More questions about the CD's

Hi - I have actually re-emerged but starting out properly this time. Last time I didn't put the work into it nor was it the right time for various reasons.

Anyway - question about those tapes. I have been hypnotised before but have forgotten what it feels like. I wonder if some of you can let me know what I should be experiencing?

I found the first one a bit daunting ... since I have been using meds and therapy to get over my panic attacks set off by fast moving escalators and steep stairs :eek . But I perservered through the tape (twice now). I just didn't "feel" hypnotised and nor could I get a handle on going deeper into my subconsious ... too many idle thoughts happening.

I just felt very heavy ... but not that heavy, if you know what I mean.

So? Any thoughts?

Tried to do the second one but with the jackhammers outside and our upstairs neighbour obviously deciding now is a good time to hammer a million nails into his floor ... I will have to leave it for now.

Hi WW. Well I'm not sure that I can help much as I haven't even received my CD's yet - but I used to teach meditation and qigong so maybe I can give you a few tips. Meditation is, after all, only self hypnosis. Firstly, it's normal for the mind to wander and fly off on tangents when first starting to meditate. The best tool I have found to help people through this first stage is the breathing. Now, as I said, I'm not sure what's on the CD's so I don't want to interfere with that, but if you find your mind wandering, just focus on breathing - try to follow your breath with your mind and bring it right down to the abdomen. Try breathing in 1 -2-3-4 and out 1-2-3-4 - slowly. Try to do this while still listening to the CD but if your mind wanders away from the CD, focus on your breathing and the "internal you" and believe it or not, the words that are coming from the CD will still be taken in by your subconscious. I don't want to get too airy fairy, but I have always found that the breathing focus helps. It takes a lot of practice to be able to sit down and immediately fall into the meditation or hypnosis "heaviness" or solitude. Keep at it though, and sooner or later you'll find the jackhammer could be in your loungeroom and you would hear it at the back of your mind, but it wouldn't impose at all. Good luck!

I agree with freedom's observations. My mood can also affect my ability to listen at times, but in the right frame of mind, I have heard firetrucks go outside my building without really bothering me as I've been in the process. Becoming aware of breathing is a technique that i've used to get myself back into it when extra thoughts keep jumping in!

And good for you for being able to work on overcoming your fears of steep stairs and escalators!!! Well done!

Kathy

Hi WW, I experianced the same thing when I first started using them. I had never been hypnotized before and didn't have any idea what to expect so I tried very hard to shut out everything and still I had problems with my mind wandering. I am a regular church attender, and at one time was having problems with my wandering mind at church and practiced focusing for sometime there, so with that in mind, I tried as I did there, shuting everything out and concentrated on the suggestions on the CD's. I began noticing heaviness and relaxation. I don't know if the suggestions got to my sub conscious mind. Maybe it did. I do know, that I am beginning my 3rd week in the program. On 3 different occations, I decided to have a glass or 2 of wine. Each time I stopped after 1 and 1/2 glasses satisfied when before starting the program, I had 8 or 9 glasses every evening without fail. So something is working.

Thanks for that. They must be working because for the first time in ages I woke up this morning (it is now 8:40am here) thinking "I'd like a cup of coffee" instead of "oh shite, I have no wine here to get rid of my hangover".