Doing It (Part 2)

Here's the second of the three phases you can use for hypnosis. All the caveats from the first part apply here as well..

This step is all about deepening the trance you've just induced. You're trying to increase the conscious mind's focus on something else, and nudge it gently out of the way, to free up the subconscious mind.

Her eyes are now closed, so you need to giver her something new to focus on -- some sort of guided imagery. If you've seen enough movies or read enough stories, you know the sorts of thing: Take her on a mental walk down a long beach, with the waves crashing in, gulls screeching, hot sun. Or have her step slowly down a long staircase, counting each step down to zero as you go. Or send her anywhere else that she will find familiar and easy to imagine.

Wherever you send her, give her multiple "senses" to work with. Point out not just what she's seeing but also what she's hearing and feeling and smelling. You don't know which sense she's best able to "imagine" with, so try them all in concert.

I think it's important to phrase your instructions as directly as possible: "The sun is warming your skin" rather than "You're feeling warm" or "You imagine that you're getting warmer." In other words, don't use any phrases that remind her that it's imaginary.

The stair-step images are are nice because they give you a steady pace for emphasizing two things: How much more relaxed she's getting, and (very important) how much she wants to follow your lead downward. Point out that your voice is guiding her there, how your voice is the only thing she can hear now. Take your time, count the steps down.

At the bottom of the steps, or whatever goal you've set for her, she should be completely relaxed. Her conscious mind should be pretty thoroughly disengaged, and her subconscious sitting there idling, waiting to hear from you.

You may find this hard to confirm. After all, a light trance and a heavy trance both look pretty much the same, although her breathing will be almost sleeplike in the latter.

You can ask her a simple question, like "Are you comfortable" and judge how soft and distant her voice has become.

You can tell her that her arm is getting light, and watch how it drifts upward. An erratic, jerky motion is what you want to see. Too smooth a motion means her conscious mind just raised it for you.

Once again, there's no need to rush. She's unlikely to be measuring time very closely at this point, and will appreciate the calm. If it seems like she needs reassurance from you, say something like, "OK, now just float here for a few minutes until I need you again".

You'll want to pause now anyway to consider your next moves.