The Power of Proper Suggestions

JerryValleyBy: Jerry Valley – August, 2014 

When you think about it, we are all receiving suggestions just about everyday from our friends, co-workers, neighbors etc.
People give us suggestions about a great restaurant, a great movie or a great sale somewhere etc. Then, we decide whether to respond and take action or not.

The point is that we are swamped with the influence of suggestions from many different sources and those suggestions can affect our lives in a positive or negative fashion.

As an NGH Certified Consulting Hypnotist, I have the distinct advantage and responsibility to administer those suggestions to clients in the most ethical and proper manner.

But what impact do suggestions, given in the hypnotic state, have on the client?

Hypnotists, in the past, have felt that one suggestion given under hypnosis has the impact of 100 times more powerful than a suggestion given in the waking state. That’s enormous! And is actually TRUE!

How can we, as hypnotists, be reasonably confident that the client will accept and act upon our suggestions which are designed to assist the client in reaching his/her goal?

We need to consider just how you and I would like to hear suggestions, made to us, that would motivate us to accept and follow those directions and ideas on our journey to make positive changes in our lives.

Suggestions given by the hypnotist must follow particular rules. These are listed for you:

1. Keep the suggestions SIMPLE (KISS….Keep It Simple Simon). Remember, the subconscious mind can become easily confused and could reject the suggestion. Yes, a subject in the hypnotic state has the ability to reject a suggestion. However, once the suggestion is accepted into the subconscious mind, it will manifest itself.

Here is a sample of a simple, but powerful suggestion: “You might feel like smoking, but YOU DON’T HAVE TO.” The words “YOU DON’T HAVE TO,” take the compulsivity of action out of the equation. You see, that statement releases the POWER OF CHOICE which, in most cases, has been dormant for some time. For example, most smokers keep telling themselves (Auto-suggestion), “I CAN’T STOP SMOKING,” thereby negating and suppressing the element of CHOICE. As a result of compounding that statement many times, the smoker cannot stop smoking until he/she changes the attitude from negative to positive. Also, once the client realizes that he/she has no compulsion to do something, and that they actually have a CHOICE, they are likely to follow that suggestion. I have had many clients tell me that they love that particular statement. I MIGHT FEEL LIKE SMOKING (OR OVEREATING OR BEING STRESSED OUT, ETC), BUT ……… I DON’T HAVE TO!
2. We make the process of making a change in their lives, PLEASURABLE and FUN to do. What you are actually creating is a new outlook on the way the client thinks and therefore feels because we become what we think about. If a person keeps thing of stressful things most of the time, then he/she will positively feel stressed out. They create their own environment ………… but you can help them change that. In the 17TH century a Russian psychologist once said: “If you want to change any part of your life, you need to change your THINKING!” Since we all move towards our dominant thought, we need to learn how to control our thinking. That is what I teach the client.

2. I teach the client how to think differently. For example, when a negative thought comes your way, change it to a positive thought. Now, this is not that easy and it takes practice. I had a physician come to me for help. He had taken a test 4 times and failed to pass each time. For several sessions, he kept reminding me that, since he failed 4 times, he probably will fail this last and only chance he had left. He stated that if he failed this 5TH test, he would probably lose his license. But, if he passed, he had an opportunity to increase his income. He had done intensive studying (maybe too much) and was well prepared except that when he took the tests, he had a negative outlook and he failed each time. HE HAD THE EXPECTATION OF FAILURE AND FAILED ALL 4 TIMES.

When I finally realized that my suggestions were just not getting through, I found the answer to his problem. He saw the exam as a PROBLEM….instead of an OPPORTUNITY. My methodology was then very clear to me. All I had to do was to change his ATTITUDE from PROBLEM to OPPORTUNITY! And It worked! He passed the test and was so thrilled with my assistance, that he gave me a letter for publication.

Think about how you would respond to the suggestions given to you. Are they believable, are they fun to follow; do they make me feel good about myself? WHEN YOU FEEL GOOD ABOUT YOURSELF, YOU CAN DO ANYTHING THAT YOU SET YOUR MIND TO! My entire procedure is designed to make that client feel so good about themselves that they believe that change in life is not only necessary, but can be very enjoyable.

In summation, we tell clients to act, walk, talk, think, look and feel like the person they wish to be and make their lives a “PLAYGROUND” instead of a “BATTLEFIELD.”

Remember, everything revolves around how we think.

Jerry Valley, NGH-Certified Consulting Hypnotist, 978-688-6657 or jerryvalley007@aol.com