If you have performed the experiment as outlined above, you should begin to understand why the Semantic-Relaxation Exercise works. Instead of imagining that a pendulum is swinging, we imagine that all the muscles in our body are relaxing. This is exactly what happens. At first the response to our suggestions of relaxation are weak, but with repetition they become more and more effective. The relaxation becomes greater and occurs more quickly. As a result of the "voluntary" muscles relaxing, the viscera, including the heart, blood vessels and other internal organs relax. It has been clinically demonstrated that if you relax your skeletal muscles, the internal muscles tend to relax also.

Some individuals when first trying this experiment tend to tense their muscles. This should not be done and will only serve to lessen the response. Try to be relaxed when you try this experiment. The only people that this experiment will not work for are those individuals that "know" before they start, it will not work. However, if they are thinking, "this will not work, the bob will not move." The experiment is working for them, they are getting exactly what they are thinking, "the bob will not move" and it will not

The Chevreul pendulum experiment is a demonstration of the phenomenon of ideomotor action. That is, the tendency of thoughts or ideas to be automatically translated, reflex like, into specific patterns of muscular activity. Probably many hypnotic suggestions act purely through ideomotor action. As stimuli they trigger corresponding thoughts and images that act as cue-producing responses, evoking actual motor responses. The repeated elicitation of an ideomotor response increases the intensity of the response.

Ideomotor actions tend to be weak responses, particularly in their initial phrase. If there is present another strong muscular action or tension involving the same muscles it will tend to mask or block the weak pattern induced by thoughts. The probabilities are that you will succeed with this experiment as very few people fail to get a response. If you do not get any results, do not give up. Try again on several consecutive days or try using a lighter or heaver bob. You might try a different length of string. In general, a longer string will give a greater response.

If you have performed the experiment as outlined above, you should begin to understand why the Semantic-Relaxation Exercise works. Instead of imagining that a pendulum is swinging, we imagine that all the muscles in our body are relaxing. This is exactly what happens. At first the response to our suggestions of relaxation are weak, but with repetition they become more and more effective. The relaxation becomes greater and occurs more quickly. As a result of the "voluntary" muscles relaxing, the viscera, including the heart, blood vessels and other internal organs relax. It has been clinically demonstrated that if you relax your skeletal muscles, the internal muscles tend to relax also.