1. Read the cautions.

2. Listening should be done while laying or sitting in an atmosphere that can be expected to be relatively free of surprises and emergencies for at least the time it takes the tape/CD to run - surroundings and atmosphere you would be comfortable taking a nap in.

3. Have the better part of an hour to spare, when it is okay to lose track of time and have your attention lapse.

4. Use headphones and expect to hear two voices. There is a somewhat different recording that will be heard in both the left and right channels. (See the samples page.) It's not an absolute must but the dual presentation format 1) makes it possible to present twice as much information and 2) makes it possible for some of the information to be more likely processed unconsciously. Very cheap headphones (the ones, for example, that come free with an inexpensive tape or CD player) can't handle the low tones of the head-cleaners hypnosis tapes and CDs. (For some reason beyond my understanding of phonic physics, some of the cheap headphones translate some of my very low vocal tones into something that sounds like a plastic spoon being loudly snapped into pieces. As you might imagine, it's generally best to try to avoid the sound of plastic spoons loudly breaking while doing hypnosis.) (Also, see the headphones page.)

5. Always begin listening at the beginning of the recording. Do not start in the middle or where you think you left off. They are designed to be listened to from the beginning only.

6. Eyes can be opened or closed, but if open be mindful that eye blinking may slow and eyes and contact lenses may become dry before you realize it (possibly causing discomfort and blurred vision).

7. Expect to be at times a little confused and/or to loose track or be distracteds - or even feel like he or she drifted to sleep sometimes.

8. Do NOT have candy, gum, or anything else in your mouth while listening.

9. Do NOT listen to the tapes/CDs if you cannot afford to lose track of time for up to an hour.

10. Expect your mind to wander at times -- expect your attention to lapse. Expect that you might find yourself feeling like you just woke up.

11. Don't expect to be able to follow every word in both channels. The wording is sometimes complex and may seem to require effort to catch everything -- but you're not supposed to do any work at listening.

12. Expect sometimes confusing wordings and pauses between the verbalizations.

13. Change your position at any time it will help you be more comfortable. Clear your throat, open your eyes and look around, scratch -- whatever makes you more comfortable. Assume that whatever deepens your comfort will deepen your hypnotic experience.

14. Notice or ignore the sensations and how your thoughts move from one to another with the various words and phrases you hear as you listen.

15. No more than once a day. Unless otherwise indicated on the recording, listen your tape or CD no more than one time in a day. Other than that restriction, listen whenever you feel the whim. If you have more than one CD, let your self "use the force" - that is, follow your urges with respect to which CD to listen to.

16. Always begin a hypnosis tape or CD at the beginning, even if you don't think you heard the last part the last time you listened.

17. Never drive or operate machinery while listening to a hypnosis tape or CD -- or whenever you need to keep your attention on something (like childcare). The task will make the hypnosis much less effective and the hypnosis will make the task potentially dangerous.

18. Expect to possibly feel like you fell asleep at times while listening. Many people think they fell asleep when listening to hypnosis recordings, though they generally do not unless very sleepy or exhausted. The word "hypnosis" means sleep-like state. If you do actually fall asleep the part of the recording you sleep through will not have any effect. It is not a good practice to try to benefit from hypnosis when you are very tired unless you want to fall asleep during the recording.

19. Bedtime or just before can be a good time to listen. You cannot expect to benefit from the part of a hypnosis recording that is presented after you actually fall asleep. On the other hand, you can expect to benefit even more from the part of the recording that you do hear if you fall asleep right afterward. Thus, listening in bed just before bedtime with the expectation that you will be falling asleep right after the end of the tape or CD can be an effective strategy.

20. Expect growth and self-improvement not in huge spurts but in reasonable spurts. When engaging in self help, it is generally the case that one improves markedly and then plateaus for a time. When you hit that plateau, put your tape or CD in a safe place and wait a few weeks until you have the urge to work on self-improvement again. Many people find that they use the head-cleaners recordings a few times once, twice or three times a year for several years. To assure you have your recording available, make a copy. The copying policy is very liberal.

21. See What to Expect When You Listen to a Head-Cleaners Hypnosis Recording

A final note - using hypnosis recordings over time:   Using hypnosis recordings can be a very "cool" way to work on a more effective, practical attitude that lets you enjoy life a lot more. You get one and if you like it (e.g., within the first one or two listenings, you feel comfortable and interested, you feel hopeful about using it and you feel more positive and comfortable with your life and yourself). If you like it (nothing in life is one size fits all), you then get three or four of the recordings focused on your issues and use them once a day or so -- maybe just as you go to bed so they're the last thing you put in your mind before sleep -- for a week or two. Then you listen to one once a week on average for the next several months. You'll find that you think about your life differently during the day and process it with a much more practical attitude. You will find that you work on yourself for anywhere from a few weeks to several months and then you sort of loose interest in the project. (Things go well and life doesn't push the idea of self improvement.) Then six months go by -- or 18 -- and you start thinking about self improvement or dealing with stress and you pull out your recordings and start at it again.