THE MIND AT WORK: Page 70

practice should be able to develop that suggestibility to a degree. Schrenk-Netzing placed the number of persons susceptible to direct hypnosis at 90%, so the incidence of those susceptible to indirect suggestion should run substantially higher, probably 99%. Repetition is also used to induce relaxation and receptivity to the material to be learned. The most accepted method is the use of word pictures to suggest a gradual descent into the lower realms of consciousness. Word pictures vary, but they must always offer a peaceful, gradual descent: using an escalator . . . descending deeper . . . dee . . . per . . . deeper . . . into pleasant sleep and relaxation. Repetition of the words "deep" and "relax" is constant. A progression of movement is used, always going DOWN . . . ree . . . laxed . . . dee . . . per . . . dee . . . per. The vivid impression necessary in the induction can be the word picture of descending a staircase, step by step; relaxing on a couch or bed as it slowly descends into the realm of sleep and subconscious receptivity. It is apparent that the sleep-learning approach is, in many ways, consistent with the principles of hypnosis. Stress is laid on the importance of relaxation, on creating a favorable emotional attitude, on the power of suggestion and in the use of monotonous inflections to bring on drowsiness. We can now investigate sleep-learning in the light of present knowledge and theories about memory.