Night for Day

I want to make sure I fully understand.... you're the subject and you want to know if I have any advice for you, as the subject, to be more receptive to memory play suggestions? 

If that is the case, I'd say that it might be better for me to be offering advice to your hypnotist, or you might be better working with someone else, even just to see if that makes a difference. Or are you just listening to recordings?  

I’m also curious what specific memory play you feel is not working? Is it the simple 'forget the number 4' or 'forget your name' or are you talking about more complex issues, or even generating memories, etc? 

When it comes to hypnotizing a hypnotist, the general answer is it is usually much easier.  This is because they themselves have often had a lot of (or at least some) experience being a subject, because many certification programs actually require that a hypnotist has experienced trance, so they can better understand the process.  

However, as with everything in hypnosis, a lot depends on the person.  The famous British hypnotist Derren Brown talks about the fact that he is a terrible subject and has almost never been in trance.

For me personally, there is a close sexual connection to hypnosis, so I’m in that same camp of almost never, but obviously for my own personal reasons.

What a great and interesting question! 

You're quite right that, if you're working with a group, it's always best to identify the best subject and rearrange the order so that they are the first to go under, allowing others to gain trust and belief, which are two of the most important elements in hypnosis.

So, in that sense, having seen a number of shows and knowing that hypnosis is real, what is 'expected' and that it works and what WILL happen, if of great benefit.

Another topic that has come up is the ‘hypnotic sigh’ - the audible release of air, moan, or even slurred speech - that sometimes occurs when a subject goes into trance. 

What is it, what does it mean and why does it happen?!

Well, as you might have guessed, it is a sign of complete and total relaxation, a physical manifestation of the body giving in, as the mind surrenders as well.  

It most often occurs when a subject is put under quickly and in a way not expected, such as an instant induction or confusion / distraction drop, but it can also simply be a natural part of a particular subject going into trance.  As I so often say when answering questions about hypnosis, so much is dependent on the individual.  

As you can see in that one example of the girl in the green shirt, if a subject is in the middle of talking and gets put under unexpectedly, they can often exhibit slurred speech, nonsensical words or in this case, an honest reaction to the amazing feeling of going deeply into hypnosis, as she exclaims…. ‘Ohhhh’!! The mouth continuing to work, even as the conscious mind has surrendered to hypnosis.... truly the subconscious speaking.

I’ve been asked recently about hypnotic ‘flops’, the two most common questions being:  

Why does it happen to some and not others?  

And, does it mean that person is deeper in hypnosis than those that do not relax so completely?

As you might expect, the answer to the first question is that everyone is different, and each person responds to the profound relaxation of hypnosis in their own unique way.  Even with these examples, you can see there are variations…. those that collapse completely, those that have a sharp surprised reaction, etc.

The answer to the second question is more complicated.  In general, those that become more relaxed and ‘let go’ are in a deeper trance, however, just because someone doesn’t have their legs buckle, this does not mean they are not deeply hypnotized.  Again, it’s a very personal experience, but it is safe to say that those who do relax so totally are usually very deeply under.

There are two things worth noting:  The more trust a subject has in you as a hypnotist, the more likely they are to completely let go.

The second is that often times a shock induction - an action that comes out of the blue, that the person does not expect, even if the person knows ‘something’ is going to happen to hypnotize them - can result in these kinds of drops.  So hypnotists, keep this in mind when you are doing a shock induction, especially on a new subject.  I’ve seen some not so experienced or vigilant hypnotists let a subject crash to the ground with disastrous consequences.  

Although hypnosis is very subject dependent, the hypnotist, their style, how they induce trance and how, and if, they deepen it, is something not talked about often. I'll speak more about this specifically in another post, but this particular hypnotist incorporates a great deal of very heavy fractionation, often driving subjects into a place of much deeper hypnosis.

This clips is interesting because you can see the girl in the upper right has been put into such a deep state of hypnosis that even when 'awake', she is still very deeply hypnotized.

This type of 'waking trance' results in the subject being highly receptive to suggestions given directly at this time without any other 'trance' or anchor. So whatever the hypnotist says becomes reality at that moment. This type of state is also often visible when initially putting s subject under, and you can see they have entered a hypnotic trance, even though it might appear to others that they are still in process.

Confidence, Command and Clarity is everything in hypnosis.  I see so many amateur hypnotists struggle with these 3 things, so I may actually write a separate piece on it, and specifically what I'm talking about, but for now, here is a great example of all of them.

In this induction, the hypnotist tells the girl he is about to take her hand.  And that when he does take her hand, her eyes will close, she will drop back and she will go into a deep hypnotic sleep.  

Very hot girl going under. Her actual comments about being hypnotized were:

"I could hear everything that was going on but I never had any control over my body. I can’t remember certain bits so think I must have been asleep". And - "Amazing, [experience] still can’t get over it!"

Always fantastic to see a girl hypnotized in the audience.  Most of us have seen this clip, but I thought I’d add a few insights:  

When initially brought out of trance, she’s wide awake and clearly surprised. and a bit embarrassed, but is primed to go under again from having heard the suggestions given to those on stage.  The hypnotist drops her, and it’s obvious she is deeply under and completely open to additional suggestions.  

Here’s where it gets interesting:  She is then given a suggestion that when woken, she will stand like a solider and march to the stage.  When this happens, you can see she is still deeply under and is simply following the suggestion while remaining in trance, and will likely have no recollection of this later.  When a subject is as receptive as she is (most likely a level 3 or 4 somnambulist) this type of response is common, where the subject carries out tasks but has no memory of it later, and is usually characterized by the blank look she has, even when she sits down.

Fair show specialist Mark Yuzuik giving a great demonstration of a confusion / shock induction. People watching think it's just for comedy when he keeps asking her name, but here's what he's really up to: 

By saying her name incorrectly, he forces her to listen closely to exactly what he’s saying.  Then, as she concentrates on repeating her name, she enters into repetitive behavior.  When he suddenly hits her with the sleep command, he not only breaks the pattern - pattern interrupt - but since she is so tuned into what he is saying, it ensures the command goes straight to her subconscious, overriding any ability to resist, and putting her deeply under instantly.