Pattern library

A general truth anyone agrees with. It opens the door to 'yes'.

• Everyone knows what it's like to fall asleep after a long day.
• People can learn new things without realising it.

Detected automatically in the games

Describe what the person can check right now: what they hear, feel, see. Each true sentence adds an inner 'yes'.

• You're sitting in the chair, feeling your back supported and hearing the sounds in the room.
• You're breathing, and your shoulders move gently with each breath.

Detected automatically in the games

Three checkable truths in a row, then a suggestion. After three 'yes', the fourth comes on its own.

• You're sitting here. You hear my voice. You're breathing. And you can begin to feel calmer and calmer.

Detected automatically in the games

Whatever shows up — a noise, a cough, a doubt — becomes part of the process, not an interruption.

• And that noise outside can help you settle even more comfortably inside.
• Every thought that comes and goes can be a sign that you're relaxing more and more.

Detected automatically in the games

Tie the resource to a concrete moment in real life, so it shows up there by itself.

• And the next time you walk into a full room, you can notice how calmly you breathe.
• Tomorrow morning, when you open your eyes, this calm can already be there.

Detected automatically in the games

Glues what is true to what you want next. 'And' asks for no proof, only continuity.

• You hear my voice and you can begin to relax.
• You breathe and your shoulders settle lower and lower.

Detected automatically in the games

Two experiences placed side by side in time. The first seems to bring the second, without saying so.

• As you breathe out, you can feel the calm deepen.
• While you listen, your body finds its own right position.

Detected automatically in the games

State directly that one thing produces another. Stronger than 'and', but risky if the leap is too big.

• Each breath helps you go deeper.
• The sound of my voice allows you to drift.

Detected automatically in the games

Tie two variables together: when one grows, so does the other. Any progress becomes proof.

• The more you let go, the easier it becomes.
• The more closely you listen, the more your body settles.

Detected automatically in the games

Anchor the suggestion to something that will certainly happen. The event becomes the trigger.

• Each time you breathe out, you can let a little tension go.
• As soon as your hand touches your leg, you can go even deeper.

Detected automatically in the games

You don't discuss WHETHER it happens, only WHEN: before, after, until.

• Before you relax completely, you can notice the warmth in your palms.
• After your eyes close, the calm can deepen on its own.

Detected automatically in the games

Begin, continue, already, still, again: they assume the process is already moving.

• You can continue to relax at your own pace.
• Maybe you've already noticed your breathing has changed.

Detected automatically in the games

The order can be questioned; the fact that it happens — not.

• I wonder which part of your body will relax first.
• The first thing you may notice is the heaviness of your eyelids.

Detected automatically in the games

Offer two options; both lead the same way. The person chooses HOW, not WHETHER.

• You can close your eyes now or in a few breaths.
• I don't know whether you'll relax first in your shoulders or in your hands.

Detected automatically in the games

Notice, realise, discover: what follows is assumed true; all that's left is to notice it.

• You can notice how heavy your arms have become.
• You might discover you have more patience than you thought.

Detected automatically in the games

You don't ask whether it happens, only how easily or how deeply. The process is already assumed.

• I wonder how easily you'll let this calm carry you.
• Your body knows how naturally it can rest.

Detected automatically in the games

An evaluative word up front presupposes the rest of the sentence is true.

• Fortunately, you don't have to do anything to relax.
• It's interesting how quickly your body learns to rest.

Detected automatically in the games

A short instruction hidden inside a longer sentence. Aloud you mark it: lower tone, slower pace. Here you mark it with *asterisks*.

• I don't know how soon you'll let go of that tension.
• A friend told me you can feel safe right now.

Detected automatically in the games

A question phrased as a statement. The mind answers inside, without the pressure of answering aloud.

• I wonder if you've already noticed how quiet your breathing is.
• I'm curious which part of you will relax first.

Detected automatically in the games

The mind first processes what follows 'don't'. Used on purpose, it invites exactly that.

• Don't relax too quickly.
• There's no need to close your eyes just yet.

Detected automatically in the games

A yes/no question that is really an invitation. The person does it before answering.

• Can you imagine a place where you feel completely safe?
• Could you let your shoulders drop a little?

Detected automatically in the games

A small question at the end that turns the statement into agreement and distracts from resistance.

• It's nice not to have to do anything, isn't it?
• You can already feel the change, can't you?

Detected automatically in the games

Someone else says the suggestion, inside a story. I'm not giving it to you — just quoting, so there's no one to argue with.

• An old fisherman once told his grandson: 'The sea calms when you stop fighting it.'
• My teacher used to tell of a client who said: 'You can rest now.'

Detected automatically in the games

'You can', 'you might', 'it's possible': you give permission, not orders. Resistance has nothing to fight.

• You can let your breathing find its own rhythm.
• It's possible you'll feel a pleasant heaviness in your legs.

Detected automatically in the games

Processes turned into vague 'things': calm, confidence, understanding. Each person fills them with their own meaning.

• And this calm brings with it a new understanding.
• Confidence can grow in places you don't expect.

Detected automatically in the games

Something, someone, a part of you: without details, the mind picks what fits.

• A part of you already knows what you need.
• Something can change, in a way that's right for you.

Detected automatically in the games

Say what the person is probably thinking or feeling. If it's plausible, they feel understood — and follow.

• You may be wondering what will happen next.
• I know part of you is curious right now.

Detected automatically in the games

An evaluation without saying who makes it. It sounds like a law of nature, not an opinion.

• It's natural to need time for yourself.
• It's okay to let things be as they are.

Detected automatically in the games

Every, all, always: they generalise the experience and make it feel certain.

• Every breath takes you a little deeper.
• All the sounds around you can become part of the calm.

Detected automatically in the games

List every possible response, including 'nothing'. Whatever the person feels becomes the right answer.

• You may feel warmth, or coolness, or tingling, or perhaps nothing in particular — and any of these is right.
• Some people see colours, some hear sounds, some simply feel.

Detected automatically in the games

Give the direction, not the route. The person chooses the form, so the form is always theirs.

• You can find your own path to calm, at your own pace.
• Let your mind choose the memory that's right for you now.

Detected automatically in the games

The conscious mind can do anything; the unconscious does the work anyway. Both options lead to change.

• Your conscious mind can listen to the words, while your unconscious learns what it needs.
• It doesn't matter whether your conscious mind remembers, because your unconscious keeps what matters.

Detected automatically in the games

Two opposite sensations, linked: one grows, the other fades. The contrast makes both more vivid.

• As your hand grows lighter, the rest of your body feels heavier.
• The more alert your mind, the more deeply your body can rest.

Detected automatically in the games

The message lives in the story. The person draws the conclusion — and doesn't reject their own.

• I once knew a woman who carried a backpack full of stones everywhere she went…
• A tree doesn't hurry to grow, and yet it grows every day.

Detected automatically in the games

Give feelings to an object. The gentle absurdity sends the mind looking for meaning — usually about itself.

• This chair has seen many people relax deeply.
• The pillow knows how to hold a person who is resting.

Not detected automatically — you recognise it by ear

A sentence that reads two ways. The mind processes both and goes deeper while searching.

• I'm speaking to you as a person who is deeply relaxing.
• You can hear, here, now, how deeply you rest. (hear or here?)

Not detected automatically — you recognise it by ear