How to Record a Script

So you have chosen to make a recording of a script that you have previously prepared.

A script consists of an induction, a deepener, chosen suggestions and an awakening. Once you have put these 4 phases together your script is complete. Some people like to add what is called a post-hypnotic suggestion just before the awakening. This is a suggestion which will continue to be effective after the session is complete. Such as "the suggestions I have just given myself will become more and more powerful as each moment goes by".

The idea is to prepare your script and then record it onto a recording device to be listened to everyday for at least 3 weeks. You will most probably notice many changes before 3 weeks but in order for the suggestions to really become anchored into your mind it is preferable to listen for the full 3 weeks.

The Induction: This is the 1st phase of the script. It purpose is to simply relax yourself and prepare your mind to slip into hypnosis.


The Deepening: This is the 2nd phase of the script. Its purpose is to relax you even more. Guiding you to a deeper state of relaxation and hypnosis.

Suggestions: This is the 3rd phase of the script. Hypnosis is all about suggestions. Once your are hypnotised you are able to give your unconscious mind suggestions you have chosen specifically for you to achieve your goal. See below the guidelines to writing suggestions and examples given to help you.

Post hypnotic suggestion: You may wish to add a post hypnotic suggestion here. eg. the next time I listen to this session I will go quicker and deeper into hypnosis.

The Awakening script - This script will bring you out of hypnosis and back to full awareness. An awakening script normally involves counting from one to five. By the time you say five you will be wide awake and alert.

If you are going to listen to the session just before sleeping then you may prefer to omit the awakening and simply turn over and go to sleep.


1) Take you script and record it onto the recording device.
2) Find a nice quiet place where you will not be disturbed.
3) Lie down or sit in a comfortable position and press the play button .
4) Close your eyes and enjoy it. Everything will happen by itself there is nothing you have to do your mind will do it for you.

When recording:
1) Allow a bit of time in the beginning of the recording for you to lie down and get comfortable before the session begins.
2) Talk slowly, calmly and confidently.
3) Allow a bit of emotion into your voice. Just as you would when you are reading a bedtime story to a child.
4) When recording the awakening talk louder, with more energy and alertness

Don't listen to your recording when driving or working machinery.


Self Hypnosis Induction Script by Charles E. Henderson, Ph.D.

"I am starting my self-hypnosis session now. From now until I say 'wake up' I will get more and more relaxed and focused within myself. Suggestions I give myself will be effective, but this will apply to only those suggestions I give myself and which I consciously want to be effective.
"As I close my eyes and begin to drift downward, I can imagine a blanket covering my feet. Every part of my body covered by the blanket will become completely relaxed. My feet are becoming deeply relaxed. All of the muscles in my feet are becoming limp and relaxed.
"Now the blanket is moving up to my knees. Every muscle and tendon in my body from my knees down is getting more and more relaxed. All tension is flowing out of this area, leaving all the muscles limp and loose.
"Now the blanket is moving slowly up to my waist. As it moves upward everything is becoming relaxed. As it reaches my waist I can hardly feel anything from there down. All the muscles in my hips, lower abdomen, legs and feet are becoming progressively more and more relaxed.
"All cares are flowing out of my mind. If a thought does intrude I will just gently let it go away. I am thinking only of relaxing and letting go of all tension. All of my muscles are becoming more and more relaxed, and I am feeling pleasantly drowsy. I will not go to sleep, but I am feeling so carefree and relaxed, sinking further and further into myself with no cares or worries. "Now the blanket is moving upward, moving slowly over my stomach, inching up over my chest, stopping at my shoulders. All of the muscles in my stomach and back are letting go, becoming totally and completely relaxed. The relaxation is like a warmness, spreading to every place covered by the blanket. The muscles in my chest and arms are getting more and more limp. I could move if I really had to, but I am becoming so comfortably limp and relaxed I don't want to move. I am still and relaxed, drifting deeper and deeper into a pleasant state of dreamy relaxation.
"Now the warmth and relaxation are slowly moving upward from my shoulders. The blanket is remaining there, but the relaxation is gently moving upward in my neck. All muscles in my neck are becoming limp and flaccid. I can see them in my mind's eye, becoming limp and loose. All cares and worries are floating away as I drift deeper and deeper into my relaxation.
"Now the relaxation is spreading into my mouth and jaw muscles. My tongue is limp, resting in my mouth with no need to be tense. I may briefly have more saliva in my mouth, but that will go away shortly. Now my cheeks and eyes are relaxing. I could open my eyes if I wanted to, but unless I need to, it would be too much work. It would take too much effort to open my eyes. I am drifting pleasantly downward, becoming more and more relaxed.
"The muscles in my forehead are becoming more and more relaxed. I can imagine them, like rubber bands across my forehead, becoming limp and floppy. Deeper and deeper, relaxing more and more. From the tips of my toes to the top of my head, I am becoming more and more relaxed, drifting downward, deeper and deeper.

"Now I am going to count down from twenty-five. As I count down I will continue to drift down, pleasantly going deeper and deeper into the relaxation. I will get drowsy and deeply relaxed, but I will not actually go to sleep. I will simply drift deeper and deeper into my self-hypnotic state of deeply relaxed awareness. By the time I reach zero I will be in a very pleasant, sleep-like state. I will still be able to direct my thoughts, and I could rouse myself immediately if I needed to, but unless I really need to, I will drift deeper and deeper into the relaxation.
"Starting down now . . . twenty-five . . . twenty-four . . . twenty-three . . . twenty-two . . . drifting deeper and deeper with each count . . . twenty-one . . . twenty . . . feeling drowsier and drowsier, yet still awake . . . nineteen . . . eighteen . . . seventeen . . . floating gently downward with each count . . . sixteen . . . fifteen . . . fourteen . . . drifting, drowsy . . . thirteen . . . twelve . . . eleven . . . ten . . . more than half-way down, drifting deeper and deeper with each count . . . nine . . . eight . . . seven . . . six . . . five . . . feeling so relaxed . . . four . . . becoming more and more relaxed and drowsy . . . three . . . two . . . one . . . zero. Breathing pleasantly, slowly, drifting deeper and deeper with each breath.
"As I continue to be deeply relaxed, and to become even more relaxed, I am thinking about my suggestions.

(At this point insert your suggestions)

"All of the suggestions I have given myself will be effective because they are right for me and it is good that I should achieve them. All of the directions I have given myself are good for me and I will follow them.
"Each time I practice self-hypnosis I will become better and better at it. I will be able to relax deeper and deeper in less time with each practice.
"Now, as I count to three, I am going to slowly, gradually, pleasantly wake up. I will return to my normal, waking state, except for the suggested changes. Now, starting up, . . . one . . . becoming more alert . . . two, getting ready to wake up . . . three, wake up







GUIDELINES FOR WRITING SUGGESTIONS

The key to successful suggestions and auto-suggestion is to say, or hear them with belief, conviction and expectation. Listening to or repeating suggestions are much less effective if you don't put meaning into each word. It is important to us all your senses when repeating suggestions to yourself.
Keep in mind that it is not the number of suggestions you give yourself that counts but the quality you give the suggestions. i.e. by saying them with belief, conviction and expectation.


1) Be positive
Your suggestions should describe what you want rather than what you don't want. To use, " I am confident and assertive" instead of " I am not shy"

Your mind does not process negatives. When you say "I don’t like chocolates" your subconscious processes only the words that have meaning, which are “I" and "like” chocolates". So the suggestion your subconscious is getting is, “I” and “like” chocolates and could have the opposite effect!!

2) Believable suggestions
According to research believable suggestions have a much higher success rate than suggestions that one does not believe in. So make up suggestions with your client and ones your client agrees to.

“When I eat chocolates they taste terribly sweet and after one bite I am satisfied” is better than “I will never eat chocolates again”

3) Simplicity
The most powerful suggestions are short and easy to remember.

Keep them short, choosing only one suggestion to repeat over and over to yourself. Only work on one issue at a time. When you feel that you have attained your goal you can move on to another issue and set of suggestions. You should only be programming one thing at time, your suggestions should not be more than 2 or 3 sentences long even better just a word or two. Like, “I am healthy and well”. This also means you can fit more into a single self-hypnosis session, increasing the repetition and thus increasing the effectiveness.

Also make sure that your suggestions are not too lengthy otherwise they will be too difficult to remember.

4) Use the present tense
Suggestions that you have phrased in the future will always stay in the future. The mind cannot act on future suggestions, because it simply believes that it doesn’t have to. You have just told it that it is going to happen so why should your mind care.

Do not to use the word “will”. Suggest “I am an energetic” instead of “I will be energetic.”


5) Repetition
Repeat your suggestions many times during a session. Be careful however not to miss the meaning of the suggestion in order to simply repeat it. Every repetition should be given meaning. Make sure you are passionate about your suggestions and invoke that passion every time you repeat them.

6) Rhythm
Studies have proven that the effectiveness of suggestions is greatly enhanced when you link them to a rhythm of some kind. If you are using a recording you can simply state your suggestions to an invisible beat. If you are using auto-suggestion you can link your suggestions to the rate of your breathing or a simple tune in your mind.

7) Put passion into Suggestion
Be passionate about your suggestions. Emphasize words such as “am” or “are”.
Feel you are part of that suggestion, feel the emotions pertaining to your suggestion. Really get connected to your suggestion.

8) Be personal
Use suggestions that feel right for you. Use words that have special meaning to you, as long as they are not too complex for your subconscious to understand.

9) Visualize
A suggestion is much more powerful when it is combined with visualizations techniques. While you repeat your suggestion visualize it happening while using all your senses. Add colour, sounds, feeling etc to your suggestions. You are the only one who limits your imagination. (Visualisation is explained in detail in the next section.)

10) Keep it consistent even after programming
Your subconscious is constantly monitoring what you say even when you are in a normal mental state. Each time you think of the suggestion during the day, repeat it to yourself.

Suppose you program your mind with the suggestion, “I am well and healthy, I am healing” then after the session you tell everyone how unhealthy you are. That is a contradiction and your mind will not appreciate it and would weaken your positive suggestions impact. Keep it consistent even if you are just joking around.


Examples of Suggestions


Suggestions for Weight Loss

I eat small amounts of healthy foods

I only eat what is good for my body

I always leave food on my plate

I only eat when I am physically hungry

My body rejects all sugary, greasy and fatty foods

I have an enormous desire to exercise

I have much more energy and vitality than ever before

Everyday in every way I feel healthier and healthier

I feel full and satisfied after only a few mouthfuls of food

When I have eaten enough I simply stop eating

Sugary foods taste terribly sweet

My body feels lighter and healthier than ever before

Whenever I think of sweet foods I feel thirsty and drink a glass of water

My desire to eat healthy foods gets stronger and stronger everyday

Everyday in every way I feel thinner and thinner


Suggestions for Stopping Smoking

I am committed to stay a non-smoker for life

I love the feeling of being healthy

Everyday in every way I smoke less and less

All cravings for cigarettes fade away effortlessly and quickly

I am proud to be a non-smoker

I love to breathe clean fresh air into my lungs

Whenever I think of cigarettes I feel thirsty and drink a glass of water

My desire to be healthy gets stronger and stronger everyday

I am free of the smoking habit

I remain calm and in control at all times

Nothing can break my determination to stay healthy

I release any fear, anxiety that I may be holding within me

I manage my life better when I live a healthy lifestyle

I am gaining in positive way from being a non-smoker

As a non-smoker I eat small amounts of healthy food

As a non-smoker food tastes much better even though I eat small amounts of food

The more I practice self hypnosis the more calm and in control I feel

Change comes easily to me and I love being a non-smoker

I can do anything I put my mind to doing.

I never regress I only progress in life


Suggestions for Relaxation

I remain calm in all situations

Every breath I take relaxes me more and more

The calmer I am the better I cope with life’s challenges

I am becoming more and more relaxed

My muscles are getting loose, limp and heavy

Every breath I take takes me deeper and deeper into relaxation

I manage my stress in a calm, cool manner

Everyday in every way my life is getting calmer and calmer

I am always in control of myself

I solve all my problems quickly and easily

I love feeling in control and calm in difficult situations