SELF HYPNOSIS LESSON 22

      JOY

      Goal

      To develop a sense of interpersonal unity and to eliminate feelings of
      alienation through the sharing of joy, in a joint symbolic venture.

      Time

      The timing of this exercise is necessarily dependant on the participants' 
      availability, which is most likely to be late afternoon or evening. This
      is, coincidentally, a good time of day for a shared symbolic experience.

      Introductory Note

      This exercise is designed to be performed by a group of people {not more
      than six or eight} sitting in a circle. Place a glass of water in front
      of each group member, and a large, empty pitcher in the center of the
      circle.

      Preparation

      The altered state of consciousness may be induced by softly cadenced
      repetitive phrases, evocative of relaxation. They may be spoken by one
      member of the group, called the reader, or by the group as a whole. If,
      by now, you have acquired a favorite private trance-induction ritual, you
      may find it very effective to superimpose it silently on the words spoken
      aloud.  Such a double barreled approach often enhances the trance effect.

      The Exercise

      Now you are completely relaxed, from the top of your head to the tips of
      your toes. Your eyes are oped, and you are mentally alert, yet completely
      relaxed, as you think about the water in the glass before you. You
      realize that it represents joy-a joy that is yours, a joy that no one can
      take from you, a joy that may have been private-or even forgotten-till
      now, perhaps going far back to your childhood; or ot may be a joy of more
      recent origin. You know best which it is, because you are in complete
      command of yourself, in this as in all other states of consciousness.
      Your joy is in that glass.  Relive it again in all its intensity.

      Now the pitcher is to be passed around the circle. It is time for sharing
      joy with each other. As the pitcher is passed around, each participant
      pours the water from his glass into the pitcher. As you slowly pour the
      water from your glass into the pitcher you grasp with the very essence of
      your being that you are engaged in a common purpose-the sharing of joy.
      You are adding your share of private joy to the common pool, and thereby
      become truly united with every other member of your group in a unity of
      sharing.

      {In silence, allow each person as much time as he wishes to pour his
      glass of water into the pitcher. When the pitcher has been returned to
      its place in the center of the group, the reader continues.}

      You realize that by pouring your joys into the pitcher you have
      experienced the joy of giving. But giving is only half of the joy of
      sharing. The other half is the joy of receiving, becoming party to the
      joys of every other member of the group as well.

      The pitcher contains all of our individual joys blended together. Once
      again the pitcher will be passed around the circle, and this time each
      one is to fill his glass with the liquid-the shared joys of everyone
      here-and slowly drink it, savoring each mouthful as a multiplication of
      joy, as a sweetness far above the solitary enjoyment of an individual
      joy.

      {When this has been done, the reader may continue with words such as
      these.}

      "Some of you here may or may not have been close friends before; you may
      or may not become friends as a result of this experience. Whether you do
      or not is immaterial: the important thing is that for the duration of the
      exercise you have been truly one with the other members of this group and
      from now on you will know that, in a subtle but essential way, you are
      part of everyone else on earth.}

      "Every time you reflect on this, a wonderful feeling of belonging will
      suffuse you. And as you continue to reflect on it, you will find that
      this feeling of belonging gradually carries over into your everyday
      reality, enhancing and beautifying it, and supporting you in times of
      stress." 

      The exercise is ended now. Awaken yourself, individually or collectively,
      with a one-to-three count. After the count of three you will be back in
      your ordinary reality state, feeling serene, relaxed, and at ease.