Self-Management Using Trance

In my last post I wrote about Response–ability. I understand there are many ‘what ifs’ and I understand that I have no understanding of what each individual’s crisis is like. Whether you have the wherewithal to make lemonade out of your lemons (if you have any at all) or whether you have the money to do any of the things you possibly might like to do.  All of that and more acknowledged and put to rest on one side. Here’s a workable, useable way of managing your thoughts by using trance. Now when we’re honest about it we can all go into to trance, but here’s a way of doing this effectively.

 

Self-Management Using Trance

 

A trance state is an altered state of consciousness, NLP[1] calls this down-time (your attention is turned inward).  We are all in trance at some time in our lives.  Have you ever wondered who ate the rest of your biscuit, all of the packet of crisps etc. and there’s only you in the house?  Or got in the car to drive somewhere and realized you are driving somewhere else, we sometimes call this “Automatic Pilot” – it’s a form of trance.

 

What’s a trance state?

 

• We lose track of time
• Positive hallucinations (we think something is there that is not)
• Negative hallucination (we don’t see something -  this can just be your glasses or your car keys – it can be other things)
• The ability to withstand pain
• Not experiencing our environment consciously (driving past things and not noticing them). You can probably think of more examples.
  

 

What can you use a trance for?

 

Trances are really useful in everyday life –

• To fall asleep
• To work through something - a subject or tasks
• To relax
• For problem-solving using the subconscious
• To become more creative
• To motivate yourself
• To reduce pain
• To promote health

 

Trance induction

 

Every trance consists of 3 parts:

 

1. Induction or starting phase
2. The middle – whatever it is that the trance is to achieve or work on
3. Carrying out the trance.

 

Sit or lay down in a comfortable place and in a comfortable position.

Breathe slowly and deeply and talk to yourself in a voice that is harmony with your breathing.

Trance induction needs to be     r  e   a    l     l     y          s     l      o      w  - even when you are talking to yourself!

 

Words for trances

Ways to induce a trance	Examples
Acknowledge where you currently are	.. and you are lying here and feeling your back sinking into the back of the armchair ...........
Include all senses as in what you might see, what you might hear, how you might feel – all positive – the use of the word 'perhaps' is important	… and perhaps you are seeing a beautiful picture in your mind’s eye and perhaps you are hearing pleasant sounds and with each sound you are finding yourself becoming more and more relaxed and calmer….
Make use of any possible interruptions	.. and every car that you hear driving past, enables you to go deeper and deeper into trance…
Lead into the desired state the positive thing you want to happen - here the example is becoming more creative - using link words	.. and as you relax more and more, you are becoming more and more creative, this makes you strong and ….
Concentrate inwardly	.. and you are noticing how relaxation starts to flow slowly first through your feet like a ray of sunshine that spreads slowly or even quickly all the way up your legs ...
Artfully vague language (known as Milton Model[2] in NLP)	… perhaps I am noticing, now, how the relaxation and the well-being sets off a feeling of strength and energy and I know that it is good for me, to relax and to be strong and full of energy
Use link words such as	… and….,  whilst …….
Cause  ….. effect	…. causes …., leads to …..,   the more…….
Positive nominalizations[3]	.. freedom, .. relaxation ,, strength …, energy …, joy….,  creativity,
Create Positive Ways of thinking and feeling about this that are inside your body or come from inside	… it’s very important in a trance to use positive wording to embed what you want to happen.  Instead of “I won’t be frightened any more” it’s better to say: “I’ll be strong and can face …”.  Or instead of “ you can lay down the bonds and chains that are pulling you down” it’s better to say “ I am feeling light and free”.

 

So … how to do it (Self Hypnosis)

 

• Decide on the subject beforehand
• Make yourself comfortable (lay down or sit down)
• Close your eyes
• Think slowly and speak to your      self    slowly
• Pace current experience (e.g. you are feeling your feet on the floor…)
• Set your internal clock (e.g. 20 minutes) or set your alarm

 

 

Example:

 

Please read the following text slowly and in a quiet voice (and the voice in your head must be quiet too;)). Or get someone you really rust to read it to you, following the instructions above.

 

“You are sitting here and listening to me. Perhaps you are looking at me, or you have said to yourself “close your eyes”………… whilst your unconscious is here and is listening and feeling, now – you can allow yourself to dip into your daydreams – into your thoughts – in trance, dipping deeper, deeper into the trance, which enables you to learn and to understand, and to understand during the trance.  What did you learn first – to learn in trance or in a trance to learn, ……in a trance, deeper and deeper….perhaps you are still asking yourself, whilst your thoughts are wandering or wondering, how deep the trance you are going to experience will be and you are asking yourself whether you will feel light and weightless, ……… or whether your thoughts will be light and relaxed – it’s easy to bring your body into a trance whilst your mind’s eye imagines all of this and what you are thinking now is irrelevant , as you are imagining being more and more in a trance, quite easily, as if it is happening all by itself and you notice how easy it is to slip into trance.

Now you have this idea and your unconscious is still listening to me, ………you will enjoy your trance even more and you will go deeper into this trance………….. I know, that it will be even easier now, … ……to begin to move on somewhere in your trance and whilst you are thinking about some really profound things, ………….. and perhaps you are asking yourself, or you are wondering about something, as it is good to wonder and to wander in the mind, because that means that you are learning….. ………. and that you can allow yourself to pay more and more attention to how deeply you are breathing ……. ……….and how your breath is even and how peaceful you are – and full of this peace you go into a pleasant and deep trance that is exactly the one you imagine.

 

 

 

Take 20 to 30 minutes a day to go to a comfortable place and go into trance.

 

Write your own script based on the above to achieve what you want to achieve, record it whilst you are playing a piece of your favourite relaxing music, you can record several trances/scripts and – it works!

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[1] NLP is a set of advanced communication skills. These have been identified through the study of top people in any field – those who are excellent at what they do. By understanding and modelling their thinking and behaviour patterns, this approach argues that you can achieve the same positive results. 

 

[2] The Milton Model is designed to produce trance or agreement.  It is a series of abstract language patterns, which are ambiguous so as to match the client’s experience and assist in accessing unconscious resources. This is based on the hypnotic trance work of Milton Erickson. Note many people believe that NLP is all about trance and hypnosis, this is not so, NLP is about language, trance is a small part of this

 

[3] A nominalization is noun describing a state of being which exists in name only.  Not a tangible item.  Can be a verb or another process word that has been formed into an abstract noun. One of my co trainers often called these words ‘corporate bollocks’, usually we say in NLP it’s anything you can’t put into a wheelbarrow.