MODERN HYPNOSIS TECHNIQUES. Advanced Hypnosis and Self Hypnosis. Tony Gaschler
and fooling around, such as for fortune-telling, divining lottery numbers etc. As a future hypnotist, you should think clearly and objectively, for it is only from this that success can grow.
Those people who are involved in superstition and mysticism do not enjoy success in life, for their thinking is not focused on the essential, or on the reality to be found in and around them. If you do not search for truth where it really is to be found, namely in life and in being active, then you place yourself outside of life, and should not be surprised when success avoids you like a leper in every aspect of life.
Clear basic terms
Before we carry on to the next set of exercises with test people, I would like to try and explain some basic terms to you.
1.Idea: By idea we mean a mental prototype, a fundamental term. We have to differentiate between normal ideas that do not trigger ideomotor actions and vivid ideas. For this reason, from now on we will use a new word:v i d e e(formed from vital and idea). By this we mean vivid (vital) ideas that have an effect on the ideomotor system and trigger actions there.
2.Imagine - visualize: By this we mean activities that consist of imagining or visualizing an idea or videe. Imagine = to form or have a mental picture (an idea or videe). Visualize = to form a picture of something in your conscious mind.
3.Suggestion - autosuggestion: By suggestion we generally mean any type of mental influence. This includes everything that contains videes, including: words, gestures, actions, images, symbols, written words etc. Suggestion is the act of placing videes through words, gestures, acts, images, symbols, the written word etc. in the ideomotor system of a person. Autosuggestion = suggestion made to oneself, influencing oneself, placing videes in one’s own ideomotor system through talking oneself into believing something or by visualization etc.
A new term: “videe”
To explain this new term “videe” as clearly as possible, here is an example: If you were to picture Napoleon in your mind as you might have seen him in a painting, then you would be picturing an idea. This is passive and would not have any particular effect on you. However, if you were to picture yourself as Napoleon or you were to picture having to play the role of Napoleon, then you would be placing a videe in your subconscious. Your entire behavior, your appearance, your facial expression and your entire personality would purposely alter to fit the videe. Please note: ideas are passive mental images, passive prototypes. Hence, they do not produce any effect on the ideomotor system. Videes, on the other hand, are active, dynamic mental images, and are active and effective prototypes. They trigger actions in the ideomotor system.
Lesson 3
The first suggestion exercise
You can carry out this exercise in the presence of several people, each of whom, from now on, will be called a “test person” (abbreviation: TP, plural: TPs). Tell your TPs that you would like to carry out some interesting psychological experiments that show how easy it is to turn vivid visualizations into reality. First of all, give a demonstration yourself showing how easily the pendulum starts to swing for you as a result of simple visualization. Then let the first TP sit at the table, whilst you position yourself at the other side of the table (ill. 3).
Now say to the TP: “Hold the pendulum exactly as I did just now. Look at the pendulum and make it stand still over the centre of the circle.” If the TP does not manage to do this straight away, hold the pendulum firmly until it comes to a standstill. “From now on, do not pay any attention to your arm or to the hand that is holding the pendulum. Instead, pay very close attention to the words that I say to you. --- Picture the pendulum very, very vividly in your mind and watch it swing back and forth from left to right. --- It swings back and forth more and more along the L-R line.” At the same time move your finger on the table to indicate this back and forth swinging motion as shown in ill. 3. When doing so, adapt the rhythm of your finger to match the back and forth movements that start to appear, appearing weakly at first. When the pendulum starts to swing more distinctly, continue saying: “Now the swinging is becoming stronger --- stronger and stronger. --- The pendulum swings further and further, back … and forth … back … and forth … back …. and forth.” Adjust the speed of your last words to the speed of the pendulum’s swinging. When the pendulum’s swinging is completely distinct, end the exercise and say to the TP: “You have now seen how easy it is for you, too, to turn vivid visualizations into reality. The exercise is now over. Put the pendulum down!”
If this exercise is carried out with several people, one after the other, it will show you how differently the TPs react. The difference will be noticeable both in reaction time, as well as in the intensity of the pendulum’s swing. This will allow you an opportunity to use the pendulum as a measuring instrument to determine how susceptible a person is to influence. A short reaction time and a large pendulum swing = easily influenced. A long reaction time and a smaller pendulum swing = less easily influenced. No reaction or only a very weak pendulum swing = difficult to influence.
Systematically finding test people
To be systematic about carrying out the exercises, keep a record of the results of your exercises in a notebook.
When you do this, put your test people into categories. Each TP is allocated to a category depending on the results of an experiment.
CATEGORY 1 = people with whom the exercises have been an above average success (better than expected),
CATEGORY II = people with whom one exercise worked well (as expected),
CATEGORY III = people with whom the exercise did not work very well (worse than expected).
CATEGORY IV = people with whom the exercise did not work at all or with whom difficulties arose. Do not carry out any further exercises with this category of people. Work on the basic principle that exercises with good or suitable TPs will give you more experience. Every exercise with a poor or unsuitable TP is only a waste of time and can even cause harm to you, for your self-confidence and interest in learning will suffer with every failure.
So that you know exactly which TPs you should use for exercises, repeat the respective exercises with those people in category III. Should the exercise still not work properly, then allocate the TP concerned to category IV. If the exercise works better the second time, then allocate the TP to category II.
For further exercises, only use TPs from categories I and II.
Suggestion exercises when awake
A range of exercises can be carried out with TPs who are awake without them having to be hypnotized first. In the literature on this you will find the terms “awake suggestion” or “awake hypnosis”. As, in my experience, TPs are neither totally awake nor totally hypnotized during such exercises, I prefer to use the term “suggestion experiments” or, in this self-study method, “suggestion exercises”. As a state nearly always occurs that lies somewhere between being awake and actual hypnosis in such exercises, a sort of half hypnotic state or a half trance, we could also speak of half trance exercises. However, we do not want to confuse things by introducing too many new terms unnecessarily. Exercises of this kind are used over and over again to learn how to hypnotize, especially in the United States where hypnosis is much more well-known and more widespread. In fact these exercises are very suitable for this as it is easy to extend a half trance