Music is intimately related to the subconscious mind because it stirs our emotions. Perhaps you can recall listening to a jingle and finding the tune and the advertising slogan replaying in your mind over and over, even if you disliked the jingle. It just stuck in your mind.

Sometimes we may be consciously aware of the suggestions which are becoming impressed upon our subconscious minds. Many others times we may simply act unconsciously upon those suggestions - without any conscious awareness of why we feel propelled to act in a certain way. Big corporations spend billions of dollars on advertisements in order to create exactly that effect - to get you to purchase specific product or to act in a certain way.

Knowingly or unknowingly, all of us get affected by music we listen to. Here is one example from an email I have received:

"I want to tell you a story that you may find interesting. About two weeks ago whenever I walked on the streets, people would stare at me. I am not used to it, so at first I thought that there was maybe something odd about my outer appearance on that day. I looked in the mirror and there was nothing strange about either my clothes or my hair - I was totally normal. This lasted about a week - day after day. I must say that I was quite amused by all this, particularly because sometimes I would notice that these strange gazes were in fact gazes of admiration.

Later, however, I have discovered the possible cause of all this - a song. An ordinary pop song called "Superstar" by Jamelia. Basically, during that week I used to listen to this recording with my headphones while being engaged in other activities (such as working) sometimes without even noticing. One of the main phrases of the song which are repeated over and over again in the song are "You've gotta be a superstar, 'cause you've got eyes on you no matter where you are." My subconscious mind understood the lyrics literally and wherever I would go I "had eyes on me".

I later decided to stop listening to the song and noticed that gradually people stopped staring at me. Isn't it amusing?"

I suppose you can imagine what happens to people who listen over and over to music with words such as "I am a loser" and similar. Perhaps you want to pay closer attention to the lyrics of the songs you are listening to. It's also good to remember that when we watch TV, we are in a state of hypnotic trance and what we watch and listen to in that relaxed and entranced state does get into our subconscious minds to a lesser or greater extent - so you may want to choose your listening and watching menu wisely.

Another aspect of music, is the music itself. Some music helps you to feel more relaxed, some music makes your body move, maybe even dance, some music puts you into a sensual and lovemaking state of mind, while other types of music makes you feel unsettled or perhaps inspire you to engage in some form of combat or on a more positive note, jump up and plunge yourself into a vigorous physical exercise.

When you are practicing self-hypnosis without hypnosis recordings, you may want to pick some music that by itself elicits within you the emotional state that is most appropriate for the goal you are working on. The music does not have to be slow and relaxing - it may be quite energizing. If you feel like moving and dancing, rather than lying down, it is OK to use your body and dance your self-hypnosis outcome. There may also be times when you would prefer to relax into your self-hypnosis outcome, and there may be times when you feel more like getting into physical action. Rhythmic, repetitive movement is trance inducing.

One of the main reasons for using music for self-hypnosis is to help you maintain mental and emotional focus on your outcome. The music that helps to elicit within you emotions which are appropriate for your self-hypnosis outcome, will take care of the focus. Your intention can then ride of the wave of music, making focusing an effortless process.

If you are working on increasing sex appeal, the appropriate music would be the one that makes you feel sexy. If you are working on increasing financial abundance, the appropriate music would be the one that brings feelings and images of opulence and wealth. If you are working on healing, the appropriate music would be one that helps you to feel relaxed and peaceful, allowing your body to rest, regenerate and heal.