Beginner Hyponosis

Sep 1, 2007
1,395
8
37
Belgrade, Serbia
Hey guys,

I'm looking into some material about close-up hypnosis. I have "Reality is Plastic" book and "Manchurian Approach" DVD's. Do you guys recommend any other sources, or are these enough for me to perform good close-up hypnosis?

Also, how do you practice the hypnosis? It's not like practicing your pass in your room, in front of a mirror and a camera until you can make it look invisible. What are the chances of using same person over and over again for practice? If you didn't hypnotize them the first time, will you be able to hypnotize them later on, after couple of weeks of practice?
 
Sep 1, 2007
723
2
yeah just keep practicing on the same person, there are different people with different levels of difficulty. So maybe have 2-3 practice buddies.
 
Feb 6, 2009
39
0
I'm sorry but I disagree with the above comment. Yes you can learn with one "buddy" but its by far the worse. Best way of practicing is on strangers. Lots and lots of strangers. Will you get it right all the time? Nope sometimes youll have a bad run and think of jacking it in however if you routine hypnosis into your magic with a solid mentalism effect there's no reason for anyone to ever think you've failed. I mean people don't know what hypnosis feels like so it can be whatever you tell them it is, even if you fail to achieve a trance state. The two resources you have are the best, stick with and as many a Nike advert has told us, Just do it.

M.
 
Mar 6, 2008
1,483
3
A Land Down Under
Practice on everyone. Make everyone you perform for a potential subject. You can use many different traditional magic tricks with a hypnosis demonstration to heighten the trick. This will give you a good idea of what it takes to put someone out.
 
Oct 13, 2008
46
0
First of all, get the idea of 'practicing' out of your head. If the books you listed have taught you anything, surely it's that you have to BE the hypnotist. So you're not practicing, you're going to go out and do it. If you don't feel confident enough, wait until you are. By all means rehearse the script to yourself, as you would practice a sleight, but you never 'practice' on people.

Using the same person is not a good idea, as one of the first things you should do once they're under is to ensure they will go under upon your command from that moment on.
If you wish to practice different inductions, you need different people.
Of course its a little strange just asking strangers if they mind if another stranger hypnotises them, as people have all sorts of pre-conceptions about hypnosis and how they can be manipulated against their will whilst under it.

Perhaps the best thing you can do is do some very strong magic or mentalism tricks and look for the spectator that is most suggestible or most impressed with you. These will make good subjects because they want to please you, they want to be part of the experience. So give it to them.
If you fail to hypnotise someone the first time its doubtful you could again, simply because the subject puts themselves in the trance, you just show them the way. If they doubt your directions, they won't trust you to take them there, so they'll just stay as they are.
Besides, get any notion of failing out of your head. They WILL go into that trance. Believe it. If you don't, neither will they.
 
Sep 1, 2007
1,395
8
37
Belgrade, Serbia
Thank you for all your reply's and support. I was talking about something last night with Mat. One of the reasons I didn't succseed the first and second time I tried is because of the word "Sleep". When you say something like "And as soon as your hands touch, you will relax your hands, let them drop into your lap, and you will go into hypnotic state.... that's right, they are getting closer and closer.... and now SLEEP! Deeper and deeper, deeper and deeper into the hypnotic state", they just look up at me and say, well I am not asleep. Because I guess when you say SLEEP, people actually think that they are going to fall asleep, and as soon as they don't they just look up at you like it didn't work.
How can I overcome that obstacle?
 
Feb 6, 2009
39
0
Ok the word sleep is not a problem, I use it all the time :). The trick is to simply tell them before that it is not sleep in the conventional state, just a deep form of relaxation. Eg, "ok I'm going to trying something with you now involving hypnosis, don't worry I'm not going to make you cluck like a chicken or anything, It's just going to be a deep state of relaxation, very calming and very pleasant almost LIKE sleep but you'll still be aware of everything going on. Afterwards I'm going to show you something involving suggestion and a decks of card. all ok?" I just use an ungimmicked invisible deck routine involving equivoque. You've set a safty net and built expectation as well as showing it's not sleep in the conventional state. Then just go from there, dont stick rigidly to a script, say what feels right. Yes it does get easier the more you do it because you can sense the states and the process's in their heads which makes it easier to work with.
Hope this helps
M.
 
Oct 13, 2008
46
0
When you say something like "And as soon as your hands touch, you will relax your hands, let them drop into your lap, and you will go into hypnotic state.... that's right, they are getting closer and closer.... and now SLEEP! Deeper and deeper, deeper and deeper into the hypnotic state", they just look up at me and say, well I am not asleep. Because I guess when you say SLEEP, people actually think that they are going to fall asleep, and as soon as they don't they just look up at you like it didn't work.

It sounds like you're using Jacquin's magnetic hands here? You might be lucky to find someone who will go under straight from magnetic hands. Have you tried the stiff arm yet? Any joy there? The stiff arm is a sign that they are susceptible to both the hypnotic process and your instruction which is why it's easier to command them to sleep straight from it.
Don't always expect them to sleep from magnetic hands, just tell them to close their eyes, drop their head forward and relax. You then look for signs of hypnosis. If you see none, then you need to do something else. If you do see REM and a breathing shift, then by all means get them to sleep.
Also you should, as turgon states, tell them before hand that the sleep they experience in hypnosis is not at all like sleep at night. Brief them before you start on all aspects of it, tell them they will be able to hear you, that they won't get stuck in a trance, that they won't do anything they don't want to do. Its part of the ethical process but it also helps you tell them what is expected of them. It also helps to relax them, and you need them to relax so they will go into trance.
I urge you not to give up on this. You will succeed, and its a very good feeling when you do.
 
Dec 18, 2007
1,610
14
64
Northampton, MA - USA
As much as I have given big kudos for "Reality is Plastic" I still encourage the hypno-neophyte to stick with the classics when it comes to learning this skill, starting with Ormond McGill's "Encyclopedia of Stage Hypnosis"... we're speaking about the gospel of hypnosis penning by a man that most clinical hypnotherapist have high respect for, so there must be something to his message... like, experience!

I bring this up because Ormond, Orville Meyer, Arnold Furst, Jerry Valley and most of the other old timers are going to give you solutions to the issues you are talking about and more. But when it comes to hypnosis there is one very important truth that is a constant, no matter the source -- CONFIDENCE...

If you are not confident, it won't work. If you cannot gently dominate your subject by using body language, eye contact and voice, you will not be successful with an induction. Hypnosis requires personal control and prowess by the hypnotist and his/her strongest level of advantage is typically gained through working with total strangers and/or those that he's worked with before but are exploiting that previous conditioning as an anchor... an opening to your using a new technique (surprising them... the shock of it is what gives you the upper-hand -- the dominate position).

Call me biased or old fashioned, but the best way to learn hypnosis is to go to school and actually LEARN IT and become certified as a board sanctioned hypnotist vs. being a half-educated magic buff "experimenting" with things you haven't been properly schooled in... but hey, it's just another "trick" for the sake of "entertainment" right?

Yes and No, but there is a reason why the majority of the top headliners that did hyp acts had formal training.
 
Sep 1, 2007
1,395
8
37
Belgrade, Serbia
As much as I have given big kudos for "Reality is Plastic" I still encourage the hypno-neophyte to stick with the classics when it comes to learning this skill, starting with Ormond McGill's "Encyclopedia of Stage Hypnosis"... we're speaking about the gospel of hypnosis penning by a man that most clinical hypnotherapist have high respect for, so there must be something to his message... like, experience!

I bring this up because Ormond, Orville Meyer, Arnold Furst, Jerry Valley and most of the other old timers are going to give you solutions to the issues you are talking about and more. But when it comes to hypnosis there is one very important truth that is a constant, no matter the source -- CONFIDENCE...

If you are not confident, it won't work. If you cannot gently dominate your subject by using body language, eye contact and voice, you will not be successful with an induction. Hypnosis requires personal control and prowess by the hypnotist and his/her strongest level of advantage is typically gained through working with total strangers and/or those that he's worked with before but are exploiting that previous conditioning as an anchor... an opening to your using a new technique (surprising them... the shock of it is what gives you the upper-hand -- the dominate position).

Call me biased or old fashioned, but the best way to learn hypnosis is to go to school and actually LEARN IT and become certified as a board sanctioned hypnotist vs. being a half-educated magic buff "experimenting" with things you haven't been properly schooled in... but hey, it's just another "trick" for the sake of "entertainment" right?

Yes and No, but there is a reason why the majority of the top headliners that did hyp acts had formal training.

Thank you for your reply. Unfortunately there is no hypnosis school in my country, so it's not like a have a choice. I will look into Ormond McGill book. What about his book Hypnotism And Mysticism Of India?
 
Dec 18, 2007
1,610
14
64
Northampton, MA - USA
If you have colleges, which I'm certain you do, then look into the psychology department; I'm confident they have courses in Hypnotherapy and proper modes of doing hypnosis that will earn you the proper credentials... I just can't imagine this not being the case for most any nation that has facilities dedicated to higher learning.

There are likewise some very interesting courses on line that I've recently discovered, several of them coming from accredited schools such as the University of Chicago and of course, the University of Phoenix. These courses offer on-line lectures, assignments as well as interactive workshops (labs) that can assist you in a wide range of study when it comes to counseling techniques and personal understanding (and application) of psychological techniques/processes.

As to Ormond's books... he wrote far too many for me to have kept up with them. While I did get the chance to meet the man and even work with him in a show, I never really got overly invested in his area of skill until several years after the fact. The irony is, I've had many long conversations with he, Arnold Furst and Jerry Valley... Oh! Jerry did offer an excellent video course on stage hypnosis at one time. You might try to find him on line and see if it is still available... be prepared however, it was $300.00+ a decade ago so it's probably in the $400.00 range these days.
 
Sep 1, 2007
1,395
8
37
Belgrade, Serbia
If you have colleges, which I'm certain you do, then look into the psychology department; I'm confident they have courses in Hypnotherapy and proper modes of doing hypnosis that will earn you the proper credentials... I just can't imagine this not being the case for most any nation that has facilities dedicated to higher learning.

There are likewise some very interesting courses on line that I've recently discovered, several of them coming from accredited schools such as the University of Chicago and of course, the University of Phoenix. These courses offer on-line lectures, assignments as well as interactive workshops (labs) that can assist you in a wide range of study when it comes to counseling techniques and personal understanding (and application) of psychological techniques/processes.

As to Ormond's books... he wrote far too many for me to have kept up with them. While I did get the chance to meet the man and even work with him in a show, I never really got overly invested in his area of skill until several years after the fact. The irony is, I've had many long conversations with he, Arnold Furst and Jerry Valley... Oh! Jerry did offer an excellent video course on stage hypnosis at one time. You might try to find him on line and see if it is still available... be prepared however, it was $300.00+ a decade ago so it's probably in the $400.00 range these days.

Yeah, it makes sense to be in psychology departement. I will look into it, as I have some friends who are studying psychology.
As far as online university, I guess that would also be expancive as hell, but it does sound like I could get most out of them.
I will look Jerry up, as soon as I rob a bank and get $400 :)
 
Searching...
{[{ searchResultsCount }]} Results