I think I had some pre-training as well. You mentioned
   post-hypnotic stuff: When I was 11, I went to biofeedback
   training, which included Guided Meditaiton... as it existed in
   1983 anyway. Bad New Age music... a guy's deep booming voice...
   "You are a warm bottle lying in the sand" - stuff like that. So
   it worked to control my anxiety problems mostly. But more than
   that, it helped me be more self-aware throughout the day. But
   even THEN I had some pre-training. In 3rd grade, to correct a
   stutter, I had training to stop and be aware of what I'm about
   to say JUST BEFORE I say it, to avoid going "um," and "uh" and
   stuff. I had to learn to pause and reflect in the middle of
   talking. So, I was kinda forced to be extremely self-aware
   tongue emoticon