In contrast to the previous method, this one is a lot longer and should be performed mainly for therapeutic reasons, normally during the first session, after the initial conversation with a new client.

A few points to remember with this method, and in general hypnotherapy practice:

Everything the client does is FINE. He or she does not need to “follow” or do anything you say and they should not feel like you expect them to do something. Let the client be as is.

Considering the first point, here’s your position of power – everything the client does can be utilize. You can use anything he or she offers you, if you allow yourself to follow along with the session. Yes, YOU should follow along, not the client.

And third, given the first two rules of thumb, the client has already entered some kind of hypnotic state (trance) the minute he or she walked into your office and agreed to participate in the hypnosis session. Meaning, everything you do and say from the minute you encounter them near the reception desk (and you should go out of your little dark room to greet them) – should be in the direction of deepening an already existing hypnotic state (trance). How? I’ll go further on that in upcoming articles.

Specifically for the eye fixation method: It is perfectly fine and normal if the client does not wish to close his eyes. And given the first 3 rules of thumb (or thumbs), simply follow along. Alter YOUR words instead of the client’s feeling of – “am I doing it right… am I hypnotized… will it work for me…”. He or she will not be worried about it if they notice that everything they do is being accepted and there are no expectation from them. As if the whole work is ON YOU instead of ON THEM. Now, remember – never tell them not expect or be expected of anything! Simply use anything they give you and their anxiety will fade away.

Of course and by all means, the client must feel comfortable in your office. The room should be dark but with enough light to look around comfortably. The “hypnosis chair” or recliner as some people call it, must be used ONLY for hypnosis therapy! The reason is anchoring. Just by doing hypnosis once on that chair alone you anchor the state of hypnosis to the chair.

This way, in future sessions your work becomes much easier. I had a client who just set on the chair one day and went directly into a very deep trance. I started that day directly with Pin-Points Suggestions (more on that soon). On the other end, if you use that chair for both “casual” conversation and hypnotherapy work, you can expect much harder time in inducing hypnosis on the second time. Just a professional advice, feel free to test it.

Now let’s go on with the method:

Milton Erickson’s Hypnotic Eye Fixation Induction

The Eye Fixation Hypnotic Induction is very simple to understand and use. There are 5 major steps to this method, and right after them comes a deepening script (included here also).

“Madonna” – replace this name with your client’s first name. Unless, of course, you are so talented that Madonna has hired you…

Step #1:

Guide your client to the chair and mention with a smile “let me show you my hypnotic chair…”. Offer a little blanket to the client (another useful tip, since in trance they will feel the air conditioning much stronger and colder). Tell your client that they can remove their shoes if more comfortable. They should move to the first or second position in the recliner (no matter which, as long as it’s not the regular seated position).

“Now, Madonna, as you find the most comfortable position you can find in this more comfortable chair, gaze a little bit towards this wall in front of you or if it feels more right to look at the ceiling and see where exactly (half second pause) you can select a spot and once you have chosen a spot, no matter where, but make it constant – let me know, you can nod your had once you’ve found that spot that feels right… that’s the way…”

Step #2:

“Now, Madonna, you may keep looking at that spot, wondering around it but coming back to it with your eyes in a non-stressful easy going comfortable manner of… and yes, your eyes many blink a bit more frequently and your breathing might get deeper and you may find that your mouth is a little dry which might cause the urge to swallow. And that is fine and perfectly normal before we step into the first stage of hypnosis, but not yet – I will tell you when. And it is perfectly normal once you feel this fuzziness looking at that wall / ceiling, aiming your eyes at that chosen spot. And some people have told me in the past that this fuzziness caused that spot they have chosen to change color or shape or move around an inch or two. And when it comes to this point we usually close (y)our eyes… that’s the way”

If the client did not close his/her eyes by now, keep going with Reflection Suggestions – meaning, affirming what you can see or cannot see but know that is happening – like heavier breathing, blinking, dryness of the mouth, movements to adjust position on the chair, heaviness of the legs or arms, tension in the shoulders, random thoughts that fly in and out…

If after a couple of minutes they don’t close their eyes – continue the session with their eyes open, but affirm it as if it was your intention – “and I am glad you chose to be consistent and look at that spot, some people are not as persistent as you…”

Step #3:

“and Madonna, I wanted to assure you that there is nothing you need to do now, before we begin hypnosis to help you with XYZ (his / her problem). And it can seem very comforting to know that all you actually need to do is to sit there, breathe obviously and let your mind wonder… and let’s make this agreement – once I’d like your conscious mind to notice what I say, I will touch the palm of your hand with my finger just like this… (and touch the palm of his/her hand with your finger – GENTLY and slowly and when you move your hand say – ) and release. ”

By now the client must be in a deeper trance, even though you said “before we BEGIN HYPNOSIS”. The next step would be to install some amnesia commands, this will allow you to smile mysteriously at the end of the session when he/she says – “but I don’t remember almost anything you told me after I sat on the chair…”.

Step #4:

“Now, Madonna (GENTLY touch his/her palm with your finger), let’s take a trip in time to this early morning (stop touching), and before you’ve gotten out of your bed this morning, before you came here to take some time to heal you was it a sunny morning or cloudy morning, you don’t have to answer just think about it… the day you have started today is one of many, but today you have made a brave decision to change in this morning / noon / afternoon, and you had made it all the way here, to find a parking spot and get around the building to find my office. And then now (GENTLY again touch his/her palm with your finger) you seem so relaxed and comfortable – just nod your head if you feel comfortable, that’s the way… it’s a good feeling isn’t it?”

Remember to use whatever happens – I had a slightly noisy A/C in the office so I used the noise – “and you might hear the air conditioning as it works its magic to cool us DOWN in this hot weather, and I always remind myself how wonderful it is to be able to CHANGE the terms of where we live…”

I also had once or twice interruptions of colleagues, opening the door to talk to me (even though I have a huge sign saying “Do NOT Interrupt, session in progress…” – then one of them jokingly said that “do not interrupt” actually means “interrupt”. But even in these cases you can use it – “and yes, someone just opened the door, I guess he doesn’t have the skill of reading english like you and I have. We won’t enter a room where it says Do Not Interrupt, do we? That’s the way, and the best thing about such a thing is their embarrassment in their EYES as they suddenly BLINK even faster feeling ashamed that they did PAY ENOUGH ATTENTION to what is going on around… you…”

Step #5:

“now Madonna, I am going to be quiet for only a couple of minutes to allow your mind to find its own comfortable spot in your own mind to focus on and relax. I am still here, sitting on MY chair… (wait for 20 seconds and then speak) and now I am going to stand up next to you (stand up and move to the right or left side of the recliner), and I am on your right / left side, only to make sure you (GENTLY touch his/her palm, same hand you’ve touched before) remember (let go) the sense of… and yes, this is the way…”

The reason you say “couple of minutes” but wait only 20 seconds is to further confuse the client’s mind and distort his / her sense of time. It’s a classic time distortion method in hypnotherapy, but do not use it more than once in a session and for sure not every consecutive session (since the client will eventually ‘catch’ you).

Step #6:

Final step to drop the client into trance. Very important to pay attention now:

“and Madonna, one last thing before we GO into hypnosis now, isn’t that amusing that we can hold a pen in our hand it just SLEEP(s) away…(touch his/her palm as you say “sleep”, release in “away”) ”

Hypnotic Deepener Script

This is what I use as a deepener to Milton Erickson’s Eye Fixation method. It’s quickly done and it is a good completion (in my point of view) to the method above.

“that’s the way, Madonna, it is soooo easy. And now I am going to count backward, from number 10 – the one that has 1 and zero right after it, to 1… and as I do see if you can imagine the numbers in your head, and it starts with number 10, 9, EIGHT, 7, 6 5 3 2 1… and zero – is that a number, zero? Let’s forget about it… even better, let’s GET more comfortable… yes, that’s the way… ”

When you count from Eight to five, lower your tone of voice – that’s why you should say “EIGHT” in a stronger tone and then go down with the voice to 6 and count faster, “forgetting” the 4… If you have done the Eye Fixation method right, the client will not even remember that you have counted, let alone remember the numbers.

One last point – the deepener meant to be done fast. Don’t give the client enough time to “imagine” the numbers, go on with the script because they won’t follow and this “incompletion” will cause a much deeper state of trance (i.e. – deepener).

Wide Awake

To further enhance the effect of Milton Erickson’s Eye Fixation Induction, try the following wake up script:

“and Madonna, now I am going to count from 1 to 5, as with each number I count you will feel much more alert, awake and relaxed. Starting with number 1 you might wanted to measure the CHANGE you have made from the time you were sitting in the reception area filling out the forms, and 2 how you would feel as now 3 – there might be a hint of a smile that I see there on your face (smile as you say it) as 4 – yes, there is definitely a difference… and 5 eyes open, wide awake – 1 2 3 4 5 – wide awake.”

This is another “push” towards amnesia and time distortion. Instruct your client to sit still for a couple of minutes as you light up the room (just a bit to create a different atmosphere) and talk softly but in your regular voice.

It is very important NOT to explain anything to the client. Meaning, do not tell his / her you’ve done this and that induction… or that she or he have been in hypnosis since that or this time. Let it stay mysterious and magical, it will help the progress of the therapy.

That’s it. Go and work some magic, make sure you come back to tell me about your success…