Online Hypnosis Tutorial.
This book is a good introduction to Hypnotic techniques. It covers almost all aspects and is a good reading both for beginners and gurus.
Most people still think about the Hypnosis in terms of magnetic eyes and pendulum. Did it ever occured to you that these are elements of hypnotic techniques that are more than a hundred years old? Try it with electronics - during the last hundred years it changed so much! Can you talk about electronics in terms of vaccuum lamps and home-made details?
Hypnosis changed too. And changes were dramatic. From "magnetic" authoritarian techniques that work on 10-15 percent of people - if you are lucky, Hypnosis developed into covert permissive techniques that work on 100 percent of people. Think commercials.
We understand now how and why our techniques work and we know what to do and what to avoid - it is really a TECHNIQUE now that anyone can learn, not an art.
In the Hypnosis Tutorial book you will find basics (advanced basics) of one of the most popular today schools of Hypnosis called Ericksonian Hypnosis. You will learn how to recognize and amplify altered states of mind, and how to lead people - wherever it is you want them to go.
There are plenty of Hypnosis books out there. What makes this one different? As with the NLP Tutorial book, I believe that it is the approach. I don't want to be told what to do - I want to understand how those techniques were created. I don't want to be a student. How to become a master?
This book will teach you to look at the world from the NLP point of view while being constantly on guard for trance-producing situations. It is fun and this fun helps you to understand people better - and helps you to make people to understand you.
It is very difficult not to manipulate people. What we do not realize is how common the manipulation happens and how random and often devastating the results are. Few words you overheard when you was five can change all your life... Learn to recognize these situations.
Also learn to help people around you to feel better. To like you. To listen to what you are saying - and to ask for more. And did I mention avoiding the speeding ticket?
We are going to talk a little bit about hypnosis now. You know already (if you read the Introduction to NLP first, which is highly recommended) that if I behave certain way then the person's unconscious mind will get confused. And confusion is good you know, one way of describing hypnosis is by saying that Hypnosis is two parts process. First, we get the person's trust and then we begin to systematically violate it. Just kidding... But if you want, I can show you how you can do quite unethical staff and how to recognize it when someone is doing it to you. Do you agree?
By the way, there are different schools of hypnosis and some of them are very powerful. So do not assume that if I call this one a "modern" hypnosis, the rest are archaic.
Also Hypnosis is often described as techniques that use altered states of mind. This is a very good definition. Confusion is an altered state of mind. Your conscious mind does not know what to do, so you GO DEEP INSIDE looking for the answer. And here I am, giving you a suggestion. And because your conscious mind is gone... there is no one around to filter it out... so it goes in, so to speak. Confusion is good.
Relaxation is good. As you RELAX in those comfortable chairs you might ALLOW your conscious mind to FLOW AWAY as I am talking. That's right. And again, when I give you a suggestion - you might ACCEPT IT.
Hey, wake up!
Now, don't think that you can only hypnotize a relaxed person. Remember: we are looking for altered states of mind. Any altered states. Why? Because you are not used to think critically in the altered states of mind. And what can be a better example of an altered state than an old good stress?
There is a very powerful technique that is used by street thiefs. It works like that. Two or more people - usually women in their late fifties - are approaching you from different directions. They begin talking - in the same time and they talk about something like your future, accidents, diseases - scary staff. And they talk - one in the left ear and one in the right ear. And they are also touching you from time to time which is confusing too. Now, your conscious mind will struggle for answers. What to tell? How to keep their hands off your valet? What is going on? It will take about three minutes before they are gone, and your wallet is gone, and your wedding ring is gone, too. And you cannot understand why you didn't do anything. In many cases they would approach like a 100 kilogram wrestler who CAN defend himself - same result. It is called an overloading and there are plenty of techniques based on this idea, most of them far less dramatic, by the way.
Now you know what they mean on a job interview when ask about your "ability to work under the pressure".
There is a nice concept that most hypnotists use to describe what is going on here. The concept says that whatever information goes into your brain, it is filtered by so called Critical Faculty. So if we want to talk directly to person's unconscious mind, we need to bypass this Critical Faculty. Building a rapport by mirroring and matching predicates is one way. Confusing person with overloading or with Zen questions is another way. And there are many more.
Now, by this time you are probably asking yourself: what it can be used for? Well, I picked some dramatic examples but hypnosis can also be used as a medical tool to improve people's life. I don't like hypnotizing people to tell the truth (notice the ambiguity here. Isn't it nice? More on it later). Same objectives can be achieved using NLP techniques and maybe only the light state of trance is required. Me personally - I would only use Hypnosis if I want the patient to shut up. You know - there are people that want to tell you everything and I mean - EVERYTHING. Then you tell them to CLOSE YOUR EYES. RELAX. THAT'S RIGHT.
Now, about one person of three in this room had just closed his or her eyes or started to do so. Why? Here comes another powerful hypnotic tool that came from NLP - language patterns. What if I approach you and say "I demand that you relax and close your eyes". What will happen? Well, one of two things - the person will either walk away or punch you in the nose and then walk away, right?
But. What if I approach you and tell the story about me visiting a stage show were the guy was using hypnosis? He looked at the person and said "CLOSE YOUR EYES! RELAX!" Here we go again. Open your eyes, please! So we just found another way to bypass the critical faculty - a camouflage. I am not talking to you. I am talking about another guy that said "CLOSE YOUR EYES! RELAX!", right? But (pointing) - and this but is very big (pointing)... that's right... I will talk about ambiguities too... But (pointing)... are you going to laugh every time I say... BUT! Have I just created an anchor? OK. HOWEVER... doesn't work.
OK, don't LAUGH! Anyway, what I was trying to say is that your unconscious mind does not speak English as you do. It speaks some other English. For example, it doesn't make the difference between me talking to you and me talking to you about another person's experience. So how do we pass the critical faculty? We tell stories! And - that is very important - in these stories we describe states.
Because if I describe some state to you, like happiness, you have only one
option - in order to understand what I am talking about you must change your
state accordingly. That's why when you watch funny movie you laugh. That's why
when I said that someone else was told to CLOSE THE EYES, you did it too.
You know that when the time of the year is right they begin to show you what I call "flu commercials". That's right. They tell you how unpleasant it is to get this sore throat and red itchy eyes and a fever... What are they doing? They are describing a state! That's right. And to cover it, do they tell you "you must feel sore throat symptoms and running nose and sore eyes... and buy this drug" No. They usually tell you a story. Its called a video clip. Is there a difference in terms of results? NO. There is no difference and many people who would otherwise be able to resist this flu using their own immune system - many of them go to the described state. Within few days - it seems to be statistically proven (maybe not, but at least I have read about it) lot of people will get sick. But of course the drug company would tell that they knew that the flu is coming, so they have chosen the timing for the ad.
And what happens to you by the way, when you are watching an interesting show and then - BUM - a commercial? You are still in the show. You are IN AN ALTERED STATE OF MIND. RIGHT NOW. And your critical faculty is still busy solving problems for the Buffy the Vampire slayer, or Xena the warrior princess, or Chicago Bulls. So commercial is going in unfiltered.
Some people when commercial section begins, would go to some other activities like reading a book, waiting for this show to come back. But LISTEN TO THIS IS IMPORTANT. Your unconscious mind is still listening to everything. And your critical faculty is reading a book. Bad news. That is, by the way, why I don't listen to a radio in my car. Driving is an altered state. Commercials are very efficient there.
Now, say I want to make YOU RELAXED AND SOFT. Here we go. You see, your unconscious mind doesn't care much about English grammar. More than that, if I say something like "you might WANT to LISTEN CAREFULLY to what I am saying because I CLOSE TO YOU am I not"... Here we go. Some of you closed their eyes. But how many of you cached the ambiguity I CLOSE (distance) and EYE CLOSE? But your unconscious mind did and it said "EYE CLOSE? OK, I can do it".
You might - or might not - NOTICE one MORE thing I used to RELAX you. NOW. That's right. My voice tonality. You see, I can say an innocent sentence like the one I just said and emphasize words, like "You might - or might not - NOTICE one MORE thing I used to RELAX you. NOW". Which means "MORE - RELAX - NOW". Works like a charm.
So for now you know enough to put together some bits and pieces by yourself. Let me ask you - can this approach work in clinic? The answer is yes. Can it work at the street? Even if we forget about commercials? Can you use it and not be detected during business negotiations? Remember I asked if you want to see an example of misuse of hypnosis - do you still want it?
OK, a little disclaimer. I do not teach this stuff. But you might notice that it is all the same, so as you learn - you can apply it anywhere. It is not necessarily about hurting people. Sometimes it is about making them feel good. It all depends on you. But you should also know that hypnosis - all kinds of techniques - is out there. So I would suggest you to at least be able to recognize it.
But for me Hypnosis is a wonderful example of how a person can find something that is just wonderful. Have you ever had such an experience? When you FIND something and you just BEGIN TO ENJOY IT MORE... And as in YOUr MIND you have this new direction, growing inside you, you ...
OK, what am I talking about? Don't smile, tell me. OK, let's take a look. To give you a hint - it was a very incomplete seduction script and I know people who use it, by the way. Strange enough - they usually know Hypnosis much better than so-called therapists.
So (quote): Hypnosis is a wonderful example of how a person can find something that is just wonderful - I AM POINTING AT MYSELF, by the way. Something that is just wonderful - I am pointing at myself.
Have you ever had such an experience? What is it - "have you ever had such an experience"? A suggestion to go inside - which is an altered state as you know - to find such an experience and when you find it - you will assume this state. You have no choice!
Lets continue. When you find something and you just begin to enjoy it more - BEGIN TO ENJOY IT MORE is a command. I emphasized it with my voice, and - Where am I pointing? At which part of me? Aha... sexy...
And as in your mind you have this new direction, growing inside you... You have this NUDE ERECTION growing inside you... No audials in the room, I guess... And even if they were here - it is unlikely they would catch this one...
Now, that is how conversational hypnosis works. I have chosen a rather dramatic example to make you PAY ATTENTION because I don't like to end up with me working hard while people JUST RELAX and ENJOY. NOW... That's right, you are getting it.
Well, hopefully you will choose to help people... It is much better for you on the long run. Keep in mind that being nice to people is always a good strategy. After all - they outnumber you in proportion about six billion to one.