[ASK ME!] Hypnosis - what's it all about? (AKA "Trust me, I'm a hypnotist!)

[ping111 124]

Hi there!  My, do you look beautiful today!

So, the bronyverse is aflutter with these new "pony hypnosis" recordings.  A lot of people have tried them, and some have even said it works.  But what no-one ever seems to be able to answer is "why does it work"?

That's where I come in.  I'm an amateur hypnotist who's fairly well-versed in the simple explanation of how mere words can slip you under and change you so drastically.  Now, I'm not going to get into the neurons and the grey matter and all that.  In fact, I'm not even going to use a Freudian model or anything like that.  This post will be updated as I get asked questions or discover/remember something new.

 

Anyways, let's start with the basic "talk" I always give my patients (really just friends, but I have helped one of them with pre-test anxiety), to tell them the basics about what they'll face when I put them under: 

"Remember, real hypnosis doesn't involve some shady-looking guy pulling a watch out of his pocket, swinging it, and telling you you're getting "veeeeryyyy sleeeepyyyy", and then BAM, you're his willing zombie who'll rob a bank with his eyes closed and drooling.  First off, I can't ask you to do anything you're unwilling to do normally (the first few times, anyway), or your inner conscious will think "hey, that's weird...  Why would I want to trust a guy who wants me to pull my pants off?" and you'll wake up and punch me in the face.  But, as we do this more and more, you'll subconsciously build rapport, or inner trust, with me, and with your waking consent, we can do some pretty wacky stuff.

 

  First, I'm going to lead you through some breathing exercises.  They don't take long, and all they really do is help you clear your mind of anything that may be bothering you, because it's really hard to sleep when your mind is reeling with a billion ideas a second.  It also slows down your heart rate a bit, so your brain thinks "I'm not getting as much blood or oxygen as I'm used to when my body's awake - I must be sleeping!" and you'll enter sleep-mode.  

 

  Then, I'm going to get you used to the feeling of trance.  We're just going to do a bit of walking around in a fantasy land, and maybe a little bit of open-eye exercises just to get you comfortable with that state so that you can listen to me without freaking out that you feel like you're floating.

 

  Now comes the fun stuff.  You can't just tell someone, even if they're in trance, "you're a chicken".  First, you get the compliant inner conscious, which says "okay, but how does a chicken act?  What kind of chicken am I?  HELP ME!"  This conscious thought wakes up the inner conscious, which of course brings you out of trance and makes you think "why the heck would I be a chicken in the first place?" and then you close up to any suggestions.  As such, I'll slowly guide you through anything you want to experience, so that you can take in all the factors slowly without confusing your subconscious.  But don't act too excited for that - sometimes, I'll actually tell your inner conscious to forget that I ever told you, but then I say a keyword, and suddenly your hand's stuck to your bum!

 

Now, find a comfortable position, and take a deep breath..."

 

You'll find some odd terms in there, like "inner/outer conscious".  Don't worry, I'm not making hypnosis a religious experience or an astral projection.  It's just a simplification.  Here, let me explain...

 

"The inner conscious is a blanket term for all of the function centres of your brain.  It's what tells your muscles to move, or for any other action to occur.   However, the outer conscious, which describes all of the conscious functions that our brain does every minute of every day, is sort of a filter.  It asks things like "is this a good idea?  Will this hurt me or others?  What do my senses or emotions tell me about the situation?"  Basically, every voluntary function has to pass through the outer conscious's filter and into the inner conscious, which obliges and performs.  For example, I have a sudden urge to pull my pants down in public and yell "SHOOBY-DOO!".  Almost instantly, every part of my outer conscious yells NO, via shame, discomfort, and other people's reactions and feelings towards witnessing it.  It's easy enough to push these away, but then you get locked up because you have no inhibition.

However, what if I were able to put that filter to sleep, or to turn off that electric fence?  What if I could lull of your good sense, and simply get to the mushy inner core?  Then, I tell you that you feel really hot, then your inner conscious says "Alright.  THE BOY'S HOT!" and the entire heat-prevention system of the body starts its work to cool you down against what was never there.  That's the power of hypnosis - fooling your body into believing that everything I say is a good idea, and most importantly, true."

Edited February 7, 2013 by ping111

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,809]

This is a really awesome guide. I'm a hypnotist myself, but a super amatuer. So far, I was able to successfully perform a pokemon transformation suggestion on two subjects, using the "musical induction method."

 

First I inserted four key triggers in them, by letting them hear songs in the keys desired (ie C major, C# major, D major and Eb major)

 

I then start the induction track and use a script, which is the same every time. It ends with the subject in a deep trance. 

 

I then start my transformation track, which is associated with the transformation character (ie. Pikachu=Pokemon Main Theme, Rainbow Dash=Sonic Rainboom Theme). 

 

That's basically it for hypnotizing people.

 

On the other hand, I have been trying those hypnosis tracks and I feel only a little bit. But, here's a problem, I have ADHD, which means I can get very distracted. How can I still be hypnotized if I have this condition?

[ping111 124]

This is a really awesome guide. I'm a hypnotist myself, but a super amatuer. So far, I was able to successfully perform a pokemon transformation suggestion on two subjects, using the "musical induction method."

 

First I inserted four key triggers in them, by letting them hear songs in the keys desired (ie C major, C# major, D major and Eb major)

 

I then start the induction track and use a script, which is the same every time. It ends with the subject in a deep trance.

 

I then start my transformation track, which is associated with the transformation character (ie. Pikachu=Pokemon Main Theme, Rainbow Dash=Sonic Rainboom Theme).

 

That's basically it for hypnotizing people.

 

On the other hand, I have been trying those hypnosis tracks and I feel only a little bit. But, here's a problem, I have ADHD, which means I can get very distracted. How can I still be hypnotized if I have this condition?

Interesting! Using music other than binaural beats in my hypnosis tracks is still something I've never tried, because I never understood it. Perhaps you'd like to share notes?

 

As for your question, I've definitely had to fight myself to calm down when I am particularly distracted. Something I've noticed that works strangely well is to watch typography videos with the music off (so you don't get distracting songs in your head), and then visualize the hypnotist's words as a typography with your eyes closed. You'll be so enthralled with it, you won't even notice you're processing the words twice (understanding and creating them in your mind and then reading them again), which allows the hypnosis to reach deeper in. And the more you get used to the feeling, the easier it is to tell your mind to shut up and take a break.

Edited February 10, 2013 by ping111

[Courageous Thunder Dash 7,809]

Interesting! Using music other than binaural beats in my hypnosis tracks is still something I've never tried, because I never understood it. Perhaps you'd like to share notes?

 

As for your question, I've definitely had to fight myself to calm down when I am particularly distracted. Something I've noticed that works strangely well is to watch typography videos with the music off (so you don't get distracting songs in your head), and then visualize the hypnotist's words as a typography with your eyes closed. You'll be so enthralled with it, you won't even notice you're processing the words twice (understanding and creating them in your mind and then reading them again), which allows the hypnosis to reach deeper in. And the more you get used to the feeling, the easier it is to tell your mind to shut up and take a break.

 

I'll try that. 

 

As far as my hypnosis routine goes, here's an outline of how I do my routines

 

I type up a script for the suggestion I'll give (I currently do transformations)

I then create the music associated with the character transformation (ie. Rainbow Dash=Sonic Rainboom Theme

I don't loop the melody. Instead, I condense the melody into smaller unrecognizable phrases. As the transformation advances. I build up until I reach the full melody. Like this one here. Notice how the theme cannot be recognized at the beginning:

https://soundcloud.com/menelik-david-kenneth-cannady/rainbow-dash-hypnosis-sonata

 

After, I then attach the newly made transformation theme to a playlist, with an induction track

 

Actual hypnosis performance

 

First, I install cues for musical keys (ie C major, C# major etc.)

After comes the induction, which uses the musical key cues (I improvise around the script for slightly better effects. 

Finally the transformation