How to Maximize Your Mind Power (Part 2 of 3)
Selective perception: Stare at a candle or any spot that you can intently focus your attention. Notice how you can block out everything else around you. While daydreaming, it is possible to not notice people coming in and out of a room. Your vision can become tunnel-like and you can see only the candle. This is similar to crystal gazing. If I wave a match back and forth in front of the eyes of a hypnotized person, he continues to stare straight ahead. However, if I tell the person he will act wide awake, but remain hypnotized to my voice, his eyes and head will follow the movement of the match. This hypnotic focus of attention causes the unconscious mind to lock down on post hypnotic instructions to follow them later.
We have two minds, the conscious and unconscious. Like an iceberg, 90% below the surface of the water, you might say the conscious mind is 10% of the mind, and the unconscious is 90%. When we learn to ride a bike, to type quickly on a keyboard, to drive a car and a thousand other tasks, we first use our conscious mind. “Let’s see, the gas pedal is here, this is the brake, the key goes here, adjust the mirror, etc.” After we are experienced by practice, everything becomes automatic, without thinking about it. We can be driving, thinking of many activities, and not remember a thing we passed. We may even drive past the exit we wanted to take. Sometimes we cannot think of a name with our conscious mind, but maybe we are lying in bed, walking down the street, or in a shower, and the name pops back into our conscious awareness.
The unconscious is that which we do or what we experience which is beyond conscious awareness. When the conscious and unconscious minds are in harmony, all goes well. When they are in conflict, there are problems. “I want to stop smoking, but something inside tells me to have a smoke.” When someone is playing sports, you may hear the comment: “I am in the zone”; “playing well”, as though it happens by itself. We practice consciously, but often perform best unconsciously. Properly worded hypnotic instructions aim to have the conscious and unconscious minds “shake hands”, to be in harmony for what is best for the mind and body, physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.
As you notice hypnosis sensations, you can experiment enhancing them or reducing them. Typical sensations of hypnosis may include: focused attention; relaxation; feeling peace, calm; slower breathing; not feeling like moving; disassociation (example: “I felt like I was all mind with no body”); floating; numbness; heaviness; lightness; spinning; time distortion (“time passed quickly”), etc. Hypnosis is relaxing, refreshing and feels good. However, most people, unless experienced, are not aware they have actually been hypnotized.
When you hypnotize yourself, do it privately in a quiet room. Don’t decide what you are going to do. Just hypnotize yourself and let your unconscious do what needs to be done. Do not try to consciously control the process. Instead, lose yourself in the process by giving up control and allowing your unconscious to manifest itself to take control.
You need to have respect for and trust your unconscious mind to do the work. Dr. Milton Erickson often said: “Your unconscious mind knows a lot more about you than you do.” Simply go into hypnosis, give yourself a problem, and then let your unconscious mind take over. Just enter the trance with the thought “How do I become a clean fresh air breather”; “How do I become slim”; “How do I find this item” to communicate with your unconscious. All you do is ask the question, trust your unconscious mind to freely solve it and to choose when and how the solution will come.
Tell yourself what you want to do, then leave it to your unconscious mind. Do not continue to question when or how the answer will come. It is like you “deliver the envelope” request in the suggestion box only one time, knowing in your heart, mind, and gut that the solution is inevitable and will come when the time is right for the unconscious to reveal it to the conscious mind. Your unconscious has a lifetime of experience in the file cabinets of your mind to assist you without your help. Concern or doubts interfere with the process.
This is similar to going to sleep with a problem and waking up with the solution. The unconscious mind never sleeps. If you were to keep distrusting when, how and if the solution will manifest itself, you interrupt the coming of the solution. Dr. Erickson would often go into hypnosis and say: “Unconscious, do your stuff.” Have respect, trust and expect the best from your unconscious.