12 - Induction - Absorption
And as you relax into that chair, I’d like to welcome you to notice the sound of my voice… becoming aware of the sound of my words… You may even begin to visualize these words… maybe even imagining me writing them down… Each of those words having different letters with different shapes… Each shape making a different sound as I write them down with a pen or pencil on a clipboard.
Here, we’re just giving the subject something to think about internally, encouraging absorption in the experience. Again, we’ve giving permission, rather than demanding it. We’re also gently engaging in attention bouncing, which will increase absorption, set a low bar for automatic compliance, and get our subject to notice their cognition and internal processes.
And as we continue, you might notice the other sounds around you… the sound of your breath as you inhale, the whine of your computer fan in the background, or even some of the conversation far in the distance. You might notice the quiet creak of the floor from your neighbors, the rumble of your air conditioner, as well as the sounds from outside your room that come and go. Those sounds that you notice remind us that everything is fine and will continue on, as you continue to listen to the sound of my voice, and the sounds that their shapes make on the piece of paper with a pen or a pencil.
Here, we give our first subtle suggestion outside of imagination. As we highlight all sorts of things that could be distracting, we reframe these as sounds that are relaxing and part of normal day-to-day life. Being aware of these sounds around us is not a problem.
This bears similarity to NLP pacing and leading. NLP style pacing and leading suggestions often take this form:
- You may notice thing A (that already exists)
- Or even thing B (that already exists)
- Becoming aware of C (that already exists)
- And some people even begin to notice D (the thing you want to suggest)
In less NLP speak, using our surroundings could also be called utilization. Classic Ericksonian utilization (roughly) would only include a subject’s internal process or thoughts, however more modern takes use our surroundings. I’ve written more about that here, if you’re curious.
And as you continue to allow yourself to relax… you may become aware of just how your body is positioned. Perhaps you notice how your feet feel inside of your shoes, or exactly how your fingers are positioned, or even the subtle shift of your chest as you exhale, continuing to notice my words and how they sound… still occasionally imagining me writing them down, noticing the different lengths of the words and how the strokes of the individual letters sound as they’re written down on that piece of paper with that pen or pencil… And as you notice that, you can be aware of those sounds surrounding us, those sounds can come and go, as you continue to listen to the sound of my voice.
This is just straight up overload and attention bouncing. However, in doing so, we suggest that they’re still listening to the sound of our voice because indeed, they probably are. It’s an experiential way to demonstrate “Hey, your attention can go all over the place, and you don’t need to do anything to bring it back to my words.”
And I’m not sure how aware you are of how your body is resting… maybe noticing the chair against your back, or how heavy your legs are, or even just how relaxed your arms are in your lap. As your body continues to relax, you might become aware of how it feels as your arms and legs have become just a bit heavier… as you continue to listen to the sound of my voice…
We’re doing a few things here - most of which is obvious. We’ve been loading our subject up with permissive suggestions to relax, as well as inviting them to notice their interoceptive responses. More subtly - we’ve done two more things. Firstly, we’re setting up for a catalepsy (rigidity/immobility) convincer later in the induction where they’re so relaxed they won’t want to move their legs, as well as gently bringing their attention back to the sound of our voice. I don’t have a paper or reference for this, but intuitively I believe this works like “Simon Says.” If you talk enough finishing up with “oh yeah, and keep listening,” sometimes it becomes an automatic process.
And as you find yourself relaxing, you might notice how your feet feel on the floor… some people notice them becoming numb and heavy, others just find that the relaxation feels normal and natural… still being aware of the sounds surrounding us and the sound of my voice as you relax your arms and legs.
We repeat the process again. We bounce their attention, suggest relaxation, and suggest they can continue to listen to our voice.