8 Rules of The Mind

3/09/08 - 3/16/08 Seminars

Taught today in most, perhaps all, legitimate schools of hypnosis these rules were developed over 100+ years and passed down among hypnotists from what they observed in working with the mind, particularly the subconscious mind. We have been discussing these rules over the past several seminars along with the ‘official’ illustrations of them and our own personal and professional stories to illustrate them. The stories we share are not on the synopsis. For those you will need to listen to the recordings of the seminars. You can get the recordings by becoming a subscriber or purchasing CD’S of them. (Coming soon.) As one listener wrote:

“Usually I don’t like to just listen to seminars – I like to participate. But listening to you both conversing so easily together is so entertaining and so enlightening. I LOVE the stories & look eagerly look forward to them every week. Thank you.”

EIGHT RULES OF THE MIND

Rule Number One

EVERY THOUGHT OR IDEA CAUSES A PHYSICAL REACTION

Your thoughts affect all of the functions of your body. WORRY thoughts trigger changes in the stomach that in time can lead to ulcers. ANGER thoughts stimulate your adrenal glands and the increased adrenaline in the blood stream causes many body changes. ANXIETY and FEAR attached to thoughts affect your pulse rate.

Ideas that have a strong emotional content affect us strongly. Once accepted, these ideas continue to produce the same reaction over and over again. In order to change the subconscious acceptance of an idea, the subconscious mind must be reached and convinced of the necessity for change. This is difficult to do for oneself as the emotional attachment to an idea causes great resistance to change.

Rule Number Two

WHAT IS EXPECTED TENDS TO BE REALIZED

The brain and the nervous system respond to mental images. It does not matter if the image is self-induced or from the external world. The mental image formed becomes the blueprint. Once the blueprint is accepted by the subconscious mind, it will use every means at its disposal to carry out the plan. "Worrying" is a form of programming a 'picture' of what we don't want consciously, but the subconscious mind acts to fulfill the pictured programmed situation until it is accomplished. "The things I have feared have come upon me."

Many persons suffer from chronic anxiety, which is a subconscious mental expectancy that something terrible will happen. Other people seem to have the "magic" touch. Life seems to shower them with blessings for no apparent reason, and so we call them "lucky". What seems to be luck is in reality, POSITIVE MENTAL EXPECTANCY, a strong belief that they deserve to be successful. "You are what you think."

Your physical health is largely dependent upon your mental expectancy. Physicians recognize that if a patient expects to be sick, lame, paralyzed, helpless, even to die, the expected condition tends to be realized. Hypnosis is a powerful tool for changing negative thoughts and feelings with a positive expectancy -- the expectancy of health, strength and well-being. With subconscious acceptance, these conditions become realized.

Rule Number Three

IMAGINATION IS MORE POWERFUL THAN REASON WHEN DEALING WITH THE MIND.

Walking on a 6" wide board on the floor is easy for most people. Walking that same board when it is placed 20 feet higher, is difficult, if not impossible, for most people. Why? Imagining oneself falling over-rules the reason which knows gravity is no greater a threat at 20 feet than it is when the board is on the ground. REASON IS EASILY OVERRULED BY IMAGINATION. What the imagination locks on, the emotions and the body will follow. Imagination accompanied by a strong emotion such as anger, hatred, guilt, or fear, usually cannot be changed simply through the use of reason. To change such images (imagination), it is necessary to reach the feeling mind, and this is more easily accomplished through hypnosis.

Rule Number Four

OPPOSING IDEAS CANNOT BE HELD AT ONE AND THE SAME TIME WITHOUT CREATING STRESS.

A person can believe in honesty, yet indulge in dishonest behavior. This behavior might be supported by rationalizing thoughts such as: "Everyone does it." "Little lies don't count." "I need it more than they do." "I deserve a break." These thoughts directly oppose the more rooted thought (belief) in honesty. ACTING upon a thought that runs directly counter to an opposing belief held at the subconscious level, creates great stress on the nervous system and can profoundly affect the health of the body.

Rule Number Five

AN EMOTIONALLY INDUCED SYMPTOM TENDS TO CAUSE ORGANIC CHANGE IF PERSISTED IN LONG ENOUGH.

Patients suffering from ill health and disease often have repeated episodes of the symptoms of that disease for some time before organic change can be found. A person who is a chronic worrier, or who is often fearful, often will have a "nervous" stomach that eventually develops ulcers. "Tension" headaches, "irritable" bowels, "weak" bladders, "inflexible" joints, "angry" rashes - all can, over time, lead to organic disease. Chronic fear of ill health, repeated suggestion for ill health ("pissed off", "can't stand it", "dim witted", "no back bone", "no support", "gutless", "weak knees", etc.) will in time create the condition. Positive thoughts and positive emotions create positive organic change.

Rule Number Six

ONCE AN IDEA HAS BEEN ACCEPTED BY THE SUBCONSCIOUS MIND, IT REMAINS UNTIL IT IS REPLACED BY ANOTHER IDEA. COROLLARY TO THIS RULE IS: THE LONGER THE IDEA REMAINS, THE MORE OPPOSITION THERE IS TO REPLACING IT WITH A NEW IDEA.

Once an idea has been subconsciously accepted, it becomes a fixed habit of thinking. The more this thinking is acted upon, the more it becomes a fixed habit of acting. People have habits of thinking as well as habits of action, but the thought or idea always comes first. To change behavior, it is necessary to change the thoughts and ideas that create the behavior. Many people "need" their addiction in order to steady their nerves or balance their emotions. This is an idea that has become a fixed habit of thought; ergo the body follows. There is indeed a mental, emotional, physical, chemical craving for the addiction or habit. The longer the behavior has been in place, the more opposition there is - emotionally AND physically - to changing it, but it can be done.

Utilizing hypnosis to access the times and experiences that caused the subconscious to accept the thoughts that led to the fixed behavior, negative emotions, and negative conditions, is a powerful method for healing and change.

Rule Number Seven

EACH SUGGESTION ACTED UPON CREATES LESS OPPOSITION TO SUCCESSIVE SUGGESTION.

A mental trend is easier to follow the longer it lasts unbroken. Once a habit is formed it becomes easier to follow and more difficult to break.

Once a suggestion has been accepted by the subconscious mind, it becomes easier for additional like suggestions to be accepted and acted upon. This is why hypnotists start with simple suggestions that are unlikely to be refused. They begin suggesting pleasant sensations for relaxing the body - warmth, tingling, coolness, lightness, or heaviness. Once these are accepted, following suggestions that are not blocked by a fixed conscious or subconscious idea, become easier to follow.

Rule Number Eight

WHEN DEALING WITH THE SUBCONSCIOUS MIND AND ITS FUNCTIONS, THE GREATER THE CONSCIOUS EFFORT, THE LESS THE SUBCONSCIOUS RESPONSE.

Letting go of conscious effort allows the subconscious to act automatically. When the subconscious has a learned behavior, this behavior happens automatically unless it is being repressed by conscious effort or will power. However, once the conscious effort that is repressing the automatic response is relaxed - which inevitably occurs when the conscious focus shifts to other areas of concern - the automatic response, behavior, or condition returns.

Changing the root cause of negative behaviors, negative emotions, and negative conditions is the goal of therapy. Utilizing hypnosis with therapy increases the effectiveness of therapy because the mind can be guided with all of the attending sensations and emotions to the originating cause(s) of the behavior. Changing fixed subconscious thoughts at the moment they were accepted, while addressing the emotional response(s) that led to acceptance, is the quickest and most powerful method for healing and for change.

Trying to be hypnotized defeats hypnosis as "trying" is a conscious focus. Relaxing and allowing the thoughts and emotions to flow, IS hypnosis.

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