Here’s an exercise for you to play with.

Ask a client, friend or yourself to continue doing whatever they are doing - looking at you, out of the window, noticing their breathing - whatever that happens to be, and then as they continue doing that to allow a natural focus to evolve, and as that happens to allow an increase in absorption to happen naturally and easily. 

Since that are already doing what they are doing, there is no question of whether they can or not and since focus and absorption is a natural consequence of noticing anything, the whole process is smooth and respectful.

If we then observe the client, we can see the obvious physiological changes that accompany any experience of focused absorption - the slowing of their blinking, the subtle slowing and deepening of their breathing, the relative stillness, the smoothing out of their face - and comment on these changes, this natural process is ratified and encouraged.

We are not “suggesting” anything, merely inviting their own individual experience of focus and absorption - an experience we can call hypnosis.

Some clients ask specifically for hypnosis, so it will be important to name the experience as hypnosis or they will be dissatisfied. Others are opposed to hypnosis for a variety of reasons, so we can invite an experience, focus, and absorption without mentioning the “H” word - all with total integrity and adding to the individual client’s resolution.

Rob McNeilly