You Are Being Hypnotized

If the title of this article struck fear in your heart, you may be disturbed to hear that on an average day, you could be hypnotized without knowing it.

If you laughed off the title, you probably believe that you could easily shut off any attempts at unrequested hypnosis�and would certainly want to.

But you may be surprised. Because you are unknowingly, and often unintentionally, hypnotized many times a day. The good news is that most of that hypnosis is benign, natural and even beneficial.

For example:

You�re at your local movie theatre, or watching a DVD in your own living room.

It�s an engrossing movie with your favorite stars. As the bad guys sneak up behind them, you shout �Watch out!� as if they could hear you.

You are listening to your favorite music. You�re experiencing a flow of emotions as the familiar melody brings back a memory or emotion.

A friend asks you about that wonderful trip you took a few years ago. As you re-tell a favorite moment, you can see it and feel it as if you are still on that street.

If you�ve experienced any of these scenarios, or similar ones, you have experienced a trancelike state, almost identical to the hypnotic state.

It can happen, too, when you�re daydreaming, reading an involving story, or reconnecting with a deep feeling, perhaps brought on by a smell, taste, or sight.

So if you�ve been telling yourself you cannot be hypnotized, think again.

It happens to you every day.

What do you do about it?

Rejoice.

Because if you are easily hypnotized, you have a great gift: you can re-experience life�s best moments with depth, excitement and pleasure�as if they were happening again.

Easily-hypnotized people can effectively direct themselves toward their goals with less effort. That�s a powerful advantage when you choose to use it, wouldn�t you say?

It�s simply not true that being readily hypnotizable is a sign of weakness. More often, it is indicative of imaginative intelligence. The gift of imagining (or �imaging�) what is not yet so.

This is the talent of inventors, artists, designers, engineers, and writers. It�s also the talent of powerful entrepreneurs. Ask Donald Trump.

And if you queried successful people about a time they created something new, and asked them to describe the process, you would know that a hypnotic state was involved.

When would such a state be useful to you, and how might you achieve it?

This state is useful for creativity because it sets the stage for elusive insights. The mind is relaxed, and the creative idea, nurtured by reading and studying the subject, now produces insight.

How can you create this receptive, hypnotic-like state when you need it?

Like a cat, it won�t necessarily come when you call. But you can nudge it along:

- Use self Hypnosis. Learn how to do it properly first.

- Use hypnosis guided by a practitioner or CD.

- Take advantage of the natural �hypnagogic state,� the time between wakefulness and sleep. Repeat a simple hypnotic statement to yourself a few times at this moment, and you might see some result�though probably not as powerfully as with a professionally-guided session. Still, a good start.

- Use the natural �hypnopompic state,� the time between sleep and being fully awake. Use the same approach as above.

- Use your meditative moments. Yes, there are differences between self hypnosis and meditation, but the mental state is often similar.

- Integrate it into your yoga practice occasionally. Of course there are different kinds of yoga. This will work best in the kind of yoga that involves�or leads to�a meditative moment.

-Make it part of your physical activities (specifically those with a rhythmic, repetitive, regular motion) that may allow an active meditative state. Choose running, biking, or swimming laps. These often work nicely with an effective positive suggestion repeated again and again, much like a mantra. Try it. But consider safety above all.
So knowing what you know now, when today will you find your first hypnotic moment�and put it to use?