Tuesday, September 20, 2005

Hypnosis Schmynosis



I go back and forth about whether or not hypnosis really exists. I know, I know- I am actually a hypnotist who uses the brains of people around the world to experiment on and it would seem that I, of anyone, would say that hypnosis really exists. It is just weird though, that you can get the same effect from the brain without hypnosis as you can with it.

So, lets say I am doing a pain control experiment and I am ready to stick needles into flesh to prove that they can numb their skin with hypnosis. It is possible that I can do this without putting someone into trance. I can also make someone jump higher, run faster, hit a golf ball straighter by using my hypnotic powers. But it is also possible to do that without hypnosis.
If you believe I can do it TO YOU, it will happen even if I hypnotized you in Latin.

I realized this when I started doing Stage Hypnosis shows. When I would arrive at the show people would whisper and point "there's the hypnotist. I've heard she is really powerful" or some such thing. At this point they are believing that just about anything I tell them to do will be so expertly crafted and included the super secret sauce that only hypnotists have, that they will instantly do anything I ask. ANYTHING. It is the weirdest thing.

A group of people.
Me- the hypnotist.
A bunch of empty chairs on a stage.
A microphone.

We are all set. The belief is there, the expectation is there, the volunteers have the expectation that they will be hypnotized, and for the most part my work is done. The hypnotic induction is a formality.

Often people who order my CDs will email me BEFORE their CDs even arrive, to tell me how they have changed just from ordering them. Weird.
When I did Hypnotherapy in my office with clients the change would start before they even got into my office.

Hypnotists describe hypnosis as needing to have these elements to be succesful.
Expectation, desire, belief.
Expect that hypnosis will do it to you.
Desire to make the change. (doing it for yourself, not for other reasons)
Belief that you have made the change and how this will change you in the future.

So, do you need to be hypnotized to change? If you believe that you do, then you do. Can you change on your own and make yourself stop smoking or get rid of headaches? Yes of course you can, but very few of us have the ability to believe that we have this power.
Truth is, when I want to make a change and want it fast, I go visit a friend of mind and say "hypnotize me now" and we are off and running.

OK- NYC seminar is coming up. On the 3rd day we do experiments on unsuspecting people.
If you have any unusual hypnosis experiments you would like to suggest I just might carry them out. I will report back to you on the results after we return from NYC. Post your ideas in the comments.

Want to join us?
www.wendi.com/seminar

Giddyup! It will be excellent fun.

Wendi

1 comment:

Alan Artt said...

Hi Wendi,
Interesting thoughts about language and hypnosis. I have worked in English at a seminar on two separate occasions with a lot of German onlookers, and at least half a dozen who had no English understanding went into deep trance as I worked. It's all about belief and acceptance isn't it!

Enjoyed your APHP presentaton thoroughly, and I am embarked on some serious manifesting since then ;-)
Warmest Wishes,
Alan