Lower Limit Hypnotic*

1. Eye Fixation

Would you like to find
a spot you can
look at comfortably
as you continue
looking
at that spot for awhile
do your eye-
lids
want to blink
will
those lids begin
to blink together
or separately
slowly
or quickly will they close
all at once or flutter
all by themselves
first
will those eyes
close more
and more as you get more
and more comfortable
that’s fine
can those eyes
now remain
closed as your comfort
deepens like when
you go to sleep
can that comfort continue
more and more
so that you’d rather
not even try
to open your eyes
or
would you rather
try and find you cannot
and how soon
will you forget
about them
altogether because
your unconscious wants
to dream.

2. Hand Levitation

Can you feel comfortable
resting
your hands
gently on your thighs
as therapist demonstrates that’s right
without letting
them touch each other
can you
let those hands rest
ever so lightly
so that the finger
tips just barely touch
your thighs that’s right
as they rest
ever so light
do you notice
how they tend
to lift up a bit
all by themselves with each
breath you take do they
begin
to lift even more
lightly and easily
by themselves
as the rest of your body relaxes
more and more
as that goes on
does one hand
or the other
or maybe both continue
lifting even more
and does that hand
stay up
and continue lifting
higher and higher
bit by bit
all by itself
does the other hand want to catch up
with it
or will
the other hand relax in your lap
that’s right
and does
that hand continue
lifting with these slight little jerking
movements
or does
the lifting get smoother
and smoother as the hand
continues
upwards
towards your face
does it move
more quickly
or slowly
as it approaches your face
with deepening comfort does it need
to pause a bit
before it finally touches your face
so you’ll know
you are going
into trance
and it won’t touch
until your unconscious is really ready
to let you go deeper
will it
and will your body
automatically take a deeper
breath when that hand
touches your face
as you really relax
and experience yourself going deeper
that’s right
and will you even
bother to notice
the deepening comfortable
feeling when that hand
slowly returns
to your lap all
by itself
and will your unconscious
be in a dream
by the time that hand
comes to rest

*Texts lifted from Milton Erickson's *Hypnotherapy*