This is a transcript of a Group Hypnotic Induction offered to the participants in a three-weekend class on the basics of Ericksonian Hypnosis. The induction, offered as the final experience of the evening after a long day of classroom study, is intended to offer a framework for the integration of the learnings from the weekend. Most of the suggestions offered apply to everyone in the room and were apropos of the specific topics of discussion from that particular class. Occasionally, a sentence or two is directed at a particular individual, but in a way that others could understand it in their own way as well.

All right, well we're a little over time but I thought we'd want to finish up with a trance.

All right, so, put your feet flat on the floor
or not, as the case may be.
or get yourselves comfortable,
each and every part of you
You're fine there; you're fine right where you are
Take a deep breath in,
exhale slowly and then
go ahead and close your eyes
and with your eye closed just roll your eyes up towards the top of your
    head until you feel that eyestrain
and then relax your eyes
and forget about your breathing
and as you sit there now I'd like you to just
imagine that you're sitting there now,
with your eyes open
imagine that you've been sitting there for a few hours,
a weekend,
a few weekends perhaps,
learning about hypnosis,
about going into trance
even learning about the possibilities
that you're capable of.
about who you are
you've been learning a great deal
And imagine that you are sitting there, now,
with your eyes open
looking around the room,
seeing those friends that you've come to know
this place that feels so comfortable
just imagine that your eyes are open,
even though your eyes are closed
it is a familiar place,
you can probably in your mind's eye see the board up there,
see me
you can hear the sound of the music
feel your feet on the floor
you can feel your back
against the back of the chair
and feel yourself drifting deeper and deeper
into trance
and as you listen to the sound of my voice
you remember things that you've learned
like a pacing and leading induction
and those five paces to one lead
and four paces to two leads
and you feel yourself drifting deeper
and deeper into trance
even while you're eyes want to close,
they try to stay open
and you know that feeling
sometimes you might be watching a television show
or listening to a tape
or reading a book
and it's been a day filled with learning
and you're trying to keep your eyes open
but they just keep closing on you
everyone's had that experience of feeling your eyes closing
all by themselves
but you try to keep them open
until finally,
right now,
you feel your eyes closing
and you just let them go
and you feel yourself drifting even more deeply,
even deeper then ever before
down, down, down,
deeper, deeper, deeper,
into a comfortable trance state
and it's nice to know that you can feel yourself doing that
and I don't have to use metaphors
or meta-fives
because you know all about going into a trance now
and you're right here in this room
and even though you know that you can
in your mind's eye
take yourself to that special place
that place inside that's all yours
your own inner sanctuary.
a place that might be an ocean,
a beach,
or some other body of water
you might find a place that you might go to now
that's a special garden or a forest
or a place that's all yours like a den or study,
a place that is totally yours
and as you do you know that right here,
right now
you're going into trance so deeply,
so comfortably,
you don't even have to try to listen to the words that I say
here because
you can comfortably be there
in your own special private sanctuary
and you find a place there where you can relax, stretch out,
maybe a big white fluffy feather bed
or a beach blanket where you enjoy the warm sand and the warm sun
but you stretch out and you relax so fully
so comfortably
just stretching out
with every breath as you inhale you relax a little bit more
and with every breath as you exhale you relax a little more deeply.
and - there - you continue drifting deeper and deeper
while - here - hearing the sound of my voice,
you're open to positive suggestion
you're open to valuable ideas and thoughts
that I offer you
and isn't it nice to know that you can enjoy both at the same time?
now, you're beginning to appreciate,
understand,
recognize
that your unconscious mind knows more then your conscious mind does
and that means you know about hypno-therapy then you think you do And you know at times live has ups and downs
that life has things that happen
that are not so wonderful,
not fairy tail endings
there are things in life that are painful,
things in life that are dis-comfortable
there are things in life that are miserable
It's just the way life is sometimes
but we can choose,
you can always choose to respond in the way that you choose to
you have the ability to respond in whatever way you choose
and you can choose to respond positively,
constructively,
you have that ability
and you're learning that you have that ability
and you're learning that you love to learn,
that you already know how that applies to you
you know how to learn and that you love to open your mind,
you love to learn new things
You love to learn new ways of thinking,
new ways of seeing and listening and hearing
new ways of responding and communicating
new ways of being
you can let yourself drift deeper and deeper and deeper down,
just letting go,
just let go
down into a comfortable trance,
  drifting more even more deeply then before
that's right,
just let go
listening to the sound of the music
not really paying attention to my words
or the sound of my voice
not noticing the floor beneath you,
not noticing the warmth of your clothing,
just drifting easily,
effortlessly
now,
ignoring the comfort of closed eyes,
the breathing deeply into the lungs
sound,
the silence between my words,
not noticing the feeling arms or legs,
just sinking deeply down into that delicious sense of
deep comfortable
sleep
now,  those colors,
those sounds,
those feelings you notice
cause you to go deeper and deeper,
drifting ever so deeply,
ever so comfortably
without even noticing
now, so elegantly, don't you
you are an excellent explorer of trance,
you are excellent dedicated student
of the phenomenon of hypnosis.
you're excellent listener,
observer,
observing, observing, observing,
other people,
their ways of responding,
their ways of communicating other than consciously
and consciously
both at the same time,
you observe and observe
and observe deeply,
noticing all those other-than-conscious-communications
You notice other people's way of communicating
and respond according,
you are an excellent hypnotherapist
now,
and in a moment you'll notice,
or not,
that the music is all the sound that you hear
unless you hear other sounds,
other then my voice.
but as I fall quiet, you can let yourself drift
and perhaps dream
a dream of integration
as you integrate all of your learning's
on the deepest level of your conscious
and your unconscious mind,
you may find yourself dreaming
N o w . . .

   (silence for two minutes)

That's right,
and that process of learning will continue
tonight as you sleep and dream,
tomorrow and each and every day from now on
because you really do love to learn
and grow
and become more and more every day,
who you really are
so it's nice to know that you can continue that process
and you can continue in your real waking life outside of here
That you can feel just as good as you let yourself

So, when you're ready you can begin the process of reorienting back here, at least enough to know that you can get yourself home safely.
perhaps part of your mind will continue processing throughout this evening, that's all right
leave a little part of your mind in reserve
but you will get home safely
and when your head hits that pillow you can just let yourself drift
all the way down
perhaps as Erickson said,
you'll notice that the part of your mind is going to give you a very special surprise this evening,
maybe some food that you'll eat for dinner that tastes particularly good,
or maybe the feeling of the sheets as you go to sleep will feel
particularly comfortable and delightful
wouldn't it be nice to feel that surprise
when it happens
and notice and thank your other then conscious mind,
say "Thanks."

(Returning to a more conversational tone of voice and tempo)
It's good to be courteous to your other then conscious isn't it? Be courteous to yours and to other people's other then conscious mind. Won't you? So, tomorrow morning when you do awaken at your appointed hour feeling bright-eyed and bushy-tailed you will stop for a moment and think to yourself, life is good, I feel terrific, life is an adventure. And as a result of all of this, part of your mind will wake up and say to yourself I really know, I know I finally get it exactly what it was that that medicine man meant when he said...
[Music Cue - "Medicine Man" by Bobby McFarrin]
Everybody.
Yes.