nsic value, but don't they do
something for our mental attitude? This same pattern is precisely what
you are to follow in using the role-playing technique. If you believe,
expect and imagine that you will be successful in this approach to
self-hypnosis, I can assure you that you will.

May I urge you not to reject this novel and unorthodox approach. Many
have had excellent results when other methods, even those of a
professional hypnotist, have failed. Some of you may recognize this
approach as another means of applying the visual-imagery technique.
Whatever you choose to call it, I reiterate you can expect good results.
It is only necessary that you follow the instructions and adopt the
right attitude. By the right attitude, I mean that you should adopt the
conviction that you are going to achieve self-hypnosis even though you
might have experienced difficulty up to now. Hypnosis is a conviction
phenomenon.

It is possible you may say you are not suggestible. Actually, your lack
of response proves your suggestibility. You have been influenced by
negative suggestions. Everyone is suggestible to some degree. You have
become extremely suggestible to conscious or unconscious stimuli which
are definitely affecting your ability to respond. You need only use this
latent suggestibility and make it work for you. What would you say about
the suggestibility of a person who doesn't want to talk about hypnosis?
This person has never read a book on hypnosis and absolutely doesn't
want you or anyone else to hypnotize him. Would you believe this person
is a potentially good hypnotic subject? I can tell you by practical
experience that once this person allows himself to be hypnotized, he
turns out to be a perfect subject. Responding to either end of the
suggestibility scale is indicative of success with hypnosis. It becomes
a matter of manipulating this suggestibility skillfully in order to
achieve results.

Let me give you another example which may help. Which one of the two
lines drawn on this page is longer? Line AB or line CD?

[Illustration]

What is your answer? Did you think both were the same? Take a ruler and
actually measure them. You'll find line AB longer than CD. "But," you
reply, "every other time both lines were the same." This is a familiar
optical illusion which is used many times in basic courses in
psychology. It is known as the Muller-Lyer illusion. My contention is
that if you said, "Both are the same size,"