Healing and Hypnotherapy Volume 5, Issue -2, 1 August 2020 | Page 13

trance – trances occurring for a few seconds at a time, or everyday trance
states.
If we see hypnotic ‘depth’ as a kind of layering of consciousness, then we can
adapt our technique to this idea
Another layer might be that of parallel awareness, in which you are focusing
equally externally and internally. This might happen when you close your
eyes in the presence of a hypnotherapist and follow and respond to their
ideas and suggestions, but are also aware of your surroundings and still
consciously processing information. A fine level for therapy.
A deeper level or layer might be the ‘somnambulistic trance’ state, in which
focus is almost exclusively directed inwards, and external reality is
temporarily almost entirely forgotten. Some people experience this during
hypnosis. We all experience this level of inner absorption when we dream at
night.
We are metaphorical creatures. Therefore these layers of inner absorption
can be accessed via metaphorical storytelling. Telling a story in which one of
the characters then tells a further story, which in turn contains another story,
and so forth is a way of suggesting someone take a parallel journey by going
progressively deeper into hypnosis through these layers of meaning.
In Human Givens (HG) psychology this is called the ‘Arabian Nights’
technique. In Neuro-Linguistic Programming, it is given the breakfast-cerealsounding
name of ‘nested loops’. But it’s not just a modern psychotherapeutic
method. Indeed, the HG moniker is a clue to its ancient usage.
Stories within stories are found in the ancient Hindu and Buddhist tales of the
Panchatantra, the enchanting tales of Scheherazade in the 1001 nights
(Arabian nights), the teaching tales of the Sufis, and other mystical traditions.
So we can tell a client a story which really absorbs them, then within that
story tell them another story, then another. Each level of the story can
correspond to a deeper level of trance quite naturally without us having to
overtly suggest this.
Hypnotherapists, remember, know how to suggest experiences in ways that
appeal to
the unconscious mind but bypass conscious analysis. 

We might also use pictures within pictures by suggesting our client inwardly
observe a wonderfully calming and encouraging image, perhaps a photo or
painting of a beautiful, tranquil place.