Hypnosis is not magic. It is a form of intense and prolonged concentration, during which you lose consciousness of your surroundings and turn your mind to other thoughts. Hypnosis, very different from sleep, arouses a state of hyperempiria. With the Best Me self-hypnosis technique you will focus on virtual experiences that can help you increase self-esteem, increase motivation, achieve goals and fight anxiety or trauma.
Steps
Method 1 of 4: Preparation
Step 1. Choose a time when you are not sleepy
The goal of the technique is to isolate yourself from the world to focus on visualizing your success. If you were too tired, you might just fall asleep.
Step 2. Have a light meal 1-2 hours before starting
It can be difficult to find concentration on an empty stomach or if you feel too full. Eat enough to have the energy to meditate, but not to the point of being too full.
Step 3. Find a quiet place to practice the Best Me technique
Look for a place where no sudden noises or interruptions can draw your attention to the world around you. The ideal is a small and quiet place in your home.
Step 4. Make sure you are not interrupted
Turn off your cell phone. If you have a landline phone, turn off the ringer. Ask your family not to disturb you during the session.
Step 5. Get into a comfortable position
Better to stay seated, because lying down you may fall asleep. To better enter a state of hypnosis:
- Keep your legs in a comfortable position. The traditional meditation pose is the cross-legged pose, but you can choose to kneel, stretch your legs, or sit in a chair. Just make sure you can sit still for some time without feeling discomfort.
- Keep your back straight. Correct posture will help you breathe more deeply. Lean back in your chair if you can't keep your spine straight without support.
- Put your hands where they can't distract you. You can hold them on your lap or join them as if you were praying, depending on your preference.
Step 6. Breathe deeply at a steady pace
As you prepare to employ the Best Me technique, close your eyes and breathe slowly for a moment. Focus only on the air entering and leaving your body; by doing so, you can clear your mind and prepare to successfully enter a state of heightened concentration.
Method 2 of 4: Entering a State of Hypnosis with the Best Me Technique
Step 1. Follow the steps of the Best Me technique
Each letter of the acronym corresponds to a passage. It doesn't matter in what order you decide to follow them, but you need to include them all, to make sure you are fully immersed in the experience you are trying to visualize.
- B - Belief system
- E - Emotions
- S - Sensations and physical experiences
- T - Thoughts and images
- M - Motives
- E - Expectations
Step 2. Choose a safe place (your "system of principles")
Think of a real or imaginary scenario, where you feel safe, calm and happy. You can choose the place you prefer; no place is "wrong". Stay in the same environment after choosing it, because it will be easier to reach the state of relaxation. Some of the more common scenarios include:
- A beach.
- A park on a sunny day.
- A place you visited on vacation.
- Your favorite room in the house, present or past.
- A place that you have seen in an image.
Step 3. Imagine yourself in a safe place
This is the part of the process of physical sensations and experiences. Use all your senses, not just sight. Imagine every detail of the safe environment and relax, immersing yourself in that peaceful setting. For example, if your safe place is a sunset beach, you should focus on:
- The colors: the red and gold of the sunset, the blue of the water.
- The sounds: the roar of the waves and the call of the seagulls.
- The sensations: the wind on the skin and the hot sand under the feet.
- Smells: the pure sea air with a hint of salt.
Step 4. Let the serenity of the safe place drive away negative emotions
Absorb the peace around you. Experience the feelings of calm and relaxation. Repeat: "I'm calm. At peace."
Step 5. Let the calm of the safe place keep all thoughts away
In the beginning, unwanted thoughts inevitably populate your mind. Don't fight them. Instead, gently bring attention back to your safe environment. Go deeper and deeper into your world and push everything else away. Sink and isolate. Sink and isolate.
- If you can't get rid of negative thoughts, imagine transferring them to a television screen, then use the remote to turn the volume down and make the video black and white, before turning off the set.
- You can also imagine putting your thoughts in a drawer and then closing it.
Step 6. Enjoy your state of peace
You have no other purpose, no desire to find yourself somewhere else or to do something else. You just want to exist, free, in that place. You want to dream and completely lose yourself in your own personal paradise.
Step 7. Expect to sink further into your safe place
Don't worry about reaching a state of hypnosis. Expect that to happen. Hypnosis is nothing more than a state of total concentration. Just think about your safe place and imagine yourself inside. When you are fully in that environment, you will be in a state of hypnosis. As the creator of the technique wrote: "The deeper you go, the more you will be able to go down and the deeper you will be, the more you will want to go down and the more enjoyable the experience will become".
Step 8. Repeat these steps many times as needed
Return to the feelings of your safe place. Feel the serenity. Let your thoughts fade away. Enjoy your space as you sink deeper and deeper, until you descend completely into your safe place.
Step 9. Associate your safe place with a word
Once you have created a safe environment and fully immersed yourself in it, you can decide to give it a name. This way, you can use that word, even when you are not in a state of hypnosis, to invoke the feelings of calm and relaxation.
Step 10. End the session, or switch to viewing or remembering an experience
If you are still trying to master self-hypnosis or if your goal is simply to relax and calm down, you can stop the session here. Alternatively, you can switch to viewing a goal to increase confidence and motivation, or remembering a past emotion, to gain self-confidence and relieve anxiety.
Method 3 of 4: Early Living the Rewards of a Goal
Step 1. Choose a goal
Focus on one result per session. Choose a goal that is important to you and that you can't wait to reach. Imagine achieving the desired result and receiving the rewards that go with it, to feel more confident and find the motivation to succeed. The Best Me technique can improve performance in many fields, including:
- Academic studies.
- I sing.
- Dance.
- Athletics.
- Creative writing.
- Physical activity.
- Starting a business or achieving a work goal.
- Losing weight or quitting smoking.
Step 2. Visualize success in your goal using Best Me steps
From inside your safe place, imagine in detail the achievement of your goal. The deeper your scenario and the more steps you follow, the more effective hypnosis will be.
- Increase the motivational value of your visualization by envisioning additional rewards associated with your goal, such as a vacation you can take once work is done.
- Consider viewing secondary objective rewards as well. For example, if you are trying to quit smoking, you might imagine the dinner you indulge in after a week of abstinence, or a conversation where you proudly tell a friend that you haven't smoked for a month.
Step 3. Imagine that you have achieved your goal
Visualize when you receive a raise, graduation, or whatever reward you have set for yourself. Recreate that moment in detail, just as you did for the safe place. Use sight, hearing, smell and touch. Think precisely about what you and the people around you will say and do.
Step 4. Feel the satisfaction and pride you feel in achieving your goal
Think of the admiring looks from friends and family. Imagine what they will tell you and how proud and happy you will feel. Live these emotions fully.
Step 5. Don't think about anything else
If other thoughts intrude on your scenario, gently bring your attention back to the scene you are viewing. Experience the achievement of your goal so intensely that you feel like you are turning it into reality with your will alone.
Step 6. Expect to be successful
By visualizing the achievement of your goal and the emotions that go with it, even if only in your mind, you will be able to create powerful memories, which will convince you that you are headed for certain success. This allows you to act confidently, because you will be convinced that you are getting what you want.
Step 7. Conclude the session by counting to 5
Think that you will gradually return to the real world by the time you hit 5.
- One: you are coming back.
- Two: you are happy and confident.
- Three: You're coming back for more and more. Focus on yourself, on your breathing, on the feel of the floor and the chair beneath you.
- Four: you're almost back. Be aware of the sounds and sensations around you.
- Five: open your eyes. You are back and you feel great.
Method 4 of 4: Remembering Past Moods to Feel More Confident
Step 1. Think of a time when you felt confident and motivated
Just as you did when you created your place of peace, be as specific as possible. Where were you? What were you doing? Who was with you?
Step 2. Recreate the moment using the Best Me technique
Start imagining yourself in the past. What did you see? What did you feel, touch or smell? What were you doing? What were you saying? Visualize the moment with such clarity that you feel like you are making it come true with your willpower alone.
Step 3. Live the emotions
As you abandon yourself to the scene you created, you will relive the emotions it aroused in you the first time. Feel them again as you recreate the moment in your mind.
Step 4. Remove negative thoughts
When other thoughts intrude, gently push them away and return to your scenario. If they persist, imagine transferring them to a television and then turning it off, or putting them in a drawer before closing it.
Step 5. Firmly believe that you are successful
Memories related to strong emotions are very powerful. Reliving those moments full of happiness and in which you felt sure of yourself: you will have the impression of being inevitably directed towards success. Embrace this feeling. Be convinced that you will be successful. Act, think and live as if you can't fail.
Step 6. Associate positive feelings with a word
After recreating the experience, think of a word that describes it; focus on it as you recall the scene and the feelings it creates. In the future, you will be able to use that word when you need it, to invoke the emotions associated with it.
Step 7. Conclude the session by counting to 5
You will gradually return to normal consciousness as you count.
- One: you are coming back.
- Two: focus on your emotions - you are happy and confident.
- Three: Focus on your breathing, the sensations you feel, the floor and chair beneath you.
- Four: become aware of what is around you. Feel the sounds and smells.
- Five: open your eyes. You have returned to reality and are sure that you will be successful.
Advice
- Better to use as few words as possible when following the Best Me technique. The most important parts are the images, the sensations and the feelings you have.
- In addition to using the Best Me technique, you can use the services of a psychologist to achieve your goals, cope with anxiety and gain more self-confidence.
- You may not be able to reach a state of deep concentration on the first attempt, or you may not be able to correctly visualize the achievement of future goals or past memories. Keep Trying: Like any skill, the Best Me technique takes practice.
