“Self-talk reflects your innermost feelings.” Asa Don Brown
Say your prayers.
I had never been hypnotized. But when my daughter turned 21 she made me take her Las Vegas with a friend. We had a really good time. While I had been there a couple of years before I found that the spa at Caesar’s Palace has Roman baths. Really. It’s called the Qua Spa and I could spend a day there going from pool to pool in total relaxation. But I found out on that trip that they employed a hypnotist for the spa. Let me rephrase that, they employed a doctor who could hypnotize people to help them lose weight or quit smoking or whatever. I had never been hypnotized and wanted the experience. So I took a little of my gambling money and got hypnotized. It was really cool. I have never been so relaxed.
But I found out later that hypnotism is only effective if you are given positive reinforcement. This guy was so good because he told me positively what he wanted me to do. And it worked.
But I found that you get the same feeling being hypnotized as you do right before you go to sleep. You know that place between sleep and consciousness? If you consciously give yourself positive self-talk right before you go to sleep it has the same effect as being positively hypnotized.
When I realized this I wrote down the things I thought I needed to hear. I wrote for days. Then I took my iPhone and recorded it. The whole process didn’t really work because my husband has the TV on all night. I bought a pillow with speakers so I could hear my positive self-talk but because I was competing with the TV it didn’t really work. But the practice worked out wonderfully. Just trying to figure out what I would say to myself was a huge self-esteem booster. I thought about moving into the guest room, which is quiet.
My mother used to pray the rosary before she fell asleep every night. She used to say that the angels would finish the rosary if she didn’t. How sweet that she slipped into unconsciousness with a prayer to the Blessed Mother on her lips.
So I challenge you. What is great about you? Tell yourself. You’ll be surprised how much you like yourself.