about post-hypnotic suggestions/programming
One of the things I experience as a distinct "mental action" in hypnosis is programming a response. "When X happens, I do Y." Often classified as a "post-hypnotic suggestion".
Hypnotists will often:
- State the instruction more than once
- Practice the response in trance first
- Include some metaphor for "committing" or "writing" the instruction
about post-hypnotic suggestions/programming
Repetition increases the odds of at least one attempt succeeding.
Practicing is a way of conditioning the response. I doubt trance directly helps with this, but it means the subject is less likely to be distracted. Also if it's something they think they need to be in trance to do, it removes a possible obstacle.
Committing the instruction is something I experience as a distinct "mental action". I think that's the interesting part.
about post-hypnotic suggestions/programming
For me, the process of committing goes like this:
- I translate the language of the suggestion into a structure of non-verbal concepts that I can hold in my brain at once. (Repetition makes this easier, as I might forget parts of the language while I'm building the structure.)
- I create a mental sensation of "learning" or "accepting an instruction". This is feels similar to when a concept clicks, or being taught to do something in the normal way.
about post-hypnotic suggestions/programming
(While writing this, I programmed myself to do something a little silly later, with no hypnosis or trance around it. Mostly to observe what I was doing. Will be interesting to see if it works.)
about post-hypnotic suggestions/programming
I think that when someone looks at you very seriously and gives you some warning about a precaution to take, so you don't burn or electrocute yourself or something, and you know it's important and somehow you always seem to remember when the time comes, that's the same thing as programming a post-hypnotic response.