Indirect Suggestions & Binds

Indirect Suggestions & Binds:
Formulas
1. Open Ended Suggestions:
Increase one level of ambiguity.
2. Presuppostion:
Use syntax of presupposition, name goal and end quickly.
3. Focus Awareness:
Use questions or statements and name goal.
4. Truism:
Start with cultural truism about the goal and name goal.
5. All Possible Alternatives:
Use the form: "a" or "b" or "c" or "d" or "e" or not.
6. Apposition of Opposites:
This (goal) changes as that (other) changes in an opposite way.
7. Binds of Comparable Alternatives:
You can either do _X_ or _Y_ (but either is a subset of _Z_).
8. Conscious / Unconscious Bind:
The conscious mind can ___ as the unconscious does ___.
9. Double Dissociative Cons. / Unconsc.
The conscious mind can _X_ as the unconscious does _Y_ or else
the conscious mind can _Y_ as the unconscious does _X_.
10. Non-Sequitur Binds:
"A" (goal) or "A'" (A' is "A" rephrased).
Copyright © 1987-2005 Stephen Lankton, P.O. 9489, Phoenix, AZ 85068
Page 18

1. Open ended:
Increase one level of ambiguity.
2. Implication:
Use syntax of presupposition, name goal and end.
3. Focus awareness:
Use questions or statements and name goal.
4. Truism:
Start with cultural truism about goal and name goal.
5. All possible alternatives:
Use the form: "a" or "b" or "c" or "d" or "e" or not.
6. Apposition of opposites:
Indirect Suggestions Decoded
This (goal) changes as that (other) doesn't.
Copyright © 1987-2005 Stephen Lankton, P.O. 9489, Phoenix, AZ 85068
Page 19

Copyright © 1987-2005 Stephen Lankton, P.O. 9489, Phoenix, AZ 85068
Indirect Binds Decoded
7. Binds of comparable alternatives:
You can either do _X_ or _Y_ (but either is a subset of
_Z_).
8. Conscious / unconscious bind:
The conscious mind can ___ as the unconscious does ___.
9. Double dissociative cons / Unc.:
The conscious mind can _X_ as the unconscious does _Y_
or else the conscious mind can _Y_ as the unconscious does
_X_.
10. Non-sequitur binds:
"A" (goal) or "A'" (A' is "A" rephrased).
Page 20

1. Open ended suggestions
Indirect Suggestions & Binds:
Examples 1
Beginning orientation: “Chairs were intended to be comfortable and serve a function.”
Developing trance: “Hypnosis is a way of learning about yourself at a different level of being.”
Arm levitation: “A person can show a wide variety of movement and posture.”
Age regression: “Your personal history is rich with a wide range of experience.”
Learn from experience: “You can develop a line of thought for your own use.”
Use learning after trance: “An experience can be represented in various ways over time.”
2. Implication
Beginning orientation: “Since you began when you arrived in my office...”
Developing trance: “The first thing people do when they go into trance...”
Arm levitation: “Before you find out if your arm raises all the way to your face...”
Age regression: You may find the most influential experience of your childhood.”
Learn from experience: “Which lesson do you imagine you will learn first?”
Use learning after trance: “The more you find ways to use the learnings now the more you’re likely to use them
each year.”
3. Questions or statements that focus or reinforce awareness
Beginning orientation: “I wonder if you experience yourself ready to begin.”
Developing trance: “Have you been in trance before?”
Arm levitation: “Can you feel your arm getting lighter.”
Age regression: “One might wonder what five year old experience will be remembered.”
Learn from experience: “What can a person learn from an experience?”
Use learning after trance: “Have you decided when you’ll use this learning?”
4. Truisms
Beginning orientation: “You’ve always had your own thoughts.”
Developing trance: “Each person goes into trance in a unique manner.”
Arm levitation: “Sooner or later you will want to raise an arm up in the air.”
Age regression: “Everybody knows what the world was like at five.”
Learn from experience: “Experience is a great teacher.”
Use learning after trance: “Everyone knows the importance of doing some homework”.
5. Suggestions which cover all possible alternatives
Beginning orientation: “You might be able to sit there with your arms on your lap or folded, with your hands apart
Copyright © 1987-2005 Stephen Lankton, P.O. 9489, Phoenix, AZ 85068
Page 21

Indirect Suggestions & Binds:
Examples 2
or together, with your feet flat on the floor or crossed, with your eyes open or closed, or find comfort in some
other way.”
Developing trance: “You can go into trance slowly, gradually, suddenly, with your eyes open or closed, or not at
all.”
Arm levitation: “Your arm may raise up to your face, it may stay right there, it may float up half way to your face,
it may raise only slightly, it may get heavier and drop, or it may find its own unique location.”
Age regression: “A time may be selected, or it may be prescribed; it may come into your mind or only intuitively
occur to you; you may not know at all what age you’ll select.”
Learn from experience: “You may learn some of all of the material, and you may know what you learn or not know
what you learn, and you might learn nothing at all.”
Use learning after trance: “You may not use this or you might use this learning; you might modify it when you use
it; and you can use all of it or only part of it; or you might mix the distinction between what you learn and
what you invent.
6. Apposition of opposites
Beginning orientation: “The longer time we take beginning the sooner you may get to the solution.”
Developing trance: “The more you are able to notice the tension the more your capacity to concentrate on relaxation.”
Arm levitation: “The lighter the left arm becomes the heavier the right arm may feel.”
Age regression: “The older you feel the younger your thoughts may often be.”
Learn from experience: “The more you have been in the dark the more enlightening a learning may be.”
Use learning after trance: “The more rapidly you experience relief from, the problem, the more you will enjoy
using it throughout your vast future.”
7. Binds of comparable alternatives
Beginning orientation: “Would you prefer to have me begin talking or would you prefer to begin talking?”
Developing trance: “You may develop trance immediately or gradually.”
Arm levitation: “Perhaps your left arm or maybe it’s your right arm will raise up toward your face.”
Age regression: “I don’t know if you will recall something during your fifth year or something during your sixth.”
Learn from experience: “You may learn from the experience in the trance or perhaps during a dream at night.”
Use learning after trance: “You can use this learning in a carefully planned way or in a more creative fashion
as you leave the trance session.”
8. Conscious/unconscious double binds
Beginning orientation: “The conscious mind may be curious about how your unconscious mind is beginning to work
toward a solution.”
Developing Trance: “Your conscious mind may think you desire or need one level of trance while your unconscious
mind develops the proper depth of trance.”
Arm levitation: “Your conscious mind may not notice how your unconscious will raise your arm up to your face.”
Copyright © 1987-2005 Stephen Lankton, P.O. 9489, Phoenix, AZ 85068
Page 22

Indirect Suggestions & Binds:
Examples 3
Age regression: “Your conscious mind can recall some important early experience while your unconscious mind
develops a reliving of it.”
Learn from experience: “An unconscious learning from the experience may be developed in the conscious mind
as well.”
Use learning after trance: “Your conscious mind might already have some ideas of where you will use this while
your unconscious handles the job of doing it correctly.”
9. Double dissociative conscious/unconscious double binds
Beginning orientation: “Your conscious mind may have begun with the aid of your unconscious or perhaps your
unconscious is ready to begin with any aid you can offer consciously.”
Developing trance: “Your conscious mind may focus on some one spot while your unconscious initiates trance or
your unconscious may select the actual location on which to focus your attention while your conscious mind
helps you go into trance.
Arm levitation: “Your conscious mind can choose which arm to raise up while your unconscious makes alterations
in sensation, but perhaps the unconscious mind selects which arm to raise and the conscious mind will notice
the sensation.”
Age regression: “Your unconscious may allow you to relive some aspect of your past while your conscious mind
has a learning about it or maybe your unconscious mind will store a learning while you consciously remember
and relive the past experience.”
Learn from experience: “Your conscious mind can be interested in what you learn from the experience and your
unconscious mind can take care of really learning from it, or perhaps your unconscious mind only allows
you to develop interest as your conscious mind develops a learning.”
Use learning after trance: “And one might let the conscious mind select the site for using the learning while the
unconscious is trusted to carry it out, or one may allow the conscious mind to carry out a learning and let the
unconscious select the location, and time.”
10. Non-sequitur double bind
Begin Orientation: “Let’s begin now or use the time constructively.”
Developing trance: “You may be able to either go into trance as we speak or you will alter your consciousness and
experience.”
Arm levitation: “Your unconscious will either raise the hand off your lap or your conscious mind will notice it half
way to your face.”
Age regression: “The memory may be from the age of five or about the time you entered grammar school.”
Learn from experience: “You can either learn from this experience or use the learning in a directed fashion
for our own benefit.
Use learning after trance: “Will you use these learnings after trance or change your maladaptive behavior?”
Copyright © 1987-2005 Stephen Lankton, P.O. 9489, Phoenix, AZ 85068
Page 23