by Linda-Ann Stewart
Many years ago, a hypnotherapist told me that she would make a hypnosis tape of her goals to listen to as she went to sleep. When she mentioned this, I remembered that, years before, I’d made myself an affirmation tape to listen to as I drifted off, and the ideas on that tape had made a significant difference in my life. On many occasions since then, I’ve had a tape playing as I go to sleep. As with the affirmations, the goals and concepts on my tape tend to become realities in my life.
Many times, a client would come to me and tell me that the only time that they can listen to the reinforcement tape of their session was as they’re going to sleep. I told them, “That’s fine. As a person goes to sleep, they’re going through the same level of awareness that we use in hypnosis.” I went on to explain that it generally takes longer than thirty minutes to get into the deep level of sleep, and even then the subconscious is still hearing and listening to what’s being said. Have you ever been deeply asleep, and had a strange sound bring you wide-awake? That’s the subconscious mind monitoring your environment and recognizing when there’s something unusual or dangerous, and waking you to deal with it.
Using Affirmations as You Drift Off
But a person doesn’t need an audiotape to utilize this excellent time. Just repeating an affirmation as you go to sleep is a great way to imprint new concepts, goals and ideas. Joseph Murphy, author of many books on the subconscious, suggested repeating the word “Wealth,” rather than “I am wealthy” to avoid any resistance from the subconscious. “I am wealthy” might bring up arguments that “No, I’m not,” “I don’t have a cent to my name,” etc. Simply saying “Wealth” brings up the images and feelings of being well taken care of, which is what impresses the subconscious.
Many people use the time before sleep to think of a problem they have, and then affirm, “I’ll have the answer to it in the morning.” There is now research to support that sleep can be a creative time. If a person believes that their subconscious will be working on a solution, then they will awaken with the answer. A study has found that the person who “Sleeps on it” will be twice as likely to awaken with insights and solutions than the person who stays awake to think and worry about the problem.
Program Your Goals as You Sleep
One of my colleagues calls the time before sleep “My time.” When he has a particular goal, he uses his imagination to make it real for him. He visualizes how it would feel to have accomplished it, and lets his subconscious figure out the way to make it happen. By doing this, he went from having barely enough to live on to owning a beautiful house, investments, and retiring at an early age.
Decide on one area of your life that you want to improve. Then find a short affirmation or word that embodies your desire. Use your imagination to visualize your goal as if it were already accomplished. To reduce weight, imagine yourself at your perfect weight, exercising and enjoying the activity, leaving food on your plate, feeling slim and energetic. To stop smoking, imagine yourself saying, “No thank you” to a cigarette, being free of urges, and being able to breathe better. For prosperity, imagine your bank account at a particular amount by a certain date. If you want more appreciation at work, imagine being congratulated on a job well done, being promoted, feeling satisfied.
When I wake up in the middle of the night, I usually repeat the phrase “I open my mind to receive more Good” as I drift back off to sleep. It’s short and simple enough that I don’t have to work to remember it. Drifting off to sleep is one of the best times to impress new information into the subconscious mind. If you consistently use this time to program your mind with what you want, you’ll find that your life improves drastically in a very short time.
Affirmation:
As I drift off to sleep, I program my mind with the goal that is most important to me. I open my mind to receive more of the Good that Life wants to give me. I know that my subconscious mind is very creative, and has all the knowledge and resources it needs to find the solution. I am guided in the direction I need to go to make real my desire. Everything I need for the accomplishment of my goal is provided. I trust my subconscious mind to figure out how to bring about my desire.
As a focus mentor, hypnotherapist, and writer, Linda-Ann Stewart motivates women entrepreneurs and small business owners to focus and transform their business through deliberate actions that break through distraction and overwhelm to greater success, wellbeing and prosperity.To boost productivity and reduce overwhelm, register for her FREE guide, Design Your Best Day, at Linda-AnnStewart.com/guide.html
