This is my standard hypnotic induction which is at the beginning of almost all the hypnotherapy recordings in my online personal development courses.
A recording of the hypnosis induction (MP3) is available free here on the site. It would also work well as a self-hypnosis induction, and I use it (and a lot more, obviously) in my self-hypnosis course, AIM Your Mind, as a basis for people to write their own hypnosis induction scripts.
Since I put it together largely from other people’s material, it would be rather hypocritical of me to put any kind of restrictions on it to limit how you can use it. Feel free to build on it as you wish.
The “blue sky” part is based on a meditation in David Fontana’s book The Meditator’s Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide to Eastern and Western Meditation Techniques
It’s a very gentle and peaceful hypnotic induction, though people who have extreme fears connected to flying, heights or water might be triggered by it despite the embedded disclaimers about safety. (In face-to-face sessions I have dropped specific reference to the sea, just substituting downward drifting, because some people have an adverse reaction to the sea imagery.)
photo credit: © Ahmed Amir
I find that clients respond very well to it as long as they have at least minimal ability to visualize, since the visualization component is extremely simple and it also incorporates suggestions of basic physical sensations. My clients consistently report being extremely relaxed at the end of their sessions, even those who have told me that they have difficulty relaxing.
In face-to-face sessions I usually begin by getting the client to raise their arms into a slightly uncomfortable position and lower them in their own time and at their own pace, while also allowing their eyes to gently drift closed. This gives the client reassurance that they are in control of the process and also creates a trend of relaxation, something like the classic Jacobsen approach to progressive relaxation which includes tensing the muscles before relaxing them to give greater contrast in feeling.
I adapted the arm lift from Andrew Newton’s rapid induction.
Face-to-face I usually leave out the three deep breaths, and ask them beforehand what kind of place will be relaxing for them so that I can mention it. For people who have a more body-centred learning style I add in a progressive relaxation at the beginning. I also, of course, replace the last paragraph with 10-15 minutes of specific suggestions relating to the issue they have come to me for.
The whole hypnosis induction script as set out below takes about six minutes.
Hypnosis Induction (Transcript)
When you listen to this recording, please make sure that you’re somewhere where it’s safe to ignore the environment for a while and completely relax.
You can listen to it sitting or lying down. A good time is just before you fall asleep at night; if you find you fall asleep before the recording finishes, try sitting
up instead of lying down.
Get into a comfortable position, arms and legs uncrossed. We’re going to start by taking three deep breaths, and as you take each deep breath in, you’ll be taking in relaxation, and as you let it slowly out, you’ll be letting out any tension. OK, first deep breath in… hold it for a moment… and out, and let go, relax. Second deep breath in… hold it… let go, relax. Third deep breath… hold it… let go, relax. If you haven’t already done so, you can let your eyelids gently drift closed.
Now imagine that you’re lying somewhere that you really like, lying on your back where you can see the sky, or sitting if you prefer. It might be a meadow full of wildflowers, or a beach, or a raft on a calm lake, or a clearing among the trees, or a garden or park. Somewhere that you’re comfortable and relaxed. You’re breathing easily, looking up into a beautiful deep blue sky, a cloudless blue sky. You can’t see the sun from this angle but the sun is shining and there’s a pleasant breeze, so you’re very comfortable and relaxed. And as you lie there looking up into the depths of the blue sky, that very calm, blue, open sky, relaxing more and more, you feel lighter and lighter, and in a very safe and pleasant way you begin to feel as if you’re drifting, as if gravity is loosening its hold on you and you’re beginning to float upwards like a balloon, floating gently into the blue sky. You’re very calm and peaceful, it’s a pleasant, safe sensation, a sensation of freedom as you float and drift gently upwards into the deep blue sky.
Soon all you can see is the blueness surrounding you, and a calm sensation fills you as you continue to breathe slowly and deeply, relaxing more and more as you’re gradually absorbed, gently absorbed into the blueness and the peacefulness. It fills you and you fill it, becoming one with the blue sky, peaceful, calm and relaxed.
And in the way that things happen in dreams, there’s a gentle shift from looking into the blue sky to looking into a calm, peaceful, beautiful deep blue sea. And you can
breathe quite easily and naturally, because dream logic applies. Far below through the clear, calm blue water you can see the soft, sandy bottom of the sea, and that represents the deepest level of relaxation that you can imagine.
And as I count slowly from 1 to 10, you can just allow yourself to naturally drift down, gently and calmly, quietly and safely, to that very deep level of relaxation. One, drifting and floating. Two, calmly and quietly. Three, safely held by the water. Four, just drifting. Five, gently and naturally. Six, easily and pleasantly. Seven, deeper and deeper. Eight, so peaceful, so relaxed. Nine, approaching that deep level. And ten, just gently, calmly, coming to rest at that very deep level of relaxation. And you may find as you continue to allow your body and mind to be very relaxed, that you will drift even deeper as the words wash over you and as you experience a very deep and pleasant relaxed calm state.
And in that peaceful, calm, relaxed state, the part of your mind which looks after your habitual thoughts, feelings and behaviours becomes much more accessible
and able to be communicated with, so you can tell it about any changes that you want to make that will be for your benefit as a whole person. And the creativity of that subconscious mind is well able to find solutions to meet all your needs as a whole person, without needing thoughts or feelings or behaviours that may have been distressing you or causing you problems. So just drift now for a few minutes, as long as you need but you only need a few minutes, to let your subconscious find those solutions. You don’t have to consciously know what they are; you’ll just find your life changing for the better. And when you’ve had long enough, just return to your usual
alert state, feeling calm, peaceful and relaxed.
If you want to create your own self-hypnosis scripts and inductions, you’ll learn that and much more in my online self-hypnosis course AIM Your Mind.