Sunday, September 21, 2014

Trancing On My Own: Preparation

I want to get into self-hypnosis, because I think it will make me a better hypnotist, and also help me in my life. As everyone who's experienced it knows, a trance leaves you feeling relaxed and great, and I'm intrigued (while skeptical) about the possibility of self-help post-hypnotic suggestions.

I am talking specifically about the kind of self hypnosis you can do quietly, by yourself, without an audio recording of an induction or a text-based induction to read. In this post I'm just going to focus on getting into trance, not how to best get post-hypnotic suggestions in.

I have barely tried it yet, so this post will pull together some resources I've encountered, and I hope people will share with me their own experience and tips with self-hypnosis, as well as other resources they know about.

The most extensive discussion of self-hypnosis I've found is in Roberta Temes' book The Complete Idiot's Guide to Hypnosis. If you can get past the title, and the somewhat irritating "Complete Idiots" formatting, there are some good beginner tips in here. Since she takes the position that no one should hypnotize without professional credentials, the focus is on preparing for a session with a hypnotherapist, and on self-hypnosis.

Here is her basic self-induction:

Set your timer for 10 minutes. Now you will start your induction into the hypnotic state by choosing a spot to stare at. It can be anywhere in your surroundings. Perhaps your spot will be a place on your wall, a picture frame, a crack on the ceiling, or something outside the window.

Good. Let's begin:

1. Lean back and make yourself comfortable.

2. Stare at your chosen spot.

3. Take several good, deep breaths.

4. Tell yourself that your body is feeling warmer and warmer.

5. Tell yourself that your body is getting heavier and heavier.

6. Allow yourself to slowly drift off into a state of deep relaxation.

7. Feel how warm, how comfortable, how heavy your body is becoming.

8. You are at peace; you are at rest.

9. From now until the timer gently awakens you, you will concentrate on feeling rested and relaxed, calm and comfortable.

10. Keep staring at your spot; stare and stare and stare.

11. Your body is quiet.

12. Your hands and feet are particularly warm and heavy. They may feel a bit tingly.

13. Give yourself permission to feel the relaxation spread throughout your body.

14. You'll soon close your eyes. You may concentrate on whatever pleasant image pops into your mind, or you may prefer to keep your mind a blank.

15. Gently close your eyes, and keep them closed until the timer rings.

When the timer rings, open your eyes and sit up. Slowly and gradually you can return your regular feelings to your body and to your mind. Take your time.

It's not clear exactly how one is meant to use this induction, if it isn't meant to be read aloud - surely you're not going to memorize all 15 points. I suppose it's just intended to convey a certain mood, and you can remember that.

There are a couple of variations:

See yourself on the bottom step of a staircase. It can be an old, plain staircase or a glamorous Las Vegas hotel staircase. It may be indoors or outside. It may be a staircase you use regularly or one from your imagination. See yourself slowly walking to the top. Tell yourself that when you reach the top you'll be deeply hypnotized. Tell yuorself that you'll count as you walk up. Begin with number one when you're at the bottom step and continue to count until number five, when you'll be at the top stpe. Remain on top, feeling relaxed and content.

When the timer rings, begin to walk down. With each step you take, begin to return your regular feelings to your mind and your body. When you reach the bottom stair you'll be back to regular.
and:

Visualize a restful, calming, outdoor scene. It may be a place that's familiar to you, or it may be one you've freamt about. In your mind's eye, whne you're deeply relaxed and feeling warm and heavy, allow yourself to see this scene clearly. Count to yourself from one to five. With each number, let yourself see an additional detail. When you reach the number five, you'll be deeply engrossed and absorbed in the scene. When the timer rings, you'll slowly emerge and come back to regular.

Finally, in the chapter about self-hypnosis for sleep, there's a script with some great tactile imagery:

1. See yourself on a small, private beach.

2. You are sitting on the shore watching the water.

3. You are absentmindedly coating your legs with mud.

4. And now you are covering the rest of your body with mud.

5. The mud is wet. The mud is heavy. See the mud on your arms and on your legs.

6. Your chest and stomach and back are covered with mud, too. Your body feels heavy from the weight of the mud.

7. The mud is weighing you down. You are heavier and heavier. Feel the heaviness as you sink deeper and deeper.

8. Your body is so heavy you cannot move.

9. The mud weighs you down. You lie still. You are calm.

10. You are cool. You are comfortable. Your body is so heavy you do not move...you do not open your eyes...your eyes close and you sleep...and you sleep...and you sleep.

11. Pleasant dreams and good night. You are sleeping so comfortably, so peacefully.

As for other resources, Wiseguy, in his insanely great erotic hypnosis book Mind Play, has a nice simple one - easy to memorize:

1. Settle into a comfortable position in a quiet, private place.  I recommend a comfortable chair, possibly a recliner or an easy chair, but you can also use your bed or sofa; I've had people who practice self-hypnosis while sitting on their favorite yoga mat on the floor.  Whatever you choose is fine, but ideally it should support your body fully in a comfortable position.

2. Take a few long, slow, deep breaths.  Inhale completely, filling your lungs all the way, and hold it for a few seconds.  Then slowly let the breath out until your lungs are empty.   This is relaxing in itself and should help to clear your mind.

3. Look at a clock or watch, moving as little as possible, and note the time.  Tell yourself, “I will practice my self-hypnosis for the next X minutes and then come completely back, fully awake and alert.”  Start with just a few minutes, no more than 10; with practice you can work your way up to longer sessions.

4. Now close your eyes and imagine becoming a rag doll, every muscle loose and relaxed. Starting with your feet and working up to the top of your head, focus on each muscle group in turn and relax those muscles as much as you possibly can.  Don't worry about whether you are actually going into trance or not; just focus on relaxing your body as much as possible. You want to feel as though each body part is too relaxed to move.

5. Now imagine that the area behind your closed eyelids is a completely blank screen, like a movie screen, and that every conscious thought you have creates a spark of light on that screen.  Focus on keeping the screen as clear as possible.

6. At some point, you will suddenly become alert again.  Open your eyes and look at the clock.
(reprinted with permission)

I once ran across a nice short description of someone's self-hypnosis on a Fetlife forum, which I can't find again to credit them, due to the frustrating lack of a search feature. I only copied the heart of the text:
 floating on my back in a pool. I can feel the warmth of the sun on my skin, the water lapping onto my stomach. I open my eyes and see the clouds moving slowly across the sky…cirrocumulus, so no chance of rain. So I close my eyes and just feel the warmth and slightly bob along the water...

If someone recognizes it, please let me know so I can give credit. The main point it got across to me is that as with regular hypnosis, everyone is different in the language, imagery, and general approach that are most effective for them. It will take some work to craft it for you.

I think we can also learn about self-hypnosis from meditation. Here is the simplest, most generic possible mindfulness meditation, from The Willpower Instinct by Kelly McGonigal. This is also the only one of these I have practiced, 5 minutes at a time a few times a week, and it does feel wonderful.

1. Sit still and stay put .
Sit in a chair with your feet flat on the ground, or sit cross-legged on a cushion. Sit up straight and rest your hands in your lap. It’s important not to fidget when you meditate—that’s the physical foundation of self-control. If you notice the instinct to scratch an itch, adjust your arms, or cross and uncross your legs, see if you can feel the urge but not follow it. This simple act of staying still is part of what makes meditation willpower training effective. You’re learning not to automatically follow every single impulse that your brain and body produce.

2. Turn your attention to the breath.
Close your eyes or, if you are worried about falling asleep,
focus your gaze at a single spot (like a blank wall, not the Home Shopping Network). Begin to notice your breathing. Silently say in your mind “inhale” as you breathe in and “exhale” as you breathe out. When you notice your mind wandering (and it will), just bring it back to the breath. This practice of coming back to the breath, again and again, kicks the prefrontal cortex into high gear and quiets the stress and craving centers of your brain .

3. Notice how it feels to breathe, and notice how the mind wanders.
After a few minutes, drop the labels “inhale/exhale.” Try focusing on just the feeling of breathing. You might notice the sensations of the breath flowing in and out of your nose and mouth. You might sense the belly or chest expanding as you breathe in, and deflating as you breathe out. Your mind might wander a bit more without the labeling. Just as before, when you notice yourself thinking about something else, bring your attention back to the breath. If you need help refocusing, bring yourself back to the breath by saying “inhale” and “exhale” for a few rounds. This part of the practice trains self-awareness along with self-control.

I found a variation of this in John Kabat-Zinn's Full Catastrophe living:

EXERCISE 1
1. Assume a comfortable posture lying on your back or sitting. If you are sitting, as best you can sit in a posture that embodies dignity, keeping the spine straight and letting your shoulders drop.

2. Allow your eyes to close, if it feels comfortable to you.

3. Allow your attention to gently alight on your belly, as if you were coming upon a shy animal sunning itself on a tree stump in a clearing in the forest. Feel your belly rise or expand gently on the inbreath, and fall or recede on the outbreath.

4. As best you can, maintain the focus on the various sensations associated with breathing, “being with” each inbreath for its full duration and “being with” each outbreath for its full duration, as if you were riding the waves of your own breathing.

5. Every time you notice that your mind has wandered off the breath, notice what it was that carried you away, and then gently bring your attention back to your belly and to the sensations associated with the breath coming in and with the breath going out.

6. If your mind wanders away from the breath a thousand times, then your "job" is simply to notice what is on your mind at the moment that you come to realize that it is no longer on your breathing, and then to bring your attention back to the breath each and every time, no matter what it becomes preoccupied with. As best you can, continually rest in the awareness of the feeling of the breath moving in and out of the body, or come back to it over and over again.

What is in fact the difference between meditation and self-hypnosis? It's a tough question. I would say that some types of meditation, especially guided imagery ones, are identical to hypnosis, but I think mindfulness meditation might feel different than the typical styles of hypnosis. I think it may be a more alert, outward-focused feeling, and less zonked. But that's a gross generalization. Even if they were equivalent but for the language, though, language is important. For example just labelling it hypnosis could make it more involving for some people - especially if they are hypnofetishists! For a subset of those people, it might help them to frame it as training to be more responsive for a hypnotic dominant partner (real or potential).

Some more points that kept coming up in these discussions:
  • Self-hypnosis is a lot easier if you've been in a good trance before. So one reason to work with a live hypnotist (or a recording) even if you have some misgivings and plan to focus on self-hypnosis.
  • It gets better with practice, and many of these folks advocate practicing every day.
  • The first time might not be so deep - don't worry too much about whether you're "really" hypnotized.
So I think I'm ready to begin my experiments, which I'll report back. A couple of the people I introduced to hypnosis as subjects have taken up self-hypnosis, much to my delight, so I should try to catch up! But again, I'd love to hear your experience and tips with trancing on your own.