More Brief Therapy Client Handouts E-Book

Kate Cohen-Posey

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 614

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2010

Beschreibung

The highly anticipated follow-up to Brief Therapy Client Handouts?now with even more practical, therapeutically sound strategies for helping clients change behaviors and address problems. Building on the success of Brief Therapy Client Handouts, this unique sourcebook provides a comprehensive collection of over 200 jargon-free, ready-to-use psycho-educational handouts, including concise articles, exercises, visual aids, self-assessments, and discussion sheets that support your clients before, during, and between sessions. Featuring a strong focus on mindfulness and cognitive therapy, More Brief Therapy Client Handouts incorporates sensitively written handouts addressing timely topics such as positive counseling strategies, psycho-spirituality, and using trance for pain management and weight loss. This exceptional resource features: * A helpful Therapist Guide opens each chapter with learning objectives and creative suggestions for use of material * More handouts devoted to parents, couples, families, and children * Strategies and tasks within each handout for clients to do on their own or in the therapist's office as part of the session * Assessment questionnaires targeting specific issues, including personality traits, automatic thoughts, core beliefs, symptoms of panic, and repetitious thoughts and behavior * Exercises and worksheets such as Power Thinking Worksheet, Thought Record and Evaluation Form, Thought Changer Forms, Self-Talk Record, Selves and Parts Record, and Daily Food Log Practical and empowering, More Brief Therapy Client Handouts helps you reinforce and validate ideas presented in therapy and reassure clients during anxious times in between sessions. With a user-friendly design allowing you to easily photocopy handouts or customize them using the accompanying CD-ROM, this therapeutic tool will save you precious time and maximize the full potential of the material.

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright

Dedication

Preface

Continuity From the Original Book

New Features

Acknowledgments

Many thanks to

Section I Quiet Mind

1 Treat Yourself to a Trance

Therapist's Guide to Treat Yourself to a Trance

Handout 1.1 Information about Trances

Handout 1.2 Entering Trance

Handout 1.3 Maintaining and Deepening Trance

Handout 1.4 The Language of Trance

Handout 1.5 Trance Imagery

Handout 1.6 Trance Advisors and Guidance

Handout 1.7 Entrancing Unwanted Habits

Handout 1.8 Trances for Hyperactivity

Handout 1.9 Trance-Forming Pain

Handout 1.10 To Dream … and Then to Sleep

Handout 1.11 Erotic Trances

Handout 1.12 Entrancing Kids: Wetting, Soiling, and Pain

Handout 1.13 Bedtime Trances for Tots

2 Mindfulness Matters

Therapist's Guide to Mindfulness Matters

Handout 2.1 Information About Meditation

Handout 2.2 Mindfulness: Breath by Breath

Handout 2.3 Body Scan Appetizers

Handout 2.4 The Practice of Mindfulness

Handout 2.5 The Witness Within

Handout 2.6 Mindfulness: Step by Step

Handout 2.7 Mindfulness: Moment by Moment

Handout 2.8 Being Present: Choiceless Awareness

Handout 2.9 Meditation in Mantra

Handout 2.10 Loving Kindness Mantras

Handout 2.11 An Invitation to Yoga

Handout 2.12 Mini Meditations for Minors

3 Self-Discovery

Therapist's Guide to Self-Discovery

Handout 3.1 Therapy for Self-Empowerment

Handout 3.2 The Self and Its Counterparts

Handout 3.3 The Drama of the Subdivided Mind

Handout 3.4 The Corporate Self

Handout 3.5 The Community of Self

Handout 3.6 Connecting With Your Self

Handout 3.7 Spiritual Guidance

Handout 3.8 Aspirations and Abilities

Handout 3.9 Mandala: Symbols of the Self

Handout 3.10 God and Goddess Personality Archetypes

Handout 3.11 Personality Awareness

Handout 3.12 Pictures of Personality

Handout 3.13 Personae—The Masks We Wear

Section II Thinking Mind

4 How to Fix Faulty Thinking

Therapist's Guide to How to Fix Faulty Thinking

Handout 4.1 Therapy for Faulty Thinking

Handout 4.2 Identifying Irrational Ideas

Handout 4.3 Automatic Thoughts

Handout 4.4 Angry Automatic Thoughts

Handout 4.5 The Power of Negative Thinking

Handout 4.6 Your Beliefs—Helpful or Harmful?

Handout 4.7 Pinpointing Core Beliefs

Handout 4.8 Restructuring Versus Refocusing

Handout 4.9 Keep the Good Thoughts Rolling

Handout 4.10 Be the Boss of Your Brain: A Workshop for Children

Handout 4.11 Power Thinking: Beyond Affirmations

Handout 4.12 Power Thinking Worksheet

Handout 4.13 Thought Record Form

Handout 4.12 Thought Changer Forms

5 Constructive Self-Talk

Therapists Guide to Constructive Self-Talk

Handout 5.1 Creative Cognitive Therapy—Informed Consent

Handout 5.2 Three Steps to Self-Talk

Handout 5.3 Examples of Constructive Self-Talk

Handout 5.4 Turning Thoughts Into Parts

Handout 5.5 Self-Talk Case Study—for Workshops

Handout 5.6 Self-Talk Worksheet—for Workshops or Journaling

Handout 5.7 Self-Talk Journals

Handout 5.8 Fantasy Self-Talk

Handout 5.9 How to Talk to All Your Parts—A Worksheet for Children

Handout 5.10 Selves and Parts Record

Handout 5.11 Self-Talk Record

6 Better Angels of Our Thoughts

Therapists Guide to Better Angels of Our Thoughts

Handout 6.1 Knowing Peace Beyond Panic

Handout 6.2 Discovering the Me That Is Not OCD

Handout 6.3 Tempering Anger

Handout 6.4 Finding Life After Loss

Handout 6.5 Building Trust From Jealousy

Handout 6.6 Journeying to Forgiveness

Handout 6.7 Transcending Trauma—Informed Consent

Handout 6.8 Thinking Thin

Handout 6.9 Not Thinking Too Thin

Handout 6.10 Daily Food Log

Handout 6.11 Raising Self-Esteem

Handout 6.12 Practicing Happiness

Handout 6.13 OCD Exposure Practice

Handout 6.14 Anger Log

Handout 6.15 Distinguishing ADHD From Moodiness—A Children's Rating Scale

Handout 6.16 Sensory Integration Dysfunction—A Children's Rating Scale

Section III Between Minds

7 First-Class Communication

Therapist's Guide to First-Class Communication

Handout 7.1 Beyond Fight, Flee, and Freeze: Flow

Handout 7.2 Acting As If: The Art of Confirming

Handout 7.3 Asking Questions: The Art of Inquiry

Handout 7.4 Active Listening: The Mirror Mind

Handout 7.5 Hypnotic Hints: The Art of Evoking

Handout 7.6 Beyond Assertive Communication—A Workshop

Handout 7.7 Learned Responses—A Workshop Handout

Handout 7.8 Verbal Arts Terms—A Workshop Handout

Handout 7.9 Surviving a Family Backlash

Handout 7.10 Turning Disputes Into Discussions—A Worksheet

Handout 7.11 Hard-Core Bully Busting—For Teens

Handout 7.12 Talking So People Will Listen

8 Relationship Remedies

Therapist's Guide to Relationship Remedies

Handout 8.1 A Parent's Power Tools

Handout 8.2 Surviving the Taxing Teens—For Parents

Handout 8.3 Surviving Picky Parents—For Teens

Handout 8.4 Relationship Fundamentals

Handout 8.5 Can We Just Talk?

Handout 8.6 Cures for Common Relationship Conflicts

Handout 8.7 Acts of Love That Renew Romance

Handout 8.8 Analyzing Affairs

Handout 8.9 Moving Beyond Betrayal

Handout 8.10 Undoing Dependency

Handout 8.11 The Bait-and-Switch Trap—For Emotional Abuse

Handout 8.12 Divorce Dilemmas

Handout 8.13 The Science of Dating

Handout 8.14 Blending Families

Handout 8.15 The Tale of the Tiger's Eye Treasure—A Fable for Family Discussions

References

Index

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About the CD-ROM

Introduction

Troubleshooting

User Assistance

This book is printed on acid-free paper.

Copyright © 2011 by Kate Cohen-Posey. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

Published simultaneously in Canada.

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:

Cohen-Posey, Kate.

More brief therapy client handouts / Kate Cohen-Posey.

p. cm.

ISBN 978-0-470-49985-6 (pbk.)

1. Brief psychotherapy–Problems, exercises, etc. 2. Mental health education–Forms. I. Title.

RC480.55.C642 2010

616.89′14–dc22

2010023268

To my darlin' Harry

who stayed steadfast

while I took a leave of absence

from our marriage to finish this book.

I could have never made it without all your support!

Preface

I think you're the author we've been looking for. Those were the astonishing words I heard approximately 12 years ago when Kelly Franklin called me from John Wiley & Sons, Inc. proposing that I write a book of handouts for clients. I was virtually unpublished at the time. Franklin had a keen intuition for what counselors need. Brief Therapy Client Handouts became a great seller in the therapy world, and clinicians wanted more material.

Thankfully, Wiley was patient with me while I finished two writing projects. Then the exciting task of amassing and distilling another library of self-help literature began. Each work was refined to its essential pearls of wisdom in a two-page handout format. The book began to organize itself into three important areas that dominate current mental health trends: (1) the mindfulness movement and self-calming techniques; (2) cognitive therapy, which emphasizes efficacy; and (3) enhancing relationships between people. This new collection of handouts preserves the integrity of the original book and adds new features.

Continuity From the Original Book

A Therapist's Guide starts each chapter with (a) learning objectives, (b) an index of topics covered, (c) suggestions for using material, and (d) acknowledgment of any resources not cited in the handouts.Contents of the handouts describe problems and list strategies and tasks for clients to do on their own or in the office with therapist.An easy-to-read format is used, with bullets, numbers, boldface, and tables that help information stand out at a glance.Handouts that are adapted from self-help books have citations so clients who want more information can read the original source. Clients who have already read the original source may still want the handout to review important points—again and again.Assessment questionnaires are included that target specific issues: Personality Traits, Automatic Thoughts, Core Beliefs, Directing and Distracting Voices, Symptoms of Panic, Repetitious Thoughts and Behavior, Types of Temper, Upsetting Memories, Criteria for Anorexia and Bulimia, Self-Esteem Rating Scale, Distinguishing ADHD From Moodiness, Sensory Integration Dysfunction, Relationship Disaster Detectors, Codependent Checklist, and more.Exercises and worksheets are provided to address problems: Power Thinking Worksheet, Thought Record and Evaluation Form, Thought Changer Forms, Self-Talk Worksheet, Self-Talk Record, Selves and Parts Record, Daily Food Log, Anger Log, OCD Exposure Practice, AAAH Response Worksheet, Verbal Interaction Worksheet, Strategies for Dealing With Teens, Couples trivia questions, and A fable and questions for families.Supplemental information is accessible for issues that are not the main focus of therapy. Even experienced counselors can use a quick reference and strategies to approach unexpected situations that surface during the course of treatment.Procedures are described that therapists may want to review to reacquaint themselves with a particular method. This can serve as a guide or script during sessions, rather than as a client handout.

New Features

Chapters fromBrief Therapy Client Handoutswere condensed into single handouts on panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, managing anger, and dysfunctional families. This was done to give people an even faster understanding of their difficulty and strategies to handle them.Informed ConsentHandouts are offered to give clients information and research data about treatment approaches. Because in psychotherapy a client is not a passive recipient of a formal procedure, the limits of the approach and other treatment options are not emphasized. Rather, the underlying principles of the method are explained so the client can work collaboratively with the therapist; these handouts are listed in the Therapist's Guide section of each chapter. See Information About Trances, Information About Meditation, Therapy for Self-Empowerment, Therapy for Faulty Thinking, Creative Cognitive Therapy, and Transcending Trauma.Handouts for and about children are included: Entrancing Kids: Wetting, Soiling, Pain; Bedtime Trances for Tots; Mini Meditations for Minors; Be the Boss of Your Brain; How to Talk to All Your Parts; Distinguishing ADHD from Moodiness; Sensory Integration Dysfunction; Hard-Core Bully Busting; Surviving Picky Parents.Workshop scripts are offered to help therapist offer programs that promote their practice, give talks to employees in the workplace (for EAPs), or present at conferences: The Drama of the Subdivided Mind, Beyond Assertive Language, and The Tale of the Tiger's Eye Treasure. The last two handouts can be used in the commercial sector to promote workplace unity. Entering Trance and Maintaining and Deepening Trance can be used as scripts for a group induction and follow-up discussion.Workshop handouts are supplied to support the scripted programs: The Self and Its Counterparts, Connecting With Your Self, Turning Thoughts Into Parts, Self-Talk Case Study, Self-Talk Worksheet, Learned Responses, and Verbal Arts Terms.Guided fantasy exercises are included: Trance Guidance and Advisors, Spiritual Guidance, Aspirations and Abilities, Pictures of Personality, and Fantasy Self-Talk. These are excellent to do in small groups.

I experienced many transformations and incarnations as I wrote these handouts. My practice of meditation improved during Mindfulness Matters, and I conquered my old foe—irksome insomnia. I adopted Judith Beck as a near goddess while working on Thinking Thin and almost vanquished urges to snack. Relationship Fundamentals explained how my husband and I have managed to remain tethered, in spite of the fact that we are both ruggedly independent.

One day I had a young female client who would not allow herself near anything with the faintest odor. I searched my office high and low for information on sensory integration dysfunction, only to find I had notes on my hard drive from reading The Out-of-Sync Child. They immediately turned into a rating scale for More Client Handouts. That information will now be at my fingertips.

I originally conceived of handouts as a way of providing clients didactic information so I could focus on the mysterious process of therapy. Now I find that they are an integral part of the clinical hour. The printed word lends authority to therapeutic concepts. I may go over a particular strategy with a client and ask, Are there any thoughts that would keep you from executing this task? I am assured that the way these info tracts will be used by other professionals will be endless as each person imbues them with his or her own spirit.

Acknowledgments

Many thanks to

The folks at John Wiley and Sons, Inc., and Lisa Gebo for their willingness to publish the empowering dialogue books so I could purge them from my system and return to writing more handouts.Marquita Flemming, my current editor at Wiley, who wooed me back to handout world and was an ever-present beacon of light—guiding me with her thoughtful comments.My clients, who are always my best teachers. When they told me about a great self-help book they read, I added it to my list, and you can find it nestled in the references. Or they might say, Do you have a handout on self-esteem? I'd reply, Not yet, but I will shortly.The myriad authors of self-help books—some classics and some less well known. You will find old-timers like Melody Beattie and a more recent arrival—Judith Beck. Several of my clients suffering from affairs found their way to the mother-daughter team of Marie and Marlene Browne. Although their title did not rank as high as some others on that topic, I took my client's advice and had to have two handouts on infidelity because their book had so much wisdom. Although I have made digests of many works, extracting 2 pages from a 250-page book does not allow for direct quotes—just a mingling of minds that, hopefully, does not dilute the message.The many theorists and other authors in the field whose ideas and research can be found in footnotes throughout this text. You are the collective conscious out of which all literary works are birthed.Pamela Colman Smith, who illustrated Arthur Waite's tarot deck and was my first inspiration to combine visual imagery with distressing thoughts in a cognitive therapy that utilizes both hemispheres of the brain. Thank goodness for the other cyber artists who are willing to lend their images to demonstrate this technique, and to my young friend Devon Collins, who may have helped me more than I helped him.Karen Calle, Nina Rehberg, and Karen Vanderford, who make my professional life livable by taking care of all the details of managing managed care. Without you, my labors of love might have been buried under an avalanche of paperwork.

Section I

Quiet Mind

Chapter 1 Treat Yourself to a Trance

Therapist's Guide

Handout 1.1—Information about Trances

Handout 1.2—Entering Trance

Handout 1.3—Maintaining and Deepening Trance

Handout 1.4—The Language of Trance

Handout 1.5—Trance Imagery

Handout 1.6—Trance Advisors and Guidance

Handout 1.7—Entrancing Unwanted Habits

Handout 1.8—Trances for Hyperactivity

Handout 1.9—Trance-Forming Pain

Handout 1.10—To Dream … and Then to Sleep

Handout 1.11—Erotic Trances

Handout 1.12—Entrancing Kids: Wetting, Soiling, and Pain

Handout 1.13—Bedtime Trances for Tots

Chapter 2 Mindfulness Matters

Therapist's Guide

Handout 2.1—Information About Meditation

Handout 2.2—Mindfulness: Breath by Breath

Handout 2.3—Body Scan Appetizers

Handout 2.4—The Practice of Mindfulness

Handout 2.5—The Witness Within

Handout 2.6—Mindfulness: Step by Step

Handout 2.7—Mindfulness: Moment by Moment

Handout 2.8—Being Present: Choiceless Awareness

Handout 2.9—Meditation in Mantra

Handout 2.10—Loving Kindness Mantras

Handout 2.11—An Invitation to Yoga

Handout 2.12—Mini Meditations for Minors

Chapter 3 Self-Discovery

Therapist's Guide

Handout 3.1—Therapy for Self-Empowerment

Handout 3.2—The Self and Its Counterparts

Handout 3.3—The Drama of the Subdivided Mind

Handout 3.4—The Corporate Self

Handout 3.5—The Community of Self

Handout 3.6—Connecting With Your Self

Handout 3.7—Spiritual Guidance

Handout 3.8—Aspirations and Abilities

Handout 3.9—Mandala: Symbols of the Self

Handout 3.10—God and Goddess Personality Archetypes

Handout 3.11—Personality Awareness

Handout 3.12—Pictures of Personality

Handout 3.13—Personae—The Masks We Wear

Chapter 1

Treat Yourself to a Trance

Therapist's Guide

Handout 1.1—Information about TrancesHandout 1.2—Entering TranceHandout 1.3—Maintaining and Deepening TranceHandout 1.4—The Language of TranceHandout 1.5—Trance ImageryHandout 1.6—Trance Advisors and GuidanceHandout 1.7—Entrancing Unwanted HabitsHandout 1.8—Trances for HyperactivityHandout 1.9—Trance-Forming PainHandout 1.10—To Dream … and Then to SleepHandout 1.11—Erotic TrancesHandout 1.12—Entrancing Kids: Wetting, Soiling, and PainHandout 1.13—Bedtime Trances for Tots

Mini Index to Chapter 1

Abuse

Adrenaline

Anxiety

Arousal, sexual

Balance beam

Breathing techniques

Bubble blowing

Centering

Central nervous system

Children's problems

Conflict resolution

Cortisol

Cravings

Criticism

Cross-crawl

Dopamine

Drawing

Endorphins

Erotic trances

Eye closure

Eye movements

Eye roll

Favorite things

Gotcha

Grounding

Hand-clapping games

Heavy-Hand Trance

Helium Delight

Hyperactivity

Hypnagogic state

Hypnosis

Hypothalamus

Imagery

Impossible things

Inner Advisor

Insomnia

Juggling

Line dancing

Love

Mantras

Mavromatis, Andreas

Meditation

Melatonin

Observing

Oxytocin

Pain

Pill swallowing

Pineal gland

Predicting

Questions

Rag doll game

Relaxation activities

Safe place

Scaling

Self-confidence

Self-hypnosis

Serotonin

Soiling

Spinal Twist

Staring and focusing

Testosterone

Thalamus

Trance; cues

Trance; deepening

Trance; importance of

Trance; preparing for

Trance; ratifying/confirming

Truism

Utilization

Weight loss

Wetting

Word association

Word use

Therapist's Guide to Treat Yourself to a Trance

Help Clients:

1. Collaborate with treatment by providing information about trance (informed consent).

2. Discover the ability to enter, deepen, and maintain trance.

3. Use imagery and inner guides to work through issues.

4. Report relief from unwanted habits, pain, or insomnia.

5. Report improved concentration in daily tasks or involvement in sexual activity.

6. Identify ways to help children with pain, wetting, soiling, anxiety, or going to sleep.

Using the Handouts

Informed consent.Information About Trances meets the ethical obligation to provide information about self-hypnosis.General literature.Entering Trance, Maintaining and Deepening Trance, The Language of Trance, Trance Imagery, Trance Guidance and Advisors.Literature that addresses specific problems.Entrancing Unwanted Habits, Trance-Forming Pain, To Dream … and Then to Sleep, Erotic Trances.Literature for parents.Trances for Hyperactivity; Entrancing Kids: Wetting, Soiling, and Pain; Bedtime Trances for Tots.Preparation for and closure after intensely processing traumatic experiences.Maintaining and Deepening Trance (see especially Safe Place Exercise p. 10).Workshops and presentations. A group induction can be done using many of the techniques from Entering Trance, Maintaining and Deepening Trance, and Trance Dialogue. Having participants share their experiences of relaxation cues, eye-closure cues, mantras, safe places, or inner advisors can reinforce ideas in the handouts. Because group inductions are so relaxing, participants will often have many spontaneous questions for presenters about the safety and uses of trances. Copies of handouts can be offered for self-practice.

Cautions and Comments

First, introduce relaxation and trance techniques in the office and use literature to reinforce their use at home. This is especially true when teaching parents protocols to use with their children.State regulations can affect the use of handouts. Many state licensing bureaus have requirements that clinicians complete a specified number of training hours before using hypnosis or guided imagery with clients. However, most states do not regulate the use of literature on self-hypnosis or meditation. Become familiar with any state regulations that could affect your use of handouts on trance.Handouts offer clinicians a quick review of hypnotic techniques in general and protocols to address specific problems. Experienced practitioners will notice that the words conscious, unconscious, and trance have been replaced in hypnotic scripts with more descriptive terms: intentional mind, automatic mind, calm, still, focused, and so on.Handouts focus on theprocess of going into trance. That process is broken down into three steps (predicting, observing, and directing) rather than giving a plethora of hypnotic suggestions. The goal is to teach clients to adapt this process to unique situations that they face.Trances for hyperactivity can be supplemented by walking meditation found in Mindfulness: Step by Step.

Sources Not Referenced in the Handouts

Advanced Techniques of Hypnosis and Therapy, edited by Jay Haley (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1967) describes Ericksonian utilization techniques found in Trances for Hyperactivity.

Handbook of Hypnotic Suggestions and Metaphors, edited by D. Corydon Hammond (W. W. Norton, 1990) inspired scripts used in several handouts: “Truisms for Developing Anesthesias,” by Milton H. Erickson, p. 54; “Gradual Diminution of Pain,” by Milton H. Erickson, p. 56; “Procedure With Difficulty Swallowing Pills,” by Irving I. Secter, p. 266; “Eating as an Art,” by Sheryl C. Wilson and Theodore X. Barber, p. 381; “Suggestions About Craving,” by D. Corydon Hammond, p. 385; “Concentration Suggestions,” by William T. Reardon, p. 440; “Hypnosis With Children,” by Daniel P. Kohen, pp. 480–481, 490–491.

Handout 1.1—Information about Trances

Trance is a state of focused attention that suppresses unnecessary thoughts, activity, or sensations, allowing a fuller involvement with an outer or inner experience. Everyone has experienced trance at some time in his or her life:

The beauty of a sunset can be entrancing.An archer cannot make his mark unless she is transfixed on the bull's-eye.Dancing to the beat with perfect rhythm transforms a person into poetry in motion.A sexual climax occurs when a person is in an erotic trance.A blank stare can momentarily transport someone into another realm.

During trance, the chatter, chatter, chatter of the mind is brought to a stop. It is as though when all your brain busy-ness slows down there is something else that observes and knows. This observant self can transcend your worst fears, recall memories too painful for a waking state, or, in some cultures, walk on hot coals without being burned. Although the inner peace of trance is everyone's natural birthright, it has mystified people for ages.

Types of Trances

Certain mental states commonly thought of as trances are not that at all. Missing your turn on the freeway or forgetting what you came in a room to get are signs of preoccupation. In trance your mind is unoccupied, quiet, and open. The African bushman finding his way through unfamiliar territory is in a trance state in which he is totally aware of his environment. Westerners are more likely to navigate the inner realm via three routes:

1.Meditation is the act of consciously putting yourself in trance. The word meditate is Latin for being moved to the center. During a trance, brain activity moves from the outer cortex to the hypothalamus in the center of the brain. In all forms of meditation, thoughts are stilled by (1) focusing attention on an object, mental image, or breathing; (2) adopting a passive attitude of observing random thoughts; or (3) constantly repeating a word or phrase. Meditation has no other goal than to quiet the mind.

2.Hypnosis comes from the Greek word hypnos, which means to sleep. However, in hypnosis a person is fully alert without interference from distracting thoughts. Hypnosis has been defined as a heightened state of internal concentration in which nonordinary responses can be evoked or suggested. These handouts use a three-step process of: predicting (P) approaching signs of trance, observing (O) what is happening, and subtly directing (D) a person toward a desired outcome:

Don't start to stare at your spot (D) until you are comfortably settled …. And while you examine the tiniest details about it (D), it may be difficult to just notice when your breathing will start to slow down (P) …. And discover how good that deep breath just felt (O) …. You may be surprised that you can watch your thoughts without placing any special importance on them (D) …. And even remember a forgotten phrase (D) that replaces thoughts with poetic repetition—peace be still … and you can discover stillness at the most surprising times (P) ….

3.Self-hypnosis uses exactly the same process of inducing trance, but instead of listening to a hypnotist, you talk to yourself. The advantage of self-hypnosis is that you are the keenest observer of yourself. The trick is to continue to talk to yourself. If you just sit and stare at a spot and wait for trance to come, nothing is likely to happen. But by predicting (P), observing (O), and directing (D) yourself into trance, you shut off random mind chatter, and this is trance-inducing in itself:

I know that as I stare at my spot, many changes will happen (P) … like how my jaw just dropped (O) even though my mouth is still closed … and the muscles in my face are starting to become smooth and ironed out (O) …. And now my field of vision seems to be narrowing down, getting blurry around the edges (O) …. And I can let my eyelids drop, too, (D) and wonder how still my mind will become (P) while I notice how long it takes before I need another breath (D) …. And I can put my attention on my intention … (D) to be still … now and even if my boss yells at me sometime in the future ….

Why Trance Is Important for You

During a trance you switch from being a thinker to being an observer. At its best, thinking is energizing and fun. But it is also the source of all tension. A parade of what ifs, if onlys, have tos, shoulds, awfuls, and nevers can march through your mind, literally trapping you inside yourself. Even constructive mental activity, when overdone, can make it hard to unwind. After a mentally exhausting day, you can toss and turn at night. The brain waves that occur during trance are slower and more synchronized than those that happen during alert or dream states. Thus, trance offers a kind of rest that cannot be obtained from sleep.

As mental chatter decreases, it is possible to gain access to the automatic mind that controls breathing, heart rate, perception of pain, habit patterns, and so on. In this way, a person's conscious intentions can realign repetitive, unconscious routines. Two brief periods of meditation a day can significantly lower high blood pressure.1 Because meditation and trance are so beneficial, the following facts are important to remember:

Hypnosis and meditation are natural states similar to the time just before awakening and falling asleep, or becoming completely absorbed in a movie or a book.People will come out of a trance when they are ready. There has never been a case in which a person did not return to a waking state.In many instances one or two sessions of hypnosis may enable a person to break a habit, but usually it requires a number of sessions before change is made.The best subjects for hypnosis are motivated, imaginative, and intelligent. People need some ability to reason and use their mind to go into a trance.As mental chatter reduces, people become more aware and less vulnerable to others imposing their will or complying with unacceptable suggestions.Hypnosis is not a truth serum or lie detector. You cannot be compelled to say things in a trance state.If people fall asleep during hypnosis, it is because they needed sleep; they will awake refreshed. People do not respond to or remember suggestions when they are asleep.People need not be in a deep state of hypnosis for behavior change to occur.People do not instantly go into a trance, but with practice, trances come more easily.Trance should not be practiced when people are engaged in activities that require their eyes to be open (like driving a car). Eye closure can signal that the automatic mind is being activated, so the intentional mind can take a break from its usual waking-state duties.

Handout 1.2—Entering Trance

One of the most natural methods to enter the quiet stillness of trance is by staring. There are many times when you have stared into space and been in a light trance without realizing it. When you add intention and awareness to staring, trance deepens and you can learn to calm yourself at will. Three methods are suggested below for achieving automatic eye closure that often occurs with staring. This is your signal that you have opened the door to trance. After preparing for trance, practice all of them and discover which one works best for you.

Preparing for Trance

Plan a distraction-free block of time. Interruptions can be mentally arousing.Find a comfortable position with your head aligned over a straight spine. Lying down or reclining may be too restful and promote sleep rather than concentration. Do not cross your legs in a way that would cut off circulation.Choose a focal point for staring at or above eye level. You can hold up your hand and study a spot where two lines cross. A glow-in-the-dark star or candle flame is good to use when the lights are out.

Method 1—Opening and Closing Eyes

When you are awake, the part of your brain that directs purposeful action is in charge. During a trance the automatic part of your mind that controls your breathing and blood flow comes forward. One of the easiest ways to become aware of your automatic mind is to notice the difference between closing your eyes intentionally and allowing them to do what they “want” to do. After achieving a good fixed stare, close your eyes on purpose. They may stay closed or they may open. If they open, simply close them again to find out what they do the next time.

The following self-talk gives you steps to predict (P), observe (O), and direct (D) this process. Read it over and practice it from memory. Trust your mind to remember what it needs to do. After doing it once, read it again and find out if there is any difference in the way you follow the steps this time.

1.Focal point. I wonder what changes can happen (P) as I concentrate on my spot. I notice I'm becoming more still (O), as though a ship dropped its anchor.

2.Eye fixation. I can tell my stare is fixed (O)… my eyes are locked on that spot (O).

3.Trance cues. In fact, my whole self seems to be calmer and quieter (O).

4.Automatic response. Now I can start to close my eyes on purpose (D) and find out what they want to do …. If they want to stay closed, they can stay closed; if they want to open, they can open …. It's not important what they do, only that I pay attention to the truth that my body is telling me (O).

5.Eye closure cues. This time my eyes seemed to stay closed longer …. For a moment it felt like they were glued shut and then they opened (O).… Now I notice that when they closed, my lids fluttered (O).… This time it doesn't seem worth the effort to even open them (O).

6.Confirming trance. I wonder if by the count of three my eyes can become so lazy that it won't be worth the effort to open them (P).… 1…, closed and comfortable;…2…, glued shut;…3…, so heavy, so peaceful … the more I try to open them, the more they want to stay closed … and now I stop trying and feel myself becoming limper, looser- all over, and at peace (O).

Method 2—Staring1

Once you've experienced automatic eye closure, it can happen rapidly. Often, it is not necessary to open and close your eyes. Simply take more time in steps 3 and 5 above to observe relaxation and eye closure cues. You may notice one or two or several of the following:

Relaxation CuesEye Closure CuesFixed stareJaw drops with mouth closedEyes blink slowlyShoulders dropBreathing slows downLight seems dimmer or streaksTummy muscles sagBreaths become fuller and deeperEyes tear due to burning sensationFace muscles “iron out”Body feels heavy or detachedField of vision narrows or blurs at the edgesSinuses clearLight, floating sensationLids close and flutterUrge to smileBody rocks inwardly

Recognizing these natural, calming reactions is important. People who are overly sensitized to their bodies often worry about any change that is different from their usual state of tension. Relaxation can even feel like a loss of control. During trance you may detach from your surroundings, but you become increasingly aware, present, and connected to your Self. You can come out of trance any time you wish. The preceding signs of relaxation and eye closure are completely natural and good for you. Use the phrase, Now I'm aware … as you do your self-talk to predict (P) and observe (O). Generally, it is not necessary to give yourself any direction in this trance induction method. It would be perfectly fine if your eyes remained in a good fixed stare.

Self-Talk…

Now my eyes seem to be locked on their spot (O), and I wonder what signs of calm stillness I will start to notice (P) …. I'm aware of my jaw dropping, although my mouth is closed (O) … and I took a nice, deep breath (O) …. My tummy muscles are letting go and my face feels ironed out (O) …. Now I'm getting that clearing sensation in my nose (O) and I wonder when my eyes will want to close (P) …. I'm blinking slowly (O) and my lids are starting to feel so heavy (O) …. Things are looking blurry (O) … and now they close (O). They've opened again, but only to narrow slits and now they close (O) … There is a fluttering and then the fluttering goes away (O) …. My eyes rest peacefully shut.

Method 3—Floor-to-Ceiling Eyeroll

The last method of eye closure produces rapid relaxation and may be the fastest way to enter trance. It does not require a focal point and uses more directed self-talk than the previous approaches:

Look forward at eye level and hold your head still (D).Gaze downward, moving only your eyes (not your head) until your lids are almost closed (D).Slowly roll your eyes up as if you were trying to see your own eyebrows, and then look all the way toward the top of your head (D).Take a deep breath and hold it, while noticing if your eyes can continue to look upward (O).When it is too tiring to look up anymore (O), allow your lids to flutter closed, and let your breath all the way out (D).Discover all the signs of relaxation (P) as you continue to exhale any tension right out of your body (D)—jaw dropping, shoulders drooping, tummy sagging, muscles ironing out, profound stillness (O).

Handout 1.3—Maintaining and Deepening Trance

Even master hypnotists will not keep people “under” unless they continue to give suggestions that predict, observe, and direct the experience of trance. One of the most trance-forming things to observe is your breathing. Practice the following scripts for directed self-talk during a waking state and use the breathing exercise that is most relaxing for you once you've entered trance:

Complete breath.First, I breathe in through my nose and bring air all the way down until my tummy starts to push out …. After my chest fully expands … I hold my breath for three counts … 1 … 2 … 3 …. Now I release air slowly out my mouth as I let go all the way … noticing when I'm ready for my next breath.Cleansing breath.I breathe in through my nose for three counts … 1 … 2 … 3 …. I hold for three counts … 1 … 2 … 3 …. I breathe out of my mouth for six counts … 1 … 2 … 3 … 4 … 5 … 6 …, and wait … asking myself, “Am I ready for my next breath yet?”Breathing imagery. I imagine myself in a lovely sparkling pond …. I am submerged up to my lips …. I can hear birds and insects and teeming life and feel mud squishing through my toes …. A leaf falls in front of me …. As I breathe in, the leaf floats to me …. When I breathe out, it floats away …. I watch this leaf come back and forth until it seems that the leaf is a part of me and that I am a part of it.1

Mantra Making

Many forms of meditation use a mantra to induce and maintain trance. A mantra is a sacred formula in the form of a word, phrase, or chant repeated over and over to invoke inner quiet. Some people even pay hundreds of dollars for a “master” to give them a mantra. The following scripts for directed self-talk can help you discover your mantra, free of charge, from your own inner master:

Finding Your Mantra

As I notice myself becoming more peaceful, I can wonder what word or phrase best describes my experience … now …. It may be the purring of a cat … the word quiet, clear, or noodle,… a phrase—“Peace be still…,” words from another language …. Que sera sera …. I can wait in the quiet of my mind until I am surprised by whatever comes and be thankful for this gift from my inner Self.

Using Your Mantra

(After the previous exercise)… Now that I know my own calming words, I listen to the quiet of my mind … and any time a thought dares to enter, I can repeat my mantra until everyday mental chatter becomes a chant of peace.

Grounding, Floating, Detachment

Much of the language of trance suggests downward movement—going deeper and deeper, counting down from 5, or walking down steps. Some cultures explain this as the need to ground energy and establish a connection with the earth. When energy is not grounded, it (supposedly) degenerates into nervous tension and irritability. After a person is fully connected with the earth, energy can flow upward, making a person feel light and buoyant. Then energy can flow endlessly inward, creating feelings of utter detachment. Such ideas offer useful images to deepen trance and explain sensations of sinking, floating, or release. Pick one or two of the following to deepen your trance experience:

Grounding

Now that I've entered trance, I'm ready to start sinking downward as I count backwards from 5 and imagine a lovely, gentle pressure pushing on my shoulders …. 4 … I go a few steps deeper and feel my shoulders dropping …. 3 … descending further into myself …. 2 … drifting down with that gentle pressure helping me …. 1 … I go all the way down where it is peaceful and still ….

Going Into and Out of Trance

(After the previous exercise): Just as it takes several bobs down and up to reach the bottom of a deep pool, I can float up and back down to reach great depths of peace …. Now that I'm all the way down, I can begin floating right back up again …. 2… to a more alert … 3 … aware … 4 … outward state …. And now my eyes open … 5 … and I am present but relaxed as I let myself sink right back down, my eyes close …4. … I go down those steps … 3 … those lovely hands pushing me lower … deeper … 2 … further down until … 1… I'm even deeper inside myself…, experiencing such a pleasant, heavy, sinking sensation ….

Grounding Imagery

As I feel the weight of my head resting on the top of my spine, I notice how that weight is carried down one vertebra at a time …. I can feel that weight pressing down on the floor (chair) I'm sitting on …. Through the force of gravity, the earth is pulling my weight toward it … all the way through the substructure of my house (or high-rise) to the very center of the earth …. So I imagine the column my weight makes as it bores into the earth … allowing excess energy from my outer brain to move through my body and descend to the very core of the earth.

Scaling

On a scale of 10–1, I can allow a number to come to mind of how deep down I feel, 1 being all the way down …. Now I can notice if that number can decrease by 1 or 2 points, just enough to go further down. … And find out if I sink deeper. … So I might notice the number 4. … And I can just wonder if it will deepen to a 3 … and watch or feel when it changes …. Will it sink to a 2? …Can I watch the change? And if it goes to a 2, will that 2 turn into a swan and float off? … And on another scale of 10–1, I can allow a number to come to mind of how still (focused, limp) I feel, and begin to notice if that number can decrease by 1 or 2 points ….

Centering

Finally, the experience of trance is inward. As you detach from your surroundings, you become more connected to your Self. The following scripts for directed self-talk can move you infinitely inward to a place of peace and power:

Centering Imagery

My mind reaches into itself …. Within itself it has no limits. I travel through the “black hole” of my mind … and experience being transported, as I become less aware of my body and more aware of joining something else …. I travel ever inward through a quiet melting in.

Safe Place

As I travel inward toward the center of my center, I know I am moving toward a place of comfort …. I don't need to know what this place looks like until I get there …. It may be a place I've been before, or never been … an indoor place or outdoors … or totally imaginary …. And when I arrive, I can explore it effortlessly with every sense that I have … noticing colors, shapes, sounds, fragrances, textures, temperatures …. And, I can find a spot to rest and savor everything around me … absorbing what I need as I just observe and keep my thoughts from thinking me.

Core

So many things have a core …. An apple has a core …. The earth has a core …. A galaxy has a center where spiraling arms meet …. Even your brain has a core: the almond-shaped lobes of the thalamus …. On imaging scans it becomes energized during deep meditative states and the rest of the mind slows down. … So I might wonder what is at the center of my being … and be surprised by any symbol that comes to me … and stay pleasantly focused on it.

Handout 1.4—The Language of Trance

You may wonder, When I put myself in a trance, exactly who or what am I talking to? Your intentional, logical mind is speaking to deeper brain structures that oversee automatic functions that control heart rate, muscle tone, transmission of nerve impulses (experience of pain), and aha moments. Traditionally, such trance talk has been thought of as self-suggestions. But it is actually a way of evoking responses that are present within. A person whose throat tightens at the sight of a pill needs to remind his or her muscles that they know how to let loose, using a special type of communication:

Self-Talk

Before I completely relax the throat muscle that allows me to swallow, I can slowly ask myself some questions: Did I ever have trouble from swallowing or from something being in my mouth? … When I was young, was I given the wrong information about children being able to … swallow pills that stuck in my mind? (See below.*) …. Was so much of my life managed that I decided to control the way I took medicine? … I don't have to have answers to these questions for my mind to stop gagging on erroneous thoughts and my body to … start to swallow what it needs ….

My body works automatically. There have been many times when I've yawned because someone else yawned …. My eyelids blink to redistribute tears, and my throat swallows to remove saliva …. I don't have to tell myself to salivate when there is food in my mouth or to … swallow after chewing …. My body knows what it's doing …. In fact, even thinking the word “swallow” can make me swallow, now …. I could try not to swallow … and find it impossible ….

But there are many ways to forget the gag reflex …. Sword swallowers do this by brushing the rear of their tongues further and further back every day … and, eventually, that throat muscle remains … wide open. They have taught the back of their tongues to … lose sensation … and that muscle in their throats does not do anything anymore …. The back of their mouths become comfortably lazy, limp, loose, or numb …. I would never have to do such an extraordinary feat … because my body knows when my throat needs to close and when … it is fine to be comfortably open ….

*We give small children liquid medicine because we think they cannot … swallow a pill … and yet we don't allow these same children to play with small objects because we know they will … swallow them …. It is astonishing how well … they can swallow.…

And now the mystery begins to be solved because I've seen people … swallow pills effortlessly …. Now I can imagine seeing a person …. noticing the pill resting comfortably on the front of the tongue… a drink of water filling up the mouth … telling the throat muscle to open wide and the pill washing over the back of the tongue …. And as the pill and the water flow down the food tube with a wavelike motion, I notice how satisfied the person looks …. I see myself swallowing a pill with pleasure and satisfaction … knowing that the touch of the pill to my tongue can trigger an amazing sense of letting go ….

Evocative Language Forms1

Does the preceding self-talk sound slightly odd—full of interesting word usage, curious grammar, and unusual punctuation (…) signaling pauses? Your purposeful mind can use sophisticated language rules to defeat its control patterns and reach the automatic, spontaneous brain. It is not necessary to use long soliloquies like the one here. One or two phrases embedded in trance talk will deepen your experience.

1.Truisms are statements of truth that disarm resistance. They may refer to people and situations in general or use the word can: I can imagine seeing a person swallowing …. They have taught their throats to lose sensations …. Everyone has habits that are helpful and others that defeat them. There have been times when I have achieved a goal that I once thought of as impossible ….

2.Predicting all possible responses focuses attention and anticipates success: The back of their mouths become comfortably lazy, limp, loose, or numb …. My eyes may start to blink slowly, narrow down to slits, begin to tear up, or remain fastened to my spot with a good fixed stare ….

3.Not doing, not knowing reinforces the idea that responses will happen automatically because they are natural: I would never have to do such an extraordinary (sword swallowing) feat …. It really isn't important what my eyes do …. I don't need to know the exact moment when … this craving will pass ….

4.Questions focus attention, stimulate associations, or assume that something is happening. The word wonder offers a way of asking a hidden question: Did I ever have trouble from swallowing?… Can I feel the first sensations of how tired my body is, even if part of my mind thinks it wants to think? … I wonder, if I lose 20% of my pain, what I will start to notice? …

5.Timely words indicate that something will happen later or sooner: Even thinking the word swallow may cause me to swallow; now … I wonder when my eyes will want to close …. I can begin to notice if I am becoming more still, yet … After a while the feeling can fade ….

6.Shocking words focus the mind on the next prediction to promote it: It is astonishing how well they can swallow …. Be surprised by any symbol that comes …. Could I dare to focus on my breath instead of the next thought that tries to come ….

7. A blocking word inhibits the prediction that follows it. It encourages resistance and yielding simultaneously, which helps a person let go: I could try not to swallow …. The more I try to lift my hand, the more peacefully it lies on my leg …. I can try to keep my eyes opened ….

8.Positive, repetitive words create images of what you want to happen: That throat muscle remains wide open, was used in the soliloquy instead of mentioning the gag reflex or the throat closing. The word swallow was used 16 times with different images or contexts.

9.Opposing opposites create confusion that inhibits the logical mind: My mind can stop gagging on thoughts, and my body can start to swallow …. There will be many times when I will remember to forget the urge to eat …. Sometimes what I think I know about the way I look, I really don't know …. The opinions formed about myself may be true or false …. They can appear and dissolve ….

10.Utilizing unwanted behaviors and thoughts removes the reason to resist them. Distressing ideas and actions can be accepted, encouraged, or slightly modified to promote their opposite: If I catch a pill on the back of my tongue enough times, the tissue can become used to being touched and my throat muscle can learn to … stay loose …. As I jiggle my leg, I wonder if it will move faster, slower, or swing to the rhythm of “Amazing Grace”…

It is not necessary to memorize these evocative language forms. You only need to thoroughly understand each one to discover that they will come to you at opportune times during your trance talk. You can learn to speak to yourself in a slow, rhythmic way: full of embedded suggestions and underlying assumptions that build up expectations. A pregnant pause (…) preceding a hidden hint makes it that much more powerful—I don't have to have answers to these questions for my body to … start to swallow what it needs. This sentence also implies that the desired change is going to happen. Just knowing that you can use words on purpose to evoke automatic, spontaneous responses will inspire a different way of talking when you become calm and still.

Handout 1.5—Trance Imagery

Sometimes, in order to get past your usual ways of thinking, it helps to use preverbal language—pictures, symbols, images, and sounds. Physical ailments, diseases, aches, and pains are particularly important to address in this way because raw sensory data is the language of the body. However, common everyday worries, beliefs, fears, and even relationships can be represented through images:

Daily worries may look like a pile of ants crawling all over each other.A woman thinking of her dying father might see herself in a rowboat about to be overwhelmed by an approaching storm.A hay fever attack could appear as a dripping faucet.A husband may see himself as a jewelry case, enclosing and protecting a valuable diamond—his wife.

Imagery Transformation

It is good to observe (O), predict (P), and direct (D) signs of relaxation before working with images: As I stare at my focal point (D), I notice my body becomes more still (O) …. If I bothered to … pay attention … I might notice that my breathing has slowed down (O), and even my thoughts can find a pause (P) and, at some point, it will be too much effort for my eyes to stay open … (P). However, attending to a symbolic representation of a problem is, in itself, a focal point that quiets the mind and induces trance. The following steps can be used to play with imagery in a way that transforms problems on a whole different level:

1.Focus your attention on the symptom or problem that has been bothering you. You may want to project the problem on a movie screen so you can stay detached from it and maintain a level of relaxation.

2.Ask yourself for an image or symbol that would represent the problem. Accept whatever comes, no matter how strange or trite it seems.

3.Fine-tune the image. Make sure you can see it clearly. Examine it from different angles. Explore its texture, size, and shape. You can even let the image get worse. If you can increase difficult symptoms (like pain), you can also decrease them.

4.Notice what is wrong with the image. How is it dysfunctional, or what problem is it creating?

5.Represent a healed image. Allow another form to appear. Ask yourself what the problem image will look like when it is no longer an issue.

6.Compare the two images. Which is stronger, larger, or more vivid? Adjust the size and detail of the two images so you can discover what would enable the problem image to change into its healed form.

7.Watch the transformation take place. Use whatever resources or tools you need to transform the problem image, no matter how fanciful or illogical. Will the change be slow and gradual, or rapid?

8.Repeat the transformation from the problem image to the corrected image a few times. Notice how the change happens. Is it sudden or regular? Become adept at healing the problem image in your mind.

9.Focus on the corrected image. Tell yourself that this change is happening now and that it is ongoing whether you are awake, asleep, or going about your daily business. When you are ready, take time to count slowly to 5 to come back to the outer world.

The person overwhelmed with worries (above) became a soaring eagle, looking at the pile of ants from a great height. Daily problems seemed puny and insignificant. The woman who felt totally alone without her father allowed her fear of the storm to build (step 3 above). She suddenly realized that she had her own oar and that she could row herself to safety. Images do not need to be medically accurate to have healing effects. It is more important that they are personally meaningful. A dripping faucet image was corrected with various sizes of washers until the allergy attack it represented subsided.

Using imagery for physical symptoms can produce immediate effects or may have to be practiced regularly. Along with traditional medications, it has proven to increase survival rates for people fighting cancer but should be practiced for 15 minutes, three times a day. Dr. Martin L. Rossman (2000) recommends 10-minute sessions, twice daily, for other serious medical problems.1

Imagery for Relationship Problems

Couples can argue over trivial details, zigzagging from one loosely related topic to the next. Often, it is hard to understand the unifying themes underlying their conflicts and how to intervene without dealing with minutia. The following imagery exercise provides an opening:2

1. After taking a few moments to become focused and still, visualize how your partner might appear to you in a dream, fairytale, or cartoon. What object, character, or symbol could represent him or her?

2. Visualize a form that you would take in relation to your partner's. Pick an object, character, or symbol that is connected to the one you chose for your partner.

3. Allow the two forms to interact in some fantasy way. Does each character or element seem stuck in the role it is playing? What would the danger be if one of the forms began to change or if the interaction became different?

Differences that originally attracted people to each other can become sources of conflict: rigid/chaotic, emotional/reserved, distancing/pursuing, helpless/competent, dominant/yielding, and so on. Do the images you and your partner created say anything about patterns that are contributing to your ongoing arguments? What image would you like for you and your partner? Would you pick completely different figures or would you change the interaction in your current scenario? The husband who saw himself as a case protecting a valuable jewel (his wife) gradually realized that they could both be diamonds on a crystal-studded crown, able to observe and interact with the world around them.

Handout 1.6—Trance Advisors and Guidance

Imagery is an excellent way to deepen and maintain trance. It provides an internal focus of concentration in which people can observe shapes, colors, sounds, textures, and perhaps even notice tastes and smells. Normal waking thoughts are replaced by vivid dreamlike scenes that warrant exploring.

Sometimes images are actively chosen—as I walk along my favorite beach, I can notice the time of day … the color of the ocean … the calmness or roughness of the water … the sounds of the seagull … the feeling of the sand squishing through my toes …. Or images can be received—I can see a frightened child approaching a curtain in an empty theater. As she (he) peeks behind the heavy drapes, all anxiety is banished by the scene and characters that bring understanding … and I, too, discover what is on the stage, fascinated by the drama … showing when to believe and when all is make-believe.

Guidance From Within

Creating or evoking inner advisors adds another dimension to imagery. They give form and voice to wisdom that you may not know that you have. Your automatic mind not only controls your heart rate and respiration, it is the storehouse of all your memories, instincts, intuitions, and inspirations. Its language is pictorial, spatial, and symbolic. It is effortless for your automatic mind to conjure images of wise and loving beings who can be approached in dialogue. Asking them questions creates opportunities for a focused inner search to deepen trance. Begin by making contact1:

1.Enter trance using whatever method is best for you—staring at a focal point, closing your eyes and finding out if they want to open, observing how your body can become more still and how your breathing and your thoughts can slow down until it is too much effort for your eyes to stay open.

2.Imagine your safe place. Allow the image to come to you—a place where you would be completely comfortable and secure all by yourself. It can be real or imaginary, indoors or outdoors, a beach, woods, garden, field, mountain, or your very own bedroom. Notice the time of day, the temperature, colors, sounds, any fragrances, and look for a place where you would like to stand or sit to wait.

3.Imagine your guide by wondering, How would a loving, wise guide appear? It may take form as an animal, a human, someone you know or have known, an author of or character from a book, or an effect of light. Or your advisor may have no form and be a disembodied voice. You may discover that you have your own personal cabinet made up of historical figures and scientists. Notice where your guide(s) appears in your safe place. Is it waiting for you to approach, or do you take the first step?

4.Make contact by asking a question like Do you have a name? Are you here to help me? Do you believe in me and care about me? Until now, your advisor has only been able to talk to you periodically through intuition. It is a symbol of what is within you that knows. It has spoken to you before with quiet calmness when you have been troubled, but you may have dismissed its words. Trance imagery creates opportunities for more formal meetings and enduring relationships.

Using Inner Guidance

Describe a problem that is causing you difficulty (even physical ailments) and ask, What do I need to know, understand, or do? Take time, using the four steps above to have an encounter with your advisor(s). Before leaving your guide, make physical contact (if any is desired) and plans for future meetings. Some sample questions follow. Remember that asking one question slowly is more important than receiving an answer. Questions can be repeated like a mantra to block distracting thoughts and keep your attention focused on issues. Answers can come at surprising moments during your waking life.

Anxiety and worry.