30 Days of Hypnosis

I’ve always regarded hypnosis with a certain amount of skepticism. In college, I never made it a part of my study as my goal was never to use my Psychology degree to go into therapy, hypno or otherwise. I have always thought that hypnosis, particularly self-hypnosis, was little more than an advanced form of self fulfilling prophecy at best or snake oil like chicanery at worst. Reading the introduction and first chapters of Instant Self-Hypnosis by Forbes Robbins Blair, I feel like I may have been a bit off but not necessarily by all that much.

When most people think of hypnotism they think of  somnambulism, a state of very deep hypnosis in which the subject is really far gone and is open to much more suggestion than normal and capable of extreme recall and profound control over the physical body. According to the author, the sort of person able to achieve this level of hypnotism makes up only about 2% of the population. For the rest of us, the hypnotic state is really much lighter and, while the subject is still in a suggestible state, it is not the sort of thing that will lead you to dress up like a chicken or run through an office building naked. It also won’t make you lose memories or allow someone to program you to kill anyone else or produce a fraudulent molestation in your past.

I find it amusing that hypnotism being less sensationalized in reality than in fiction makes it equal parts easier and more difficult for me to accept. Easier because the claims movies and TV shows make about hypnotism are just plain unbelievable.  The notion that I am not using some kind of voodoo magic to make improvements in my life helps a bit. On the other hand, it is more difficult to believe because it seems a much more nebulous state. The author says that the first few times you might not feel any different and may not be aware you’ve actually had success in hypnotizing yourself. That seems fairly convenient to me given that I could throw some tap water in a vial and call it a love potion to make you more successful with women and just give the caveat that you won’t really taste it and you won’t feel different. Then when you go out, now armed with self-confidence bolstered by my trickery, and pull a hottie from the dance floor. The only thing I have done is supplied some extra confidence. The potion itself  is nothing more than a MacGuffin.

So what we have is a hypnotism much less sensational and much more grounded in reality. As the author points out, hypnotism is recognized by the American Medical Association as a legitimate therapeutic tool and should be treated as such.  Stage Hypnotism, on the other hand, is every bit the sort of sleight of hand that illusionists employ to make coins disappear and reappear out of a five year old’s ear. Typically the results of the stage hypnotist have less to do with the performers skills and more to do with the subject’s desire not to look like an ass in front of a live audience, or at least to not look like an ass in the wrong way. Peer pressure doesn’t hypnotize you although it does make for some fun family photos. We are dealing with the former here as opposed to the latter.

Alright, so I accept that hypnosis is real and useful on some level. I doubt it would have the AMA’s approval if it had no worth. That being said, I think that self-hypnosis is something of a different animal. It is a little hard to swallow that I can sit down and read a script and go into a hypnotic state. Even harder to swallow is the idea that once I am under I can give myself suggestions to improve my life in some way. And harder still to choke down that at the end of all this I read a script to bring me out of it. Sounds sketchy but I am going to give this a go and see what is what.

The problem I am facing now though, after reading through the initial chapters, is which of the 35 scripts do I want to work on for improvement? Reading the list is sort of like going to a buffet but only being able to choose one item. Most of it looks good with just a few unappealing options sprinkled in.  Looking at the list makes me feel the way I do when I try to choose a restaurant. Since I only get one, I want to make it a good one and not have to regret it later. If only one of the options did away with indecisiveness I would be all set.

There are some on here I don’t really need. I don’t smoke so the two for quitting and staying quit are pretty useless. There is one for great sex which I might look at but I think I am on pretty solid ground on this one. Same goes for the one about appreciating your mate. I also don’t need help in the public speaking category as I do pretty well with that. I don’t have exams to worry about any more and my skin is not in need of clearing of acne. I don’t habitually bite my nails or grind my teeth and I don’t care much about remembering my dreams. I can already perform lucid dreaming so that is unnecessary. I don’t have anxiety about the dentist aside from the one time I was dressed down like I was a four year old with a Jujube stuck to every tooth. I really don’t care if I am more fun at parties because I rarely go to them.  Because I am rarely invited. Because people hate me. Hey, the Total Self Confidence option is looking pretty good…

So here are the ones that I am considering in no particular order:

1. Stop Stressing Out: This would be helpful because I tend to go about my life as if I am an air traffic controller working alone on Christmas Eve. Reining stress in would definitely be a plus. On the other hand, it is a little difficult to tell if the results here would be from the hypnosis or from the relaxation. Depending on how all this turns out, I may revisit this one later.
2. Success: Sure who wouldn’t want success? Of course this is more nebulous and would be hard to measure over the course of 30 days. Also, if I finish this it will be the mark of success and that is sort of bet hedging now isn’t it?
3. Become More Decisive and Efficient: Wow apparently ‘Be More Observant and Pay More Attention to the Table of Contents Before Making a Snarky Joke About Character Traits’ would also do me some good. I would love to improve this area but again it is much too nebulous and difficult to quantify to really include here. Also, if I actually manage to choose one of these things in the first place then I will be well on my way on this issue.
4. You’re Getting Sleepy: Definitely a contender. I have a raging case of insomnia so learning a better technique to quiet my head down enough to sleep would be much appreciated. That I will be doing these things when I get home from work just before bed also gives this one a plus.
5. Great Sex: Who am I kidding, we could all be better amiright? This would be fun to try out and maybe fun to write about but maybe not appropriate.
6. Lose weight: Another strong contender. I have been meaning to start working out again and get on the P90x system but haven’t found the where-with-all. Maybe I can kill two birds with one ‘ohm.’ Okay, that is meditation. Shush.
7. Eat Healthy, Eat Right: This one sort of goes hand in hand with number six and it would be helpful. I tend to eat a lot of the wrong things so this is also a strong contender.
8. Total Self Confidence: I have insecurity issues that have insecurity issues. This would really improve my quality of life as well as that of those around me. Might be difficult to see in action over 30 days though but that might just be my lack of confidence talking. It is still a contender.
9. Intensify and Maximize Workouts: This would be great for the above weight loss item. I need to join a gym though and I am not sure I will be able to do that in the next couple of weeks. Maybe I should do the one about procrastinating instead.
10. Make More Money: Again a bit nebulous, but who wouldn’t want to do this one? I am not sure how to measure it though. Obviously if I see a monetary increase over the course of 30 days I could claim success but it seems like increasing income is the sort of thing that a boss decides. Or the Powerball drawing. I am not really sure how self-hypnosis is going to help this. Of course if I start tomorrow, I will have success by Thursday when my paycheck hits direct deposit…

Those are the current contenders. I will decide on one and start up the program tomorrow. Of course if any of you have any preference or suggestions, leave me a comment and let me know.