Today I gave my lecture at The UK Hypnosis Convention. Around 135 attended.
The topic was self-hypnosis.
In short the science suggests that we do not need to do an induction to respond to suggestion. And that we are in fact always 'on' and responsive to suggestion.
We can get better as subjects by modelling highly hypnotisable people.
Some of the references I shared with those who attended are below - including one of my favourite books 'The Psychology of Consciousness' by William Farthing, which you can find online for free.
References from my talk.
Creative Imagination Scale - This is useful to self-assess your current skill as a subject.
https://hypnosisandsuggestion.org/assets/files/Creative_Imagination_Scale.pdf
The Psychology of Consciousness by William Farthing PDF - Read it all, especially the chapter on Altered States.
https://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~jfkihlstrom/ConsciousnessWeb/Farthing/Farthing.htm
Read this for a great summary of psychosomatic phenomena.
Barber, T. X. (1978). Hypnosis, Suggestions, and Psychosomatic Phenomena: A New Look from the Standpoint of Recent Experimental Studies. American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, 21(1), 13–27.
Evidence for a simple, short strategy to change the immune response. Powerful reading.
Ruzyla-Smith, P., Barabasz, A., Barabasz, M., & Warner, D. (1995). Effects of Hypnosis on the Immune Response: B-Cells, T-Cells, Helper and Suppressor Cells. American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, 38(2), 71–79.
More info in this regard with a clear description of the immune system.
Hall, H. R. (1982). Hypnosis and the Immune System: A Review with Implications for Cancer and the Psychology of Healing. American Journal of Clinical Hypnosis, 25(2-3), 92–103.
From there I bounced to Rossi, who picks up where Barber left off, going from changes in blood flow to changes in information substances and associated cell behaviour.
Book Mind-Body Therapy: Methods of Ideodynamic Healing in Hypnosis
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mind-Body-Therapy-Methods-Ideodynamic-Hypnosis/dp/039331247X