Healing and Hypnotherapy Volume 4, Issue - 3, 1 September 2019 | Page 16

“Hypnagogia is the shortest path for communication from our
subconscious.” — Sirley Marques Bonham Ph.D, physicist
In the secular world, hypnagogia is often used as a way of stimulating
creativity. But I propose, similar to the Tibetan Buddhists and their ‘Dream
Yoga’ and Carl Jung and his technique of ‘Active Imagination,’ that
hypnagogia can be used for deep psychological discovery as well.
By seeking to find patterns, interpreting the images that arise, and coming in
contact with the fragmented aspects of yourself, hypnagogia is a powerful
form of self- exploration, and one with the potential of uniting you with your
Soul’s Wholeness and ultimate purpose.
The unconscious mind is the part of our brain that contains everything we
have buried away and forgotten: memories, defence mechanisms, wounds,
ancestral traumas, archetypal forces or ‘sub-personalities’ – you name it.
In the trance-like state of hypnagogia we are able to observe our unconscious
mind and its contents as it begins to bubble to the surface.
If you want to learn a simple and effective way of using hypnagogia to
explore your unconscious, practice the one below:
1. Set an intention – ‘Prime’ your mind and get it ready before you go to
sleep or have an afternoon nap. You can do this by constantly thinking about
what it is you want to explore about 20-30 minutes before you go to rest. For
example, your intention might be to find out why you struggle to have self-
control around certain people, what mental belief is blocking your happiness,
what your Shadow wants to tell you, or anything that is
to do with you as a person. I find that it helps to be very clear about my
intention and summarise it into a sentence. You can even write this sentence
on a piece of paper if it helps. For example, your summarised intention might
be “I want to understand why I always attract the wrong partners,” “I want to
discover how to strengthen my social boundaries,” “I want to find out why I
feel so unhappy and lost,” etc. Meditating on your intention is also a powerful
way of priming your mind beforehand.
2. Find something to record your experience – Before you enter
hypnagogia, find a notebook, journal, sketch pad, or voice activated recorder
(there are mobile apps for that), and place it next to your bed/sofa/chair.