations being accomplished sometime in the future, they are less likely to happen now.
Framing your suggestions in the present tense, as if they are already happening, makes it easier for your subconscious mind to act up them in the present instead of filing them away on a future “to-do” list.
Make It A Process
Your subconscious mind isn’t a sucker. It can’t be duped into changing a belief, pattern, or behavior through magical or unrealistic thinking. One way to make suggestions more acceptable and believable to your subconscious is to turn them into an ongoing, step-by-step process. A basic formula for this would be something like, “Each and every day, I am moving closer and closer to my goal.”
Here are some examples of well-formed suggestions:
“Day by day, more and more, I enjoy eating sensible amounts of nourishing foods that allow me to naturally lose weight.”
“From this moment forward, I am noticing all the benefits of being a nonsmoker: breathing easier, smelling better, and feeling proud of my accomplishments.”
“Whenever I give a presentation to my team at work, I am finding it easier to remain calm and poised, choosing my words carefully and speaking with more and more confidence and clarity.”
“More and more, every day I am coming into full and open alignment with the fundamental integrity of my True Self, expressing that integrity through all of my thoughts, words, and actions.
“Day by day, I am finding it easier and easier to select the best, most effective words and phrase to craft hypnotic suggestions that create powerful changes in my conscious and subconscious mind.”
Using these as models you can now come up with some hypnotic suggestions on your own. Have fun with this. Experiment. Notice what feels right…and what doesn’t seem to work.
Now take yourself into self hypnosis and give yourself your personalized suggestions. You can do this by either memorizing them and reciting them to yourself silently or out loud. Or, you can write them down on a sheet of paper or index card and read them to yourself once you’ve entered into trance. (And yes: it’s OK if you open your eyes in hypnosis to read your suggestions to yourself!)
Other considerations for making the most of your hypnosis sessions are: repeat your suggestions multiple times (between three and five is good), focus on one area of change per session (i.e. weight loss, confidence, financial goals, etc.), and make your suggestions as emotionally impactful to yourself as possible.
