
Science of Hypnosis – Deeper Dive FAQ
How do I deal with distractions? What if my thoughts keep running away?
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Don’t fight it. The aim of self-hypnosis is to achieve a state of mind of hyper focus and concentration on your inner experience. Our mind will wander and our thoughts will drift off to who knows what. When that happens, and it will happen, allow it happen.
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It is when our wandering thoughts start to interfere with the process that we would need to do something about it. In a hetero-hypnosis session with me, I will notice when your mind wanders in this way and I will be there to do something about it. But I am only human and there would be instances where even I miss the signs. When you practice self-hypnosis, you will instantly become aware that your focus and attention drift, and you will have the choice whether, like I say, to allow it to happen or to do something about it. I will share with you one thing you can do to arrest that process and reign it in again, and then I will follow it with what you should NOT do.
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Sounds good?
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Ok, here’s what to do: Acknowledge the thought/feeling. Don’t interrupt the thought or feeling unless it is totally unrelated to the work that you are doing. Like, when you are working towards a specific goal and your thoughts drift off to something in your inbox at work. It is very likely that that item in your inbox is unrelated to the goal that you are working on. That is when you would need to acknowledge the thought, like make a mental note of it, so that you can get back to the work at hand.
This is not anything different than what you would do in normal every day life when a thought distracts you from your task.
And here’s what not to do: Don’t say to yourself, “I cannot do self-hypnosis because I cannot control my mind.”
Acknowledge the thought and move on, you don’t always have to follow the thought down a rabbit hole. Have patience; it takes time to build this muscle. You will gain experience with this process. Have a curiosity about the process. Be curious and excited to try out new thoughts and experiences of your inner mind - don’t always resist and be judgmental. It doesn’t necessarily mean you are doing something wrong.
Sometimes it is good to learn something about this thought that you have. Sometimes it will point you in a direction that you didn’t know you could look to find out something special about you. Sometimes letting the thought run is part of being in the present, to experience yourself in ways you otherwise would not.
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Next FAQ: How will I KNOW Whether I am Hypnotized?
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