When I think of foggy city environments, I tend to think of the gas-light era which is the scene of many a chilling crime story. Without wanting to get embroiled in terrifying street scenes, I want to mention and talk about fog and clouds (though not of the pink fluffy variety, as you’d expect with me) as I build upon my previous blog entry about altering moods.
Sometimes in life, it can seem like there is a fog and we can feel thick headed if we experience depression or even just have a depressed episode of some kind in our life.
Our senses can become numbed and the world can become dark, gloomy and unpleasant. Which is what the gas-light era streets were like. Ideally, we’d like to contrast that with uplifting, happy environments that are not as scary and which seem colourful and pleasant to be in and around.
That is what todays self-hypnosis process is all about. It is not the kind of process that is right for everyone all of the time, but if you feel muffled, numb and like you have a foggy head and require some clarity, then this could well be just what you are after.
6 Steps For Lifting Your Mood:
Before you start, have a good think about how you’d like things to be in your life and your perception of your world.
In a place where you are going to be undisturbed for the period of this exercise, get yourself nice and comfortable and sat down with your feet and hands uncrossed and not touching each other, take a nice deep breath and as you exhale allow your eyes to close and begin.
Step One: Induce Hypnosis:
You can do so by any means you desire or know of. You can use the process in my Science of self-hypnosis book, use the free audio we give away on this website to practice or have a look at the following articles as and when you need them; they are basic processes to help you simply open the door of your mind:
Heavy Arm Self-Hypnosis Induction Method
Using Eye Fixation for Self-Hypnosis
The Chiasson Self-Hypnosis Method
Hand to Face Self-Hypnosis Induction
Using Magnetic Hands for Self-Hypnosis
The Coin Drop Self-Hypnosis Induction
However, with this process, an induction is potentially too much activity, so I teach my clients how to adopt a hypnotic mindset and simply have a mindset that is positive and expectant. Again, to really understand the cognitive set of the hypnotic mindset, go grab a copy of my Science of self-hypnosis book where it is explained in simple but comprehensive terms.
Once you have induced hypnosis, move on to step two.
Step Two: Imagine what you would be seeing if your mood were lifted. How would life be? Where would you be? Who would you be with? Start to create that kind of environment there in front of you.
Notice though that it may appear vague, foggy and unclear. You have an idea of sorts of how you imagine things will be but you are struggling to really get it vivid inside your mind.
It is all here in front of you, how you imagine things will be when you are feeling upbeat, happy and are enjoying your experience of life…
The sounds are muffled, like someone speaking into a folded blanket.
The images are unclear, vague, and lack any richness of colour or texture and you cannot make out any detail.
You notice how it makes you feel frustration, almost that you lack the ability to get this clear and enjoyable inside your mind. Notice enough of that frustration to be useful for this exercise and when you sense enough of that frustration, move on to the next step.
Step Three: Imagine that you have an imaginary pen or crayon with which to draw and edit your thoughts.
Use it to draw a line on the ground underneath the scene before you. Right there as you look at the muffled, foggy imagery before you, draw a line underneath it with your mind’s eye, using a pen of your mind. Do it with a sense of purpose and in a deliberate fashion.
With that line drawn underneath the scene before you, start to think to yourself that enough is enough. You are no longer going to put up with this clouded perception, you know that life is full of colour, joy and resonance. So….
Step over to the line you have drawn and reach down, bend right down and force your fingers under the line and start to lift it up… Start to raise the line and notice what is happening. As unusual as this may sound, start to lift the line up and as you do so, start to notice that it is almost as if you are lifting a cloudy screen.
Notice that it is as if you are lifting up a cloudy, foggy screen of some sort which was inhibiting the view in front of you. Imagine reaching deep inside your mind and finding all the strength and power you need to powerfully lift this up and higher and as you lift it higher, you go deeper inside your mind and the line starts to feel lighter and lighter and it becomes easier and easier to lift. Tell yourself that it is so and continue to lift it until it is above your head and starts to float up and away.
When it is out of your reach, it floats all by itself, out and away until it is no longer visible at all. You might find yourself squinting slightly as it gets brighter as you look upward and in front of you and move on to the next step.
Step Four: There before you, you see the world as it is when the fog is lifted, when the cloudiness is gone, when the mufflers have ceased… See your life in full and glorious colour, clear and sparkling. You distinguish colours, textures, sounds and it feels wonderful to have this level of clarity.
Enjoy the feelings, let them grow… Notice where in your body you feel the sensations of freedom, of clarity and start to get excited at how much more you can see now. Think deeply and contemplate about what was beyond your perception before, what was being obscured and start to see things anew.
Notice how fresh and alive everything seems to be, like a cloud has been lifted… Consider breathing out slowly and as you exhale giving off a sigh that indicates you have let go, you have opened your senses to the world and everything that seemed stale and old is now fresh, new and enjoyable.
Step Five: As you gaze upon the colourful scene of your life in all it’s glory, start to tell yourself that each of the things you see in your life from now on, you are going to choose to get excited about and be fascinated with… As you look at the people and things in your life, you look upon them with a healthy naivety, almost with a sense of awe, like a child experiencing something for the first time. You sense the detail and colours and textures that maybe have been taken for granted in recent times and you allow the simple things in your environment to contribute to your well-being and happiness.
It is not just your environment that contributes to your happiness – You get happy about the wonders of being alive, enjoying the sensation of breathing and sensing your organs working within you, the strength in your muscles and become aware of how amazing it is to be able to see, hear and feel at all and you choose to never take that for granted again.
With your senses primed and ready for engaging with the world around you, move on to the final step.
Step Six: Exit hypnosis. Wiggle your fingers and fingers, take a couple of energizing breaths and then open your eyes and start to make a conscious effort to see the light and shade, the contrast, the colour, hear the sounds, the tiniest distinctions of sounds and feel the full range of sensations that comes with being a human being… Then celebrate being alive and having lifted that cloud that was numbing and filtering your senses before.
Practice this self-hypnosis process repeatedly for a few days to make it work even better.
Even if you are not having a depressive episode, this is a lovely process to have a go at and we could all do with this kind of perspective, intention and having a fog lifted every once in a while.
Have a great day.
If you’d like to learn more or if this has resonated with you in some way, then visit these pages:
1. Have frequent low moods held you back and/or is it still doing so now?
Coaching with Adam Eason Or Hypnotherapy with Adam Eason.
2. Would you like a satisfying and meaningful career as a hypnotherapist helping others to elevate their mood?
Adam Eason’s Anglo European training college.
3. Are you a hypnotherapist for whom a negative thought process is detrimentally effecting the success of your business?
Hypnotherapist Mentoring with Adam Eason.
Self-hypnosis is a great way to help elevate mood. If you’d like to learn more about self-hypnosis, understand the evidence based principles of it from a scientific perspective and learn how to apply it to many areas of your life while having fun and in a safe environment and have the opportunity to test everything you learn, then come and join me for my one day seminar which does all that and more, have a read here: The Science of Self-Hypnosis Seminar.
