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Many people have a common misconception of hypnosis or the notion of being hypnotized. We often picture a stage performer waving his hand in front of a volunteer and making him or her go into a deep trance or sleep. Thereafter, with the mention of an anchor word or with the snap of the hypnotist’s fingers, the participants start prancing on stage like mad chickens or perform acts that are completely out of character for the volunteers. Like being an obnoxious drunk, if he is a actually a shy person. However, used correctly, hypnosis can be used to correct many behavioral problems, like over-eating, smoking, unhealthy phobias like fear of intimacy or fear of heights or snakes. Still, less people are aware of the fact that they can also hypnotize themselves to correct unhealthy behaviors or to reach certain goals like improve memory. Most often, the change is gradual and takes place anywhere from a few days or more likely, a few weeks. When we say we have a “poor memory” or say something like, “my memory is like a sieve” or “I have to write this down, I’m sure to forget”, we are programming ourselves to have a poor memory. Instead, why not assert a more self-empowering statement like “My memory is getting better, day by day”. Most sources of “poor” memory are the result of poor attention, poor diet, stress or lack of sleep. So don’t beat yourself up if you tend to forget an appointment or a promise you made. It happens. With that out of the way, let us move forward to using self-hypnotism to improve your memory. There are 3 components to using self-hypnotism to improve memory. Relaxation, self-affirmation and awakening Relaxation It is important to be in a safe place during the relaxation routine. Wear loose clothing and lie down or sit comfortably. Certain environmental factors may help, like subdued lighting or soft music, but these are not essential. But if you feel it helps you, then use them. Using self imagery is one of the best ways to relax. Hypnotic practitioners use different methods but I like to keep things simple. Start from the toes, right up to the top of the head. Imagine your toes to be like a wad of tightly bundled rubber bands and imagine them loosening. Then proceed to the calf muscles, to the knees, thighs and hips. Feel the warm relaxing sensation going up to your abdomen, chest, up to your shoulders, and down to your biceps, triceps, forearms wrists and fingers. All this while, imagining your muscles in these body groups to be like tight rubber bands being unwound and the warm sensation spreading as they begin to unwind. Then proceed to relax your neck, jaws and imagining weights being attached to your eyelids as they become too heavy to keep open. Imagine the soft, relaxing feeling going to the top of your head. The relaxing process can take anywhere from 1 minute to 10 minutes. Anything more than that, you could seriously end up snoring! Self-Affirmation Before this stage, you should be in a relax-aware state where you are more susceptible to auto-suggestion. It is important to understand that you can quickly react to any dangerous situation that may arise around you. You are still in control of your bodily functions. Unlike the helpless individuals who we see hypnotized on TV. You can immediately react if there is danger to you or someone close to you nearby. It is at this stage that we use self-affirming words like, “Every time I meet someone new, I take note of his name and his face, and easily remember his name and face later”, “Every time I put down my car keys, I immediately make a note of where I left them”, “Every time I do grocery shopping, I mentally walk through my kitchen for things that I need”, “Every morning, before I leave the house, I go through a mental checklist of appliances that need to be switched off or things I need to bring along with me”. Feel free to add in your own words, the area in which you want your memory to work better for you. It could be things to remember in an exam or a to-do list. You could write down your scripts or use some of the hypnotic audio scripts that have already been prepared for you. For more details, see the link below. Awakening Stage This is strictly speaking not an awakening interval, as you were only in the relax-aware stage. Unless of course you have put yourself to sleep! If you are still conscious, mentally count down from 5 to 1. From 5 say, “5, starting today, I am putting mental strategies for my mind to work”, “On 4, each day I am more consciously aware of my surroundings”, “ On 3, my body is feeling the energy from this session”, “On 2, my mind is feeling more refreshed”, “On the count of 1, I will fully open my eyes, fully refreshed and get ready for the day ahead”. The awakening stage is very helpful to help your body and mind recalibrate to your current surroundings and helps you assimilate whatever suggestions that you are using to program your mind to help you improve your memory. The awakening stage should not be rushed into, unless of course there is something that needs your immediate attention. It also serves to anchor whatever suggestions you are programming your mind with, to improve your memory. It is important to know that using self-hypnosis to improve your memory is not a quick-fix. The changes seen could depend on a few factors like your hypnotic scripts, the frequency of use, and the time lag in between sessions. The positive effects could be immediate or more likely, take a few weeks before any discernible changes can be seen. It is also important to know that more rapid changes can be seen if you can perform self-hypnosis frequently, if possible, daily or a few times each day. If the time interval between each session is longer, the results can be slower or not noticeable at all. I hope you have gain some valuable insights from this article. This is just one of the many ways you can have a fabulous memory you can depend on.
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