For that moment, we connect with another soul who expressed an insight which we can see too. We demonstrate to ourselves that the meanings we give words can stir something in us, and sometimes, shift our thinking enough to change our whole day.

So, how can we use inspirational quotes to help ourselves feel more peaceful?

Here are 8 easy ways:

1. Read quote after quote until you feel reset. A simple and direct approach, when you’re feeling stressed, reading quotes can be a very effective way to bring your mind back to a calm place. Just keep reading until you experience a shift and you notice that you’re feeling better.

2. Let them inspire a journal entry. Choose a quote you like and write it at the top of your page. Then start writing continuously whatever comes to mind, continuing for as long as you wish. You may find you’re focusing on a single word from the quote. Or maybe the quote will get you in touch with whatever it is that makes you say “wow” when you read it.

3. Meditate with a quote. You might try, for example, meditating on the first principle of Gerald Jampolsky’s attitudinal healing, “Love is the essence of our being.” First, get yourself calm and relaxed by taking three slow, deep breaths and then repeat your chosen quote to yourself in your relaxed state.

4. Choose some inspirational quotes as affirmations. Look for some concise, positive quotes and memorize them as mantra-like boosters for whenever you’re not feeling peaceful. Try “I could see peace instead of this.” — A Course in Miracles

5. Write your favorite quotes over and over to get yourself focused on a positive thought. Instead of writing “I will not throw snowballs at the school.” 100 times on the blackboard, try Emile Coue’s simple and ever popular - “Every day in every way, I am better and better (and better!) Write it wherever you like. Great use for a big, yellow, legal pad.

6. Post inspirational quotes all around the house - by your computer, on your bathroom mirror, above the bathroom scale, in your car, on your refrigerator, by the door going out, in your pocket, as an email to yourself, and any other places you’ll see them throughout the day to give yourself many opportunities to shift your thinking whenever you need to.

7. Record yourself reading your chosen quotes to listen to as you guide yourself into meditation. This one’s very powerful and can be listened to over and over again to calm and inspire yourself.

8. Read inspirational quotes just before you go to sleep. In the tradition of the bedtime story, this can be especially nice to do out loud. You can see, say, and hear the words at the same time just before you go off to dreamland.

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If you’d like to try some of these ideas right now, but can’t think of an inspirational quote, you might find one you like among the inspirational quotes here on Meditation-Mind.

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What are your favorite ways to use inspirational quotes?

You can share them in the comments section.

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“We must be the change we wish to see in the world.”
—Gandhi

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“I am only one; but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. I will not refuse to do the something I can do.”
—Helen Keller

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“Light tomorrow with today.”
—Elizabeth Barrett Browning

An easy way to do this is something known as free writing. In free writing, you sit down with paper and pen and write quietly for a time. (I find the quality of writing with paper and pen is different from sitting at a keyboard and I suggest it for this experience. Of course, your mileage may vary.)

There are many beautiful journals to choose from, but some journal writers I know feel inhibited from writing in them by the belief that something so beautiful should be saved for a special occasion. If that’s the case with you, just round up some scrap paper, a yellow legal pad, a looseleaf notebook made from recycled paper, or even an old paper bag, along with your favorite writing implement. Use whatever helps you feel free to write.

Then find a quiet place where you can write undisturbed for a bit.

The idea of free writing is to be free of concerns about spelling or punctuation or capitalization or proper grammar or even your subject matter.

It’s perfectly all right to write “I don’t know what to write.” for as long as that feels like what you want to write.

Eventually, other thoughts will come along and you can start writing them down.

The only real rule is to keep writing. Write continuously without pause whatever thoughts come into your head.

Sometimes the thoughts you put down will surprise and delight you; sometimes you’ll just be clearing out worries, fears, irritations, or what may seem like nonsense.

No matter.

Writing will help you pay attention for a while.

Some writers set a timer and write continuously for their chosen amount of time. I suggest that you just write continuously until you feel done, but allow yourself at least 15 minutes to do this, so that you have a chance to get the flow started.

To enhance this process even more, you can combine a brief relaxation with your period of free writing.

Start by taking three, slow deep breaths and with each out breath, let go of any tensions in mind or body, as you say to yourself “Relax.”

Repeat that slow deep breath in, and again on the out breath, say “Relax.”

And once more, breathe in, and on the out breath, say “Relax.”

Now close your eyes and let yourself relax even more.

Count down from 5 to 1 as you take 5 more slow, deep breaths, counting to yourself as you inhale, and letting yourself relax even more as you exhale.

Count 5 as you inhale and relax as you exhale … Count 4 as you inhale and relax as you exhale … Count 3 as you inhale and then relax as you exhale … Count 2 as you inhale and relax as you exhale … Count 1 as you inhale and relax even more deeply as you exhale….

Just let yourself feel relaxed, and whenever you’re ready, still very relaxed, open your eyes and begin to write.

Write continuously in stream-of-consciousness until you have a page or two or three and then stop when you feel done.

When you’ve finished writing, count back up from 1 to 5, bringing your peaceful feelings back with you.

Whatever you have written is for you alone. What you do with it is up to you. This exercise is more about the experience of focusing your attention for a time. Any insights you may have gained are a bonus.

You may want to save what you have written in a private place if it contains some thoughts you want to remember but don’t want to share with anyone else.

But it’s also OK to shred it or even burn it ceremoniously, if it was all about getting your flow started or about letting go of something in your life.

Give yourself the moment to complete this experience in whatever way you choose and then come back to your day, ready for whatever is next.

I wish you a satisfying writing experience.

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If you’d like to feel inspired to write in a similar way every day, check out Julia Cameron’s guidelines for writing Morning Pages in her book The Artist’s Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity

Another wonderful book on writing, full of ideas for using writing as a meditation, is Natalie Goldberg’s classic, Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within

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“If we all did the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves.”
—Thomas A. Edison

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“Think left and think right
and think low and think high.
Oh the thinks you can think up
if only you try!”
—Dr. Seuss

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“We are all born for love. It is the principle of existence, and its only end.”
—Benjamin Disraeli

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“With love, even the rocks will open.”
—Hazrat Inayat Khan

One of the first books I read when I began my study of hypnosis was Hypnosis for Change by Josie Hadley and Carol Staudacher. It was a wonderful way to begin!

There are many other excellent hypnosis books, many of which I will review for you on this blog. But for those of you who want to get started on some good books right now, I’ve assembled the first of what I expect will be many lists of books I highly recommend.

All of the books on this list are ones I own and refer to regularly for inspiration. Some are huge references, offering lots of scripts and inductions, some could be used as texts for hypnosis training courses (and, in fact, some are), some are good introductions to some of the true masters of hypnosis, and some are guides to the actual application of hypnotic processes with many tips and how-to’s offered with great love and a bit of humor.

I’ve included links for each of these titles, most of them links to Amazon. Many of them have Amazon’s “peek inside” feature, which lets you see the table of contents, the index and some excerpts, so you can get a good sense of what the books are like. These Amazon links are affiliate links. If you happen to order something after clicking on them, you’ll also be donating a small amount to this blog, so thank you!

Twelve of My Favorite Hypnosis Books:

Hypnosis for Change by Josie Hadley and Carol Staudacher  A wonderful way to begin, this is also so comprehensive you’ll refer to it often. If you could own only one book on hypnosis, this would be a great choice.

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The Art of Hypnosis by Roy C. Hunter  An excellent first course in hypnosis written by an experienced hypnotist and teacher. Inductions, deepeners, suggestibility tests are all very well covered.

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The Art of Hypnotherapy by Roy C. Hunter  The companion book to The Art of Hypnosis, covering advanced therapeutic techniques like parts therapy and age regression in a thorough and professional way.

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Hypnotherapy by Dave Elman  A great book by one of the masters. You’ll find the often-referred-to Elman Induction here and much, much more.

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My Voice Will Go With You: The Teaching Tales of Milton H. Erickson, M. D. by Sidney Rosen  A good introduction to another master hypnotist, which gives you a good sense of Erickson’s artful use of language and metaphor for therapeutic purposes.

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The New Encyclopedia of Stage Hypnosis by Ormond McGill  Fascinating and technique-filled volume by this long-time expert. Highly revered among hypnotists, Ormond McGill was considered a master by many.

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Handbook of Hypnotic Suggestions and Metaphors by D. Corydon Hammond  Truly a compendium. It’s not often we can use that word, but it fits here. Most professional hypnotherapists want this in their libraries if they don’t own it already. A 600 page collection of scripts and techniques.

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Hypnosis - How to Put a Smile On Your Face by Shelley Stockwell  Lots of heart, lots of humor, lots of hypnosis. Shelley’s “playshops”are always filled and you’ll see why when you take a look at this.

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Extraordinary Healing by Marilyn Gordon  Deep inner healing with a very loving process combining hypnosis and an energy tapping technique called EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique). Having attended many of her workshops, I can tell you that Marilyn is the real deal. Her loving intention shines through in all her work.

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Finding True Magic by Jack Elias  Amazing? Transformative? Comprehensive? It’s hard to describe this book loaded with scripts and techniques incorporating relaxation, imagery and NLP based on the philosophy that we can heal when we awaken from the trance state we’re already experiencing. Many wonderful examples of how that is accomplished.

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Monsters and Magical Sticks: Or There’s No Such Thing as Hypnosis by Steven Heller  Often mentioned as the hypnosis book people read again and again. Fun to read, filled with stories of NLP (Neuro-Linguistic programming) and hypnosis in action told by a gifted teacher who helps us see how natural the trance state is and how therapeutic it can be.

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Trance-formations: Neuro-Linguistic Programming and the Structure of Hypnosis by John Grinder and Richard Bandler  Grinder and Bandler like to take things apart to see how they work and then share what they’ve learned so others can recreate them. Based on some of their dynamic lectures on the processes of hypnosis and NLP, language patterns, Milton Erickson and so much more, this book teaches you techniques while at the same time employing them. You’ll probably want to re-read this to see how they did that.

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That should get you started. Enjoy!

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For more books recommended here previously, click on the Book and CD Recommendations category in the right hand column of this blog.

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Want to share some of your own favorite hypnosis books? Just click on comments below.

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“If we all did the things we are capable of doing, we would literally astound ourselves.”
—Thomas A. Edison

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“Even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.”
—Martin Luther King, Jr.

Maureen  offers many wonderful exercises in guided imagery here, 33, in fact, designed to teach relaxation, explore multi-sensual learning, improve skills and self-image, encourage creativity, and develop the ability to be calm and focused.

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Among the exercises is a beautiful relaxation meditation designed to foster healing, as well, called Waterfall of White Light.  Also included in the collection, are exercises with titles like Crossing Senses, Skill Rehearsal with a Master Teacher, Time Traveling, The Ally Within, Heart Meditation, Clearing Space, Sanctuary, and Knowing Your Potential.

Guidelines with each exercise give you:

suggested ages (some can be used with children as young as three, most are appropriate for all ages, up to and including adults)

time required (typically from 5 to 10 minutes, some even shorter, a few a little more extensive) and

time for follow up (if anyone wants to share any part of their experience or write or draw or express themselves in some other creative way)

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The guidelines make it especially easy if you’re looking for meditations you can use with students in a classroom, or in workshops for adults. They work well for self-hypnosis, too. Try recording some of your favorites and listening to one for 5 to 10 minutes a day. Some parents have even used some of them like bedtime stories. If you do that,  just change the suggestion at the end from waking up to letting yourself fall asleep and have pleasant dreams.

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Maureen offers many, many other practical tips, as well. One idea I liked was her suggestion to give fidgeters a small ball of clay to hold while doing an exercise. Another one was to engage the participants as they come back to awareness. Most often, at the end of a meditation session,  you’ll be led to return to awareness to the count of 5 while listening to the suggestion to keep the peaceful feelings with you. Maureen Murdock counts all the way to 10, inviting those meditating to join her in counting when she reaches the number 6. For example, “In a moment I will count to ten. Join me at the count of six, opening your eyes at ten, feeling refreshed and alert…”

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To give you a sample of what you will find, I’ve included an excerpt below from an exercise that’s a great introduction to the whole experience. From the section called Learning with All the Senses, it’s especially good for activating your creativity. It’s designed to help you become more keenly aware of your senses and to notice which ones you may use most easily. Paying attention to which images are most vivid for you may help you discover which learning styles you’ll find most effective.

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Maureen suggests changing the exercises in whatever way suits your needs. I took her suggestion and substituted some different images for the some of the originals. Whenever I use guided imagery, I always like to be sure people know that it’s not only OK, it’s actually good to change the images, if the ones suggested are not to your liking. So, for example, when you encounter the suggestion to think of the smell of pine trees, if you’re thinking, “But pines trees make me sneeze!”, you can change the image to something you like instead, like the smell of pizza or mint tea.

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The whole idea is to have a positive experience. Changing the images as you go along becomes part of the process of learning to pay attention to your thoughts and to recognize your power to choose different ones. Let any undesired image go and choose one that you prefer instead.
What follows is an excerpt adapted from an exercise called:

Multi-sensory Imagery

As always, begin by getting comfortable in a place where you won’t be disturbed for a little while.

After helping you to relax, the meditation begins by saying:
In a moment I will suggest to you several images on each side of your brain.

I’ll pause after each suggestion so you’ll have a moment to experience each image.

Just keep your eyes closed and then begin by looking to the left side of your brain.

On the left side, let yourself experience the color blue….

Now let that image go and look up into the right side of your brain.

On the right side, let yourself experience the color orange….

Each time you change sides, let the last image go and allow yourself to experience a new one.

Now, on the left, you experience the texture of something soft, like the skin of a baby’s cheek….

on the right, the texture of something rough, like tree bark….

Now on the left, you smell the good smells of a bakery….

On the right, you can smell pine trees….

On the left, you taste a bite of a cookie you like….

On the right, you taste a slice of lemon….

On the left, you hear the sound of wind chimes….

On the right, you hear a loved one saying your name….

Now let those images go, and imagine that your body is as light as a feather….

You see a soft, fluffy cloud nearby that can easily carry you. You can ride on it if you like….

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The meditation goes on from there, allowing time for some exploration floating on a cloud, and then calls you back to the room for a chance to share your experiences. This would be great to use before any creative activity.

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I strongly recommend this book for anyone working with children, of course, but if you’re also looking for a great resource to use with adults or to inspire your own personal creativity, don’t miss this gem. There’s much to like within its pages. Spinning Inward by Maureen Murdock is available at this link from Amazon, if you’d like to check it out.

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I’ll leave you with a quote from the preface:

“The essential act of imaging, like all creative art, is the bringing into being of a vision. The images we spin inwardly become the reality we spin out.”
—Maureen Murdock

 

 

 

 

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