When any of us do something that we enjoy, that we like to do, we have all of the resources right at our fingertips, ready to deal with any hiccups, disruptions and problems. If someone likes riding their bicycle, they are ready to adapt to hills, weather, punctures, their chain coming off, falling off and so on. These occurrences are treated as temporary interruptions. They're taken care of and then the cycling continues. If such a person wasn’t able to manage these problems easily, they would hardly continue to like cycling. The fact that they like it means they’ve got it handled.
If someone likes gardening, they’ll be ready to adapt to dirt under their fingernails, scratches from thorns, the experience of pruning, the fact that some plants die. These occurrences, again, are simply temporary interruptions in the total experience of doing something that they like to do.
So, if we ask a client to recall or imagine that they are doing something that they like to do, they not only like to do what they like to do, but they like to experience it. And most people will be very willing, even keen, to allow themselves the experience of recalling or imagining something that they like to do.
Then, having started by inviting them to do something they like to do, we can invite them to begin to focus on some part of the experience, something of their choosing, and then, as a natural consequence of that focusing, to allow themselves to become more absorbed to whatever degree they are becoming absorbed. Then all we need to do, as before, is to comment on any of the associated physiological changes, the changes in their breathing, their blinking, the smoothing out of their face, stillness in their body, etc..
We then have all the ingredients of a hypnotic experience, one that is a function of the individual; not imposed by us, and as a bonus, one that is full of resources.
Rob
…so easy, so powerful.
Always.
…I had never realized how interesting it can be to go over, over and over things you already know how to do. And you know you know.
Each time, when you take the chance of doing it, you touch the sensation that maybe you only thought to know them well… Because something often happens… That makes the learning different, more embodied, more profound….
So that it seems you learnt nothing new… But embedded in this same process, there is a whole lot of new learning, which might be untouchable, but is very precious….