“I want to be a professional magician.” I was loading out from a show several years ago when the young man who was helping me carry my equipment made that confident proclamation. I thought (but dared not say it out loud so as to not discourage him), Well, I’ve heard that from more than one young magician wanna-be. But in the ensuing years, this young man kept pursuing his dream relentlessly and today, Michael C. DeSchalit is not only a sought-after professional magician, but an international award-winning stage hypnotist.
Since suggestion is a tool wielded by not only magicians and mentalists but especially hypnotists, I asked Michael recently what role it plays in our everyday mental and emotional health.
“All hypnosis is self-hypnosis,” he responded. “Even though a hypnotist will offer suggestions to the subject’s subconscious mind, the subject can resist or accept any suggestion they choose. However, the suggestions that the subject gives him or herself – healthy or unhealthy – are rarely resisted because they’re generated from the subject’s own subconscious mind.”
So, as Michael points out, what we suggest to ourselves about ourselves is typically even more powerful and anchors itself even more securely than those suggestions that come to us from others. But he also added a very important point about our susceptibility to suggestion whether generated externally or internally:
“Even though a person can resist any suggestion given by a hypnotist or anyone else, if that person is in an emotional, stressful, or fatigued state, that suggestion can anchor itself in that person’s subconscious mind much more effectively. If something is said to someone who is in a vulnerable state and especially if the suggestion is given by someone viewed as an authority figure, that suggestion, positive or negative, can have a powerful impact. So, be careful who you listen to and be careful how you talk to yourself, particularly when you’re in a state of high suggestibility.”
Michael is right on target. Words we speak to ourselves are very effective tools of suggestion that, like tools in a toolbox, can be used to build up or to tear down. It’s easy to default to the negative use of words. It takes intentionality to wield our words to build positivity into our lives and the lives of others.
Here are a few action steps to help you incorporate the power of suggestion in your life.
Am I suggesting to myself things that are not true about myself? My worth? Who I really am? From here on out I will believe the truth about myself.
Do I still believe something someone said about me that is not true? I will replace that untruth with the truth.
Have I made mistakes in the past that are still plaguing me with negativity? Today’s a new day and I chose in this present time to let go of the past and live for the future.
What positive suggestions do I need to tell myself each day?
How can I use positive suggestions to enrich the lives of others?
Rod Robison is a Tucson, Arizona based author, magician, mentalist, and inspirational speaker. His book The Magic of Cultivating Positive Emotions: Four Powerful Secrets Mentalists Use to Influence Thoughts and How You Can Use Them to Improve Your Emotional Health is receiving five star reviews including this from a reader and audience member.
“Rod absolutely blew us away with his presentation to our group this week. He was so good that I got this book and it truly amplifies all the excellence of his message. Buy the book and then book him as your next speaker. You’ll be astounded by his performance and transformed by his wisdom!”
Available at www.TucsonMagician.com/books
