Calming your mind

This technique is fantastic in helping you to wind down before sleep. Use it 30 minutes before you go to bed and you will sleep like a baby! If you have a lot going on and feel mentally stressed, it will help to calm your mind and alleviate tension. It could be categorised as more of a meditation than self-hypnosis as it has a kind of higher consciousness flavour to it. However, the label is unimportant; what does matter is that you embrace it and put your feelings into it so that you heighten your sensitivity and become centred and deeply relaxed.

You can use this technique for 20 or 30 minutes at a time. You will be amazed at how relaxed you are afterwards. You may even fund it helps you to feel more creative or gives you greater clarity. Remember that you have so many resources in your unconscious mind. This is where your real talents and creativity lie, and to get to them, you have to suspend all intellectual thought and bypass your analytical, conscious mind is so important.

Read through the instructions below a few times until you know what to do and then practise this whenever you need to quieten your mind before you go to sleep.

When you get into a deeply relaxed mental state during this meditation, you will also be experiencing the state of waking hypnosis, in which you are in a deep trance but you have your eyes open.

Go to a quiet room where that are no distractions. Light a candle and place it in front of you. Turn off all lights so the only light is from the candle’s flame.

Sir comfortably in front of the candle and focus on the flickering flame. Watch the movement of the flame and begin to breathe very slowly and deeply in through your nose and out through your mouth. Make each circular breath long and deep, and clear away any thoughts so you get the odd unwanted thought. Just centre your mind again and allow the thought to drift away. Focus on your breathing d the stillness of the moment, and continue your slow, deep circular breathing.

Keep your eyes in the flame and remain centred and focused. Be in the here and now and accept everything as it is. With every slow, deep breath allow yourself to relax even more and focus your mind only on the flame and notice its colour changing.

You can stay in this pleasant state for as long as you like. There is no ideal time limit, so do whatever feels right for you at the time. When you practise this mental workout, focus on nothing but clearing your mind and staying centred. Don’t underestimate the power of this simple technique, as it is a great way of completely calming your mind.

When you have finish, blow out the candle and close your eyes. Remain in a centred state and avoid intellectual thought or analysis. After a minute or so, you can go to bed and sleep easily.