HOW CAN I USE SELF HYPNOSIS TO GET THROUGH A DENTAL APPOINTMENT?

I was recently asked by a friend for advice for getting through a dental appointment when I realized I had not addressed this in my blog.  So, let's move away from meditation for the moment and get back to self hypnosis for a problem with which many of us deal.  

Think about a special place, a place that is peaceful and relaxing to you.  Decide where you want to go before practicing this technique.  Sit comfortably with your eyes closed and your limbs uncrossed.  Take several deep breaths, exhaling slowly.  A slow exhalation is important to attain maximum relaxation and to avoid hyperventilation.  You can then return to your usual rhythmic breathing.  Imagine your special place.  See the sights and colors as vividly as you can.  Hear the sounds.  Experience the feelings, both tactile and emotional.  As discussed in a previous entry, one sense will probably be dominant so emphasize that sense in your imagery.  Now count slowly from 50 - 1.  Once you've reached the count of 1, count 1-5 and open your eyes.  Practice this daily to develop a conditioned response to ensure that when you use it in the dentist's chair it will work quickly and well.

When you are in the dentist's chair, close your eyes and take several deep breaths with slow exhalations.   You can then return to your usual breathing, but can take other deep breaths any time you need to during the procedure.  Imagine your special place and count from 50-1.  You will be used to doing this and it should be easy and effective.  However, if it is a particularly uncomfortable procedure and you have difficulty with the imagery, you can always count.  The deep breaths and counting will still work well for you.  Just make sure you count slowly as it will help keep you calm.  Once you reach the count of 1 simply go back to 50 and continue until the procedure is over.  

I've used this technique with many clients and have used it myself with great success.

WHAT'S THE BEST WAY TO PREPARE FOR A SELF HYPNOSIS AND/OR MEDITATION SESSION?

We are creatures of habit and can use this to our advantage.  Before sitting down to do self hypnosis and/or meditate, think about something or things you can do each time to create an association with that mellow feeling you have while in this state.  You might want to wear the same article of clothing each time.  You might choose one place for your session that you always use.  You might light a candle first.  As soon as you do one or all of these things, you begin to relax and set the mood for a more satisfying session.  Is it absolutely necessary?  No, but it helps. 

HOW DO I KNOW WHICH FORM OF MEDITATION TO USE?

There are many styles or forms of meditation.  Selecting the one that is right for you is critical.  For example, one type of meditation is to visualize something or someone of spiritual significance or, if used for relaxation only, something that brings a feeling of peacefulness.   If, however, you are not a visual person, you should not struggle to develop your visual skills.  It would be better to find a different form of meditation.  Using a mantra, for example, can be used by anyone regardless of which sense is dominant.  There are many styles of meditation that do not call upon visual ability that may work well for you.  There are many books and articles on meditation.  In my book, Meditation and Self Hypnosis, I describe seven different forms of meditation, what the significance and advantages of each one are, and which sense or senses are predominantly used by each one.  With each form of meditation, I have devised a brief form of self hypnosis to do prior to beginning meditation to help you relax and focus.  This makes it much easier to quiet your mind and immerse yourself into the experience.  If you aren't sure which sense is most dominant in you, try daydreaming about a relaxing scene, see it, hear it and feel it.  Then determine what was easiest and clearest in your mind.  This is the first step, but it is a very important one.  Many people have given up thinking that they couldn't meditate simply because they selected a form of meditation that wasn't right for them.

WHY IS SELF HYPNOSIS SUCH AN IDEAL VEHICLE INTO MEDITATION

As you can see from other posts, self hypnosis helps us to focus inward, on ourselves.  As we gain a greater self understanding, we can more easily improve.  Meditation is generally used for spiritual elevation and awareness.  If we believe that the very essence of one's self is God, there is clearly a relationship between the two.  Hypnosis accesses the subconscious mind, which is connected to our ego identified self as well as our inner or Higher Self, the universal spark that is within us and that permeates through all of reality.  I believe that is why there is such great power with these relatively simple techniques.  This is not something one can measure with brain wave studies or any other objective quantification.  It is something, once experienced, you know is very real.

WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SELF HYPNOSIS AND MEDITATION?

If you were to get into self hypnosis and meditation in depth, you will find the answer to this question has many levels.  I will answer the question here in a way that is relevant for most of us.  When brain wave studies were done with people who were in several levels of hypnosis and meditation, the results look the same.  Both allow the practitioner to relax and focus his or her mind.  Self hypnosis is generally used for self improvement while meditation is generally used for spiritual connection.  While there are definitely exceptions to this distinction, this is usually true.  It is also true that while meditating you may get insight into a personal issue and sometimes when you do self hypnosis you may have a spiritual experience.  Most instructions for meditation are fairly general while instructions for self hypnosis are very specific.    

IF I ALREADY DO MEDITATION, DO I HAVE TO DO SELF HYPNOSIS AT A SEPARATE TIME?

Absolutely not.  I often work with people who already meditate.  Before I devise a method of self hypnosis, I ask them exactly how they meditate.  I then adapt the self hypnosis to be done first, but to fit seamlessly into the meditation.  There are similarities and differences between hypnosis and meditation, which I plan to go into in later posts.  However, they have enough in common to make self hypnosis the perfect vehicle from a busy mind into meditation.  If you already meditate and would like to do self hypnosis for a particular goal, feel free to email me and I would be happy to work with you to have one very satisfying session including both.

SOMETIMES YOU HAVE TO GO DEEPER INTO A PROBLEM TO RELEASE IT

I often work with people who have had bad experiences in their past that still continue to plague them.  It may manifest in the form of sleep problems and nightmares, anxiety attacks, fears of one form or another, or in many other ways.  I'm not talking about repressed memory syndrome, but rather clearly remembered experiences that a person simply can't get passed.  Hypnosis can be helpful in allowing a person to deeply relax and accept suggestions about the ways in which their life is now very good, they deserve to enjoy their life (listing the aspects of their life that specifically mean the most to them) and helping the person put the past experiences in perspective so they can move on.  Coupled with a self-hypnosis program reinforcing these suggestions often will allow the person to move past these experiences and to enjoy their life more fully.  However, at times this is not enough and the person continues to suffer.  On these occasions it is useful to go more deeply into the experience.  By this time the client and I know each other pretty well and a bond of trust has been formed.  I will put the person into hypnosis, deepening it as much as possible, and then gently guide them through the painful experience.  If I see that their anxiety level increases, I will pause to relax and reassure them before continuing.  It can be painful and difficult for the client to go through this, but the benefits are well worth it.  Most of the time the client will feel a sense of relief or of letting go to a large extent following this hypnosis session and whatever symptoms they have been experiencing will begin to subside.  Further sessions to reinforce this progress will often eliminate the problem or reduce it to a tolerable level.  

This technique of going into and reliving an experience is suggested to help avoid post traumatic stress syndrome as well.  The closer the hypnotic reliving session is to the actual experience, the more effectively it reduces the person's likelihood of developing PTSD.  In either case, it is important for the hypnotist to know the client well enough to know that they are mentally stable enough to benefit from this technique.  If the person has a therapist, it is useful to be in touch with that therapist, with the client's approval, to discuss what your plans are before proceeding.  I have seen astonishing results with this technique and, used cautiously, can be an extremely useful tool in helping someone who has been suffering.