Ingo Swann talks about Reality Boxes often. He’s written a whole book on it! The basic idea is that we all have our own way of viewing our internal and external experiences. This way of viewing is through our build up of concepts, perspectives or Reality Boxes. I like the term Reality Box because it implies a container you can put ideas in and take ideas out of. You can build a box made out of many different materials. Paper, plastic, steel or string. Some will be stronger than others.
The thoughts you think consistently are the material you build your reality boxes out of and are the framing your subconscious uses to perceive/view everything you experience. More often than not these reality boxes were given to us when we were very young and operate on auto pilot well below conscious awareness. However we have every opportunity to shape, build and fill our own with some conscious intention and effort.
How then to build better reality boxes for ourselves? One way I’ve found that’s helped me quite a bit is through guided hypnosis.
Basically guided hypnosis places you in a relaxed sate physically and an open state mentally to the point where suggestions, ideas and thoughts, slip through to your subconscious and are accepted and utilized much more readily and potently than in our regular waking state. It’s a sweet spot for taking in some high quality material to build up and fill up better reality boxes.
I got so into it I took a course and got a certificate in between watching episodes of Frasier and Burn Notice during Lockdown 2020.
It was a personal project I had been interested in for a while. With all the benefit its provided me I wanted to share 10 points that can convey in what ways hypnosis can elevate and upgrade our frames of reference constructed by our reality boxes.
- Enhanced Focus and Concentration: Hypnosis techniques can improve focus and concentration, enabling individuals to achieve better mental clarity and productivity. Clarity, focus, concentration all come from a less foggy, less frazzled frame of mind through bringing about a more calm and open baseline mental state.
- Stress Reduction: As mentioned above, by inducing a state of calm and deep relaxation, and suggesting a more natural, neutral and open mental state, hypnosis can help alleviate stress and promote a more productive and if desired, positive mindset, leading to better daily effectiveness and overall well-being.
- Overcoming Negative Habits: Now hypnosis will vary in effectiveness from person to person. But hypnosis can aid in breaking negative habits such as smoking, overeating, or procrastination, thereby fostering a healthier mindset and lifestyle. I’ll admit that it took more than just hypnosis to break a habit of smoking but what it did incredibly effectively was provide a completely different way of looking at the activity and thought processes around it. This in turn provided more agency and options as well as more awareness. I was no longer ‘hooked’ reacting and using the activity as an unconscious coping response. Which I was for some time. Do I still enjoy tobacco from time to time? Absolutely. It’s simply become a rare experience and chosen consciously.
- Increased Motivation: Through suggestion and visualization, hypnosis can boost motivation levels by providing refreshing and sometimes exhilarating perspectives on situations which previously would leave me feeling drained. It most definitely helped me set and achieve goals without all the rigmarole and with a more productive and positive mindset.
- Improved Self-Confidence: A big one for me. Hypnosis can address that nagging imposter syndrome sensation, self-doubt and insecurities, instilling a sense of self-belief and confidence, which contributes to a healthier mindset. Building a better frame of mind has so much to do with self confidence. Having your subconscious stand on the foundation of “I can, will and do successfully move through any obstacles, hills, hurdles and issues in my path. I grow from it each time and sometimes I enjoy it” rather than “every time I try something I struggle and I fail. Why am I so stupid? Why do I even try? I suck and probably always will. It’s Ice cream time.” Made a huge and powerful change in my everyday. Ice cream is great.
- Alleviating Anxiety and Fears: Dovetailing from number Five, hypnosis techniques can be effective in managing anxiety and fears by reprogramming subconscious responses, leading to a more resilient mindset. It is this gentle and effective reprogramming that comes through invitations and suggestions to the subconscious that build positive momentum in turning away from anxiety and turning toward more active and enjoyable participation in life.
- Positive Thought Patterns: These points stack up like a delicious sandwich! Hypnosis can assist in rewiring negative thought patterns, replacing them with positive and empowering beliefs, thus cultivating a more optimistic mindset. Having thoughts like “Trying new things gives me new experiences and broader perspectives. Broader perspectives reveal more options and opportunities for success and joy” rather than “I always look like an idiot when I try something and I feel like one too. I think I’ll sit this one out. Where’s that Ice cream?” will only improve your living experience. I’ve found that at one point or another everyone has looked like an idiot. Myself much more so than the ‘normal’ amount. It’s a big club. It’s also never as bad as you think it’s going to be and the choice of experiencing that ‘try something new’ maybe idiocy-inducing-feeling, is the first step toward mastery.
- Increased Emotional Resilience: In the world of today where so much emotion seems ready to explode and shatter a moment into shards of discomfort and emotional reactive outbursts, hypnosis can aid in developing emotional resilience and coping mechanisms. It’s certainly allowed me to handle challenges with a more productive mindset. Emotions are like the weather. They’ll always be a part of the day, but they come and then they go. You could define your day by the weather, but you could also define the day by what you did with it. One is under your control and agency much more readily than the other. (Unless of course you built yourself a cloud buster a la Wilhelm Reich style or were expressing psychokinesis like Ted Owens. Even then it’s what you did to and with the weather, not the weather itself.)
- Boosted Creativity: By accessing the subconscious mind, hypnosis can unlock creativity and innovative thinking, enabling individuals to approach problems with a new perspective and fresh mindset. Genius, I’ve been told and have read in several places, is the ability to see connections where others cannot. Hypnosis is wonderful at putting yourself in a mental flow space where connections will effortlessly bubble up when previously the waters of cognition once stood stagnant and still.
- Improved Sleep and Restfulness: — “Happiness consists of getting enough sleep. Just that, nothing more.” — Robert A. Heinlein, Starship Troopers. — Who doesn’t like a good nights sleep? Hypnosis can facilitate deep relaxation and improve sleep quality, resulting in better cognitive functioning and a more positive mindset throughout the day. One of the most effective and sneakily productive ways I like to saunter off to dream land is by putting on a guided hypnosis session. I’m getting solid sleep and setting my subconscious up stronger all at once.
I couldn’t contain myself and decided to use my voice over skills to share a longer form guided hypnosis session that I had used in the past. It’s a foundational set of suggestions that helped me with confidence, consistency in action, awakening hidden talents and powers, and optimizing sleep and dreams just to name a few sections of the session. The youtube video is below. Enjoy the building material for your reality boxes.
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