210.03 - Direct vs Indirect

There’s a little bit of antfucking here on the language, but this will give you more awareness of the tools you are using.

Indirect Suggestion

Indirect suggestions are the softest type of suggestions. A classic example of this is relaxing imagery. In a moment, close your eyes and notice how your body feels imaging relaxing reading a book. Now try the same thing, but waiting in the DMV line as vividly as possible.

Direct Suggestion

Now for some antfucking! You can give a direct suggestion with either permissive or authoritative language. One says what may happen, the other says what is happening as an absolute truth. Permissive suggestions usually have a fallback in case they’re not noticed, but there’s none of this with authoritative.

Permissive: And… on your next breath out… there’s a chance you may find your eyelids growing heavier… perhaps now, even - noticing some degree of weight beginning to build…

Authoritative: On each breath out, your eyelids will become heavier and heavier. That’s right. Notice that feeling. Notice them gluing shut automatically. Try and open them - and you’ll find that they just don’t open.

1899 Authoritative: “Your eyes are becoming heavy, drowsiness is upon you, following as it naturally must upon your quiet state of physical and mental relaxation.”

Instructions

Instructions are great! Just tell someone what you want them to do - like a PMR.

“What I’d like you to do is take a deep breath in… hold… and very slowly… release that breath… closing your eyes. Relax all the tiny muscles bla bla bla…”

Beginner Tips

When you’re starting - keep your language ‘permissive.’ What I mean by this is…

And as you relax, you may find that your body is slowly settling into the chair… it’s possible you may even feel yourself beginning to sink, or breathe more slowly.

Is more permissive, and is less likely to fail than…

Relax. Your body is slowly settling into the chair. You feel yourself sinking. You are breathing more slowly.

It’s fine to directly ask someone to do something as well.

Relax. Push that feeling of relaxation into your body, helping it settle into the chair. Allow yourself to notice a sensation of sinking. Breathe more slowly.

You’re far more likely to get away with “you will notice (foo)” after building up a bit of “heteroaction” momentum.