New here, Very enthusiastic.

[AdamadA]

I have been interested in hypnosis for a long time and only recently decided it was time to read into it and learn how to do this. I have read and learn't a few induction techniques but im not sure if this is the hole hypnotising proccess. I also read about self hypnotising and would like to know what the limits of entertaining yourself with this are, what you can do in this hypnotised state, persuade yourself you have forgotten your name etc.

With the inductions is it as simple as it sounds and looks on many of the videos? Im planning on trying the 'drop arm' technique on a friend whos interested in meditation today and im wondering if its a simplle case of making him feel relaxed and slowly putting him into a ''sleepy'' state and then dropping his arm suddenly and commanding 'sleep'. What is it that makes the moment the arm drops the point to say this? Is it jst because its a shock?


Thanks Adam

[Poodle]

PLEASE GET PROPER TRAINING BEFORE YOU MESS WITH PEOPLE'S MINDS AND YOUR OWN. HYPNOSIS IS NOT A GAME! Pood :)

[Don]

Hi, Adam.

I admire your interest and drive. However, although I wouldn't yell at, I do agree with what Poodle has expressed: you should get some in-person training in hypnosis.

Back when I was in high school, I took "wood shop." I learned to use the electric saws and could make some beautiful curved shapes (before finishing them with the sander). I said to some people, "Hey, watch me do this curve!" They watched as I carefully guided the wood through the saw blade and the curve took shape. Suddenly, the wood shook in my hands and I lost control, ruining the wood. The other kids laughed at me and went back to their work.

I asked my teacher what I had done wrong. He examined the wood and pointed out a knot in the hardwood, making it even harder and difficult for the saw to cut through. If I had known more about the nature of wood, I could have used a different saw or chosen a different piece to cut. I thought I had known about wood, but I was just a ****y kid and didn't know as much as I thought I knew.

Is it possible that you only know some of the basic techniques of hypnosis and don't understand the process in depth? What will happen if you hit a "knot?" Will you end up doing something that might not help the person you're working with? Getting some training will help you know how to answer that question.

For example, many people hold their minds rather sacrosanct and won't let anyone other than an expert play with it. But the friend who is interested in meditation is much more likely to see you as a friend rather than an expert hypnotist. As a result, it is highly likely that you two may not be as successful as you would like.

Do you know what to do so you can overcome this problem and hypnotize your friend? If you took training, you would discover multiple things to do.

Keep up the good work and study and get some training.

[AdamadA]

Well im not blind and who do i get training from? I dought i'd be able to do it anyway unless i had training.

[AdamadA]

Thanks for the post i know i dnt knw everything i need to know to be able to hypnotize correctly so ill most likely not try to or won't be able to anyway.

Thanks

[Terry (existing)]

Adam, I am betting that most if not all youngsters go through a phase were they want to learn certain things that excite them. Mine was Hypnosis, and Ventriloquism.
As an adult, I learned that hypnotism was a therapy tool of great power, and proper training was nescessary, not just to do it, but to do it in such a way as to do no harm to someone else. Poodle was annoyed because we get the same question almost daily, and you jumped in without reading first. Imagine replying to that same question every day, from children who shouldn;t be here anyway. I say shouldn't be here, because as an ethical practitioner, I would not take you as a client without your parents being present, never mind teaching you how to do it. Hypnosis can be the best tool for someone, or it can, if not properly used do untold damage to that person, damage that will haunt them for the rest of their lives. By all means keep that in mind, but meantime I suggest you choose my second choice and study veltriloquism, since it harms nobody, but does entertain. Besides, it is cheaper to learn.

[Docresults]

study veltriloquism, since it harms nobody, but does entertain.

Don't tell Chucky!

[Don]

Well im not blind and who do i get training from? I dought i'd be able to do it anyway unless i had training.

If you type "hypnosis training" into your search engine, you'll find many organizations that offer in-person training. I don't know where you're located, but if you're in a rural area or small town, you may have to go to a larger city.

Although some people may disagree with me, I think a "weekend wonder" course (i.e., it takes only Friday evening, then all day Saturday and Sunday) is a good way to start. It will give you a good idea of what real hypnosis is like, what it feels like to be hypnotized and what it's like to hypnotize others. You'll probably also learn about the history of hypnosis, how it works, things to be aware of, etc.

I think it's a good start because you can see if you like it and whether you want to go on to do more. Once you have learned the basics in person, what you study in books will add to your information and be far more productive.

Good luck!

[Connie]

Today a friend of mine said that an undertrained and underskilled person giving hypnotic suggestions was like "a five year old with a machine gun spraying the room and saying 'Hey, this is fun!'" It's a dangerous thing. I like that analogy.

Poodle, the friend is our friend, Keith. He says: You'd be jealous if you knew how much time I'm spending with him, seeing him every night! :)

[AdamadA]

Ok. Well im not realy interested in ventrilaquism even though it is kinda cool to watch but not something that i would like to do. I'm interested in finding a course of sometype to understand what it is im getting into to most definately. I can imagine that a kid would get pretty excited telling someone to do things under hynosis but i definately woudn't because it would be pretty stupid.

What other courses should i look for to get a better idea of how the kind works and such?

Adam

[Snoopy]

AdamadA.. Don't put yourself down by saying you won't be able to do it anyway.

I was once where you are now (Not too long ago actually) I done all the research I could do on my own & come to the conclusion that this is what I wanted to do with my life.

Professional Hypnosis/Hypnotherapy training is the only way to go. My course took about 3 weeks, and cost AU$3000 & As you will discover if/when you choose to seek professional training, There are so many things that these free websites & ebooks don't tell you about.

Hypnosis is not something that only a select few people are able to master, Anyone with the propper training can learn the skills necessary to induce the hypnotic state & give the client what they are there for. In fact during a professional training course, you will more then likely find you will be sucessfully hypnotizing your client/classmates within the first or second day.

Then once the course is completed, by all means search online for information, because what you fail to understand now, will be as clear as day then.

[Don]

Well put, Snoopy.

The only thing I would add is that some people, when they start, aren't aware of all of the possibilities available (and work required!) to practice hypnosis well. Therefore, I suggest that for many people, taking a "weekend wonder" (i.e., Friday evening, all day Saturday and Sunday) is a relatively inexpensive good place to start. It provides the basics and will give a person a good idea as to whether they want to continue with a more in-depth training (such as yours) or would rather move on to something else.

the key here is that such a workshop is only a start, not the conclusion to training.

[Laura27]

AdamadA.. Don't put yourself down by saying you won't be able to do it anyway.

I was once where you are now (Not too long ago actually) I done all the research I could do on my own & come to the conclusion that this is what I wanted to do with my life.

Professional Hypnosis/Hypnotherapy training is the only way to go. My course took about 3 weeks, and cost AU$3000 & As you will discover if/when you choose to seek professional training, There are so many things that these free websites & ebooks don't tell you about.

Hypnosis is not something that only a select few people are able to master, Anyone with the propper training can learn the skills necessary to induce the hypnotic state & give the client what they are there for. In fact during a professional training course, you will more then likely find you will be sucessfully hypnotizing your client/classmates within the first or second day.

Then once the course is completed, by all means search online for information, because what you fail to understand now, will be as clear as day then.
were was your training done? would they have any in sydney

[AdamadA]

Yes, I would like to get a general idea of what is involved before moving on to a professioanl tutors course. What can you do with these skills as a full time job?

I'm in education still and its frustrating not having any idea of what i want to do with my life when i leave school this year or next year and something like this is a possibility of interest and could possibly provide a good job.

Adam

[TTDEEB]

Some of you are making out hypnosis to be a lot more dangerous than it really is. It's completely safe to do an arm raising induction to your friends, put them in a trance, and give them a progressive relaxation.

You don't need to spend 1,000s of dollars on training. In fact, you don't need to spend anything. Download a few books, take HMI's free Hypnotism course offered at their website, and practice on your friends or family.

[Laura27]

Some of you are making out hypnosis to be a lot more dangerous than it really is. It's completely safe to do an arm raising induction to your friends, put them in a trance, and give them a progressive relaxation.

You don't need to spend 1,000s of dollars on training. In fact, you don't need to spend anything. Download a few books, take HMI's free Hypnotism course offered at their website, and practice on your friends or family.
what is the website.. im so interested in this free course

[Connie]

TTDEEB, so you give them an induction, they achieve trance, and you give them another induction? To what purpose? :confused: Then what?

Sorry to pop your bubble, but I've got a GIANT pushpin here, and it needs doing! :) Hypnosis is not a parlor game for a momentary amusement. It's not something so trivial.

Here's a story for you! My mother was a professional artist. She went to school (university) and got a degree in fine art. She spent her life painting, working and learning and praciticing her art, always creating, always engaged in some hands on activity with her friends/colleagues/teachers/the art community. Travel, workshops, courses, fairs, and books books books books books and so on and so on. Always learning. Always expanding. Here at the Seattle metropolitan zoo gift shop they sell "zoo art." They place some paints and a canvas in the elephant cage. I suppose you think those zoo elephants stomping on paint in their cage are artists as well? To understand the mind and how it works and how it all comes together to make US us, well, to me that's a pursuit worthy of a lifetime. Maybe several.

Laura, google is your friend. That course has also been discussed here before, too. (I took it, as well.) The search function here is also your friend.

[Poodle]

Got an extra bedroom? I just might be up that way. I definitely could handle that well! Pood :D

[Poodle]

Probably the double induction as the first one didn't work as no real live training so we move on to the blasted progressive relaxation which about any fool can do -- name body part - relax on down the line but gosh, once someone is in trance, then what do ya do? How do you know they are in trance? What level of trance?

Hypnosis in the hands of a professional is "not dangerous enough" but with untrained, unskilled people, it's just as you wrote -- a 5 year old with a machine gun -- WOW! this is FUN! Let me see how many minds I can totally shoot today.

[Don]

Some of you are making out hypnosis to be a lot more dangerous than it really is. It's completely safe to do an arm raising induction to your friends, put them in a trance, and give them a progressive relaxation.

TTDEEB, you are correct. Hypnosis and hypnotic inductions are completely safe. In fact, in 10,000 years, nobody has ever had any problems from going into a hypnotic trance.

The problem with your analysis is that you are assuming that inducing a trance occurs in an insulated test tube. It doesn't. A parked car won't hurt you. But if it's parked on a hill and the brakes fail, as it speeds down the hill toward you are you going to argue that it's perfectly safe?

When a person is hypnotized, he or she is open to accepting suggestions. Now, I know all you intend to do is something simple. But if that person whom you brought into trance happens to hear something on a nearby TV or you might say something that is meaningless to you, the effect could be devastating.

When I was a kid, my cousin came to live with us after her parents had died. Being typical nasty kids we would insult each other. My choice insult: "You look melancholy today...you've got a head like a melon and a face like a collie!" Eventually she went her own way and I didn't see her again until a few years ago. She is now a successful English professor at a major university, but is beset with several physical problems. One of the first things she said when we met was that she still remembered that insult.

Amazing. Something I saw that I thought was silly and meaningless childhood banter had deeply affected her, so much so that it was almost the first thing in her mind when we talked after decades. Did the emotional impact of my not so bon mot take its toll physically on her? Are part of her physical problems due to that stupid insult from years ago? I don't know.

What I do know is that something I said that I didn't think was important while she was not in a hypnotic trance has had a tremendous effect on her entire life. Imagine how that could have been amplified had she been in trance.

TTDEEB, you are absolutely correct that learning to do a hypnotic induction is easy. Just about any of the hypnotists here could teach inductions in a few minutes to anyone.

We do not encourage people to get trained so they can do a progressive relaxation induction or any other induction.

Rather, we encourage people to get trained so they know what to do after their subject is hypnotized.

Now, the truth is, few people who read some web sites or books are going to be very successful with inducing trance for a variety of reasons ranging from lack of understanding to usually choosing friends and family as subjects and not having the authority to get them to see you as a hypnotist rather than a friend or family member. So most people who attempt to hypnotize people with nothing but book training fail.

Some, however, do succeed to a slight level and don't have any lasting effect on their subjects.

But it is possible that an untrained person could really screw a subject up. And although that may only be a one in a hundred or one in a thousand instance, it is that instance that will get publicized and cause problems for our profession.

I have read a few books on plumbing and can do minor repairs. Recently, I had some major work done and I hired a licensed professional to do it. We talked about that and he said I was smart because once you start working on pipes, if a problem comes up, a professional would know what to do. As he put it, "It's easy until it isn't easy."

So you have a friend who says he can't remember something from his past and you offer to help. You do an induction and then lead them back in time. Suddenly, your friend screams, starts hyperventilating, and cries massive tears, falling to the floor and curling into a fetal ball. It's called an abreaction, although most abreactions are not as dramatic as that.

As a professional, I know what to do to bring a person out of that state safely in less than a minute. Do you really think someone who has read a few books would know how to deal with this?

Hypnotic induction is easy. It's what happens after induction where training and study is important.

[Terry (existing)]

Adam, it seems from your post, are looking for a future and not a hobby, is that right? Well I can tell you now, Hypnosis is not a viable direction for you, or for any teen hanging round this board in hopes of becoming a professional. A full time hypnotist is an entrepreneur business person as well as a skilled artisan, and few are competent in both areas.
Even if you go the route of stage hypnotist, which is easier, you still need to be an entrepreneur to get bookings, and I know some who are starving because they lack that ability. At your age, you haven't a prayer.
Your future should be to continue to get an education, either via University, Evening classes, or aprenticeship, but before that you need to settle on something you can enjoy for a lifetime, because you will be working for fifty or more years once you are out of school. Working for someone else is to my mind a nescessity for learning, even if you wish to put that learning to the test of going into business for yourself at a later date. Forget the computer, start studying the various careers available to someone with your level of education, and either advance that education, or prepare to work at advancing yourself later. Wasting time studying Hypnosis for a career at your age is idiotic. I started at forty eight, and now have children that age, yet non of them come up to scratch for training in this field.
Of my ten grandchildren, only one has the abilty to carry on in my footsteps, and he is busy travelling the world, and learning about countries, and about the things they are skilled in. He took Tia Chi in Thialand, along with martial arts and will study in China next, working as he goes, and without fear of being alone to make his way in the world. Now tell yourself honestly, could you do that? If not look elsewere. this boy has gramps to teach him, and even then, he must have some starch in his spine to be capable of doing what I do on a regular basis, and bringing in the paying customers so nescessary to business success...

[Merlin]

No, hypnosis is not completely safe.
Injury can result.

[TTDEEB]

TTDEEB, so you give them an induction, they achieve trance, and you give them another induction?

I've seen it happen before where a patient is hypnotized, and then put through a progressive relaxation as a secondary induction.



I suppose you think those zoo elephants stomping on paint in their cage are artists as well?


Yes, you assumed right.


Don, you bring up some good points, but I think most of us already understand that words can hurt people...regardless of whether they are being hypnotized or not.

I also understand that hypnosis is a state of hypersuggestibility. However this doesn't mean we can make a patient do something that is completely out of their comfort zone. Most people are very aware of what is going on, and an amateur hypnotist wouldn't have the skills to get someone in a deep enough trance to get them to jump off a cliff or anything.

But to be fair, I certainly wouldn't advise an amateur to try hypnotherapy. We wouldn't want someone who has no training or therapeutical value to try to solve problems, or bring up past events to help someone get over a fear. That being said...AdamadA doesn't seem interested in doing this at all. He only asked about doing some lightheard inductions, and getting his friends to feel relaxed. And as you said - this is completely safe.

[Connie]

So, an elephant-artist is the same as any other artist, say...Michaelangelo? INTERESTING notion you have. One I don't share. The unskilled (and proud of it) make me uneasy. Why don't you find a new hobby, where you'll do less damage? I'm taking after Terry here. The "ignore" list grows.

[Poodle]

wondering where the word "patients" came from. We don't have "patients". We have clients.

[TTDEEB]

So, an elephant-artist is the same as any other artist, say...Michaelangelo? INTERESTING notion you have. One I don't share. The unskilled (and proud of it) make me uneasy. Why don't you find a new hobby, where you'll do less damage? I'm taking after Terry here. The "ignore" list grows.

No artist is the same as "any other artist." What are you trying to prove here? I'm not comparing the "elephant-artist" to Michaelangelo. I never did such a thing. I simply consider the piece to be art. If anything it's chance art, unless the elephant puts some thought into it - which we can never tell for sure. Or maybe we can? I remember hearing of an elephant percussion band. Some interesting music, it had a life of it's own, and the elephants even showed some intent. I'm sorry that the only art you consider is something that had to be trained. That's a pretty limiting point of view.

wondering where the word "patients" came from. We don't have "patients". We have clients

Okay, you got me?

[TTDEEB]

Ack, this board works kind of oddly. I'm not used to new posts showing up at the bottom of the page. I guess it has to do with when you quote someone using the button. I also don't like that I can't edit posts. I'll have to get used to this.

Anyway one more comment on this:


The unskilled (and proud of it) make me uneasy. Why don't you find a new hobby, where you'll do less damage? I'm taking after Terry here. The "ignore" list grows.

Are you saying that I am unskilled and proud of it? That's quite the assumption. Have you ever seen me perform hypnosis? What can you possibly know about me to consider me unskilled besides a couple of posts I've made on this forum? And if I did consider myself unskilled, why would I be proud of it?

[Terry (existing)]

Some of you are making out hypnosis to be a lot more dangerous than it really is. It's completely safe to do an arm raising induction to your friends, put them in a trance, and give them a progressive relaxation.

You don't need to spend 1,000s of dollars on training. In fact, you don't need to spend anything. Download a few books, take HMI's free Hypnotism course offered at their website, and practice on your friends or family. Yes you are absolutely right, it is completely harmless. It would also be useless, and should not be considered as hypnosis since it has no value either as a therapy tool or for entertainment.
Unfortunately, your ignorance is showing, you know nothing, yet you dare to offer advise to children your own age based on ignorance? Adam wants something he can do as a profession, what you offer is garbage, based on ignorance of what hypnosis really is. You are truly worthy of joining my ignore list along with the spammers and scammers, since that is what you are:(

[Don]

However this doesn't mean we can make a patient do something that is completely out of their comfort zone. Most people are very aware of what is going on, and an amateur hypnotist wouldn't have the skills to get someone in a deep enough trance to get them to jump off a cliff or anything.

I didn't say anything about getting someone to jump off a cliff. In fact, TTDEEB, it seems like you missed my point. It's not a direct and dangerous suggestion that is the problem, it is the unknowing use of a word or phrase that could psychologically or emotionally harm someone for life.

But to be fair, I certainly wouldn't advise an amateur to try hypnotherapy. We wouldn't want someone who has no training or therapeutical value to try to solve problems, or bring up past events to help someone get over a fear. That being said...AdamadA doesn't seem interested in doing this at all. He only asked about doing some lightheard inductions, and getting his friends to feel relaxed. And as you said - this is completely safe.

I wasn't talking about hypnotherapy. I was talking about problems that can occur as a result of an errant word or phrase spoken by someone without training to someone who is in a hypnotic trance.

If you want your friends to feel relaxed, put them in a dark room and play some relaxing music.

[TTDEEB]

I wasn't talking about hypnotherapy. I was talking about problems that can occur as a result of an errant word or phrase spoken by someone without training to someone who is in a hypnotic trance.

Okay... I understand, but I do believe you are putting a little too much caution into this... I honestly do - I'm not just trying to be antagonizing here at all so please keep that in mind. I feel that even a professionally trained hypnotist isn't going to know the inner psychological meanings some clients might associate with certain words.

If you want your friends to feel relaxed, put them in a dark room and play some relaxing music.

Hypnosis is great for venting. I don't think anyone would disagree with that.

Yes you are absolutely right, it is completely harmless. It would also be useless, and should not be considered as hypnosis since it has no value either as a therapy tool or for entertainment.

I use self-hypnosis daily. I don't find it useless at all. It gets me into a relaxed state, and relieves me of the stresses of everyday life. It helps put me into a more resourceful state of mind. And sometimes I even have fun.


Unfortunately, your ignorance is showing, you know nothing, yet you dare to offer advise to children your own age based on ignorance? Adam wants something he can do as a profession, what you offer is garbage, based on ignorance of what hypnosis really is. You are truly worthy of joining my ignore list along with the spammers and scammers, since that is what you are

I stand corrected. I didn't realize Adam was considering this as a profession. His initial posts didn't indicate this. If I knew this I would've certainly recommended some further training besides just books.

[Don]

I wasn't talking about hypnotherapy. I was talking about problems that can occur as a result of an errant word or phrase spoken by someone without training to someone who is in a hypnotic trance.

Okay... I understand, but I do believe you are putting a little too much caution into this... I honestly do - I'm not just trying to be antagonizing here at all so please keep that in mind. I feel that even a professionally trained hypnotist isn't going to know the inner psychological meanings some clients might associate with certain words.

You're probably right. That's why both stage hypnotists and hypnotherapists get trained in what to say and how to say it, as well as how to observe responses from clients, even subtle non-verbal ones.

As I pointed out in an earlier post, an ill-thought joke in a non-hypnotic setting can harm someone for years. When a person is in a hypnotic trance this can be even more serious.

It's a shame you think so little of people that you're willing to ruin them because you know just enough not to know what you need to know.

[TTDEEB]

It's a shame you think so little of people that you're willing to ruin them because you know just enough not to know what you need to know.

This is not true.

[free-hypnosisdownloads]

I'm new to this forum, and this is one of the first threads I've read, and a very lively one it is. I felt compelled to comment, because I sensed rather a lot of animosity and arrogance throughout the thread. I have been practicing hypnotherapy for many years, with excellent results. I must say that if I were thinking about studying hypnotherapy, the comments in this thread would do little to encourage me.

I started studying it many years ago out of curiosity, and began simply hypnotising friends then bringing them straight back out. Gradually, I learned more by reading more, studying more, and practicing more. There are a few very simple techniques that new hypnotists/hypnotherapists can use to ensure that the subject suffers no ill consequences. I still use these techniques today, because even though I consider myself very experienced, I nonetheless like to err on the side of caution.

Hypnosis is safe. It is fun and interesting. Not a game, of course not, but nonetheless a wonderful profession! Let's not turn people off.

[Merlin]

I also understand that hypnosis is a state of hypersuggestibility. However this doesn't mean we can make a patient do something that is completely out of their comfort zone. Most people are very aware of what is going on, and an amateur hypnotist wouldn't have the skills to get someone in a deep enough trance to get them to jump off a cliff or anything.

Depth of trance is irrelevant if you use hypnosis rather than trance.

[Connie]

Let's not turn people off.

Some people should be turned off. It's not merely a matter of can this person do it, learn the techniques adequately, it's also are they FIT to do to it, are they basically a "people-helper" and/or is their own head screwed on right. Some of the posters we've had here who fancy themselves as wannabe hypnotherapists/NLPeople are frightening in their lack of common sense and negative and damaging attitudes and questionable motivations. You call this concern "arrogance." I call it wanting the best for our field.

Here's an example: we had a poster here whose ultimate goal was "truckloads of money." It started out as "truckloads of clients" but then he admitted (props for honesty!) that he couldn't care less about the people. If he could bypass the clients and just get to the truckloads of money, that would be ideal. Do you think this attitude would lend itself to the best possible compassionate and caring help for someone?

[Don]

Originally Posted by Don
It's a shame you think so little of people that you're willing to ruin them because you know just enough not to know what you need to know.

This is not true.

I realize you believe this is not true, but your posts claiming that what a person just happens to say when someone is hypnotized isn't too important indicates that your belief is in error.

[Don]

I consider myself very experienced, I nonetheless like to err on the side of caution.

Hypnosis is safe. It is fun and interesting. Not a game, of course not, but nonetheless a wonderful profession! Let's not turn people off.

That's exactly what many of us have been saying. We encourage people to investigate, experiment, study, and get training. The only people we would want to turn off to practicing are those who think it's a game (either in fact or subconsciously) or who want to do far more than they know how to do.

[Merlin]

There are a few very simple techniques that new hypnotists/hypnotherapists can use to ensure that the subject suffers no ill consequences.
Ignorance is bliss.
It's not safe, but that's another issue.

[free-hypnosisdownloads]

You call this concern "arrogance." I call it wanting the best for our field.

The arrogance I was referring to were the comments to the original poster telling him to find something else to do, and that he hadn't a hope in succeeding in this field. I find that arrogant, and unkind.

[TTDEEB]

That's exactly what many of us have been saying. We encourage people to investigate, experiment, study, and get training.

Let me just reiterate that I AM one of these people. The original post asked about doing light-hearted and harmless inductions as well as getting someone into a relaxed state. Then some of you went on about how bad of an idea this was, and how he should go through proper training. THEN I merely said "some of you are making this out to be a lot more dangerous than it really is," and I recommended the OP read some books first, and tried out the free course offered at HMI. I have plenty of friends that have learned how to properly do hypnosis this way. When you find out you can't do anything without this knowledge you're going to want to read some books anyway!!!

Also, I ended up asking my Personal HMI Tutor about the dangers of hypnosis and he said:

"It is generally felt that HYPNOSIS (without therapy or suggestions) can only be harmful to someone who has a dissociative disorder (like multiple personality, etc.) When we go beyond hypnosis itself and get into suggestions, the question is not whether it can do any harm (since the unconscious is a powerful survival mechanism and won't accept anything that would do itself harm) but whether someone with little experience can do a whole lot of good."

That certainly makes a lot of sense to me! To be honest, I feel like I deserve an apology from some of you jumping down my throat, and being rather disrespectful.

[Terry (existing)]

The arrogance I was referring to were the comments to the original poster telling him to find something else to do, and that he hadn't a hope in succeeding in this field. I find that arrogant, and unkind. Ah ha, so you choose to cross swords with the truly skilled do you?
"Arrogance" is when someone steps into the arena without weaponry, and expects to win. You just did it.
"Arrogance" is when you show that you have insufficient skills or knowledge but beg others to believe you instead of those who have gone before and done it as it should be done. Oh dear, you did it again.
"Arrogance" is calling yourself by such a seudonym as "freedownloads" and expecting the truly skilled to accept you as an equal.I don;t know you, and I suspect it is no loss, but I trust our moderators will keep a close eye on your future posts, as I suspect you have something to sell here...
If Adam is reading this, I hope he will take note of the weaponry references, and know that I told him the armament he would need if he didn't want to fall into your trap and why I stepped on his expectations. Truth is truth even when it is unpleasant to hear... :eek:

[Don]

TTDEEB, you began by saying that it was okay for an untrained person to do hypnotic inductions without knowing anything. Only after you said it was okay and was harmless did you say the person should get training.

Your tutor with HMI said that just hypnotizing someone can "be harmful to someone who has a dissociative disorder." Do you have a medical degree so you can determine if an undiagnosed person had such a disorder? Does the original poster? If not, how do you know that the person does not have such a disorder?

I would agree that hypnosis "without therapy or suggestions" is unlikely to be harmful. The question is, what constitutes a "suggestion?" If you hypnotize someone and bring them out of trance, it is true that you are unlikely to have any problem. But how many people will do that? I've never seen it. Once somebody is hypnotized the hypnotist, with or without training, gives some sort of suggestions. What if somebody is watching and sees a subject hold his arm out for a long time and says "That guy is a real sucker!" so that the subject can hear. That's not just a statement. It also functions as a suggestion. So tell me, how would installed belief that "I am a sucker!" change a person?

I have a great deal of respect for Dr. Kappas (founder of HMI), and I'm sure that the techniques they teach are excellent. However, I live near their headquarters and have heard absolute horror stories from several people about how students come in to take free classes as a come-on and are then fast-talked into paying for a very expensive course. Again, I'm sure what they teach is excellent, however--and this is my personal opinion and may not reflect that of the owners of this forum--I would never recommend them due to their marketing techniques.

The fact that your tutor did not mention that anything can become a suggestion concerns me and I would hope that in future communications he would clarify what he meant. One of the things you learn in training is that everything you say while a person is hypnotized has a meaning, as does how you say it and even what you don't say may have meaning.

[TTDEEB]

TTDEEB, you began by saying that it was okay for an untrained person to do hypnotic inductions without knowing anything. Only after you said it was okay and was harmless did you say the person should get training.

Trained meaning what? Yes, I don't think you need to do a training course or get in person training. But still...I do believe it is generally harmless for an untrained person to do hypnotic inductions without knowing anything, but they might have a hard time being successful. In that sense... they "SHOULD" get some sort of knowledge regarding the subject if they ever want to be successful. And by "successful," I mean getting the hypnosis to work, NOT doing something safely (because, as it is known, I don't believe there is much harm to be done, if any, to BEGIN with).

Your tutor with HMI said that just hypnotizing someone can "be harmful to someone who has a dissociative disorder." Do you have a medical degree so you can determine if an undiagnosed person had such a disorder? Does the original poster? If not, how do you know that the person does not have such a disorder?

Oh brother...you are getting nitpicky now. Did ANYONE ask the OP if they had a disorder before recommending them to get trained somewhere? No, no one did.

I would agree that hypnosis "without therapy or suggestions" is unlikely to be harmful. The question is, what constitutes a "suggestion?" If you hypnotize someone and bring them out of trance, it is true that you are unlikely to have any problem. But how many people will do that? I've never seen it. Once somebody is hypnotized the hypnotist, with or without training, gives some sort of suggestions.

Which is exactly why I would believe that the tutor was referring to HYPNOSIS WITH SUGGESTIONS, and not suggestions by themselves. This is because my question to him was specifically about hypnosis, and nothing else.

What if somebody is watching and sees a subject hold his arm out for a long time and says "That guy is a real sucker!" so that the subject can hear. That's not just a statement. It also functions as a suggestion. So tell me, how would installed belief that "I am a sucker!" change a person?

In the same way it would change the person if I told them they were a "sucker" while not in hypnosis.

This is my last post on this topic. It's obvious we are just not seeing eye to eye here, for whatever reason.

[Merlin]

It is generally felt that ...
It may be *generally felt*, but that doesn't make it true.
also the question is not whether it can do any harm (since the unconscious is a powerful survival mechanism and won't accept anything that would do itself harm)[/quote
This statement may be well meaning, but I can assure you that it is dangerously limited.

It can easily do harm if the harm is not recognised by the subconscious.

[quote]That certainly makes a lot of sense to me! making sense doesn't make it correct.

[free-hypnosisdownloads]

Thank you terry for confirming my initial conclusions. Your implied insults and inuendos do nothing to endear you, and your suspicion that i have something to sell is unfounded. "Cross swords with the skilled"? What are you on?

[Connie]

What are you on? He's on the confidence and knowing that comes of a fine mind/heart coupled with a lifetime of success and expertise at this work. What are you on? (besides my ignore list of people that have nothing valuable to offer)

[Poodle]

Unskilled? Could it have been something you wrote such as not necessary to spend thousands on trainings, just download free e-books and take free HMI Course?

[free-hypnosisdownloads]

Yeah, my last post too. I thought I had happened upon an educational forum that was welcoming and informative. Instead it appears closed and condescending. Let the moderators delete my comments of they wish... I won't be here to see it.

[Poodle]

Someone has read the Forum rules. We are NOT an educational forum!! You want to learn hypnosis, I'm quite sure the man that owns this little forum would LOVE to teach both of you! You can find him by clicking on the links at the bottom of the forum.

[free-hypnosisdownloads]

By educational I meant informative... God, you people are so literal! Lol, i noticed no attempt to deny any of my other comments. Ok, I'm out of here. I only posted this cos I forgot to close the tab, and happened to still be on the site... not a mistake I will make again.

[free-hypnosisdownloads]

Yeah, education has to be expensive... NOT!

[Don]

On the contrary. Education is very expensive. It may not be in money, but it is in time, effort, energy.

On the other hand, ignorance ends up costing so much more...

[Terry (existing)]

On the contrary. Education is very expensive. It may not be in money, but it is in time, effort, energy.

On the other hand, ignorance ends up costing so much more... Well, education may not cost much to the recipient here in North America, but it costs one hell of a lot to the taxpayer, and rate payer, especially when it is not taken advantage of. Together with health care, it eats up more of our tax money than any other use to which taxes are put.
Too bad some feel that free is the way to go when it is so obvious that what is free is rarely valued... Must be due to the ignoramouses we turn out these days, who have nothing to do in their spare time except play with video games and get fat, or dream of get rich quick schemes, and get fat, or sit at a computer asking silly questions and get fat. Wow no wonder we have an epidemic of obesity. :D
On the bright side, what an opportunity for todays practitioners.:cool:

[visualization]

Yeah. I’ll just share my experience. I have been using Wendi Friesen's tools and find that they are great! I was put into a very relaxed state, almost asleep and go through some visualization exercises. I felt incredible after that! So I'm now looking into studying and learning the implementations of hypnosis and NLP as well.

[Snoopy]

I'm just curious to know why 90% of the posts above are linking Hypnosis with Relaxation.. Just because someone is relaxed, they are not necesserally hypnotized, and if the client is hypnotized, They arn't necesserally relaxed.

This is why face to face training is a necessity, You need to be able to identify the hypnotic state in both your client & youself. Without a skilled trainer showing you how it's "supposed to feel" how will you ever know you're actually in the hypnotic state?

[Terry (existing)]

Good question Snoopy, but realise that far too many who come here do so to add information to book reading, and have no intention of taking proper training, or even using hypnosis for therapy. Many are still teens.
Too bad really, since some will find that a little knowledge spoils their chances of benefiting from therapy, while others end up confused because they have no basis of practical understanding.
It is very much like reading a medical journal, and recognising that you have all the diseased mentioned, and didn;t realise how sick you were until you read that journal :)
One of the reasons I am so prone to refusing information, since a little knowledge is always dangerous in some form or another, even if only due to confusion. Imagine telling someone that you hypnotised a stranger in the street, and nobody noticed. Would book learning allow you to recognise this as possible, or would you be inclined to smell a con were non existed?
Would the suggestion that you had a client play poker while in trance and nobody saw any difference, be acceptable to somebody who just read about hypnosis? One big gap between the reader and the applicant that a reader can't understand. How about the gymnast who gave a perfect performance while in trance? they would think it either magic, or lies.

[Don]

Snoopy, you're quite right, and I think Terry is correct, too.
<rant>
However, I think the real reason comes from the "pop" books on the subject. Most people investigate hypnosis because they want a quick and easy way to change themselves. That means the majority of such pop books are oriented toward self-hypnosis and DIY.

On the other hand, most inductions are based on a hypnotist leading another person into hypnosis. In my experience, those are the ones that really work. So if you or I are writing a book that focuses on DIY self-hypnosis, what inductions are you going to share?

Well, in my experience the one induction that is most likely to work for people with no experience is the progressive relaxation method. Unfortunately, since DIY doesn't offer a way to quantify your own level of trance, I would guesstimate that most DIYers who try progressive relaxation end up, well, relaxed. And that becomes equated with hypnosis in their minds.

Now, here's a dirty little secret of publishing: publishers would rather put out something that is "like" other books than print something that is revolutionary, exciting, or even accurate. A good writer who knows little about hypnosis would be much more likely to get a book on hypnosis published than would an expert hypnotist who is not a great writer.

The result is that most DIY books are simply repetition of other books on the subject. Read a few and you've read them all.

Many of the DIY self-hypnosis books are oriented to the body-mind-spirit market (formerly called the "New Age" market formerly called "Occult Sciences" market formerly called "New Thought" market etc.). These books are usually written by body-mind-spirit writers rather than hypnotists, people who have learned about hypnosis from other DIY books or teachers who learned from DIY books. As a result, the body-mind-spirit-focused books currently tend to be 50 years out of date. That is, they are based on concepts and ideas pre-Erickson and pre-NLP.

Now, add that to movies, novels, comic books, TV shows, etc., where hypnosis is used not to heal, but as a "plot point" focused on power and control, and you consistently find the use of progressive relaxation or the older eye fixation methodology. The script writers are unfamiliar with the advances of hypnosis over the centuries and want to use the "you are getting sleepy" archetype to save valuable screen time in order to show a power-oriented hypnotist and powerless or power-giving subject.

It's the ignorant leading the ignorant. The result is that legitimate hypnotists spend a great deal of time overcoming the fears and misconceptions of clients before formal inductions begin.

</rant>

That being said (or written) we can do one of two things: we can moan about the causes (as I have) or complain about the fact that many, if not most people believe the way you, Snoopy, described. Alternatively, we can take advantage of the ignorance.

So a more important question, IMO, is not why people believe that way, but what can we do to improve our work or increase business by making use of these false beliefs?

How do people take advantage of the ignorance?