Increased Creativity through Self-Hypnosis

Andrea Berger, Atlantic University

     I have found self-hypnosis to be a very valuable tool for personal transformation and growth, which has accelerated my inner development.  I can truly say that it has improved my life and has produced positive results, by unlocking dormant parts of my mind and helping me get in touch with my creative Inner Self.  I'd like to share with you two experiments in self-hypnosis that I have attempted.  They are both intended to expand my creative consciousness and imagination.

     The first one involves using self-hypnosis to make a heart connection with a tree and receive spiritual guidance from it.  I find that if I listen to classical music or a Hemi-Sync Metamusic CD before attempting self-hypnosis, my mind is more quiet and I can enter more easily into an altered state of consciousness.  It also helps if I do some yoga or walk before the exercise.  I start by focusing my attention on my breathing until it becomes very even and slow, as if I'm asleep.  My closed eyes are moving quickly, as if I'm in REM sleep, though I'm awake.  I then visualize a green forest ... and find myself walking in it, hearing the crackling of branches and dead leaves as I step on them.  It is nice and quiet here, just the right temperature.  I notice the big large trees and wonder at their age.  How long they must have been around and what they have witnessed.  I look up at their branches touching the sky high up and see the sun shining through their canopies.  So many animals make their home in these trees and I can hear the birds chirping and the squirrels scurrying around, jumping from branch to branch.  I go sit under one of the trees, enjoying the shade and peaceful atmosphere.  As I relax more and more, I shift my attention to my heart and visualize it expanding and increasing its vibration.  I send out my intention to commune with nature, perhaps with the tree I'm leaning against ... and wait.  I feel strength from the tree and from the earth.  His energy is very soothing and grounding, filling me with calm and a serene sense of peace.  He is old and has seen many seasons ... weathered some big storms that almost struck him down, but he somehow managed to survive.  The forest he grew up in has changed over time.  It was a young forest when he was growing up ... now he is one of the older trees, though many of his brothers died of old age or disease, or were struck down by lightning.  New trees are replacing them, as the forest is constantly renewing herself, seeping energy from Mother Earth ...   He feels part of a greater community, a bigger organism, part of the forest and part of the Earth.  He is telling me that we are never alone ... it is only our self-imposed boundaries that make us feel lonely and cut away from others.  We are all part of a greater plan, a greater living organism, part of Mother Earth herself.  He can feel it more clearly than we humans, as his roots are firmly gripping the ground, although we can also develop that tight connection with Mother Earth.  He suggests that we visualize our connection with Mother Earth as an energetic umbilical cord connecting us with the center of the Earth.  The tree is telling me that he also communes with the sky and the sun and the rest of the Universe ... his branches swaying high in the wind ... being caressed by the sun and moon ... cried upon by the rain...and crystallized by the snow and ice in the winter.  The loss of his leaves in the Fall make him a little sad, but by now he knows well the circle of life and death ... truly, there is no death, as the Spring always returns with interest the abundant beauty of his green foliage. 

     Before I leave, he tells me to practice patience, to be calm and peaceful ... grounded and connected to Mother Earth, but also to reach high for the skies and for the sun and stars ... to be aware of my unique gifts and abilities and employ them for the benefit of all; to fulfill my role and mission in the evolution of consciousness, as part of the larger tapestry of life on this Planet. 

     The second self-hypnosis experiment is designed to enhance my dancing ability.  Since childhood, dance has been my favorite creative outlet.  I took ballet as a child.  In college I took several ballroom dancing classes, as well as rock 'n roll and jive classes.  As an adult I picked up jazzercise and other forms of dance aerobics.  When my daughter was little, I signed her up for ballet classes.  She later learned other dance forms, such as jazz, lyrical, tap and clogging (this link is a competition video of my daughter's clogging team).  I loved watching her and her team perform their clogging routines at shows and competitions, as this dance form is so high energy and fun.  A while back, a clogging class for adults became available at her dance studio and I decided to sign up.  I liked the instructor and she first taught us the basic steps, which are quite fast and require good coordination and memory.  Later, we learned several choreographed routines that included some very fast and complicated step sequences. 

     In order to improve my clogging skills, I decided to create a self-hypnosis script which included a couple of encodings from Robert Monroe's Hemi-Sync exercises, "Recall" and "Color Breathing."  These exercises use the patented Hemi-Sync audio technology as background "noise", to create a focused and coherent whole-brain state known as hemispheric synchronization, where the left and right hemispheres are working together in a state of coherence.  The first encoding, taken from the Hemi-Sync CD Recall, is intended to help me recall a particular step or step sequence:   

     At any point in the future, when you desire to remember in great detail any part of your life experience, all you need to do is inhale, hold your breath and say in your mind "Plus, Recall" and think of the area you want to remember.  Inhale, hold your breath and say in your mind "Plus, Recall", then exhale through your mouth as if blowing out a candle.  When you do this, you will remember immediately in full consciousness and great detail the information or experience that you desire.  You will recall immediately in full consciousness and great detail the information or experience that you desire.  The more you perform this method of remembering by inhaling, holding your breath and saying "Plus, Recall" in your mind, the easier and more effective it will become. You will remember and act upon this knowledge function at any point from this moment on. You will so act with your entire being when your conscious waking self gives the correct action signal ... the one that you have just learned.  The more you use this signal and function, the smoother and easier it will become. (Monroe, 2001)

     The second encoding can be found in the Hemi-Sync exercise "Color Breathing", which is part of the album Gateway Experience Wave II: Threshold.  This exercise encourages the listener to think of the frequency of the color red, to improve coordination and stamina:

     Here is a special way you can charge your physical body for an act of great speed or great strength, all with smooth coordination.  From this moment on, whenever you desire to perform a physical act with far greater strength, with faster speed than ever before and with total smooth coordination of your entire physical body, all you need do is close your physical eyes, inhale deeply with your physical lungs, hold your breath, then think of the physical act to be performed and then the strong color energy of red.  When you exhale the breath from your lungs and open your eyes, you will be able to immediately perform the physical act that you have pictured, with far greater strength, much more rapidly and with smooth, total coordination of your physical body ... far greater than ever before.  The more you consciously use this method of performing a physical act, more strongly, more rapidly, with total coordination, the easier and more effective it will become.  (Monroe, 2006)

     I listened to my self-hypnosis script a few times and internalized the two encodings.  Afterwards, I experimented with these encodings during dance class and found them very helpful.  Later, I created an additional encoding, called "Plus, Mind-Melt."  This one allowed me to connect my mind with the mind of the dance instructor and have her mind direct my body.  I found that my dance ability increased dramatically by using these encodings.  I became by far the best dancer in the class and the instructor remarked several times at my increased ability.  She was especially amazed of how quickly I was able to pick up new steps and she wanted to know my method.  I told her that I was copying all her moves by synchronizing my mind with hers.  Not sure how much she understood that.  In reality, my mind was connected to hers and I was letting her mind lead my body.  For this to work well, I had to dance right behind her ... the further away I was from her, the harder it was to keep the connection.  I believe I was in an altered state of consciousness, with my mind empty of all thoughts and single mindedly focused on this activity ... to maintain connection with her mind.

     I think that self-hypnosis including encodings or suggestions as described above can be very effective in enhancing creative performance.  In addition, these encodings have numerous other daily life uses.  For example, the "Recall" encoding can be used to remember names, phone numbers, events from the past, and other facts you have read somewhere a while back.  The red color encoding can be used in any sport or physical activity.  For example, I once used this encoding when I got locked out of my car and had to squeeze through a small window opening and stretch and contort my body Houdini-like, in order to reach the key.

     In conclusion, self hypnosis is a great aid in day to day life and I would strongly recommend it to everybody, be it to improve physical performance, creativity or health. 

     I am very grateful for the insights and knowledge I have acquired by using self-hypnosis exercises in my daily life.  Hypnosis may not perform miracles overnight, but in time it helps us create a positive new identity for ourselves.  It has enabled me to become a "better version" of myself:  more healthy, more patient, more loving, more at peace with myself and the world, more accepting of others' points of view and life lessons, more knowledgeable and open to new experiences.  I feel that I am learning my life lessons more effectively and at a faster pace than before, and plan to continue to use self-hypnosis on my personal development journey.  So, won't you give it a try?  You will be amazed of the results!

References

     Monroe, R. A. (2001). Recall. On Recall [CD]. Lovingston, Virginia: Monroe Products.

     Monroe, R. A. (2006). Color Breathing. On The Gateway Experience Wave II - Threshold [CD album]. Lovingston, Virginia: Monroe Products.

Andrea Berger grew up in Bucharest, Romania, and has traveled throughout India studying yoga and meditation on inner light and sound. She now lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, with her husband and their two children. Andrea works as an information technology manager for a large consumer goods company and is an accredited Monroe Institute Outreach Facilitator, a certified VortexHealing Energy Healer, a Reiki Master, and an enthusiastic Yoga practitioner. In her “spare” time, she is a graduate student in Transpersonal Studies at Atlantic University. Andrea is also the founder and president of the non-profit  organization, Association for Consciousness Evolution, Inc. with the mission to accelerate the evolution of consciousness through education, practical exploration and personal transformation.