Do you close your eyes during self-hypnosis? Most people do. This is an easy way to minimize distractions. You’ll have nothing begging for your visual attention. Closing your eyes is vital if you’re in a setting where a lot is happening around you.
That’s not the type of environment where you usually want to have an auto-hypnosis session. However, when you can grab a few minutes and enjoy a productive self-hypnosis session, why not? Practice will make you better at hypnosis with your eyes wide open.
Whether you should keep your eyes open or closed during hypnosis is not really a zero-sum game question. It’s not always answered with a simple yes or no, nor should it be. You access your subconscious every day without realizing it, and your eyes are open as you engage in some conscious activity.
What Do Hypnotherapists Say?
Hypnotists and hypnotherapists have differing opinions on the subject. Why shouldn’t they? They are people just like you and me. You don’t always agree with your friends and loved ones, do you? Of course, you don’t. These are the people you care the most about in your life. While that’s true, it doesn’t mean that you can’t have drastically different opinions than them on certain subjects.
Hypnotist Barrie Saint John has spoken on the subject on the website SelfHypnosis.com. He says that the public perception of hypnosis always envisions the patient with their eyes closed. Movies, films, and books have driven home this belief as well. Sometimes, however, a hypnotherapist will ask that a patient open his eyes after a hypnotic state has been induced.
It really depends on the hypnotist in question. Regarding self-hypnosis, the recommendation is to try with your eyes open and closed. See how you feel. What delivers the best results? You should always cater any type of therapy to your unique situation and preferences.
When Your Attention Strays You Could Be under Hypnosis, with Your Eyes Wide Open
We’ve all been listening to someone talk endlessly. They seem to be in love with the sound of their own voice. The rambling goes on and on and on, with no end in sight. You’re politely listening and possibly even nodding your head and making attentive gestures.
At the same time, your mind strays. You’re not deep into the conversation anymore. You might pick up bits and pieces, and the person talking thinks you’re actively listening. But in reality, you’re miles away in your mind.
You can see the room around you. You are aware of your environment and everything that’s going on. Your eyes are wide open. You could act consciously and physically on what you’re seeing, hearing, and smelling.
Yet you are in a state of hypnosis. Your eyes are open, but your mind has taken a journey somewhere else.
Like in a self-hypnosis session, you can voluntarily bring yourself back to your current state. You can answer a question posed to you or otherwise engage in a conversation. This is a simple example of hypnosis with your eyes open.
We’ll go back to what we recommended earlier. Try self-hypnosis with your eyes closed. If that works well, there might not be any need to try the other option. On the other hand, there may be times when having your eyes open is preferred. Just understand that having your eyes open or closed won’t guarantee or limit the success of a self-hypnosis session.
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