Self Hypnosis

Self hypnosis: In this state of heightened awareness and suggestibility, we are more capable of influencing our bodily functions and providing ourselves with post hypnotic suggestions. The main questions I get from those unfamiliar with hypnosis are, "how does one really know when they have achieved it? Are there signs? Is one way of doing it easier or better than another? I am a very hyper person and just relaxing enough to "listen" to myself is hard enough, but I would honestly love to learn how, any suggestions?"

The answers provided could be as varied a number as there are hypnotists. Hypnosis is a very natural everyday experience. Whenever someone asks me about hypnosis, I tell him/her that at the very least they enter trance twice a day. Those times would be a momentary passing through the state of trance as they are going to sleep, and as they are waking up. It is that dreamy point in time, when you are very relaxed, and some people will have visions, or simply just lose perception of their environment, and/or body.

People tend to enter trance, when they are really involved in a good book, or watching an amazing movie which just draws them in, deeper as they themselves become part of the scene, and their emotions begin to change along with the setting, at times causing tears, fears, sadness or laughter. With experience one will find that the trance experience is not only different for everyone, but it is somewhat different every time one experiences it.

The signs of hypnosis will also be quite different for someone as an observer, compared to the participant, and these signs will change throughout the trance, as the level of depth and involvement of the trance progresses. Some people will say they feel a pulling sensation. I myself find that I attain a complete bodily anesthesia, yet attaining a profound awareness of my own mental activity. If I happen to be using music to enhance or change my trance, within moments I begin to hear the sounds as though the speakers are mounted right inside my head, and I hear the music internally, which is really quite cool.(Who needs drugs with an experience like that?)

The best way to enter the state of hypnosis is again different for everyone. Some people prefer to lie down, while others like to sit. Some people even prefer to stand as they are learning hypnosis, so that they can maintain some conscious awareness, preventing themselves from falling asleep.

Self Hypnosis Routine and Suggestions:
1- Pick a time, and place when you won’t have any distractions.
2- Lie, or sit down comfortably wearing loose clothing with your hands at your sides, and your legs uncrossed.
3- Some people like to put on some soft music ( Baroque or ocean waves are very good, because they help tune the heart rate to about sixty beats/second).
4- Then you can gently close your eyes, and with your eyes closed, turn your eyes up to about the 10/11 o’clock position. At this point take one of your fingers, and lightly touch the back high center point of your head paying attention to the sensation of the touch as you replace your hand at your side.
5- Then take a slow deep breath, and hold it for about three seconds, and slowly let it out as you say to yourself the word “deeper”, while you maintain your attention on the sensation you last felt from the touch to your head. (Repeat this step about five times, seven if you feel you need to relax further)
6- During your fifth or seventh breath, tell yourself that upon the complete exhalation of your next breath you will find yourself in a special place. This special place is your place, your place of solitude, your place to relax. You might have a special place in mind, or you might just want to wait and experience what your special imaginary place your mind comes up with.
7- Once you have had enough rest, or finished your internal work, (suggestions, visualizations, or a life challenge) which you set yourself to do, simply state to yourself that after a count of one to five, you will open your eyes fully refreshed, and feeling much better than before.

One of the best books I have found on the topic of self hypnosis would have to be Brian Alman’s “Self-Hypnosis: A Complete Manual for Health and Self-Change”. 27 chapters, and 283 pages, of easy to read and understand, yet very in depth, and extremely explanatory information, teaching the reader about self hypnosis, methods of achieving it along with directions as to how to form your post hypnotic suggestions. Information on using guided imagery, the language of hypnotic suggestion, NINE varieties of self hypnosis techniques, stress management, self exploration, relief from allergies and asthma, thin meditations, solving sleep problems, maximizing sports performance, and more. Truly an incredibly masterful piece of work, and tremendously useful not only to the beginner, but also to the advanced learner of hypnosis. Those interested can easily purchase the book directly through the link above.

Self Hypnosis Script

The following free self hypnosis scripts will help you achieve a light or medium state of hypnosis, but with practice or for those, and it could very well be you, considered naturals, much deeper states of hypnosis. For those who would like to explore a little further, I have provided another free hypnosis script, of Caprio's 4-A's Method of Self Hypnosis (Caprio, "Healing Yourself with Self Hypnosis", 1998) just a little ways down the page.

1 ) Physical Relaxation: To bring oneself to a state of complete physical relaxation is the first step.
- Sit or lay down in a comfortable, distraction free environment and close your eyes.
- Direct your eyes up to the 10:00 o’clock position and close them holding this position.
- Take a long, deep breath, and hold it for a few seconds, then let it out slowly. As you do, allow yourself to sink deeply into your seat.
- Repeat the long deep breath, holding it for a few seconds, and then slowly letting it go, as you sink deeper into your chair.
- Take a third long deep breath, holding it for a few seconds, and then as you slowly release it, allow a wave of relaxation to flow from the top of your head down to the tips of your toes.

2 ) Eyelid Relaxation: When you are ready, place your attention on your eye muscles and relax every muscle and nerve in and around your eyes to the point that they just won’t work. When you are sure they are so relaxed, that as long as you hold onto this quality of relaxation, they just won’t work, test them to make sure, they won’t work.
- Once you have tested your eyes and found them not to work, you know that your unconscious imagination has taken charge, bypassing your critical faculty.

3 ) Body Relaxation: At this point focus your attention on a point at the top center of your mind and take a deep relaxing breath, then as you release the breath imagine a wave of relaxation flowing from the top of your head, flowing through your body out the tips of your toes.
- Repeat this final step 3 or 4 times, doubling the relaxation you have each time.

4 ) Mental Relaxation: Once you have achieved physical relaxation, you can proceed to mental relaxation.
- Begin slowly counting backwards from 100, repeating the words deeper relaxed, like this:
100 – deeper relaxed
99 – deeper relaxed
98 – deeper relaxed …
- With the passing of each number, imagine pushing it away, out of your mind
- By the time you reach 97, 96, or possibly 95, push all the numbers left out of your mind, completely banishing them.
- At this point, one can begin to immediately install positive suggestions, simply relax for a while and rejuvenate your mind and body, go on a quick trip to your favorite place on earth or the universe at large, or you can simply allow yourself to have a nice relaxing sleep.
- It is suggested that when it is desired to leave the hypnotic state, a counting out procedure of 1 to 5 be applied, while providing suggestions of feeling wonderful, fully refreshed, and much better than before be used.

Caprio's 4-A's Method of Free Self Hypnosis
The 4-A’s method of self hypnosis is a step-by-step guideline used to help one relax and induce the hypnotic state in order to successfully respond to self-given hypnotic suggestions.
The technique could be applied to a myriad number of challenges in everyday life, and its only real limitation is the imagination and perseverance of the subject applying the self hypnosis technique.
Before one begins the technique, one must decide on the desired results. An understanding of the challenge at the conscious level provides a greater understanding at the unconscious level.

This free self hypnosis technique as its title suggests consists of four steps.

Step 1) Auto Relaxation – to induce hypnotic self-relaxation.
a) Select a location free of distractions and interruptions. Some people find soft music helpful. If music is selected, I personally suggest something in the area of 60 beats per second such as baroque, because of its calming effect on the system which slows the heartbeat.

b) Lie down, wearing comfortable non-obstructive clothing, maybe none at all. With time one may prefer to sit or stand because some might tend to fall asleep which is still all right.

c) Take three deep breaths, breathing deeply and slowly. With my clients I suggest that they lightly touch a point at the back top center of their head where the hair starts to circle. After touching this point and relaxing their arm at their side, they are to fix their concentration on this point, and notice the feeling of where their finger just touched. This provides a kinesthetic internal association.

d) Close your eyes. With this step I further suggest that the subjects turn their eyes up to the 10, 11 o’clock position as they concentrate on the sensation at the back, top, center of their head, and as they breathe deeply … and slowly … taking each breath into the depths of their belly … begin to notice … how gently … the tension leaves their bodies … as they slowly … exhale.

e) Say to yourself:
“I am relaxing all the muscles of my body … starting from my head to my feet. The muscles of my face and neck are relaxing … I’m beginning to feel free of all muscle tension … My arms feel limp and relaxed … The muscles of my thighs, legs, and feet are relaxed … As I breathe deeply and slowly, my entire body is completely relaxed. I feel calm and relaxed all over.”

f) It is recommended to remind oneself at this point that relaxation is a state of mind.

g) Tell yourself, “self-relaxation brings me inestimable health benefits. I devote as much time and effort as I need to practice the technique of self-relaxation. I am mastering the art of self-relaxation. Each time I practice, it is easier."

After practicing the self hypnosis technique above for a week or two, it is time to accelerate the relaxation, with the use of a key word or phrase. I like to also apply kinesthetics to the words or phrases by touching the thumb to finger(s), while repeating the word(s) or phrase(s). This has the effect of developing a trigger, also know as an anchor to help you get there quickly later.

From this point on, once one is able to relax they are able to apply repetitive suggestions to their unconscious minds, to accomplish pretty well anything possible.

Step 2) Autosuggestion
Human beings operate on the basis of suggestion. Everything we know has come from suggestions.

Self hypnosis works on the theory of suggestibility, and just as we have external influences we could have internal influences. Who better to influence us, than our own desired thoughts? The voluntary acceptance of a suggestion is essential to successful self hypnosis, and persistent practice increases one’s receptivity.

To help one increase their ability to accept suggestion, it is recommended that the subject apply a suggestibility test before the next step in your self hypnosis routine. This is a test used to determine if one has reached the required state of mind desired to accept suggestion. The goal is to eliminate one’s critical thinking factor, thereby allowing suggestion to be effectively accepted and applied.

Suggestibility Tests
Caprio's text provides three suggestibility tests one can practice.
a) The eye-closure test. - The test suggests that the subject pick a spot up on the wall and try to close the eyes within a count from ten to one. It is my belief that if the subject tries he has provided room for failure.
I prefer to use Dave Elman’s technique of having the eyes closed and trying to open them, suggesting a failure at the opening of the eyes.

b) The swallowing test. - This test can be applied in place of or immediately after test a). The subject is to suggest to themselves that they will have the desire to swallow some time during the process of counting from one to ten. When applying this test, the subject is to wait until he swallows without conscious direction.

c) The hand-tingling test. - This test is applied in the same format as the suggestions in tests a) and b).

It must be remembered to remove any suggestion not desired to be kept and to have it return to normal, otherwise the suggestion could continue indefinitely.

Step 3) – Autoanalysis
This comes under the category of self-analysis.

After the self-relaxation and eye closure technique, you are ready to solve your specific problem(s). One is to question oneself with simple, straight-forward questions, due to the fact that the subconscious takes matters quite literally. A person can regress as far back as required, and do some analysis. As Caprio states “self-knowledge is the key to successful self discipline”.

Step 4) Autotherapy
This step consists of conditioning your mind to positive thinking and a positive plan of action through the use of post hypnotic suggestions.

Self-therapy is based on the principle of “I can – I must – I will – achieve my goal – that I have the mind-power to accept and carry out certain self given suggestions that will enable me to overcome almost any handicap, to improve my personality, and acquire a healthier philosophy of life.”

And recently made available due to the many requests I have received, we have a "Hypnotic Induction" program that you can use for entering the state of hypnosis easily to do whatever work on yourself tht you wish, or simply relax in the privacy of your own home. It was created as part of our Hypnosis for Hypnotists series, but will suit the needs of those just wanting to practice self hypnosis on there very own.

Hypnotic Inductions - Only $34.95
In this series you get two inductions along with their respective scripts and complete explanations of how to proceed and what to look for. The inductions provided are the classic Dave Elman type which I configured as described in this website, as well as a Progressive Relaxation Induction. Both inductions are recorded upon a background of soft hypnotic music which continues for about twenty minutes before ending so that you can even use them as your own personal induction for personal trancework when desired.

Now as promised up above here is my specialized and complete weight loss hypnosis program for your convenience.

Weight Loss Hypnosis

"Weight loss" and cigarette cessation seem to have been at the forefront of hypnotherapy for years now, and so to begin we shall start with a few important tips.

1: Devote the initial session of self hypnosis to making a definite decision about your weight challenge. Note: There must never be any doubt in your mind that you can lose weight.
2: The best way to start is to schedule a complete physical examination by your physician.
3: Explore your reasons for wanting to reduce weight.
4: Establish your motivation for wanting to lose weight.
5: Analyze your eating habits.
6: Determine the reason you overeat, or indulge in the wrong foods, including nibbling between meals.
7: To diet successfully, educate yourself about food. (I hate that word diet.)
8: Plan what you will eat daily. Weigh yourself daily keeping weekly progress records.
9: Repeat daily that you are becoming your ideal weight, that you have now developed new eating habits, sensible ones, and that you are no longer susceptible to temptation, “and that you and your mind are in command at all times”.

Now for my own Personalized "weight loss", and maintenance program.
I began a training cycle in the early eighties approximately 18 years ago. I practiced body building and then took up the martial arts, primarily Muay Thai. I have analyzed, applied, studied the effects of, adjusted, and combined many different eating, and exercise habits to learn their short and long-term effects.

I would first like to point out that “diets” do not work. The word “diet” suggests losing something. When we lose something our own inner child sets out to re-find it, and that child is usually quite successful. The other reason diets don’t work, especially “crash diets”, is that our bodies shut down (they crash), and will store what little food is provided during, and after the diet has ended. This in turn causes one to regain and generally double up on the weight initially lost, kind of a self-preservation/survival mechanism controlled by the subconscious.

It is imperative to understand a few concepts about losing weight in order to keep the fat where it belongs, “on creatures that require it, to survive out in the jungle”.
The program I implement on myself and those that desire to replace excess fat with lean, healthy, strong self-respecting frames incorporates a proper mind set, exercise and healthy eating habits.

1) It is assumed that the subject has the desire to lose weight and get healthier. Here the subject states clearly, positively to themselves what they want, and they decide that they will achieve it with persistence. So use one of the self hypnosis routines above to drive this point home and into your unconscious mind.

2) Determine where you are now. This is done with a visit to your physician, explaining to him your desired goal, and asking if there are any suggestions due to your own possible health implications.

Taking a full length picture of oneself at present should also be done as a push mechanism from where you are, and to have a comparison later.

There are two major items of importance with health. One is whether you like the way you look in the mirror and second, how you feel. Are you energetic enough to do what you wish, and do you feel strong enough?

3) Establish your motivation for the results desired, and how you will know when you have achieved the set goal. What will you see, how you will feel, and what might you hear once the goal is reached.

4) Begin an exercise program. Depending on the person’s present point of health, this could begin with simple brisk walks or swimming, to heavy weight training and or long distance running.

The important point to the exercise program is to strengthen and increase muscle content and or density. Tests have shown that a muscular body burns more calories while asleep than a fat body in movement. And burning calories is a major factor in reducing fat.

The exercises should encompass the entire body for overall muscle development due to the fact that there is no such thing as “spot reduction”, except possibly with hypnotic techniques.

The fastest way to grow and strengthen muscle is with slow, controlled repetitions. Studies have found that a count of one to ten on a contraction, and then a count of five to one on the release provide the best results. This also reduces the need and ability to do excessive repetitions, preventing the possibility of pulling something or causing some form of repetitive musculo-skeletal disorder. The program should be implemented every second day.

5) Adjustment of eating habits. First split your meals up into smaller portions to a frequency of five times a day.

One major factor in fat loss or storage is insulin. Insulin is produced by the pancreas, and its functions are to drive fat and sugar through your bloodstream and into the fat storage cells. It is also the most powerful profat hormone and the primary promoter of “fat preservation”. Large meals cause the production of large doses of insulin to be dumped into the system promoting fat storage. Small mini-meals cause small production of insulin promoting easy digestion, and faster burning of calories.

6) Super-hydration of ice water. This consists of sipping a gallon of ice water throughout the day. The principle is based on a few factors.
a) Water flushes the system.
b) Promotes digestion, and
c) Has zero calories.
d) Ice water has the effect of causing the body to constantly work, to reheat the body. Work means a transfer of energy to heat, causing the constant burning of calories. In effect, one is putting into the body a substance of zero calories (water) and causing the burning of calories approximately 8 calories per glass of ice water. Nice formula: zero calories in = 8 calories out.
e) As the body ages, it dries out. Dehydration causes headaches, eye irritation, back pains, and body numbness. Water combats all this and helps promote healthy, young looking skin, and improves overall health.

7) Education. Set a little time aside each week to learn about nutrition from foods and vitamins.

8) Rest. The body and mind need rest. Too much work on the body (exercise) causes muscle atrophy and undeserved stress on the system. Adequate sleep is necessary for muscle recuperation and subconscious mind processing to evaluate and work on things.

9) Repeat daily that you are achieving your desired weight and form. Think positively, and in your self-induced hypnotic state provide positive affirmations.


In summary of all that has been stated, when dealing with obesity, a patient’s desired results are often difficult to achieve, but these needs are best met with the use of hypnotherapeutic measures due to the ability of reorganizing one’s thought patterns as elaborated upon above.

The uses of self hypnosis allow a person to reorganize old thinking patterns, as well as develop strong motivational factors. Triggers that have at one time directed a person towards food can be altered towards healthier measures of fulfilling the need desired, for weight loss.

It has been my experience that the successful treatment of obesity with hypnosis works wonderfully for short-term gains, but long term maintenance requires periodic re-evaluation along with new learnings, and a willingness upon the patient to practice the use of self hypnosis to maintain strong motivational goals in order to continue achieving or maintaining one’s desired results of weight loss, and maintenance.

More help for weight loss and control can be found here, just click this link, to our Supreme Weight Loss and Control program page and learn what about what I have to offer you.

Dreams are for Living

only you can

Live your dreams True

email: dr_frank@hypnoticadvancements.com

Mailing address:
Dr. Frank Valente
Hypnotic Advancements
3126 McCarthy Court
Mississauga , ON
Canada L4Y-3Z5

© 2004, Dr. Frank Valente DCH

If your experience with hypnosis is limited or you simply want to accelerate the effectiveness of your hypnosis sessions, and improve your life beyond perceptible measures, just click the link below for your free demonstration with this new state of the art program.

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