Learning Systems

Science of Hypnosis – Deeper Dive

What’s your learning system? Are you visual, or do you prefer imagining things that are auditory, kinesthetic or olfactory in nature.

People that are visual, imagine pictures or images easier than they can imagine something using their other senses
The sense of smell, is olfactory in nature
The sense of sounds, is auditory in nature; and
The sense of feeling, including emotions and the sense of touch and even other sensations like the sense of your body in space and time - all these feelings are kinesthetic in nature.

I refer to this as our learning systems because, if you think back to school, how did you prefer to learn theory? Did you prefer visual aids and diagrams (if so, you're likely leaning towards being a visual learner) or reading out loud (then you're likely more auditory than visual)?

Or maybe it is that when you are deep in conversation, you tend to say: “I see what you mean?” (then you are likely visual, although this could be just a habit).

Or do you find yourself fidgeting with a pen that clicks away annoyingly for others but somehow you don’t register it yourself, as you may even find it stimulating? (If so, you're probably leaning towards auditory learning as well. Or you could simply be enjoying the annoyance you cause others!)

All these are some of the signs of our differences. As you know, we all have a preference for how we use our imaginations. Whether we are left brained, or right brained, may play a role. Whether we love or hate reading, drawing, or even escaping by watching movies or television.

So there are a few keys to understand your personal preference, so you would understand the language so to speak, of your own subconscious mind.

Keys. What a good way to start this discussion. Maybe you could close your eyes and listen carefully to what I narrated in the video. Then, having imagined all of that, as I narrated it, let’s talk about how you imagined what I described.

Could you imagine seeing the set of keys? The big, old key? The dusty attic, the chest? The image of how I drop the keys in the metal tray? If so, you visualize easily.
Could you imagine what the keys feel like to the touch? It’s coldness? It’s sharp edges, it metal surfaces? The smoothness of the old key? It’s weight? If so, you can imagine using your sense of touch well.
Could you imagine the sounds I described? What it sounds like when I touch the set? Those metallic clicks and scrapes? The sound it makes as it crashes into the metal tray? If so, you can use your sense of sounds in your imagination exercises.
What about the smell? That metallic residue on my skin? Like when you handle old coins? And what was the worst for you? The imagined smell of blood? Or its taste? (Also think back to the lemon exercise. This suggests that you can use the sense of taste and/or smell quite easily. Which was stronger for you?)

Or, didn’t you imagine anything, like in the sense that you couldn’t see any glimpses of what I described, or any of the other senses, but somehow only “knew” what you imagined? (If so, this also suggests that you lean towards kinesthetic learning more than visual or auditory learning.)

There’s no right and there’s no wrong way to imagine anything.

Many years ago, a client explained to me that her imagination was broken, that all she could imagine, were still pictures in black and white, that would flash very quickly and she won’t ever be able to imagine the same image twice. I had to explain to her that nothing was broken. That was fine, it was her imagination, no one else’s, and no one else could define her imagination for her. The same is true for you.

Your aim should only be to know what works for you, and to formulate your self-guided experiences using your preferences as much as possible. That way, you instantly bypass conscious interference and send your message to your subconscious mind. And your subconscious mind will act on that incoming stimuli without question, as if it is real.

If you want to develop your ability to use one or the other senses, hop on over to the FAQ that I have, that discusses this in more detail.

Up Next: Why Self-Guided Self-Hypnosis

Science of Hypnosis – Deeper Dive