Just Add Water: The Importance of Water to Hypnosis

by Deborah Yaffee

“How do you make holy water? You boil the hell out of it!”
— Old schoolyard joke

Introduction

Water might well be the richest, most versatile, and most pragmatic of metaphors, images, symbols and actual mundane substances available to the hypnotist and this is prodigiously reflected in our language.

Water is Life. Water is Spirit. Water is Mystery. It is the symbol par excellence of the Unconscious, that mysterious and deep psychic ocean with all its monsters, magical creatures, and memories. Water is the realm of archetypes, dreams, the emotions, the subconscious… the world where our fears and hopes spontaneously arise from the amniotic fluid of our imaginations. Beneath the waves of emotion and the surfacing of our personal sea monsters lie our true oceanic natures of deep peace and calm, and all the memory of that.

Water is the primordial Womb, and the symbol of birth, death and rebirth, replete in its hypnotic associations with cleansing and purification. Water is the very essence of all baptismal commitments to new life.

Hypnotists can integrate water into their practice in many different ways. Water offers a profusion of imagery and metaphors from which to make scripts which are as beautiful as they are effective. Washing one’s face and hands, showering, doing the dishes, and doing the laundry are some of the routine activities that lend themselves well to association with Post Hypnotic Suggestions. Sometimes water, in the form of tears, signals the hypnotist that the client has experienced whatever insight was needed to set herself free. And water, quite literally, is often the key to weight loss and increased energy.

Scripting with Water

Water, Space and Light are the primal “languages” of the soul. The subconscious mind, like the vast ocean, is teeming with images, memories, and experiences of water, all of which might be fruitfully employed in hypnosis.

The following images are offered to stimulate creative scripting for the associated issues that clients present with. Let your imagination play with these water themes:

• For Cooling the Fires of Anger: Imagine the anger as a fiery red flame. Invoke a source of healing power and visualize a cool stream of healing nectar descending from it, down through your body and extinguishing the flame of anger.

• To Quench the Flames of Jealousy: Imagine the jealousy as a steady blue flame that is burning beneath the cauldron of your emotions. As above, invoke a source of healing power and visualize a cool stream of healing waters, cooling and soothing the heat of this emotion.

• For Releasing Tension in Body and/or Mind: Tap into the sensory memories of being in a relaxing bath or beneath a shower of warm water; jazz it up by turning the water into a stream of wisdom nectar that carries a shower of blessings from one’s higher power /source of healing.

• For Seemingly Immovable Fears or Sadness: Turn the fear or sadness into a thick, heavy block of ice, maybe even an iceberg, then visualize a vast, bright, blazing sun whose healing rays of blissful warmth melt the ice until all of it is evaporated.

• For Age Regression: Lead the client back through the soft Mists of Time. Give suggestions for the client to relax and drift… allowing the River of Time to take her back to a time when she felt that feeling before…

• For Letting Go of the Past: River imagery… follow the water under the bridge, or water over the dam, as it flows through many towns and cities and forests until it merges with the vast ocean. Take the client to the seashore where they pick up a beautiful shell; allow them to find any unexpected gifts that their past now holds, or the gift of their having survived the past.

• For Instilling New Habits: Watering seeds in a garden. Gentle, nourishing rains on a newly planted field.

• For Loneliness and/or Feeling Ineffective and Powerless: Throwing stones in a still lake or pool and watching the ever-widening, successive circles of influence/effect.

• For Spiritual Reconnection: Snowflakes dissolving into water. An Archangel pouring water from one golden cup into another.

• For Increased Confidence: A fish in water.

• For Problem Solving: Building or finding a raft.

• For Confidence to Face, Handle, and be at Ease with Change: The ebb and flow of the tides… the stable ocean beneath waves of emotion. Going with the Flow. The River remains the same even though every moment it is different and changing.

• For Overcoming Numbing Fear to be Able to Feel Again: Warm, bright sun during a spring thaw, melting the ice off the branches of a tree. Allow all the ice to melt and begin to stretch your limbs and sway again.

• To Get Focused or Dispel Confusion: Pushing the clouds away. Fog lifting or parting.

• For Feeling Low (increase optimism): After the flood, the rainbow.

• For Restoring Hope: Nurture the flower of hope with showers of blessings from the source of healing power, with gentle rain that feeds the thirsty soul.

• To Help Correct Negative Thinking: Wash your mind out with S.O.A.P. (Some Other Affirmations and Perspective)

• To Release Tension That’s Built Up Inside: Be a tea-kettle that blows off steam.

• For Security, Safety: Seeing God’s footprints in the sand.

• For Surrendering in Trust: Lying in a gently rocking boat. Being buoyed up and brought to shore or ship by dolphins in the sea.

• For Achieving a Goal: A little ship reaching the farthest shores.

• To Overcome Obstacles: Knocking down snowmen with snowballs.

• For Self-Exploration: Reflecting pool.

• For Self Worth: Diving for pearls. Finding treasure at the bottom of the sea.

• For Practicing Gratitude: Seeing the glass half full. Experiencing all you are grateful for as a shower of blessings, blissful and warm.

The hypnotist can enhance any of these experiences with physical props to engage the senses. For example, holding a sea shell to the client’s ear helps the client hear the song of the ocean. Small, attractive office fountains for desk or wall add the sound, sight and moisture of naturally running water, and can be purchased rather inexpensively. One might offer a glass of water to the client before the session so that they physically connect with water.

Here is an exercise to increase awareness of the many ways water flows in and around the language of our psyches. Slowly reflect upon each word or phrase in the following list of words and phrases associated with water. Keep moving through the list, acknowledging any images, thoughts, memories and feelings that arise, but don’t grasp or follow them. Just let them go by, like so many boats upon this little river of language you are watching. Simply continue to drift along the path of water as it weaves through your experience. When you get to the end of the list, jot down any additional words or phrases associated with water in your life. Next, repeat the exercise, noting as many positive experiences with water you have had in your life. When you finish, you will have quite an awareness of how much water is a part of your life, and how precious it is. Go ahead, then, and lift a glass of water and make a toast of thanks and appreciation for good old b0!

Here is the list of Water Words and Phrases:

Watershed. Under water. Go with the flow. Watered down. Drowning. All wet. Treading water. Keep your head above water. Skating on thin ice. Up the river without a paddle. Damp. Dampen your spirits. Drought. Thirsty. Thirst. Moist. Moisture. Dew. Rain. River. Tip of the iceberg. Ice. Snowflakes. Frost. Pool. Fountain. Still waters run deep. Reflection. High waters. Deep end. Water under the bridge. Water over the dam. Troubles go down the drain. Holy water. Fertility. Dissolution. Melt. Drip. Flood. Tsunami. Ocean. Deep. The Unconscious. Mermaids. Sirens. Sea monsters. Nessie. Regeneration. Birth. Baptism. Purification. Cleansing. Wash away sins. Fog. Mist. Steam. Clouds. Mystery. Spirit. Nourishing. Living waters. Bouyant. Splash. Bubbling. Geyser. Source. Life. Now you write some.

Hydration and Hypnosis

A good 60% of an average human body is composed of this humble, yet precious, liquid. Consider some of these interesting facts about water:

• The production of ATP, the body’s premier energy compound, depends upon the flow of water through cell membranes.

• A 25-30% drop in energy for most people can result from as little as a 5% drop in body fluids.

• A 15% drop in body fluids can result in death!

• In the liver, water is used to metabolize and release fat.

• Water assists in regulating body temperature.

• Water lubricates all our joints and functions as a shock absorber.

• Water keeps our skin youthful, plumped, and supple.

• Body detoxification processes absolutely depend on an adequate supply of water.

• All enzymatic processes of the body, such as digestion, depend on water.

• The blood, which transports nutrients throughout the body, is 83% water.

• The brain, which controls every process in our body, is over 75% water.

• The body is like a hydro-electric plant that depends upon water in order to generate the electricity for its various systems to run on.

• Metabolism can slow by 3% with even mild dehydration.

• Difficulty with memory, basic math, and with focusing on written material (including on a computer screen) can be affected by as little as a 2% drop in body water.

• 37% of Americans are so unfamiliar with responding to their sense of thirst, that they mistake thirst for hunger.

• Water is essential to keep the bowels in good working order.

• Common symptoms of dehydration include thirst, headache, dry mouth, fatigue, lethargy, muscle weakness, and lightheadedness. Severe dehydration is a serious health threat, and can even be fatal, especially to the very young and to the elderly.

• The ability to balance the body’s excretion of water with water intake is crucial for optimal functioning. Too much water can be as dangerous as too little. Water intoxication can be fatal.

Clearly, many hypnosis clients can benefit from agreed-upon suggestions for adequate water intake.

So how much water is enough?

Most of us will quickly reply: Oh, that’s easy… eight 8-ounce glasses a day… at least! Known as the 8×8 formula, this is good as it goes, but the truth is that the 8×8 is a myth. No one knows the origin of this myth but one possible, if not probable, origin is this comment in the 1945 report by the Food and Nutrition Board of the National Research Council:

“A suitable allowance of water for adults is 2.5 liters daily in most instances. An ordinary standard for diverse persons is 1 milliliter for each calorie of food. Most of this quantity is contained in prepared foods.”

It is increasingly being thought by researchers that the last line of this passage was overlooked or misunderstood, resulting in the perpetuation of a belief that adults need to drink 2.5 liters of water in addition to what they might get in their food. (The 8×8 rule calculates as 1.9 liters).

The amount of water an individual needs to drink for well-being depends upon age, gender, size, level of activity, and the environment. In general, healthy adult men need more water than females. Pregnant or nursing women have higher requirements to compensate for water going to the fetus or baby. The more active you are, the more water you need. Living in high altitudes or humid climates also increases the need to drink more water. No matter where you live, more water should be consumed in the summer months due to the higher heat and time spent outdoors.

So, how much should we drink? Well, a diet of about 2000 calories requires approximately 8 cups of water for it to be metabolized, and an average healthy adult in our culture uses about 8 cups of water in the course of a day, so, for most people, the 8×8 is actually a pretty good place to start.

Hypnotists might do well to recognize the negative suggestion implied by the 8×8 myth. It goes something like this: “You must drink 8 glasses of water every day or else… something bad will happen to you… you won’t shed those pounds of ugly, unhealthy fat… you’ll be full of…” I wonder how many of our clients suffer an unnecessary burden of guilt for simply not drinking their culturally-mandated 8 glasses of water a day?

The truth is that our subconscious mind is quite capable of directing the extraction and metabolism of water from all the food we take in. The fruits and vegetables we eat are 80 to 95% water. The meat we eat is 50 to 80% water. Even the bread we eat is about 35% water. To stay properly hydrated, we do need to consume at least the 8 cups of water we lose on average every day, but we need not necessarily drink them. In fact, 40 to 60 percent of our dietary water is obtained from the solid foods we eat. And what about sugary, alcoholic, and caffeinated beverages? The good news is that they will provide water but the bad news is that they are not the best, or even good, choices because of the sugar, alcohol and caffeine. (Sigh).

The ancient medicinal systems of India and China propose more moderate guidelines to imbibing the body’s essential beverage. In the view of Traditional Chinese Medicine, one should eat when hungry and drink when thirsty. In this tradition, the “spleen” system, which regulates digestion, is damaged by excess moisture so drinking a lot of fluids and even too many moist vegetables is not advised. In the Ayurvedic tradition, it is suggested that one should drink small amounts of water (room temperature, warm, or hot, depending on the constitution) at frequent intervals throughout the day. This is to provide a mild digestive stimulus to promote the elimination of waste and to prevent its accumulation. In either tradition, warm or hot water sipped throughout the day does seem to be called for to help reduce weight in obese patients.

Some things may go better with Coke but hypnosis is not one of them. Increasing water intake is particularly important in programs like weight release and smoking cessation because it supports the detoxification process that so frequently begins within the first day or two that the client begins her healing journey. However, even clients who come in with other concerns can benefit from proper water intake. Lack of water is a primary contributor to daytime fatigue. Have you ever heard a client complain that they were simply too darn tired to stay positive and confident? The brain is more than 75% water so increasing water intake could be very helpful for clients who need a little boost of energy to sustain the increased self-confidence they are experiencing from their hypnosis sessions.

Suggestions for increasing water intake are readily introduced into induction scripts that employ beach scenes with numbers in the sand to be erased. The client is directed to imagine using her own foot or a stick to wipe away the first number or two. As she relaxes deeper she is asked to imagine gentle waves that help her wipe away the numbers in the sand. Finally, she is led to imagine that the water alone, effortlessly and automatically, dissolves and erases any numbers remaining in the sand. The “sand”, of course, is merely a metaphor that the subconscious mind reads as “the problem” and the client has been successfully led through a rehearsal of how she will actually achieve her new healthy habits, first with a bit of conscious effort on her part, and eventually automatically, letting the water do all the work.

Conclusion

Water is an extremely powerful element whose language can make for rapid and potent changes for clients in hypnosis sessions. Water homework can help clients to extend the intention of the session on their own. Washing their face, body or teeth can become a holy ablution when they imagine the pure water as a medicinal stream that is washing away the problem, all the root causes for the problem and all the belief systems for the problem. Slowly sipping a cup of hot water first off in the morning is a healthful practice that readies the digestion for the day and clears away unwanted accumulations in the gut, but it is also an opportunity for the client (and us!) to raise awareness of the healing power of water in our life. Allow this awareness and your enjoyment of the water to shift to the experience of gratitude. As gratitude softens and opens your heart wider, notice how you become increasingly more aware of other beings, until you find yourself offering a heartfelt wish to all beings that they, too, may enjoy the pleasure of clean water… that they, too, might never know thirst. Let water start your day with thanks!

In Chinese medicine, the water element is associated with the kidney system and the emotion of fear. Most of our clients come to us with problems rooted in fear, and isn’t it true that most, if not all, our tools are really some manifestation of the healing waters of Love that awakens the client’s innate faith and trust in herself and the universe? Two atoms of hydrogen and one atom of oxygen team up to form a V-shaped molecule of water. The unique properties of water make it “the universal solvent”, an appropriate description of its metaphorical reflection in session: Love, the universal spiritual solvent, is the healer, and the V is for Victory.

Water creates and sanctifies, but water also destroys. It dissolves, and drowns and floods the soil that struggling lives might cling to. The opposite of fear is faith, trust, confidence. Light scattered through water in the sky enables us to receive the Divine promise… and then we know: no water, no rainbow.