ARE YOU HYPNOTIZABLE?

Are You Hypnotizable?

1. Are you able to follow simple instructions?
2. Have you ever turned your thoughts to ‘other things’ during a dull meeting or lecture?
3. Can you imagine yourself as one of the characters in your favorite film?
4. Can you imagine the sound of a train whistle blowing?
5. Have you ever been traveling in a car, lost in conversation and the travel time appeared to pass rather quickly?
6. Can you sometimes arise from sleep to get a drink of water and go right back to sleep?
7. If you walked past a crowd of people, all of whom were looking up at the top of a building, would you also look up?
8. Have you ever ‘rested your eyes’ in front of a television set because you were too comfortable to get up and go to bed?
9. Are you able to meditate or pray?
10. Have you ever been so caught up in reading a good book that you couldn’t put it down?
11. While listening to a favorite song, can you remember where you were, what you were doing and who you were with when you first heard it?
12. Have you ever cried or been frightened while watching a movie?
13. Did you ever lose track of time while engrossed in something enjoyable?
14. Do you begin to yawn after observing another person yawning?
15. Do you shudder at the thought of someone scratching his or her fingernails down the front of a chalkboard?
16. Does your mouth water at the thought of sucking on, or biting into a plump, juicy, sour lemon?
17.  Have you ever impulsively purchased a bag of popcorn, cinnamon roll or caramel apple because of the aroma filtering through the air?
18.  When someone talks about feeling warm physically, do you begin to feel warm also?
19. Do you occasionally ‘tune out’ when someone is talking to you in a monotonous voice?
20. Can you at times not hear what a person is saying because you are anxious to impart your side of the conversation?
21. If someone talks about a fear that you too have experienced, do you have a tendency to have an apprehensive or fearful feeling also?
Each of the above questions refers to a daily occurrence that utilizes an ability that is helpful in hypnotherapy.  They demonstrate that the ability to be hypnotized is something that everyone is capable of.  In fact, we enter a neutral hypnotic-like state several times during the day.  In hypnotherapy, we use this natural ability to connect more fully with our inner resources for relaxation and understanding, wholeness and transformation.
And, here are the answers.
For questions 5, 10, 12, 13, 15:
Multi-sensory absorption.  Research shows that people who are able to engage in multi-sensory absorption– using all of their senses to engage with an idea or feeling- have the best results in hypnotherapy.  This ability can be taught and practiced.  Just like riding a bicycle, you become better over time.
For questions 3, 4, 16
Imagination.  Hypnotherapy utilizes the right side of the brain- your capacity for creativity, to visualize new possibilities and to draw on more of your abilities than you have access to in your usual waking state. It draws on these abilities to step outside of the usual way of thinking that is often patterned on old ideas, and to create new, harmonious solutions.
For questions 2, 6, 8,9, 19, 20
Inner immersion.  When you’re in a hypnotic reverie, you’re engaged in what’s going on in your inner self.  You’re able to tune out your environment, and immerse yourself in your inner experience.  In doing so, you attune to more of your brain- and a broader range of possibilities.
For questions 1,7, 14, 17, 18, 21
Follow guidance. In a hypnotherapy session, your ability to take in and work with the suggestions that you’re given is important for your success.  You’ll find that your discernment- your capacity to choose- is always available to you, as is your ability to accept the suggestions that you find useful, and to immerse yourself in the images and ideas that are presented to you.
For question 11
Moving backwards and forwards through time.  We all have the ability to remember the past, and to imagine the future.  In hypnotherapy, we use that ability therapeutically to resolve issues from the past, to recall forgotten interests and abilities, as well as to imagine a positive future, that can be a guide to our next steps, moving us towards what’s most important.
It’s normal and natural to be hypnotizable.  Hypnosis is a deep, inward focused state of absorption that enables us to come up with new understandings and solutions to problems.  Whenever our usual state of mind doesn’t have the answers we’re looking for, hypnotherapy provides a way to access our creative unconscious, our deeper intelligence for a broader view.