Milton Erickson had a way of forming hypnotic suggestions that didn’t even seem hypnotic at all. He used to combine numerous hypnotic suggestions while he spoke to his patients (and later on, after Bandler and Grinder did their research, it was known that he used hypnotic suggestions with almost anyone!). The best way to use and practice these hypnotic phrases is the simplest way: say one and complete it with whatever suggestion you want to apply. Now, please remember that these are not magic tricks. You cannot simply go to strangers on the street and say something like, “… and wonder if you can wonder what it would be like to have me as your boyfriend.” You’ll get slapped, kicked, scratched, or worse. Be careful. If the listener did not agree in advance to either receive therapeutic intervention or be hypnotized by you, hypnotic phrases will not work.The only other option is that the listener is someone very close to you who has a lot of trust and dependency feelings towards you. It can be your daughter or son, your husband or wife, or your parents. But that also depends on the situation and the manner in which you use these hypnotic phrases. Let’s start with a
#1: “And you can wonder, if you would, that…” You can complete this one in many ways. For example, you could work with a client on smoking cessation and apply this line near the end of the session. “…and you can wonder, if you would, that you have left the old smoke-inhalation habit behind you. If you do, you may also wonder how far it may seem as if it happened in a different life. " Quick tip: When I worked with people on smoking cessation, I never said, “You don’t smoke anymore,” because this line is like saying, “Smoke! Smoke! Smoke some more! " I used to rephrase the habit ‘smoking’ to smoke-inhalation, which almost never heard of in real life. This way, it becomes an unknown, something to be alarmed about.
#2: “Can you pay attention to…” Get creative here. This is a great induction phrase. “Can you pay attention to the sound of the air conditioning zooming, to the air breeze, to the smell of the fresh flowers on my desk, to the fabric of the recliner you’re sitting in, to the depth of your breathing? And did you notice how, little by little, it may get deeper, as with each breath that you take even more air comes in slower than before as a sense of….” Got the idea? While their mind is waiting for the question mark in order to respond, their unconscious mind has taken the suggestions and acted upon them.
#3: “And you can allow yourself to be pleased about…”
#4: “…it might be a way that meets your needs, when…”
#5: “…and I wonder if you can enjoy the following experience, starting with…”
#6: “…and don’t be surprised when you get into…”
#7: “…and you may begin to wonder when…”
#8: “…certainly I have no idea what’s going on inside of your mind right now, but may I guess that you ask yourself how powerful would it be to imagine that…”
#9: “…and you may be amazed to find out how much pleasure you can squeeze from…”
#10: “Now I would like you to have a new experience…”
#11: “With your permission…”
#12: “…and you most probably discover what it’s like when…”
#13: “…so sooner or later, I just don’t know exactly when, you…”
#14: “…and I was just wondering if you will be surprised as…”
#15: “…how curious would you be if you’d know that…”
#16: “Perhaps it’s time to take a little bit of joy on your way to…”
#17: “…now, you already know how to…”
#18: “…and maybe you wouldn’t (sounded out—would ENT) mind noticing how…”
#19: “…and I wonder if I can ask you to, DISCOVER something…”
#20: “…and I would like you to take note of the physical sensations that are taking place right now in your body, from the tip of…”
#21: “…first, XYZ, but then later ZYX…”
#22: “…now, have you begun to notice that…”
#23: “I wonder if you’d allow yourself to enjoy how naturally and easily…”
#24: “I just wonder if you’d find joy in…”
#25: “…and that thing that makes you curious right when…”
#26: “…will you be surprised to find out that…”
#27: “…and while you notice…”
#28: “…and perhaps you begin to notice that…”
#29: “I wonder if you have ever noticed…”
#30: “Will you be surprised to find out that your arm is not even near your face anymore? Because…”
#31: “…and I wonder if you can begin allowing your…”
#32: “…that only a decision you’re about to make just when…”
#33: “…most likely, you’d notice a few changes in the way you…”
#34: “…now it’s very likely, no actually, most likely…”
#35: “…would you be willing to experience how…”
#36: “…now don’t be concerned if you don’t go as fast as others into trance, because you see, some people take their time to ENJOY their time and we have as much time as you’d ask for, even if before you know it…”
#37: “…it’s so nice to notice…”
#38: “…and you shall know as you knew before, that…”
#39: “…it may be the time you felt that joy with…”
#40: “…and it appears to me that you are already in that place where…”
#41: “…give yourself that opportunity to…”
#42: “…perhaps sooner than you would expect…”
#43: “…and if you wish you would…”
#44: “…and I wonder how soon you can wonder…”
#45: “There’s a famous children’s song that I have forgotten about, and you may be able to record it, with the spider on the wall that…”
#46: “…it’s most amazing when you find out how…”
#47: “…now you know better than anyone that…”
#48: “…and it’s comforting to know…isn’t it…”
#49: “…you might have a strong compulsion to act more…”
#50: “I would like you to appreciate how wonderful the…”
#51: “…can you remember a time when…”
#52: “…and while you remember, I want you to hold another sweet memory of…”
#53: “…so it’s almost like knowing, really knowing…”
#54: “…and you know you’re going to learn, really learn, how it is, when…”
And the last one for now, which is also one of my favorites:
#55: “…and isn’t it just amusing…”