This lecture is here partly directed to the Management since I
wasn't in a lecturing frame of mind earlier, partly directed to Rigel
because I promised to wax didactic on the topick, and partly directed
to the peanut gallery because you might be interested.
  The Perridwyn School of Hypnosis presents ...

-HYPNOSIS 101-

     Hypnosis is a state of focused awareness.  It is something
everyone has experienced countless times; among instances of it are
waking up or getting absorbed in a good book.  The characteristics of
the state vary; it cannot be pinpointed on an EEG and the experience
is different for everyone though there are common elements.  A person
can be hypnotized and while that state be having a great time at a
party; no zombie eyes no intonations of Yeesss Massterr no wandering
about with arms outstreched.  Hypnosis does not have a unique and
unmistakable insignia indicating its presence.
      This is generally not the case with the PROCESS of hypnosis.
Patterns of hypnosis have been written up and used for decades.  You
can find books depicting the process in bookstores and libraries.  The
process is intended to create that state of focused awareness.  It is
this process I wish to discuss in the remainder of this post.
[Hypnosis and being hypnotized will refer to the proces should there
be any confusion.]

General Considerations


   Hypnosis can be thought of as a game that is binding.  The rules
are initially defined by the expectations of the subject which
encompasses all their experiences with it everything they've seen on
TV and old movies and what the subject has been told about hypnosis.
These rules dictate what will and will not be effective; which
inductions will and will not work; and the conduct of the subject
while in the state of hypnosis.  The rules are mutable.  Debunking
misconceptions, demonstrations, and providing more information --
accurate or not -- will affect the rules of the game.
     A professor at Stanford illustrated how greatly expectations
dictate results.  The gentleman told one of his introductory
psychology classes that an unfailing indication of a hypnotized
subject was that their right arm would float upwards.  The professor
told another class the same thing only in this case he specified it
was the left hand that would rise.  When he hypnotized members of both
classes he discovered that students responded in accord with their
expectations.  The right arm of the members of the first class did
indeed rise while with members of the second class only the left hand
rose.

     In hypnosis the subject calls the shots.  Their expectations
outline the manner in which the game is to be played.  The hypnotist
weilds no mystical power; she and the subject have an agreement that
the process of hypnosis is conducted in a certain mannerand each
player behaves in a particular way.  The level at which the game is
played is defined by the rules and the degree of trust the subject
feels for the hypnotist.  A mistrustful subject will be paying far
more attention to what you are doing and what you might be scheming
than to what you are saying.

     Hypnosis is useful as a catalyst.  As seen above the state itself
is not too exhilarating in and of itself.  The process and the
applications are what make it fun and useful.  You can call on your
mind's abilities to control pain [useful]; you can play the most
intense imagination game of D&D of your life [fun].

     The function of the hypnotist is to provide a focal point and
talk their partner through evoking the intended result.  The process
usually begins with a discussion of hypnosis.  This is to determine
the purpose of a session, debunk misconceptions, get a sense of the
subject's expectations, and generally make things go easier later.
The induction consists of bringing the subject's awareness to
something and keeping it focused.  The hypnotist gives suggestions to
bring about the determined purpose including any post-hypnotic
suggestions.  Then she guides the subject back to a normal state of
awareness.

WHAT HYPNOSIS IS NOT

- It is not sleep.  The participant is thoroughly aware of their
surroundings.  They may choose to ignore them.  The hypnotist may ask the
subject to ignore things or to focus all attention on one idea.
- You can not get stuck in hypnosis.  Either you will awaken on your
own or the state will become one of natural sleep.  Sometimes a
subject requires a few more moments to return.  Sometimes the subject
refuses to return.  This is particularly true of stage hypnosis; if a
subject feels pissed off at the hypnotist it can be mightily
gratifying to unnerve said offending hypnotist by not responding.
Even if this is the case the subject will still either return on their
own or fall asleep.
- A hypnotized person will not knowingly violate their code of ethics.
Milton Erickson messed around with this a bit and found it to be
particularly true if he made it clear that the subject was responsible
for the consequences of their actions.  There are three twists here;
  1. A person may do something seemingly unethical if it is
o.k. according to their moral standards, especially if they believe
being hypnotized at the time is sufficient excuse.
  2.  Stage hypnotists evoke some silly behavior which might
ordinarily be contrary to the subject's code of conduct.  This is a
result of group pressure, of the forgivability of stage hypnosis, and
of the streak of hamming it up in each of us.
 3. A person can be tricked.  If I am told I am in a blazing hot
desert sweating buckets, and the only way to get cool is to take my
shirt off I might do that.  I will not do that because I am an
exhibitionist.  If I am directly told to take off my shirt first I
will snap back to the here and now and next I will drop-kick the lech
out of my house.  Furthermore, once such a maneuver is recognized the
hypnotist has utterly destroyed the subject's trust and will have no
further success with them.

NITTY GRITTY STUFF


  First some things concerning speaking.  The hypnotist ought not
speak in a monotone; not only is it unnecessary, it is an annoyance.
Rather, she should make her voice congruent with what she's saying.
If she is describing a soothing walk on the beach under a restful
sunset she ought not sound hyper.  It is useful to use a particular
tone of voice when hypnotizing people.  This is helpful because soon
there will be an association between The Voice and the state.  In
addition it means you will not inadvertantly trip an association if
you use your normal speaking voice with someone whom you see primarily
for hypnosis you are apt to zone them out just by saying Howz'it goin.
The Voice comes with practice and you can pick it out after a while.

  There are definite reasons behind word choices.  Sense words make
things more vivid; describe the colors, textures, and sounds
associated with that soothing walk on the beach.  Repeating words and
phrases helps things sink in and adds rhythm to your patter.  You may
opt to say things in a permissive way [in a moment you may picture
yourself walking upon a soothing beach; perhaps there is a glorious
sunset coloring the sky crimson and purple] or in an authoritative way
[ You are walking on a beach.  The beach is soothing; it makes you
more and more relaxed.  Notice the glorious sunset].  The choice of
words is based on the situation the hypnotist's style and most of all
upon the personality and rules of the subject.  Make them fit.

  Synonyms for this word include credibility and rapport.  Leverage
makes suggestions more effective.  Things that generate leverage are
accurate descriptions of present experience and accurate descriptions
of future events.
   An accurate description of your present experience may be that your
eyes are moving across these words and you feel the keyboard beneath
your waiting fingers and you feel the chair beneath you and you hear
noises in the background that you have not been paying much attention
to until now.
  An accurate description of future events can be that as you read
these words you will become aware of your left earlobe.  Another is
that when you take your next really deep breath your hand may feel
somewhat lighter.  I base my estimation of your awareness of your
earlobe on the fact that mentioning it almost inevitably makes you
think about it.  The second assertion is much shakier in this context
but stronger if you were being hypnotised.  Relax your hands on your
lap for a moment and inhale deeply.  Notice how your shoulders rise a
little and tug your arm up a little bit

   Things that are bad for credibility are ability tests and blatant
contradictions of present experience.  When you use an ability test
you run the risk of it not working.  They do work for many people and
sometimes provide useful information but it is very very difficult to
recover gracefully from an unsuccessful ability test.  The participant
may reach the conclusion that they can not be hypnotized or that you
are incapable of hypnotizing them.  Blatant contradiction of present
experience as you carefully scrutinize the upper left corner of your
monitor you can become aware of the little picture of a
pink-and-purple hippopotamus.  Riiight.
   Now to tie these together.  If you have been correct in the past
few descriptions you increase the probability you will be in the next
one.  As an example, presume I am being hypnotized right now.  I am
told about how I feel the keyboard under my hands as my fingers dance
from key to key (correct)I glance at my scribblings to help me clarify
this thought (correct)and I hear muffled music in the background (also
correct)and as I notice these things I can feel myself becoming more
and more relaxed.  The last assertion is pure speculation; there is no
reason that those things should make me feel more relaxed and no real
indication that I'm mellowing out noticing these things.  However the
hypnotist has been right on three counts so far.  He has aquired a
little credibility.  My response is going to be Sure, he's been right
so far, why not now?
   This point is somewhat esoteric; if it makes sense fine.  If it
doesn't or even if it does, read Trance-Formations listed at the end
of this post.  The authors go over this in detail and in a very
skillful and clear fashion.  Let this stand the more accurate you are
so much the better; a really incorrect statement or blatant failure is
apt to be disruptive.

INDUCTIONS


  The purpose of an induction is to focus awareness on something and
gradually move through to evoking the intended results.  The methods
are many and varied.
   Very often the focal point is relaxation.  Progressive relaxation
consists of deliberately tensing and relaxing (sometimes just
relaxing) each part of the body paying attention to releasing every
bit of tension.  Descriptions of soothing surroundings or experiences
are also used to produce relaxation.
   Trance-Formations describes an induction utilizing points mentioned
above.  It consists of sets of six statements.  The first set contains
five accurate descriptions of present experience and one abstract or
unverifiable statement (... and these things make you feel more and
more relaxed ...  and while you notice them you feel a sense of
security ... and strangely enough these remind you of wrecking Aunt
Milllie's car).  The next set contains four present-experiences and
two abstracts; then three present-experiences and three abstracts and
so on until you're dealing wih just the abstracts.
   Confusion inductions consist of confusing the hell out of someone
and then providing them with an understandable option.  This confusion
often consists of ambiguous statements or plays on words.  Take the
words right, write, rite, and Wright.  As you right about the right
brothers you realize you have violated the rights of those whose right
this is by righting with your right instead of your left.  The
intended response is a huge HUH at which point you offer an
understandable option ... and that makes you feel really silly!  The
option is an escape route from all that unpleasantness and
ambiguityand therefore desirable.
    Inductions take time.  It is common for an induction to take ten
or twenty minutes with a participant who has not been hypnotized much
before or is unused to your style.  Signs of effectiveness the
participant's responses match your description.  ... and that makes
you feel really silly may be met with a smile; depictions of
relaxation are matched with visible decreases in tension.  Requests to
picture scenes usually evoke rapid eye movement.  If you ask your
partner to do alot of talking you will notice changes in their manner
of speaking; it becomes quieter, slower, perhaps a little less well
ennunciated.  Depending on what you ask them to say and how familiar
you are with their normal speech patterns you may notice differences
in word choices.  Subjectively you the participant may feel more
lethargic and may experience dissociation.  For me that means that I
could do a lot of thingslike move my hand up a few inches but it would
require so much energy and I do not think it important enough at the
time to expend that energy.  Also I tend to start loosing track of
where I left my limbs (tee hee); I know they're there somewhere but
don't think it important enough to bother to relocate them.

  It is desirable to make series of suggestions flow as smoothly as
possible. Choppy sentences are more apt to create tension than soothe
them.  Flowing sentences encourage relaxation, have better rhythm to
them, and can posess more leverage.
  Take these three phrases You feel the chair beneath you.  You see
the text on the screen.  You are becoming more relaxed than ever
before.
   The simplest way to connect them is with plain old conjunctions.
You feel the chair beneath you AND you see the text on the screen AND
you are becoming more relaxed than ever before.
   Next step up simultaneous words.  AS you feel the chair beneath
youyou see the text on the screen AND AT THE SAME TIME you are
becoming more relaxed than ever before.
   The most powerful way to hook up phrases is with causal words.
SINCE you feel the chair beneath you AND BECAUSE you see the text on
the screen you are becoming more relaxed than ever before.


SUGGESTIONS CENTRAL

   This is the portion of the process where you accomplish the stated
purpose; the part of the game that is binding.  Suggestion styles
include the following

- Direct suggestion.  This is where you flat-out say such and such is
going to happen.  When you are going to bed tonight you will feel
compelled to think of purple hippos.  As soon as your head touches the
pillow purple hippos will occupy your every thought.

- Indirect suggestion.  Comprised of visualization and
storytelling. Visualization is just mentally creating the event.  It
is not restricted to just pictures; whichever senses make it more real
are the ones you should appeal to.  If you know the person is oriented
to one sense more than another, describe with them.  ( See the purple
hippos dancing on your quilt.  Hear them thundering up the hallway.
Feel the floor shake with their every step. )  If in doubt it can't
hurt to use all of them.  [ Most people favor either vision, hearing,
or kinesthics so you needn't necessarily go into how it tastes to chow
down on purple hippo.  If you were visualizing walking in a flower
garden, however,,it makes sense to include smell.  Use what is
appropriate.]  Picture yourself preparing for bed.  Your teeth are
brushed; the sounds of traffic are hushed; and the pillow feels
delightfully cool against your cheek.  As you snuggle down under the
pillows, your mind turns to thoughts of purple hippos.

   Storytelling is more subtle than both direct suggestion and
visualization.  You relate an event or antecdote which provides a sort
of framework for conduct.
    When I was a child, every night as I went to sleep I would conjure
up a rainbow zoo dancing on my bedcovers.  First there would be the
lionsas yellow as lemons. Following them were orange
alligators... [blahblahblah through blue ostriches..]  And last and
best of all were the purple hippos.  They were my favorite part of the
procession; I looked forward to them as soon as my head touched the
pillow.  And the last thoughts on my mind were of those purple hippos
cavorting on my quilt.
    If it's something really strange like the above you probably wish
to attribute it to a weird cousin or obscure newspaper clipping.  Lead
into these gracefully; this example might start off with bedtime
rituals in general and in the present then remembering back to bedtime
rituals as a child then into your story.  ( How many people will think
of purple hippos the night after they read this )
     These should be related in an appropriately serious manner.  If
it's silly, sound a little silly but present it as if it's important
as if you were sharing it with a friend.  If you make it sound
important it will be received as such.  Go gently with themtoo; don't
holler PURPLE HIPPOS CAVORTING ON THE QUILT.  Just weave it into its
surroundings.  Storytelling is best for going sideways at something
for attending to integral corollaries of the purpose.  Their power is
in subtlety.

- Subliminals.  It is possible to mark out certain words as you say
them.  You may make a certain unobtrusive gesture, change pitch or
loudness slightly, glance off in a certain direction -- something
small enough not to require the participant's full-blown attention but
designed so they will be able to perceive it.  This is the hardest
thing for me to give an example of because it's something I have not
begun to master.  If you could possibly string the words purplehippo
and bedtime together in a few sentences that make enough sense so the
listener doesn't get confused and go back to review them then you'd
mark out those particular words with a perceivable and unique action.
You'd also probably want to throw in similar words -- lavendar going
to sleeplate-night toughts -- to be sure the point gets across.
Trance-Formations goes over this too; if you read ityou may find it
interesting to observe your own behaviour during the subliminals
chapters.

 GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR SUGGESTIONS

   Phrase suggestions as positively as possible.  Don't think of
purple hippos is an utterly futile idea.  Eating less is better put as
being content with smaller portions.  Pain is a loaded word; use
discomfort or the presence of comfort instead.  You get the idea.
   Participants tend to take suggestions literally.  One lady was told
to picture herself leaving the office then turning out the lights.
When she acted on this she left work.  She then turned the lights off
via the circut box.  Telling someone .. and your husband is being a
big pain in the neck can translate into a nasty headache.  If you're
doing hypnosis at night be careful with words about being wide awake
when you're bringing your partner back.  Be as unambiguous as
possible; be aware of literal translations.
   This is a good place to mention trance logic and literal
mindedness.  Trance logic appears when the participant is really into
it.  Presume they believe they speak only French.  If you ask if they
understand Englishthe reply will be Non.  Do they know only French
Oui.  Literal mindedness is illustrated by asking your partner if they
can raise their right hand and getting a response of Yes.  Will they
Yes. Now Yes.
   Suggestions should be given at a pace that matches the
participant's breathing.  It enhances rapport and is an acceptably
leisurly pace.
   Appeal to preferred senses.
   If you're using hypnosis for habit modification when you're
determining the purpose of the session learn what is motivating the
participant.  If the purpose were keeping up interest in exercise and
the participant liked jogging because it created a feeling of
independance, don't sell the virtues of those neat suits and funky
sneakers.  Unless of courses/he likes them too.
   If you are confused by a response ask.  Doesn't hurt a bit.
   If something unexpected happens stay calm.  If it's an unusual
action, like drumming fingers you can ask about it.  You can also
incorporate it which acknowledges and accepts that action.  And the
drumming of your fingers makes you more and more relaxed.  If someone
bursts into tears suddenly, stay calm.  Ask why this is happening.
Ask if the participant wants to continue, and respect their reply.
You can incorporate that too; ... and you feel those tears washing
through you cleaning away your anger, leaving you calm and serene.
Unexpected interruptions and noises are better incorporated than
ignored unless you discern from a total lack of response that they
were not important enough for the participant to pay attention to.


THERE AND BACK AGAIN

   Bringing your partner back to the here-and-now is easy.
   First undo any unusual suggestions that would make life unpleasant.
If you suggested numbness in a hand be sure feeling is restored.  If
you're unsure do a general banishing.
   Next make it clear you are concluding.  And before you return to
the here and now, allow yourself to bask in this feeling of
relaxation.  If you look down the hall ou will see a door marked EXIT.
   Then conclude.  When you're ready, you can return to the here and
now feeling perfectly fine in every way.  1starting to return2feeling
more alert3half way there4feeling fine in every way5awake!  ( Snapif
you feel really showy.)
   If your participant doesn't sit up and rub their eyes blearily
within a reasonable amount of time ( a couple minutes, or as soon as
you get to awake! ) determine if they fell asleep.  If they did it's a
credit to your ability to help others feel relaxed.  Make certain they
heard you and know what the deal is.  Restate it; if you do a
count-up, the best maneuver is to leave the ball in their court and
let them come back when they're ready.  If that seems to be taking an
inordinate amount of time, give suggestions about feeling more alert,
prepared to come back.  And as usual if you're uncertain, ask!
     A nice reinforcer is to gradually switch back from The Voice to
your regular voice as you conclude.  With the 1-to-5 set up you might
be speaking very quietly at one and graduate until at five your voice
is somewhat louder than usual.
      Now is an excellent time to ask for feedback.  Feedback will
tell you if you forgot to undo anything [ bring them back in negate it
ask if anything else needs undoing, bring them back out].  It will
tell you how you can make your style more effective in general or with
just this person.  It also acknowledges their part in the proceedings.
If they're pissed off at you for some inconsideration, it is a good
time to clear the air and acknowledge the validity of their complaint.

REINDUCING HYPNOSIS

   If you both desire to create a word-gesture-mental image-whatever
that will bring the participant back to a state of deep relaxation,
between the main set of purpose-suggestions and the return is the
place to do it.  Select an appropriate item; state that when this item
is done AND the participant consciously desires to return to this
state of deep relaxation that it will happen.  Conscious intent
prevents accidentally triggering it.  You do NOT want it to be
inadvertantly activated while the participant is driving.  It might
not be in their rules that they can realize the deal and correct it;
it may take vital moments for that realization to arrive; it may take
time to brush away those cobwebby feelings of deep relaxation -- don't
put it to the test.

 MISCELLANEY

  Pre-induction chats not only let you become more aware of the
participant's rules, it prevents problems by letting you debunk.  You
might not discover that this person believes they can reawaken only if
you say Ah-La-Peanut-Butter-Sandwiches; telling them they'll just fall
asleep is a nice margin to have.
  Be trust-worthy and honorable.  A gentleman tried to induce me to
swig a beer.  I would not.  He has been unable to hypnotise me since
then; he has lost my trust utterly.  I will not risk a second chance.
Not many people will.

   This is intended to be an overview of general hypnosis.  There are
really weird variants that I don't know enough about to write
up. [F'rinstance -- inducing hypnosis, like as in zoning people
waaaaay out, without formal inductions, just talking with them.
NEAT!]  I left out a bunch of stuff you will find in most books on
hypnosis -- history, depth categories (not necessarily useful) and
specifics on applications.  Go to your bookstore.  Supplement this.
These are my rules of the Game.  If you find them useful, keep them.

GOOD BOOKS


Hypnosis A Journey Into The Mind  by Anita Anderson-Evangelista.  The most
thorough beginning book on hypnosis the library posesses.  Good stuff!

Trance-Formations by Richard Bandler and John Grinder.  Kind of
esotericbut really neat techniques and approaches.

Frogs Into Princesalso by Bandler and Grinder.  Provides information on
sense preferenceskeywordsand rapport.  Does not deal with hypnosis per
sebut the information within applies.

Tapes or live sessions are useful for helping you pick up the pattern
of patter.  They can provide new approaches and effective ways to say
things.

THINGS I THOUGHT TO ADD IN THE WEE HOURS OF THE NIGHT


  Presuppositions also posess leverage.  A presupposition offers a
choice on the surface, and at the root of it is a fundamental Given.
Would you prefer to go into a light or deep trance - the given is that
the state will manifest, and it is also presumed that the participant
is capable of deeper degrees.
  An induction related to the Confusion technique is overloading.
Direct the participant's awareness to as many things as possible.  The
human mind can only attend to so many things; given too many it will
start to withdraw or cut down.  Offer suggestions regarding relaxation
along with pointing out that they can perceive X while thinking of K.
Kind of the same principle as the confusion technique.
  Another way to reinduce a hypnotic state is to ask the participant
to recall one.  To answer your questions especially very specific
questions your partner re-accesses that state, goes into it a little
bit.  Or a lot.  Depends on the person and memory.  If you're working
with the same person, you can ask them to review the last session.  If
your partner has been hypnotised before you can ask questions about
what the hypnotist said, how they were seated or lying down, did the
hypnotist talk in a slow drawling manner or in an intense steady one
what did s/he saywhat did the participant find most effective --
anything pertaining to recreating the experience is fine.  Then you
can gracefully start an induction.  Ok, while you're still recalling
how pleasant it was to be so deeply relaxed, why don't you just let
your eyes close.

ADDENDA


(Wee Hours part II)

  When you're giving the main set of suggestions, repetition of the
main points is helpful.  Drives the ideas home.  You may wish to ask
if the suggestions were well understood from time to time.

  When you're giving suggestions in general, watch the participant
carefully, especially if you're describing something.  You want to be
on the alert for a negative response (handy word, comes fastest to
mind).  If you're describing something that's really loaded,
unpleasant, or plain too weird you can see it by the participant's
responses.  Clenched hands, tension around the jaw, hunched shoulders,
tensing up in general; these and anything you recognize as a negative
response are things to look out for.  If you are describing the
participant as swimming in the ocean and they are phobic of water or
if Jaws is on their mind you will know it by these indicators.  Your
choices are to gracefully offer alternatives (... or if you prefer you
can find yourself in a forest glade) or to inquire.  ^