Hypnosis

When I was a kid, my family doctor was a hypnotist. He hypnotized my mom before she gave birth to my little sister. Mom reports that she felt no discomfort during the birth, despite being awake and having no drugs. That story had a big impact on me.

When I was in my early twenties, I enrolled in the Pierre Clement School of Hypnosis in San Francisco. I thought I could earn some extra money hypnotizing people. And I figured maybe it could help with dating. I wasn’t getting too far on my charm alone.

The Pierre Clement School of Hypnosis is named after a notable and long dead hypnotist. I don’t know if it still exists. I couldn’t find it on Google. At the time, it consisted of one instructor and a small room where the eight or ten of us met twice a week, at night for a few hours, for maybe ten weeks. I forget the details. It was something like that. That was just the basic course. You could take another class to get the advanced therapy concepts, but I didn’t.

I’ve never heard of anyone learning hypnosis from reading a good book about it. An important part of the process involves being hypnotized yourself, and watching others being hypnotized.  And frankly, it’s a bit hard to believe it works until you observe it yourself. As a hypnotist, you need to convey your confidence that the process works, or else it won’t. If you’re not personally convinced, the subject might pick up on that. I doubt you could get that sort of confidence from a book.

Let me stop here and give you some facts about hypnosis. It’s widely misunderstood. Later I’ll tell you how it’s done, but you won’t be able to reproduce it by reading about it here.

We talk of people “going under” hypnosis, or “going to sleep.” Both are misleading. A subject under hypnosis is fully aware of his environment. He’s awake, for all practical purposes, and can ignore any suggestion that might be objectionable. In the history of hypnosis, there’s no reliable record of anyone following a suggestion he thought would be harmful to himself or someone else. The subject doesn’t lose control.

So what does happen?

I describe the state of hypnosis as acquiring a power. The subject has all of his regular faculties operating plus he gains some more, if he has no objection to those new powers. For example, a subject under hypnosis would get a little extra power in one or more of these areas:

1. Extra relaxation
2. Extra imagination
3. Extra focus

Those extra powers don’t sound like much, but they are. In my experience, every person can be hypnotized, at least to the degree of getting some of those extra powers.  People who say they can’t be hypnotized don’t understand hypnosis.

About one person in five can experience what hypnotists call “the phenomena.” For those people, their powers of imagination become so strong it is almost indistinguishable from reality. Those are the people who can give birth without pain, or see an elephant in the room, or eat an onion and think it’s an orange, or have multiple orgasms on suggestion. My name for that group is “lucky bastards.” For them, hypnosis can fix a lot of problems.

For the rest of the world, hypnosis can be a great way to relax, which has lots of health benefits. And it can help focus on good habits and away from bad ones. For example, it can help some people with minor phobias and bad habits. But it’s not a cure-all, and doesn’t seem to be more effective than alternative treatments for those same problems.

People who use hypnosis to quit smoking and quit overeating have about the same success as people who use other methods. In other words, it works less than half the time. The reason is simple. Hypnosis can only help you do what you want to do. If you want a cigarette more than you want to quit, hypnosis is useless. So is every other method. And if you want to quit more than you want to smoke, almost any method, including hypnosis, can make that quitting feel easier.

A common misconception is that the people who can experience hypnotic phenomena are weak-willed or gullible. There’s no truth to that. In fact, there’s no way to know how a person will respond to hypnosis by observing his personality. Often the smartest and most powerful people are easiest to hypnotize precisely because they aren’t afraid of the process. Sometimes the meek will be concerned that the hypnotist will turn them into zombies. So if you “can’t be hypnotized,” it’s nothing to brag about. It just means you don’t understand what hypnosis is.

Some people have a problem with the idea of hypnosis because they don’t want someone else having control over them. That’s the wrong way to think of it. A hypnotist is more like a coach, or a tour guide. He shows the subject how to unlock his extra powers. He doesn’t “control” the subject. In fact, I’ve never known anyone who didn’t totally enjoy the feeling of being hypnotized. It’s like getting a pedicure on your brain. It’s deeply relaxing, and the hypnotist does all of the work. It feels a bit like being pampered.

All that most people know about hypnosis is what they’ve seen in a stage hypnotist’s act. You might be wondering if the subjects are really actors and the whole thing is fixed. They’re real people. They are the one in five who can experience the phenomena. The thing the audience doesn’t realize is that what looks embarrassing to the spectators doesn’t feel that way to the people on stage, either during or after the act. In any large group, it’s easy to find a dozen people who will get on stage and do things you wouldn’t do, whether they are hypnotized or not. Part of the illusion that makes stage hypnosis entertaining is that you think you wouldn’t do what the people on stage are doing, so therefore they must be completely under the hypnotists “control.” That’s a misperception. Everyone on stage could stand up and walk off if they chose to. Experiencing the “phenomena” is a fascinating feeling, and only extroverts allow themselves to go on stage. They know what they’re doing, although they do experience their imagination almost as if real. But it’s 100% voluntary.

Our homework in hypnosis class involved finding subjects to hypnotize for practice. I ran an ad in a local publication saying I would hypnotize people to “remember” their previous lives, for $20. (We learned you should charge for your service because it makes you more credible and makes the hypnosis easier.)

I didn’t necessarily believe in reincarnation, but I thought it would be fun to test it. Several people answered the ad, and all but one imagined something that felt like a previous life. The experience convinced me that people can’t remember previous lives under hypnosis, because all of my subjects described historical situations right out of books. Everyone was a Viking or a French peasant or something easy to describe. No one was an ancient Etrusian, for example, because they wouldn’t know how to describe that sort of life.

Hypnosis does mess with memories. That has more to do with the fragility of memory than with the power of hypnosis. We all have the experience of remembering some childhood event and later realizing we’re only remembering the photographs we saw of the event. It’s the same with hypnosis. A powerful imagined memory can get confused with real ones, if there is even such a thing as a real memory. That’s why any story you hear about someone recovering a memory of abuse or alien abductions or anything else under hypnosis is always bullshit. Hypnosis can’t recover a memory. It can only confuse it.

The power of hypnosis, for me, was in understanding how easily people can confuse the imagined with the real. You can’t hypnotize someone to kill himself, because he would reject that suggestion. But religion can convince someone to kill himself by creating an imaginary afterlife with plentiful virgins for martyrs. So on a scale of dangerous imaginary things, hypnosis is somewhere closer to advertising, well below peer pressure, nowhere near religion.

In fact, part of your hypnosis homework involved watching a well-known preacher’s television show. He was a skilled hypnotist, although it was unclear how much was from training and how much was natural. Damn, he was good. Nothing he said made any sense whatsoever, and by that I don’t just mean it was hard to believe. I mean you couldn’t even discern his point. Yet somehow, it a-a-a-almost, kind of, sort of, made sense, so it drew you in. A half hour later you realized the only thing that made sense was “send me money.” That’s a standard hypnosis trick: You create a sense of confusion in the subject’s mind, and it makes him cling to the first clear thought that comes in. People don’t like to be confused for long, so the one clear thought in the mess of confusion takes on a higher power of influence. But it’s important to note that the hypnosis wouldn’t have been that effective, and evil, without the religion part.

Let’s talk about technique. First, hypnosis has nothing to do with the sound of your voice or swinging a watch in front of someone’s face. Hypnosis is done entirely with choice of words. You could do a Mickey Mouse impression and still hypnotize a blind guy, assuming it didn’t make him laugh.

Half of the process of hypnosis is performed before the subject knows you started. It’s called the pretalk. That’s where you describe to the subject, as I have in this post, what hypnosis is and isn’t, and answer any questions. The goal is to make sure the subject knows it’s not some sort of contest of willpower. The second goal of the pretalk is to convey your certainty that the hypnosis will work. If you’ve hypnotized lots of people, that part comes easy. You’ll have a natural confidence and matter-of-factness that the subject will pick up.

Then comes the induction, commonly known as “putting someone under.” The hypnotist has two goals in this phase. You want to relax the subject, and you want to show them the connection between your words and the changes they feel.

There are a variety of methods for hypnosis. I’ll describe the one I use the most. I ask the subject to sit upright in a comfortable chair, with feet on the ground. I ask the subject to pick a spot on the wall and concentrate on it. Hypnotists repeat themselves many times, so this is the highly edited version of what I might say:

“Concentrate on the spot you picked. Take a deep breath. Inhale, then exhale. Again. As you watch the spot, you’ll feel yourself relax. Your eyelids will feel heavier because it takes energy to keep them open. The natural position of your eyes is closed. It takes work to keep them open. As you relax, it will get harder to do that work. You’ll find yourself blinking, and with each blink, it might get harder to blink open. You might find yourself blinking more often. Eventually, the blinking will increase, and the eyelids will get heavier, and one of those blinks might keep your eyes closed.”

That’s a highly abbreviated version. I’d find five ways to say each of those ideas, and repeat as many times as it took. People who are in the one-in-five category flutter their eyes and shut them in about a minute. My objective is to convince the subject that something happened with their eyes because of something I said. Once they believe my words are having a direct influence on their relaxation, the effect snowballs. Imagination merges with reality.

Anyone will want to blink more often if you call attention to their rate of blinking. To the subject, it will seem as though he is blinking more because of something I said, when all that is happening is I made him think about his eyes.

By the way, I know you’re blinking a bit extra just reading this. I’m not hypnotizing you. It’s just a good example of the process.

If the subject’s eyes don’t close on their own, eventually I just tell him to close them. He will, because he’s the subject and I’m the hypnotist. And this starts a pattern of the subject experiencing a physical change because of the hypnotist’s words.

Then I tell my subject to relax his right hand, and feel the energy draining out of it. I work around the rest of the limbs, spending a minute on each. Any normal person will become quite relaxed just by focusing on his tension and releasing it one muscle at a time.

A hypnotist might also do something called pacing and leading. Pacing means matching the subject in some way, a mannerism or habit or style, then causing him to match you unconsciously. People copy other people automatically. For example, you know if you yawn, it often causes another person to yawn. Hypnosis is an extension of that process. So a hypnotist might first match the breathing pattern of the subject, in a very subtle way, and then start breathing slower to see if the subject matches the slower breathing without noticing.

Next comes the wordy part of the induction. I’d start by describing how relaxed the subject is, and ask him to imagine a walk in the forest. I’d leave out specifics, because the subject might be imagining an oak tree and I don’t want to say, “You notice a pine tree.” You never want to leave a clue that there’s any conflict between what you’re saying and the subject is experiencing.

After the forest, I take the subject down an imaginary set of steps that each have the word “sleep” written on them. With each step, I tell them they are getting deeper, and deeper. From there, they float onto an escalator, then an elevator, and then I ask them to see a floating pendulum. (I’m leaving out details of each scene.)

Part of what a hypnotist learns is how to read extremely subtle changes in the subject’s breathing, posture, and muscle tone. That’s how you can tell if what you’re doing is working or if you need to take longer. You would have to be a gifted actor to pretend to be hypnotized. It’s a distinct look that would be hard to fake. Neck muscles are the biggest tip off, as the subject’s head starts bobbing slightly, or the chin goes down to the chest. But you can also see the face relax to an unusual degree. And breathing becomes slow and regular.

By this point, the subject is so relaxed and so in synch with the hypnotist, that anything the hypnotist says (within reason) is as acceptable as if it had been generated by the subject’s own mind. It’s the extreme version of a yawn setting off another yawn.

Now comes the fun part. I typically suggest that the subject’s arm is becoming so light it will begin to float in the air. This can be a lengthy process, involving a series of suggestions starting with the thought that “your fingers might become light first, and that will cause one or more to twitch.” At this point, almost everyone will experience a finger twitch, and it will feel oddly involuntary. From there, it’s an easy road to suggest the arm is lighter than air and eventually, if the hypnotist persists, the arm starts to float. This is generally the “holy shit” moment for the subject who didn’t think he could be hypnotized. Almost everyone can experience the floating arm under hypnosis. It’s freaky. And it accelerates the “trance” if I can use that misleading word.

From there, I would suggest that any time I count from one to twenty, the subject would go deeper, and anytime I count toward one, the subject would be more awake. I’d run through the numbers slowly, changing directions, and observe the affect. Almost everyone is totally responding by this point. They are clearly more relaxed toward twenty, and visibly more awake toward one.

Now it’s time for the suggestions. You might suggest that a person feels comfortable flying on a plane, or dogs are cute and not dangerous, or the person is confident speaking on front of strangers, or whatever. This sort of suggestion rarely works in one session. You need about five sessions to make a difference. (The people who experience the phenomena might take fewer.)

To end the session, I suggest that when I count to zero the subject will awake and feel refreshed and happy and have a great day. I count to zero and they wake up. And they smile broadly. Every time. It’s a fun ride.

I’m leaving out plenty of details and side information, but this is enough to give you a flavor of the process.

What’s in it for the hypnotist? Lots. For one thing, you learn to read body language at a level that borders on psychic. You go beyond the obvious stuff like crossed arms and who is leaning toward whom, and see meaning in everything from skin tone, to breathing, to pupil dilation, and even choice of words. Never lie to a trained hypnotist.

The other super power you get from being a hypnotist is the knowledge of how to weave it into your normal life. For example, Dilbert is designed using tricks I learned from hypnosis. The reason Dilbert has no last name, and the boss has no name, and the company has no name, and the town has no name is because of my hypnosis training. I remove all the obvious obstacles to imagining Dilbert works at your company. That seems to work.

You can’t turn people into puppets with hypnosis, but it does tell you how to get in synch with them in a way that they are more likely to trust you and want to have you around. That’s handy in every walk of life. And you can tell if what you’re saying or doing is having a positive or negative impact as you are doing it. That helps a lot too.

But the best super power that hypnosis gives you is a different world view. Nothing in this life makes sense if you assume people are rational most of the time. Hypnosis teaches you how easily people’s memories and impressions can be altered. And it’s not just the gullible people, it’s all of us. It’s humbling. And it’s the most useful skill I’ve ever learned.

While hypnosis can't make a person do what he doesn't want to do, sometimes it can change what he thinks he wants, just as advertising and peer pressure do. It's not magic, but you shouldn't underestimate its power.

Comments

[Lee Betchley]

In response to the use of hypnosis for "age regression"--recalling a memory from this life. Most professionals do not do age regression (completely different than past life regression) because false memories can occur.
Understand that your recall of the past is not actually as it "really happened". It is your perception. Which brings up a lot of other questions--both bad and good.

[Lee Betchley]

It is nice to see some of the myths about hypnosis being dispelled. As a hypnotherapist I constantly hear my clients say "Lee, more people should do this. Why don't people know about this?" And I am just as puzzled.
I also find it interesting that when people quit smoking or get their weight under control--their peers refuse to believe that it was the hypnosis. Or better still continue to have "reasons" not to seek hypnosis.
Once a woman who was extremely unhappy came to see me, she had years of traditional therapy. After a few months, her self esteem increased and she felt strong enough to leave an unhappy marriage and begin a new life. Her pastor told her to stop hypnosis because it was evil.
Another example is when my client (at 62 year old man) began a great work out program and became obsessed with health. His neighbors told him he was being "controlled"--that he needed to seek therapy to go over his recent focus on health
These are true stories. As a hypnotherapist and human being, I understand that we hang on to our present situations (even painful ones) but I am amazed at how hard we try to get others to hang on with us.
No one can control anyone. If I could control another human being--I would NOT be sitting at a desk in an office. My job is just to guide people. I would like to suggest "Psycho Cybernetics" by Maxwell Maltz, as a great read for a better understanding of the mind and how it works.

[paul clinton]

hypnosis is free on the british social security, while some people still have doubts and consider hypnotherapy as some kind of witchcraft. The idiot stage hypnotists and Hollywood has caused a lot of damage to such an amazing power.

[Rakesh Kumar]

Watching a hypnosis demonstration keenly help one's in learning hypnotic induction. I have been reported by my audiences that they successfully inducted hypnosis only after watching my hypnosis induction demonstrations. I advise my audiences not to venture in hypnotic induction without adequate knowledge base and guidance from an expert. But despite my advice they do and succeed.

[Roger Moore, PhD]

Thanks for the great post. You did a great job explaining hypnosis. I lost over 100 pounds and I have kept it off with hypnosis. Today my hypnosis practice is focused on health issues such as weight loss, fibromyalgia, irritable bowel syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, recovery from cancer, impotence and stress reduction.

[Smart Parenting]

Great Post about hypnosis and the power of the subconscious mind!

I read a recent article that said that the sub consciousmind has more than a million times more 'processing' power than the conscious mind.

That every decision we make is made first by the subconscious mind and then sent to the conscious mind.

It is now believed that the conscious mind only really has the power of 'veto.' ie The power to disagree with the thought' the subconscious has given to the conscious mind.

Consider... You have a thought "I'm thirsty' - Your subconscious mind is telling you your hydration levels need increasing.

You have two choices.

Agree and have a drink, where the subconscious made the decision and you go along with it...

Or say "No." and veto the suggestion. And for some it is possible to say no long enough and die.. Think of Hunger Strikes..

OK.. another concept... How about someone 'pushing your buttons" and you reacting ... without 'thought', even before you get the option of the 'conscious veto'

What was it? Our subconscious reacting instantly to prior programming and our conscious mind bewildered by the reaction.

There is a lot to be said by taking a deep breath (it relaxes the system) and counting to ten... But whoever does! (BTW a yawn is a form of relaxation.. it is also thought that the Vagus nerve system counters adrenaline - relaxing the jaw and a deep breathe both help, as does wetting your lips and breathing in through the cool moist lips... ever noticed that when you're nervous (adrenaline) you yawn a lot??)

So.. who is really in control..

Our subconscious is programmed by everything around us. Frightening when you think that the subconsious is like a sponge absorbing almost everthing it encounters until the age of 6.

It is possible for parents to make a difference to the troubling message in the world to day that and instead place positive thoughts and affirmations in their child's mind? (Hypnosis is possible, but are there alternatives??)

No, it isn't hypnosis, and it isn't brainwashing (I have been told it is.. but then, what isn't? maybe it is - you judge) it's done while the child sleeps and the parent can acess the child's subconscious, bypassing the 'conscious critical factor' and then place positive thoughts in the childs mind, so that the positive affirmations displace negative thought - before they go from short term memory and into the long term memory to become a part of the child's programming - forever!

(One reason for sleep is to allow the subconscious to 'file away' the days thoughts into log term memory, and like a diligent beureacrat files it all - good.. and bad! - Also another reason why it is critical students get a good nights sleep!)

It wuld be so much easier if the things we desired were a part of out 'programming'..

So here is a Question...

What is the most important gift we can give our children?

Would you say unconditional love?

But it isn't just unconditional love, many kids are loved unconditionally by there parents and they still go off the rails. Destructive behaviour, drugs...

Why is youth suicide rising?? Because it isn't just unconditional love..

It is BELIEF... The BELIEF that the child is loved - completely and unconditionally.

http://www.smart-parenting.com

[David]

Just some thoughts... :)

When people use 'meditation' (to reach an outcome, rather than to 'increase the gap' between thoughts) is it really any difference to 'self hypnosis'?

And when people are taken through a 'guided meditation', is there really any difference to 'hypnosis'?

Hypnosis and self hypnosis are wonderful tools, and can make a huge difference to someones life.

Hypnosis & "self hypnosis" recordings are very useful too.

[Ken]

I really don't think you're knowledge is "all knowing" after a few beginner classes in hypnosis to make some of the statements you do and some of your 'instructions' are a beginners reasoning. Hypnosis can cause all kinds of conditions in people; if it can remove phobias it can also add phobias. Hypnosis can be psychologically damaging in the wrong hands.

[Alan B. Densky, CH]

Wonderful article. It's nice to see that you are helping to spread some truth about a sadly misunderstood modality.

Here are some videos that can help others gain some additional understanding:

http://www.neuro-vision.us/self-hypnosis_videos.html

[guitargod91]

This is a great detailed description of hypnosis! It's such an amazing topic that unfortunately sometimes falls to they wayside in today's culture. I bought myself a really good hypnosis product and reviewed it to try and spread the word about this great and lost art!

http://secrethypnosisproductreviews.blogspot.com/

[Psychologist Jerry Solfanelli]

This site is an AWESOME resource! In order to complement the positive effects of stress management and meditative hypnosis, I highly recommend this psychologist's unique FREEWARE program (the “Virtual Light & Sound Machine” Meditation Software) that effortlessly induces DEEP MEDITATIVE states, via your computer monitor and the phenomenon of audio-visual stimulation...FREE DOWWLOAD!
www.ThePsychologist.com/virtuallightandsound.htm

[truthisillusion]

I am too into practicing hypnosis and hope to make this popular through the web. I am sure if this is used to heal problems people will accept it.

[jimmy s]

"The Astonishing Secrets Of The Most Respected ...Most Knowledgeable ...And Most Dangerous Hypnotist In The World!"

check out the url i provided and find out the secrets of the hypnotists.

[jimmy s]

check out the url i provided you guys will find some interesting facts about hypnosis

[Steve]

Very good and interesting post.
I came across it doing a search on Hypnosis.
I am a Hypnotist and love it. You explained a few things in a slightly different manner which I found to be good.
And BTW, Dilbert is cool. I thought it was much like the cubical job I had for 7 years before I became a hypnotist.
Steveshypnosis.com

[Steve]

Very good and interesting post.
I came across it doing a search on Hypnosis.
I am a Hypnotist and love it. You explained a few things in a slightly different manner which I found to be good.
And BTW, Dilbert is cool. I thought it was much like the cubical job I had for 7 years before I became a hypnotist.
Steveshypnosis.com

[Glenn]

Damn, this is a huge post. Does anyone remember what it was originally about?

[www.aktivintelligens.dk]

well writen Scott.

Wery often hypnosis is discribed in away, that the non-skilled, sees it in a hase. Mystified, beliving tha the hypnotist is a wisard, that controls others mind.
Your discription clears the understanding. It´s needed ´cause it´s the new understanding of the mind and the individuals right to develope it.

http://www.aktivintelligens.dk
http://www.aktivintelligens.dk/Hypnose.htm

[Lori]

I used to be shy. Thanks to hypnosis I can now talk to thousands at a time and can approach anybody calmly and confidently.
I used to have poor concentration and procrastinate; thanks to hypnosis I can instantly motivate myself.
I used to find physical work outs and exercise exhausting but because of hypnosis I am now in the best shape of my life.
Incidentally I also stopped myself blushing with hypnosis. Now if ever I have a difficult call or conversation coming up, something I may naturally feel reluctant to do (you know the kind of thing) I spontaneously self hypnotise and rehearse the upcoming situation feeling good, with myself remaining calm. In this way I habitually set my own emotional ‘blue prints’ for up coming situations. Having said that it’s naturally that some people have concerns or half digested ‘hand me down’ ideas regarding hypnosis. A common one is the one about ‘mind control.’ This course has helped me tremendously. Its very educational and answers these concerns.
Hypnosis is easy to learn and every body can benefit. Hypnosis is a safe environment to ‘try out’ new behaviours and emotional patterns before you experience them for real. So the young man can ask a woman out for a date many times in calm relaxed hypnosis so that by the time he does it for real it feels real and natural and relaxed. Sports people who use hypnosis learn new quicker and more accurately. So hypnosis gives you more control of yourself and your life, it’s natural and gives you instant benefits and it’s a way of ‘trying on’ and establishing new patterns of emotional response and behaviour, Hypnosis enables you to develop yourself as a human being.

[learn to Hypnotize]

Great article! (but after all the other comments i'm not saying anything new here, am I?)

The post is interesting, captivating, and brings out many often overlooked aspects of hypnosis.

Thanks,
John

PS. If you want reviews of hypnosis lessons for home use, you can find them here: http://www.reviewsnest.com/learnhypnosis

[Hypnosis Reviews]

This is a fantastic post. One of the interesting points made is that hypnosis - if considered or used in an evil manner - doesn't even come close to the power of religion.

That is really scary since it seems the majority of people wouldn't make that connection and assume all religious-based thoughts to be good.

[Rusty Z]

It's a sad state of affairs when a misfit stage hypnotist has to suggest that people have sex with chairs to fulfill his voyeuristic desires.

[Jon Rhodes]

Good unique take on hypnosis. It is very important to discuss stage hypnosis, as this erroniously forms most of what people perceive hypnotherapy to be. I once asked a health food shop owner if I could leave some leaflets about my hypnotherapy practice. He refused as he didn't think it was safe!

[Offbeat News]

hypnosis is very real and powerfull. I got my info from http://www.hypnotizeatwill.com/ if anyone else is interested in learning more.

[Dave Sabat]

Great post full of interesting ideas. I would disagree with your views about memory recall because hypnosis can allow someone to recall details or information that they previously found difficult to do, but of course someone can lie when in hypnosis just as they could when not in hypnosis.

Really enjoy your blog.

Dave Sabat DCH DHP

http://www.exuberancehypno.co.uk

http://blog.exuberancehypno.co.uk

[Hypnosis]

Oh noes!!

Realises joke misfired badly.

Didn't think article, although entertaining and informative, particularly related to http://www.hypnosisnet.org.uk

Failed badly.

Hangs head in shame.

Gets coat...

[Hypnosis]

Hi there

Long time reader, first time poster.

Interesting article but I'm not entirely sure how it refers
to http://www.hypnosisnet.org.uk.

/Ends personal joke

[Tave Calhoun]

The time has come.

Hypnosis must be recognized as a danger. It is being used to reawaken slavery in the 21st century.

Mixing of church and state would be beneficial.. as well.

Mired in superstition while talking over their heads.

Sincerely,

Tave

[Chris Cady]

Hi Scott

I love your posts about hypnosis
especially stage hypnosis.

If you or any of your readers want to see a free stage hypnosis show video its playing live on my site

at www.chriscady.com

I think you'll enjoy it.
Chris Cady

[Lenin Nair]

Hi dear sir.

I am a prolific blogger, and I have posts in my blog site with articles relating to various subjects. One of my recent posts is regarding self hypnosis. I have had such a nicely researched article, that these professional associations below here, have shown the very courtesy of linking back to my page. If you just go to their pages, and check the links section, you can find my blog listed there.

This is a proposal for a reciprocal linking for my page with your site. If you are interested in placing a reciprocal link to my blog, could you please reply back with your acceptance.

My blog with the article on self hypnosis is located here:

http://lenxworld.blogspot.com/2008/01/self-hypnosis-how-to-guide.html

You might notice that the page contains the best links related to self hypnosis on the internet.

These are the professional organizations that showed courtesy to link to me.

www.robertottohypnosis.com
www.iact.org
www.imdha.com
www.hypnosisalliance.com

And I have more link prospects coming forth. So, it can be very good for both of us if you link to me.

I would look forward to hearing from you, dear sir. Have a good day.

[David]

I think the 1 in 5 figure you gave is very low and could be improved with a different induction. Reading Dave Elman's book or listening to his incredible recordings from the 1950s (yes 1950s!) could yield a higher figure.

Dr. Henry Munro wrote 100 years ago that the although hypnosis is indeed a consent state - if the patient knew they were being hypnotized he would get about 30% success - if on the other hand they consented to him applying special medicine that would induce 'sleep' he could deeply hypnotize 100 people consecutively - and pass a hat pin through their cheek or lay them accross two chairs and stand on them (outdated practices - don't ever try this). He has many case studies of using hypnosis and suggestion to cure many ailments and was clearly ahead of his time.

People, he said, have faith in medicine not in hypnosis. He was also obviously a very charismatic character and M.D. which are other important factors. (I recommend his excellent book - Suggestive Therapeutics).

Excellent post. I am an amateur - but I do get a fair bit of success in the small number of people I practice with. The one this you said that to me in the most important of all is that to be successful you must convey confidence.

[LOU ArAVELLE]

Just rerd Scott’s post and I was verty immpressed, enen after a long liferime in the hypnosis field. The strange thing is I had just, this morning, posted a blog on one of my own sites, when a friend called me on Skype to tell me that my piece went hand in hand with Scott’s and stone me-he’s right!
By the way I’m a British hypnotherapist based in Mallorca , Spain and I have a healthy practice operating in 2 languages. See what I mean on http://hypnogold.tv
My skypname is feel free….

[Garry Gewant]

I'm a special education high school teacher and a hypnotherapist. I found your article quite accurate. However, hypnosis as a therapeutic tool for helping children has been overlooked in your article. I have found in my practice, that so many social phobias, such as the fear of public speaking, which are so often found in adulthood, find their origins in elementary school. Many of my clients bring their children to me for hypnosis so their children my gain a better understanding of the motivating behaviors in their subconscious. Once a child understands the functioning of the subconscious, they do not have to deal with negative results of childhood trauma, when they grow up.

[KeithY]

Hello Scott,
Did you try hypnosis to overcome your adductor dystonia laryngitis?

[Australia's HypnosisOnline.com.au]

Very interesting and a great post!

Hypnosis is an amazing tool that is a cross between a science and an art! For those who may be interested in checking out a range of free hypnosis scripts and more information on 'How to", please head over to Australia's HypnosisOnline:

http://www.hypnosisonline.com.au

[Preston]

Hello, I am a student in North Carolina and I am currently writing a research paper about hypnosis. I was wondering if you would allow me to interview you for my research. If you are interested, please reply back via email. Thank you.

[hypnosis]

I think hypnosis is helpful for us in many ways. we can get relief from our mental tensions and also loss of weight. Now i think we can also get them by CD's.

[Debra Ann]

What a wonderful article! There are so many misguided people who think that hypnosis is snake oil or worse. I'm glad a well-known respected person has taken the time to write an informative and knowledgeable article about this fascinating and powerful subject! Thank you Scott!

[Debra Ann]

What a wonderful article! There are so many misguided people who think that hypnosis is snake oil or worse. I'm glad a well-known respected person has taken the time to write an informative and knowledgeable article about this fascinating and powerful subject! Thank you Scott!

[The Explorer]

Great article. I really like the way you explain what hypnosis actually is. Also the misperceptions, really hit home, regarding how I once felt and thought about hypnosis

[The Explorer]

Great article. I really like the way you explain what hypnosis actually is. Also the misperceptions, really hit home, regarding how I once felt and thought about hypnosis

[Steven Schneider]

Hi Scott,

You did a wonderful service to all by explaining the misconceptions that people have about hypnosis. Great Job! Also, a very good example of how hypnosis is induced.

If anyone is looking to try hypnosis, we offer a number of Free Hypnosis CDs.

http://www.rapidtransformations.com

Happy Hypnotizing,
Steven B. Schneider, CHT

[Admin]

Hi Scott,

I really like this article. Since you are interested in hypnosis, you may want to check out hypnotize.me.com

hypnotize.me.com is a 100% free and rapidly growing community for Hypnosis, Mind Control,Hypnotherapy,NLP,Psychology and related topics. It´s the meetingplace for everyone interested in the topics above. Find subjects who seek to be hypnotized and hypnotists who are seeking subjects.It´s the best place for hypnotists and friends to share (hypnosis)media files like MP3´s, Videos, scripts or just Pictures. It contains powerful Web 2.0 features like profiles, buddy list, a/v-chat, blog, media sharing.

[Mitch]

Wow! This may be one of the most succinct yet detailed posts I've seen on the subject of hypnosis. What a delight and surprise it was for me to realize it was from the author of Dilbert ( yes, I googled this blindly)

Thank you kindly Scott!

[D.C. Wartenberger]

Great article! It brought a smile on my face WHAT can make you start going into a theme like hypnosis. Did it finally work out? ;)
Seriously, I really liked reading and your resumee is just to the point.

D.C. Wartenberger
http://mindpowersource.net

[Kamran]

This is one reason i find self hypnosis difficult.It requires a lot of visualizing.I will try finding a good hypnotist

[michael]

Great Article. The part about past lives is especially relevant as this is also the reason why hypnosis is not good for accurate memory retrieval of ANY kind. We create our memories - we don't retrieve recordings of events.

I like how you demystify hypnosis as well - it is just a state of focused attention that for whatever reason helps provide a person with more access to their unconscious resources, which can be quite profound, but not mysterious.

I think what makes it so powerful is the fact that we are always unconsciously creating our experience, hypnosis provides a means towards taking more conscious control over this.

Well, that is my two cents! I am of course bias towards hypnosis and towards the extra value of great psychologists using it.

Michael Lovitch
Founder
The Hypnosis Network

http://www.hypnosisnetwork.com/

[exsmoker]

Hello All,

I was reading around some of the posts here and I found interesting things that you guys talk about, I just made a blog about quitting smoking resources and ideas that you might want to check out.
If someone is interested in this topic just go to; http://endthehabitnow.blogspot.com and let me know what you think.
Thanks in advance.

[Adam]

Great blog. It's great that hypnotherapy is starting to leave sthe stage and dark ages into credible domains. Some interesting reading http://www.baysidetherapies.com.au/hypnotherapy-melbourne.html

[Jon Rhodes]

Just wondered what you thought of this site? http://www.freehypnosistreatment.com

[Jake Rhodes]

Hypnosis can be an incredibly powerful tool in helping you achieve whatever you want to do.

At FreeHypnosisTreatment.com we have several free hypnosis mp3's which can help you decide if hypnosis is for you without having to risk a large sum of money.

[RussM]

Learning to utilize one's own subconscious mind (in a conscious way) can be a very powerful tool for self-change. Self-Hypnosis helps to integrate and focus both the conscious and subconscious levels of the mind at the same time--creating an optimal state of mind for effective change. Great post, Scott

http://www.selfhypnosismadeez.com

[mindcontrol]

Great hypnosis article! I have found hypnosis a great help in my own life :) I got a giggle out of this!

[Milos Pesic]

I really enjoyed this post, though it took me a couple of hours to go through it :)

Watch the master perform...

http://youtube.com/watch?v=EL1ZDxM-yn8

Milos,

http://hypnosisandbeyond.com

[Richard Blumenthal, MS, NCC, LMHC]

Just a word about suggestibility. I'm not sure when you studied hypnosis, but there's a lot of science to understanding it nowadays. With the advent of brain imaging, activity in the brain of the hypnotized person can be fairly well identified. What appears to happen is not so much that imagination is enhanced, but that the critical thinking part of the brain is placed at rest. It yields a sort of infantile state of mind, like when you completely believed and lived by whatever your trusted infancy caregiver communicated to you, without question. Admittedly, it's kind of easy to confuse the hypnotic state with imagination because hypnotic induction often uses imagination. There are other methods of induction, though, that use little or no imagination. When it comes to hypnotic suggestions themselves, they can even be simple commands with no scenario per se. By the way, animals can be induced into an extremely relaxed state and offered the ealiest form of stage hypnosis for entertainment. I give a fuller explanation of hypnosis here http://youtube.com/watch?v=zq8WSPXEYrU

[sharon fisher]

I really enjoy hypnosis though the standard eye fixation progressive relaxation technique you describe here doesn't work well with me. With other techniques, though, I can be a "lucky bastard."

And good heavens, what's with this "That's so long!" complaints? What's the matter, people? Your lips get tired? (Scott, did you ever imagine you'd hear people say "That's so long!" and think it *wasn't* a compliment? :) )

[laktor]

Very interesting but I disagree about the people participating in a stage show being the ones with the phenomena, as you put it. Every stage show I've been to, 90 to 95% that volunteer to go on stage, and in some cases, run to get on stage, stay there for the entire show and are deeply hypnotized and all of them act on the hypnotist's suggestions. So this means that a very high percentage of people "have the phenomena', much more than 1 in 5. Unfortunately, I have been one of those who have been very eager to volunteer and unfortunately, despite wanting it to happen to me, I have been unaffected each time. Hypnosis is something I badly want to experience because I am so curious about it and after seeing it done to others, I can't seem to function well for the next day or two because all I think about is "Why didn't it happen to me" and "What are those people really experiencing?". It really eats at me. I've also watched internet videos and listened to audio on the internet and nothing has ever happened. I can easily unlock my hands, my arm doesn't float, etc. etc. The only thing I haven't tried is a one on one session, but I finally have one scheduled very soon, so we will see if I truly can be hypnotized. I've noticed that there is some different opinions on whether or not everyone can be hypnotized. You say that everyone can. I saw a program on tv where a hypnotherapist from Montreal said that 10 to 12% of people cannot be hypnotized at all, period (his words). When I called the Ontario Hypnosis Clinic, the gentleman I spoke with on the phone told me that 1% of people can't be hypnotized, and another hypnotist agreed with you. So there are some disagreements among professionals, right. I can assume we just don't know the truth. I am really hoping some day soon to finally experience hypnosis. Not knowing what it's like is killing me!!!

[Aaron]

damn, i was just falling asleep while reading your post... creepy dude!

[Ashutosh]

The process described is incredibly similar to the technique of 'Yoganidra' that people practising Yoga can use for relaxation. The way relaxation is achieved as described by you is very similar to 'Shavasana', or the 'corpse posture'- this is done lying down on your back, however. I have never been hypnotised before, but I feel that the some of the methods followed in Yoga are similar, if not the same, to hypnotism. But of course, this is only a small part of Yoga, and there is much more to it than what you have described under hypnotism.

[Allen]

Well, about your assertion that you've never known anyone who didn't enjoy the experience of being hypnotized, meet my wife.

Some years ago, her therapist thought it would be helpful to hypnotize her, to help her get past some stuff in her past. I don't know what was triggered, but when they got into a third-grade memory, my wife completely dissociated. And stayed that way, out of hypnosis, for a couple of days. I mean, she didn't even know where she worked, or a bunch of other stuff, for days.

Ever since this experience, I've looked at hypnosis as misunderstood, and potentially dangerous.

[Tom]

About hypnosis helping with dates is really really true.

Weirdly, on few occasions just mentioning some interest in hypnosis has some insecure women hanging on your words as if they already chose to be hypnotized, while you really haven't done anything yet to make it happen.. or I'm that good looking, who knows..

[Chty]

good article. thank's.

[prashanthJ]

Scott,
You are Damn good.I am not even getting words for my comment on this post.How could you put it so beautifully about a topic like hypnosis.
Great.Thanks.
-Prashanth

[Jinren]

This sounds like a great tool for helping to treat autism; being hypnotised with more obvious benefits, and acting as the hypnotist to teach slightly less severe cases how to observe and note expressions and other nonvocal communication. Has any research been done in this area?

[Johnny Ouais]

Hey Scott, guess what?!

Assuming that "Never lie to a trained hypnotist." is true for you.

Then you might be UNBEATABLE in a Poker tournament!!!

Wow.

With money, who cares about charms to help dating.

[Kits]

No offense but u called yur mom a lucky bastard! :D

[GeoffB]

One of your umpteen mentions of being a certified hypnotist got me to searching around the net, and becoming a certified hypnotist. I don't know if this makes me the first member of the Scott Adams hypnosis cult. I'm sure there are others.

It was really surprising how different the process works from how pop culture leads you to believe it would. But work it does. I'm not in practice, but I've hypnotized a few co-workers and the hardest part is keeping from shaking your head and exclaiming, "Holy cow! It really works!" Which is why, yeah, I don't think a book can make you a hypnotist. Until you've seen someone go under, then done it yourself, it is all just a show. Then, it's something else.

One note for anybody still visiting: In the course I took, a big theme was that hypnotizing people is easy; it's figuring out what to do with them once they're under that's hard - and the difference between hypnotism and hypnotherapy. If you want to astound your friends and help aspiring non-smokers make it over the last hump, a short hypnotism course is great. But if you want to do more than that, you'd best prepare for serious long-term study: while a hypnotist can't take over an unwilling subject, he or she could screw up someone who's decided willingly to entrust his or her mental health with another person, same as with any other therapist.

[Mishlai]

Thank you, I enjoyed this post thoroughly.

[KiwiAtaahua]

That was a fascinating read. Thanks for sharing it, Scott.

[Tyler]

Perhaps your extensive knowledge of the human mind can help me with a problem I'm having.. I hope you're willing.

A few years ago I ate a whole lot of acid and had a REALLY bad trip. After that, I wasn't myself. I began to have panic attacks, I was nervous all the time, jumpy. I lost all self confidence. People around me noticed too, I just wasn't me. A few months go by (almost a year) and I was terrified of acid. I hadn't touched it. I succumbed to peer pressure and tripped again. This time was good. I had an enjoyable time..and the next morning I woke up my good old self. Cool, calm, collected. No more anxiety, no more nervousness. It was the strangest thing.

I didn't learn my lesson. I spent the next several months doing lots of drugs..until last halloween. I did a hole bunch of acid that I'd never done before and had the worst experience of my life. Thank god I called the police on myself because if I didn't leave in an ambulance I think I most certainly would've died. ((I vaguely remember someone telling me I was close in the ambulance)). Since then I've been anxious again. I get panic attacks. I'm nervous, no self confidence.

Now.. I HAVE learned my lesson. I am TERRIFIED of drugs. I will never touch them again. It's unfortunate that it took something so drastic to set me straight, but it finally happened.

So I guess my question for you is if you've ever heard of anything like this, and could suggest something. My first reaction is to just trip again because that's what fixed me before. But I'm terrified and won't do it..but I want to be myself again. Does this make any sense?

[Moojibur]

My shrink (a psychologist) uses hypnosis - and it's great! We started off using it for relaxation and help with anxiety, and it was so successful that now we use it to help me with my sport, motorcycle racing. I just won for the first time yesterday! When done on stage in front of an audience, it seems to be some sort of hoax or carnival side show trick, but when done by a trained mental health professional, it's anything but. It's a very powerful tool for focusing and training your mind, and you would never do something that was suggested under hypnosis that you weren't already open to.

[Adrian D.]

"My cousin remembered a trip to Austria she took with her parents as a little child. She remembered this under hypnosis, and of course if it were a memory that was 'planted' there by the hypnotist then the illusion of 'remembering' it would only last until her parents told her that they had never been to Austria."

Incorrect. False memories can be so vivid that the subject would decide her parents were lying to her. I have read about instances where people continued to "remember" events that were established as inconsistent with the physical evidence. There have been studies (from what I have read) that induced memories seem very real.

"A trained hypnotist can ..."

I have not heard of any study that backs this claim.

[Yuriy]

[You can’t hypnotize someone to kill himself, because he would reject that suggestion.]

But for the really susceptible people, couldn't you hypnotize them to believe that a suicidal action action is safe? Maybe convince them that they are bulletproof or can fly? That there is a bridge over this hole here? That the bottle of bleach under the sink is a delicious ice cream?

[Joe2]

Scott, you write like someone that has an inmense confidence in yourself. You write about the inners of what makes you a great cartoonist. You open your heart to your readers in this blog, or at least is seams like. I believe only really great people can do this. Congratulations.

[Donald Patterson]

Scott:
I am a certified instructor with the National Guild of Hypnotists. You say that you only completed the basic course, but your knowledge of the subject is VERY extensive. It's refreshing to have someone present such a balanced, accurate article on hypnosis. I like your induction. Do you ever use the Elman induction?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWBGXWpMcrY
or how about instant inductions?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtQtL0nO0x8

Keep up the good work!
Donald Patterson

[Diana W]

I've tried 2 different hypnotists in the past, but with both of them I felt like I was "faking it", lifting my hand because they asked and I wanted to keep things moving, not because it floated up. But I'm certain I *could* be hypnotized, because for me, that's what a well written book does. I become part of the story, becoming completely oblivious to my actual surroundings. Maybe if J. K. Rowling or Tom Clancy were my hypnotist I'd have better results.

[Craig Fluck]

The late Milton Erikson, comes to mind whenever I hear/read about hynosis. His use of observation in hypnotherapy and his positive view of the unconscious mind are most enlightening. The foundation named for him still provides wonderful training opportunities.

[Alien]

You forgot to end with "Send me money."

[Scott (Not Adams)]

In your opinion, Uncle Scott, is Derren Brown doing hypnosis, or something else, particularly in "The Heist" episode where a few of his subjects end up robbing an armored car at gun point, and in "Photo Booth Hypnosis" where he gets a guy from London to Marrakech without him waking up?

[Dave]

Hypnosis transformed my love life. My girlfriends didn't realise there were so many rude things they actually wanted to do. It was incredible.

[ken]

Holy Shit!
I went to a Catholic High School in Washington, DC, and during our Junior year we were required to go on a "retreat" with the Christian Brothers (nothing morbid or perverted coming)....
At the end of the retreat, we all gathered together and one of the Brothers took us through almost the exact same scenario that you described.
Sit down. Get comfortable. Feet on the ground. Close your eyes. Imagine yourself walking through a forest. You come across a stream and you follow it. You come to a meadow. In the distance you see someone walking towards you. You begin to recognize this person as he gets closer. He greets you and introduces himself as Jesus.

[/vpr]

There is a danger, you can implant false memories that never happened. You only have to look at the cases were families were wrecked by someone who under hypnosis "discovered" that a relative or father raped them. By asking the question a false memory is introduced and the damage is done. It's an occultic practice thats a lot more dangerous than you think.

[Marco]

"That’s why any story you hear about someone recovering a memory of abuse or alien abductions or anything else under hypnosis is always bullshit."

My cousin remembered a trip to Austria she took with her parents as a little child. She remembered this under hypnosis, and of course if it were a memory that was "planted" there by the hypnotist then the illusion of "remembering" it would only last until her parents told her that they had never been to Austria.

Could this be a case of hypnosis increasing the power to "focus"? Or is it another case of constructing a memory around a partially remembered photograph?

[LA Clay]

That was really long, you should write books

[Trillium]

How do you come out of Hypnosis?

[Lea Johnston]

This sounds very simlia to NLP, which covers most of the topics you descibe. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuro-linguistic_programming
Its an incredible tool when used by an expert, as with most things, its not what you know, but how you use it.

[Instinctive Traveller]

thank you! that was most entertaining and informative.

you know what? my friend is into this hyponsis thing and he makes a great deal of it, as in he says you can be controlled. i suppose everyone i know thinks the same. you've really turned a light on.

thanks again.

[Mac]

I've often heard the claim that someone can't be 'hypnotised' into committing a crime, but that doesn't seem consistent with what I've seen.

In one example, I've seen someone hypnotised and given a bucket of water. They were then told if they saw someone on fire, they should not panic but simply throw the bucket of water on the person to put out the flames.

Then (of course) they were told that a particular audience member was on fire.

The result - as expected, they threw the bucket of water on the audience member.

Clearly, the person under hypnosis had committed (or potentially committed) a crime - throwing a bucket of water over someone is clearly the crime of assault. (If you don't believe me, pick a random politician and try it. I know of at least one prison sentence for assault after someone threw a single egg at a politician) Remember that the person being hypnotised had no way of knowing if the audience member had agreed to be on the receiving end of this prank - so they had no way of knowing if was honestly a crime or not.

Surely, then, it is clearly possible to convince someone to commit at least that crime by hypnosis.

Surely there are others ?

If you can give a bucket of water to a person under hypnosis and convince them to dump it on a random person (because you are told that they are on fire) surely you could give the person under hypnosis a gun and tell them it is a water pistol, and that they are playing a water pistol game with the audience member.

What would the result be -- assuming that the person being hypnotised is the 1 in 5 group?

What if the person was a bank teller (or at a change counter) and you hypnotised them into 'imagining' a genuine $100 dollar note everytime you gave them Monopoly money?

Surely once you can fool someone into imagining things you suggest, you can commit many crimes ?

Mac

[jerry w.]

Relax, just sit back, make yourself comfortable. You deserve it, don't you?

Very soon you won't feel the discomfort of that massive wallet in your pocket.

It really stopped this afternoon, it's almost like as soon as you took all those dirty $20.00 bills out and left them in your home.

You know, in an envelope with my name and address on it.

The one you'll mail later today when the sun is shining and the birds are singing.

You know how much you like that feeling, the only thing holding it back is that envelope with my name and address that you forgot to mail, we should take care of that soon, huh? Free your mind and your heart will follow. Into the sunshine.

If you're feeling too tired to mail it, paypal would be o.k. The birds will sing for that too, maybe where the sun doesn't shine.

We like that, don't we?

Just keep your eyes closed and think about all the nice things you could do when you're more in tune with the sunshine and singing birds.

I'm waiting for you to take us there......

Tweet tweet tweet......

Mmmm, sunshine....

http://boskolives.wordpress.com/

[Aditya Simha]

Hell, if hypnosis helps with dates, then sign me up for it!

[Joseph Zastrow MD FAAFP]

Rich's comment; {Scott, I have been diagnosed with cancer, and having been subject to two separate "miracle healings" earlier in life, for lack of better terminology,}

See David Spiegel's work at Stanford regarding metastatic breast cancer. The hypnosis group on average lived 18 months longer than the control group.

http://med.stanford.edu/school/psychiatry/PSTreatLab/

Spiegel D; Bloom JR; Kraemer HC; Gottheil E
Effect of psychosocial treatment on survival of patients with metastatic breast cancer.
Lancet, 1989 Oct 14, 2(8668):888-91.

Abstract: The effect of psychosocial intervention on time of survival of 86 patients with metastatic breast cancer was studied prospectively.

The 1-year intervention consisted of weekly supportive group therapy with self-hypnosis for pain. Both the treatment (n = 50) and control groups (n = 36) had routine oncological care.

At 10-year follow-up, only 3 of the patients were alive, and death records were obtained for the other 83. Survival from time of randomization and onset of intervention was a mean 36.6 (SD 37.6) months in the intervention group compared with 18.9 (10.8) months in the control group, a significant difference. Survival plots indicated that divergence in survival began at 20 months after entry, or 8 months after intervention ended.

{When I was a kid, my family doctor was a hypnotist.}

Not too many of us around anymore... but hopefully we will make a comeback. Sadly this therapy is not re-imbursed well and so many doctors have little time to give such a wonderful therapy. It receives regular false ridicule by stage hypnotists. But for the few of us who practice "clinical hypnosis" within family practice I assure you it is rewarding.

Scott, maybe Dilbert the hypno-mythbuster can make an appearance? What you could do to convince the public in one Sunday strip would take us physicians years.

We have cocaine that can be used as a perfectly good topical nasal anesthetic, but it can also be abused for fun and frolic. Hypnosis is quite similar; it is a powerful medical tool in medical hands and a potential problem in the wrong hands.

It is about time the public gets a proper education on how hypnosis can help them and stop the chicken quaking stories. Thank you for your Blog!

[standgale]

I wonder if you will create a sudden increase in the demand for hypnotist classes. I want to learn it!
You know how they always have those things where a great hypnotist comes to town to hypnotise people into losing weight or quitting smoking and so on? From what you've said then these are perhaps more real than I had thought, but still scams. Yes, real hypnosis might be going on, but it will probably require more than one session, and at least up to 5, to create a change in that person's life as a result of the hypnosis even if the person does want to change. So all that money people pay to go is not well spent.
I also read in some science magazine (New scientist or scientific armerican) that some people cannot be hypnotised, whereas you say everyone can be. It may depend on the exact definition. They did have research showing that belief in hypnosis was not a factor in being able to be hypnotised. You could believe in it and not have it happen or vice versa.

[abdullah]

"But religion can convince someone to kill himself by creating an imaginary afterlife with plentiful virgins for martyrs. So on a scale of dangerous imaginary things, hypnosis is somewhere closer to advertising, well below peer pressure, nowhere near religion."

I think you have to be fair and differentiate between religion itself and the actions of adherents. You are clearly referencing Islam in this sentence and falling into the trap of putting religion as the root of all evil. It is not religion that is evil, it is an ideology teamed with a corrupt, persuasive leader that causes people to forgo reason and commit crimes. This is what the anti-religious ideologies of the 20th century and the destruction they caused taught us. No one blames science for Nazi killing of handicapped people although they tried using social Darwinism to justify it. The scientific community rejects it. So just as there is such a thing as responsible science, there is such a thing as responsible religion. When people understand this and start blaming *humans* themselves and not religion or science, only then can the secular and religious communities move forward for the betterment of humanity.

See:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tJ5f8N2zlQ0

Sorry, I know that was off-topic but just some thoughts. Nice post nonetheless.

[Glenn]

So if a person's mindset can be altered with hypnosis, even subtly, and they volunteer for it. Wouldn't this be an example of a Moist Robot re-programming itself, even if with a third party, and therefore, a point in favour of Free Will?
;)

[Colette]

Simply fascinating! It is the clearest explanation of hypnosis I have ever seen. Thank you. Keep up the good work.

[Matthew Kovich]

Any tips on finding a qualified hypnosis instructor?

I've been hypnotized (and experienced "the phenomena"), and also studied it in a psychology class - it is everything you say it is.

I'm going to be a teacher, so besides the obvious benefits of the "super powers", I think it could help me tremendously.

If you have the time, any tips would be appreciated - beautifulquestion@gmail.com

[Matthew]

Psychologists have been doing research with & on hypnosis for about 100 years. For lots of information on the science behind hypnosis and suggestion check out:
http://www.HypnosisAndSuggestion.org

[Vics]

I was hypnotized many years ago in a pub. My Nana had talked me into going out with them for this hypnotists show a few days earlier, I was absolutely shattered on the night but couldn't talk my way out of it because she was so excited about going.

The guy had some interesting patter but I was basically tuning out and wishing for bed, then he asked everyone in the audience to lace their fingers together and imagine their hands were fusing together at the joints.

He then told everyone to pull their hands apart - I and about 8 other people couldn't so he 'invited us on stage'
In all honesty I don't remember much, it was a long time ago and my thinking was a little fuzzy, there was a non-stripping strip tease and some messing about, but there started off with a stage full of people and by the end of the night there was just me and I don't know when the others were dismissed.

It was an interesting experience, it was like I was watching the room through a partition or window, I was present but not.. it was like I was just too tired to care and so did practically anything the guy suggested. If he'd have asked me to do something I found repugnant i knew I could 'come out of it' but I wasn't so against any of his suggestions that I could be bothered to.
When he 'woke me up' again I was Sooooo not tired anymore, I was buzzing and raring to go, so much so I was almost manic according to my friends. I went from the pub to the local club had a brilliant night and woke up the next morning feeling fabulous.

Methinks that must make me one of the 'lucky bastards' you describe.

*grin*

I'd definitely do it again that's for sure.

[Listo Cómics]

Highly educational! Thank you for sharing!

[Kent]

Great post Scott! It got me thinking about the time I was hypnotized by the Great Kreskin, which I just blogged about here.
http://www.newsome.org/2007/07/kreskin-me-my-hypnosis-story.shtml

[Julie]

The most interesting part of the post is how you wanted to use it for dating! How did it go?!! I can just imagine this: It's getting warmer in here, warmer... You feel like taking your clothes off.... It's so hot in here even your underwear is making you too hot... must take them off...

Great post!!

[Jonah]

This reminds me of a quote from Men in Black:

J: Why the big secret? People are smart, they can handle it.
K: A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky, dangerous animals and you know it.

I work with kids all sumer, so I try to teach them 2 things:
1.)People will lie to you your entire life, so:
A.)Get good at spotting a liar.
B.)Get good at lying.
2.)It's 70% how you say it, 20% how you look, and 10% what you say. So if you have confidence and believe in what you say, you can make people believe whatever you say.

[Keith]

Scott,

Can you recommend how to find a quality hypnosis school for anybody who is interested in learning about hypnosis? And how long/how much such a class would be?

Thanks

K

[david]

I think the company was actually named Path-E-Tech or some such at one point.

[PumpkinSpider]

Scott, you've done it again, another thought-provoking and fascinating post.

I was lucky enough to attend a 2-day course on "hypnosis for self and others" a while back. I don't have anyone who'll let me practice on them and it's been so long now that I've lost the confidence needed for it to work on anyone else, so I use it on myself. I have also bought CDs and downloads on a few of my own personal development areas. I keep them on a playlist on my mp3 player so that I always have them handy.

I shared one of them [an energising one] with a work colleague who was struggling to get through the day after a restless night with a fussy baby. He went off to his car to get peace and quiet to try it. When he came back he said, "I don't think it worked, I fell asleep"! When I asked if he felt rested and energised, he admitted that he was but maintained it was because he had slept, not because of anything else... guess he’s one of the ones who might benefit from a bit more understanding of less conventional areas…

Maybe I'll send him the link to your post...

;-)

[Guillaume]

Great post, Scott. Thank you for writing it.

[sohbet]

thanks

[le Big MAC]

first you sway everyone's will with Dale Carnegie complements. Now you're dispensing hypnotism lessons. From California.

Scott, you're starting your own cult, aren't you? Yes! Your home office is really a compound for an elite Dogbertian hypnotist force to TAKE OVER THE WORLD!
I've learned a thing or two about hypnotism today, I really have. But I'm not gonna share until I've trained my cadre of buxom resistance fighters. You wiiiilllll come over to my place.... You wiiiilllll come over to my place.... You wiiiilllll come over to my place....

I have noticed something about your brain, Scott. I think it is pretty good and your thinking is clearly pretty effective. But it seems like you have a tendency to figure things out, and then say, "OK, figured that out," and shine it up and place it in a box in your head with a