Begin Well and End Well

Being and ending your day well isn’t exactly radical new thinking, however even those advocating such practices may not actually realise why it’s such good advice, and so potentially powerful for your life.

As we go to sleep at night, we enter into what is referred to as the “Hypnagogic” state and for most people this is a process rather than an event i.e. we take a little bit of time to do it, rather than it happening as quickly as we can click our fingers. Equally, when we wake up in the morning, we are in what is known as the “Hypnopompic” state while we come back into the conscious world.

Both of these are transitional states, where we move from sleep to wakefulness and vice versa. What they also have in common is they are effectively states of hypnosis i.e. half awake, half asleep with diminished peripheral awareness and heightened suggestibility. And the last part is the most important part.

One of the main aspects that makes hypnosis so effective as a positive tool for change is the heightened suggestibility when we are in a hypnotic state. This heightened suggestibility means quite simply that the subconscious mind which “contains” all of our habits, patterns, automatic behaviours etc. is more receptive to new messages, ideas and imagery.

One simple metaphor for the subconscious mind is that of a hard drive on the computer – it stores all our info, and can have old programmes deleted from it or amended and new ones added to it.

 Most of us also experience other similar trance-like states when we relax, daydream, drive and more. These can all be used very positively with therapies like hypnosis, where the client works hand-in-hand with the therapist to achieve their goals, or if we actively seek to programme ourselves in a positive manner.

However, one flip side of that coin are of course areas like advertising which exploit our relaxation and more suggestible states and infiltrate us with messages to sell products, try and convince us of ill-guided ideas around what constitutes “proper” body image and shape etc..

Our own self-talk or inner dialogue can also be another source of negative programming that emanates from our subconscious. Self-talk is something that we all do, and for many our self-talk is a constant stream, that sits side-by side with our thinking. For some those messages from our inner self-talk can challenge or undermine our self-esteem or confidence, or can discourage us from try something that we would like to by imposing limitations (often other people’s or society’s) upon us and keeping us from moving forward.

 So, what can we do? Starting to re-programme the hard drive or subconscious mind is an essential for life. Taking charge of our potential and using our inner resources for living clearer, more enjoyable and joyful lives is a must when you have the knowledge that we have available to us at this moment in time… the only question is does everyone time/space to actually make that a priority in their life.

For many, busy lives get in the way of doing what we’d really like to do, and the idea of doing meditation/healing/inner work etc for twenty-thirty minutes twice a day is actually impractical in the light of everything else that needs to be done with family/work/life. Thus people maintain or get stuck in a Catch 22 situation and are unable to find the time to integrate the changes they would like to in order to make manifest the life they would really like to live.

One simple solution is to use what resources are available to us in terms of time – and start off with the hypnagogic and hypnopompic states. When we start our day well, then we set ourselves up for the rest of the day and when we close our day well, then we also enhance our chances of a better sleep and thus wake up more rested to the day to follow.

Programming your subconscious minds at these times doesn’t necessarily mean lengthy meditation or even getting out of bed. It does mean being focused intention for a few minutes though, and setting up a small but effective programme for yourself. There are many ways that could be done, however the important element to be mindful of is that you give yourself an enjoyable start/end to the day, rather than feeling as though you are doing a chore. Joy in what you are doing is always the key. There are some really simple suggestions for that at the end of this newsletter.

Enjoy!