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>Self hypnosis will give you the tools to gain confidence, move beyond hesitation, fear and depression, and in general just  be happy and get the most out of who you are and what you do.

I’m sure you can already see the massive value in this.

Before I show you how to do it quickly and correctly, let’s have a quick think about why some argue that as a present or future hypnotist it is your duty to learn these skills.

There’s a great story about Mahatma Gandhi which addresses this point perfectly.

A woman, concerned about her child’s health, takes her son to see the great Ghandi.

“Ghandi,” she says, “please tell my son to stop eating sugar.”
 
Ghandi says, “please come back and see me in one weeks time.”

A week later, the woman returns. Gandhi looks at her son, and simply says “stop eating sugar, child.”
The woman walks away.

A month later, she comes back to Gandhi, and says “My son has done what you said, but why did you not just tell him that when I went to see you the first time?”

“Lady,” Gandhi replies, “I week earlier, I was eating sugar”

The obvious point of this nice little story:  – Gandhi felt that he could not ethically tell the child not to do what he himself was doing.

So, if we are clinical hypnotists, do we have a duty to get our own lives sorted before we start helping others to live theirs?

I have heard many people criticize Richard Bandler for being a bit (ok, very) heavy on the scales, whilst teaching techniques which others use to lose weight.


Heck, even if we are not therapists, and just want to positively influence people so that they can have better lives, is it our responsibility to be happy in the first place?

Before I show you the easiest way to do self hypnosis (I would say easiest ‘technique’ but it’s more than that) let me tell you what I think.
I’m not saying this is ‘right,’  and if you have your own opinions, I’d love to hear your comments.

As my friend Jeff Stephens says, people really only come to hypnotists to

• feel good,
• feel happy,
• feel in control (paraphrase).

If you have read any of my other posts, you will know that if hypnosis did have ‘laws’ or unbreakable ‘rules’ (it doesn’t), the biggest one would be ‘Go There First.’

If you want someone to feel happy – feel happy yourself!

We are all human. No one’s life is perfect, and we all have those off days, so it’s not so much an ethical duty we owe to our clients and subjects, it’s more a matter of practicality.

It all comes down to balancing realistic expectations of a happy, healthy life, with the risk of unwittingly offloading our own emotional baggage to our clients if we do not properly go there first.

Long story short – being a hypnotist is about what goes on in YOUR mind, as much as in the subject’s.

If you went to see a therapist to get over depression, and walked in the clinic to find, sitting behind his desk, the most sad, depressed creature you have ever laid eyes upon, would you be filled with confidence?

Likewise, have you ever been a little down only to chat with a smiling and cheerful mate and realize that your problems didn’t really matter much, did they?

Unlike the therapist, your friend wasn’t a ‘certified clinical’ anything – he was just compassionate, and able to ‘go there first.’

So, here’s how to take control of your own mind and use it to make you a better hypnotist.

This is the method that could be called ‘self hypnosis’ that I personally use everyday of my life.
I did hesitate before sharing it with you now. Remember, it is powerful stuff, but make sure you do it your way.

Have a think, right now, of times or places where you just naturally feel at peace.
There may be that room in your house, that holiday home, your garden, wherever.
Where I am in Australia, I like to just find a nice place out in the (huge) garden, and sit down under the shade of a tree.
If you can’t go there physically, imagine yourself there in your mind.

 Make sure you have a clear goal or intention , and give your goal a deadline (Remember, Milton Erickson once said: a goal without a date is just a dream). Once you know what this is, you can begin.

Once you are ‘there,’ in that place, relax your thoughts.
That’s right – you know how don’t you? Just see, hear, feel, and allow your thoughts to just drift – and prepare to enter the perfect future.

Once you are there, take yourself into that future, to the time when that goal needs to be achieved.
See yourself there, standing tall, proud and strong, enjoying whatever it is that achieving that goal gives you.
Have fun doing this, really live it, and enjoy every second of this success.
Step into the picture, and feel great as you notice this success positively effecting every aspect of your life – in just the way you want it to.

Then, as the you in that future, look back to yourself, sitting there, in that place and think ‘wow, I’m so glad I made this happen.’ (I can’t count the number of times I have achieved something, only to realize “Hey – this is exactly what I imaged 3 months ago!)

Smile to yourself, and then go forward again, years more down the track, and see yourself even happier, even more successful, even more at peace.

From there, look back again to the other future you, the one you were before, and see, as a memory, yourself already having achieved that goal.
Indulge in the realization of just how wonderful this really is!

 From there, just relax, and drift back to the present reality at the ideal rate and speed for you.

This is not affirmations, nor is it any of that law of attraction stuff (although, if you believe in The Scam er Secret, this will work well for that too)

This process captures the heart of all change self development:
1: giving yourself a true goal with a fixed timescale.
2: specifying what it will be like when it’s all accomplished.
3: charging this all with powerful imagery and positive emotions.

I share this with you now, in the hopes that it will make you a happier person.

In this brief article, I didn’t go over all the details – it’s down to you to fill in the gaps in the way that works best for you.

Remember, if you want to help people live good lives or just have fun – it will be so much easier when you do the same.
So, here’s a hypnotic suggestion for you: “have a wonderful life.” (whether you eat sugar or not!

Hope you enjoyed this article, and all the best to you and yours.
Cheers,
Nathan Thomas

PS
I’m going soon – disappearing for quite a while. I’ll post more in a a few days, but keep your eye out for it.

PPS
(Here comes the marketing bit – you know, where I tell you about a good course in the hope that you’ll buy it – thereby making you a better hypnotist, and ensuring that I can still afford to keep sending you free stuff)

If you want more resources on taking control of your own mind and achieving amazing success as a hypnotist out in the real world, I strongly recommend you check out The Confident Hypnotist.
You’ll be (very) glad you did.

• Posted on Wednesday, January 13th, 2010
• 9 comments