3. The Peace Between Your Ears - Me And My Anxiety Trance

This the third of a four-part series. It focusses on releasing anxiety, creating meaning beyond anxiety and building a healthy relationship with anxiety. Original music, hypnotic suggestions, visuals and production by Jonny Baker on behalf of Change Feels Good.

Transcript

The following process contains hypnosis.

Find a safe and relaxing space to listen to this.

Please don't listen to this while bathing,

While driving any vehicle or while doing anything that might put you or someone else in danger if you were to drift into a relaxing and peaceful internal state.

What follows is important time set aside for you to experience a deep sense of relaxation,

Allowing you to process,

Recharge,

Replenish and rejuvenate and go back into the world with a new energy.

So please make sure you have nothing taxing to do for the duration of this process.

Set your phone to silent.

Find yourself somewhere comfortable to be,

Free from interruption or distraction.

A comfy chair or lying down on a sofa,

Bed or even the floor.

Listen to the sound of my voice and the shape of the music.

Take a deep breath in.

Fill up your lungs.

And out.

Just let go and relax.

Another and in with suppleness.

And out with tension.

And one more in with contentment.

And out with concerns.

Let your ears settle on a point in the center of your vision.

Notice the shapes,

Colors and patterns.

Notice how this makes your eyelids feel relaxed as your breathing settles effortlessly into a natural rhythm.

Imagine yourself at the perfect temperature.

Sitting under a warm and gently flowing waterfall.

Or lying in a warm and gently flowing stream.

Feel free to let your eyelids relax closed whenever they feel ready.

Notice the point at which the water makes contact with the top of your head.

Loosening and releasing all the tiny muscles in your cranium.

As it trickles gently over your forehead.

Your closed eyes.

Your temples.

Your occiput and ears.

Dissolving any tension and relaxing as it flows.

Now as you let your focus settle upon your relaxing face and jaw muscles.

You may have already begun noticing your shifting awareness.

That wave of relaxation oozing into your neck muscles.

Feel that warm flow seeping into your neck.

The muscles and tendons soft and supple as they support your head perfectly.

As if suspended delicately from above.

Give a moment of gratitude for all that your neck gives you.

As the relaxation drifts.

Gentle wave upon gentle wave.

And just as water flows from the neck of a jug to hydrate and rejuvenate.

This fresh warm flow of reassurance ripples softly through your neck.

Over your collarbones and deep into the tissues of your shoulders.

Your shoulders so loose and floppy.

Feeling from the inside out.

May adjust themselves.

Finding the best position to let go.

Take a moment to notice that letting go now.

Thanking your shoulders for their effort.

And from your shoulders follow that relaxation into your chest and upper back.

Feeling and opening up a space for your lungs and heart to breathe.

Nourishing your entire body.

That warm flow now.

Absorbing its way through your core.

Giving a kiss of life to your internal organs.

And massaging your muscles from the inside.

As that warmth flows down into your abdomen and lower back.

Bathing your body in sweet relaxation and appreciation for everything it does.

And simultaneously you may have begun to notice your upper arms.

Floppy and free.

Increasing that life giving circulation.

Feeling that warmth going down through your elbows.

Your wrists and your hands.

Into each finger and thumb.

Loosening and slackening those intricate networks of muscle fibres.

Now feel those soft,

Warm waves.

Travelling through your hips and thighs.

Inside and out.

Delivering health and vitality to every cell.

Softening,

Relaxing,

Letting go.

From your thighs witness that warm flow.

Saturating through your knees and calves with complete relaxation.

And now we arrive at your ankles and feet.

Opening up those gates.

Letting the cleansing relaxation flow through.

Releasing each and every muscle as it goes.

And flowing out through the bottoms of your feet.

Feel that continuous flow now.

From the top of your head.

All the way through each part of your body and mind.

To the bottoms of your feet.

As if you yourself are a beautiful river.

The trickling source up in the mountains at the top of your head.

And the delta flowing out into the sea through your feet.

Giving you that full body,

Warm glow.

So follow those waves of relaxation as they flow down now.

Down over the ten smooth rocks of a gently cascading river.

Thinking tranquil pools as they descend to a place of your own.

A clearing where anything is possible.

Ten,

Noticing the patterns and colours of the minerals in the rocks.

Nine,

Feeling the buoyancy of the water as it cradles you safely.

Eight,

Hearing the ambient trickles of the transparent water.

Seven,

Feeling the warm glow of the sun.

Delivering rejuvenating vitamin D through your skin.

Six,

With the tweeting of the birds in the sky.

Five,

As the spray diffracts the sunlight into all the colours of the rainbow.

Four,

As you take it all in.

Three,

Your clearing coming into view.

Two,

The trees,

Plants and flowers that you love the most.

One,

The warmth of the sun,

The beautiful shapes,

Colours,

Patterns.

The soothing sounds and wonderful sights and smells.

As you enter your space where anything is possible.

In a moment I will ask you to open your eyes.

Then I will click my fingers and say rest.

At which point you will close your eyes and relax even deeper down.

To a beautifully dreamlike state.

Absorbing the messages,

Communicating and following the suggestions.

Open your eyes and rest.

Drifting deeper down.

Ready to take on board and follow my suggestions.

If at any further point you hear me click my fingers and say rest.

You will return immediately deeper to this dreamlike state.

Absorbing the messages I communicate and following my suggestions.

Open your eyes and rest.

Drifting deeper down.

Absorbing the messages I communicate and following my suggestions.

Imagine yourself holding closed the opening of a big,

Brightly coloured,

Inflated balloon between your finger and thumb.

The only thing holding the air in is your firm grip between finger and thumb.

Notice any tension in your hand.

The energy required to hold it all in.

Notice the tension in the balloon and the air pressure creating the tension.

Within are all those moments where you have felt anxious or overwhelmed.

The people,

The things that were said,

Thought and felt.

You might imagine the moments where you have felt so tired.

Like you were running on nothing.

You may even find moments in there where you felt on the verge of tears.

At the end of your tether.

Notice them all in there along with any particular moments that are relevant for you.

All of the pressures,

All of the demands.

You may not have known until now but all of this is being held inside the balloon by the tension in your fingers.

And by now,

Your finger and thumb may be feeling tired.

You may be feeling tired.

Open your eyes and rest.

Drifting deeper down.

Ready to take on board and follow my suggestions.

I wonder what it would mean to you to go beyond your anxiety.

Whether you have been struggling with it for years,

Months,

Weeks or days.

You've been on a journey.

The obstacles and the conditions may have been challenging and at other times a walk in the park.

One thing we know is that this journey ends in liberation from anxiety.

Not with eradication of anxiety.

I wonder what it would mean to you to be liberated from anxiety.

It could mean that you are calm and confident about the future.

About the current situation.

It could mean that you don't give much attention to negative thoughts and feelings about the future.

And you spend most of your time in the present.

It could mean that there are certain things that you can do that you could not do before.

Perhaps you sleep better.

Drink less.

Communicate more confidently.

Stay healthier.

Exercise more.

Earn more money.

Enjoy better relationships and more success.

You may well connect with any of these and more.

And for all of this to occur,

To unfold,

Having been on an epic journey.

I wonder what you would be most grateful for.

I wonder which lessons you will have learned.

Take a moment now to notice a world liberated from anxiety.

And what that would be to you.

You may also be curious about how you can contribute to the lives of others with your new skills,

Your new perspective and your new achievements.

Take a moment for yourself to notice how you can make a difference to the lives of others.

Now these possibilities to circulate,

To settle and in their own time to bed down.

Like seeds blown from their tree and finding their way into the earth at their own pace.

Give them a little water and shine a light on them now.

Then later on,

After you have finished this meditation,

Create time to revisit those seedlings.

Taking notes,

Drawing pictures,

Whatever works for you.

Because very soon they will become towering redwoods.

So there is so much to be explored about your life liberated from anxiety.

There is an interconnected network of possibilities and meaning that make past issues hardly seem significant.

Open your eyes and rest.

Drifting deeper down.

Ready to take on board and follow my suggestions.

Let's get curious about your relationship with anxiety.

In an ideal world,

Many might prefer to have no relationship with anxiety.

But a lobotomy is far from ideal.

We are going to find a way to see anxiety as it is.

The useful system that is just going through a bit of potty training.

We are going to learn to give up resisting that which is part of us.

Where resistance bears no fruit.

If you have ever tried to reason with your anxiety,

Interrogate it,

Fight it,

Fix it,

Hide from it or bury it.

You will know what it means to resist it.

You may frequently or infrequently have experienced debilitating and consuming episodes of anxiety.

These can put you out of action,

Rendering you unable to function as you normally would.

They can feel painful,

Oppressive and hopeless.

So it may be asking a lot to invite you to regard anxiety with anything but sheer disdain and resentment.

To see more grey area than black and white.

Where your anxiety may actually have some legitimate benefits.

And you may think about the times where you have tried to study your anxiety as a problem to be solved or fixed.

Or the times where you have fought your anxiety until you have had no energy left.

Or tried to reason or plead with it at the end of your tether.

Or you may even have tried to ignore it or bury it deep down in the hope that it will just disappear.

And as you reflect upon these coping mechanisms,

You may notice how well intentioned they are.

Which makes it all the more challenging when you feel like you have tried everything in your power.

Up until now,

You may have felt like a hostile relationship with your anxiety is the only kind of relationship possible.

Two opposing gang members stuck inside a prison cell together.

You and your anxiety waking up and going to sleep in a hostile environment.

But you are the storyteller too.

You get to choose what happens next and how you go forward with your relationship.

So imagine you have a remote control.

Feel the weight of it in your hand.

On the face there are two buttons labelled Resist and Accept.

Notice the different colours of the buttons.

Notice the difference in texture between the buttons and the controller.

Allow the thought to arrive.

Remember a time where you have been fully accepting of the way you feel.

There you have surrendered to that feeling.

Allowing it to flow and to continue on.

With no obstructions in its path and no interference.

For example,

A time where you have felt loved,

Respected,

Free and of course you would be fully accepting of the way that you feel now.

Notice what you see,

Hear and feel.

Feel that surrender.

Feel that letting go.

Notice where in your body you get that feeling now.

And press the accept button.

Now.

Now.

Let it go.

Think of a time when you feel you have resisted some anxious feelings.

And those anxious feelings have included that feeling of resistance.

Where you have tried to stop feeling anxious and failed.

It may have continued for some time.

And you may have tried many different things to stop that feeling.

Notice what you can see,

Hear and feel.

Notice where in your body you feel that feeling now.

Press the resist button.

Now.

And let it go.

Let's do that again.

Think of another time where you have been fully accepting of the way that you feel.

For example,

A feeling where you may have been in love,

Respected,

Free.

Where of course you would feel full acceptance of that feeling.

Where you have surrendered to that feeling.

Letting it to flow and to continue on with no obstructions in its path.

And no interference.

Notice what you see,

Hear and feel.

Feel that surrender.

Feel that letting go.

Notice where in your body you get that feeling now.

And press the accept button.

Now.

Let it go.

Think again of a time when you feel you have resisted some anxious feelings.

Where you have tried to stop feeling anxious and failed.

It may have continued for some time.

And you may have tried many different things to stop that feeling.

Notice what you can see,

Hear and feel.

Notice where in your body you feel that feeling now.

Press the resist button now.

Now let it go.

Now think of a future situation.

Where it is important for you to feel acceptance of anxiety instead of resistance.

What will you notice differently about your choice of response?

How difficult or easy is it to imagine yourself accepting.

And what happens next?

Feel that surrender now.

Showing yourself to feel what you feel in the rhythm of each breath in and out.

Feelings floating their way gently through your mind.

Like clouds against the backdrop of a clear blue sky.

Open your eyes and rest.

Drifting deeper down.

Ready to take on board and follow my suggestions.

As you continue to hold all that tension.

All those anxious and overwhelming moments inside your balloon.

All that energy just so that you can keep something that you don't really want.

Not yet but in a moment.

When I say.

You can let it all go.

Forever.

Notice that pressure.

Notice that tension.

Become aware of how it feels.

Is it hard or soft?

Heavy or light?

Sting or still?

Rittle or flexible?

Now take a deep breath in.

And hold it.

Hold it and feel that anticipation.

Now let go.

Let go of your breath.

Let go of the balloon.

Liberate all the pressure.

Let it all flow out as it wants to.

Feel that release.

Savour the relief as your breathing settles softly into a natural flow.

Your balloon is empty.

Soft.

Flexible.

Relaxed.

Still.

This moment is all yours.

So drink it in.

Allow it to nourish you.

Repairing.

Regenerating.

Imagine a butterfly coming to rest on the empty balloon.

When a butterfly is liberated from its cocoon it gains a new form and new resourcefulness.

Colourful wings that gently flap and flutter on the warm breeze.

The butterfly goes through its day light and agile,

Slipping into a dance of rhythm and flow.

Going from flower to flower,

The warm sunlight on its wings.

Smelling the fragrant perfume and pollinating as it goes.

How would it be for you to find yourself light and agile in the same rhythm and flow as the butterfly.

Totally present as you are now to what you hear,

To what you see,

Feel or smell.

How would it be to find the image of this butterfly to be ever present in the centre of your mind and body,

Radiating inner calm and peace.

Imagine yourself now radiating inner calm and peace.

Notice the colours,

Shapes and patterns.

Notice what you hear and what you feel now.

Tomorrow in a weeks time.

In a months time.

In one years time.

In five years time.

And in twenty years time.

Notice with each moment you spend close to this calm and peaceful you.

See the intensity of that feeling spreading in gentle waves and pulses.

Feel you take that step now into this calm and peaceful you.

And as you do,

You notice what it is that lets you know you are there now.

I'm going to count to three.

By the count of three you will find yourself bright and energised.

With all the transformations complete.

Ready to take any challenge in your stride.

Take a deep breath of nourishing air.

Activating all of your resourcefulness.

Give your limbs a good stretch.

Prined to put into action everything that you have gained.

Notice the sounds around you.

Open your eyes fresh and ready.

I hope you have enjoyed this self hypnosis programme.

Feel free to rinse and repeat as many times as you feel beneficial.

Take everything that you have learned and put it into practice.

Take a moment to acclimatise yourself to your surroundings before you restart your life.

Reviews

❤🙏❤

Very interesting meditation and quite calming especially since I've been going through some stressful times. Thank you.