Starting out with self-hypnotism

[T-Dawg]

I tried to follow this guide for self hypnosis last night, but I couldn't get it to work without some sort of interuption or difficulty:
Meditation Techniques| Entering a light trance

I find that I can't figure out how to tense or relax certain parts of my body without interupting the relaxation of other parts (or I can't figure out how to tense them at all), such as the calf, the... er, rear end, the shoulders, the neck, and the lower arm.
Also, I find that sometimes my attempts at relaxation are disturbed by an itch or something of that nature.

Got any ideas? (Sorry if this is in the wrong section, I heard there was a forum specifically for mental/psycological health but I couldn't find it anywhere)

[methylatedghosts]

Practice, practice, practice

what I've found helps is to imagine a little spark of light or, something to that effect, that causes muscles to tense where it is, and to have it travel around/through your body, so that it's as though it's the light that's causing the specific areas to tense, and then relax as you move it on to somewhere else.

Alternatively (being that I like the idea of using lights etc) you can imagine your body "filling up" with a light of any colour, from your toes to your head. If you do it slowly and imagine the muscles tensing and relaxing as it fills, this may help as well

Might I stress to you, that there is no real "right" or "wrong" way to meditate - you'll figure it out for yourself as you practice, and you'll learn what works well for you. What works for me, may not work well for you and vice versa.

[T-Dawg]

Is this supposed to take a lot of tries? I just can't make my body do something by imagining it if it doesn't know how to... how do I tense a muscle my brain effectively isn't even aware of?

Also, should I try starting with the self-hypnosis recordings from the internet, or should I just continue trying to do it myself?
And does it help to be in a certain position? When I tried it, I was lying down (my bed's the only place that's both remotely comfortable and private. I really wish I could just sleep on the sofa, it's so much more comfortable, but I know my parents would ask questions... gah, maybe I should buy a new matress behind their back, I'm sure my minor sleep problems and relaxation problems have something to do with the fact that this is the same matress that I had when I was six...).

[methylatedghosts]

A new mattress would definately help, as they tend to become less supportive as you squish em down over the years. Better idea - get your parents to buy you a new mattress

It can take a while to get the hang of it. I like to lie down, but I don't think it really matters too much how your body is positioned, but it can get uncomfortable if you're doing a hand-stand for example

You could even do a little bit of research into how a muscle contracts and relaxes at the cellular level, and see if imagining that happen in your muscles has the desired effect.

As for recordings from the net - don't pay for stuff! If it's free, and you can trust the site to not have any nasties like viruses etc, and you think they might help you, you can use those as well.

The best time to try to meditate is, I feel, just as you're going to bed. Chances are you'll fall asleep in the middle of it, but that's fine - it's probably helped you relax enough to fall asleep anyway!

Don't give up if it doesn't work immediately though - like I said, it can take a while to get the hang of it. Just don't expect results within a week (though that's not to say it's impossible). Different people are.. well.. different! lol

[T-Dawg]

Will I start being able to make suggestions (including post-hypnotic suggestions) on my first trance state, or will I probably not even be able to remember or think clearly during trance?

Also, this isn't meditation I'm doing. I know the heading on the link says "meditation," but it's actually a guide for self hypnosis.

[methylatedghosts]

oh! I see.

I may not be the most knowledgeable person here regarding trance and hypnosis - it's not something I've delved myself into. I'm sure that if you're patient, someone else who knows a little more about such things will jump on in to help you a little more.

What I can suggest, is don't expect anything. What I mean is - it sounds like you already have some kind of an idea of what you imagine a trance state to feel like, or to be like. While this seems like it gives you a target, or a goal, to work towards, I think it may actually hinder your progress, because you'll tend to disregard anything that doesn't meet the expectation you do have. I think a good motto to have might be "Go with the flow".

[T-Dawg]

Yah, I've heard the "go with the flow" thing, but that doesn't help me when I can't feel any "flow." How do I get in touch with the "flow"?

[methylatedghosts]

Like I said in my first response - practice, practice, practice ^_^

It's a bit like learning to ride a bike, or drive a car. You just keep up the practice until suddenly it'll fall into place.

[T-Dawg]

Hmm, well, I tried it on the couch, I had a little more success. Where usually things begin to not work is at the second step, on the third breath. It says you should feel an immediate change in your body due to the relaxation of muscle groups you weren't even aware of, but I don't feel anything.

Also, when it says to tell yourself something, does it mean out loud, or in your head? I would assume in your head, since your mouth is supposed to be relaxing, but I just thought I should be sure.

Also, what should trance feel like? Am I able to make it feel like whatever I tell it to? Will I even know when I hit trance? Will I have full control of my body and awareness of my surroundings, or will I be able to focus completely on whatever it is I'm trying to visualize? When I visualize something in trance, will I actually be able to see it, or is my imagination under trance no more powerful than my normal imagination?

EDIT: Oh, and do I have to have my eyes closed? In another thread me and another guy were posting pictures of women we thought were beautiful, and I sarcasticly commented on one of them that the way she was staring at me made it look like she was trying to look through my soul or hypnotize me. Then I got an idea - would it help if, instead of closing my eyes, I would look into the pictures?

[methylatedghosts]

I don't believe there is a "should" or "shouldn't" in how quickly you develop the skill, or how you are able to feel it. Just because you don't feel how one person says you should feel, doesn't mean you're doing it wrong - it just means that you are not that person

A trance "should" feel like what it will feel like. Again - when you feel something new, explore it, expand it, and feel it. How a trance feels, I can't tell you - it's not something I've done before. But I imagine it'd be different for everyone.

You don't have to do anything - you'll soon enough find out what works for you and what doesn't. I don't believe there's such thing as "should", "shouldn't", "must", "can't", etc etc in terms of this. You set your own barriers, your own limitations. You are your own power in this.