Introduction
The Early Learning set is a process made most famous by Milton H. Erickson. However, like his My Friend John technique, and his handshake induction, it appears to be one of those things that is admired and lauded, yet not very often put into practice. That may be because it is based on some very loose principles and thus – like My Friend John – can put people off because it seems too simple and almost too good to be true. We will share a transcript of the induction here, that is very clearly inspired by Erickson’s own transcript shared in Hypnotic Realities. (A fuller tutorial and video demonstration will be uploaded soon.)
Transcript
Okay, well, why don’t you just look at the far upper corner of that frame there… The far upper corner of that frame.
The certificate in the frame isn’t all that interesting, but do you… see how the light is dancing around the corner of the frame?
– “Yeah.”
So, you can just rest your eyes on that,
Whilst I continue to talk to you.
I don’t know how much you remember about your first day, or your first week, of going to school. Maybe you recall your teacher’s name, your class mates, saying goodbye to whoever dropped you off, finding your chair…
Maybe you recall it in great detail, even now, or some people simply focus in on some of the general details, like the size of the classroom, the colour of the walls, and so on.
You could recall that one of the first lessons you might have been taught was writing the letters of the alphabet. Some people remember that clearly, others can simply imagine what that was like in that room now, learning to write those letters.
And when you are first learning to write letters, and even numbers, it can seem like it is just too much to ask of you. You’re just a child and this task seems too big.
To recognize the letter A. Distinguishing an M from an N… to tell a Q from an O… that can be very difficult.
And then, of course, once you’ve learned your letters… you now have to learn them joined-up. That’s a whole other experience. Another task you achieved.
And all these lessons are there in your head.
You made an image, like a picture of the letters. You made another picture of joined-up letters.
You may not know how you did it, but you learned those lessons that had once seemed so hard.
You didn’t know it at the time, but a permanent picture, an enduring lesson was formed there in your head, way back when, that is still here with you now.
And as you progressed through school, you formed other mental images of words or pictures of sentences.
The more you learned, you developed more and more mental images without knowing you were developing those pictures within.
And you can recall all those pictures, images and lessons whenever you choose to go inside now.
Now you can go anywhere you wish… and transport yourself to any scenario.
You can recall sitting on your bike… That feeling of your hair blowing in the wind as you rode off so effortlessly, something that may have taken a number of stops and starts in the past.
Now you can simply enjoy going there and feeling that experience once again now…
You can do anything you want, go anywhere you wish.
You don’t even have to listen to my voice… As your mind transports you to any one of those situations, my voice can go with you.
Part of you, maybe not a part you are even conscious of, will continue listening and learning once again.
You might not yet have noticed that twitching in your eye-lids. And I’m curious how your unconscious mind knew that this was a common step people took as you go into trance… You don’t need to focus on the changes in your breathing… that’s it…
Now, as you shift and get even more comfortable in your chair… you don’t even need to pay attention to your relaxation and comfort.
This is clearly a natural process for you… And effortless for your unconscious mind
As you recall, re-expereince and relive your earlier states of… Curiosity, creativity, learning and achievement.
And I wonder how easily you can relearn those lessons about learning… even when you don’t know how you are doing it now. Simply flowing, growing, enjoying those experiences of learning once again…
In your own time, as your mind takes you there… Letting you go inside…