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Read books online ยป Study Aids ยป A Practical Guide to Self-Hypnosis by Melvin Powers (free ebooks romance novels txt) ๐Ÿ“–

Book online ยซA Practical Guide to Self-Hypnosis by Melvin Powers (free ebooks romance novels txt) ๐Ÿ“–ยป. Author Melvin Powers



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proves your suggestibility. You have been influenced by negative suggestions. Everyone is suggestible to some degree. You have become extremely suggestible to conscious or unconscious stimuli which are definitely affecting your ability to respond. You need only use this latent suggestibility and make it work for you. What would you say about the suggestibility of a person who doesn't want to talk about hypnosis? This person has never read a book on hypnosis and absolutely doesn't want you or anyone else to hypnotize him. Would you believe this person is a potentially good hypnotic subject? I can tell you by practical experience that once this person allows himself to be hypnotized, he turns out to be a perfect subject. Responding to either end of the suggestibility scale is indicative of success with hypnosis. It becomes a matter of manipulating this suggestibility skillfully in order to achieve results.

Let me give you another example which may help. Which one of the two lines drawn on this page is longer? Line AB or line CD?

Two lines, AB and CD. AB has an outward pointing arrow on each side, while CD has them pointing the opposite way. A <----> B C >----< D

What is your answer? Did you think both were the same? Take a ruler and actually measure them. You'll find line AB longer than CD. "But," you reply, "every other time both lines were the same." This is a familiar optical illusion which is used many times in basic courses in psychology. It is known as the Muller-Lyer illusion. My contention is that if you said, "Both are the same size," you are potentially a good subject. You respond perfectly to previous conditioning; thus, you are responding as anticipated. If, on the other hand, you picked line AB, you are normally suggestible. If you honestly picked line CD, you are extremely cautious and respond best to "reverse psychology." Once again you are highly suggestible, but toward one extreme.

Radiating straight lines bisecting two parallel horizons, AB and CD. Converging straight lines bisecting two parallel horizons, AB and CD.

Here's another interesting experiment. Would you say that lines AB and CD were perfectly straight? I'll let you figure out what your response means to this test by yourself. You can take a ruler to determine if the lines are straight.

We all respond unconsciously to stimuli of some sort. Word association tests are based on this principle. Aren't your reactions automatic to the following terms: democratic party, republican party, communist party, mother, father, movie star? If I mention the name of a famous person, city or country, the same immediate unconscious reaction takes place. Let's try it. Theodore Roosevelt, Harry Truman, Dwight D. Eisenhower, John F. Kennedy, Albert Einstein, Albert Schweitzer, Eleanor Roosevelt, Boston, New York City, Hollywood, Miami Beach, United States, England, France, Italy, Israel, Africa, Russia, China, India and South America. The response and image keep changing, don't they?

I am trying to point out that this reaction is automatic because of previous conditioning. I could mention almost anything and the same automatic reaction would take place. The reaction would always be the same unless something had happened to change or alter your response. Let us mention the word hypnosis. Some sort of reaction must take place. This can either be positive, negative, or neutral for our purposes. You really don't have to think about your response as it is automatic. The point to remember is that a definite response has taken place which will either help or hinder your attainment of hypnosis. If the response should be negative, it can be changed by gaining knowledge and actual experience in hypnosis. It is natural to have a bit of uneasiness when first experiencing or thinking about being hypnotized. After all, you haven't been exposed to hypnosis in a therapeutic setting and couldn't have formed a favorable reaction. Your response is probably derived from a fictionization of hypnosis. The initial task of the hypnotist is to create, by educating the prospective subject, a favorable attitude so that the subject allows himself to be hypnotized.

What does this mean specifically to you if you are having difficulty learning self-hypnosis? It means that through repeated exposures, you will finally respond. You will realize there is no need for anxiety in regard to your response. This inner feeling will, in turn, have a cumulative, favorable effect upon your unconscious which will result in your finally responding to hypnosis.

Suppose you still maintain and insist that you are not suggestible and wonder if you will ever respond to hypnosis. Furthermore, the assurance I have given you up to this point doesn't seem to convince you. If you have tried diligently to achieve self-hypnosis, you cannot be blamed, but let's try an experiment to test your suggestibility. It is well to ponder my statement that if you do not respond, it is a sign of being suggestible, but in a negative sense. Lack of response is a manifestation of this negative suggestibility. My contention is that you are definitely suggestible. Let us see what happens to you in trying the following classical experiment. It is called the Chevreul's Pendulum test.

Draw a circle with about a six-inch diameter and mark it as shown in the illustration.

The circle is divided into quarters, and marked with the numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4.

Next, take a ring and attach a string to it. If you have a locket, it will do as well. The hypnotist uses a crystal ball and chain for this experiment. Hold the end of the string or chain and keep the ring or whatever object you are using about three inches above the center of the circle.

Now, concentrate and fix your gaze on the ring, crystal ball, or locket. Mentally suggest to yourself that the object will begin to revolve in a circular manner following the numbers 1, 2, 3, and 4. Picture in your mind's eye that this circular motion is becoming wider and wider. Work at this image for several minutes. Did the object begin turning to the right following the numbers? Did the circle become larger and larger? If it did, you are absolutely suggestible, are influenced by your own suggestions and, therefore, if you follow instructions, can learn self-hypnosis. You can be trained to acquire this skill.

If the experience did not work, try it again. Concentrate harder and try to visualize more intently the object revolving in a circular manner. You are not to rotate the object consciously or help it in any way. The action must stem from your subconscious. The thought of the crystal ball or ring revolving in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction invariably causes an involuntary muscular reflex action to take place. This phenomenon is known as an ideomotor action. Usually, as the subject concentrates more intensely, the reflex action becomes more profound, causing greater unconscious movement of the hand which, in turn, is transmitted to the object in the form of larger circles and greater momentum. The time required for the successful accomplishment of this test depends upon the degree of suggestibility of the subject. An interesting action is to see the object revolve in an opposite direction than suggested. It gives a clue to the personality structure of the individual.

The Ouija board works on the same principle as the Chevreul's Pendulum test. Many times the aspirant will remark, "I swear I didn't make it move!" Mentalists find hidden objects in an audience using basically the same approach, combined with clever techniques of distraction. The term given for this is "muscle reading."

This is the point in question. If the crystal ball, ring or locket moves without conscious direction, you have successfully influenced your subconscious mind. Self-hypnosis involves the same procedure. The goal is to consciously cause a subconscious reaction. If the experiment does not work with your eyes open, try it with your eyes closed for about five minutes. You will be pleasantly surprised with the results. Should you want to prove to yourself that you are suggestible with your eyes open, practice the technique every day for a week or two. The idea of the practice sessions is to reinforce and increase the response of the unconscious movement until you develop proficiency. It follows the laws of the conditioned reflex theory expounded by Dr. Ivan P. Pavlov (1849-1936), the famous Russian psychologist. If, after several weeks, you should still not be successful, use the role-playing technique. Consciously make the object revolve. After a while, it will move automatically whenever you attempt the experiment.

When this happens you will have proof of your suggestibility. It is highly improbable that you will not be successful. It would be a rare occurrence. By the same systematic efforts, I can assure you that you can achieve self-hypnosis. If you are still not affected favorably, you might consider one of the psychological means of inducing hypnosis. The next chapter will discuss this topic.

I would recommend Pavlov's book called Conditioned Reflexes. Pavlov's book will further explain and clarify the concept of the conditioned response mechanism. It covers necessary conditions for the development of conditioned responses, their formation by means of conditioned and direct stimuli, plus a tremendous amount of material which will help you in your understanding of the significance of the role-playing technique in relationship to learning self-hypnosis.

Chapter 11 Psychological Aids and Their Function

Psychological or mechanical aids are used to help put the subject in a state of hypnosis. The use of the aids helps increase the suggestibility of the subject toward hypnosis. The two most widely used hypnotic aids are the crystal ball and chain and the 12-inch hypnodisc. One reason is that these two items have no other use or function outside of the area of hypnosis. Therefore, when the hypnotist proceeds to use one of these hypnotic devices, it must follow that a certain mental set, readiness, or receptivity must follow as a result of its introduction into the hypnotic setting. If the subject is uneasy about the hypnotic setting or his response, the introduction of the hypnotic aid can mobilize the subject's defenses which may be on a conscious or unconscious level. Generally, the mental set which follows helps augment whatever hypnotic suggestions are given. Certainly the same mental set would not follow if the hypnotist used a paper clip as a means of helping with the induction of hypnosis. It would only start the subject wondering about the relationship of the paper clip to hypnosis. It obviously isn't in keeping with what the subject expects.

It is important to utilize the subject's expectation as to what he believes takes place in the setting as long as this expectation does not hinder the induction of hypnosis. The mere act of turning down the lights or drawing the curtains before the hypnotist begins to work with the subject is a non-verbal suggestion which can be considered as a psychological aid. The subject knows that the hypnotist is ready to begin at this point. Actually, it isn't necessary to darken the room at any time to induce hypnosis. Doesn't the stage hypnotist work with glaring lights? The room is darkened (and I might add that I use this procedure myself) mainly for the psychological effect. If I feel that this procedure might cause anxiety, I proceed with the room undarkened.

In discussing psychological aids, it is agreed that we are primarily interested in seeing the subject feel better or achieve whatever goals he seeks through the intelligent application of self-hypnosis. If a hypnotic aid will help the subject achieve hypnosis, we can concur it is justified. It is not to be considered a subterfuge. If the physician administers a placebo to a patient with the remark, "Here is a new medication that can help your condition" and if this technique does help alleviate the

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