Hypnosis can help your writing by shifting your consciousness in a way that makes it possible to see things differently. In writing, it's often that extra bit of insight that brings life to an article or a character. This spark of energy can be the difference between an editor's quick acceptance and being told they would like to see your next book. A little hypnosis might make a big difference.

THE BEST APPROACH

Hypnosis techniques vary and can be applied many ways. I'm going to present a very mild induction process that should be effective with writing/creativity issues. Also, it will be simple to use.

If the depth of trances could be set on a scale of 1 to 100, with 1 being completely alert and 90 being anesthetized enough for surgery, we will be going down to about the 4 level. Watching television or driving normally lulls you into about a 3 level. So this won't be all that much different than you've already experienced.

The question often arises as to whether hypnosis can be effective when learned over the network. The answer is yes, mostly because we don't need to go very deep in order to gain many of the benefits. If you needed to have a root canal worked on under hypnosis, reading about the process would not be appropriate. To gain insight and open your thinking, you only need a slight modification to your normal activities. And, you can do it at your leisure, in the privacy of your own home.

For this to work best, you need to be appreciative of the results, even small ones as you are starting out. In the beginning, progress will be gradual. There are many benefits from learning these skill slowly and thoroughly, but most of it has to do with technique. It takes a while to recognize the little shifts of your mind and to acquire the knack for controlling the process. Appreciate the results. Take your time.

LET'S GET GOING

The material is designed to be read sequentially. Try not to skip around. If you do, at least try to have read everything up to that point.

Some say, "I can't be hypnotized." As you will see, that issue will have little meaning here. If someone is genuinely skeptical, that's good, at least they are paying attention. Their progress will be a bit slower, but they are on the same path. If you are skeptical, keep the thought. Continue to probe and examine. If you see results, however, try to appreciate them. Your progress will be more rapid. You can be skeptical and appreciate the results at the same time.

Can you remember starting to read this article? Was your foot on the floor?

If you were able to recall your foot's position, there was a shift in your consciousness. Your mind was no longer fully focused on reading, it shifted elsewhere. It probably shifted down to a hypnosis level 2.

There...you've experienced hypnosis.

Now it's just a matter of developing a couple of skills and improving your ability to shift level. No big deal...you've done it once. From now on, it's only a matter of degree.

For anyone who didn't think back to where their foot was, you probably accomplished a more difficult task -- not thinking of something as it is suggested. That's quite difficult. "Don't think of an orange." Try that for 15 seconds. It's hard to keep the image of an orange out of your mind.

Not thinking of the orange or not thinking back to where your foot's position probably took you to a hypnosis level 2. In fact, generating the levels of abstraction needed to understand what not to do are actual techniques in more advanced hypnosis. Either way, you also just experienced hypnosis.

If this discussion is just irritating and makes no sense, there may be an unconscious reason for you not to explore hypnosis right now. It may be best if you were not to proceed and delay this for a time that is more right for you.

WARM UP

The dip you experienced in the previous section is what hypnosis is about. The ability to shift your consciousness, both up and down, allows you to explore without the fire storm of details and trivia that float around during full awareness or hypnosis level 1.

Let's just warm up a bit for this next section:

Answering those questions required a shift of conscious. Thinking back or doing it again, you should start to recognize the sensation.

THE NEXT LEVEL

Typically, increasing your creative insight will require a deeper level and a larger consciousness shift. (You can be referring to these instructions as you go through the steps. If you read and understand them first, referring back will be smoother.)

To accomplish the deeper shift:

If you were able to work through all the steps, congratulations. You generated a trance level and controlled movement to other consciousness levels. This is substantial progress towards learning to use hypnosis.

Although fairly straight forward, the above steps are not trivial. They exercise your ability to utilize shifts in attention and the ability to change consciousness levels. Practice these as often as possible for a couple of days. A good minimum would be four times a day.

GETTING SOME WORK DONE

Once you can shift down and stay in level 3 comfortably, it's time to get some work done. Level 3 should be adequate to start the insight process. Level 4 is more ideal, but you'll approach that after you learn the process of carrying tasks with you as you change hypnosis levels.

With the ability to use these hypnosis techniques to propose questions at other levels of consciousness, you now have a valuable tool for furthering your creativity and problem solving.

UPCOMING

Next topic: Hypnosis Level 4 for Character Development.

ADDITIONAL READING

Patterns of the Hypnotic Techniques of Milton H. Erickson, M.D (Volume 2) by Milton H. Erickson, John Grinder, Judith Delozier, richard Bandler. Metamorphosis Press, 1997.
* It is a crime that Milton Erickson's works are going out of print. If you see one of his books, grab it. He is the master of suggestion. It's possible to study his writings for years and still learn something new each time.

The Structure of Magic : A Book About Language and Therapy (Vol I) by Richard Bandler, John Grinder. Science & Behavior Books, 1990.
* These guys were the first to untangle what Milton Erickson was really doing. They made it possible for users to move beyond imitation and into customization and adjustments. Even Erickson was impressed with their model of linguistic analysis.

The Structure of Magic : A Book About Communication and Change (Vol II) by Richard Bandler, John Grinder. Science & Behavior Books, 1980.
* Once you get a taste of Bandler and Grinder, you'll want to get all their books.

Reframing : Neuro-Linguistic Programming and the Transformation of Meaning by Richard Bandler, John Grinder, Connirae Andreas. Real People Press, 1989.

Frogs into Princes : Neuro Linguistic Programming by Richard Bandler, John O. Stevens (Designer), John Grinder. Real People Press, 1981.

Experiencing Erickson : An Introduction to the Man and His Work by Jeffrey Zeig. Brunner/Mazel, 1985.

Hypnotic Realities : The Induction of Clinical Hypnosis and Forms of Indirect Suggestion/Book and Cassette by Milton H. Erickson. Irvington Pub, 1976.

FEEDBACK

The network oriented hypnosis training for writers is a new project. Please let me know how well it worked and what additional applications would be helpful.