Eye Lock Hypnosis Induction
So here is the third of our mini-series of video clips of using classic inductions and/or using convincers and hypnotic phenomena in hypnotherapy sessions.
In this clip, I am using the eye lock hypnosis induction used in many formats and in many varying ways, and then getting the clients hand stuck to her leg. In one of his training videos, I have watched the brilliant Anthony Jacquin test the hand stick phenomena by telling the client that if they can release their hand from their leg and take it, then they can keep the money he holds out in front of them. Now this may not necessarily be something that you’ll want to do in a therapy session, but it is something I wanted to do to demonstrate the effectiveness.
I had £130.00 in my pocket and offered it all to Sarah if she could lift her hand from her leg and gave a very powerful demonstration of what can be achieved with hypnosis.
Here is most of the transcript for this video clip, for you to get an idea of the process and the way to language it:
“In a moment I am going to ask you to imagine a spot a couple of centimetres back from the top of your forehead, almost like you’ve got a window on the top of your head from which you’re going to stare up at the ceiling. So your eyes are going to roll up a little bit, don’t allow them to get too uncomfortable – there needs to be a little bit of discomfort but while you have your eyes closed I need you to imagine looking up at that, and then we’ll begin this process.”
(Just basic setting up, direct, clear instructions and development of correct expectation)
“Take a slightly deeper breath, as you exhale just let your eyes become comfortably closed and then just imagine you’ve got that spot there on the top of your forehead and then just allow your eyes to roll up as if you are looking up through that at the ceiling, now just imagine your eyes rolling up, looking up through there. Now as you continue to look up through that window in the top of your head. Start to imagine that your eyelids are becoming locked into position, just imagine it so that as you imagine it it begins to happen, so that as long as your eyes are fixed and looking up through that window in the top of your head then your eyelids become comfortably locked into position to the point where even if you try to open them you couldn’t,”
(The beauty of this induction is that it includes a convincer element within it. The truth of the matter is that if the client is actually rolling the eyeballs upwards, and imagining looking up and out of the top of the head, then it is very physically hard to actually open the eyes, and as they try, they’ll get a lot of fluttering which you can utilise and cite as hypnotic phenomena to feed back and ratify. For a more in depth-explanation of how to do this induction, you can read this article here at this website: https://www.adam-eason.com/the-eye-lock-process-for-hypnotists/ or watch this video clip at my YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zK4kHNo8Ho )
“… now when you are ready for us to begin this process just relax your eyelids, relax your eyes, almost as though they just then sit in a sort of out of focus gaze in their sockets, just let that happen and give me a little nod to indicate.”
(Here, an element of control is handed over to the client, they get to decide when we go further by following your instructions – which are presupposed to occur. Then the hypnosis in induced and we proceed with a deepener)
“Good…and just be comfortable breathing, naturally, easily, gently. Now in the same way that you have eyes that see the world around you just imagine that you have an inner eye that we often refer to as the minds eye, the third eye and that minds eye has an eyelid and like your physical eye that eye can begin to close as it too becomes heavy and tired and just start to imagine that eyelid closing gently shutting and as it does it closes out more of those stray thoughts, more stray images, allowing you to become more and more focused and as soon as that minds eyelid is closed you can allow your actual eyelids to open.”
(This Mind’s Eye deepener is a favourite of mine, I have written in more detail about it here:
https://www.adam-eason.com/deepening-hypnosis-with-the-minds-eye-closure/
You’ll notice that at the end of that deepening process, the minds eye closing is attached to suggestions of the mind being clear and focused, and that when it has closed they open their real eyes. All they need to do is imagine the minds eye closing; it is presupposed the mind is clear and focused and then they signal the progress made by opening the eyes ready to move on to the next step. I love that process.)
“Thats it good.
Now focus on your right hand for a moment, just focus on the back of your right hand, with your right hand just press down a little bit on your leg there, just press down a little bit, then you can stop trying, now inside of your mind imagine that your hand is beginning to stick to the leg. Really focus on it look at it and notice it..”
(With the hypnosis deepened, we now keep the focus and fixation of the mind by ensuring the client stare at the back of the hand and then start to engage the imagination with the process of the hand sticking to the leg. In the initial instance the client is encouraged to consciously apply some pressure, then as the imagination gets involved more, the hands sticks more all by itself.)
“… there are times when you might begin to notice the difference between that hand and this one here and as you notice your right hand all that’s’ left for you to begin to do is to start to imagine perhaps there’s like a glue, perhaps there’s some kind of adhesive that’s attached to your hand that’s beginning to stick it firmly and comfortably and powerfully to your leg, and just begin to engage your imagination because its you’re imagination that’s going to make this work now. So as your right hand there begins to sense that maybe it feels as if your leg is holding it and supporting your hand or maybe it feels as if your hand is pushing down, or maybe it feels as if the adhesive is beginning to stick the two in a balanced fashion to each other. Now initially just tell me is it the palm of your hand or your fingers that feel the most stuck at this stage?”
(There is a lot going on in this passage. I use a little bit of phonological ambiguity with the left and right hand. I leave the adhesive open for the client to fill in and react to accordingly. Then I use somatic awareness to enhance sensations by focusing in one whether the hand feels like it is on the leg or the leg is holding it before delivering more suggestions of it being stuck there. Then I ask whether the fingers or palm are most stuck, this illusion of choice implies that they are both stuck but we are finding out which is the most stuck.)
“Ok its your fingers …. so start to imagine that sensation in your fingers and the more you notice that sensation that stickiness that locked position of the fingers, start to imagine that sensation spreading into the palm, and start to imagine that sticky, locked more powerful sensation working into the palm, comfortably, powerfully, and have you noticed that in the palm now, is that beginning to find that? Good. How does that feel, how would you describe that sticky stuck sensation that you are experiencing? Its a comfortable feeling.”
(I then feedback her own response and start to spread that into the other areas too. I do that again with the sense of comfort she states)
“Ok now just let that comfort begin to grow and begin to expand and become more powerful and more stuck there. Now as soon as you are certain that if you are tempted to lift your hand you wouldn’t be able to because its so stuck so powerfully stuck and sure and in that position. Then try and lift it and realise you can’t and the more you try the more you realise you can’t and the more its stuck the more amazed you can become at your own sense of brilliance now, start to notice how powerful your mind is and have you noticed how stuck that is? and have you tried to pick that hand up there and realised you can’t? Absolutely sure that the more you try the more you couldn’t ?”
(My initial challenge to her has a failsafe in as much as she is instructed only to try and lift the hand when she is sure it is stuck. Then when she tries, it is stuck and we have got our desired outcome and the phenomena is elicited. I add suggestions that the more stuck it is, the more she notices how brilliant her mind is, this is a lovely way of delivering positive suggestions, encouraging the individual, but also encouraging continuation of the hypnotic phenomena. I then ask her if and how she has tried to pick up the hand, she has, and then I go for the big test to make sure…)
“A little challenge I once saw Anthony Jacquin do is, he took out a big wad of cash from his pocket and he had about £100, I have about £130 in my hand there now if your right hand could just reach over and grab this I am more than happy for you to have this and to take this away with you – pretty cool hey – you could be having a great night out on me tonight. So the more you try to take your hand from your right leg to grab this money the more happy I’ll be for you to have it but the more stuck and the more perhaps frustrating it could become, are you trying? are you having a go there? You’d like the money right? But its stuck there isn’t it? Its stuck and I was pretty sure I was on to a god thing, I was only going to take the money out when I saw your hand wobbling and quivering and I knew it was stuck there!”
(I offer her the money, build in the response some more with repeated suggestions, I ask the questions that have failure built in and I ratify at the end, showing her the way her hand and arm were resisting and quivering, showing her that this was going on at the same time. With the cash challenge complete, we can now bring it all to a comfortable and professional end)
“Ok just begin to look and have a good long look at the back of your hand and just take a slightly deeper breath and as you exhale just allow your eyes to become comfortably closed and now just begin to imagine your hand loosening, becoming soft, loose, limp, even as its motionless I am just going to touch that wrist of your right hand once again now just as I’ve done a couple of times before and if you can just let it become nice and loose and limp just let it become and remain back in your conscious minds control, now maybe just give a little wiggle of your fingers and maybe just see how that feels, good. And thank you once again, as a result of this hypnotic experience your becoming even more sure of the power of your own mind and the things that you can do and the capabilities that you have and I’m just going to count from 1 – 5 to bring this session to an end and as I am counting you’re allowing all sensations to return to their true sense of perspective as you have the right to expect , really notice the difference now in 1,2,3,4 and 5 eyes open on 5”
There you have it, another simple process that can be easily achieved in the hypnotherapy room to help enhance the clients belief in their own mind, in hypnosis, in your skills and the subsequent therapeutic process they are about to engage in. This is not for audiences, it is done in a manner for us in the therapy room, please remember that.
The final clip of this mini-series is going to be here soon.
If you’d like to learn more or if this has resonated with you in some way, then visit these pages:
1. Come and learn how to induce hypnosis quickly and how to elicit a wide range of hypnotic phenomena in my class: Rapid Inductions and Hypnotic Phenomena For Hypnotherapists.
2. Would you like a satisfying and meaningful career as a hypnotherapist helping others overcome cynicism?
Adam Eason’s Anglo European training college.
