One of the most common things I find with new hypnotists is that they have not thought beyond the induction. It is the ‘holy grail’ to them. I know… I was there once. It leads to the inevitable question, “What’s the best induction?” The answer is, of course, the one that works.
I cannot tell you how many young hypnotists tell me, “I have done one induction after another, with all kinds of people, and when I say sleep the subject’s head drops and comes right back up.” Now, here is the sneaky little secret that accounts for this phenomenon. Intent!
That’s right, the only two things that need be present for hypnosis to occur are context and intent. If these two are in place, hypnosis will occur. However, this does not mean you are going to get the ‘hypnosis performance’ that you were hoping for. That will only occur when your intent goes beyond the induction. By that I mean, if you go at the session / hypnotic event with the intent to ‘put someone into hypnosis’, then when the head goes down you have succeeded and the event is over.
This is where most new hypnotists go off the rails. Fortunately, it is a simple matter to get back on the rails and stay there. Before you begin, set your intent beyond the induction. Don’t stop with I am going to get hypnosis. Set your intent for ‘I am going to use hypnosis to stick this person’s hand to the table, make them forget their name, and give them a hallucination of being unable to see me.’ This uses the thing known as presupposition to establish an intent worth having. Your intent may even be as vague as ‘I am going to do a whole bunch of phenomena using hypnosis with this person.’ Far less specific, but still good enough that it’s not over when the eyes close and the head goes down.
This simple change will make all the difference in the world. So now follow my number two rule for hypnosis; PLAY!
Maybe next time I will tell you how to instantly establish context and what my number one rule is. ;-)
Until then…
Okay, so I am out with a bud of mine at a restaurant that he frequents. Usually it is the 10PM to 2AM time frame for him. I don’t usually stay out that late. We are there at about 6PM, just before the dinner rush starts.
When the waitress walks up to the table she looks a bit harried. When she asks what we would like to drink I tell her ’sweet tea’. She says she will be right back with our drinks. Then I look directly at her, say her name (it’s on her nametag), and say “Take your time, but bring them with a smile.” When she looks at me she smiles and I tap the table with my pen (which I had brought with me, and is laying next to a notepad on the table.)
When she comes back she is smiling broadly and as she places my tea in front of me, she smiles directly at me. I say, “Thank you Sherry.” Then I tap the table again with my pen while she is looking at me. I wait until she is turning to leave and say “Sherry, could I get a few extra napkins?” When she turns and looks at me, I smile and say “What a nice smile.” Her smile increases and I tap the table with my pen.
A moment later she comes back with a small stack of napkins and she is smiling. I say “Thank you, Sherry”, and smile at her. She smiles and I tap the table with my pen.
A few moments later she is walking by, on her way to another table, with their food. I tap my pen on the table and she smiles really big and continues on to take the other table their food. As soon as she has given them their food she comes straight to our table and smiles and asks if there is anything at all that she can do for us (while looking at me). I tell her we are fine and she looks just a little bit disappointed. I smile and say, “Thank you though, Sherry.” She smiles really big and I tap the table with my pen.
The rest of the 2 hours we are there I continue to tap the table any time she is near enough to hear it. Each time it produces a smile and she comes to the table to make sure we have everything we need.
Long story short (or is it too late for that?), she offers us free salad bar, gives us free deserts, and our drink glasses were never below half way down. And, to top it off, when we head out, she follows us to the door (which she did not do with any other patron) to tell us come back often.
Here’s the thing. We can use what we know to just ‘get what we want’ or we can use it to make the world around us a more pleasant place for ourselves and others. The first will give temporary pleasure. The second will give long term enjoyment for ourselves and others. Personally, I’ll take the long term.
Until next time…