You can learn how to hypnotize yourself which is a creative state of mind. Whether we are aware or not, we are always hypnotizing ourselves. Hypnosis works using the mind’s ability to imagine what is being suggested to you and from that place you begin to feel and experience it as if it is real. Scientists are now beginning to understand better how hypnosis works. Increasingly hypnosis is being used to treat pain and anxiety and other conditions as a way to increase control people have over their brains and bodies.
Researchers at Stanford School of Medicine used brain imaging to see the changes to brain that occur while people were under hypnosis which is centered in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex. This part of the brain it is believed mediates motivation, working memory and emotional processing all of which is important to helping you get what you want. This is one of the reasons it was so helpful in my practice in terms of helping to create lifestyle transformation. The truth is , you can learn to hypnotize yourself.
This is what one client had to say: “Learning how to change habits through mind therapy or self-hypnosis has been so valuable. I have been able to use these techniques in all areas of my life to help me become a better person. The weight loss is excellent, but I feel as though it has been an added benefit. The other results like increased energy, feeling healthy, stress reduction and control over my life are the greatest rewards.”
That really sums it up. That is also why the hypnosis component can be so valuable. It calms the body and quiets the ‘monkey mind’ which opens the door to your receptiveness to change. What you think whether you are aware of it or not affects your body. If you say you will fail and you believe that to be true… guess what, not only will it make you weak but it becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy.
That’s why you have to learn to hypnotize yourself. We have all heard of the power of positive thinking, but it’s meaningless unless you believe it. If you have doubts about what you want to accomplish, I would suggest adding what I call creative thinking. This notion was also put forth by Tamar E. Chamsky, PhD who wrote Freeing yourself from anxiety. When you think you screwed up, instead of saying or thinking to yourself… what an idiot I am… you try to as Chamsky says to put the thought aside, and move into problem solving mode instead. Ask yourself the question “In what way can I solve the problem?”
The goal is to treat set-backs as a learning experience and try to solve the problem creatively. Instead of calling yourself a ‘fat pig’ because you ate too many whatever, you remember the wisdom of what Emile Coue, the father of hypnotism, who believed self-improvement could emerge form what he called autosuggestion which is another way of saying self-hypntoism. This is something you choose to say to yourself consciously instead of letting the negative thoughts have the last word. Coue suggested saying to yourself “day by day I am getting better and better.” I guaranteed once you say that you will feel better.
Anytime you notice yourself getting a negative thought you can also counter it with the suggestion given by Charles Haanel, the father of positive thinking: “I am whole, perfect, strong, powerful, loving, harmonious and happy.” Trust me after you say that to yourself a few times, you will feel different. Eventually perhaps, you come to believe it.
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