When you dream , the body responds directly to the imagination – as when we shiver during a snow-filled dream or sweat if we are scared . Your internal environment becomes more important in determining your physical state than your actual environment .
We see exactly the same response in the hypnotized person – they respond to their imagination more than their real environment . And when you think about it , this is not so strange – after all , who hasn ’ t salivated at the thought of food , or felt blood flow to the face upon recalling a humiliating moment ? Such is the power of the mind to influence the body .
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Trance is part and parcel of how we live . It ’ s easy to forget that all hypnotic phenomena are natural . All hypnotic phenomena happen naturally outside of a formal hypnosis session . When you remember that , you can be more confident with the idea of eliciting it . But we can take this further .
2 . Tip two : Evoke everyday hypnotic phenomena while you hypnotise
It ’ s so much easier to work from someone ’ s pre-existing understandings when seeking to elicit hypnotic phenomena .
For example , if I am seeking to produce an arm levitation , in which the subject ’ s arm floats up with no conscious effort from them , I might talk about how sometimes , with no conscious input , we might put our foot down on an imaginary brake pedal even though we ’ re in the passenger seat .
How would I go about suggesting to someone that their arm become numb ? This could clearly be useful if , for example , they had pain in their arm or needed to undergo an operation on it . First , we have to think carefully about which ‘ part ’ of the mind we need to communicate with to achieve this , and what kind of language this ‘ part ’ of the mind speaks .
For hypnotic numbness , as with other phenomena , we can use what I call ‘ universal examples ’ – examples from everyday life that everyone can relate to . For every hypnotic phenomenon there is a universal example that you can use to prime the mind for hypnotic response . Let me give you a few examples .
If I want to hypnotically induce anaesthetic numbness in a subject , I