This is not an aspect of the Induction as originally taught by Elman himself. However, I have found it to be a beneficial addition that fits naturally within the process. My recommendation is to include it after the suggestion for amnesia, or even as part of the amnesia stage to enable you to distinguish between genuine amnesia and aphasia.1
I first discovered the useful tool known as the ‘Super Suggestion’ in the writings of Jonathan Chase.2 However, Chase suggests that it was known at least as early as 1867.
The fact is that if you are seeking to reach a place where your client is most open to responding to your suggestions, then it makes sense to simply suggest that they follow your suggestions. However, use this too early and you risk a rejection. After all, it is the hypnotic equivalent of asking someone to agree to whatever you ask of them before you say it. If you have not already established a ‘deep’ enough state of consent then the Super Suggestion may be rejected and you can even find yourself retreating a few steps back up the pyramid.
The Super Suggestion, as I encountered it, comes from the realm of Stage Hypnosis. However, it need not be restricted to that arena. If you have cascaded your suggestions and seen a progressive increase of consent, relaxation and selective thinking then the Super Suggestion can function to make explicit the client’s engagement with the process so far.
The following example of a Super Suggestion is as blunt as that employed in a Stage Hypnosis3 or Street Hypnosis4 scenario. However, it fits comfortably within the Elman process and is designed to avoid any kind of rejection by your clients:
From this moment on, you can accept everything I say to you, every single thing I say. Everything I say will instantly become your reality. You will know what I say you know, feel what I say you feel and do what I ask you to do. Everything I say is instantly your reality without doubt, question or hesitation because you have such a powerful mind. You can follow perfectly every direction I give you.
Just nod your head to let me know you understand and accept this suggestion.
This, like all suggestions, benefits from repetition. After having repeated the suggestion two or three times, I find it helpful to ask the client to visibly accept the suggestion by nodding their head.
Of course, it is possible to develop less authoritarian versions of the Super Suggestion. These may make it less fitting for a Stage/Street situation, but perhaps more acceptable in a therapeutic environment:
And you have done so well, that from this moment on, you are free to accept everything I say to you. Everything I say can instantly become your reality. As you have shown yourself to have a powerful subconscious mind, you can – when you are ready – allow yourself to know what I say you can know, feel what I suggest you can feel and you can find yourself able to do what I ask you to do.
Knowing that you are here for your good, and that you have taken the decision to regain control of your life – and demonstrated that you have the resources to do so – everything I say can instantly become your reality without doubt, question or hesitation… because you have such a powerful mind… you can follow perfectly every direction I give you.
And you can nod your head when you are ready to let me know that you understand and embrace this suggestion.
Exercise
The Super Suggestion is not a part of the induction as originally taught by Dave Elman.
Do you find its inclusion helpful or not?
Are there other ways to present something like the Super Suggestion which might make it more acceptable to your clients?
For example, rather than saying, “you will accept everything I say”, experiment with suggestions like, “And I just wonder how easy you will find it to accept everything that is suggested to you, for your good.”
Is the Super Suggestion an alternative to somnambulism, or can the two ideas work together?
