The human brain is a highly sophisticated learning machine. From the moment we’re born to the moment we die, our brains never stop processing information, searching for patterns and creating knowledge out of the vast mass of raw sensory data that surrounds us. So why is it, then, that so many people find study to be such an effort?
Often, it’s not what we study but the way in which we study that has an effect. Perhaps you’ve had the experience of a charismatic teacher who was able to make even the dullest and most irrelevant subject come alive for you. Or perhaps you experienced the opposite, a teacher who was able to make the most fascinating ideas terminally boring!
The same principle holds true in our adult life, when formal study is likely to be on our own initiative. Even though we’ve chosen to study, the way in which we go about it can be like that mediocre teacher, making the subject boring and irrelevant to us. And who in their right minds wants to study something that’s boring and irrelevant?
Successful study depends on speaking the brain’s language – and speaking the brain’s language is what hypnosis is all about. The following hypnosis tips will help you to make your studies inspiring, rewarding and ultimately more successful.
First Of All – Relax
Stress and high emotional arousal interfere with memory, recall, analysis and clear rational thought – the very things you need to study effectively. Practise regular self-hypnosis for relaxation, and you will significantly improve your ability to study.
Open Up The Mind
The human brain has two sides to it. A logical, analytical side, which is fascinated by detail, and an emotional and creative side, which is fascinated by patterns. These are often referred to as “left” and “right” brains, since these functions are mostly (but not exclusively) located in the left and right hemispheres of the brain respectively.
Most traditional learning and study is aimed at the left brain, but we learn much more effectively when both side are engaged. Here is a simple Hypnosis tip for Study Improvement.
* Before you begin to study, choose a spot somewhere up above eye level where your eyes can rest comfortably.
* Keeping your eyes fixed on that spot, allow your awareness to drift out to the right. Spend a few moments just noting the things you can see in the periphery of your vision on the right hand side.
* Return your awareness to that central spot.
* Next, keeping your eyes fixed on that spot, allow your awareness to drift out to the left. Spend a few moments just noting the things that you can see in the periphery of your vision on the left hand side.
You can achieve the same effect of “waking up” both hemispheres of the brain with “Lazy Eights”. Rapidly draw horizontal eights, first with the right hand and then with the left, changing direction halfway through. You can do this with pen and paper, or trace them in the air with your finger.
The Language Of Memory
Any type of study will involve memorizing information. This may or may not stick in the mind, depending on the type of information involved. Abstract, technical information can be particularly difficult to keep hold of.
To improve your ability to memorize, you need to understand that the human brain is designed to deal with things in the real world of the senses. It likes objects, movement, sights, sounds, textures, smells and tastes. It latches on to color, shapes and patterns, and it especially seems to appreciate humor. Apparently, we’re far more likely to remember something if we find it funny.
We can use this to our advantage by turning anything we need to remember into a vivid sensory image, the more colorful and humorous the better. For example, if you wanted to remember the atomic number of lithium (3) you might visualize three Kurt Cobains singing “Lithium”.
Developing Positive Expectations
As is generally the case in life, study is affected by our expectations of it, for better or for worse. If we expect something to be difficult, boring and tedious, nine times out of ten that’s exactly what it will turn out to be. Conversely, if we approach our studies with positive expectations for smooth and straightforward learning, we’ll have a much more rewarding time of it.
Below are some Hypnosis Tips for Study Improvement.
* Relax into trance using one of the self-hypnosis methods described on this site.
* In your imagination, get a sense of yourself looking relaxed and at ease with your study. Notice what it is about yourself that lets you know that you find your subject rewarding, enjoyable and fascinating.
* When you have that sense in your mind, drift into that representation and experience it from the inside. Feel what it’s like to be able to study with relaxed, concentrated ease.
* Imagine knowledge and learning flowing towards you like a color or a light, and feel it settle into your mind and body at every level.
* Return to everyday awareness when you are ready to do so, bringing some of that feeling back with you.
So as you can see Hypnosis can be a great benefit for those seeking to improve their studies. I hope you enjoyed these little Hypnosis Tips for Study Improvement.
Mon, Apr 26, 2010
Hypnosis Training, Misc