Today I’m going to reveal a super easy self hypnosis technique which you can use whenever you go to bed to achieve a pleasant state of self hypnosis. This self hypnosis technique relies on the hypnogogic state between wakefulness and sleep: that feeling when you’re lying in bed and you haven’t fallen asleep yet, but you know you’re not entirely conscious.
During this hypnogogic state, you will likely experience random thoughts, images, and emotions that flitter in and out of your mind beyond your control. As we lay in bed trying to fall asleep, we’ll often think of events that occurred during the day, and what we’ll do tomorrow. “I wish I hadn’t argued with Steve today. I gotta remember to go to the bank tomorrow!” (not exactly like that, but you get the picture).
Eventually, these thoughts and daydreams morph into random sequences of jumbled thoughts. One second you’ll be thinking about going to the bank, the next you’ll picture a Big Mac from McDonalds. A few seconds later you might imagine two girls playing jumprope.
This is called hypnogogic imagery. If you can learn to take advantage of the hypnogogic state, you can essentially watch yourself enter into hypnosis while still remaining self aware and in control. This self hypnosis technique also a great way to achieve lucid dreaming. Many report that by simply being aware of the hypnogogic state, their bodies naturally pass over into sleep but their minds are still conscious.
With this self hypnosis technique, there is no “falling asleep” experience noted. One minute you are awake and the next you are in a dream state. It is a relatively seamless transition. Many people also use this unique state of consciousness to initiate astral projection.
Using this self hypnosis technique has one possible downside, however. As you experience the hypnogogic state, you may experience strange sensations, such as rumbling that steadily grows in volume. You also may feel what seems like “electric charges” throughout your body, or the typical “falling” sensation.
These alone are not to be feared, but they can lead to sleep paralysis in some cases. Sleep paralysis is what happens when your body falls asleep and “paralyzes” itself (which is what it naturally does while we sleep so we don’t act out our dreams), but your mind is still awake. You may find that suddenly you are unable to move. Sometimes this sensation will be accompanied by menacing hallucinations: a witch or dark figure in the room that may approach you and sit on your chest, causing a feeling of suffocation.
Usually the experience lasts no longer than a minute or two, and despite being scary, is not harmful physically.
Despite this possible scary side effect, the hypnogogic state is a fantastic self hypnosis technique that can lead you to a suggestive state of mind. Use it in conjunction with self hypnosis audio (particularly binaural beats)and you have a great recipe for self improvement.