Notes from Hypnotherapy by Dave Elman I stressed the words if the subject is willing because consent is imperative. You cannot impart a suggestion unless the subject is willing to take it. At all times and in all degrees of hypnosis, the subject has complete power of selectivity. He therefore reacts only to suggestions that are reasonable and pleasing to him... I repeat that in every stage hypnosis, the subject is in control and can select the suggestions he wishes to accept. If the crisis of an unwanted suggestion should arise, the subject will either arouse himself from the trance state or continue in it but simply refuse to act on the suggestion. (p. x) Under hypnosis, a person has control of more than his selectivity, or will power; he is in control of all his faculties except one. He can hear, see, feel, smell, taste, speak. Though he may sometimes look unconscious, he is completely aware and can therefore cooperate. The single exception to this control is what I call the critical facility. If you give him a suggestion which pleases him and which seems emotionally and morally reasonable to him, he will accept it despite the fact that under ordinary circumstances he might consider it an impossible suggestion... But his critical faculty - the disbelief that such fantastic feats are possible - is bypassed in hypnosis. (p. x-xi) The three requisites for hypnosis are: (1) the consent of the subject; (2) communication between the operator and the subject, and (3) freedom from fear, or reluctance on the subject's part to trust the operator. Since these are the only requisites, it is obvious that those authors are wrong who say that any particular technique - fixation, for instance - is the only reliable way to induce trance. Actually, there is no limit to the number of techniques that can be used to trigger the desired response; you might say that there is no way in which you cannot hypnotize a person once you know how to utilize suggestion. (p. xiii) Hypnosis gives off five signs. These signs are subtle, minute. If you don't know what to look for, the signs could be there without your detecting one of them. When you know hypnosis, however, you can spot all five signs at a glance. Here are the five signs of hypnosis, all of which you must carefully observe: (1) body warmth; (2) fluttering of the eyelids; (3) increased lacrimation; (4) the whites of the eyes getting red or pinkish; (5) the eyeballs going up into the head. (p. 22) If you were to read a hundred books on hypnosis, trying to find a definition, you would be completely confused because you would find that every author - doctors included - has a definition that disagrees with all the others. This is a situation much like the three blind men who were asked to describe an elephant. Like the blind men, each author describes only what he has touched, and describes it from a different viewpoint... Most of them will agree that hypnosis is a state of high suggestibility... Elman's definition of hypnosis: "Hypnosis is a state of mind in which the critical faculty of the human mind is bypassed, and selective thinking established." The critical faculty of your mind is that part which passes judgment. It distinguishes between concepts of hot and cold, sweet and sour, large and small, dark and light. If we can bypass this critical faculty in such a way that you no longer distinguish between hot and cold, sweet and sour, we can substitute selective thinking for conventional judgment making. (p. 26) Dave Elman's Induction and Deepening Exercise: Now take a long deep breath and hold it for a few seconds. As you exhale the breath, allow your eyes to close and let go of the surface tension in your body. Just let your body relax as much as possible now. Now place your awareness on your eye muscles and relax the muscles around your eyes to the point they just won't work. When you are sure they are relaxed and are aware that as long as you hold on to this relaxation they won't work, then test them to make sure they won't. If they open when the person tests them, say, "No, you're making sure they will work." Relax them to the point they will not work. It's so simple, so easy, anyone can do it. When you're sure they won't work, test them to make sure they won't work. Now, this relaxation you have in your eyes is the same quality of relaxation that you want throughout your whole body, so just let this quality of relaxation flow through your Page 1 of 2 whole body from the top of your head, right down to the tips of your toes. Now, we can deepen this relaxation even more. In a moment I'll ask you to open and close your eyes. When you close your eyes, that's your signal to let this feeling of relaxation become 10 times deeper. All you have to do is to want it to happen and you can make it happen. Ok, now open your eyes and close them again and you will go ten times deeper. Let every muscle in your body relax. Now let the muscles around your eyes relax so much that they just won't work, test them and make sure they won't work. In a moment, I'm going to lift your hand by the wrist and drop it. Just let your hand and arm be as loose as a wet dishrag. Let me do all the lifting so that when I drop it, it just falls into your lap or the arm of the chair and you go twice as deep. (If the client helps to lift the hand say) No, no, let me do all the lifting, don't help me. Let it be heavy. Just let it be limp. (drop it and say) Now that we have physical relaxation, we want mental relaxation. In a moment, I'll ask you to begin slowly counting backwards out loud from 100 with each descending number you will go twice as deep. With each number you will go twice as deep. With each number you will double your mental relaxation. By the time you reach 97, the next number just won't be important enough to verbalize. Now, begin to count backwards out loud, very slowly, and with each number just relax twice as much. Now say the first number, 100 and double your mental relaxation. Client: 100, hypnotherapist: Now double your mental relaxation, let those numbers begin to fade. Client: 99, Hypnotherapist: Double your mental relaxation, start to make those numbers leave. Client 98, Hypnotherapist: deeper and deeper you go. Client: 97: Hypnotist: snap fingers and says, "The numbers are gone. Vanish them, let it happen, you did it. The numbers are gone." {p. 26-28) Here's Elman’s definition of waking suggestion: A waking suggestion is a suggestion given in the normal state of consciousness which does not precipitate a waking state of hypnosis. For example, Someone in the room yawns. Somebody sees him yawn, and he yawns too. Another person sees him yawn, and the third person yawns, and pretty soon you have a room full of yawning people. That is waking suggestion. Every one of us has seen this occur. There is no by-pass of the critical faculty. (An other example of a waking suggestion: A friend says, "I am going to have surgery tomorrow." You reply, "You will do well, I know your doctor and he has a great reputation. You will recover rapidly, quickly and appropriately.") Now let me show you the difference between waking suggestion and waking hypnosis: When hypnotic effects are achieved without the use of the trance state, such hypnotic effects are called waking hypnosis. In every case, it involves a bypass of the critical faculty and the implanting of selective thinking. (p. 69) Every effect obtainable with the trance state is obtainable in many people with waking hypnosis. (p. 71) (For example: When the situation is not appropriate for a formal hypnotic induction, I will sometimes use waking hypnosis. While visiting a young woman, she told me that she was very fearful of an upcoming myelogram. A few years before, she had gone through a myelogram which had been very painful. For several days following the myelogram she had a severe headache. As I had no consult from her doctor, I would not use a formal hypnotic induction. I took the patient's hand and spoke softly. "You know we have found that people who have a second myelogram experience little or no discomfort. You are going to be surprised at how easy this myelogram will be. In fact, you will hardly feel anything but maybe some pressure. You will come out of the experience feeling comfortable and relaxed with no after effects." The next day when I saw her, she told me that she went through the procedure without any difficulties and no headache. She did not give me any credit for the ease with which she went through the myelogram.) Page 2 of 2.