Now that we have gone through some interesting topics, hopefully balanced between Mind n Body, I would like to go a bit deeper into the mind if you will.

Have you ever wondered how certain people seem to be so much better at something than everyone else? ESPN.com has listed the top 100 athletes of North America, here are a few: Michael Jordan, Babe Ruth, Muhammad Ali, Sugar Ray, Wayne Gretzky, Jack Nicklaus, Hank Aaron, Carl Lewis, Joe Montana, Jerry Rice, Arnold Palmer, Tiger Woods, and many more. What do all of these people have in common, besides being in top physical shape?

All of these people have a similar mind set in common. Athletes call it getting “In the Zone”. They are not the only ones that use it, singers and actors call it “getting into the moment”, writers and deep thinkers call it “trance”, martial artists call it “focus”, and everyone else calls it “daydreaming”. What do I call it? Self-hypnosis.

Self hypnosis is not the same as meditation, although they are similar and can overlap in some circumstances. With meditation, there is usually a set of breathing exercises, some mantras, visualization, and you stay pretty conscious or your environment. Self hypnosis, however, takes one to “another” place so-to-speak. It almost as if one leaves the body, or lets the subconscious take the reigns for a bit. When a person is in self hypnosis, they can be totally awake, eyes open, and functional, but they won’t actually be there. Essentially all external stimuli is tuned out, and nothing exists except the task at hand. Another good way to look at this would be like the person is on “auto-pilot”.

I guess you can use mantras to get into self hypnosis, but that is the hard way to do it. The best way is to find someone, hopefully a trained hypnotist, to guide you the first time. If they are worth their weight in salt, they will teach you how to go back to that state whenever you want, and give you signals to trigger it.

For me, when I touch my tongue to the roof of my mouth, that triggers my self hypnosis. Burt Goldman, the American Monk calls that the “Bagha” and is a very efficient technique. He is the author of Mindbox, and also Quantum Jumping to name a few. The “Bagha” trigger puts me into a closed eye, self hypnosis. When I need something now, my other trigger is touching right right index finger to my thumb, as if making the “ok” sign. When I am running on trail for a few hours, I can start to get tired at a certain point. Once I hit my trigger, I feel a rush of energy surge back into my body. Now each time I do this is less effective during my run, but I definitely get a good 75% more distance than I would without. Once my trigger is activated, I have a period of heightened awareness and super focus. It works that way because that is how I programmed it to work. If I was running a race on a normal track, I wouldn’t want to notice my surroundings because they would be distracting. Instead I would have it tune out the crowd, the buildings, the other runners, and my pain.

Without a guide to get you started for the first time, self hypnosis is near impossible to do by yourself. I followed along with one of Gerald Keins DVD lessons  from Omni Hypnosis a few years ago, but it is old and a bit outdated. There are many other DVD’s, audio, and online help you can get as well. Or, seek out the professional assistance of a local Master hypnotist. They will be very expensive, usually around $100 – $200 for ONE hour.

If you are in the Chicagoland area, I would be happy to help you for FREE, just ask. I have been doing hypnosis for about 5 years now, and seem to be pretty good at it. It has been a hobby of mine only, I am not a clinical hypnotherapist.

Before a particularly hard workout or long run, I will utilize my standard closed eye self hypnosis. I sit or lay down and take some deep breaths. Exhaling hard to get more carbon dioxide out, and to intensify my relaxation. Once my breathing is regulated, the heart rate automatically follows suit, and slows down. I do a super total body flex several times to make sure there are no tense areas, which further enhances the relaxation. With my eyes open, I touch my tongue to the roof of my mouth and make a silent affirmation: “I intend to enter full self hypnosis immediately.(repeat) I will tap my right index finger three times. On the third time, and not before, I will exhale deeply and drop into self hypnosis.” I repeat that a few times to make it concrete. Now, I tap my finger three times, and on the third I exhale, and close my eyes, dropping into deep self hypnosis. As I do this, I also imagine that there is a large switch that I turn off, which is connecting the brain to the body. And I go waaay down into the depths. To deepen, I travel down several flights of stairs, or slide down a spiral kids slide. Of course, all of this is done mentally.

I have a powerful imagination and visualization ability, so self hypnosis is easy for me. Once at the bottom I have a “control room” where all of the controls for my body and mind functions are located. For instance, one dial in the room is for “energy”. I imagine that it is at a certain percent, let’s say 35%, and then turn it up to 100%. And when I open my eyes to exercise, I am motivated and energized to do it. Same for strength, memory, endurance, pain control, speed, meta-physical things, heart rate, and whatever else I can think of. THIS IS ALL IMAGINED! None of it is actually real, it doesn’t matter. As long as I believe it, then it works for me. Believe, Perceive, Repeat.

I know that this post will be hard to understand for most people, especially if you have never been hypnotized before. But I assure you, it really works. Again, as promised, if you need help with this and live in the Chicagoland area, I will assist you for FREE. Try it, you’ll like it. Let your secret potential OUT!

-bryan j bailey