Hypnotic patterns 2
And the very fact that you're studying the hypnotic language patterns found in the Milton Model means that you're exactly the type of person who appreciates the benefits and can learn with ease to enhance your skills and fluency in the effective use of language
Complex equivalence
A complex equivalence is a statement where two meanings are equated as being equal or, if you prefer, where one thing means another:-
And the very fact that you're wondering means that you can come to new insights and new understandings about the materials that you're learning
Fact is that in isolation a person engaging in the act of wondering isn't necessarily going to come to new insights and new understandings. It's entirely possible to wonder about something for even a long period of time without experiencing even one new insight or understanding.
The complex equivalence therefore isn't necessarily true, one thing doesn't necessarily mean the other.
Lucky for us that the complex equivalence doesn't have to be true to be useful in hypnosis.
So long as it sounds meaningful and plausible to the person we are communicating with it's most likely that they will apply appropriate meaning to our words from their own world model to make the complex equivalence 'true' for them.
As confusion always precedes understanding, most people who have had the experience of coming to new insights and new understandings will previously have wondered about the particular topic that they come to understand more about.
Thus, suggesting to a person that their wondering will lead to new insights and new understandings is a meaningful, plausible suggestion that they are likely to accept easily.
Presuppositions
The presuppositions inherent in almost everything we say can be utilised to great effect in hypnotic techniques. (We looked at presuppositions in some detail earlier so you can see these pages if you wish a fuller explanation).
Now I don't know if your unconscious.... knows more or less than you think it does
The statement above includes many presuppositions which are vague, ambiguous and hypnotic in nature such as:-
- You possess an unconscious
- It's possible for your unconscious to know stuff
- It's possible for you to think about what stuff your unconscious knows
- It's possible for your unconscious to know stuff that you may or may not be aware of
And so on (see if you can identify other presuppositions contained in the statement that aren't mentioned here).
As stated earlier, presuppositions are present in almost everything we say and are mostly outside of our conscious awareness.
The very fact that presuppositions are usually outside of awareness means that once we become aware of them we can use them actively and with volition to convey meaning to another person, meaning which is outside of their conscious awareness and thus bypasses conscious resistance.
To clarify, let's consider an experience that you yourself may have had. Many human beings have experienced something like this and you are a human being, so it's fair to suppose that you too will have had an experience like this, isn't it?
Have you ever, in the flow of conversation, agreed to do something for someone and later thought to yourself 'hold on a minute, I can't believe I agreed to that' ?
Chances are that there were presuppositions inherent in what the other person said and how they said them that, at the time, you were not consciously aware of i.e. your attention was elsewhere.
Then later, when you review the situation and focus consciously on what occurred the presuppositions become obvious.
So learning all about presuppositions means that you'll be less likely to end up doing things for other people that you would really rather not do, or at least you'll be fully aware of exactly what's involved before you agree.
Doesn't it?