In 2018, when I first began studying hypnosis, I realized quickly that I had already been using hypnosis in a number of ways without realizing it: in my favorite mindfulness technique, how I relaxed my mind before going to bed, and most surprisingly, to help with my writing process.
While this was several years before I called myself a writer, writing was a significant part of my life. I wrote daily in my job in real estate marketing and social media. It was the center of my work with new play development and dramaturgy. It was a huge – and my favorite – part of grad school. And I was a lifelong journaller to boot.
With each of these, I knew I had to be in the right mindset to do my best writing and had specific routines for different writing assignments. I simply never recognized these routines for what they were – hypnosis!
Now that I am aware of this distinction, I can intentionally use hypnosis to enhance my writing and my creative process in a number of ways.
Here are my top five uses of hypnosis for writing.
#1 – Hypnosis can help you reduce overthinking and overanalyzing while writing
When it comes to writing, particularly non-fiction writing, many people rely most heavily on their conscious mind to get it done. After all, it is the “doing” part of our mind so it’s natural to give this job to our conscious, logical mind.
However, creativity and self-expression come from our subconscious mind. That’s why when we use our conscious mind to do our writing, we can get caught up in overthinking, constantly editing our thoughts and ideas, and making the process unnecessarily long and painful. It’s because we’re using the wrong part of our mind.
When we allow our subconscious mind to run the show in our writing process, our ideas and words flow, we trust ourselves more, and our writing becomes faster and easier. In hypnosis, our conscious, logical mind goes to the background and our subconscious mind comes forward and does its magic, which reduces overthinking and increases natural creativity.
Additionally, hypnosis is, by definition, a state of relaxation. When you bring yourself into a slightly hypnotic state when you are writing, your mind relaxes and your inner critic quiets down, allowing you to write without questioning yourself so you can write now and edit later.
#2 – Hypnosis brings you into a flow state
When you are in hypnosis, which is a state of lowered conscious mind activity, you enter a flow state. In this state, you are hyper-focused on the task at hand and free from outside distractions and mental noise.
Bringing myself into a flow state for writing is a routine I began in grad school, without realizing it was self-hypnosis. Whenever I’d have a paper to write, once my research and outlines were done, I’d sit on my couch, press “play” on Gone with the Wind, and before I knew it, my first draft would be written. I don’t particularly like Gone with the Wind, so this routine never made much sense to me. I just knew it worked.
It wasn’t until I began learning about hypnosis that I understood why this worked. In the 7+ minutes of opening credits, the music relaxed me into a hypnotic flow state, so before the movie even began, I was intensely focused on my writing. Furthermore, as the music fades in and out throughout the movie, it renews this state of flow so I could hold my concentration for hours.
Learning to bring yourself into this state through self-hypnosis can transform your writing sessions and maximize your time and effort. And it’s easier to do than you realize. All it takes is a little practice. In fact, I do it almost every time I write, including right now, in only a matter of seconds.
To learn how to activate a flow state through self-hypnosis, join me for this training on June 7th!
#3 – Hypnosis can help you break through writer’s block
While I’m not a huge fan of the term “writer’s block” because it presents itself in so many different ways, at different parts of the writing journey, for very different reasons, it is well-documented that hypnosis is a powerful too for overcoming writer’s block in many of its forms.
Writer’s block can be caused by overthinking and trying to hard. It can be caused by fear and doubt. It can be caused by subconscious blocks you don’t even know you have. It can look like procrastination. It can feel like a total loss for words or ideas. It can even manifest itself by getting sick or extremely busy. Just to name a few!
The amazing news is that hypnosis can help with all of these, since it helps you reprogram your subconscious habits, beliefs, and feelings, which are often the root of these issues.
#4 – Hypnosis can build your confidence
Confidence is a quality most of us could use more of, especially writers. As a writer, you may (or may not) be confident in your writing ability. When you are, you trust your ideas, resist the urge to second guess yourself, and write faster as a result. But confidence for writers goes beyond the act of writing itself.
We are in a time where regardless of what publishing route you choose – traditional, self-publishing, or hybrid – you will be the primary drive of your marketing, promotion, and book sales. Building your confidence in being seen, public speaking, sharing your message, and so much more will increase your ability to sell your book to readers, agents, and publishers.
An added note: building confidence as a writer often goes hand in hand with releasing writer’s block. Our minds are like vacuums. When you release an unwanted feeling, belief, or habit, something will rush in to take its place. Being intentional about calling in positive feelings, beliefs, and habits like confidence, self-trust, and motivation to fill this void is crucial. If you only work on letting go of the negative without intentionally replacing it with a positive, another negative can fill its place.
#5 – Hypnosis can help you gain clarity on what you are writing
Last, but certainly not lease, hypnosis can help you gain clarity and find solutions within your message, your ideas, and how to present them in your writing. Again, this is an area where it is tempting to rely on your conscious mind.
We’re often taught to think through our solutions and options. However, when we let our logical mind team up with our powerful subconscious mind, we often find the best solution in the most unexpected places.
When you learn to use hypnosis to connect with your intuition, higher self, and spirit guides, you connect with a deeper universal intelligence that knows exactly when and how to share your message and tell your story. Asking for writing guidance from these sources of inner and spiritual wisdom can reveal information you’ve forgotten. It can make your writing come across more clearly, it can show you possibilities you hadn’t considered before.
It also makes your writing authentic and aligned with your purpose. After all, when you rely on outside sources and research for your writing, anyone can access the same information. Only YOU can connect with your own inner wisdom to share what your soul knows to be true. Leaving this personal knowledge out is denying your readers the essence of your writing.
To learn more about connecting with spirit for your writing, check out my free pdf on 6 Steps to Spirit Guided Writing.
Creative Alchemy with Melissa Conkling 