Just some questions regarding this....
I can understand why "Past Life" regression or "Alien Abduction" or "Child Molestation" or "Criminal/Police" Hypnosis issues are 'issues' because of 'suggestability' or other things so I don't really want comments on THAT, but I don't really have much - beyond basic - knowledge of Hypnosis, but here is what I witnessed recently at a Renisannce Festival.
(By the way, at the Festival someone wondered if the 'Psychic' there was a 'real psychic' or a 'paid actor/fake'. I opened my mouth but didn't know what to say initially, rofl, though I know what THEY meant. I ending up saying "How would you tell?"..)
Anyway... Hypnosis.
The show begins with this: The Hypnotist explaining that it is a state of suggestability. He also states that those under 16 cannot be hypnotised because they are always in a "hypnotic state". He also states people who are drunk or under an IQ of 50 cannot be hypnotised. (?)
He then explains suggestability and illustrates it, by biting in a lemon - squirting juice everywhere as he does so and says how he hates doing that and asks if the audience could feel it or salivate because of it.
(On his 2nd show, I got a position slightly behind him, and saw it was a yellow rubber shell, filled with water, shaped like a lemon.. and he squeezed it when he bit it and covered it with a rag...... not really relating to what he stated or showed, just that I was curious - got a magician background - about him biting into a lemon 5 times a day...lol.. Irrelevent, though)
He then instructs everyone in the audience to extend arms out, straight, maing fists in both hands and pressing them together "as hard as you can". He then talks for around 30-45 seconds.
(I didn't actually do it, because I knew what was coming. A very common physical response. For example, you can do the same thing in a doorway. Stand in a doorway, and press the top of your hands against both sides and try your hardest to press your hands against the frame. After 30-45 seconds, move out from the doorway and your hands seem to 'float' upwards when you try to raise them very slightly.)
During those 30-45 seconds, he was talking about pretending your hands were magnets. And that they were drawn to each other. Harder and harder, they were drawn no matter what you did.
He then said to place the hands on your knees and asked those who still felt the magnetism to raise their hands. It is those people he selected to go to the stage.
Here is my first question:
Not knowing much about the subject, I assume he's doing that to select people who actually might believe it is magnetism that is drawing the hands? Surely everyone who participated 'felt' it, but disbelieved the 'magnetism' aspect? ie: People who believe his suggestion?
I recall reading something, somewhere, that stated people who look at a black wall while you are hypnotising them are more likely to be hypnotised if you say "Now you see a red light start to appear" (and actually shine a red light, without their knowledge). Is this what he was doing there, sort of?
He then selects around 12-14 people who raise their hands.
He explains then that "everyone can be hypnotised" but that given the time available to him, he will periodically tell some of those 12-14 people to sit down if it does not work on them within the time alloted.
-----
I'll do this part briefly, during which he asked for minimal sounds or movement from the crowd: Elapsed time was around 10 minutes.
-He instructs them to look at a crystal ball.
-Instructs how to breathe (slowly)
-Liquid Relaxation flowing through you
-Flowing more into the feet, then shins, then knees, then hips, pelvis, body, chest, neck, head, lips, head, eyes.
-Eyelids heavy, they close.
-When you feel a touch on your wrist, flow 10x deeper into relax (touches each person on wrist)
-When you feel a touch on your shoulder, flow 10x deeper into relaxation. (touches each person on shoulder)
-When you feel a touch on your head, flow 10x deeper into relaxation. (touches each perosn on head)
After that:
- Instructs them to raise their left hand. And that it is like steel. It cannot be moved or budged. It is a beam of steal. He then moves to each person, testing how rigid their arm is. He tells 2 people to sit down. Not immediately apparent to me as to why.
After that:
- Instructs that sounds they hear will increase their relaxation 10x.
- Instructs one specific person they can open their eyes and that it will not effect their state. Repeats this and has people move around and change position. He has 1-2 people return to their seats..... Again, not apparent as to why.
After that:
Starts with actual 'show' where he tells people he is giving them a drink of 'happy juice' which makes them feel extremely drunk, though not feeling sick at all. Repeats this a few times, while asking them questions about how they like it. He has 1-2 people return to seats.
After that:
Has more 'fun' with people, such as telling everyone the person next to them smells extremely bad. Also having people react to certain word with certain behavior. (ie: You hear the word hypnosis you 'bark')
Also having people forget numbers, such as forgetting the number 7, then having them count out their fingers, skipping the number 7 and arriving at 11 fingers.
-Alot of other things, but along the same lines.
Now, I guess I'm curious as to how much is playing along and how much is being under the hypnotist suggestion? I have a feeling if I lied about the 'magnetism' I could certainly go up there and follow all the instructions and be funny..... but... how much is 'playing along' or the 'act'? What exactly can be done in that state, is it simply like being asleep while awake? What if he had told someone to strip naked? What about take this knife and stab the other person? I dunno... maybe I should have lied about the first part to get on stage to try it for myself ;p
Can that state actually be used to plant lasting suggestions? I'm sure we've all heard about 'quitting smoking' through hypnotism and the such....
Hmm.
/Shrug
I can understand why "Past Life" regression or "Alien Abduction" or "Child Molestation" or "Criminal/Police" Hypnosis issues are 'issues' because of 'suggestability' or other things so I don't really want comments on THAT, but I don't really have much - beyond basic - knowledge of Hypnosis, but here is what I witnessed recently at a Renisannce Festival.
(By the way, at the Festival someone wondered if the 'Psychic' there was a 'real psychic' or a 'paid actor/fake'. I opened my mouth but didn't know what to say initially, rofl, though I know what THEY meant. I ending up saying "How would you tell?"..)
Anyway... Hypnosis.
The show begins with this: The Hypnotist explaining that it is a state of suggestability. He also states that those under 16 cannot be hypnotised because they are always in a "hypnotic state". He also states people who are drunk or under an IQ of 50 cannot be hypnotised. (?)
He then explains suggestability and illustrates it, by biting in a lemon - squirting juice everywhere as he does so and says how he hates doing that and asks if the audience could feel it or salivate because of it.
(On his 2nd show, I got a position slightly behind him, and saw it was a yellow rubber shell, filled with water, shaped like a lemon.. and he squeezed it when he bit it and covered it with a rag...... not really relating to what he stated or showed, just that I was curious - got a magician background - about him biting into a lemon 5 times a day...lol.. Irrelevent, though)
He then instructs everyone in the audience to extend arms out, straight, maing fists in both hands and pressing them together "as hard as you can". He then talks for around 30-45 seconds.
(I didn't actually do it, because I knew what was coming. A very common physical response. For example, you can do the same thing in a doorway. Stand in a doorway, and press the top of your hands against both sides and try your hardest to press your hands against the frame. After 30-45 seconds, move out from the doorway and your hands seem to 'float' upwards when you try to raise them very slightly.)
During those 30-45 seconds, he was talking about pretending your hands were magnets. And that they were drawn to each other. Harder and harder, they were drawn no matter what you did.
He then said to place the hands on your knees and asked those who still felt the magnetism to raise their hands. It is those people he selected to go to the stage.
Here is my first question:
Not knowing much about the subject, I assume he's doing that to select people who actually might believe it is magnetism that is drawing the hands? Surely everyone who participated 'felt' it, but disbelieved the 'magnetism' aspect? ie: People who believe his suggestion?
I recall reading something, somewhere, that stated people who look at a black wall while you are hypnotising them are more likely to be hypnotised if you say "Now you see a red light start to appear" (and actually shine a red light, without their knowledge). Is this what he was doing there, sort of?
He then selects around 12-14 people who raise their hands.
He explains then that "everyone can be hypnotised" but that given the time available to him, he will periodically tell some of those 12-14 people to sit down if it does not work on them within the time alloted.
-----
I'll do this part briefly, during which he asked for minimal sounds or movement from the crowd: Elapsed time was around 10 minutes.
-He instructs them to look at a crystal ball.
-Instructs how to breathe (slowly)
-Liquid Relaxation flowing through you
-Flowing more into the feet, then shins, then knees, then hips, pelvis, body, chest, neck, head, lips, head, eyes.
-Eyelids heavy, they close.
-When you feel a touch on your wrist, flow 10x deeper into relax (touches each person on wrist)
-When you feel a touch on your shoulder, flow 10x deeper into relaxation. (touches each person on shoulder)
-When you feel a touch on your head, flow 10x deeper into relaxation. (touches each perosn on head)
After that:
- Instructs them to raise their left hand. And that it is like steel. It cannot be moved or budged. It is a beam of steal. He then moves to each person, testing how rigid their arm is. He tells 2 people to sit down. Not immediately apparent to me as to why.
After that:
- Instructs that sounds they hear will increase their relaxation 10x.
- Instructs one specific person they can open their eyes and that it will not effect their state. Repeats this and has people move around and change position. He has 1-2 people return to their seats..... Again, not apparent as to why.
After that:
Starts with actual 'show' where he tells people he is giving them a drink of 'happy juice' which makes them feel extremely drunk, though not feeling sick at all. Repeats this a few times, while asking them questions about how they like it. He has 1-2 people return to seats.
After that:
Has more 'fun' with people, such as telling everyone the person next to them smells extremely bad. Also having people react to certain word with certain behavior. (ie: You hear the word hypnosis you 'bark')
Also having people forget numbers, such as forgetting the number 7, then having them count out their fingers, skipping the number 7 and arriving at 11 fingers.
-Alot of other things, but along the same lines.
Now, I guess I'm curious as to how much is playing along and how much is being under the hypnotist suggestion? I have a feeling if I lied about the 'magnetism' I could certainly go up there and follow all the instructions and be funny..... but... how much is 'playing along' or the 'act'? What exactly can be done in that state, is it simply like being asleep while awake? What if he had told someone to strip naked? What about take this knife and stab the other person? I dunno... maybe I should have lied about the first part to get on stage to try it for myself ;p
Can that state actually be used to plant lasting suggestions? I'm sure we've all heard about 'quitting smoking' through hypnotism and the such....
Hmm.
/Shrug
'cos it goes to the centre of the issue.
