Strangely Hypnotic

"What?", I hear you cry, "Two posts and on consecutive days too...what's going on?!". Okay, I'm possibly being a little extravagant with my imaginative powers there, but I like to daydream.

Anyway, I've stolen five minutes whilst F is out of the house taking the two big dogs for a walk round the reservoir (see here for pictures) to do an entry...should I insert a star date here? I say stolen because F is off work today and she can be a proper slave driver sometimes. I've been forced to clean out the wardrobe this morning and clean the walls therein - it's a walk in wardrobe and is on the coldest corner of the house with no heating to it so it therefore suffers from a slight mould growth. Quite why you need to know all this I'm not sure but this is my blog and I can write what I want!

Anyway, all that aside, I have started to study self-hypnosis to help with the lifestyle changes I am trying to make. I attempted to enter my first trance last night, which was seemingly semi-successful. A very nice relaxed feeling and an almost numb floating sensation in the arms and back of the neck which was most pleasant although a little strange at first.

As with stage hypnosis, self-hypnosis works on the subconscious mind. I've always been fascinated by the fact that we as a species use little more than 5% of our brain power and even the most elite of the intelligent use no more than 10%. Imagine what could be achieved if we could tap into just a fraction more of the unused 90-95%...and that leads to another question - if we could imagine what could be achieved then would we be half a step towards achieving those dreams? Have I just confused everyone else like I've confused myself?

I digress...Self-Hypnosis is based around relaxation. I have been using active progressive relaxation (where the different muscle groups in the body are tensed and released in stages from the feet up to the head, imagining the tension running out of your body whilst your muscles relax) in spits and spats for about ten years. Once the body is relaxed the subject (me in this case) allows their eyes to focus on one unmoving spot, all the while giving suggestions that they are becoming ever more relaxed. Once the eyes have closed, which can again be induced by suggestion, the subject visualises a image familiar to them which has connotations with deep relaxation.

Now at this point the experience can become quite strange as you are still, to all intents and puroses, conscious yet you are able to make suggestions to your subconscious mind. As a test you can visualise feelings in your extremities, such as numbness in your fingers, and then will it to travel up your arms and into your shoulders. That was as far as I got last night. The progression is to enter this state to give yourself suggestions and post hypnotic cues which you can use to change areas of your life - one such example, if you wished to lose weight, would be to visualise yourself opening the fridge door but then walking away with your hands empty, thus reinforcing the idea that you don't need the quick snack you went to the fridge for. If these suggestions become deep rooted enough they will occur without a conscious effort on the part of the subject.

Now, all the above is simply from my own study and progression into the subject and should not be taken as a tutorial. I will keep you updated with my progress as I go on and let you know if it turns out to be a real journey of discovery.

Once again, thank you for reading this drivel!!

Be good!