Just wondering...

[Wayno]

Hi, I am new to this site, but I have been trying hypnosis for the past couple of months. Lately I have been making some improvements in getting into a trance, but I am hitting a barrier. When I become deeply relaxed I start to get this feeling that I am floating/falling. As soon as this happens I take a sharp breath and pull myself out of trance. What happening is I think I am pulling myself out of trance because I can't seem to embrace this feeling. I read somewhere that the problem may be something like my sub-conscious protecting me, in which case I would probably have to keep focusing on embracing it or find a way to be more comfortable with the feeling. Anyways I was curious if anyone had encountered similar issues and if they would like to tell how they got past it.

[ShadowSabre]

The only thing I can think of off-hand-- and I'm no expert-- is this: are you afraid of heights? Maybe, in that case, imagining it as floating in water rather than air may help....

[Kanibal]

I rarely reach that point, but when I do I get the same problem.
Sometimes its there for a few minutes but it dissapears, and it feels like I'm waking up a bit when it does.

I wil try the suggeston and see if it works, thanks.

[Wayno]

Thanks for the tip. I don't consider myself to have a fear of heights, but I have never tried the floating on water idea. It's a good idea if I have a fear and don't know about it. I never really tested myself against the heights. However I don't think I am relating the feeling to a fear of any kind. I am just having trouble getting use to it. The only thing I can think of doing now is to meditate to that point and practice getting use to it. Either way I will update what happens in a little while.

[whatthe75]

Does the induction you are using include going into a floating feeling or floating away.

If it does maybe try a different induction.Maybe one that suggests your muscles are getting heavier and you are sinking, or similar.

[Jack]

You could try an old NLP technique.

Next time this occurs follow the six step reframing outline.


SIX STEP REFRAMING(taken from [url="http://www.nlpco.com/Exercises.html"]here[/url])

Step 1. Identify the behavior or response to be changed. "What shall we call this behavior that you do but don't like?" (Make sure it's a letter, a number, or a neutral name.) Separate part and behavior by saying, "The part that X's," not "The Xing part."
To subject (The message is really to the part, to get rapport): "I want to be very clear about one of my assumptions. I assume that the part of you that X's is important. If we were just to get rid of it, we would be doing you a great disservice."

Step 2. Establish communication with the part responsible for X.
a. Ask part to communicate. "In a moment I'll have you go inside and ask a question. All you do is ask the question, and then pay attention to what you see/hear/feel on the inside. The question is, `Will the part of me that makes me X communicate with me in consciousness, now?' Your job is simply to notice what response you get."
"It will communicate."
"How do you know that?" (Don't let people "mindread" their own parts. Find out what they saw, heard, or felt that they interpreted as a "yes" or "no" response.)
Thank the part for its response each time it communicates.
b. Test to be sure the signal is outside the person's conscious control: "Can you produce the same exact signal, just by consciously trying?" If they can, back up to a. above.
c. Establish a "yes/no" meaning for the signal. "So that we will know exactly what that part wants to communicate, have it increase (in brightness, volume, intensity, etc.) if it means `Yes, it's willing to communicate' and decrease the signal if it means `No, I'm not willing to communicate'."

Step 3. Separate the behavior (X) from the positive intention.
a. Communicate intent? "Ask the part that makes you X, `Are you willing to let me know your positive function(s) in consciousness?'" (There may actually be more than one function; there may be several positive functions.)
b. If part answers, "Yes."
Provide intent. "Tell the part to go ahead and do so now."
Intentions acceptable? "Do you want to have a part that fulfills these positive functions for you?" "Thank the part for the information and for doing these important things for you." If it's not acceptable, get meta outcome and try again.
b. If part answers, "No."
Option 1. Describe frames within which the part may be willing to provide intent, and try again, until the part is willing to communicate its intent (see participant notes OBSTACLES/OPPORTUNITIES, P.11).
Option 2. "Even though this part won't communicate its intent, are you willing to assume (even temporarily) that it has good intentions and that you'd agree with them if you knew them? This doesn't mean that you like the behavior. I expect you will always dislike that, only that you assume good intent." (If the person doesn't know the positive intent consciously, be sure the person fully understands the distinction between intent and behavior.)
c. Conditional close. "Go inside and ask the part this question: `If there were ways that you thought would work at least as well as, or better than, Xing to accomplish your positive intention, would you be willing to try them out?'" If you get a `no' answer here, there is a misunderstanding; back up to clarify.

Step 4. Access a creative part, and generate new behaviors acceptable to the part that generates the unwanted behavior (X). "Are you already aware of a creative part of yourself?" "Ask the part of you that has been making you X to go to your creative part, and communicate directly to the creative part what its positive function is. Your creative part can then begin to generate alternatives to accomplish that positive function. Some of these will be great, some lousy; some you may be consciously aware of, some you may not. The part that used to X will select only those that it considers at least as good as, or better than, Xing, and give you a `Yes' signal each time it selects one. Have the part select new choices that are as immediate and as available as the old behavior. Continue until you get three `Yes' signals." If you are in good rapport, the process will begin as you talk. Pause periodically to give the person's parts time to respond to your instructions. Some people will respond well to lots of verbal instructions; others will want very little. If your talking seems to distract them say as little as possible.

Step 5. Future Pace (and test). "Ask the part, `Are you willing to actually use (try out) these new alternatives, in the appropriate context, to find out how well they work?'" (The part has to consider the new behaviors in context in order to answer the question.)

Step 6. Ecological Check. "Ask this question on the inside, `Does any other part of me have any objections to any of my new choices?'"
If a part answers, "Yes."
"How do you know that?" Sometimes people get signals of excitement at having new choices, and misread these as objections, so it's important to find out. "Have the part that created these sensations increase the sensations if it objects, and decrease them if it has some other response."
If this signal wasn't an objection, ask the person to go inside and check again. It's important to be thorough on this step. "If there are any objections, now is when we want to know about them, so go inside and ask if any other part has objections."
When you have used an unconscious signal to confirm that there is an objection, thank the part that objects for bringing something of importance to your attention, recycle to step #3 with this new part and continue reframing until this part's objection is satisfied.
Additional future pace: (optional) "Go inside and give the part of you that now has three new choices the opportunity of trying one of them out in the appropriate context, as kind of a dress rehearsal on the inside. You can either do this at the conscious or the unconscious level, or both. If you know the behaviors and want to do this consciously, that's fine."