Mastering Hypnotic Language - Further Confessions of a Rogue Hypnotist (4 page)

In order to build a body of knowledge you must seek truth.
If you let conscious sets and biases (social programing) get in the way of this, you will be a much less effective hypnotist/hypnotherapist than you could be. Remember the truth may wholly contradict what you thought was true.

A bit of speculation on my part follows.

Note: all layers can be programmed with unhelpful, unrealistic beliefs.

The Conscious Mind
–
Predominantly analytical part, programmed with ‘conscious sets’ - biases and beliefs. Concentrates on one thing at a time or becomes stressed and overloaded rapidly. Powerful ability to focus, potentially clever but not necessarily wise, potentially deeply analytical: looks out for others attempts to influence you in ways that could be harmful to you. Academic training focuses at accessing this level. The intellect is but the tip of an iceberg of giant proportions. Intellect is not the same as intelligence. This part consciously plans things and checks that the strategies employed work. Only likes to focus on one thing at a time – otherwise it gets stressed, especially men’s conscious minds. Women can pay attention to multiple things. This is biological – men focus intently in the hunt, women need a multiple focus to protect a group of children. That said both sexes prefer to deal with one thing at a time.

The subconscious layers protect consciousness. The deeper layers will only ‘let through’ to consciousness that which they think the surface level can handle safely. The conscious self also represents the social mask, the persona that we want others to see. Affected by logical language unless you are a woman. The so-called ‘left brain.’ Like a precocious child who thinks he knows it all. The good thing about it is that is very curious and eager to learn.

One of the functions of consciousness is to justify on-going behaviour: that is to make excuses, to ‘rationalise.’
If you hypnotise someone to get angry at someone else for no good reason, just because the hypnotist suggested it and the hypnotised person is asked why they are angry, they will justify their anger!
Even though it wasn’t their idea. This has huge ramifications regarding whether our thoughts are our own! Think about it.

One of the prime functions of consciousness is to ‘think critically,’ this faculty is strongly present from early childhood; however is can be crushed if what children experience is repeatedly contradicted by parents, teachers and other ‘authority figures.’ Why? The child’s need for approval and attention, support and survival override the intelligence and function of the critical faculty and the child instead begins to ‘parrot’ those who have power over it in order to ‘fit in’ and be a ‘good boy/girl.’ Totalitarian political cults have always known this and used it to their advantage.

If this form of anti-reality conditioning continues unabated, over time the child develops a ‘pseudo self’ the real self, still present yet unconscious remains unfulfilled and unrealised. An example being - doing a job to please parents against one’s own deeply held desire to do something else entirely etc. In many ways this must lead in a great many people to a form of mild ‘multiple personality;’ so the conscious self, presented to the world may not be the real self at all but rather a pale shadow of what it could have been. The conscious self is also forced into various ‘roles’ and subgroupings of behaviours that are present only in specific scenarios. Once these roles: student, employee etc. are habituated they will become unconscious and so seem normal, and again constitute a mild ‘multiple personality.’ This of course doesn’t mean anyone should be naively, even dangerously honest!

Note 1:
All deeper levels are benevolent. The following levels only want to help a person; they never intentionally cause an individual harm. Remember: Freud was a sick, crazy b%$£*^d!

Note 2:
all layers from now on require a different language to communicate with; they are ‘non-logical’, ‘non-linear’: they have their own ‘logic’. Speaking logically to them is like speaking English to a French person. Although there are similarities they just ain’t gonna understand you.

The Preconscious Mind:
a threshold just below consciousness, home of tip of the tongue phenomena. The place where things go just before entering consciousness, perhaps a final checking stop. The ‘Google’ of mind; the conscious seeks info (memories etc.) and the preconscious ‘google’ searches for it, placing filters on access to information: the filters are beliefs – the ideas/things people ‘believe’ to be true. Neuroscience has revealed that people’s brain’s think thoughts before consciousness knows about them – so they are? Preconscious!

The Subconscious Mind:
probably deals with everyday habits, learnt skills that have become automatic (driving, painting, public speaking etc.) everyday emotions and bodily functions. Runs many if not all mind-body systems automatically – digestion, sweating etc. Fight or flight response most probably here – actually the muscle priming response. Most hypnotic change probably occurs here.
Deeply affected by emotive language and vague trance/hypnotic language.
Affected by poetry. Like a vast factory or untiring workhorse – remember those cartoons with little men in lab coats running the brain/body? It keeps you alive. Many people have suggested that the subconscious is another word for the body. There is probably much truth in this. ‘Parts’ in part’s work therapy are probably located here. This will be explored more fully in book 3. Unlike consciousness, the subconscious can do many thing at once – so-called ‘multi-tasking.’ Dreadful word combo.

The Unconscious Mind:
the almost deepest levels of the psyche. Affected by symbols and in charge of dreaming. Discharges all anxiety and emotional rumination that accumulates during the day: this keeps you sane.
Symbols can dramatically program the human psyche and de-condition it too – with regards to the latter only as long as the symbols are subjectively generated.
Powerfully affects conscious behaviour in ways not fully known. Contains unconscious beliefs and awareness that may well be in conflict with conscious beliefs. Deep levels of healing occur here: probably in sleep – the home of the ‘placebo response.’ Can be programmed through song/music so that certain behaviours manifest as a result. The deeper levels of the mind know more about a person than consciousness does. They can process multiple tasks at once.
Capable of solving problems without conscious help.
Source of all creativity, insights and ideas, the location of all ‘instinctive templates’ that seek expression, satisfaction in real life. Source of wisdom. A vast ocean of possibilities and potentials lurks here. Perhaps as yet untapped?

The ‘Superconscious’ Mind:
I have added this term in here as a possible alternative to subconscious and unconscious.
It suggests a part that is aware of a great deal more than consciousness – it is ‘hyper aware.
’ This is the place of reverse speech perhaps which has been touched on. Although consciousness lies (lies are a protective
and
deceptive mechanism) the deeper layers know the truth and always seem to want to express it even by ‘sideways’ methods. Think about it this way: your brain is bombarded by billions of bits of data – it processes vast amounts of information moment to moment. So it is aware of more than consciousness knows. That is why you can induce trance through overload and redirection of attention to things normally outside awareness in the normal waking state.

The Core:
the ultimate core of who you truly are: the place beyond your name; it contains your true sense of self, your deep identity. It knows everything you do and really think and why you really do it. It seems some hypnotherapists call this the ‘Hidden Observer,’ ‘The Wiser You/Self.’) This part is split in MPD/DID (Multiple Personality disorder/Dissociative Identity Disorder,) through horrendous abuse. If you want to talk to deeper structures say something like

‘I’m now talking to the deepest part of who you truly are.’

There may be a deeper level still that religions call ‘the soul.’ The nature of spirit is far beyond the confines of this book and the knowledge of this writer.

In reality most of these parts do not actually exist, they are simplistic names for a complex symphony of processes. The brain is it seems much like an orchestra composed of many parts with their own functions. Instead of going
down
my model goes
inward
to the core. Like onion layers.

Some hypnotherapists believe that the subconscious can’t tell the difference between reality and something imagined. Not true. It seems it may be the amygdala that can’t tell the difference, although that too may be just a theory. You can always tell the amygdala to calm down. And just in case that part isn’t involved you can say,

‘Can the
part that was overreacting
in that way it was
calm down.

When consciousness gets out of rapport with the deeper layers problems
will
ensue. No ifs or buts!
Clients have been ignoring signals from deeper levels or they wouldn’t be your clients. Unfulfilled needs are not being met and unhealthy habits have gotten out of hand. A simple example is a weight loss client who ignores the signal that they are full and carries on eating. Ignore subconscious signals at your peril.

Note:
in hypnosis we ‘feed’ the conscious to the sub-conscious minds. Temporarily.

When creating suggestions make sure you use space-time precisely. What do I mean? Hopefully the word use is obvious!

‘Before
you relax deeply I just want to say…’

‘After
this session you’ll awaken with all changes made, feeling fantastic with the knowledge that this is so…’

‘That
old
problem you
once had,
in the
past…’

‘Imagine a
future
you in a certain situation behaving confidently…’

‘That smoking behaviour you
used
to do is no longer true about you in any way shape or form…’

‘That problem that you
had
no longer bothers you…’

‘You haven’t got the change you want
yet.’

‘Up until now
you have been eating portions that were too big…’

‘When you can see
beyond
this problem imagine all the ways your life has improved…’

Temporary
is a good word (‘temp’ = time) suggests things won’t last. Like problems.
Passing
is another goody.

‘That problem was just a
temporary
companion, wasn’t it?’

‘All suffering
passes…’

Many words that end in
‘d’
put things (problems) in the past. They are suggestive that the desired change has already happened.

‘You don’t have to do those things you once
did.’

‘You have
changed
in all the ways you wanted.’

‘You have
learned
a great many things, have you not?’

So linguistically put your client’s problems in the past – their brain will follow suit.
Make sure they can see progress in the future, with your words. They should be able to visualise a problem free future – also known as mental rehearsal. I often say something like,

‘That problem
no longer
bothers you in any way, shape or form, and this is so,’

as a summation.

And spatial predicates…

‘Now you have put that problem
behind
you…’

‘You have moved
forward
from where you were temporarily…’

‘Bad’ (unwanted) things behind, good things ahead – linguistically. These are just a few examples that can help. Think of your own.

Up and down…

‘Deeper…’

‘All the way
down…’

‘Falling into the wonderful oblivion of trance…’

We induce trance through the language of downward movement
…We wake
up
remember…but, you can also intensify feelings and experience in hypnosis by suggesting someone go
‘higher.’
You can intensify experience in trance by making the imagined reality seem vividly real – like virtual reality.
You can say,

‘I want you to imagine that what is happening is vividly lifelike and real and the
higher
you go into this hypnotic state, the
higher
your most pleasurable feelings will increase…’

(This is really a variation of the more the more pattern.)

‘The
higher
you go the more your awareness, your sensations, your feelings, the vividness of your experience only increases and expands.’

This is not the same as so-called ‘Hyperempiria’ which doesn’t exist. In the next book: how to construct a ‘heightener!’

Remember when happy we say we felt
high
, good moods go
UP!
‘He is going
up
in the world!’ I suggest you could use
‘higher’
suggestions to heighten good feelings. I occasionally use it with misery guts and junkies.
All humans are born with all the natural uppers and downers they need.
No external aids required.