Introduction
Welcome! You are about to embark on a
fantastic journey. You will learn many things about hypnosis and the human mind
along the way. We will cover the history of hypnosis, the theory and mechanics
behind hypnosis, five different styles of hypnotic induction, the structure of
suggestion, and hypnosis for therapeutic purposes (i.e., pain management,
smoking cessation, weight loss, etc.). We will also cover common myths about
hypnosis (there are more than you know, and many that you probably believe to
be true!)
Hypnosis is a journey into the
subconscious mind of you or your subject. It can be used in a variety of
situations from having fun on stage or at a party, to relieving pain, to
breaking habits, to achieving hypnotic anesthesia for surgery. Prepare yourself
for the ride of a lifetime.
Who
is this book for?
This book is for anyone! If you have
a desire to have fun, explore the human mind, learn how the subconscious mind
works, understand how to give suggestions to people that work, and become more
at peace with yourself, you have come to the right place.
Hypnosis is more than a
stage show. It’s more than ‘hocus-pocus’. It’s
Don’t get me wrong… hypnosis is fun
too! Children, teens, adults and the elderly each have their own style and
charm in hypnosis. Stage shows, if done right, are humorous and fun for
everybody. So, pick your path. Our journey begins shortly.
Can
you perform hypnosis?
The simple answer is yes. Hypnosis is
not regulated in most of the United States*. No license is required to practice hypnosis, although
certification is a good way to begin your journey.
There are certain rules and laws that
govern acts used in hypnosis. For instance, certain issues should not be addressed
without approval from the subject’s physician or therapist. These issues will
be addressed in the section titled “Should I Cure This?” in Chapter 3.
* Always check the law in your state or country. Laws
change periodically. Your local chapter of the American Board of Hypnotherapy
or the National Guild of Hypnotists can assist you in interpreting the law in
your jurisdiction.
The most
difficult part of hypnosis is finding subjects. I suggest that you keep your
study of hypnosis quiet at first. Otherwise, people will be skeptical, no
doubt. Begin by asking a friend or family member to experiment in a “relaxation
technique” that you heard about. Before they know it, they will be in a deep
state of relaxation and hypnosis.
For the first time or two, keep
suggestions, which you will learn about in Chapter 1, out of the game
completely. Just take them into trance, let them experience the beauty and
benefit of it, and then bring them out. You will experience this for yourself
in Chapter 1 when I explain how to download your sample hypnosis
induction from our website. Eventually, you can begin to let them know that
you’ve been dabbling in hypnosis. At this point, you will have hypnotized a few
people and become more confident in your own abilities.
Conventions
used in this book
•
Depending
upon your specific context, you may be working with a client, patient,
volunteer, audience member, relative, friend, guinea pig, or victim. As I
cannot predict the use of your skills, I will settle on the word “subject”,
throughout the book, to refer to the target of your hypnosis.
•
New Words will be
italicized to indicate that the word may be looked
•
Within
quoted text, italicized words are called embedded commands and are to be
spoken with a different inflection, temp or tone. This concept will be covered
before the first occurrence.
•
Within
quoted dialog or instructions, commands to you as the hypnotist will be
enclosed with [square brackets] and colored red.
•
Focus on This! Factoids, trivia and other fun information will be displayed under this heading.
•
Don’t Trance Out! Reminders and other important information will be placed under this heading.
About
the Author
I am an avid student of Hypnosis,
Neuro-Linguistic Programming and Body Language. After quitting smoking with a
self-hypnosis tape that I bought at a stage show at the county fair, I became
fascinated with hypnosis. My first trip to the library yielded no results
whatsoever. I began going from bookstore to bookstore looking for any
information I could find on hypnosis.
8
Since then, I
have read nearly every book currently in print on hypnosis and NLP (NLP
will be discussed briefly in Chapter 1). I live in Aliso Viejo,
CA where I am a computer programmer, web-engineer, and a musician in my
spare time. I have a certificate in Clinical Hypnotherapy from American Pacific
University and I’m a member of the American Board of Hypnotherapy.
Although a computer programmer and
owner of Liquid Mirror Software by day, my current focus is in maintaining my
level of practice as a hypnotist and opening up an office for hypnotherapy.
Part
I - Fundamentals
Chapter
1: What is Hypnosis
In this chapter, we will take a look
at what hypnosis actually is. While we don't fully understand hypnosis from a
medical/scientific standpoint, many studies are in process at the time of this
writing that will shed some more light on exactly what this wonderful state is
and how we can continue to use it in the future. Here's what we do know
about hypnosis…
Hypnosis
is a Natural State
Hypnosis is a natural state that each
of us has the ability to enter. Some people are more talented than others at
entering deep trance (This deep level of hypnosis is commonly called somnambulism).
Everyone is able to enter this somnambulistic level of trance, but some enter
it more easily than others. We will discuss this further in Chapter 1.
Nearly every school of thought about
mental health defines two major parts to the entity we call personality. Some
call it Id and Ego; some call it Child and Parent. We will call it your
Conscious Mind and Sub-conscious Mind (or Unconscious Mind, as some people
prefer to say).
Your conscious
mind is the part of you that you "think" with. It consists of all of
your conscious thought, while your subconscious handles the many millions of
details that you encounter every day of your life. A good analogy that I like
to use is that of a sailing ship. The Captain (your conscious mind) does all
the logical, rational thinking. He makes conscious, informed decisions on a
high level based on the information before him. He does not deal with the
lower-level, more mundane tasks... that's the Crew's (your subconscious mind's)
job. If he wants the ship to turn right, he might give the command "All
Hands! Full to Starboard!!!"
The captain obviously doesn't turn the boat himself... this
is where the crew comes in. "Behind the scenes", there is a man who
rings the chime to indicate a turn, which prompts engineering to fire up a
motor, which requires more steam and prompts workers to shovel and burn more
coal, which needs still other workers to replenish coal. These men work hard
and deserve a good meal, so there are cooks that make food that waiters need to
serve. Others have to replenish the food supplies, sweep the floors, check the
weather, monitor sonar and radar, plot courses and a million other tasks...
All just so the Captain can bark his
next order. In order to do so, he must pay attention to the feedback from his
crew.
Can you guess what happens when the
Captain starts ignoring, or even worse, mistreating the crew? That's right...
Mutiny. Which is exactly what happens when some of us get out of rapport
with our own subconscious.
Basically, hypnosis
allows us to open the subconscious mind to suggestion while the conscious mind
wanders, or is otherwise distracted. In other words, hypnosis whips your
"Crew" back into shape.
Hypnosis is not mind control,
brainwashing, black magic or voodoo. The hypnotist has no "special
power". Hypnosis is a cooperative activity, which requires the full
consent of the client or subject. As a matter of fact, all hypnosis is self-hypnosis.
The subject enters hypnosis of his own accord - the hypnotist merely guides the
subject through his experience and offers therapeutic suggestions (or
entertaining suggestions, depending on his line of work) along the way.
You
Have Already Been Hypnotized
You may not know it, but chances are
you've already been hypnotized! Have you ever been daydreaming; so oblivious to
the world that you didn't even hear someone speaking to you or calling your
name? Ever read a book or watch a movie and get so into it that you lose track
of all time and feel as though you are there? Have you ever been driving down
the road and suddenly "snap to", wondering how you have traveled the
last few miles? These are all altered-states, where your subconscious mind has
jumped to the surface and taken over while your conscious mind wanders. In
essence, you have been hypnotized!!!
The
Signs of Hypnosis
Many people react to hypnosis in many
different ways. Because of this, no simple table can accurately describe
everyone's reaction to hypnosis. Some people appear to be "out cold",
while others will have fluttering eyelids or some other types of twitching.
Young children, who are actually in altered states most of the time, will
squirm or even giggle while in hypnosis. My point is that hypnosis is almost
completely subjective and just because a subject may or may not show one or
more of these signs does not necessarily mean that the subject is or isn't
hypnotized. These three levels of trance are simplified and not really meant to
signify concrete states of hypnosis. More will be said about this in the
section titled "The Stages of Hypnosis".
Figure 1.1 - Signs of
Hypnosis
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Light Trance
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Deep relaxation
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Change in
respiration
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Fluttering of the
eyelids
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Medium Trance
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Face Flaccid
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Redness and
increased lacrimation of the eyes due to relaxation of the muscles
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around/in the eye.
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Labored breathing
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Deep Trance
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Catalepsy
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Inability or
unwillingness to speak
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The
Effects of Hypnosis
Effect is
another highly subjective area of hypnosis. While there are some similarities
in the experiences of most subjects, none of these effects are a requirement or
a direct indication of successful hypnosis.
Figure 1.2 - Effects of
Hypnosis
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Deep Relaxation
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Most subjects will
experience an intense feeling of relaxation. Although,
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relaxation is not
necessary for trance, many methods of hypnosis promote
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trance through
dissociation with the body. This is usually done through
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deep relaxation.
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Floating or Sinking
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Many subjects report
the gentle feeling of floating or sinking into the
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chair or couch that
they are on.
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Increased Senses
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While hypnosis
usually involves dissociation from the body, typically,
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many people report
that they also become aware of certain things through
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an increase in the
sensitivity of their senses.
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Amnesia
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Many people
experience amnesia about the content of the hypnotic
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experience. This is
actually encouraged, and even intentionally
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suggested, when
using hypnosis in a therapeutic setting.
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Time Distortion
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Trance can do some
amazing things to a person’s perception of time.
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Many sessions that
last an hour feel like ten or fifteen minutes to an
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awakened subject.
Sometimes, twenty-minute sessions feel like hours.
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Time distortion is
completely subjective - everyone experiences it
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differently.
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The
Stages of Hypnosis
Hypnosis is generally regarded as
having three levels or stages of "depth". There is a fairly heated
argument between different camps regarding the actual levels (even if there
actually are any) of hypnosis and what characteristics belong to each level. The
chart I use here has been adapted from Tad James, 2000
Figure 1.3 - Stages of
Hypnosis
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Light Trance
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Feelings of lethargy
and relaxation
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Catalepsy of the eyes
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Catalepsy of the
arms or other muscle groups
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Floating or sinking
feelings
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Full body catalepsy
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Medium Trance
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Smell and taste can
be suggested. For example, making an onion taste and
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smell like an apple.
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The ability to
totally erase or block numbers from the mind.
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Amnesia of certain events
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Glove Anesthesia
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Analgesic suggestions
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Post-hypnotic
suggestion
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Deep Trance
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Automatic movement.
For example, if you begin to move the subject’s hands
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in orbit around each
other, they will continue to move that way automatically,
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without verbal
suggestion, until you stop them or suggest that they stop.
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Positive hallucinations can be
suggested. For instance, in my hand, you will see a tennis ball. What color is
it?
Complete anesthesia
Negative hallucinations, while more
difficult to suggest than positive hallucinations, can sometimes be suggested
at this point. For instance, the chair you are sitting on has just disappeared…
you can no longer see the chair anywhere.
Comatose, or what has been
commonly called, the Esdaile state.
Bear in mind that these stages are
very fluid. Please, do not get the idea that only a person
in medium trance can receive post-hypnotic suggestions, or that only a person
in deep trance can experience anesthesia. Everyone is different and people
respond in different ways to hypnosis. This table is only presented as a loose
outline and is not meant to limit your options in any way. Remember...
Anything is possible!
Dispelling
Myths About Hypnosis: Common Questions
Let's face it... Hypnosis has not
fared well under the skeptical eye of most. There are many reasons for this -
Media being the biggest. The image of hypnosis most commonly put forth by
Hollywood is one of magic, mystery and power. In these movies, some sinister
villain usually waves something shiny in the "victim's" face and
gains full and complete control.
Well, as we have learned, this is all
false, but most people don't even have the small amount of knowledge about
hypnosis that you have recently gained. In order to help these people to trust
us and relax sufficiently, we must dispel a few myths about hypnosis. Most
uncertainties about hypnosis stem from issues where the client/subject believes
that they will lose control and be made to bark like a dog or something of the
sort. I will provide some specific ways to combat these fears later in this
book, but for now, let's look
at some of the
most common questions people have about hypnosis and the ways that I like to
answer them.
Will
I fall asleep?
No, you will not fall asleep. While
many people look "zonked out" while in trance, this is usually just a
product of the extreme relaxation and comfort of the subject. Hypnosis is not
sleep. At all times, you will be completely awake and in control.
Will
I Lose control or be a Zombie?
Not at all. Hypnosis is a cooperative
activity, which means that you must consent to everything that I suggest to
you. If I were to suggest something that would make you uncomfortable, cause
harm or is out of line with your morals, you would either come out of trance,
or simply ignore the suggestion. You are suggestible under hypnosis, but
not commandable!
If
that's so, why do people on stage bark like dogs and act like fools?
Have you ever known anyone personally
that has gone on stage? The stage hypnotist plays with a bit of a stacked deck.
Think about it... Who goes up on stage? Volunteers! Those are people who enjoy
hamming it up. Heck, I'll bet if you watch most of them volunteering, they were
probably standing on their tippie-toes on their chairs saying "Me, me, me,
me, me, me!!!!" They enjoy the attention! Chances are they might bark like
a dog even if they weren't hypnotized just to get a laugh! This is not meant to
take
anything away from stage-hypnotists - stage hypnotism is an
extraordinary art that is difficult to master. But, in order to put ten to
fifty subjects under trance in less than ten minutes, and then have them do
entertaining things, it helps to have the right type of subjects.
What
Will Hypnosis Feel Like?
Hypnosis can feel radically different
to different people, so I can't tell you exactly what you'll feel. But I can
tell you this... It will be completely comfortable...you will
relax completely... And you will have a profoundly incredible and
positive experience. The best way to learn about it is to experience
it.
Focus
on This!
In the above paragraph, you'll notice
that certain words are italicsized. Those "chunks" of the passage are
meant to be said at a slightly different volume, tempo or tone of voice. This
type of emphasis is called embedded commands, which speak directly to the
subconscious mind. Embedded Commands will be discussed further in chapter 2
What
if I Can’t Be Hypnotized?
Everyone can be hypnotized. Let me
say that again: Everyone can be hypnotized. This does not necessarily
mean that everyone will submit to hypnosis. Remember, hypnosis is
cooperative... The subject is always in charge. But rest assured that,
anyone with an I.Q. above that of a cucumber,
who can relax,
comprehend and follow simple instructions, can be hypnotized.
What
if I get "stuck" in Hypnosis?
This is the most common fear that
people ask me about. It’s also the most silly. In the entire history of
hypnosis, no one has ever gotten "stuck" in trance. You've never
become permanently "stuck" daydreaming, have you?!? Of course not!
While a few people are reluctant to "snap to", just because hypnosis
is so cool and feels so good, everyone comes out of hypnosis feeling great,
refreshed and full of life.
Time
for Your First Trip
As I said before, the best way to
learn what hypnosis feels like is to experience it. Now that we've taken all
the mystery and hocus-pocus out of hypnosis, and dispelled all the common myths
that you may have believed, you get your chance.
Simply log on to the website using the link below and
download your own hypnosis induction, which is free to you as an owner of this
book. Please be mindful that the audio file you are about to download is
copyrighted material and should not be shared with others who have not
purchased this book. Listening to the recording constitutes your acceptance of
the terms in
22
While hypnosis itself is not
dangerous, closing your eyes and trancing out while driving, or doing some
other activity that requires your attention, obviously is dangerous. So
the standard warnings apply: do not use while driving any type of vehicle,
operating heavy machinery or power tools, babysitting or parenting or
performing any other activity that requires your attention.
This is a simple induction using
relaxation techniques and guided imagery. There are a few suggestions for
general happiness and well-being, then you will be brought back out of trance.
Allow yourself about 30 minutes of quiet, peacetime where you can be alone and
undisturbed. Follow the link below, or copy & paste the address into your
browser to begin. The file is in mp3 format and will require a player, such as
Microsoft Media Player, to listen. http://www.liquidmirror.com/bin/Hyp02.mp3
Induction
Types
Overview
The field of hypnosis is as varied as any of the other
"helping" professions. There are many different styles of hypnosis in
use today. It probably won't surprise you to know that the style most commonly
portrayed by Hollywood, the media and mystery writers is the style that is
least likely used by real, knowledgeable, professional hypnotists.
Let's take a look at five common
styles of hypnotic induction: Permissive, authoritarian, Dave Ellman style,
Milton H. Erickson style and rapid induction. Although some may argue it until
they are blue in the face, my belief is that none are inherently better than
any other. Each style has its own advantages in different situations. As a
matter of fact, most inductions are a mix of styles. So don't artificially limit
yourself by learning only one style.
Authoritarian
Authoritarian style is the style that
you most often see from Hollywood or read in horror/mystery novels. Using this
style, the hypnotist litterally
"Close your eyes. Take three
deep breaths and begin, now, to relax every muscle in your body."
This previous passage is indicative
of an authoritarian type of induction. This sort of style usually works on
people that like to be told explicitly what to do. Stubborn people, skeptics,
defiant or people with polar-reactions and people with otherwise
"strong" personalities are probably not good candidates for an overly
authoritarian induction.
Permissive
Permissive techniques are much less
commanding. The idea with a permissive approach is to let the subject make the
decisions about what he/she wants to do. There is virtually no emphasis on the
"power" that the hypnotist has over the subject (because, if you
remember, the hypnotist has no power over the subject!). Use of embedded
commands is usually used fairly often to clue the subconscious mind into what
it is you want them to do. Embedded commands will be discussed later in Chapter
1, but for now, just realize that embedded commands are commands that are
"hidden" within normal conversion. The command words themselves are
said with a slightly different tonality or tempo to mark them out to the
subconscious mind.
“If you would,
sit down with in a comfortable position. I wonder if you can begin to relax
completely. It feels good to relax, doesn’t it? You might be able to notice
that your eyes are getting heavier and your eyelids will soon feel very, very
tired. Please close your eyes and listen to my voice.”
In the above example (embedded
commands were italicized for emphasis), you can see that the mood is much more
friendly, and polite than the Authoritarian approach. At all steps, the subject
is asked to do things, not told.
Elman
Dave Elman discovered a rapid
approach that works very well on many people. While most hypnotists at the time
were worried about eye fixation and achieving eye-closure before
inducing hypnosis (sometimes taking an hour or more), Dave Elman simply asked
for it. His theory was that hypnosis is a state that we’re all capable of and
familiar with, so induction could be rapid.
Ericksonian
Milton Erickson was a man who truly
understood how to communicate with the subconscious minds of others. Nearly
everything he did
communicated on
multiple levels. In order to communicate that effectively, you need to learn to
use everything around you - from the subject’s history to events and noises
around you at the moment to the subject’s responses – in your communication.
That is why this style of hypnosis is often called utilitarian. For
example, if someone inadvertently came in through the door during an
induction, most hypnotists would panic and think the session a failure. Milton
would have simply said something like
“…And as the doors to your
subconscious open… they allow you to go even deeper inside…”
Much like a phony fortuneteller, one
of the keys to this style of hypnosis is deliberate vagueness. Ericksonian
techniques use vague statements and fuzzy descriptions to pace the
subject’s ongoing reality – in other words, to match what the subject feels at
the moment to create more of a reality. For example, Erickson might look at you
and say “Sometime, maybe very soon, you will blink…” When you eventually do
(as, of course, will happen), he will say “That’s riiight… And that will allow
to your relaaaax even deeper…” Or he might say “In a moment,
you’ll begin to feel a sensation in one of your hands… Maybe one will be
lighter or heavier than the other… Maybe you’ll notice that one is warmer or
cooler than the other…” This will cause the subject to become curious and
withdraw to ponder the situation and check his hands. Of course, no two hands
are alike, so the subject is sure to feel some difference, and
he’ll believe that this is the one Milton speaks of!
This serves two
purposes. First, it serves to pace the reality of the subject, thereby creating
a greater level of rapport, trust and belief. Second, and most important, it
begins to get the subject into an altered state by occupying the subject’s
conscious thoughts and causing the subject to withdraw.
Rapid
Rapid inductions, while usually less
successful with subjects new to hypnosis, can be very powerful when used in the
right situations. The key to performing successful rapid inductions is to use
them at times when other factors contribute to the success of the induction.
Here are a few examples:
Highly Hypnotizable Individuals: Sometimes, very suggestible subjects
can be hypnotized using rapid induction techniques. These are the types that
are so suggestible that they often trance out just watching someone else
being induced!
Shock: Very useful in the medical fields is
the shock induction. Consider a situation where a patient comes in to
the E/R in shock, such as say a compound fracture of the femur, and you simply
don’t have time to administer anesthetic, or you can’t calm the patient
sufficiently to work on the affected area. Simply jumping toward the patient
with arms and hands out and screaming “SLEEEP!” is often enough, coupled with
the shock, to put the subject in a mild trance.
This approach
is obviously extreme and not recommended for most patients… it could, as a
matter of fact, get you punched, or cause your patient to have a heart attack.
Use at your own risk!
Social Proof: Social Proof is a very powerful concept that has been studied
for years by all types of professionals. Have you ever noticed that people tend
to do what they see other people doing? Ask a question in a crowded room that
requires a show of hands. For the first four or five seconds, nothing. Then
maybe one or two will raise their hand. Seeing this, more raise their hands,
etc. The answer to your posed questions had always been yes, but most didn’t
feel comfortable answering until social proof dictated that it was acceptable
to do so.
Social proof is used a great deal in
stage hypnosis. There are usually a huge variety of people on stage at any
given show. By the time they’ve been on the stage two minutes, the experienced
stage hypnotist already knows who the joker is, who the reserved one is, who
will be their star, who is willing to try on clothes of the opposite sex, etc.
But most importantly, he knows who is the most suggestible. By concentrating on
getting these easiest people into trance first, he is setting up social proof
that works with his as he moves down the line to the more difficult subjects.
In most shows, after the first four or five people are tranced out, all the
hypnotist has to do is look at a subject, maybe yank their arm, and say
“Sleep!”... The anticipation
Veterans of Trance: Trance is a skill. Some people, of
course, are naturals. But for most, the more they get to experience
trance, the better they get at it, and the faster and deeper they can go. Many
times, people who have experienced trance and know what it feels like can
easily put themselves back into that state with little or no help from the
hypnotist. Rapid induction works well for these people, especially if you’ve
previously given them a post-hypnotic command to go back into trance upon
command.
Children:
Children are
notorious for their imaginations. Imaginary friends, imaginary worlds
(my kids come up with imaginary promises that I supposedly made!)… They
walk around much of the time in an altered state! Because of this, it’s usually
very easy to get a child into trance using a rapid induction. Most children
simply won’t respond to longer, more boring inductions, anyway.
Interventions
I’m going to says something now that
will shock you. Nobody is ever cured with hypnosis. That’s right.
Hypnosis is not in itself a cure for anything. Instead it is a
tool - and a very powerful one at that - that allows you to speak directly to
the subconscious mind of your subject. This part of the process is called the intervention,
and it’s what you say at this point that is most important.
The
Value of Scripts
There are many opinions about scripts. Most hypnotists think
that scripts are useless because they don’t target the specific needs and
situation of the subject. Some believe that scripts are fabulous because they
are tried and tested over and over, otherwise people would not be distributing
or publishing them.
I tend to take the middle ground on
this issue. I believe that scripts are a great starting point for anyone. They
are a record of something that someone did that worked at one time on a subject
or subjects under certain conditions. Many times, especially for beginning
hypnotists, scripts are the only way to get a head start… after all; you don’t
just magically know what to say to a subject!
Please notice that I said scripts are
a good starting point. They should only be used to get a general idea of
where to go… then you take over. It can be very counter-productive to be
continually telling a subject “your arm is getting lighter… soon, you will
notice your arm floating in the air…. Your arm is lifting off your leg…” for
five minutes when his/her arm lifted after thirty seconds. This type of thing
is a possibility when reading verbatim from a script and can get very annoying
to the subject, causing his/her trance to falter and fail.
The most
important thing you can do is to be in tune with our subject. Pay attention to
body language and visible signs and tailor your session to match. This will net
you the best level of rapport and the best trance that your subject can
achieve. Just use your common sense and you’ll do fine.
Visualization
and Future Pacing
These similar concepts are two of the
ways that you can reinforce suggestions and interventions in your subject.
Often, a perfectly good suggestion can crumble under real world conditions. For
instance, someone who has had suggestions for smoking cessation may do
wonderfully until Friday night while drinking with friends at the club.
This is where future pacing
becomes important, if not essential. The idea is to have the person visualize,
as vividly as possible, a time in the future. They will visualize themselves
with all the new resources they've acquired (i.e., the ability to refuse a
cigarette or eat sensibly or posses self-confidence), and using those resources
successfully.
The largest benefit is to the subject
who has now been able to realize their goal. The key is that they realized it
in the safely and comfort of your presence, instead of in the real world, full
of pitfalls and temptations. There is also a benefit in that you can
immediately get valuable feedback and determine whether you should give key
suggestions again. Better this than
to have the
subject come back later, dejected with a loss under his/her belt, ready to give
it one more "try".
Other forms of visualization can be
very useful as well. Visualizations can help to calm and relax, and there are
even studies to show that visualization can heal.
Commands
& Post-Hypnotic Suggestions
There is much to be said about the structure of a good
command or suggestion. Good, clear and concise communication is key to giving
successful suggestions.
There have been whole books written
on the art of suggestion and persuasion. Check the Bibliography for more
references on suggestion. For now, here are some pointers to get you started.
Focus
on This!
These techniques are not only valuable while you have a
subject under hypnosis. They work equally as well when trance is not used! Try
this with your children, spouse, co-workers… anyone! You’ll see better results
in your every-day communication.
Be congruent: When forming a suggestion, the pitch and tone of your
voice should always match your intended meaning. For statements, your tone and
pitch should remain relatively flat or constant. For commands, your pitch
should go down slightly at the end of your
sentence/command. For a question, your pitch should obviously go up at the end
of your question. This may seem like common sense, but you wouldn't believe how
many beginning hypnotists forget tonality and say something like "In a
moment your arm will become lighter?" Not only does it confuse the subject
but it also makes your suggestion less effective. If you don't believe it, then
your subject certainly won't, so be confident, be direct and be congruent.
Be Thorough: Make sure that you explicitly specify what you want.
You are speaking directly to the subconscious mind, which can take things
very literally. If you are working with someone who wishes to lose weight, your
initial reaction might be to suggest, "From now on you will eat
less." This suggestion seems perfectly acceptable to you... But, remember,
you're hearing this with your conscious mind! To the subconscious mind,
this could mean something as silly as taking one less bite per meal. Or worse,
the subconscious could interpret this as "From now on, I'll only eat once
a week." As you can see, thoroughness is important.
In our previous example, a better
suggestion might be "From this point forward you will only have the urge
to regularly eat healthy foods. Chocolates, candy and fatty foods will only be
eaten moderately or on special occasions. You will no longer decide when your meal
is done based upon taste or mood, but based purely on need and fullness. After
taking each bite you will consciously check
your stomach to
see if you need to eat more. You'll stop eating when you are pleasantly
comfortable, at 6 on a scale of one to ten, one being hungry, ten being full.
Etc, etc, etc." As you can see this suggestion leaves very little to
interpretation and will net much better results than a vague suggestion.
Be Positive: I cannot stress this enough. Because of the way the
human brain works, we cannot process negative statements very effectively.
When interpreting communication, the brain first makes a picture of the thing
that is being discussed, and then negates it. For example, have you ever
noticed that when someone looks at their child and says, “Don’t spill that
milk!” the first thing the child does is knock over the glass? The parent’s
simple error was that they didn’t form a positive suggestion. The child’s brain
heard and comprehended “Spill that milk!”, and acted on it before the brain had
a chance to negate it.
A more productive suggestion might
sound like “Be sure to keep your glass upright.” or “Please keep your milk
either in the cup or in your mouth.” Or even simply, "Be careful with your
milk."
Positive suggestions may sound funny because we are so used
to giving negative suggestions, and you may have to get a little creative to
come up with good wording, but the fact is, positive suggestions are easier for
the subject to accept and have a far greater chance of being accepted
for what they are.
Stack Suggestions: “Stacking suggestions” is simply
stringing suggestions together so that the subject has less of a chance
of rejecting the group of suggestions. People, in general, are more or less
amenable. We usually like to please people and will respond to simple requests.
Fire off many different suggestions or requests to a person at once and they
may tell you to take a hike for asking for so much.
The basic principal works like this.
Suppose you ask your son to pick up his bike. Then ask him to close the garage.
You’ve asked him to do two, individual things, which he will evaluate
separately and may or may not reject one or both. Chances are, he’ll pick up
his bike and maybe forget to close the garage. Now, consider this phrasing,
“Johnny, please close the garage when you pick up your bike.” You’ve now
stacked suggestions (you’ve also presupposed that he will pick up his bike and
close the garage. Presuppositions are very powerful and will be discussed
next). He will have to evaluate these suggestions as a whole, and because of
our amenable nature, will most likely respond favorably.
Presuppositions: Presuppositions are extremely powerful. In essence, you are
stating something to the subject that must be true in order for the rest of
your sentence to be true. If I’m speaking to a potential client, I might say,
“You will really enjoy the feelings you
experience when
you go into trance”. I’m presupposing a few things here, even though this
person is just asking me a few questions. I am telling the subject that they
will have feelings that will be enjoyable. But in order for that to happen, I
must presuppose that the client will willingly and successfully be hypnotized
by me: “when you go into trance”. This is a trick that is used quite
often in sales when a clerk will walk up to you and say “Would you like to pay
for that with cash or charge?” They didn’t ask you if you want to buy
it… they’re presupposing that and cutting right to the chase. In essence
they are saying, “I know you are going to buy that, so how would you like to
pay for it?” Very simple, yet very powerful.
Stack Realities: Another example of stacking or layering is to Stack
Reality – Frequently called Yes Sets. This is a bit of a
combination of the last two techniques. When stacking realities, you
state the obvious (or the apparently obvious) to the subject – Things that the
subject can only say yes to – in order to persuade the subject to say yes to
the resulting suggestion. It is difficult for a person to discount one part of
a sentence if they have agreed to the other parts.
For example I could say, “You’re
sitting there, reading this eBook, learning about hypnosis and you suddenly
want to buy all the products that Liquid Mirror has to offer…” What I’ve done
is stack realities. There are most likely three realities in the previous
sentence, and one suggestion that I hope would become a reality. By stacking
realities, I’ve gotten you to say, “Yes, I’m sitting – Yes, I’m reading, - Yes,
I’m learning
about hypnosis” and hopefully, out of sheer repetitiveness and habit, you will say
“Yes, I want to buy all products from Liquid Mirror.”
When stacking realities in a hypnotic
setting, often the only reality we can stack is the subject’s experience. Since
we obviously haven’t perfected the Vulcan Mind Meld, we don’t really
know what the subject is feeling or experiencing, because hypnosis is so
subjective. In this case, we turn to the Utilitarian styles of Milton H.
Erickson. By using vague, ambiguous words we can, more or less, describe the
subject’s experience. “You’re sitting there… thinking those thoughts… feeling
those feelings… noticing the temperature of a hand or a foot… maybe a leg….
wondering what will happen next… knowing that you can close your eyes and
relax any time you want.” This is another very powerful technique that can
be applied in every day communication. Practice and learn it well.
Metaphor
Stories have been used since ancient
times to teach, entertain and heal. A metaphor in this setting is a type of
story that has specific, personal and therapeutic meaning in relation to the
subject. Metaphors are usually short stories that, when interpreted on a
subconscious level, give new resources or solutions to the subject.
The structure
and creation of therapeutic metaphors is beyond the scope of this book.
Learning to structure metaphors can be very valuable to the practicing
hypnotherapist. Check the Bibliography for references to books that can help
you learn this skill.
A Note
About NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming)
Coupling hypnosis and NLP can be very
beneficial, sometimes making the difference between a subject’s success and
failure. Many times, NLP can be used in lieu of a hypnosis intervention (as in
the rapid-change techniques used for curing phobias), using hypnosis only to
future-pace the subject and reinforce the treatment.
NLP is beyond the scope of this
eBook, and quite possibly beyond the scope of any one book. It is not
just a field, but can be a way of life in many ways. There are many great
references available in the Bibliography to get you started in this excellent
and fascinating field. I highly recommend it.
Summary
As you can see, hypnosis is a wide
and varied field. There are many different styles and techniques at your
disposal. Each has it’s own strengths. None of them is hypnosis alone, but they
all make up hypnosis together. In the next chapter, we’ll begin to look at some
of those techniques in depth.
Chapter
2: Pathways into Hypnosis
Overview
You've made it this far!
Congratulations! You are this close to learning how to actually hypnotize
people! In this chapter, we actually get into the meat of hypnosis. This is
where it really starts to get good!
If you like what you've read so
far, you'll love the rest of the book. Visit http://www.liquidmirror.com/ today and get your copy! Buy it today! Here
are some of the things you will see when you buy your copy:
•
Specific
induction instructions that will teach you how to hypnotize anyone.
•
Ideas and
instruction for Stage Hypnosis.
•
Learn
how to hypnotize yourself to overcome your fears, break bad habits and improve
yourself in limitless ways.
•
Many scripts are
included in Appendix III of the full book.
The following pages are provided for
your enjoyment - Appendix I: The History of Hypnosis, Appendix II: Glossary,
Appendix IV: Bibliography which has great references to other hypnosis books, and
Appendix V: EULA
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captivated trance.
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used to describe
someone in a
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derived from Mesmer’s
name, is
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To this day, the term
“mesmerized”,
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Focus
on This!
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Franz Mesmer was a
physician and a graduate of the famed Medical School of Vienna in 1776. After
studying with a Jesuit priest, Mesmer became interested in magnetism.
Magnetism was a
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holistic medical
practice where magnets were passed over the bodies of patients to promote
healing. The results were fabulous and Mesmer became Europe’s foremost
expert.
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Appendices
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Appendix
I: The History of Hypnosis
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Hypnosis spans back
as far as written time in one form or another. Ancient Egyptians used
sleeping temples in order to revitalize their spirits. Buddhists have been
using mediation - a phenomenon very similar to hypnosis - for millennia.
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Modern Hypnosis, however,
began in the 18th century with a man named Franz Anton Mesmer. It was
curiously tied to magnetism, which still has a following today.
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Old School
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Franz Anton Mesmer (1734 - 1815)
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Mesmer believed
that each living being had an invisible magnetic “fluid” that ran throughout
its body. It was his theory that a person with enough of this magnetic fluid
would be strong and healthy. If a person had a lack of magnetic fluid he would
become very ill and possibly die. This was termed “Animal Magnetism,” coining
the popular phrase.
Mesmer routinely practiced his
magnetism, becoming very famous. One day, while tending to a patient, he
discovered that he did not have his magnets. Wanting to perform, Mesmer went
through the motions without his magnets, not expecting his session to be
successful, but to Mesmer's surprise, the patient was cured of his ailment.
Mesmer declared that he no longer needed the magnets for he had enough of the
fluid within him that he could administer the healings himself. This, along
with his claim that women need not suffer pain during childbirth, caused a
terrible blow to his reputation. He moved from Vienna to Paris in 1778 to
escape constant reticule.
As
Mesmer’s popularity grew in Paris, he inevitably became over-confidant. He
insisted that King Louis XVI establish a panel to prove the reality of his
practice and quiet his detractors. This was a grave mistake.
A panel of noteworthy men was
commissioned at the order of the King. Antoine-Laurent de Jessieu, a famous
botanist, Dr. Guillotin, inventor of the guillotine, Antoine-Laurent Lavosier,
a chemist, and Benjamin Franklin, serving as an American Ambassador in France,
were set to the task. Benjamin Franklin spoke for the commission when he wrote
“This fellow
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Mesmer is not flowing anything from
his hands that I can see. Therefore, this Mesmerism must be a fraud.” His
reputation ruined, Franz Mesmer died a poor and lonely man in Germany in 1815.
Some time later, Marquis de Pusseguyr
continued the study of Mesmer’s work and later coined the term somnambulism,
which we still use today to describe a deep state of hypnosis.
James
Braid (1795 – 1860)
A surgeon in Manchester, England,
James Braid was the first person to accurately describe hypnosis as more than
magnetism.
In 1841, he set out to discredit Mesmerism at a public
demonstration by the traveling mesmerist, Lafontaine. Instead he became
convinced of Lafontaine’s young volunteer’s deep trance. This fascinated Braid
to no end and he began studying its usefulness in relation to surgery.
Focus
on This!
Hypnosis was originally called Neurohypnotism, meaning
Nervous Sleep. It almost became Monoideaism, meaning to hold one idea, but
luckily that name didn’t stick.
In 1843, James Braid published the
first book on Hypnotism, which gave it its name, titled “Neurohypnotism”. His
focus was on using hypnosis for pain-free surgery.
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Before the discovery of Chloroform or
other anesthesia for surgery, the mortality rate was alarming. Up to 50% of
patients died during major surgery from fear or shock alone. Not the most
pleasing odds.
James Esdaile, a Scottish surgeon
working in India, beat those odds hands down. Esdaile would spend up to two
hours preparing a patient for surgery. Using eye fixation, sounds, and slow,
sweeping motions Esdaile would put his patients into a deep hypnotic state,
causing full anesthesia throughout the body. His mortality rate dropped from
50% to between 5% and 7% - Something unheard of at that time.
Esdaile
performed over 1000 operations using hypnosis as his only anesthesia - over 300
of them major surgeries, and 19 of them amputations – before he was tried by
the Medical Association of England, losing his medical license.
Liebault
& Bernheim and the Nancy School for Hypnotism
Ambroise A. Liebault (1823 – 1904)
was a French Physician living near Nancy, France. Commonly known as the “Father
of Suggestive Hypnosis,” Liebault moved to Nancy where he worked for free to
avoid persecution from the detractors of mesmerism. As long as he didn’t charge
for his services, they could not call him a "quack". In 1866, he
published the culmination of all his hard work titled “Du Sommeil”. Only one
copy was
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Leibault’s work went largely
unrecognized until he teamed up with Hippolyte Bernheim (1837 – 1919), a
professor at the Nancy School of Medicine. Bernheim was a more logical and
scientific man than his predecessors. He didn’t make extravagant claims about
hypnosis, but merely stated the facts. He published these facts in his work
“Suggestive Therapeutics: A Treatise on the Nature and Uses of Hypnosis”. They
soon opened the Nancy School of Hypnosis where many of the future hypnotists of
the world were trained.
Jean-Martin
Charcot (1825 – 1893)
Charcot was a neurologist in Paris in
the 1800’s specializing in the study of neurological disorders. He is probably
most famous for first documenting and studying what later became known as Post
Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD.
His initial conclusions about
hypnosis were not favorable. He believed that hypnosis was an abnormal
behavior, and furthermore, was a state of hysteria. He was later discredited by
Bernheim because of this belief and went to study with him at the Nancy School
of Hypnosis.
Sigmund
Freud (1856 – 1939)
The father of Modern Psychotherapy,
Sigmund Freud, then a physician in Vienna, began taking an interest in hypnosis
as it gained popularity and
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became more mainstream. He went to France to study with
Charcot at the Nancy School of Hypnosis. When Freud returned to Vienna, he
began to practice and research hypnosis with his partner Dr. Breuer.
Eventually, Freud denounced hypnosis
– a crushing blow that would destroy its reputation for years – when he claimed
that a young lady suddenly jumped up and kissed him on the lips while in
trance. The actual story is a little less exciting than all that.
Freud frequently used cocaine leaves
between his cheeks and gums to control pain, a common practice at that time.
This eventually led to the destruction of his gums, which caused his dentures
to fit poorly. Because of this, Freud slurred and could not speak clearly
enough to lead people into hypnosis. Regardless, his public “story” severely
damaged the credibility of hypnosis in the medical field.
He later credited hypnosis for
driving him in the right direction. From his studies of hypnotism, he began to
formulate his theories of “talking therapy” and the concept of modern
psychology was born.
The
New Fathers of Hypnosis
Hypnosis enjoyed a revived interest
in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s. Approved as a valid treatment medium by
the American Medical
46
Association in
1958, physicians, dentists and therapists began, once again, to experiment with
and study hypnosis.
Milton
H. Erickson (1902 - 1984)
Born in Aurum, Nevada and raised in
Wisconsin, Erickson became interested in hypnosis after witnessing a
demonstration by Clark Hull. He was so impressed that he met with and
hypnotized Hull after the show! He taught himself hypnosis from that point on.
Erickson had a great understanding of
the human mind. While a Psychologist and a Psychiatrist, he received his most
important training at a younger age. He explains in this quote taken from “Dr.
Erickson's Personality and Life” by Jay Haley - 1967:
"I had a polio attack when 17
years old and I lay in bed without a sense of body awareness. I couldn't even
tell the position of my arms or legs in bed. So I spent hours trying to locate
my hand or my foot or my toes by a sense of feeling, and I became, acutely
aware of what movements were. Later, when I went into medicine, I learned the
nature of muscles. I used that knowledge to develop an adequate use of the
muscles polio had left me and to limp with the least possible strain; this took
me ten years. I also became extremely aware of physical movements and this has
been exceedingly useful. People use those little telltale movements, those,
adjustive movements that are so revealing if one can notice them. So much of
our communication is in
47
our bodily
movements, not in our speech. I've found that I can recognize a good piano
player not by the noises he makes, but by the ways his fingers touch the keys.
The sure touch, the delicate touch, the forceful touch that is so accurate.
Proper playing involves such exquisite physical movement." -
Milton H. Erickson essentially
revolutionized the field of hypnosis. While there are those that promote and
teach a pure Ericksonian technique, elements of Erickson’s wisdom are present
in almost every hypnotists style these days. While a proper discussion of
Ericksonian techniques are beyond the scope of this book (there are, in fact,
entire books written on the subject
– Check the bibliography).
Dave
Elman (1900 - 1967)
As a young boy, Dave Elman had to
watch his father, a stage-hypnotist, dying a terribly painful death from
cancer. A week before his father was to pass away, a friend of the family, also
a hypnotist came and put his father into trace to take away his pain. This was
the last time the Dave Elman saw his father peaceful, playful and in good
spirits. It made a lasting impression.
Elman spent the rest of his life
dedicated to teaching hypnosis to healing professionals. Doctors,
psychologists, dentists, pediatricians and more flocked to his classes week
after week as Elman traveled the country with his wife. Elman specialized in a
rapid induction that worked very well much of the time. This opened the door
for medical applications where the doctor
48
did not have
the time to spend ten to twenty minutes inducing the patient into hypnosis.
Word of mouth spread fast and Elman’s class was a success. He wrote one book
that describes it all before he passed away. In my opinion, it is a must read
for anyone… medical or not. Check the bibliography for more information.
Ormond
McGill
The Dean of Modern Stage Hypnosis,
Ormond McGill has been described as "…one of the true giants in the
history of hypnotism” by hypnosis greats such as Gill Boyne. Beginning in the
late 1920s, McGill developed a stage style that is unrivalled even today. Many
of today’s great hypnotists have gotten their start or honed their style at
Ormond’s seminar. His book, The Encyclopedia of Stage Hypnotism is a must read
for anyone that aspires to perform hypnosis.
Richard
Bandler and John Grinder
Bandler and Grinder are the
co-founders of NLP, also known as Neuro-Linguistic Programming. NLP is
loosely related to hypnosis in one form or another and is based, in part, on
theories of “quick change” in psychotherapy. NLP has become a favorite tool of
many hypnotists because of its rapport building abilities and the ability to
squash phobias and cause change quickly in the subject.
Richard Bandler was a mathematics and
computer science major studying at the University of San Jose in the early
70’s. He became interested in
49
psychotherapy
while editing a book written by Dr. Pearl and approached John Grinder and
professor and master or linguistics to propose a study of the structure of the
language patterns that therapists use to cure patients. The combination of
Bandler’s structured logical thinking and Grinder’s breakdown of language was
something that therapy had not seen before. By studying the patterns of
noteworthy, successful therapists (Fritz Pearl, psychologist; Gregory Bateson,
Linguistics/General Semantics; Virginia Satir, Family Therapy; Milton H.
Erickson, hypnotist), they developed a set of “cookie cutter” therapies that
anyone could use to cause change.
While NLP has taken many directions,
we will look at its benefits of healing and hypnosis. NLP has also been applied
to everything from persuasion to power writing to selling anything to
seduction. There are many resources available in the Bibliography.
A.M.
Krasner
Founder of the American Board of
Hypnotherapy (originally called the California Council of Hypnotherapy), Dr.
Krasner has pioneered and taught many of the techniques used in modern
hypnotherapy. His simple, no frills technique for putting the subject at ease
(and then putting the subject into trance) is documented well in his book (see
the Bibliography). His style is taught at the American Pacific University,
endorsed by the American Board of Hypnotherapy. Dr Krasner’s contribution was
so great that he was
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selected for
inclusion in the Directory of Distinguished Americans for outstanding
contributions to the field of hypnotherapy.
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Appendix
II: Glossary
•
Amnesia: Total
forgetting of a specific event or subject.
•
Anesthesia:
Complete loss of sensation in a particular area of the body.
•
Analgesia:
Loss of pain sensation, but retention of pressure and heat sensations
•
Auto-Hypnosis:
Self-Hypnosis
•
Catalepsy:
A perfect balance of the opposing muscles in the area of the body, keeping an
appendage or the whole body rigid.
•
Cessation: The
act of removing a habit, such as smoking cessation
•
Congruence:
Behaving in a way that is in line with the words that you speak.
•
Direct
Commands: Commands given to a subject in a direct manner, such as "stand
up", or "you will quit smoking".
•
Eye
Fixation: Having the subject stare at a spot until the eyes become so tired
that they close on their own.
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•
Fractionation:
Bringing the subject out-of and back in-to trance repeatedly to deepen their
trance.
•
Glove
Anesthesia: Anesthesia that begins in the hand and can be transferred to any
part of the body through the hand.
•
Intervention:
The act of "curing" a person using suggestions and other modalities
such as NLP.
•
Metaphor: A short
story tailored to the situation of the subject.
•
NLP
or Neuro Linguistic Programming: A modality for creating generative change in
your subject using many techniques.
•
Pace:
Following your subject with your body language, movements, tonality, tempo, or
choice of words.
•
Pattern
Interruption: A technique whereby the hypnotist can interrupt a common movement
in the subject to rapidly induce trance.
•
Post-Hypnotic
Suggestion: Suggestions to be carried out after the subject has been awakened.
Sometimes triggered by a specified event or word being spoken.
•
Rapid Induction:
An induction which utilizes the five traits of good
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•
Rapport:
A feeling of comfort and trust shared between the hypnotist and the subject.
•
Suggestion:
Words formed in a way such that the subject feels compelled to act out the
command.
•
Tempo: The speed
and rhythm of the words you speak.
•
Tonality: The
pitch, or relative high-ness or low-ness of your voice.
•
Yes
Sets: Stacking realities, where each portion of the yes set requires the
subject to answer yes, so that a yes outcome for the desired part is more
likely.
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