What does it feel like to go into a hypnotic trance? What does hypnosis feel like?
These are common questions I get from folks often. Another question I get from those that use my MP3 Deep-Relaxation audio is, “I catch my mind wandering while listening, is that okay? Is that supposed to happen, or am I doing something wrong? Does concentrating really hard on just following everything said in hypnosis increase its effects?”
I help them set aside their fears and concerns by assuring them that ‘zoning out’ is okay and purely natural when going in to trance because your unconscious mind is still following the instructions.
I get this question from people many times a year. So, I thought I would do a blog post on it for a great resource for those of you wondering, since it is a very common question.
It is totally normal for your mind to wander during hypnosis. During the induction (this is the term for the process of getting into trance), your mind is focussed and you are following the instructions or comments of the hypnotist in a conscious manner. But, in what is known as Ericksonian style hypnosis, developed by Dr. Milton H. Erickson, the father of modern conversational hypnotherapy, Ericksonian hypnosis is designed to overload your conscious mind.
Studies show that you can only keep track of 7 plus or minus 2 “chunks” of information at any one time. For some people it is 5, for some it is 9. Any more than this for most people, and you can’t keep them in your conscious attention.
Hypnotists use this to guide you into a trance. If you would like to experience this, schedule a free consultation with me to find out more. Just call 706-314-8782 or email me at shane@northwestgeorgiacoaching.com
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Back to what it feels like:
As you begin to enter trance, you will feel like you are spacing out, or zoning out. That feeling is completely normal.
Your unconscious mind keeps track of your breathing, regulates your body temperature, your blood’s pH level, liver enzymes, and literally millions of other body functions. All of these processes are working in the background of without any effort from your conscious mind, so keeping track of a few words is child’s play for the unconscious mind.
So what does hypnosis feel like?
For me, personally, it’s a multi-dimensional feeling. My hands feel warm and heavy, my forehead feels cool. The core of my body feels light almost as if I’m suspended in mid-air.
For other people, it will be different. Each person’s experience of the hypnotic trace is different from anyone else, but you’ll get to know exactly what that particular feeling is like for you, and you’ll learn to calibrate to your feeling so you know immediately when you are in trance.
A great thing about this is that knowing this feeling will help you get there even faster in the future. Being in trance is a wonderful feeling. It’s all-natural. It’s awesome.
One last thought: if you think you’ve fallen asleep while listening to the Deeply Relaxed audio, you probably did not actually fall asleep. You can tell because when audio is over, you tend to “wake up” immediately when I bring you out of trance.
If you were truly asleep, you would not wake up at the end. You’d stay asleep. This is an excellent indication that you were in fact in a deep hypnotic state.
That’s Right…
Enjoy your trance, Now!