A Practical Guide to Self-Hypnosis

by Melvin Powers

Test No. 8 is called the "sun" test. In this test, you picture yourself in a bathing suit, shorts or playsuit at the beach or some other familiar place taking a sunbath. You imagine that it is a beautiful summer day. As you see yourself relaxed, you imagine that a cloud is blocking out the sun, but as you count to three, the cloud will move away and you will feel the warm, pleasant glow of the sun's rays on your face and hands. Here are the suggestions you can use:

"As I count to three, I shall feel the warm, pleasant rays of the sun on my face and hands. One ... The cloud is moving, and I can begin to feel the warm, pleasant rays of the sun. Two ... The cloud is moving more and more, exposing more and more of the sun. I can feel the warmth of the sun's rays. Three ... The cloud has moved away from the sun, and I can feel the full, warm strength of the sun. It is a pleasant feeling, but as I continue to count to five, the warm feeling will dissipate. Four ... The warm feeling is leaving. Five ... The warm feeling has left, and I feel perfectly normal in every respect."

A variation of this test is to see yourself lying comfortably in front of a fireplace. In this instance, you imagine someone is adding wood to the fire. As this is done, you feel the warm glow of the fire more and more. Should you use the fireplace technique, try to incorporate the sound of rain into the picture. If you "hear" rain you have created a positive auditory hallucination and can consider yourself an excellent subject.

You can also visualize a situation where you would be cold. This is not as pleasant as the picture that one can conjure up about a fireplace and thus creates a bit more resistance since no one wants to feel uncomfortable.

Test No. 9 is the "breeze" test. It can be combined with the previous test. After you attain the feeling of warmth, you give yourself a count of three (or whatever number you want), suggesting that you will feel the cool ocean breeze (if you are at the beach) on your face and hands. You can even carry this step further, suggesting that you'll even smell the odor of the salt water. This is known as an olfactory illusion and should you be able to create this effect, you can be sure that you are a somnambulistic subject. Here are suggestions you can use:

"As I count to three, I shall gradually feel the cool ocean breeze coming over the waves. It will be a very pleasant feeling. One ... I am beginning to feel the cool ocean breeze, especially on my face and hands. Two ... The breeze is becoming stronger and stronger. Three ... I can definitely feel the cool ocean breeze. As I continue to count to five, I shall smell the pleasant, healthy aroma of the salt water. Four ... I am beginning to smell the salt water. Five ... I can definitely smell the salt water."

Now you give yourself appropriate suggestions that the feeling (illusion) will vanish as you awaken or at a specific count. It can be as simple as this: "As I count to three, I shall open my eyes and awaken feeling very refreshed. The feeling of the cool ocean breeze and smell of the salt air will have vanished completely." At this point you count to three and open your eyes.

Test No. 10 is the "handclasp" test. This is used frequently to test the depth of hypnosis. You fold your hands with your fingers tightly interlocked and place your palms together. You then give yourself a hypnotic suggestion that at the count of three, it will be impossible for you to unlock your hands. After you try and are unable to unlock your hands, you continue counting to five, suggesting that you will be able to do so when you reach the count of five. Incidentally, you should remove any ring you may be wearing before trying this test. Here are the suggestions you can follow:

"As I complete the count of three, I shall try to unlock my hands but will be unable to do so until I count to five. One ... My hands are locked tightly together. Two ... My fingers are locked tighter and tighter. Three ... It is impossible for me to unlock my hands until I count to five. Four ... As I reach the count of five, I shall be able to unlock my hands very easily. Five ... I can now unlock my hands very easily."

Test No. 11 is the "arm" test. Here is another test used frequently to test the receptiveness to hypnosis. Make a tight fist and extend your arm in front of you as far as possible. Visualize your arm as one solid mass, as stiff and rigid as a bar of steel. After your arm is extended, give yourself a hypnotic suggestion that you will be unable to bend your arm when you complete the count of three. As you continue to count to five, you will be able to bend your arm very easily. Here is a form of suggestion you can use: