hypnofish

A rough description of hypnosis

Mon, 01 Jul 2024 23:36:52 GMT

https://binauralhistolog.com/

Hypnosis is a combination of guided meditation and the children's game Simon Says.
It takes automaticity and response inhibition components from Simon Says, and combines them with the focus, visualization, and imagination of guided meditation.
Trance is a subjective experience bringing components of focused attention, dissociation, and rapport all together.

If you just sit and wait for suggested responses to happen on their own, nothing will happen. Make the responses that are suggested, but pay no attention to the fact that you are making them. Instead, devote your full, undivided, and continuous attention to the stories.
They coach that If I am given a suggestion, I will follow it automatically. You're building up a response set, speeding up that game of Simon says, paying no attention that you're making things happen.
Inductions are, in the basic terms of this model, just to warm up this response. (Or at least in the case of a PMR -the hypnotist gives instructions that the subject follows, and the somatic response makes the other suggestions feel automatic.)
I’m pretty sure that everyone is capable of hypnotic hallucination. The main limitation is what they believe can be possible. Don’t focus on inducing the hallucination—focus on inducing the belief.

Allegedly, those who were 'bad' at visual hallucinations were able to hallucinate that they were unable to read anything between the parenthesis in text.
They tried suggesting a popup that they couldn't close. That worked.
(This suggested that it's a problem with belief, not capability.)
They suggested to someone that their mirror was a computer screen and had her see things in the mirror.
Suggested her glasses were magical, and she could see the invisible.
Suggested their girlfriend was in the room with them.

Think again of hypnosis as gentle nudges. This is the same thing that removes phobias and changes behaviors. This can be used to shift things to do something you don't want to do, in the same way that you'd be more comfortable holding a snake.

(I'm skipping a lot of this - It's in a lot of other hypnosis books I've read, and that's good!)
Abreaction Blurb "The scene is fading, you focus on your breath. Feel your weight on the chair, know you’re safe." Repeat this until you're in aftercare.

Endorphin Drop is when bad feelings come rushing in after the high of a good session. Guilt, shame, feeling like a "bad person" are all symptoms of drop. Good aftercare can take care of this. Here’s a fictional example of drop.

https://binauralhistolog.com/newbie/getting-started/risks#spontaneous-amnesia
Sometimes, a subject may have complete amnesia of a session.
This might be because of an event boundary - similar to the 'event horizon model' of cognitive awareness. It's the inverse of the Zeigarnik effect - which says people remember interrupted tasks better than completed ones.

LSD can boost suggestibility up to 65%, and alcohol up to 69%. Err, the safety risks are obvious, and tripping balls while having an abreaction ain't fun.

Headaches, feelings of pressure, hypnotic jerk (twitching of muscles that commonly twitch when sleeping), lacrimation, and eye redness are all common.

You'll need to work with your subject on the induction and suggestions.
Some people are visual thinkers, and have difficulty with suggestions involving abstract concepts. Some people have aphantasia and have no visual component to thinking at all. Some people are non-verbal, and respond better to kinesthetic inductions and physical deepeners than someone talking at them. A person with dyslexia may have problems losing letters from the alphabet. A person with attention deficit disorders may become distracted or bored with a progressive muscle relaxation. A person with anxiety or control issues may be uncomfortable with how suggestions manifests for them. And a person with high-functioning autism may find confusion inductions incredibly annoying.

There’s also a big difference between hypnosis between strangers and hypnosis with someone who you trust, or who has authority over you in some way. There are risks to letting someone into your head. If you are in a relationship with an emotional abuser, all the tools of influence can be used in hypnosis to confuse, reframe, or gaslight you. With enough rapport and trust and repeated sessions, they can change what you want to do.

https://binauralhistolog.com/newbie/inductions/overview

(I'm skipping writing a lot of notes here, but really, binarualhistolog's notes on the pmr are super solid.)
https://binauralhistolog.com/newbie/inductions/progressive
For newbies, it's fine to begin with a PMR, working from a script. The PMR is familiar (like meditation), safe, long (good practice), homogenous (easy to suggest), script friendly, and just feels good for subjects.
Academic hypnosis papers are conflicted on whether depth of trance "means" anything, as depth of trance does not always correlate with suggestibility, and there is no external yardstick to measure trace. My thinking is that depth of trance is an interoceptive reflection, and so trance is similiar to emotional construction. Just as people have different behaviors and impulses related to their emotions, people will have different behaviors and impulses related to their experience of trance.
As a new note, it's natural to use a 'laziness' convincer with a PMR, or some sort of catalepsy. Binaural Histolog - Lethargy Convincer
They also provided some other nice bits to go with this:
Binaural Histolog - Self-Troubleshooting Super Suggestion
Binaural Histolog - Good Feelings

Again, the notes on the Elman induction are solid! The tip I'd highlight from this page is to lower stakes and to celebrate small successes, viewing this as an experiment.

Interestingly, they say that this is not a beginner friendly induction, as you should both already be comfortable with trance.
(They also send a nod out to Graham Old's PHRIT, which is kinda cool.)

Try this one when you're comfortable ad-libbing. I didn't know this, but this induction can be very gentle! For variation, you don't have to jerk their arm, but gently just guide their head down with a soft touch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JcGZktuIPAI

Interestingly, they cite 'Reality is Plastic' here, summarizing four types of common hypnotic patter.

Something the subject does, and something happens because of it. Like a staircase deepener.

Creating a feedback loop with a double bind. "The more your eyes flicker, the deeper you'll go, and your eyes will flicker even more."

Like links, but associate to an automatic experience. "Each moment, you'll go deeper." "Each breath out, you'll relax more."

Something that "pulls the rug out" for an experience. "Deeper and deeper, more and more relaxed. And... (snap!) Drop! Drifting, dreaming, melting. "

https://binauralhistolog.com/newbie/theory/what-is-hypnosis

Hypnotic Suggestion: A suggestion to perform an action or response that involves phenomenological control (control over perception) and may be attributed to automatic or nonvolitional behavior.
Suggestibility: The inclination to accept and act on hypnotic suggestions
Context: A social expectation to assume the roles of hypnotist and hypnotee to accept suggestions.

This links up with Wordweaver's CREAM - so I'll skip going over this again. (Context, Rapport, Expectation, Absorption, Motivation.) Histolog uses CRE IS - Context, Rapport, Expectation, Imagination, and Suggestibility, in the following formula.
C(REI) => C(S)
While inductions are not required for suggestion, they do increase suggestibility in imaginative suggestions.

Subjects can vary in their response - amnesia prone, dissociaters, inward attention, or relaxation types, or a mix. Knowing a preference for induction is also part of this.

(This whole section is interesting! I've taken the Cliffsnotes of their Cliffsnotes here.)
In psychology, expectancy is a belief that something will happen in the future, with either stimulus or response expectancies. (Classical conditioning is a component in the response expectancy model, but it's only a small part for animals capable of complex cognition.)
Two more theories, response set theory and integrative response set theory come into play. Response set theory (1997) explains conscious thought is the last step in the process - by the time we decide to do something, the brain has already decided to do it for us. Integrative response set theory (2022) backs off a bit, saying there's more of a gradient between cognition and automatic response.
Response sets (like yes sets) have been used for a while. The response sets can either be conscious intentions or unconscious expectancies - the attribution of agency changes, but the automatic nature remains the same.

https://binauralhistolog.com/newbie/theory/what-is-hypnosis
At a high level, your yes set creates an 'implementation intention' - that they should (consciously or unconsciously) make your leading statement true. Automaticity is subtle - it feels like you're following through your own free will until you try to resist. For example - playing "Simon Says" and then removing the 'Simon Says' part.

"There is no subconscious mind - only unconscious processing."
Predictive processing theory describes cognitive processes as a set of internal models, each updated by another layer of of models, and each of those eventually taking some sort of sensory input. If something conflicts with the input, that error is sent upstream.

So - here's a hot new theory of how hypnosis works. The hypnotic suggestion becomes the 'correct' suggestion, and allostasis (how predictive processing settles it's differences between stimuli) predictively tries to resolve these 'errors.' Since internal responses are ambiguous, and our feelings of rapport and expectation come into play, it's possible for us to correct based on the suggestion.
(TBH, I'm still not sure I get this, and this is Binaural Histolog's personal extrapolation, but they seem like a smart dude so fuggit.)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsgiFhsn8q0

(Separate from the CREAM teaching tool, motivation is included as a part of imagination here.)
Subjects that are "motivated by curiosity, the wish to achieve an altered state of consciousness, and (to) succeed at the task at hand" will give you the best results.
For the pessimistic initial subjects In recreational hypnosis, motivation is something that improves naturally with every positive session. It’s common for people who are lukewarm or even slightly negative on hypnosis to become highly motivated as they find what works for them and what they really enjoy in the experience.
Binaural Histolog
To boost susceptibility, try the Carleton Skill Training Program (CSTP). But, for a more 'chill' way to put this, try the Binaural Histolog - Automatic Imagination Model.
These modifications to the imagination model aren't stable - they're something that can change day by day or improved as a skill.
Tip Along the same lines, adding implementation instructions of the form "I will suppress any thoughts about my intended behavior while performing the tasks!" and then adding the if-then plan "And if I receive a new task, then I will tell myself: Suppress now any thoughts about my intended behavior!" also provides an increase in hypnotic responsiveness.

Three main areas will affect your responsiveness. Some of these may be trainable or hardwired.

They focus on sensations and suggested events, attribute their responsiveness to hypnosis without analyzing their own performance, suppress background noise, and tend not to engage in introspection or experience metacognitive awareness. If they become distracted they can go back to the hypnotist's suggestions easily.

They're good at translating imaginings into 'felt sensations.'

They'll set their goals to meet the suggestion. EG: “If I really focus on the suggestion-related sensations of stiffness and not expend much counterforce to bend the arm, then I will pass the suggestion.” The subject takes the onus making the suggestion work.

Here are things that can improve suggestibility.

Changing the color of a lightbulb, even after explaining how it works https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2F0022-3514.57.5.762
Tell the subject to give themselves the most effective suggestions
While it may feel like cheating, it'll give the hypnotee some agency and creative freedom
Alcohol. Get buzzed. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2013.07.001
Use lame suggestions to reduce critical thinking...
Allow yourself to let go completely...
Don't question what you're being asked to do and experience...
Just go with the flow...
Allow yourself to feel completely focused...
Let your attention narrow down...
Focus only on the things I say...
And the things I ask you to experience and do...
Work on specific suggestions
(There's more here. Goddang this is a lot. https://binauralhistolog.com/newbie/theory/components-of-hypnosis#_further_reading )
Modification of suggestibility

As an overview, tailor your induction to the scene you want to set, and the subject you're working with. There are many altered states of consciousness, and you want to aim for one that matches what you're trying to do.

Centered around the idea of 'entering trance,' typically by creating relaxation and associating trance with mental and physical relaxation
Includes PMRs and the Elman induction
Esdaile is the 'strongest' example of this

Attempt to stun or weaken the subject's sense of reality by controlling the 'attention management framework' that integrates reality from sensory and mental input
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/318461071_Controlling_Attention_to_Optimise_Hypnosis_Controlling_Attention_to_Optimise_Hypnosis
Fractionation, confusion inductions, butterfly induction
Provide a sensation of derealization, that the outside real is unreal or distorted
Good for hallucinations and roleplay

There's a theory that only highly hypnotizable individuals can develop a dissociative disorder. People with DID have a higher chance of abreaction in response to a dissociation induction.
Dissociation inductions include rapid, fractionation, and confusion inductions. The confusion induction category includes overload, mental fixation, and attention bouncing inductions. This all goes to say that dissociation does not necessarily mean there's a confusion component to the induction.

Doctor flowers, Elman (as a component)
Creates a sense of ambiguity as to if you're hypnotee is awake or asleep

Butterfly induction, eight word induction (press on my hand, close your eyes, sleep)
For just a moment, their equilibrium is entirely off, and the hypnotee will need to decide if they are hypnotized or not

These split focused attention across the board, either by focusing on interception or other external stimuli. It's worth noting, if you haven't read Graham Old - Hypnosis with the Hard to Hypnotize notes, that overload inductions might be a nice choice for folks with ADHD, but will probably go against the grain with subjects with autism.

Overload inductions force simultaneous focus on all channels, rather than unconsciously integrating that information. In some instances, this can help the hypnotee focus on the hypnotist, in that their drifting attention can be utilized as part of the induction rather than fought against.

Sensory Overlap Induction - Original
Graham Old - Typical Confusion Induction Transcript
Betty Erickson Induction

These work by giving the mind seemingly useless and tedious to do. There are plenty of variations. These can actually be frustrating to A+ students, as they feel they are supposed to win and losing (and becoming hypnotized) was not the point. Check for signs of frustration and abreaction throughout the induction, and gradually ramp up the complexity.
If you have ever been told to do something in an induction like count down from 100, but do it in sets of 3 every time your hypnotist says “obey,” sets of 4 every time they say “drop,” and sets of 2 every time they say “relax” then you have experienced a Confusion Induction. In contrast to a PMR or a Fixation Induction, which draws focus to something very simple and straightforward, a Confusion Induction uses something obtuse or convoluted (that is, confusing) to keep the hypnotee’s focus and challenge them to keep up. Then, it keeps ramping the difficulty of keeping up - “now add 2 every time I say ‘consciousness’ and add four every time I say ‘awake’, after allowing the numbers to dip into the negatives so that you have to do the mental math of adding and subtracting negative numbers – until the hypnotee’s focus is exhausted, and they simply give up and “go with it,” allowing themselves and their mind to be given over to the suggestions of the hypnotist.

Bouncing attention between topics at a forced pace, relying on the confusion brought on by context switching, progressively to exhaust mental resources. This is similar to a monotropic split. (Which looks like it'll be covered later.)

I’m about to help you to become as attentive and alert as you can … that will help you gradually to enter a state of alert hypnosis. Just sit on the bicycle with your hands on the handle bars and pedal. I want you to pedal steadily and while pedaling listen to what I say. Your ability to enter a state of alert hypnosis depends partly on your willingness to cooperate and partly on your ability to pedal the bicycle steadily while concentrating on my words. The induction goes on in this manner, paralleling the Stanford induction, but converting all mention of relaxation and drowsiness into their opposites of activity and alertness. The induction ends with the suggestion, "You will wish to be alert and attentive … and you will have the experiences I shall presently describe."

The concept of active-alert hypnosis is distinct from waking hypnosis. In this model, the researcher used a bicycle for subjects to pedal on. They suggested that the client start pedaling for a few minutes and then provided instructions to focus their attention on the movement and the mental and physical sensations that the exercise would provide. After a few minutes of this, the subject would sit down in the chair and enter hypnosis. Notably, relaxation was not suggested.
This model describes hypnosis as a self-control coping strategy, emphasizing self-hypnosis and suggesting physical and mental activation, as well as 'expansion.' Unlike classical hypnosis, where attention is focused, in the Valencia model, it's expanded. It suggests that hypnosis is a self-control and self-regulation tool.
The model also introduces a method of rapid self-hypnosis. To do this, the subject will clasp their hands, synchronizing their breathing with this hand movement, and giving themselves a sensation of falling with each movement.
Binaural Histolog and Valencia Active-Alert Alert Hand Induction
This approach is stated to work well with people who have control issues or difficulties relaxing.

Visualization - you know the drill! Pure absorption. But these generally won't work with people with aphantasia.

INCEPTION.

Hypnotize your subject.
Describe a new situation, and describe how they're being hypnotized in the new scene. Make sure each one is distinctly memorable.
Nest a few loops.
'Wake them up' loop by loop. See if they can tell which one is real.
Nested Induction Thoughts An internet tiger friend mentioned that you can take advantage of the 'doorway effect,' using three or more nested stories, then unwrapping them in reverse order. This reminds me of NLP's "nested loops and metaphors," as mentioned by MMHA.

Guided imagery providing the experience of profound mind expansion and revelation. Like Terrance Watt's crucial inductions.
Binaural Histolog I am grateful for being able to copy your homework on how these work.

The hypnotee is led down a pathway which leads into a different environment.
The path leads through various interactions and physical obstacles.
Over time, the journey leads 'upwards' and the anticipation builds to waht's at the summit.
Finally at the summit, the hypnotee comes to a paradigm-shifting realization as they see the expanded world around them.
The overall concept is to build to anticipation and tension while telling a story, and giving a suggestion or reframing and releasing tension and associating the reframing with learning, growing, or accomplishment.
Revelations get weaker with frequent use. Revelation inductions are generally useful in recreational hypnosis as a reset or as a ceremonial accomplishment, especially after stress.

This is a grab-bag of techniques that focus the hypnotee's attention on something that's not trance based, and usually doesn't involve relaxation.

There are two branches of these - focused attention on positive statements (mantras, affirmations, autogenic training, invocations.) Or, on the kink side - blankly repeating suggestions, fixating on spirals, binaural beats, reprogramming helments, whatever.
What makes these inductions effective is first the activity loop of repeatedly following suggestions and also the sheer cultural weight these inductions have in popular culture.

Conditioning the automaticity of response. Works well in BDSM relationships.

Tell your partner you want them to follow your instructions and make them automatic. Also tell them eventually they won't have to think about it at all, as it becomes more and more automatic.
The only focus in their mind should be following your suggestions automatically.
Apply all your willpower and imagination to following suggestions automatically.
Set up a system with rewards, rewarding occasionally.
Walk them through a series of exercises, including mantras, call and response and so on.
Do that for ten minutes. Then see how much emotional momentum has built up.
Have them try to resist a suggestion and see how difficult it is and how much they don't want to.

🦈🦊 A personal note Hey - just because these tips are for neurodivergent friends - there's nothing that says you can ONLY apply these tips to those who are wearing the label.

People with ADHD are not only very likely to be hypnotized, but they may also have a very high response! If you have an anxious ADHD subject, the frame isn't that 'there is hope,' the fame is more that it's possible they've been bestowed with an excellent hypnotic response.
That being said, there are a few issues. Inattention (problems with sustained focus), hyperactivity (needing to move, fidget, or talk), and impulsivity (impulse control) complications are common.

Eye fixations can help in this context, try using spirals, lights, or something shiny to focus on. Toss on a metronome, binaural beats in the background, a light to focus on, whatever. You can also use overload, fractionation, and confusion inductions as well. Be forewarned that these can be uncomfortable to some people, so, check in with your subject.
Utilize their fidgeting, or give them a focus for their fidgeting. Every time they do a specific fidget action, they can do deeper (which is separate from utilizing fidgeting in general.) For a fun idea, just drop them while they're using a Rubik's cube.
I'm also reminded of that time I talked a friend of mine into trance as he was playing with a Rubik's Cube and his brain was occupied on that. I kept him thinking about it even as his eyes went shut, just giving his mind something to keep it stimulated.
ThoughtBlooper517
https://www.reddit.com/r/EroticHypnosis/comments/11405qi/comment/j8vjnsw/
Avoid boring ass PMR's, but do use relaxation. Build relaxation into waves and activities.
In addition - you can also try using waking hypnosis. Or - go back and check some of the active-alert hypnosis techniques. This also links in with James Tripp - Hypnosis Without Trance.

Break up your longer sessions into chunks, use a reinduction trigger, use fractionation, or use a different short induction each time. Assume their depth will fade quickly.
The sexiest tip Check in regularly on the depth of their trance.
Experiment with adding passion, energy, and performance to your hypnosis - not just in your voice, but in your actions as well. Usually, you'll want your patter to be uniform to let the suggestions to come through, but having a performance element and speaking more quickly can help with ADHD subjects.
If there are visualizations or imagery, have them act it out and make it into a roleplaying session. They can either act it out in their head or their seat.

Ritalin has shown it's use in keeping attention and following suggestions, if that's in the cards.
As a final footnote, there's this video from an ADHD hypnotist, talking about ADHD friendly inductions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUsxRma5f-g
A set of reminders for the surprisingly quick and simple inductions:

A Yes set that keeps going, leading directly into suggestions of hypnosis
Word association, leading gradually into trance
The right/left opposite game, until someone loses track, then suggesting down

Folks with autism spectrum disorder can be hypnotized and have a great experience. They've commonly received the 'analytical' or 'resistant' label, but it's hardly that - techniques commonly used with neurotypicals won't work with them, and they're simply reporting their honest experience.

People with Autism often have sensory processing disorder. Too much input can be confusing and even painful in some cases, and likely experience interoception differently. They may need low light, a special chair, and they may be unable to filter out background conversation.
Communication styles are pretty different. Give Neuroclastic - Autism Autistic Communication Differences a read, but expect blunt, forward feedback. You'll have a much better time establishing this as an experiment, rather than trying to (confusingly) establish hypnotic authority.
Neurotypical (Allistic) rapport building exercises likely won't work well with Autistic people.
Some may have issues with PDA (pathological demand avoidance.) Anything seen as a demand or request can be (not just feel) overwhelming. This will negatively affect suggestions.
Autistic people can ruminate during sessions - this can cause nasty thought loops that kick them out.
You'll get less non-verbal signals.

Info dump. Give them end to end information, and give them time to do their own research as well. Provide resources!
Give clear and simple rules, and explain why they are doing something. If you're doing an arm lock, explain why. If you give them a visual focus, explain why. Just the thought that there are clear rules will give them something to focus on.
Team up with them - authority can be strongly against the grain. (Given - an exception for all the subby autistic people I know out there, using this with consent.)
Use direct communication. Avoid NLP and permissive Ericksonian patterns. Avoid things like 'ten times as deep.' Remove all those flourishes.
Use firm tactile input. Be clear (not ambiguous) with your touch if you incorporate it. Autistic people may find utility in a weighted blanket or pressure vest.
If they're stimming, leverage and utilize it! Have them relax deeper every time they stim.
The Elman induction and butterfly induction are good for autistic people, as it gives them something to do. Avoid inactivity and deepening - they may slip into preservation or rumination.
All responses are valid, and are part of experimentation. Don't worry about how deep they are, this is about having fun. Find out what suggestion's they're good at! Some are good at motive suggestions, hallucinations, visualization, or even physiological responses like goosebumps.
Check in frequently and ask them to tell you if they're uncomfortable.
Use their special interests! If they're into D&D, talk in terms of a character sheet or a campaign.
Autistic people may think differently, such as thinking in pictures, sensory fragments, or synesthesia. You can easily and accidentally bring strong, unpleasant sensations into their experience. Alexithymia is common. Some inductions are based on preceptive ambiguity - if that's part of their default state, suggest that you could use that to let their brain resolve it the way you'd both like.
Avoid sensory confusion, or overload inductions. The sensory overlap induction is good! Same with the Betty Ericson induction.

Book Notes - The Forked Tongue Revisited - A handbook for treating people badly

Mon, 17 Jun 2024 23:32:32 GMT

Heya! I took some notes here, but TLDR, this book has a decent amount of misinformation in it, and isn't worth your time.
Leave the cage door open, and they never want to go. Flagg. The Forked Tongue Revisited: A handbook for treating people badly (p. 37). Imposing Content. Kindle Edition.
Remember that the more excited someone is, the more they will consent to. These agreements are worth little or nothing. Be clear. Omit discussions of love, flowers, or forever – those are different conversations, which have nothing to do with the topic at hand. Remember that “I love you, so I’ll do anything for you” has a flip side: “If you loved me, how could you treat me this way?” Flagg. The Forked Tongue Revisited: A handbook for treating people badly (p. 64). Imposing Content. Kindle Edition.

Insecurity is no motivation to do anything, much less structure an essential part of your life around. Flagg. The Forked Tongue Revisited: A handbook for treating people badly (p. 68). Imposing Content. Kindle Edition.
Flagg suggests using the following strategies when making a protocol:

Less is more. Whatever addressed should be ‘enforceable, clear, and well defined.’
What’s love got to do with it? This is abstract and unenforceable. Lean towards sexual availability, not excitement.
Protocol. What to do in a situation. Only positive actions.
Rules. If a protocol is always, rules are never.
Rituals. Don’t overcomplicate these - if the ritual is devalued, so is the rest of the relationship. You must be willing to fight for these. If a ritual isn’t working for you, remove or modify it.
Layered protocols can be designed as such:

According to the author, while people only do what they want to do, the breadth of what people are willing to do unconsciously is broad. The author presents deeply held beliefs, fears, and desires as tools to be used, and your options are less limited than you may initially perceive.
(There’s some stale information here about some individuals not being being ‘good subjects.’ The misinformation continues on for a bit, but, I’ve taken a few concepts that may be useful in some circumstances. I would not want this book to be someone’s first exposure to hypnosis.)
The idea to suggest exploiting their fetishes and interests to give suggestions is pretty solid, but common. They provide the example of surgically implanting suggestions via a surgical procedure for a medical fetishist, so that was kind of novel. In addition, they suggest using deep rooted feelings (love, ownership, feeling small) to other kinks, or utilizing them. 🤷
The author goes on to overview ideas for hypnosis, which are better covered in The Mind Play Study Guide and Hypnotic Amnesia.
And the chapter ends abruptly. 💩

🦈 This guy is starting to sound up his own ass and I’m waiting for him to get back to either useful or novel information.
So far, the only thing I like about this chapter is the suggestion to work backwards from your intention, so you don’t haphazardly apply these techniques for the sake of applying them.
Flagg’s up his own ass definitions:

Fetishes are not your only positive motivator; approval, attention, and affection are all powerful when applied to the right people in the right way. Use them sparingly, as they become all the more desirable in their scarcity. Flagg. The Forked Tongue Revisited: A handbook for treating people badly (p. 91). Imposing Content. Kindle Edition.
They suggest the following maxims:

Emphatically, the author says, never bluff in a few more words, saying it disempowers you. Moreover, never lie, which can dissolve into roleplaying, or broken trust.
Avoid lying, allow misconception. They apply gaslighting to abuse inferences.
Never compromise your structure. Mostly, don’t breach trust, or break boundaries. The author suggests getting as close to possible to them though (using dread to infer a false truth, like leaving hints there are cockroaches nearby with someone that dislikes cockroaches.)
Conspire with those you trust - get another sub to help a bro out.
Improvise (Wow. How original.)
To create an illusion is to provide misleading evidence. The example they provide is to allude you’re purchasing a kennel for a fearful sub by leaving that evidence around - ordering catalogs with circled kennels, a torn out page. When they question it, deny that you ordered anything. Evidence is more influential, notably when it suggests something is already underway. They suggest using the strategy of information being withheld from them, rather than presented, is more effective.
Okay, this account is legit wholesome, but I’m not sure how useful this information is…
You are having a surprise party for your slave… but you want to convince her that she is being delivered into the hands of brutal, uncaring “professionals” for “retraining.” A faked website is good – a phone conversation she can eavesdrop on is better. Talk to a few friends about the idea; take notes on possible “locations.” If you build a website, give her that one and a list of similar sites to research for you. Refuse to discuss it – you “have not made up your mind,” you are “waiting to see if she improves.” When you finally load her terrified carcass into the car, make her pack a suitcase with a few (very few) regimented things. Blindfold her, and off you go, to drive around for two hours while your friends arrange the party back home. Better yet, blindfold her, toss her shackled ass into a strange car, and have a friend (who will not speak to her) drive her around while you set up the surprise. Flagg. The Forked Tongue Revisited: A handbook for treating people badly (p. 98). Imposing Content. Kindle Edition.
According to Flagg, suggestion is more direct, and has components of repetition and insinuation. You can find the repetition suspicion breaking point for an unrelated topic by repeating something until they ask about it. Then pull back a few attempts. Insinuation is there in the way that you’d mention Chinese food in a few different ways, then ask them what they’d like to eat. Your request is insinuated - the same way that you could insinuate some more nefarious treat.
There’s a few accounts of putting these components together, but I’ll toss one in here for reference:
Important Boy terrified of cockroachesDenial: he never sees any roaches. (There are none.) he is never told you did obtain roaches for certain. (You didn’t).
Insinuation: You mention that it’s possible to order huge roaches online … more than once.Illusion: An empty package, a stiff feather across the skin, and the hissing sound from a small spray can of compressed air.Payload: Simple enough – after you’ve had enough, just remove the blindfold, showing him the feather and the spray can. he’ll get it.
Flagg. The Forked Tongue Revisited: A handbook for treating people badly (pp. 102-103). Imposing Content. Kindle Edition.
And finally… something I agree with:
Just a note – if it seems like it’s going wrong, if their panic has the wrong taste or seems violent or beyond what you wanted from the experience – don’t be proud. Call it off, let them in on it, and calm them down. Find out what went wrong. Flagg. The Forked Tongue Revisited: A handbook for treating people badly (p. 105). Imposing Content. Kindle Edition.
And a final example… for a cattle prod.

Buy catalog, leave available (Illusion – prop)
Talk about cattle prod in conversation (Suggestion/insinuation/innuendo)
Remove catalog (Dread – denial of information)
Determine that the prod is within structure (Dread – insinuation, Suggestion)
Make wrapper or unmarked box visible (Dread, Illusion – props, denial of information, leading to conclusion)
Create deciding moment, moment of conflict. Sensory deprivation is VERY useful in many cases.
Push the envelope (“Stick out your tongue.”)
Joy buzzer, alarm clock, kiss, or shock – (Resolution)
Be certain to create the goal state with commentary, criticism, or praise. (Payoff)
Follow up – one of these days, get the prod.
Flagg. The Forked Tongue Revisited: A handbook for treating people badly (pp. 108-109). Imposing Content. Kindle Edition.

The author covers a pile of reasonably obvious information on how to figure out what someone’s buttons are, humiliating or not.

While all of these are directions insults can go, the outcomes are all contextual…
I knew a lovely redhead who loved being called a “stupid cow.” She was very smart and very attractive; thus these words were bloodless, safe, hot – intimacies. Flagg. The Forked Tongue Revisited: A handbook for treating people badly (p. 116). Imposing Content. Kindle Edition.
(I didn’t find anything else useful or interesting in the rest of this chapter.)

Pain conditioning occurs outside of SM, often in endurance or athletic training. Gradually increase the pain to reach the goal. Allegedly, the most straightforward to train. They suggest that you’ll be able to condition touchless orgasms with very little touch initially, then no touch - but it is not universal. Continuing, sexual association should ideally be done subtly, so it’s automatic, and cannot be consciously rejected.
Drive is stronger than just obedience, it’s where the subject will strive to do their best. To create this, only provide rewards sparingly - suggesting it’s the minimum they can do to hit the response you’d like out of them. Making the reward the satisfaction of the label (EG: Their Master’s dog/servant/pet) rather than emotional reaffirmation.
To create a reflex, in anything aside from orgasms, use negative conditioning. The provided example suggests pulling down the subject’s hair in tandem with a “Sit!” instruction. The hair pulling should come less than a moment after the word is said - later, you can remove the hair-pulling. This will take a few weeks with regular reinforcement.
Avoid giving too much positive reinforcement - it removes the drive, which is what you want.
If the rewards are inconsistent, they will be sought after. In animals, the performance of the action becomes associated with the enthusiasm for the possibility, not the reward itself. So it is with humans; thus inconsistency in these matters avoids the added, very human complications of deserve, due, and supposed to.
Flagg. The Forked Tongue Revisited: A handbook for treating people badly (p. 132). Imposing Content. Kindle Edition.
Create a new and unique definition for your subject to avoid previous associations. Pet can mean anything between “lap dog” or “tool.” Use this for the center of your expectations, with starved positive reinforcement.
Disassemble and remove previous conditioning in components. Reintroduce a new context. Avoid removing previous conditioning head-on.
Be careful - the more you condition your subject, the more likely you are to accidentally imprint on to them.
Notes from the book club:
Positive conditioning - applying conditioning.
Negative conditioning - removing conditioning.
Positive reinforcement - that’s the treat, or shock the dog when they do something you don’t want, that’s positive reinforcement.
Negative reinforcement - that’s when you remove something the dog likes to reinforce something.
(This better covered in The Brainwashing Book)

(The author hams up the intensity of doing an interrogation scene - and indeed, if I did interrogation scenes like this, that’d be worth listening to. However, I don’t intend to take this beyond playful fun and button-pushing, so I’m skipping over their warnings.)

Their interrogation formula includes…

Arrest. Ideally, unexpected during a safe time.
Detention. They reinforce that the space you create for this should be unfamiliar as possible. This is where you’d strip things away - makeup, clothing, anything unnecessary. (Save them for later when you gradually give them back to the poor abused playmate.)
Threats and Fear. There is nothing more disempowering than an empty threat. Avoid menacing them (finally, some decency from the author) as this can push the situation out of your control. Create dread in your environment. Avoid using pain, it can create drive and resolve, and can be overcome.
Questioning.
Choose a relevant fact. There’s nothing you really want to know, but this is something to work around, a minor, incidental detail. Do not ask about it.
Ask where, who, have you been there, what did you do, when was that, all surrounding that fact. Take notes, ask a question a few times, and lead on that you know more than them.
Ask questions in a non-linear fashion, and blame it on their unwillingness to be forthcoming. Repeat details, muddle, and if necessary, willfully misinterpret the information.
Use word traps, like syllogisms.
After cycling for a few questions, abuse it by accusing them of withholding information or not being forthcoming. “What does that have to do with / that does not [answer, address] / why are you not saying / What I wanted to know is (something you didn’t ask) / you are not being straight with me.
Occasionally, reward random facts or answers.
Go over your information.
Finally, ask about the central fact that you ‘wanted to know.’
Slowly return them back to the real world piece by piece. After abusing them this much, they’ll be a wreck. Taking them right out to dinner after fucking them up this much would be shellshock.
Variations:

Good Cop / Bad Cop. Bounce back and forth, share ‘information,’ suggest it doesn’t add up, use it to give and take hope.
Alice in Wonderland. Gaslight them in to doubting themselves. Use props.
- Air force pilots would be forced to stand rigid for hours, and were asked questions they could not answer. Eventually, they’d ask what they could answer. You can use this to provide catharsis.
Err on the side of safety.
Notes from the book club:
Give then a drink with niacin and vitamin b3 - it’ll feel like something is going on.

(This book is trash.)

Chapter 1: What is Tantra, Anyway

Mon, 15 Jul 2024 22:29:58 GMT

Psst. If you're in the book club - the chapters do not line up between different versions of the book.

Defining Tantra feels ambiguous, but here's a few thoughts from the book:

The spiritual and physical are connected
Tantra is the elimination of duality
A practice of personal liberation
Your physical life as a manifestation of divine energy
Sexual excitement can be a taste of divine energy
Self-acceptance and selflove

The book starts by separating out 'ecstasy' from pleasure and pain, suggesting that ecstasy, and thus tantra, is experienced spiritually. In addition, this 'ecstasy' is more related to bliss, wholeness, connectedness to the moment, and timelessness.
What isn't Ecstasy The push to get things done constantly is just an adrenalin rush of being in the zone, and is unhealthy. Hyperfocus is a solid buzz, but isn't what we're going for. Same with synthetic thrills like amusement park rides, drugs, extreme sports, etc.
Quote To experience 'true' ecstasy, do the following:
Stay in the present moment.
Drop your expectations and your judgments.
Stay in the present moment.
Surrender.
Stay in the present moment.
Be more conscious.
Stay in the present moment.
Learn how to do all of this in sex…
…in the present moment.

Quote Remember: All consciousness really means is that you are in a relaxed state of awareness with a quiet mind able to focus gently and easily on what’s going on at the present moment.
A few tips on being present from the book:

Avoid losing yourself in your fantasies during sex
Focus on your breath and intention
Let go of your self-perception (and your perception of 'correct' tantra)
Accept and embrace rituals and spirituality
Affirmations. Affirmations remind me more of ham-fisted therapy and cheap universal attraction books. The book directly states 'change your mind about this' as they're (allegedly) powerful and useful. Self-acceptance and self-love both tie into affirmations. 🤷 Here are some book provided examples:
I love myself exactly the way I am
Everything is working out for my highest good and for the highest good of all concerned.
I am safe.
My income is constantly increasing. They suggest just talking about something you want as if it already exists. "Your mind is either your most powerful ally or your worst enemy. The choice is yours." Extrapolated from the book club - use affirmations that seem reasonable and attainable.
Focused Awareness Exercise This exercise follows the principle that 'energy follows thought.'
Close your eyes.
Put all your attention on the little finger of your right hand.
Send your breath there.
Visualize light from "one hundred stars shining into this little finger."
Feel the blood pulse there.
Do this for a couple of minutes.
Notice how that little finger feels.
Warning Okay - here's a bit of a question - the author discussed earlier about not getting lost in your fantasies. Here, they describe an instance where they were channeling their intentions 'in a kind of erotic egg of energy.' I know this is focused attention and imagination, but how is focused attention and imagination different from a fantasy? Is it the direction of intention?
You'll have a better time in sex by dropping judgements and comparisons, as well as your need to understand, allowing yourself to be in the moment. In addition, dropping your expectations, from sex or otherwise, will allow you to experience the moment fully.
One of the author's teachers suggested they not do what anyone else was doing, and just to enjoy themselves, and that 'freed them from their cage' to experience the class fully.
Freedom from Judgement Affirmation Repeat often: I make no judgements, I make no comparisons, and I delete my need to understand. (From the book club in contrast - it's fine to compare and collaborate. This is a fine and useful judgement. Just don't let it get in the way.)
While you'll give and receive pleasure regularly during sex, you'll do better emotionally if you focus your intention on either giving or receiving. (I'll be abusing this tidbit on a partner - suggesting they'd better not squander my gift when I focus on them. ) The flip side is true as well - enjoy fully what your partner is giving you without expectation, and you'll both have a better time. This has some interesting BDSM implications - especially for Doms when they're receiving.

TLDR... Parts of your body play certain roles, but you can learn to control 'less controllable' reactions. For example, creating goosebumps through suggestion. "Chakras" can be self-fulfilling phenomena, just through self-suggestion.
Chakras are a practical way to direct energy and awareness to specific areas of your body. The first three major lower chakras are more connected with the physical world, and the other four chakras are connected to the nonphysical worlds, operating at a higher frequency. You can use chakras as a tool for troubleshooting an experience when you're comfortable with them. There are about forty minor chakras, which won't be covered in this book.
Previously - I took notes on each of the individual chakras, but I'm removing it for brevity.

For this book's reference, the three best paths to pleasure are breath, meditation, and silliness.

The author talks about breathing, noticing the breath, and how 'shy' we are about breathing about breath (and how we tend to be quiet during masturbation, linking that to improving our orgasms to breathing fully.) I didn't find anything particularly novel in here save for the Breath of Fire. Aside from this, they included The Bottom Breath, The Circular Breath, and The Heart Breath.
They end the section with - when you get used to these cool breathing exercises, try them during sex and masturbation.
The Breath of Fire
Exhale. As you exhale, push the air out by rapidly pulling your navel to your spine.
To inhale, simply release your navel outward. The breath fills your lungs automatically.
Put your hand on your diaphragm to focus your attention there and to feel the power of this breath.
Begin with one breath every two seconds; work up to one or two breaths per second. Attempting this reminded me of this link Wyrdweaver posted - I did rapidly feel 'buzzing' after trying this one out. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TP17faUXLtk
The Heart Breath Practice for five to ten minutes. If you never learn or practice any other kind of breathing, you could have a perfectly lovely time with this one alone. You can speed it up or slow it way down. You can take in a lot of air with a minimum amount of effort and tension. It’s a great all-around breath for all erotic purposes. This is the breath we used at the beginning of this chapter (see “A New Way to Breathe”), when we first explored how changing our breathing could change our consciousness.
Yawn. Feel how the yawn opens the back of your throat and stretches out your whole mouth and face? That’s the feeling of openness you want when you do the Heart Breath.
Breathe. Let your mouth fall open slightly. Relax your jaw and face, open the back of your throat, and breathe in through your mouth, gently but fully.
Exhale. Don’t push the breath out; just let it fall out with a gentle little sigh, ahh.
Take in a much air as you can, as effortlessly as you can, then let it go.
Keep breathing. [Note: At first this breath can feel like it doesn’t reach much lower than the upper chest—it’s one of the reasons I named it the Heart Breath. After you’ve been breathing for minute or two you’ll probably feel it get bigger, deeper, and wider.]

During the Exhilaration Meditation and Cathartic Meditation, there's a great potential for 'silliness.' I won't dig in to my (probably obvious) proclivities here but I'll just say being silly in the bedroom has never been a problem for me. I can see these procedures being "freeing" but man, after reading through them they even make me feel a bit uneasy.
In addition, they mention Witnessing, which feels to me like dissociation and watching from a distance. Standard meditation stuff.
Exhilaration Meditation Part one (five to fifteen minutes). Shake. Begin by making yourself shake. Shake your arms, hands, belly, thighs, legs, and face. Soon you will find that the shaking happens on its own—the shaking shakes you. Add gibberish. As you continue shaking, make sounds. Start with one repeated syllable, such as blah, blah, blah, blah, blah or yak, yak, yak, yak, yak. Let the syllables change and multiply until it seems you are speaking a make-believe language. Let the gibberish be fun. Enjoy the feeling of vibrating on the inside and on the outside at the same time. Part two (five to fifteen minutes). Dance. Dance any way you feel like. Move from your core. You are not at a club—do not be concerned about the way you look. Add whirling. After you have been dancing for a while (and only if you have not eaten in the past couple of hours) whirl to your left or your right. Keep your eyes open slightly, but let them be unfocused. Start slowly, then speed up. When you begin to feel dizzy, slow down and whirl in the opposite direction, or close your eyes and return to dancing. A little whirling produces a big effect. Whirl sparingly! Part three (ten to twenty minutes). Keeping your eyes closed, sit or lie down and be still.
Cathartic Meditation Part one (four to ten minutes). Breathe forcefully and rapidly through the nose, focusing on the exhalation. The inhalation will happen automatically. This is very similar to the Breath of Fire, but in this case your breath can be more chaotic. Allow your body to move with your breath and use those natural body movements to help you build up your energy. The purpose of this part is to build energy that you will release in the next part. Part two (four to ten minutes). Release your inner two-year-old! Clench your fists and jump up and down while yelling “NO!” with each jump. After several minutes of “NO!” unclench your fists and raise your open hands to shoulder height. Keep jumping, but this time yell “YES!” on each jump. Yell “YES!” with the same force and intensity that you have been yelling “NO!” Part three (four to ten minutes). Release your inner kung fu fighter. Stand in a power stance with knees bent and feet a bit more than shoulder-distance apart. Tilt your pelvis back and tighten your abdominal muscles and your buttocks until you feel strong and invincible. Now throw karate chops in front of you, releasing a powerful karate yell with each karate chop. Part four (four to fifteen minutes). Stop! Immediately place your body in a manageable sitting or standing pose and then do not move. Do not rearrange your body, just let it be. Focus on your breath or on your heartbeat. Simply witness whatever happens. Part five (four to ten minutes). Laugh. Begin with a smile. Let the smile grow wider until it becomes a giggle. Let the giggle grow until it becomes laughter. Then let the laughing laugh you. Become laughter.
🦈 (I feel like I'm getting trolled a bit here in an attempt to butter me up to new ideas.)

The Resilient edge of Resistance is the experience immediately before stimulation goes from perfectly intense to too much. Backing off to this near-comfort zone is the 'ideal' amount of stimulation. If you were massaging someone with your fingertips, this would be the amount of pressure before pain or displeasure but optimally stimulating.
The 'resilience' idea is that you should be able to 'bounce back' quickly from the stimulation.
This idea expands into emotional and physical stimulation. The author talks about experiencing a rough period in her life when her partner touched her gently to comfort her. Their mild touch was annoying to her at the moment, given all the stress she was going through. Her partner intuitively knew what was going on, reached for a pointed talon claw, and started to gradually apply more pressure until the pain was right at the ideal point. The author reached the catharsis.
However, there's one sentence specifically worth focusing on here.
I knew she would not do anything that would actually injure me, no matter how much I asked. Carrellas, Barbara. Urban Tantra, Second Edition: Sacred Sex for the Twenty-First Century (p. 55). Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed. Kindle Edition.
Back over in the book Mastering Erotic Hypnosis, they mentioned NSSI (non-suicidal self-injury) while also suggesting that really the only difference between this and S/m is who is doing it. I don't think this is the point of this passage in the book, but it might be worth contrasting (or comparing) the 'ideal maximum stimulation' with some degree of masochism. (FWIW, I can relate to having a rough day and wanting to be absolutely destroyed.)

This chapter is just a prelude to the upcoming chapters, saying you can get a lot done in 20 minutes, provided you do it every day. And 20 minutes is better than nothing.

The chapter discusses feeling 'energy' and briefly describes a few different models across belief systems. This gets a bit close to tarot reading your partner based on unrelated signs and applying it to chakras, so I've skimped on the notes.
They suggest a pile of exercises - (I think) to shift your awareness into your body, or taking a moment to notice differences before and after the exercises.
These (vaguely) consist of:

Deliberate eye movements - focusing, unfocusing, circling your eyes
Making sounds, massaging your jaw, massaging your gums and lips
Stretch your neck with some read rolls in slow circles
On your hands and knees, inhale and exhale deeply, and on your exhale, scrunch in your belly, being careful to not move your spine
Lie on your back, bringing your feet close to your rear, and bounce your rear and pelvis on the floor 🤷
Then lift your hips off the floor, gyrating them
Go back and forth between the tow exercises as you please
Now - a few more exercises to 'circulate your erotic energy.'

Stand with your feet hip distance apart, move just your pelvis in a box, parallel to the ground
Move your hips in a figure 8
Do some pelvic squeezes - try doing a bunch in a row
As if you were surfing, swing your pelvis forward, allow the rest of your body follow, and as it follows forward, move your pelvis back
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3aOhaQPaxM

In this brand of tantra, your orgasms can not only be physical, but can also be a release of tension and energy, 'expanding through the mind and connecting us to (our) spirit.' They suggest that, just as you'd feel exhausted after a good cry or a day raging out completely, your orgasms can feel the same way. (A raging orgasm 'feels' like an appropriate way to put this.)
Kindly, they provide the following instructions for estrogen based bodies and testosterone based bodies, for the inclusion of folks in transition. The following advice is provided for whichever hormone currently predominates. (There are some assumptions about genital availability for the given hormones, but they suggest you find your own way using the combo of body parts you're currently rocking. )
FWIW - in case I don't get to writing it down, Chapter 20 in this book has some stuff for gender-nonconforming people.

Practice and explore having orgasms, being patient with yourself
Relax
Look and Explore (approach slowly, savoring the experience)
Think sexy thoughts
Breathe and rock, do not hold your breath
Use a vibrator
Press and release repeatedly (as if your clitoris is a doorbell)
Toys (and penetration)
Change your breathing
Your G-Spot / urethral sponge might feel nice to touch too
I have never understood how some women can tell me that they are desperate to have an orgasm, yet they don’t want to use a vibrator. Good goddess, that’s like saying you want to visit the moon but don’t want to use a rocket to get there. Carrellas, Barbara. Urban Tantra, Second Edition: Sacred Sex for the Twenty-First Century (p. 79). Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed. Kindle Edition.

Orgasm and ejaculation are two different processes
Practice going limp for 30 seconds
Hold your breath, or slow it down - it'll delay orgasm
Try a Breath of Fire if this doesn't do the job
Clamp down your PC muscle to try to stop your orgasm 💻
While contracting your PC muscle, put pressure against your perineum with your fingers
Hold your dingle-dongle in fun and varied ways
Use your first two fingers on the underside of your penis, and a thumb on the top and squeeze
Holding your length in one hand, press a thumb down against your tip
Holding your penis with two fingers and a thumb, use your other hand to squeeze down on the base
Lie on your back, gravity will draw blood away from your erection (?!)
Pull your sac down away from your body (your testes pull up when you're near orgasm)
Relaxation is the 'key' to voluntary relaxation
If you've got a prostate, play with it if you want

You can make some sounds with your orgasm if you like. I'm going to skip the chakra sounds exercises, but they included a reminder to make some noise.

https://www.nateliason.com/blog/multiple-orgasms-men

Tips for going into the Breath Energygasm:

This can be done in 20 minutes, but take your time on the first round.
Go in without expectations.
Be patient - it's different for everyone.
Allow negative emotions, if evoked, to pass by.
Tingling in your extremities is normal.
Focusing on "breathing into your chakra" will help.
You'll reach autopilot at some point 'when reaching your upper chakras.'
If you feel like you lost touch with your energy - go back to where you last felt it, and keep going.
Use your hands to focus on the chakras you're breathing into.
Raise the pitch of your voice as you move through your chakras.

Lie flat on the floor with your knees up.
Yawn and keep the back of your jaw open.
Breathe through your mouth.
Do not pause between the inhale and exhale - allowing the exhalation to be automatic.
Fill your belly on the inhale. On the exhale, flatten your lower back to the ground.
Add PC squeezes to whatever part of the breath feels right.
Focus energy into your perineum (taking your awareness there.)
Now move that to your lower belly on your inhale, the second chakra.
Exhale, moving the focus back to the perineum. Intuitively sense when these chakra's are 'charged.'
Move the energy focus from your lower belly to your solar plexus. Wait until you sense it's charged.
Keep going and breathing.
Move your focus from your solar plexus to your heart center. Give yourself energy flow imagery.
Repeat moving from your heart to your throat. Feel free to vocalize.
If energy seems to be moving automatically between chakras, just keep going. If not, go between your throat and third eye.
Continue between the third eye and crown.
At this point, things should happen automatically. Keep at it.

Tips for the Clench 'n Hold:

Be open for interpretation after this technique.
Rehearse the steps before you give this a go

Sit on the floor, get comfy.
Yawn, keep the back of your jaw open.
Use the Heart Breath.
Exhale, do not force the breath out, let it fall out with a sigh.
Keep your eyes open, picking a point to focus on.
Keep breathing, optionally rocking with your breath or adding PC squeezes.
Set a timer - go for 10-30 minutes.
When you're done charging your lasers, take 30 fuller, faster breaths...
Lie back on the floor.
Inhale deeply, let your breath out gently and fully. Repeat this once.
Inhale fully and hold.
Clench your body - especially your abs, butt, and PC. While doing this, you have the choice of...
a. Pressing down on the floor with your hands, shoulder, head, butt, legs, and feet.
b. Stretch out from the center of your body.
c. Pull 'inwards', clenching your fists.
d. Whatever you do, do not bring your knees up.
Hold for at least 15 seconds.
Watch without expectations.

A few suggestions from this chapter:

Take time daily to look yourself in the eye in the mirror, giving yourself self-affirmations.
"The microcosmic orbit" exercise - where you sit down, doing PC exercises, imagining erotic energy going from your perineum to the roof of your mouth, back and forth, imagining yourself being surrounded by erotic energy, giving self-suggestion about the qualities of the erotic energy to make it more real.
There's mention of VAKog systems, and being aware of it in your partner. I'm not sold on VAKog preferences, but it's a fun exercise to be aware of all of those senses.
Medibation Urban Tantra's Medibation, which has similarities to gooning, suggests you focus intently on the feelings and sensations of masturbating while edging.

Thoughts from this chapter:

A tip for less-kinky folks - try reframing planning for a lewd evening as building sexual rapport and energy, rather than seeing it as clinical.
It's worth noting their six step process of tantric rituals (paraphrased heavily):
(CH12) Prepare space and plan
(CH13) Relax and become present
(CH14) Warm up (both physically and spiritually)
(CH15) Come together and connect with your partner
(CH16) Have fun (and have orgasms)
(CH17) Afterglow (and aftercare)

This chapter presents inspiration for your lewd adventures.. Not in the BDSM sense of a scene, but almost quite literally like a movie set. In short, they mention props, lighting, sound, decoration, cleaning up the space itself... I disagree on a few points here and there about costumes - but these are more personal gripes I should probably keep private, mostly for the sake of not getting knee deep in to my own interests. O:)
They go on to mention sex toys (props), risk in sex (alluding to RACK,) and tools for safer sex. Most of their advice seems reasonable. I was pleasantly surprised to find someone else that agrees that unprotected oral sex is unsafe.

This chapter reinforces the importance of both being present and in the right headspace for sex/tantra. They highlight the need to make a clear cut between your 'daily life' and your 'erotic life.'
Objection! ⚖️ I feel, depending on the relationship that both providing emotional support for your partner, and getting your partner in the mood, is part of the deal. This feels a bit along the lines of suppressing your mood to make yourself a better lay in bed. There's probably some degree of nuance I'm missing here but I wanted get this gripe out of my system.
Here's what you can do to warm up:

Emotionally cleanse, taking a moment, possibly by burning sage or taking a shower
Remove your frustration - using the Exhilaration or Cathartic meditations in Chapter 5, by screaming into a pillow, or using some other device that'll clear out your grumpiness
Swap into something sexy to emotionally set the scene
They also suggest a few exercises you can do with your partner, summarized here.

Stand, firmly grounding yourself. Breathe with the Bottom Breath (focusing on your belly, exhaling through your mouth.) Self-suggest you are anchored to the earth with your legs as roots, stable. (It's worth rereading the Bottom Breath instructions in CH5.)
Hug, placing your hands holding their body flat against yours. "Breathe your belly into their belly." Imagine grounding with them.
Keep going, feeling your gravity move down with them.
Switch.

Go down your partner's body parts head to toe like a PMR, shaking and vibrating them quickly. Use common sense. (It's goofy.)
Swap.

Have your partner (the elephant) stand with their feet hip-distance apart. Have them bend down at the hips, putting their hands and arms together as if they're an elephant.
Massage your partner however they like. The shoulders and spine would be good picks. Have a giggle or two at the absurdity of the situation.
When you're both ready, stand behind them, and rest their back up against your body.
Swap places.

Have your partner do the microcosmic orbit exercise from CH11, but tap along the energy pathway. (Going along the spine to the back of their head.) Swap places when you're done.

Do whatever you need to do to get in the mood and release tension, leaving you both wanting more intimacy and connection.

Sit cross legged (or comfortably, however you wish) across from your partner. Place one hand down on one of their palms, and vice versa. Looking into their 'non-dominant' eye can be a window into their soul.
In this position, you can do a few things with your partner - balancing your energies, seeing a higher power (or seeing your partner as a higher power), and communicating what you're feeling.

Traditionally, you'd balance male and female energies, but the author used this to balance their other identities with being a present lover.

Another traditional option is seeing your partner as a deity, or channeling a deity through them, when doing this. You can go as abstract as you'd like with this (channeling 'energy') or even pick a role model that you see through them.

This is a good time to discuss intimate preferences, or possibly questions to boost your intimacy. You can try the following four questions to learn a bit more about where your partner's head is at - but agree to set anything aside during your intimate session.

I am angry about...
I am sad about...
I am scared about...
I am glad about...
(I'm not sure I'm on board with this - this will surely bring all four of these things to the front of your partner's mind right before your intimate session together.)

I'm skimping on notes here since this is mostly instruction on how to do The Pose of Giving and Receiving. It's mostly a repeated stroke where the 'giver' strokes from head to toe in a ritual pattern, ideally at the Resilient Edge of Resistance.

There's a bit here on making a ritual with your partner to allow them to enjoy and be absorbed in sensations (touch/smell/taste) you present them. The neat takeaway I had from this chapter was to take responsibility for both your own sexual power and satisfaction. Use this to communicate better with your partner, and to not take the emotional brunt of something if it's unsatisfying to them.

I didn't take great notes My notes on this section aren't going to be that great - I already identify on the ace spectrum, and I've been feeling particularly unsexy lately. If you're in to the sort of thing mentioned in this chapter, understand that I've glossed over much of it that could be easily internalized as "sure looks like more advice for being present during sex."

For this ritual, take your partners hand and hold it against your heart, and have your partner do the same. Sync your breathing, look into your partners eyes, and be present while you allow your awareness to follow your own sexual energy inside of your body. You can augment your sexual energy and focus by doing PC squeezes while being present.

In short - this feels like sitting in each other's lap, holding your partner in your embrace. While doing this, you can use your hands to move each-other's energy around by tracing slowly your hands around their spine.

Be aware of your breathing
Focus on your intention
Be present in the moment
Use the resilient edge of resistance
Go slow and focus

Again, I didn't take great notes up through CH20 Not to kill the vibe, but my libido has been about as potent as an O'Doul's. Definitely give these chapters a read to see if I missed anything handy.
This chapter was mostly suggestions on positions on relaxing with your partner, quietly enjoying each other's presence (meditating.) Interestingly - the positions all included lying down with your head pointed away from them. (EG - not necessarily with your heads next to each other's feet, but certainly not face to face. )

A few tips from the chapter:

'Receiving' is not a passive activity - you should take an active role in asking for what you'd like, and making it better for yourself.
As a giver, take feedback confidently. An "oh hell yes" is a lot better than "sorry, let me fix that." Eduction vs Seduction "Eduction is a more generous form of seduction. When we seduce someone, we persuade them to do what we want to do. When we educe, we draw out their desire."
Carrellas, Barbara. Urban Tantra, Second Edition: Sacred Sex for the Twenty-First Century (p. 154). Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed. Kindle Edition. I looked eduction up online - the definition doesn't match, but I think the description of the concept is cool.

Try using your whole hand instead of going in with just your fingers.
Gliding is allowing your fingers to relax as you massage, going gently and slowly. Prefer pulling over pushing your hands when using this technique.
Kneading uses your whole hand to push into the muscle and "suck the flesh into your palm."
Vibrating is using both hands on either side of an appendage (they gave the example of a thigh,) then rocking your hands side-to-side. Slow down as you go.
Lifting and holding just means gently and deftly moving a limb.
Incorporate stillness into your massages

Before starting massage, set the scene. Consider using floor space for a massage if you don't have a table - you'll want to be comfortable yourself. You can also use gloves (latex/nitrile/vinyl), cornstarch, or massage oil. Take a moment to look each other in the eyes and connect with them spiritually, talk out how you're feeling in the moment, and start with a sensual massage face down. For optimal tantra points, both of you should be focusing on your breathing as you do this.

Over Eggs Easy: Glide your palms in circles on her abdomen in the area where the ovaries would be. Apply appropriate pressure with the Resilient Edge of Resistance in mind.
The Womb Warmer: About the same as above, except above where the uterus would be located.
The Heart-Womb Palm Rest: One hand on their womb, one hand on their heart, breathing with them with focus. The Heart-Pussy Palm Rest is reasonably similar and predictable by it's name.
Outer Labia Acupress: Use the sides of your forefingers on both hands, pressing and releasing where the outer labia meets the thighs.
The Pubic Hair Pull Gently grab fingerfuls of pubic hair and lift. Use common sense.

Help your partner get comfortable - offer a pillow behind the knees and have them get cozy. (I'm skipping a fair bit of content here, but I'll note down some safety ideas and novel thoughts from the book. Communicating will probably lead to 90% of these things going well - but I'm neither a pussy owner or driver. I still haven't got my license yet in the mail.)

Avoid getting bacteria from the anus into the vagina, and avoid recirculating lube from there accidentally.
Try drumming motions.
Try breathing at various distances.
Move around the clitoris using 'hours of the clock' to name your position, and ask for feedback on their favorite spots.
Pinch and pull the clitoral shaft, using plenty of lube and common sense.
If you massage with penetration, don't forget the urethral sponge. Go gently and be aware your partner may be unfamiliar with the associated sensations.
Use a vibrator, using the regular tips. (Shield the most intense vibrations with a hand, go easy, don't overstimulate, keep your toys clean with condoms, etc.)
After massage, invite them to take 15 to 30 minutes to just be. Offer to keep them warm. If you're the one receiving, avoid jumping directly into figuring out how to reciprocate.

As with most the exercises suggested in this book - both you and your partner should focus on your breathing. Before getting lewd, use U glides (moving from the belly, heart, or perineum out to the legs or arms. EG - going from the heart, to the nipples, down the knees, and then doing it to the other side.) Use circular motions to "concentrate" energy and Us to "distribute" energy.

Since this is a massage and not a handjob, really just use common sense and massage the genitals. Don't smash the testes, ask for preferences on foreskin, and massage without the intent of ejaculation.

Move the length, using common sense, around the clock, gently. Glide using plenty of lube.
Try a pulling and twisting movement over the glans, using plenty of lubrication you can apply plenty of pressure.
Press their length back into their body. Move your hand in a downward motion towards their testes, heeling downward.
Hold their length out of the way, vibrating the base of the length with your fingers.

After you've wound your partner up, invite them to...

Breathe quickly and fully for thirty seconds
Inhale deeply three times, tensing all their muscles, then releasing on the exhale. They can clench by...
Pressing down on the table
Extending their body
Pulling inward
On the third breath out, remove your hands, count silently to fifteen, then tell them to relax

Check your partner's preferences on their genital nomenclature. Your partner is the expert on their body, especially on how they feel. Be aware their body may respond in unexpected ways.
Be sure to ask where they do and do not want to be touched. Ask them if there's anything they'd like to experiment with. As usual, welcome feedback. Ask what they'd like to get out of your session together. Contextually using common sense, offer a Clench and Hold in place of an orgasm.

The novel ideas in this chapter include:

Using the Heart Connection pose to exchange 'power and control' back and forth.
Try using the Pose of Recognition or the mad/sad/glad/scared game to get to know a new partner (or top)
Try using your breath (or some other kinesthetic focus) to work with claustrophobia in bondage scenes, (🦈 if it's not already eroticized)
If you've been a long-term top needing a wedge into trying out a submissive space, try the Giving and Receiving exercise
Use breath (both 'charging' and 'calming' patterns) to endure/enjoy more pain

This chapter covers a methodology for coming up with a tantric exercise for the night. This can for yourself, or between you and your partner/s. The content here also suggests using sex for healing or ameliorating unrelated emotional wounds.
The author notes that good intentions can be drown out by poor negotiation and compromising to the point of pointlessness.
This could lead to sex that is a compromise in which no one gets their needs met. That kind of sex can be worse than no sex at all, so over time, many couples find their sex lives fading away. Carrellas, Barbara. Urban Tantra, Second Edition: Sacred Sex for the Twenty-First Century (p. 214). Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed. Kindle Edition.

While I don't align with this subject intake / negotiation paperwork, this might be worth a glance for some inspiration. It's worth noting that this can be used on yourself, as sort of a CBT tool that won't bruise the boys. In addition, you can both fill these out in isolation and then come together to see where your vibe is at and where you can meet. Seeing negotiation paperwork as a tool for inspiration rather than a safety check is handy.
The Erotic Playsheet Describe your feelings and desires at this moment.
I am feeling:
The chakras I am most aware of are:
The feelings in those chakras are:
I definitely want:
I definitely don't want:
By the end of this ritual, I would like to feel:
My intention is: Right now, I want to use the following techniques and props:
Breath:
Breath orgasm technique:
Erotic activity:
Body massage strokes:
Position to fuck in:
Genital massage strokes:
Ritual attire:
Ritual style:
Sensation-producing devices:
Sex toys:
Sounds:
I'll imagine:
Sensations I'd like to feel:

The majority of the content here is a collection of vanilla-leaning kink events. But - here are the takeaways I had after reading this...
Protips on throwing a ritual/sex party:

Make your intention and goal clear for the event.
Decide what type of play is appropriate (and inappropriate.)
Inform the participants of expectations, protocol, and requirements beforehand.
Have appropriate, present, and available living facilitation.
Specify start and end times - anyone leaving early must tell the facilitator.
Restate the intentions in a casual gathering - ensuring everyone sees everyone else agree to the rules.
Be flexible and firm, and it's all right for someone to leave if they're not having a good time, taking notes.
Tips for Approaching an Event (While this is geared towards tantra, newer kinksters and hypnotists might benefit from hearing this as well.) I asked Lynda Gayle what advice she would give to someone who’d like to try swinging but might not know how to start—or might be a little afraid. I would say: do it anyway. Go armed with Rule #2: “No, thank you, but thank you for asking.” Also, go with a clear idea of what you do—and do not—want to experience. State what your limits are to others so they will know how to respect them; but do tell them what it is you do want to experience. Even if you just want to watch your wife touch another woman’s breast for the first time, say that! Somebody is going to help you find that experience because they want you to have fun. For the most part, the people you are going to find in the swinging lifestyle are very sincere and kind. If that’s not what you find at your first club, keep looking. Carrellas, Barbara. Urban Tantra, Second Edition: Sacred Sex for the Twenty-First Century (p. 234). Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed. Kindle Edition.

Outline of a Pre-Talk

Thu, 20 Jun 2024 06:36:06 GMT

Why are people hard to hypnotize?
According to the author, aside from fear or a misunderstanding of hypnosis, or other issues such as rapport or even their own condition holding them back, the following factors are usually involved in hypnotizability:

Capacity for involuntary/subconscious response
Imagination / fantasy ability
Ability to become absorbed in mental processes
Disassociative capacity
Given these factors, a subject being ‘analytical’ should not be a barrier to hypnosis.

Firstly, ask if they’ve experienced hypnosis before, and what their expectations are, as well as putting their worries to rest if they’ve had a negative experience.
If they haven’t experienced hypnosis, ask them how they feel about experiencing hypnosis, and if there’s anything they’re unsure of.
Explain the experience of hypnosis, as it’s similar to a daydream or a movie, and depth can vary from person to person, and perhaps explain or demonstrate some phenomena as a preview.

The author presents the idea of “rolling with resistance,” but this is just an extension of Ericksonian utilization. If you encounter resistance from a client, do not fight or confront it, but use it where you can. There are a few strategies to work with this… as follows.

Listen to the resistance. Really, just dig into the perceived resistance, check and see if they understand your request, if they’re on board, or if they’re even in the emotional or mental space to do what you’re asking. Even if the resistance is nonverbal, it’s still communication, either between the conscious or unconscious parts of the subject.
Go slow. The client might be new to this, or your expectations are hasty - give the client more time to process everything, and ensure you’re in sync with the subject.
Utilize. If there are problems with arm levitation, switch to weight and heaviness. If they’re shuffling, instead of telling them to stop, ask them to continue as much as they’d like. More importantly, if the client is struggling to give up control, it might be good to check in. If they’re concerned their partner is trying to change them, give them back the control by providing strategies for self-mastery.
Go Indirect. Use permissive language. Use nonverbal suggestion. Use an induction that’s less authoritative (My Friend John, The Fake Induction, The Fractionation Conversation, or Leisure Induction.) Or, even using the most indirect method, hypnotic stories.
Be Permissive. You can go further than using a “maybe” or “perhaps.” You can take this all the way to the point of wondering with a triple bind. (Will it rise, fall, or do nothing at all?)
Get Active. Give the subject something to do, something to focus on, or something to control. This is perfect for situations where the client is afraid of losing control. PHRIT is a solid way to approach this.
Check Your Goals. Is the goal (or problem with achieving the goal) in conflict with the method you’re using? Is the method clearly beneficial?
Manage Expectations. Does this match up with their expectations of phenomena? Try slowing down your pre-talk, or using a PMR or Elman, since these inductions happen in chunks.

In short, polarity responders, according to NLP, are contrarians. While some are just brats, or others feel like they are being insightful, their behavior can also be influenced by fear, learned patterns, genuine above-average intelligence, or even your own existence, behavior, your requests, or the situation.
When working with them - try the following…

Invite Open-Ended Responses. Avoid your standard double binds. In a levitation test, try something more along the lines of… “Shortly your right hand, or it may be your left hand, will begin to lift up, or it may press down, or it may not move at all, but we will just wait to see just what happens. Maybe the thumb will be first, or you may feel something happening in your little finger, but the really important thing is not whether your hand lifts up or presses down, or just remains still; rather, it is your ability to sense fully whatever feelings may develop in your hand.”[18] Old, Graham. Hypnosis with the Hard to Hypnotise: How to do Inductions with Resistant Clients, Analytical Subjects and Others who may be Difficult to Hypnotise (The Inductions Masterclass Book 6) (p. 51). Plastic Spoon. Kindle Edition.
Use Permissive Language. Here’s a grab bag:
I don’t know if…
Maybe…
Perhaps…
I wonder…
You could…
You might…
…or not.
I don’t know…
Some people may…
I’m curious to know if…
Give them something to disagree with! Try something like.. You do need to pay any attention to the tiredness in your eyelids…
You will probably disagree, but…
I suspect this is not something you’d like to take part in…
I have an idea that I think you’re not going to like, but I wanted to see what you think anyway.
You probably don’t want to close your eyes.
As you relax even further, you may go deeper into a trance in a few seconds, or perhaps in a minute or two, or even as soon as you close your eyes…
Shortly your right hand, or it may be your left hand, will begin to lift up, or it may press down, or it may not move at all, but we will just wait to see just what happens.

It’s silly to presume analytical people, when they are clearly willing subjects or clients, are unable to be hypnotized or to accept help. If you assume a client is overthinking, have you checked to see what they’re thinking about? If your client isn’t thinking, they’re probably dead.
As we have noted previously, there are a number of reasons why someone may be difficult to hypnotise. It is a rather drastic mistake to presume that someone is an analytical thinker, or resistant, whenever we encounter such situations. Even if we consider an extremely narrow set of circumstances, such as the client's thinking during the induction, there are all sorts of reasons that may be an issue. They may have had a difficult day, which has put them in a particularly pessimistic mood. They may be suffering from clinical depression. They may be too desperate, anxious, or invested in what is taking place and interfere with the process by attempting to assist the hypnotist. They may struggle to get absorbed in cognitive experiences. They may be intoxicated. They may be out of practice with using their imagination. They may not believe that anything good could happen to them. They may be suffering with auditory hallucinations, or intrusive thoughts. They may be over-medicated. They may not like you. Old, Graham. Hypnosis with the Hard to Hypnotise: How to do Inductions with Resistant Clients, Analytical Subjects and Others who may be Difficult to Hypnotise (The Inductions Masterclass Book 6) (pp. 68-69). Plastic Spoon. Kindle Edition.
Given these problems, you haven’t caught on to what your client is actually thinking. You could already have doomed themselves internally, or they may just not know what you’re asking. For example, you can give them a pile of kinesthetic suggestions, but may not realize that they’re supposed to start experiencing it themselves.
Some of the best hypnotic responders are intelligent or high-performing individuals. You could consider the possibility that if they always tend to be ‘stuck in their heads,’ there’s a chance they’re already in trance. Given this, you don’t need to induce trance, only manage it. You can give them something to think about, and they’ll think about it. (The author mentions this will be covered later.)
Not just some, but most people will think all the way through their experience of trance. You can utilize this with something like, “You will probably continue to think all through the process and I encourage you to do that.”
You can provide the example of enjoying a movie. Perhaps - they can enjoy the visual effects, the skill of the actors, the quality of the music, or even the color scripting. However, if you spent the movie asking if you are actually enjoying it, experiencing it as intended, and if you’re a good spectator, you’re not really allowing yourself to enjoy the film. Ask them to think away, it’s fine! Just request that they do not think too much about if they’re thinking too much, which would also prevent them from enjoying the film.
If you’re working with someone that’s ‘analytical,’ it’s silly to think that you can confuse them into trance. It’s far easier to be direct with them, and tell them explicitly what you want. For example…
“And as you picture that scene, you can begin to imagine what it would feel like to be there… And allow yourself to begin to experience that now…” Old, Graham. Hypnosis with the Hard to Hypnotise: How to do Inductions with Resistant Clients, Analytical Subjects and Others who may be Difficult to Hypnotise (The Inductions Masterclass Book 6) (p. 77). Plastic Spoon. Kindle Edition.
Talk about phenomena (like shivering during a cold scene during a movie) with your pre-talk, and feel free to act it out as well to hammer in the point. Walk them through something, and check on their experience.
You can do a magnetic hands ‘test’ without a pass fail condition. Put their hands apart, suggest they can feel the magnets, that they can notice them, and let them know that you’re both just going to see what happens, giving them some suggestions that they could feel what’s between their palms, or looking at the point in between them. No matter what happens, ask them how it went, and you can tell them that’s just what hypnosis may feel like to them the first time.
You can place less emphasis on the ‘feeling’ of trance - if you’re already stuck in your head all of the time, it’s unlikely you’ll feel much of a difference. Try using non-trance phenomena like…

Chevreul’s Pendulum
Bob Burn’s The Swan
Effects similar to those used by The Amazing Kreshkin
Ideomotor Responses
In addition, give your client something to do. This includes something like PHRIT, which gives your subject something to actively work on. You can also use something like an Elman Induction, which gives them a process to actively work with you on.
Avoid being frustrated by your analytical clients - they are actively curious, not hostile, whether with their conscious or unconscious. Encourage their curiosity, and thus their collaboration.
Avoid insulting your subject with a confusion induction, it’s a great way to lose rapport. Use plenty of phenomena with analytical subjects, they’ll have something talk about experientially.
Sensory Overlap Induction
Sensory Overlap Induction - Original

According to Milton Erickson, inductions should always include an element of confusion, but it is not an induction in and of itself. The Ericksonian confusion technique is a series of ideas (presented verbally or non-verbally) that do not lend themselves to an easy resolution. This is intended to stir up the need to do something, allowing the subject to accept the first clear-cut option they hear for resolution. In short, all of this is intended to create anticipatory focus that is straightforward to utilize.
Using good confusion technique should require the subject to think or experience, and should make some degree of sense. Nobody wants to hear someone babble bullshit, or they’ll get off the train. Using suggestions that ask the subject to search ‘inside’ for resolution can be more effective in and of themselves, instead of passive ones that are merely explanations. For example…
“Hypnosis is like a pleasant day-dream…” Could be changed to using a confusion technique here… ”You may find that hypnosis is like one of your daydreams, perhaps like a dream you had at school one day, when your mind drifts from time to time during a lesson…”

A statement or action that creates attention or receptivity, creating an anticipatory focus. These lead to the resolutions almost working like embedded commands. A few categories follow…

Sensory Confusion. Any lack of clarity with sensory input - such as a double induction where two hypnotists speak two inductions simultaneously. This can also be created by creating ambiguity as to what someone should be focusing on.
Sensory Overload. An extension of the above, but overloading someone’s sensory inputs to the point where it pushes everything else out of the way.
Non sequiturs. Where one effect leads to another unrelated effect. EG: “And finding that just listening to my voice makes your feet stick more and more firmly to the ground.”
Homonyms "And I don't know if your right arm will begin to raise, meaning that the other arm is left. Or if your other arm will be right for you and your right arm will be left…" Old, Graham. Hypnosis with the Hard to Hypnotise: How to do Inductions with Resistant Clients, Analytical Subjects and Others who may be Difficult to Hypnotise (The Inductions Masterclass Book 6) (p. 104). Plastic Spoon. Kindle Edition.
Double entendres. “If I said you had a beautiful body would you hold it against me?”
Oppositional Pairs. "So you can sit there… in that chair here… while you try, to be aware of the exact meaning… of the words you hear… and of all the changes… that occur there… in your thoughts, sensations or awareness… as I speak here."
Associational Confusion. Using an unclear target, such as with My Friend John, or in nested loops 7. Ericksonian Pt5 Metaphors "And as you begin to think about the changes you are making at a subconscious level… now… you can take a deep breath..."
Shifting States. Shifting someone into a state, dissociating them, then associating again, without clear boundaries. The emotional equivalent of sensory overload.
Kinaesthetic Confusion. Almost any unexpected sensation or movement, from magnetic hands all the way to an arm drop or catalepsy.
Pattern-interrupt. 🐄 BUTTS. Interrupting a pattern and leaving it unresolved, like breaking a handshake. And as you realize the cow butt was irrelevant, you can keep reading.
Confusion is ideal for creating a state where someone will doubt their (stubborn) reality, in order to make change, and usually provides an inroad into an internal state. This can also be used to detach people from their conscious mental sets, breaking the connections that they’re transfixed on. Another way it can be used, in a fun way, is to ‘dim’ the outer reality.
Graham Old - Typical Confusion Induction Transcript

Ideally, you should use confusion not just to confuse the client, but to help the client get around whatever is getting in the way of their trance or their development. So, check what pattern is stopping your subject from getting in to trance, then use it to put them into trance.
The author provides the following framework for using confusion to initiate trance:

Identify the process
Initiate the process
Confuse the process
Extend the confusion
Utilize the confusion
For example, the Bandler Handshake, chosen for a client that too willingly accepts social norms, and could use the ability to reframe them.

Handshakes are automatic.
Start the handshake.
Interrupt the handshake. (Slide out of the way, use the other hand to lift their wrist.)
Tell them to look at their hand, locking in the confusion.
Continue the induction, utilizing catalepsy if their hand freezes, or an invitation to enter trance as their hand drops down.
Or… Find someone that’s distracted by their environment, ask them to notice it, keep adding things for them to notice (the interrupt), overload it to the point where it’s unsustainable, and provide the option to relax.

Confusion inductions can be unpleasant. In many states, it’s to resolve everything to the point of annoyance or discomfort where you offer the opportunity to relax, and that’s really not going to help your rapport. A good spot for confusion inductions is someone that’s an avid meditator. While it’s fine that meditators will use an internal analytical loop, and analyze things as they happen, it’s less ideal if they try to assist and fill their role. Use confusion techniques to interrupt this.
While linguistic confusion isn’t great, kinesthetic confusion is much more palatable. For example, using the Thain Wrist Lift is a good option…
Thain Wrist Lift Barry Thain’s Wrist-Lift Induction is a thing of beauty.
https://howtodoinductions.com/inductions/wristlift/
Graham Old - Kinaesthetic Confusion Transcript

While, in a clinical sense, convincers and phenomena are not necessary, they do increase the effectiveness of therapeutic suggestions.
Graham Old - The Sinking Point
Graham Old - Arm Levitation
Graham Old - Magnetic Hands

According to Donald Gorassini, hypnotisability is highly modifiable. (In a roundabout way, it linked to the book ‘The Highly Hypnotizable Person,’ which is in the book stash.) Arguments from Spiegel suggest it is barely modifiable. Graham suggests the following exercises to the subject:

Directed Imagination. This exercise should start with someone imagining something in their mind. This does not necessarily mean that they need to be able to visually see it, but just imagine, visualize, pretend, get a sense of, or become aware of something. Over time they can gradually add more details.
Mindful Absorption. This is much like a mindful awareness exercise and meditation. The subject is instructed to focus on something and just instead of direct their attention, just become aware of what they are aware of.
Goal-Directed Fantasy (GDF). If a subject was instructed to make their arm numb, they could imagine their arm being stuck in a cold body of water until it becomes numb and at their own suggestions. The next step in it would be to see if they can allow the arm to raise unconsciously without effort.
Intentional Response. This works in tandem with gold directed fancy, but the. subject is instructed to. gradually move from manually. making the phenomena work like moving their arm to seeing if they can allow it to happen automatically.
Rapid Relaxation. This could simply be thought of as doing a PMR on yourself on your own time.. The goal isn't really to do an induction on yourself, but it's more to improve at relaxing.
Deep Simulation. This is more like method acting, where you would ask a subject to pretend that they're a excellent hypnotic subject within the mindset where hypnosis would lead the most effective to them.
As a lesson for the hypnotist, you should consider what you can provide to your subject so that they can know what they should be experiencing. For example, if you're doing arm levitation, you should tell them all about how it feel for their wrist to be pulled up, how their muscles may move their arm up. How? it feels as their arm is raised. The tightening of the string around their wrist, anything like that.
Graham Old - Fractionation Conversation Transcript

Everyone with autism is different and unique. With that being said, there are a few things to be aware of:

Be aware of sensory issues.
Embrace the spirit of an experimentation
Utilize their interests
Explain a variety of valid responses
Employee active inductions
Do not rely on trance
Avoid trying to use confusion - It is annoying!

Why Learn PHRIT

Tue, 04 Jun 2024 21:34:45 GMT

PHRIT works by gradually teaching the client how to gradually re-enter hypnosis. This technique is also a nice way to show the hypnotist that they can teach reinduction, and they shouldn't be afraid of doing rapid inductions or reinductions. To teach PHRIT, you do not need to get someone in a 'deep trance,' since the fractionation component will take care of this.
In addition to this, you'll be teaching the client how to do self-hypnosis. "As well as being a powerful induction and deepener, PHRIT works well as a framework for anchoring and establishing post-hypnotic suggestions."

Graham Old - PHRIT
[Improvised induction.]

Get physically comfortable. You can always shift.
"What I'm going to invite you to do at the beginning is simply pretend that you're relaxed."
[improvise and respond]
And maybe if you were really relaxed, you would close your eyes.
Pace, then lead to "I want you to think of a time you were relaxed." Provide examples. [Personally - real or imagined, a time lying on a beach, resting in a garden, lying in bed, walking along a trail, or even just lazily chilling out on the sofa.]
[Improvise, and deepen with ETIs.] [Pace and lead deeper 'into this experience.']
[Improvise, some people notice the environment, while their unconscious continues deeper into that comfortable experience.] [Optional: It might remind you this is normal.]
And that means you can just enjoy the feeling of letting go. You don't need to pay attention to [leading relaxation], or wonder [how deep you can go], all you need to do is relax.
[To different people / some people, it means… Stilling and calming, deep inner focus, state of resourcefulness, or even a sensation of heaviness. However your unconscious interprets it, no matter how deep you continue to go, or whatever you're experiencing, is perfectly fine.]
[PHRIT part 1.]

Now that you've seen how easily and quickly you can relax…
In a moment, open eyes, and at that point I will invite you to take 4 deep breaths
On the 4th breath say the word relax in your head as you close your eyes
bring your self back to this place
(Repeat instructions.)
Ask for kinesthetic or verbal confirmation
(V's note - we've set up a posthypnotic suggestion.)
I'll count up and at 3 we can carry on talking.
[Lead and ask about their enjoyment, but keep it short. Reinforce positives quickly. ]
When you're ready [4 deep breaths, on 4th exhale say relax, take yourself back.]
Reinforce ETIs.
[PHRIT part 2]

Pace and lead [how easy it is to return], I want you to know that…
The next time you take 4 deep breaths, you can let those eyes close on the fourth breath as you say the word relax in your head
and you can allow yourself to come right back to this place
(V: We've moved from actively returning, to letting it happen.)
Restate instructions.
Check for confirmation.
Counting up on 3.
When you're ready, count to 4, allow your eyes to close and go back.
[PHRIT part 3]

And now I want you to know that… (repeat)
Your eyes can close
You can come right back, if not even deeper.
The next time you [4, relax], those eyes (dissociative), and you'll find yourself coming back, maybe even deeper.
Check for confirmation.
Bring up.
Go ahead and take 4 deep breaths.
Reinforce ETIs.
[PHRIT part 4]

I want you to know that…
(trigger)
Your eyes will close and you will come right back, if not even deeper.
[trigger], your eyes will close and you'll come right back to this place, if not even deeper.

Natural anchoring is as simple as enjoying the smell of fresh baked cookies, photos of kind memories, or some even taking you all the way back to re-experiencing something. Artificial anchoring is doing this intentionally - like squeezing a hand in a happy or resourceful state. Graham argues that PHRIT uses natural anchoring, caused by fractionation, positive reinforcement, and reinduction.
Post-hypnotic suggestions are not anchors, as they are not built by experiential association.
[For those of us for whom accuracy is important, strictly speaking - in NLP terms - within Anchoring, it is a 'state' that is anchored, not an action. However, post-hypnotic suggestions may be for an action, a feeling or any kind of physical response to occur.] Old, Graham. Revisiting Hypnosis: The Principles and Practice of Post-Hypnotic Re-induction Training for Anchoring, Post-hypnotic Suggestions and Inductions (The Inductions Masterclass Book 2) . Plastic Spoon. Kindle Edition.

Recall a time where you felt a positive feeling.
Let it grow.
Reinforce VAK.
When you're at peak, make an OK sign.
And maybe it grows even more.
Now, open your eyes.
[Make short conversation to break state.]
[Verify and ask about anchor.]

Previously - Graham spoke about a very intense trip he took to India, and how smelling and re-using the sunscreen brought back a wash of emotions:

The intensity of the experience
The uniqueness and appropriateness of the stimuli
Sunscreen is naturally useful in hot environments, and the olfactory bulb is pugged into the limbic system, as are the hippocampus and amygdala, which are responsible for generating emotions and memory
The repetition of the stimulus
NLP trainers recommend these keys to good anchoring:

Intensity. Intensity affects the ease and strength of creation of the anchor.
Timing. Either provide the stimulus right at the peak, or right before the peak. Attempt to maintain the intensity of the experience.
Uniqueness. An effective anchor is unique to the situation - like that single brand of sunscreen's smell. (Appropriateness is preferential, according to Graham, like a squeezed fist for strength.)
Repetition. The more you try to anchor it, the more likely it'll be successful. "don't anchor sitting in the chair… if you want them to replicate that in the real world."
You'll want to test your anchor afterwards, so you'll want to break the state to test it. (Graham, when he has a patient come in, usually has a patient come in with a Problem frame of mind, and they prefer working with at Solution or Possibilities mindset, and they crack a joke or ask a weird question to break the problem frame.)

Graham suggests, in their on theory, that post-hypnotic suggestions are just unconscious learned behaviors. If someone forgets a number when counting due to a hypnotic or post-hypnotic suggestion, some part of them is actively withholding that information, just unconsciously, but with intention. Graham argues that the same thing is happening with a spider phobia.
They suggest that this follows with the psychoeducational theory of the Four Stages of Competence.

Unconscious Incompetence
Conscious Incompetence
Conscious Competence
Unconscious Competence
This maps to the four stages of the PHRIT process.

Collapsing anchors is used to break an association or an unwanted state.

Identify the problem state.
Use that to ask what they'd like from a positive state.
Install the anchor for the positive state.
Test and reinforce the positive anchor.
Establish the negative anchor using an opposite. (EG - using the left hand instead of the right.)
Break the state again.
You can now go between the two states separately without breaking them - this works as a powerful convincer.
Then, fire both anchors at once. This will cause some confusion.
Stop the negative state, while holding the positive state.
Break state.
Test the negative anchor, ensuring it is neutral.
1. If it persists, stack more positives onto the positive state and repeat.
(Building the state is just a revivification exercise - describe, make it stronger, build it, find the spot right before the state, and just set the anchor. There's a transcript on how to do this - if you're not me that's reading this and you have questions, let me know.)

I already broke down the PHRIT process earlier, but here's Graham's own breakdown.
[!important]
To begin, induce Hypnosis, or even just enable the client to relax. Then:Tell the client that when they take 4 deep breaths, as they breathe out the 4th time, they can bring themselves back into the experience they are currently having. Get their agreement.Have them open their eyes, remind them of what to do and then invite them to do it. They bring themselves back.Tell the client that when they next take 4 deep breaths, as they breathe out the 4th time they can allow themselves to come back into the experience they are currently having. Have them open their eyes, remind them of what to do and then have them do it. They allow themselves to come back.Tell them that when they next breathe out the 4th time they can find themselves coming back into the experience they are currently having. Have them open their eyes, and tell them to take 4 deep breaths. They find themselves going back.Finally, tell them that when they next breathe out the 4th time they will go straight back... Have them open their eyes. Tell them to take 4 deep breaths. They go straight back.Old, Graham. Revisiting Hypnosis: The Principles and Practice of Post-Hypnotic Re-induction Training for Anchoring, Post-hypnotic Suggestions and Inductions (The Inductions Masterclass Book 2) . Plastic Spoon. Kindle Edition.

The key to PHRIT is progressive permissive fractionation. The progression goes from permissive to direct suggestions.

The suggestions move from permissive to direct, starting out with empowering the subject, and then directly suggested and reinforced, cementing the process.
Fractionation will naturally take the subject deeper on each step, therefore the statements "or even more deeply" are only there for pacing.
The instructional anchor is repeated, strengthening the anchor.
'Relax' is an appropriate word for an anchor. (Along with closing their eyes and exhaling.)

You can do this as a 1 breath trigger, just step down the required breaths as you give the induction.
You can add some wording that they can do it themselves for self hypnosis to just make it a self hypnosis trigger.
You can modify this to have a more 'stage hypnosis' (or recreational) vibe.

Graham finds that their post-hypnotic suggestions are more effective after PHRIT. They also structure and reinforce the triggers in the same way…

Tell them when they use the anchor, they can recall and revive the experience.
Re-describe the anchor action.
Get their agreement.
Remind them of what to do and invite them to do it. Invite them to recall and revive the experience.
When they use the anchor, they can allow themselves to go back to the confidence they just experienced.
(Repeat the process.)
Tell them they can find themselves going back. (Repeat.)
Tell them when they use the anchor, they will experience a surge of confidence.

Create the anchor. Reinforce it with 3 other experiences.
They suggest "Just see what you see, hear what you hear and feel what you feel."
And as it reaches it's peak, lock it in.
(Client uses anchor.)
That's right. Maybe it increases even more… Until that feeling can temporarily subside.
Break state.
PHRIT 1:
In a moment. Anchor, actively recall and revive and reexperience.
Check for confirmation.
Fire anchor.
Feeling subsides.
PHRIT 2:
In a moment, fire the anchor and you can allow yourself to go back [experience.] Maybe more powerful with each repetition as you practice it.
Check for confirmation that they understand and agree before firing it.
Fire it, [allowing yourself to go back, maybe even stronger. Maybe your unconscious is bringing in other experiences without you even knowing, find it in increase.]
Let go and let that feeling subside.
PHRIT 3:
Fire the anchor and you'll find yourself going back to [state.]
Increasing with each visit.
Check for confirmation that they understand and agree before firing it.
Fire. Find yourself going back.
That's it, more and more confident.
And now you can let go.
PHRIT 4:
1. Fire the anchor and you'll find automatically feel [surge, state.]
2. Naturally filling you head to toe.
3. Confirmation.
4. Fire anchor.
5. That's right. Immediately experiencing [state.]
Your anchor is ready.

What if they don't go directly on the 3rd and 4th time?
Find out why. They may have not understood, or you may have gone from permissive to direct too quickly, and they didn't know how to do what you were asking of them. You can repeat the first suggestion to take themselves back more than once.
Couldn't you have said all of this in one page?
Yes! In fact, I could do better than that. I can say it all in just 4 lines:

You tell them to do it - "bring yourself back"
You tell them to let it happen - "allow yourself to come back"
You tell them it can happen, permissively - "you will find yourself..."
You tell them it will happen, directly - "you will come straight back"
Old, Graham. Revisiting Hypnosis: The Principles and Practice of Post-Hypnotic Re-induction Training for Anchoring, Post-hypnotic Suggestions and Inductions (The Inductions Masterclass Book 2) . Plastic Spoon. Kindle Edition.

The Pre-Talk

Sun, 09 Jun 2024 00:49:47 GMT

About these notes I'm writing these notes skipping a heap of information I've gathered elsewhere. If you're unfamiliar with the Elman induction, go watch a demonstration of the induction first on youtube, then come back to these notes.

According to Elman, "Hypnosis is a state of mind in which the critical faculty of the human mind is bypassed, and selective thinking established." Interestingly, Elman would avoid talk of hypnosis entirely in his pre-talk.
According to Elman, you'll need the following to help the subject create trance:

Consent
Communication between the operator and subject
Freedom from fear and reluctance, and trust in the operator
Getting consent for touch During the pretalk, you can streamline asking for permission to touch them during the induction by saying you'll touch them 'here' or 'here' as you touch their elbow or shoulders. Then get the OK. State that you'll do this with a sense of professionalism and certainty.

Eye closure on the first step is not 'just' to create eye catalepsy, but also to create buy-in to the process of hypnosis. This also has a built-in troubleshooting step - if the eyes open during this point, they don't understand the chain of command you've provided them to keep their eyes open.
The Elman Handshake
Say you'll shake their hand three times.
The first your eyes will get tired, let them.
The second they'll want to close, let them.
The third they will lock and you won't be able to open them. Want that to happen, and watch it happen.
Now, one.
Now two, now close your eyes.
Now three... say with authority:
they are locked, they just won't work, no matter how hard you try.
The harder you try, the less they'll work.
Test them, and you'll find they won't work at all.
Interestingly, in a technique Elman used with younger subjects, he'd directly suggest they should pretend they just can't open them, testing them in the same way. I've always been a bit 'hung up' on the eye closure needing to be created through the inferred priority of thought, rather than to directly suggest they imagine it happening.
Priority of Thought is really this simple:

Place your hand on your thigh and DO NOT MOVE THAT HAND.
Now, while obeying the first instruction, try as had as you can to move your hand up.
According to the book, if you make this too obvious, you will not bypass the critical faculty.
The first step of the Elman induction does not need to be eye closure, just small muscle catalepsy. Eye closure is just a good choice since it naturally leads to relaxation.
It is not necessary for your practice-partner to feel that you are a powerful hypnotist. As you progress through the process – particularly if you start with the relatively fail-proof Priority of Thought – your partner will discover that it is the process itself which is powerful. Or, perhaps, the real power resides in their mind and you are simply introducing them to a tool for tapping into that. Old, Graham. The Elman Induction: Unpacking the Theory and Practice of One of the Most Popular Hypnotic Inductions in the World (The Inductions Masterclass Book 3) (p. 60). Plastic Spoon. Kindle Edition.

Interestingly - you could define the suggestion that the subject send a wave of relaxation through their body as a very rapid deepener. Graham notes that the advantage of rapidly moving into the deepener is there's less time to evaluate the depth.
A few examples of quick deepener components:

Stop testing and allow that relaxation (etc.)
Any sounds will remind you (etc.) allowing you to deepen (etc)
And as you stop testing those eyelids, you can relax and feel great. And the better you feel, the deeper you'll go. And the deeper you go, the better you feel.
Every breath/word/beat will cause you to go deeper
Graham Old - Permissive Elman Induction

Fractionation vs Multiple Sessions The text here insinuates that Elman thought that fractionating a subject could provide the same or similar effects of multiple inductions over several sessions across several days or weeks. I'm not sold. If this worked, we could help our low responders get deep and cozy in a few minutes of waving our hands in front of them.
Another gripe here with the text - suggesting that the subject goes "ten times deeper" is perfectly fine and easy to imagine. I hate this wording. I've been the recipient of this suggestion and felt "well, I feel 30 or 40 percent deeper" and lost some trust at that point when the hypnotist tried to jam the same button again. This will depend on the subject, sure, but man it sure kicks me out of my experience.

Elman saw the arm drop as an indicator of following suggestion (as you suggest the arm's catalepsy,) a convincer (as they try to bend their arm and find themselves unable to bend it,) and a deepener (with the kinesthetic elements of finally relaxing the arm like a wet cloth and letting it 'drop' into their laps, letting them drop even deeper.)

Compounding suggestions: Where you increase the perceived or experienced intensity of suggestion 1 through the experiences of suggestion 2. Bouncing from 1 to 2, 1 to 3, and 1 to 4.
Pyramiding Suggestions: Starting at a small suggestion and working up to a larger one. Pacing and leading in small steps.
Cascading Suggestions: Working 'down' the pyramid, instead of up. "Cascading" and layering suggestions, making them stronger, instead of moving laterally.

A few tips on the suggested amnesia:

It is insufficient to accept aphasia as 'relaxing away the numbers' if we're trying to achieve amnesia. Ask explicitly if the numbers are gone.
If you're still uncertain, go through another amnesiac experience - such as spelling their name backwards and losing the numbers.

This is a bit street-hypnosis like, and also reminds me of the 'Simon Says' suggestion.
The Super Suggestion

The biggest note from this part of the book is that you don't need to use the Esdaile deepener to get into the Esdaile state. According to Elman, Esdaile shows the following signs:

Anesthesia: At level C, Elman would go ham with towel clips or Allis clamps
Moving an arm or a leg: Asking your subject should move should do nothing, as suggested.
Opening eyes: Asking your subject to open their eyes should do nothing, as suggested.
Catatonia: "Waxy like rigidity" when positioning limbs.
Elman's Esdaile

"Well done - you've demonstrated that you can open your eyes. As I've said, you remain in control at all times. Now, I want you to demonstrate that you can't open your eyes. So, go ahead and close your eyes again and relax them so well that they are just too relaxed to open. And then demonstrate to yourself that you've relaxed them that well by keeping hold of that relaxation whilst you try in vain to open them."
Another option is, stick a finger to a leg or a table and let them watch that it's no big deal for it to be stuck, removing the fear.

If their arm is stiff, go ahead and make it stiff and cataleptic like a steel bar, then shake it loose, and go back to the dishcloth method.
If this happens a lot, ensure you've laid out how things will work.

Check your language - maybe "letting them go" or "relaxing them away" is more tenable to your subject. Avoid saying the word 'numbers.' Use, "Are they gone?" Or "have they gone yet?"
Having them forget letters is also an option.
Elman's Secret Sauce for Stubborn Number Eradication Elman: [to doctors] Let me show you again the technique I use when the numbers don't disappear. I lift his hand and say, “When I drop your hand the lights will go out and you won't see any more numbers... There you are... The lights are out and all the numbers are gone...[52]
You can also try some visualization, like seeing the numbers on a tv getting smaller, or floating on a cloud going further away.
You may need to be direct, such as "the way that someone's name can be on the tip of your tongue, but you just can't find it..." or "Like when you know an actor's name and you stumble around in your mind but you just cant' grasp it. You know you know it, but right now it's just out of your reach, on the tip of your tongue, but you can't quite get it."
("Are the numbers gone is perfectly fine to say in most cases, since you're not saying 'is 87 gone?')
They suggest switching to the 8 word induction aka Graham Old - The Hand Drop if nothing else seems to work.

The Floating Hand Variations

Tue, 18 Jun 2024 02:19:56 GMT

Graham Old's Induction Components:
Gain Consent / Get Contract
Create expectancy
Absorb attention/awareness
Engage the imagination
Arouse emotions/feelings
A handshake in itself gets some degree of consent, the interruption creates expectancy, the eye focus on their hand absorbs their attention, and your suggestions engage their imagination. Interrupting the handshake will arouse emotions, and your verbal suggestions will arouse emotions as well.

Interrupt the handshake by grabbing their wrist with your other hand.
Instruct them to look at their palm as you present their own palm to them.
Suggest the palm moving towards them.
If you notice it moving, great. If not, imperceptibly begin to tilt the hand towards them.
Utilize with positive reinforcement, pace and lead the hand moving closer to closing the eyes
If the eyes do not close automatically, suggest a deep breath, and when they exhale their eyes will just close, until you just allow it to happen...
Suggest the arm becoming heavier and dropping down as they drop into relaxation/heaviness/trance
Deepen by lifting the other wrist, suggesting it is heavy
Or more simply:

Look at your hand
As that hand moves towards your own face
(With or without assistance)
Your eyes will begin to change focus
And when you begin to become aware of your eyes
(wave hand down in front of eyes)
Close your eyes...
And sleep...
If you shift their hand manually, use only your forefinger, and try to only move it a few millimeters, as if it's moving behind the hand. Shifting the gravity should be enough to utilize the bend in the arm.

Hand Redirection Exercise ...Stand up and allow your hand to swing at your side a couple of times... the hand will likely swing in front of you so much that the back of your hand almost touches your forehead. Repeat this one more time. However, just as your hand is swinging in front of your face, use your other hand to apply the slightest touch to the back of the swinging hand, in line with the little finger. You will likely find your hand twisting and end up with your palm in front of your face. ... the handshake does not need to be interrupted at the usual point... you can allow the hands to meet after they have dropped slightly, and when they are rising up again... you can... take hold of the hand... you respect the energy that your partner is putting into the upward handshake and simply redirect it. Old, Graham. The Hypnotic Handshakes: Mastering The Handshake Inductions of Bandler, Elman and Erickson (The Inductions Masterclass Book 4) (p. 35). Plastic Spoon. Kindle Edition.
The point of this table is to highlight the flexibility of this induction - utilize what feels right.

If you have plenty of Expectation and you're showing up, try the fast-hand variation.
What the fuck are all these floating hand variations! The Floating Hand: Their hand floats up to or towards their face [Think of this as the magnetic forehead!] The Falling Hand: Their hand falls down to their face (or sometimes their side) [Think of this as the gravity variation!] The Frozen Hand: Their hand remains cataleptic, in front of their face, where you placed it after the handshake. Usually followed-up with a falling deepener [This is the cataleptic Bandler original] The Focused Hand: No handshake is used. You simply ask your partner to look at their hand. This can result in either of the three outcomes above [This is Jonathan Chase's “Shapes” version] The Fast Hand: This is the Derren Brown rapid variation [Think of this as the flashy or face-palm version!].

Dead easy.
Put the hand in front of their face, and instruct them to look at 'that spot on your hand.'
Pace the changing focus of their eyes. Tell them "they can close now."
Allow yourself to (suggestions of focus/peace/calm.)
(Let go of the hand when you're confident it'll stay up on its own.)
Make a tacit contract that as the hand comes down to rest, they can come down to rest as well.

Witch-doctor if they're right or left-handed.
Ask for permission to borrow the hand.
Instead of asking them to focus on a spot, ask them to focus on a shape in the hand.
Ask them what the shape is.
Tell them to go into the shape, right into it.
As you see ETI's, just have them go into that shape and start to pace and lead.

(On this variation, you'll need a bunch of expectation to do this.)
Interrupt the handshake, put their hand in front of their eyes.
"Look at your hand, let your eyes close."
Move the hand until it's an inch or two in front of their face. Have your other hand ready to go at the back of their head. Lightly and purposefully tap their head with "Sleep!"
Suggest depth.

Instead of considering these as jarring interruptions, perhaps bucket these as times of 'expectant waiting,' as if you were the more experienced player and a game and did something that appeared to be outside of the rules, causing attention and focus.
Graham Old suggests thinking of this like akido - where you take your sparring partner's weight and use it to your advantage. Avoid clashing with your partner's intentions.
...a pattern-interrupt is simply a convoluted way of saying 'act in an unexpected manner, causing someone to look to you for an explanation.'

This is surprising, but this is actually covered better by MMHA courses. Nest a few stories, and in the middle in there, deliver your direct suggestion, then close your loops.

Story 1
Begin story 2
Begin story 3
Provide direct suggestion
Close story 3
Close story 2
Close story 1
You can use pattern interrupts to create anticipation. Such as - when a client starts to sit down in a chair, and you interrupt them right before sitting down and saying "oh, not that chair, that's for when you go into hypnosis later. Please, take (n chair.)... Let's decide how we're going to work together first."
“I should just let you know that one successful client once described my style of therapy as being 'playfully provocative.' So, if at any point, you think I'm being rude or idiotic, just presume it's all part of the therapy and we'll get along just fine!” Old, Graham. The Hypnotic Handshakes: Mastering The Handshake Inductions of Bandler, Elman and Erickson (The Inductions Masterclass Book 4) (p. 65). Plastic Spoon. Kindle Edition.
A client said one time that it was 'silly' that they only smoked 10 a day. As they continued talking, Graham marked the world silly quite obviously by using it in conversation, occasionally chuckling after using it.
When she finally objected with "It's not silly! It could kill..." He slammed his hard on the desk and said "You're absolutely right! Sit in the other chair and let's stop this."

Deliver suggestions in Elman's style on what they'll do on each hand-shake.

Allowing yourself to relax... what it feels like to let go... want that and you can have it...
You will relax so much your eyes will want to close but fight it... don't let them just yet.
You can close your eyes and let go and go completely inside.
You can interrupt on the 3rd with a "sleep" and a tug and tell them to go completely inside.
This seems fun and ballsy! I have to give this one a go.

According to Response-Expectancy Theory, 'when we expect a particular outcome we sometimes unwittingly behave so as to produce that outcome.'
Given that some responses are automatic, they will assume many of your suggestions are automatically followed and therefore will follow your therapeutic suggestions automatically, and create conditions to make it happen.

'When we expect something to happen, when we anticipate an outcome, our Imagination automatically reacts to it and prepares us for the expected event. ...Our Imagination treats it as an impending reality, then starts adapting our body to cope with the reality of it, and then just waits for the start of the anticipated event.' John Cleesattel
In short, if you imagine something about to happen, you'll 'brace' for it. For instance, seeing a car slam the brakes in front of you, you'll brace for impact.

With authority, tell them they'll have a new thought. Ask them to say it when they have it.
Tell them their body will think 'I want to relax.' Let me know when it does, and then let it.
Repeat with further relaxation suggestions. Maybe follow it up with an Elman "eyes are so relaxed you can't open them."
To "demonstrate the power of their mind" ask them to try to open them, and when they do, they relax more.
In a moment, I'm going to put one more thought in your head. Your response will be automatic.
So get ready. I will say the word 'now' when I do it. (Restate what will happen.)
Build tension. "NOW."

Milton Erickson - Hypnotic Realities Handshake

Ask the subject to count backwards from 20 (optional.)
Apply pressure to different parts of the hand as you slowly end the handshake.
Gaze into the distance, away, over their shoulder.
Ask them if they're awake.
Don't budge, reinforce sleepiness.

Slowly, awkward withdrawal from the handshake as he stopped smiling.
Alternated finger position during the withdrawal to create ambiguity.
Started withdrawing the hand leaving no clear-cut answer as to what the last thing they did to their hand was, almost leaving it there.
Looked behind them, as before, into the distance.
When her pupils dilated, he completely withdrew his hand, leaving it midair. He slightly raised it with some gentle pressure to keep it cataleptic.
He gave a nonverbal cue to close their eyes.

(I would eject so god damn hard if someone did this to me.)

Start with a handshake.
Suggest a memory that's got strange conditions to get to. (They suggest their 'earlier happiest memory,' not their happiest memory, but they mention both to add a layer of confusion. Yuck. )
Start doing the weird kinesthetic confusion shit with the handshake.
Suggest something to add on - they use 'their favorite song' overlayed on this memory.
Start weird shit with the handshake as you continue talking.
“I can only wonder how much joy it would bring those people who love you the most to relive this happy memory with you. Seeing what you see, hearing the sounds, feeling all of those positive sensations...” 🤮
(I'm not transcribing more of this. This is just too weird.)
You can add different overloads, like counting back from 1000, or imagining yourself drawing "a" while you say "z", and have them converge. Or just ask them to start spelling something backwards on the outbreath.

(I didn't find anything useful in this chapter. This may have been revelatory to me last year but this is a rehash of content in Graham Old - Hypnosis with the Hard to Hypnotize notes.)

Just keep pacing and leading. They're looking at you in the WTF state, try using it. It's not being out of time, or a problem with following your partner's lead, just you wasting your time reinforcing that you're just as confused as they are.

Only if your pre-talk is to the contrary. If it looks like you're trying to trick them, it won't go well. Just don't shoot yourself in the foot in your pretalk.

Up to you bro. Look at your hand, look at that shape, look at that one spot, look at your pinki, whatever.

You may be directly opposing their movement. Try redirecting ('circular movement') instead of pushing back.
If they're trained in martial arts, handshakes might be a poor choice in general, perhaps possibly the focused hand variation.
If your partner is resisting, it might be because it's an 'unwelcome type of weird' going on and they don't know it's part of hypnosis.

Utilize their response. Coach engagement.
Well, I can see that your subconsicous is alert and active. (Smile) ... And we can use that.. So, let's do this another way... You've got this...

Try something like the wet-dishtowel approach, shaking the wrist, suggesting it relax. Coach engagement during the process.

You can use a more familiar patter. Have fun with it!

Do the two-handed businessman handshake.

Let them have it. Then ask to borrow 'that' hand pointing to the other one and just go for a focused hand induction.
Graham Old - PII Induction

Ch1: Theatersports

Sat, 13 Jul 2024 03:01:25 GMT

I encourage negative people to be positive, and clever people to be obvious, and anxious people not to do their best. Johnstone, Keith. Impro for Storytellers (p. x). Taylor and Francis. Kindle Edition.

He/she welcomes the spectators and breaks the ice, perhaps asking them to: ‘Tell a stranger the vegetable that you most hate!’ or ‘Tell someone a secret you’ve never told anyone!’ or ‘Hug the stranger closest to you.’ (I’m amazed that our spectators will agree to hug each other.) Johnstone, Keith. Impro for Storytellers (p. 3). Taylor and Francis. Kindle Edition.
After each pair of challenges, the ‘Ombud’ reminds the spectators of the scenes they’ve just been watching (because laughter interferes with transfer from the short-term memory). Johnstone, Keith. Impro for Storytellers (pp. 4-5). Taylor and Francis. Kindle Edition.

Prelude

Sun, 23 Jun 2024 05:27:52 GMT

As I've written these notes mostly for myself, you could take this as an incomplete and condensed overview of this book. Even if you read these notes, I'd recommend giving the book a read if this looks like your sort of thing. James' writing is a hell of a lot smoother to breeze through than this document.
In addition to reading this, give Weaver's notes a read. It's not a summary of the book like this - but more of an expansion on the original work. I've ganked some of his ideas in some new asides, linking to his text.

Given the HWT (hypnosis without trance) paradigm, when creating ‘trance,’ you should not go for a state of trance, but to actually just create all the components of trance. You are not looking for an overall trance ‘state,’ but just the components of it that you need.
A helpful perspective is to focus more on process rather than the state of hypnosis. Suggestibility and modifications are not an on and off switch, and deepening does not (always) help with suggestions, therefore, directly working on the suggestion itself is the ideal approach.
Sooo.... Why bother with trance? After I applied some of the techniques from this book, I certainly felt like trance was unnecessary aside from being a convincer. Given the Hypnotic Loop provided later, it gives you all the tools you need to create the 'state of trance,' almost by just suggesting indicators of trance starting to happen. After reading Binaural Histolog's Guide, with my notes available here, I'm starting to see 'trance' as the subjective experience for the subject, while experiencing the effects of a hypnotic context. While at first it felt like hypnosis without trance techniques ripped the wings off the butterfly, it opened me up to the idea of creating and tailoring types of trance tailored to the experience or changes I was trying to create, rather than trying to get to "trance" so I could know my subject was primed and ready for suggestions. In addition, from personal experience, once a subject experiences trance, it's easier for them to both experience phenomena, as well as get back to trance at a later time. Weaver has some more thoughts over at HWT Notes: About Hypnotic Trance
The role of the operator is to use their verbal and nonverbal communication skills to help facilitate a shift in subjective reality. The co-operator’s role is to engage with the operator on their suggestions and directions, and eventually (hopefully feeling as if this is happening to them) to create the desired shift.
Important Let your co-operator know that they have an active and participatory role, and ask for their engagement, being clear and explicit. Coaching engagement will almost always be better than deepening trance.
Setting Expectations Wordweaver had some solid thoughts on setting your subject up for success. As a perk, his notes are more useful to the sessions I'm interested in - where you have plenty of time to talk, enjoy your subject's company, and goals for phenomena beyond their hand being stuck to the table. If you're lazy, here's the short list.
There is no failure, only feedback
An experiment
Failure is lovely
This is a skill You can read more at Wordweaver's HWT notes - A note on failure
They present an ideodynamic model, suggesting that thought can lead to ideomotor, ideosensory, ideoemotive, and ideocognitive shifts.

This is done with moving muscles ‘happening’ rather than ‘doing.’ Ideomotor signaling is asking for something to respond passively without the active participation of the co-operator, letting it happen. From here, you can ask part of the ‘unconscious’ mind to do something, or even some component of something. (This might be interesting to use to exploit double binds.)

It’s what you think. You can create positive or negative shifts.

Also what you think - emotions, still including positive or negative shifts.

Things like amnesia and confusion.

Using one ideodynamic modality to help another one. For example, if someone does well with ideosensory suggestions, but not great with ideomotor, utilize the one that works well to push into the one you’d like to improve. Or, asking them to bind an emotion to an active action… “The more you feel this joy the more you know this joy, and the more those fingers lock together, and this joy becomes you.”
For example, if you give a ‘try and fail to move’ test, and they move anyway, ask them… “That’s right (utilization), and it slowly lifts (utilization), (utilizing before seeking information), what is happening for you right now?” If there’s another sensation, you can use ‘ideodynamic bridging’ to help adjust the suggestion.

James suggests the model below, as a loop:
(Beliefs ⇒ Imagination ⇒ Physiology ⇒ Experience).
“Once they’re in a loop, you can back off a bit, as it’s (ideally) self reinforcing.”
Ideomotor signaling to check internal state? Hey - a novel idea, use some ideomotor signaling to overall gauge the effectiveness of suggestions?
James suggests stacking multiple running loops on top of each other, monitoring them, breaking, tweaking, and reinforcing them as needed.
Repeating suggestions - a note from binauralhistolog's talk on the Erotic Hypnosis discussion Binaural mentioned that you can repeat the same suggestion many more times than you'd initially think, up to 15 times. But, they noted, seven times really is all right. If it feels like you're telling them a mantra, you've gone too far.

Hypnotic focus is the uncritical focus on the current absorbed experience. This can be difficult to achieve if the environment is not ideal, or if the co-operator has a very active critical faculty. This requires skill to work with (if using suggestion alone), but sometimes you can work with it given a frank discussion and a little coaching.

Some people may find some suggestions more plausible than others, and some plausible frames may enhance other plausible frames. (EG, some people may thing it’s silly their hand will stick to the table, but others may feel they can lock their muscles in place.)
Given framing, the reason for plausibility can be pretty much anything, which James underscores…

Because the hypnotist has magical powers
Chi energy
Because we are bringing different brain systems online
The power of Anubis
VR Immersion
Voodoo
A special state of mind
You need buy in for these two levels:

The process (hypnosis. chi, voodoo)
You as the operator (hypnotist, chi-controller, voodoo… person…)
This does not mean you need to be seen as an expert. Just be grounded and certain of what you are doing.

(These aren’t meant to be strictly adhered to.)

Setup and pre-framing
Managing buy-in and establishing hypnotic focus
Setting up, testing, and reinforcing loops
Close the loops
Crediting and empowering

Your pre-talk. Or, with HWT, establishing yourself (or hypnosis) as capable, establishing hypnotic possibility (hypnosis is science, hypnosis is real, if I can hypnotize your dog I can hypnotize you,) and get them curious!
When introducing hypnosis, you can introduce yourself as the hypnotist. James suggests that you should build a legend around yourself if you’re planning on being a career hypnotist (so your name comes up and is immediately associated with hypnosis.) If you’ve got clout, people will come to you, but otherwise, you’ll have to generate your own curiosity by presenting yourself and asking how people have felt about hypnosis, or if people have experienced it before.
Fuck stage presence (when you're starting out) All right, we're going on a little rant detour here. Either strap in or get out of the choppa. The part I emphatically disagree with in Anthony Jacquin's Reality is Plastic is that you need to present yourself as The Hypnotist. If you're doing stage hypnosis, or even if you're doing street hypnosis, this will get you some free expectation. In the recreational communities I play in, this is entirely unnecessary - and I've even seen it prevent newbies from trying in the first place. Contrary to Mike Mendel's idea that your prestige is a major factor in the quality of your subject's experience, your swagger alone won't drop your subject into a deep mind-blowing trance. If you're practicing, it's not only fine, but welcome to present yourself as yourself. If you're new, that's OK! You don't need confidence in yourself, only confidence that hypnosis is a real thing. Street and stage hypnosis are both related, but different, games. I've found plenty of willing, kind, and helpful subjects that were perfectly fine being asked "hey - I want to try a thing, you got a few?" I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have received a warm response to that question if I was presenting myself as some hotshot. I still consider myself 'new,' but no longer a beginner. I have plenty of presence and confidence, and earning my reputation as a competent, or at least trustworthy, hypnotist was as simple as practicing and talking with people. Binaural Histolog has some thoughts on how to act as a hypnotist, and Wordweaver has their own thoughts on communicating with Power, Warmth, Presence, and Humor.
Then, you’ll want to check the co-operator’s attitude. Consider the difference between saying experienced hypnosis and been hypnotized before - an experience is more approachable than giving up control. They suggest trying to engage to create not wait and see. (I lean a bit to wait and see personally, but using this attitude is worth tinkering with.) Ask them about their previous experiences, avoid previous pitfalls, and explain (or slyly redirect) misconceptions or mishaps. If they’re new, try ‘what do you imagine it would be like’ to go into hypnosis. Ask them if they’re curious about finding out that it can work for them. (Not if, but that it can work for them.) You want to make sure that they’re cooperating to make it work, not giving you a “sure, why not” just to prove you wrong. Check for congruity in their response (cooperation in their body language, affect, voice tones, and what they’re saying.)
Why even say "Hypnosis" The whole idea behind using the term 'hypnosis' is to increase expectation. If your subject has reasonable expectations of what hypnosis can do for them, there's no reason to throw this free momentum out. However, be aware of that for them clause - if they've had poor experiences in the past, you might want to go the "this isn't quite like hypnosis" route. Further reading in Wordweaver's notes on HWT: Maps, Belief Systems and Mindsets
When you’ve got them on board - pick a frame. There’s plenty of examples…

Hypnosis is a perfectly natural type of focused attention, and it can allow you to create shifts in experience
Applied neuroscience
A way of releasing yourself from stuck patterns
A way of connecting to the unconscious and reflexive part of your mind…
Working with your cognition to experience automatic responses or make healthy changes
If they’re not sure not quite hyped, you can give them a taster with the ‘not hypnosis frame.’
Would you like to do something that will give you a sense of how powerful your own mind can be? Oakely dokelie. It’s not really hypnosis… but it’ll give you a sense of how hypnosis works, yeah? The author notes that this last sentence gets around the trepidation, while also inferring that it does work without having to ‘give in’ to it, and encourages agreement with the yeah at the end.
I don’t like the idea of going for this, but if you ask them if there are any changes they’d like to make (EG - to be more easygoing) you can integrate that into the suggestions. Eg: “and as that hand continues to rise you can continue to wonder, what is possible with the rest of that mind of yours, perhaps finding creative or flexible possibilities, your mind perhaps surprising you with a more easygoing response… or maybe experiencing some of those easygoing qualities as that hand continues to rise…”
They suggest view every interaction as giving a gift. They also suggest that Stage 1 is the most important stage, where the pre-framing or pretalk does most the work. I’m also not sold on this. 😐 This could either be my lack of experience, or the author having been sold on their own snake-oil, despite them seeming skilled and level-headed.

This is setting up yes and compliance sets. You can also use this conversationally in as “are you able to imagine something?” Or “you can imagine things, yeah?”
You can…

Adjust their posture (which requires compliance)
Apply witch-doctoring (making changes or asking questions that appear necessary, but really aren’t)
The idea behind establishing focus isn’t to shift anything, just to get them to stop being critical internally, and to try something different without question. So if you’re doing the hand stick, demonstrate, and ask them to focus on a point on the back of the hand. At this point, you can start pacing and leading their focus and experience.

At this point, you’ll begin to describe something using the imagination part of the loop, like their hand sticking to the table, and you can start pacing and leading their imagination.
You can soften a suggestion with ‘You can really almost begin to imagine that…’ If things aren’t working, check in! Ask what they’re experience, and coach their engagement, and ask them to discover what it might be like if they were going into it.
Stopping uh-huhs and distractions If you're trying to apply HWT, Wordweaver suggests that you can easily coach people into going with the flow. If they're giving you uh-huhs or unnecessary verbal acknowledgement, let them know that there's nothing they need to say at the moment, and they can just enjoy the experience. If they look distracted, give them something to focus on - which is likely one of the reasons why James says you should have the subject look at the back of their hand and focus their attention on it. Wordweaver HWT Notes: Managing buy-in and establishing focus I stole this tip from another hypnotist - if your subject is easily distracted, or starts analyzing, ask them to count. You can have them count groups (20, 20, 60) or even ask them to count down in threes. It's okay if they mess up, it's expected, and it's even a good thing - they can start over, and it'll make the distraction even more effective. This ameliorates some of the problems of both distraction and unwanted analysis.

Soft tests ask about your co-operator’s experience, and don’t really have a fail state, such as a double bind… “What’s more stuck right now, your hand or fingers?” And you can pace and lead with that to make it stronger.
Hard digital tests are binary - such as, “go ahead and try to pull away your hand and see what happens.” Or, “see that it barely moves.”
Hard analog tests can have varying degrees of success. “And as I tap the back of your hand, you’ll find that it begins to move up on it’s own.”
Of course - it's natural to move from soft to hard. =)
They suggest this pattern:

Listen to your co-operator’s reply and echo it using their own language
Pace the response
Lead into reinforcement of the loop
Apply a stronger test, implying that they will find it stronger and more of a challenge
A thing you can also do with this is try a ‘reality report’ and get them to reinforce it themselves… Such as… “What’s it like now as you try to unstick your finger and find that it just sticks more… and your palm sticks more?” If they say it’s really weird, parrot phrase that directly.

Expanding or transferring this phenomena uses these steps:

Clearly establish the phenomena in one location.
Obtain a neurohandle (James' term) 🙄 or a nominalization (NLP term) for the quality of the phenomena. “What’s that hand like as you can’t drop it?”
Do what you need to do to put it somewhere else.
Another technique is to immediately let go of a loop, to jump into reinforcing another loop. “And as I [blah], you’ll find that as [current loop stops], just as easily as [new phenomena begins.]”
🦈 A rant about reflective listening Parrot phasing, neurohandles, and nominalizations are all forms of Reflective Listening. This takes some skill to get right - use their exact words, but try not to be 'stiff' in your response. Be conversational. Graham Old's book on the Leisure Induction has more graceful examples of how to handle parrot phrasing. Simply using phrases like "Stuck... is that right?" or "Glued down..." with an appropriately applied sense of curiosity or mutual amusement will take you a hell of a lot further than a ham-fisted "Oh, I see your hand is stuck there..."

Pre-engineering: “When you do X, you’ll find that Y.”
Post-engineering: Suggest something strange has already happened when you released another loop. “Something else [repeat nominalization] has happened… you’ll notice that…”
(Check out Wordweaver's notes on Post/Retro engineering - they've even linked a cool video. )

Just leave multiple loops open. Such as, set up catalepsy, hard test it, then add an amnesia loop on top. Close the amnesia loop, and ask them what they’re experiencing catalepsy wise.
You can use this to sneakily bail your dumb ass out if something fails. Say you want both catalepsy and amnesia, and both succeed, and you can continue on normally. However, if the amnesia fails, utilize it, saying “that’s right… just as your feet have released themselves, as those are indeed yours.”

I’d rather call this a plausibility ladder - but gradually step up your game in suggestion plausibility.

Suggest a way they can leave the phenomena, then ask about how ‘strange’ it was, or highlight how their experience was.

Give them a treat on the way out. It’s improvised - but telling them that they created the trance, and they may have more potential than they realized. Or something.

There’s some information on pacing and leading, direction and suggestion (do thing vs can you do thing,) and direct and indirect suggestions. I’m skipping taking notes on this since I’ve seen it in 5 other books at this point before.

Positive suggestions say how to do something, negative suggestions say what should not happen.
Important While the ‘try not to think of the pink elephant’ suggestion will make you think of pink elephants, I think that ‘try and find that you cannot move your hand’ is a perfectly fine suggestion. I think the problem is ‘try not to think of’ is self-defeating. (Some hypnotist right now, living rent free in my head, is yelling at me to never use a variation of "can't." You can always ask them to compare to a previous experience and see how much more difficult something is.) While I’m not sure it’s a negative suggestion, the phrase you don’t have to seems handy.

An easy way to use this is to slip in a quality they MAY notice, alongside an instruction they could notice something surrounding it. The idea is to presuppose a fact into a description that they may notice - but guide them to evaluate only whether or not they’re focusing on the initial ask.
You may begin to notice that hand… and it’s tendency to want to rise… all on it’s own… like it wants to move up into the air out of it’s own volition.
Structured by… [clear instruction], [supposed facts and information that may be noticed]…

[before, after, during, as, since]
Are you happy to experience hypnosis while your friends are watching? ==What happens ==when you look at me and your name is gone now?

A type of double bind where it’s implied that the effect is there in various amounts, and all conditions are now true.
I don’t know if your palm or fingers are more stuck now to the table at this point… Go ahead and try - and tell me which one feels more stuck.

[notice, realize, aware, know]
The following presupposes a location of where their name is in their mind - before, it may not have a location. And as you
notice where your name is in your mind…
[pace], you can become aware of [lead.]
[pace], you can know [lead.]
Important Additionally, you can soften these with “you may or may not”, or “you may,” or strengthened with “you will.”

[deeply, easily, wonderfully]
And when will you notice just how easily you can sink deeper?
And as you continue to see the hand in front of you… just allow yourself to feel fully that hand stuck in place.

[begin, end, start, stop, continue, precede, already]
And as you continue to notice your breathing, and as you continue to look at that point on your hand… you can begin to feel your hand being stuck there on the table…

[fortunately, luckily, curiously, happily, obviously, interestingly, strangely]
And as you look at the back of your hand, obviously you can feel the cool surface as your hand lies flat against the table.
Strangely, you may have noticed that you’ve started to feel some warmth as you’ve removed that hand from the table.
And as you continue to notice your breathing, I don’t know if you’ve noticed a really interesting thing beginning to happen… probably outside of consciousness, but you may be becoming aware… of your feet beginning to stick deeply to the ground.
Isn’t that an interesting thing?
Isn’t that curious?

So you’re breathing comfortably and listening to the sound of my voice and becoming curious about this pleasant experience of hypnosis.
[when, during, while, as]
While that hand is stuck on that table, you can find that you can continue to relax…
[makes, forces, causes, requires, creates]
Notice how every touch on the back of your hand makes it go just a small amount more numb.

What would it be like for your hand to glue itself to the table?
Can you feel that locking now?
How quickly or slowly will you find that you’ve sunken down to a nice, comfortable trance?
What’s that like for you now?
Circular logic (ish)
What’s that like when you look at me and your name’s
gone now..? like there’s now nothing where it was… nothing! Notice nothing. Look at me what’s that like when you try to say that name and there’s nothing?

“That’s interesting… totally stuck. Now here’s the thing… (pause)”
(Follow this up with a direct suggestion, after closing another ‘loop.’)

In short, use words like “that” and “it” to describe things you’d like your co-operator to dissociate from, and things like “your” and “this” for things you’d like them to associate with. I might call snake oil on this, but eh.

Sorry, what was that name.
And now, how does that feel?
Sorry, what was that problem that you had?
What are you noticing now that’s different from before.
And after all this, what are you noticing that’s different than before?

Pretty much ‘more’ and ‘er’ words. Bigger, heavier, lighter, wetter, more confusing, stiffer, goopier

A direct suggestion linking two unrelated things.
“You’ll find.”
“Every time you try and unstick your hand, you’ll find it more and more stuck.”

Setup (In a moment, but not yet, I’ll [do blah])
Association (And when I do, [this happens])
Consequence (Only as quickly as Z)
This is a slight modification to how I’d set up a trigger.
In a moment, but not yet [trigger]
And when I do, you’ll find that [previous phenomena stops]
But only as fast as [new phenomena begins]
(EG, your hand will unstick, but you’ll forget the number four.)

This uses a double bind that assumes everything is partially working.
H: “Which foot is more stuck, your left or right?”
C: “The right.”
H: “All right. And as you try to move that right foot, you’ll find your left foot sticks more solidly.”

So, here’s a silly one.
Start tapping on the back of their hand gently, or something they can already clearly feel, literally… But leave it ambiguous, and then use that to suggest something else you’d like them to agree with.
As you continue to look at that hand, you can feel that… (pause) that’s right, feel that… (pause) starting to solidify… all the way through…

Analog marking is just embedding suggestions, and since it’s so simple we can just relax the definition.
Important I still feel like analog marking is silly sometimes, but… it ‘feels’ effective when I’m using it, and I’m having fun with it so far, so… I’m going to continue using it. 😅
Examples and tips:

“As you try to unstick that hand more fully now…”
Use intonation or slight pauses
Uses slight gestures, shift your body, tap a finger, switch the eye you’re looking into 🙄
Tap your subject on the shoulder, or the back of the hand

This is similar to ‘calibrating’ with your subject, or, following with what they’re doing nonverbally. Matching their tone, pace, body language, to the point where you can start to ‘lead’ a bit.
In addition, this is useful in behavior modeling (without explicitly stating it, showing what it would be like to have their hand stuck) or pantomiming what you’d like to happen (closing a hand to hide information away, or pushing it to the side.)
They also suggest the “that’s right” or “just like that” phrases fit into this category - where you take their nonverbal behavior (breathing slowing, head slumping) and without directly pointing out what they did, suggest they did something correctly.
If you’ve instructed your subject to look at something, look at it with them, as this suggests a ‘shared experience.’
In addition, you can use your facial expressions to communicate without being questioned, like looking confused or perplexed when you ask them what their name was. (I kinda… hate this suggestion. This feels difficult to pull off and that it has a high risk of backfiring.)
As another thing you can do, act as if you’re experiencing the same thing and same states as you’re going along. It’ll help you be congruent in your communication.

This one’s a bit obvious with try to move your hand. Use it to imply failure. It’s nice to follow up with an “and find that…”

They use this as a softer version of an imperative instruction - “And you can allow yourself to relax” Instead of “allow yourself to relax.”

Softening for leading.

Use this tool when you want to suggest something has not yet happened, but can begin, well, now. I kind of just like this one because it’s fun and playful.

Really, just a softer “imagine that…” However, you can avoid the instruction to imagine something, while reaping the majority of the benefits.

[experiencing, continuing, happening, becoming, ing words]
Swap your relax for a relax_ing in either pacing or leading, suggesting that it’s continu_ing instead of it happening once.

Pleasantly, they suggest that you can method act as ‘THE HYPNOTIST,’ and while that’s ideal, it’s a big ask. Presenting yourself as a confident experimenter is also an option, and really, that fits my personality quite a bit better (depending on the relationship.)

While the hypnotist may be direct and indirect in their behavior, they are always leading the subject. An interesting note that, while Erickson gave indirect suggestions, they were very ‘forceful.’ For example, directly teasing someone out of a crowd with “and of course you can’t be hypnotized, just in the same way you couldn’t take four steps onto the stage” and then proceeding to hypnotize them (allegedly.)
On utilization and flexibility, they mention a hypnosis TOTE, but not to interrupt it, but to use the Test Operate Test Exit process for what you’re doing. Utilize whatever the subject is doing and tell them it’s right, and then utilize that to steer the direction where you want.
Curiosity Framing is a technique where you can provide suggestions that your subject be curious as to what will happen. It’ll increase absorption and suggest indirectly that they don’t ‘know’ already what will happen. You can also use it to hype up a suggestion…
You know it’s an interesting thing… something really curious has just happened. Now what’s that like, when you try to live your hand and you find it sticks even more now; it’s a weird thing, isn’t it?
Contrast Convincers are just… contrasting where phenomena isn’t. “That’s right… your arm is just stuck… and notice just how easy it is for you to move your other arm.” As the speedrunners say, “it’s free,” so use it.
If you want some free pacing and leading, you can narrate whatever actions you are taking.
Now as I touch you on the elbow [touch the elbow], you can feel that softening now, I’m going to take you by the wrist and the arm [take the wrist and the arm], you feel that softening just letting go [gently shaking it loose], that’s right, and as that hand touches the head now [placing the hand firmly on the head] locking it solidly in place.
There’s some NLP eye direction reading bullshit in here, but they did mention a handy anecdote stating someone had problems remembering things when they were forced to stare directly back at someone. So… I think that looking around to an area that requires less processing will reduce cognitive load, and the forced awkward stare just made things a little rougher.
You can use a mantra to keep someone’s inner dialogue busy. They suggest using “your thoughts are gone,” and even going as far as, if someone’s REALLY heavy on thought, you can talk them into thinking about what it means for their thoughts to be gone, for them, and they can dig into that. They even pace reminding them of the mantra.
If your co-operator is popping themselves out when they’re about to experience a phenomena, you can use distraction and overload to avoid that. Strategically… “Although you may not yet feel them moving they can move together… as you become aware of your feat… and your breathing now… comfortably… as you continue to breathe you can just forget… this moment.” You can also just distract them by gently touching them on their shoulders.
My favorite part in here, although I’ve started doing it already, is coaching engagement. Coach them so that they look relaxed, what they can do, how things may feel… much of it taking place during the pre-talk. I’d also include this with letting them know that they don’t need to respond verbally, or the phrase I leeched off of Mind Play “there’s nothing you need to do, there’s nothing you need to say, you don’t even need to consciously listen to the sound of my voice.” I'm pretty sure half of the people I've tranced are tired of hearing me say that line.
If someone laughs during phenomena, it’s a great sign, since they only just noticed it. (You may however, have to keep pacing them back into it.)
Instead of constantly praising your subject, cultivate respect and understanding, letting them know when things are doing well. Avoid being condescending and belittling them.
When asking them to focus on something, you can suggest they immerse themselves into it, or allow themselves to become completely absorbed in the focus. It’s also worth noting that you ask them to focus on something ‘intently,’ or even possibly, focusing on it with intention. You can also use something like “and you can allow your mind to become completely engrossed in that idea now.”

Kinky NLP

Sun, 07 Jul 2024 01:29:18 GMT

#todo
While NLP is pseudoscience, and disproven in many ways, it's not useless. If you think of it as a tool or abstract framework there's a chance you'll find it useful, and likely catch on to it's bullshit, too.
Hey - just fyi, this book is well written. The explanations are down to earth, and the chapter summaries are a treat to help you remember everything. I've enjoyed hearing about the antics and history of NLP's development in Sleepingirl's words. This has been a practical and fun read so far.
But - Take it with a grain of salt Binaural Histolog mentioned in a podcast, as I paraphrase heavily... "While NLP is bullshit, people say it's still useful. But... people really don't miss the bullshit when it's gone, do they?" They suggested that there are better ways to handle making suggestions, and NLP is outdated. EH Discussion Group June
#todo (A reminder to me! Write up a brief history of NLP, using this book as a starting point, and perhaps pulling in sources from cosmic pancakes and whatever else comes up.)
An Overview You don't really need to know this, but it's a nice way to lay out where the break is between the 'Meta Model' and the 'Milton Model.'

The Structure of Magic 1 and 2 was written by Bandler (publisher of therapy and psychology books, had a knack for emulating speech patterns), Grinder (a linguistics professor, asked questions and observed responses to language patterns), and Pucelik (A student of psychology and pol-sci, met Bandler and did seminars on Gestalt therapy together.)
The three 'wizards' were Fritz Perls (Gestalt therapy), Virginia Satir (family therapist,) and Milton Erickson (hypnotist.) Strangely, Pucelik was not invited to meet Erickson with Bandler and Grinder, and was booted off the team.
It's possible Erickson thought these guys were full of shit Cosmic Pancakes has a neat writeup on how the forward of a later Bandler and Grinder book likely has a fake forward allegedly written by Erickson. In some of Erickson's own writings, the tips he'd give on hypnosis would be more focused on "learn your client" than using any sort of language patterns. I haven't read many of Erickson's papers, but they were more focused on the intent of what he was trying to get his subject to do, than any sort of fancy structure. Read more at Cosmic Pancakes - Methods in Madness

From a quick read, a map is just a teaching tool to explain that you and the person you're working with likely have a different understanding of everything. They would also go further to suggest that a lot of the client's problems could be 'errors in the map.' This pretty much just ties into avoiding assumptions about your client's thoughts, as well as why you would use their language directly.
Here's some NLP lingo for things that happen to our 'map':

Generalizations - bundling a class of experiences. EG - every trip to the DMV will suck.
Deletion - incomplete recall of an experience. You had fun at the party, but forgot how much the drive sucked.
Distortion - changing the quality of something. Recalling something incorrectly, but remembering that as true. Or, creatively linking two things, like the smooth texture of your keyboard keys to pleasure.
None of these behaviors are inherently 'bad,' just something to be aware of (or tinker with.)
Working with a map - NLP provides labels for language structures where something could be happening. I could run through the examples, but I think if you're digging into something with intent, you could just look for generalizations, deletions, and distortions, and dig in asking about that for more specifics. A lot of this boils down to "Really, are you sure?" or picking part any assumptions in there. I'll scribble down some of the more novel ones...

Nominalization - a noun made abstract. Their example is "I want evil hypnosis." You can dig in and see what they'd like, just by digging in to that statement.
Mind Reading - "I know you want (foo)." You can just call this out, or ask them why they thought it.
Cause-Effect - these can be occasionally counterproductive. You can question whether these two are actually linked - like slower breathing and suggestibility.
Complex Equivalence - or - reaching possibly erroneous conclusions. "I'm not a super-responder, so I won't be able to experience hypnotic amnesia" may be a good one to question.
Presupposition - where truth is assumed and baked into the statement. "I really want to go into trance!" could let you dig into why they assume they aren't in trance, and how they'll know when they are in trance.

If you ask a question, expect only surface level information. "I had fun" could translate to "I had a blast, and I'd love to do that again!" or "I had a blast, but I could do for a little less Micky Mouse voice in the middle of my session."

A caveat (Described in the book) NLP eye accessing cues are just BS. A primary VAKog sense is also unlikely, but using someone's language to discern a primary modality, if they have one, is extra useless.
WTF is VAKog? You somehow made it here without knowing what VAKog is? No problem, I got you.
Visual
Auditory
Kinesthetic - (Combines touch and emotion)
Olfactory
Gustatory Sometimes, this is just called the VAK system for short. The OG's never get enough attention. O:)

You can listen to your partner and the details that they provide about an experience (or what they'd like) to learn more about them. It sounds obvious, but if they're into the kinesthetic sensations of being wrapped up by a snake, they'll talk about it when they ask, and you'll know what to feed back to them later.
You can provide descriptions in a '4-tuple' of the VAKog senses - EG - VAK(og). This will help you rotate around the experience.
Do you have problems giving suggestions in one modality? Use another modality. If they don't feel submissive, visually describe them as being submissive.
If they have an abstract concept they want to experience, say - transformation or submission, you can tell them that they're seeing it, feeling it, or hearing it... Then collect information, and make that abstract concept concrete

(This chapter wasn't terribly meaty, so here's some pointers. As usual with NLP, take it with a grain of salt.)
A grain of salt, you say? TIL that this saying allegedly came from a 77 AD Latin set of 37 books of almost encyclopedic size. In one of the books, a grain of salt is an ingredient in a recipe for a cure for poison. Therefore, take poisoned thoughts with a grain of salt. Look, I just got distracted. Copy

You can go meta on the meta. For example, "How do you feel about feeling that" to take one step back.
NLP describes things on different levels of hierarchy as being a 'chunk up' or 'chunk down'
Hall summarized Korzybski's theory of general semantics as:
You cannot say, "A word means what it means." (The Principle of Non-Identity)
Contradicting something is more about degrees than yes or no. In an absurd case, The Principle of Contradiction may say that a cat is 99.999% not a dog. (I'm not sold on this.)
Given The Principle of the Middles, Boolean/binary things are non-existent. I can see how this could be a useful tool, but I'm not sold.
They provide a few more metal model violations and question examples
"The best way" to do something creates presuppositions.
The phrase "body and mind" creates problems separating something that could be seen as a whole - 'Are they really separate?'
Either/or can be changed into a gradient
Multiordinality terms happen when something is generalized to the point of being self-referential, e.g., thinking about thinking.
"This is just how it is" describes Static or Signal Words.
"I'm a challenging subject," or other phrases, could use a breakdown.
Personalizing is connecting a target to some part of their self-image. Like assuming a hypnotist doesn't want to work with someone because they're ADHD.
An interesting way to break down a metaphor is to directly ask what it represents, instead of the usual "what's that like?"
Internet Tiger: "Asking indirectly may be advantageous. Forcing them to explain the metaphor may force them to ascribe meaning to something where there was none, or limit the existing meaning the metaphor had."

A note to kick this off with a mix of my thoughts...

Milton Erickson's ideas are not flawless
NLP's regurgitation of Erickson's language patterns will both have flaws, as well as be unable to encapsulate Erickson's ideas
The Conscious/Unconscious mind split and the hidden observer are both just ideas, but are not how the mind actually works. (See Binaural Histolog's writings for his distillation of modern, scholarly theories on the subject.)
While "critical faculty" is a term, I believe Dave Elman suggested it was something you needed to 'bypass' to have effective hypnosis. The critical faculty is a concept, not a true part of your brain. There is no "critical faculty" blob on the left nut of your basal ganglia.
The unconscious mind is not some separate thing - avoid anthropomorphizing it. Despite all this, it's a good tool for making suggestions because "your unconscious mind can just make that happen for you." Don't rely on that pattern for any truth beyond what you'd expect your hypnodrunk partner to spit out.

A few tips and thoughts:

Like most hypnosis adjacent book, this also covers pacing and leading.
A tip on utilization - you can use their likes and dislikes there. EG - if your subject likes looking into your eyes, you can suggest how enjoyable it is to look into their eyes.
They mention yes sets - but they suggest the questions and responses need not be verbal. They give the example with someone nonverbally using rope to ask questions,, laying the rope in a certain way, and reading their facial expression as a 'yes.'
In addition, your 'yes' could be their hypnotic response if you watch their shoulders relax.
Sometimes, ambiguity is good. "You can notice (body part), that feeling 'shifting' anything. "
Try to aim towards 'mind reading!'
"Oh, you felt that, huh?"
"That's right..."
"I know how much you are loving this..."
"Collapsing ambiguity"
This isn't how it's described in the book, but you can try a structure like...
"Ah... you notice that feeling (Ambiguous), that feeling building inside you (ambiguous).... You feel that tingle on your arm building in, all coming at once, that fur starting to grow in... (leading)"
[utilization] was meant to describe when a subject hears something that they need to process by going internally to understand its meaning. sleepingirl. Kinky NLP: Neuro-Linguistic Programming for Erotic Hypnosis (p. 85). Independent Publisher. Kindle Edition.

A gradient of suggestions:

Feel x.
You feel x.
You can feel x.
Maybe you can feel x.
Maybe you can feel a little bit of x.
I wonder if maybe you can feel a little bit of x.
My friend John felt a little bit of x when he did what you're doing.
I don't know when you're going to start to feel x.
Consider the intent of the 'packaging' of the suggestion:

Does the confusion build tension or a search?
Is it supposed to hedge the bet that something may or may not happen?
Do you need a get out of jail free card if something doesn't work?
Will the effect be slight?
Are you exerting authority?
Thoughts in general:

It's too simple to think of 'direct and indirect.' Think in terms of your subject's experience.
"Hedges" can be tacked on to soften a suggestion or make it more polite. (Sometimes, almost, relatively, possibly, seems like, may appear, might be, perhaps...)
Can you feel a little bit of x?
I've been told that x can feel y.
X is just another kind of y, isn't it?

The 'Milton' method of trance is:

Distract your subject
Use "language processing which occurs below the level of awareness" 🙄
Then, access the 'non dominant' hemisphere (unconscious)
(The book acknowledges that this can be seen as a little silly.)
According to the Milton model, the key to hypnotic language is to lean towards generalizations, deletions, and distortions (see previous) - this will require more processing, which, according to it's own model, is naturally conducive to trance. Or in more reasonable terms, be ambiguous so the subject will find their own meaning, and do the work for you.
Use presuppositions to your advantage with phrases like "How deep do you want to go?" (This reinforces that they do want to go into trance.) I'm personally not sure if this has any effect, but I like the idea of more skillfully using language.
NLP's intentions While NLP feels like a careless cash grab, and it very well could be, sleepingirl reminded me that despite it's (financially oriented) perversions, NLP generally has good intentions. This quote made me stop and think. "NLP wants to help people, or when it’s convoluted it wants to manipulate people." Continuing this - if you just go by NLP suggestions to structure what you're saying - you're missing out on the intent. This is supposed to be a tool to help you communicate with your partner / client. Use it this way, not as a cookbook. sleepingirl. Kinky NLP: Neuro-Linguistic Programming for Erotic Hypnosis (p. 107). Independent Publisher. Kindle Edition.

Words like "always" and "every" imply there are no exceptions
Must, can, should will, mustn't, can't, shouldn't, won't all create "Modal Operators of Necessity or Probability"

You can use a 'lack of referential index' to have a subject relate in an indirect way
"Some people find that they enjoy putting their shoes on."
"Good drones like to find themselves obeying orders."
'Comparative deletions' have the subject look for the deletion itself
Are you noticing how you're feeling colder, now?
That's better now, isn't it?
'Unspecified Verbs' make a process unclear.
"All you need is a slight shift to surrender, and your mind can make that change now."
Can you imagine how it'll be when you finally turn into a goo creature of my own image?
'Nominalizations' are nouns that can't be standardized or defined. EG...
"Feel my control / grip over you"
".darkness over your mind, seeping in.

'Mind reading' uses phrases like "I know how badly you want to be my submissive subject," or things along the lines of "it's obvious, it's clear, apparently..., it appears that"
'Lost Performative' statements assign worth or value without explaining it.
"It feels good to be a cat."
"We know it's better for you to just let go, and we know it always feels better when you finally give up..."
'Cause-Effect' is a lot like Anthony Jacquin's 'linking' concept. Because A you B. If/then, because, makes, causes.
"Each breath as you look into my left nipple causes you to go deeper." (Just seeing if you're awake.)
"And as you press harder down onto the table, it just sinks in, sticking even more firmly."
'Complex Equivalence' includes means, because, and equals.
"And because you're such a good toy, you can feel your mind slowly beginning to melt."
"I can see the muscles around your eyes softening... you're starting to give in."
"You're just a needy little toaster because you want to be controlled so badly."
Presuppositions require an assumption to be taken for the sentence to be parsed.
"Maybe you're not quite so eager, yet, because I haven't programmed you to be that way."
"As you continue to relax just a bit more, I'm not sure if your mind or body will begin to drift completely into bliss first."

You know you can use Tag Questions to lengthen your yes set, right? (Isn't it, aren't you, yeah?)
Double binds both have desirable outcomes.
"Did you want to but the car now or did you need to talk about it a little more first?"
Maybe just looking into my eyes helps you focus... or maybe instead it's causing those eyelids of yours to start dropping down, just like that.
Embedded commands is just using 'analog marking' to cram a suggestion into a sentence. (I'm not sold on these, but eh.)
Conversational postulates are just suggestions that look like requests.
Can you do me a favor and notice how relaxed your eyes are becoming?
Do you think you can allow yourself to go along with the flow as you start to listen to my words a bit more intently?
Extended quotes wrap suggestions in a conversation with someone else - EG - like My Friend John when giving suggestions to 'John.'
Selectional Restriction is anthropomorphizing or personifying something for your suggestion.
"I bet your hands are just burning to get down on the floor and beg for me."
"Are your eyes just watering and trembling for my affection and attention?"
Factive (Awareness) Predicates use a presumption to use awareness to make a suggestion true.
And at this point, you've probably noticed your eyelids have already begun to become heavier.
Have you realized just how slow your breathing is becoming right now?

Presuppositions require an inference to be made by parsing the sentence.

Names, pronouns, descriptors (my friend)
(Foo) told me that they really like reading this.
Nouns
I love magical amulets that send my subjects down, deeply and efficiently.
(Supposes magical amulets exist.)
Quantifiers (some, each, every, few)
(Foo) of the things you're feeling may seem very odd to you right now.

Subordinate clauses of time (before, after, when, during, while, as)
You don't need to finish eating that sandwich before you go into trance.
Change of time verbs/adverbs (start, continue, begin, end, stop, yet, still, anymore)
I wonder if you can even stop yourself from going under.
Cleft sentences: it is that... it was that...
It's the way that your eyelids become heavy so easily that makes you my favorite subject.
Ordinal markers: First, second, lastly
The first thing you need to do to go into trance is put that sandwich down.
(There is more than one thing to do before going into trance.)
Repetitive cue words: Return, repeat, restore
Can you feel that instruction restore itself in your mind, time and time again, you subby little toaster?

Relative clauses: (that, who)
Many of the feelings that you're experiencing right now are just signs that you're letting go already.
Comparatives: more, less, -er
Do you think that your phantom touch is even stronger, now?
(They already had phantom touch.)
Comparative as: as as...
If it's as quick as snapping my fingers and dropping you, I'm sure we'll be able to improve that phantom sense in no time.
(They could be easily dropped by a finger snap.)
Qualifiers: only, just, except
Do you think the only way to improve your phantom sense is with trance?
(Phantom sense can be improved.)
Change of place verbs: come, go, left, arrived
And all of your thoughts and feelings have come right to this little compressed point in the middle of your forehead, ready for me to pluck out.
(Thoughts now have a position.)
Change of state verbs/adverbs: transform, changed, become
You aren't becoming more of a fox than a wolf, are you?
(They previously weren't a fox.)
Awareness adjectives/adverbs: realize, notice, aware
Are you aware of just how far your head has fallen forward already?
(Their head has already started to fall forward. )
Commentary adjectives/adverbs: Interesting, happily, slowly, easy
Have you noticed how easy it's been for me to help you relax and listen to my words?
(They are already relaxing.)

Keeping all this in your head is going to be a mess - sleepingirl suggests being aware of existence, timing, or quality presuppositions in conversation or reading will help you. Or....

As you feel that transformation...
Before you feel that transformation
While you begin to experience that intense transformation
You don't need to be sneaky about this! You can highlight this to your partner, especially in hypnokink settings.
Feel free to stack these. EG "When you realize that feeling of that transformation taking place inside... beginning to form.... you'll know that at this point - it's too far to go back." This creates a presupposition that at some point they'll realize a transformation is taking place, linking it to a feeling that they'll notice. This gives your suggestion two entry points.
All this aside, sleepingirl makes a point to keep in mind:
There should be no rules about how to conceptualize what makes up a suggestion; more so, you should take the techniques that are helpful and make sense to you.

Interestingly - the chapter starts out by describing Bateson's Double Bind - providing background information on uncomfortable double binds as situations, outside of the scope of hypnosis, and more in the area of therapy.

Here's the 'hypnotically applicable' double bind...

Often a question with an or.
Do you want (foo), or (bar).
Do you want (foo) when (a) or (b).
Can be made ambiguous and less 'rejectable' with "I wonder if (foo), or (bar)."
Can be tripled... "I wonder if (foo) will happen (a), (b), or maybe even (c.)"
Applied Bateson Binds “Are you ready for me to fuck up your mind, now, or do you need a break?” “Don’t go into trance…” while swinging a pocket watch... A Bateson bind is a scenario where there is no perceived correct response, and an NLP bind is a scenario where all perceived responses are correct. (Don't do this... This is a real example of shit behavior. ) “If you loved me, I wouldn’t have to ask you to do this.” sleepingirl. Kinky NLP: Neuro-Linguistic Programming for Erotic Hypnosis (p. 141). Independent Publisher. Kindle Edition.

You know what tag questions are, right?
A few bits 'n bobs on tag questions:

Try to be conversational - otherwise you'll sound like a sneaky hypnotist.
Tag questions from a 'normal' person seem to make suggestions less effective. The same questions from someone in authority appear to have no negative effect on the suggestion effectiveness.
"Take a seat, won't you?" uses a tag question to soften an imperative request.
In the world of NLP - you're wondering about how you can use this tool as part of a yes set now, aren't you?
The tone signal of your tag will affect it's delivery...
But you knew that already, didn't you.
But you knew that already... didn't you?
Use a pause before adding your tag question, wait and watch for their response, then use the tag question to boost the suggestions' effect. It gives it a mild 'mind reading' tone.
Remind your subjects that don't have to verbally respond, if they don't want to.

Some typical components of NLP frames include...

Time
Compare an imagined experience in the past, present, and future.
Thinking about going deeper into trance now could be seen as desire and expectancy, or in the future as longing, or in the past as nostalgia.
Good vs bad
Was it right / incorrect, successful or unsuccessful
Was their arm supposed to fall down like that into trance? (Can you pull a quick one and rapidly reframe it as an indicator of trance?)
Who
How do they or others perceive something?
Were they unable to drop for others in the room, and it's getting in their head? Do they want terribly to go into trance for you? Are they thinking about another partner?

An example of this would be "you are hot" vs "what you did was hot."
Robert Dilts breaks the hierarchy/levels:
A. Who I Am: Who are you? (Identity)
B. My Beliefs: Why did you do x? (Values)
C. My Capabilities: How did you do x? (Abilities and Methods)
D. What I Do: What do you/did you do? (Just actions)
E: My Environment: Where/When do you/did you feel x? (What happened)

Conjunction Reframe - And, but, although, while, so
Your shoulders drop down, and you continue to find it easier to listen to the sound of my voice.
Your shoulders drop down, but you continue to find it easier to listen to the sound of my voice.
(Tinker with the 'feeling' of descriptions here.)
One Word Reframe: Swapping or removing a single word
S: "I'm a little nervous..."
H1: "A little shy?"
Villain hypnotist: "Oh, feeling little afraid?"
Comparison/Similarity Reframe
Shifting how things seem gradually...
"Doesn't the care I'm providing you seem a little dark? Your excitement... betraying you?"

When working with NLP metaphors - loosen your definition of your metaphor up. It doesn't matter if it's a simile or an allegory, just roll with it.

Argument is war - winning / losing / attacking / defending / fighting
Time is money - valuable resource, wasting, spending, costing, worth

Happy is up - High spirits, being low
Future / progress is forward - Ahead, coming up, moving backward
Status is up - Higher status, lower in rank

(Giving things substance...)
The mind is a machine - just not working, gears spinning, programming
The mind is a brittle object - breaking someone's mind, fragile thoughts

An activity has a boundary (before, after, during)
The forest has a boundary (Outside, inside, within)
Trance house a boundary (into trance, entering, out of)

A book is a person - it 'told me,' it explains
A computer is a person - It is dying
The unconscious mind is a person - it keeps me safe, thinks for me, knows better than I do

A thing as another thing
The part is the whole - they're such a pretty face
The creator is the works: I enjoy reading sleepingirl
The place is the people: The class said that hypnosis is hot

You can use this to spice up your language. Instead of 'down' into trance (lower, deeper, falling) you can go for floating, suspended, flying, weightless. Or - if you say "your brain feels fuzzy," what else feels fuzzy? Like it's becoming stuffing, filled with cotton candy, like TV static, soft like polyfill. Or less kinesthetic - out of focus, hard to make out.
(As a footnote - don't be dumb and fall into the trap of believing your own metaphors. Minds aren't suggestion-accepting machines.)

Therapeutic hypnotic metaphors work trying to solve a specific issue - you might suggest a car needs to be refueled and maintained, and it'd be silly to expect the car to just maintain itself for someone that doesn't accept emotional support.
Some guidelines for picking out and using metaphors:

Search for Symbols
(Ideally, utilize what your partner knows, and use components of that.)
A staircase deepener is an example of using a 'down' metaphor
Consider Direction
You can tell a story, or build towards something
Sell Your Metaphor 💵
If your partner finds metaphors difficult to process, it's okay to guide them a bit
"That reminds me of..."
"There's a thing that happens..."
"Doesn't that seem familiar now? Like when (foo)"
Consider how much to spell out as a gradient, rather than something that's black and white
Change your metaphors over time
Change the intensity of your description, sharpening and focusing
Or blur and fuzz it, or simplify things if you're 'brainwashing'
Flow
Feel free to freestyle sometimes
"Thinking out loud" can even work
Think About Ending/Insight
Circle back to what you want to highlight
Leave a gradient of room for interpretation

Future pacing, as a therapeutic tool, is for preparing for a situation in the future.

You are Here
Set their present baseline. Tell them their 'right now' so you can talk about 'another time' soon.
You are there
Set the "what if" and "what would it be like if / when..." This is about creating an emotional state the subject can anchor to.
You are back
This step is "optional," but you can make explicit suggestions on the way back. Bring changes back with you 'from the future.'

Realistic Future Pacing
Walk them through (and possibly highlight parts of) a future event. "Hm... I bet you're thinking about what it'll feel like when (I put you back in that (situation) / feel thing for the first time), aren't you. "
Making Triggers Stick
Have them go through what the trigger will feel like in the future, when it's allegedly stronger.
Sadistic Pacing (Or just, unrealistic future pacing.)
Have them experience a playful threat in the future of something that 'might' happen. This is handy for situations that aren't really plausible, but can get them in the headspace.
Presuppositions
Time based 'when' presuppositions have more effect than 'if.'
Past Pacing - what if
Wouldn't it be amazing if you'd already (been in situation) for an hour?
What if I had already (created effect?)
Contrasting
Contrast them to a previous position they used to have to highlight the changes. Maybe they didn't like triggers previously (like me,) and now they think they're fun and harmless. It'd be easy to tease me about just how far this would go.
Memory Play
You can suggest past memories being harder to recall for effect, given that you take appropriate precautions.

🍷🍷🍷 I feel like submodalities are a little lost in their own BS, especially with therapeutic applications of NLP. I'm breezing through this a bit, as well as bringing in some extra NLP flavor from Mike Mandel Hypnosis Academy. (I spent cash on it, I might as well get something out of it, damnit.)
Submodalities are just the qualia of a VAK experience. If you're willing to try the sauce, you can give this exercise a spin.

Think of an object valuable to you
V - is the picture close or far away? 3d, flat? Vivid, dim? Framed, panoramic?
A - Is it loud or feint? Close or far? Directional? Etc...
K - The feeling you get when you think about that valued object.
What is that feeling?
The temperature of that feeling?
Pleasant or unpleasant?
This can be a talking tool asking someone about an interest they have, suggesting it become 'sharper' or 'brighter,' and check what changes they 'see' or experience.

How "present" are you in this experience, or VAK component? In this context, this is all it means. An 'associated' imagination would be imagining yourself riding a bicycle. A 'dissociated' view of this would be watching yourself ride that same bicycle from a distance, maybe from a bench, or in third person.

Basic:

Identify the submodalities
Change the submodalities
Refocus on the current experience - helping your partner notice the contrast
Belief modification:

Identify submodalities of the belief
Get submodalities on something unclear
Apply those submodalities to the original belief
Introduce a new belief, with the same submodalities
Diminish the old belief
Give the new belief the submodalities of the old belief
Future pace the new belief to test
Swish Pattern (As described by MMHA) In NLP, the 'swish pattern' is a set of steps to modify an 'anchor,' habit, or state.
Have them make a mental picture of what they want instead of their bad habit. Do this 'dissociated,' not in the state that they want to change.
"Shrink" down the image of your new replacement state, to save it for later.
Get right next to the state you want to wipe out.
"Boom!" Swish that new state in and replace it! (I'm uh. Not feeling this as either sexy or therapeutic.) Very quickly help them replace it with the new state.
Have them open their eyes to break the state.
"The worst thing you can do is bounce them back and forth between the states - that'll break the replacement state."
Do this six times quickly.
(Sleepingirl) Future pace to verify

(I'll be snipping out the tasty bits from this chapter.)
While I wouldn't define someone as an 'asker' or a 'guesser,' I would say there is a direct and indirect ask. There's a "dude can I eat the rest of your frys" vs "man... I'm so hungry (staring intently at the rest of your tasty fries.)"
A neat tip you can do to escalate or deescalate an interaction is give the option for a "Yes" answer, instead of pushing them into the discomfort of saying no. For example - if someone's eating your fries, you could either say "stop eating my damn fries" or you could try a "Would you like go up to the counter with me and get some fries?" It's... contextually bitingly direct, but it's a tactful tool I should start employing.

Provide two options - one to escalate, and one to de-escalate. "We could try out this new induction, or we could just chat a bit." Or extending this with a "... or we can each go off and check out the rest of the event. Anything's good with me!"

A few quick pointers on this - if you go slow with state change, your partner will be less likely to recognize it. You can roleplay covert hypnosis, or agree to it beforehand. Physical cues to go into trance are also an option (a gentle tap on the shoulders and a soft voice.)
Another neat option is to negotiate something, then use hypnotic amnesia to wipe away the memory of negotiating it.

Introduction (And other information)

Mon, 17 Jun 2024 23:49:32 GMT

(If you're reading my notes, I'm just taking little bits and pieces I found interesting from the site. At the time of reading, I'm 14 books in to learning about this stuff. There's a lot of great information on this site, but regurgitating a fifth hypnosis negotiation framework isn't going to help me learn a lot.)
https://www.learnhypnokink.com
TL;DR, hypnosis is: Using any kind of communication to play with someone’s focus, thoughts, and feelings as tools to make people experience amazing things.
sleepingirl and GleefulAbandon

If something feels off or odd, stop. Abreaction doesn’t (and shouldn’t) be the only reason to pause.

(Here’s a few neat notes worth keeping. Again, if you’re coming from outside, just read the guide. )
Grabbag of pacing and leading starters What their physical body is doing/feeling
Sitting? Laying down? Reading? Breathing? Eyes open or closed? Gravity? Temperature? Texture?
What emotions they might be having
Excited? Nervous? Turned on? Anticipating? Focused?
What their attention is focused on
You? Your words? Their own thoughts? Their body? Something specific you just mentioned?
Give time for your pacing statements to settle in. According to the guide part of it’s effectiveness is your pacing statement’s ability to shift focus. This automatic shift leads into experiential changes. Don’t forget to highlight to new subjects they should watch for subtle shifts in their experience.
Trance / deepener suggestions Focus
Relaxation/limpness
Tension/stiffness/excitement
Fuzziness in head/vision/body
Tingling
Heaviness
Lightness
Thoughts slowing, quickening, wandering
Vision darkening/brightening

I like the idea of starting with these four suggestion styles, mentioned on the site.
Suggestion Styles: Direct:
“You will feel x”, “You are feeling x”, “Now, you feel x”, “Feel x now”, “You’re going to feel x” Indirect:
“Perhaps you feel x”, “Can you imagine feeling x”, “You can feel x”, “I wonder if you might feel x” Explicit:
“...feel my hands stroking you.”, “...notice my control over you.”, “...your eyes close now.”, “...imagine ropes binding you.” Ambiguous:
“...what are you feeling between your legs?”, “...notice your thoughts shifting under my words.” , “...there’s a change in the way your eyes feel.”, “...imagine a stillness slowly sinking into your body.”
They also mention using Barnum statements, or things that are usually true, for pacing. This can include restarting their desires (It's okay to have lots of different thoughts about your desires,) their wants (and you want to feel good for me, don't you?,) or even just letting them know that they're doing well "I know you're worried about doing the right thing, and that's okay to feel that, but your responses are your own, so there's no way to get it wrong."
A bit further down in psychological experiences, they suggest just talking about change. Such as, "I know that you're going through some changes in the way that you're feeling right now as you listen to my words." Or... "Did you notice how when I talked about your legs relaxing, you focused more on your body?"
Continuing that, just talking about experiencing something will allow you to suggest that their body is responding as well.
"I wonder what kind of responses it'll make when I tell you (x)..."

Overall, ensure that you say that while it doesn't feel exactly the same, it can still be immersive and intense. However they are experiencing your suggestions is correct. Some 'sexier' ways to put this include...
Sexy ways to say "This isn't real, but it's hot as fuck:" “The suggestions I give you might feel like a weird kind of dream”
“Your brain is going to imagine this in intense detail”
“It’s almost like an immersive daydream, like an illusion”
“You can accept that the things you see and feel are created by your mind”

Some neat ideas here about cleaning up after a wild ride! I think this is a bit strong for the level of play suggested in learnhypnokink, but I'm happy to add this to my tool bag.

It's obvious to suggest boundaries like just for the rest of the night, but going further such as getting their cooperation with something like "and now we are going to wrap these suggestions up, ensuring you're comfortable, ensuring things are moving back to normal easily and effortlessly." It's also a handy technique to reframe memories with something like "and as you remember that fantasy of being a submissive kobold, you can let these memories have just as much control over you as any of your other memories, like going to the grocery store, or what you watched on youtube last week."
Personal tip I get a lot of crushes that bleed outside of the session. Another 'tist suggested saying "I hope you've enjoyed your session" and it's helped delineate the relationship clearly.

Sometimes, the end of a scene can be a big crash! As long as you're genuine, you can say things like "If you had this much fun, we can always do this again, maybe even better." Or, saying this is just a break, or we'll come back to this, or that you're looking forward to doing this again. Or, wrapping it in with other suggestions like "and even though these suggestions are only effective for this session, that just means that the next time we do this, it can become even stronger, and these feelings will be even easier to access."

You can give them a suggestion of how it'd be like to experience the suggestion now, out of trance. Like "can you see yourself just remembering this scene fondly?"

Our favorite tool fractionation is already used to bring someone in and out of trance. But I haven't (as of writing) tried using it in the frame of other suggestions, like freezing or feelings.

You can mash a few buttons to help your partner feel more responsive in trance:

Give them permission, and link it to their trance
Tell them to open their eyes on trance (a favorite with catalepsy)
Link a response - after you speak, you'll find yourself dropping in deeper
Suggest disassociation when it happens (sorta like 'tell me something you need me to know')

Why not use their anxiety to strengthen their chance?

“When you wonder to yourself if you’re hypnotized, you can find that there are little sensations of trance that you maybe didn’t notice before”
“When you wonder if you’re hypnotized, you can hear a little voice echoing in your head in a hypnotized voice, saying ‘yes’”
“You might find part of your mind asking if you’re hypnotized, but as you listen to me you can feel that part of you sinking deep into trance, too”
“There are signs of hypnosis that take some time to recognize, so if you find yourself looking inwards and wondering, be curious about what you might find”

Outside of this guide, a phrase I like is "There's nothing you need to do, there's nothing you need to say, you don't even need to consciously listen to the sound of my voice."

“You don’t need to put in effort to respond the way you respond to hypnosis”
“You don’t need to do anything particular to go deeper”
“Your mind is going to do things without you even trying”

Of course, suggesting a subject has agency in trance can help folks anxious about going in to go in deeper. A favorite tip I learned is suggesting that "because you know that your safeties work, why not drop deeper..."

“If there’s anything you need to tell me, understand that your brain can make it happen”
“Let yourself know that you can comfortably reject suggestions that you don’t want to follow”
“You can take control of your own experience at any time”

Introduction

Fri, 07 Jun 2024 22:52:34 GMT

I'll skip any information I don't find helpful or novel from this book. These notes are for me. So, dear reader, don't use this as a CliffsNotes for the actual book. O:)

Starting with terminology, they use unconscious instead of subconscious - however, unless your trancee is psychologically well versed, either term will do. They continue to say that suggestibility is not gullibility and note that they'll provide a better term later. They'll also use the term partner instead of subject, since they believe subject should be used to denote an "appropriate, non-erotic, professional or therapeutic relationship." (Leave my Subject terminology alone; I like being called a good subject!)

This chapter covers demonstrations of hypnosis, where someone is made to 'murder' people through hypnosis with a rubber knife for a judge in the 1920s. They then later describe an unethical hypnotist that raped their subject, giving them suggestions of amnesia, then gave some hints as to the MKUltra project. All this is to say that unless you have explicit and clear out-of-trance consent, you do not have consent. Coercion is clearly possible.
So, something that's sort of a problem in the furry erotic hypnosis community is tacit communication is still used quite a lot for initial negotiation… This is addressed in the book…
If you didn't come out of a kink background, the negotiate-in-advance style may seem super awkward or intimidating to you. It goes against the "get to third base" mentality of a lot of negotiate-as-you-go play, where both participants may not decide how far they are willing to go until they get there and may start off telling themselves they have one limit while fully intending to let arousal carry them, or their partner, over that limit. Whatever the ethics of negotiate-as-you-go, it is right out for hypnosis. Gordon, James; Doll, Rebecca. Mastering Erotic Hypnosis: A Comprehensive Manual for Erotic Play, Fetish, and Kink (Comprehensive Mastery Book 1) (p. 27). Comprehensive Mastery. Kindle Edition.
The introduction about consent in this book is good! I like it!

Negotiation is about the hypnotist's comfort, too.
Discuss and understand your partner's experiences and capabilities.
Listen to your instincts. (Man this hits home.)

They start by discussing hypnosis as real, but this would be better described in a book like Trancework or, surprisingly, Neuro-Hypnosis, Using Self Hypnosis to Activate the Brain for Change. As a treat, they mention explicitly that hypnosis uses different areas of the brain than meditation.

This might be a little bit in the book's sauce, but they suggest that there are direct and inferential suggestible subjects. Given that, they have these patterns…
Direct Suggestible:
Imagery/imagination ⇒ evokes a physical or bodily reaction ⇒ feels an emotion
Inferential Suggestible:
Imagery/imagination ⇒ feels an emotion ⇒ evokes a physical or bodily reaction
For now, we'll remember that for direct suggestibles, we should lead with a sensation, and for inferential suggestibles, we should lead with an emotion.
Perhaps… some good advice for working in groups…
Often, the pathworking is presented as a narrative. "You are walking through a forest...you see a bear." Even supporting elements are usually presented descriptively. "You are on a dark path. You feel afraid." Leading with an inferential suggestion in group settings will help ensure you get everyone who is suggestible to you into the net. "I want you to think about being alone in a forest. You might feel a sense of foreboding," may be a better start.
They explicitly state - don't be hyper-literal about this direct/inferential suggestible stuff.
Ah. This felt fantastic to read. <3
Realistically, if you only learn to hypnotize highly, directly suggestible partners with a script, you are not so much a hypnotist as a stand-in for an audio tape.

I'm not sold on the model, but I like the advice. For 'intellectual' indirect suggestibles, telling them their eyelids are feeling as heavy as lead, and it would feel good to let them close" would be rejected since it's just… simply not true. Their suggestion is to revivify some past experiences that had this effect, like when they took cold medication, and ask them directly to remember it. (This reminds me of Graham Old's leisure induction and parrot phrasing.)
Team up with these people and present it as a cooperative process.
This is a bit lost in the sauce, but here's their model for discerning direct and inferential suggestibles…
Direct suggestibles:
They talk a lot about themselves, uses kinesthetic statements, animated gestures, a hugger, adopts closed posture when tense, sleepwalked at some point, feels kinesthetic suggestions, and are OK with public displays of affection
Inferential suggestibles:
Uses 'we' instead of 'I' in regards to activities and actions, stiff and rigid, keeps a personal space bubble without an exaggerated closed posture, pays more attention to voice tonality than words, is reluctant to start new conversations, zones out and forgets during conversation
They mention the locus of control, which is just to say the difference between "Your eyelids are getting heavy" and "at this point, you may find that your eyelids may be growing heavy, and that's perfectly natural and you don't need to fight it, you can just relax."

Erickson defined the hypnotic modality as a state in which the therapist was "communicating with the unconscious."
They suggest there are three components to hypnosis:

Establish authority
Establish that what you're doing will work
Create overload
Important OK, I don't think these three are necessary, but I'm willing to hear them out. After Koor's induction bent my brain - I'm willing to take this as "a" model and not "the" model.
Calling bullshit on this - that 'overload' is the ideal way to learn and that things will automatically go into the unconscious the way they think they do. I'd have to see it to believe it.
Anyway.

Establish Authority: Demonstrate self-control, trustworthiness, environmental control
Some tips: Don't talk about how capable you are; practice moderating your voice, tone, and temper; avoid extreme displays of bitterness and jealousy; avoid cynicism and sarcasm and opt for good humor and a willingness to forgive or excuse; laugh at yourself - it exudes control and self-confidence; do not force others to defer to you in special ways; show reasonable respect to people and legitimate institutions, especially in autonomy and self-designations of people around you; if an institution is illegitimate and you must oppose it, show forethought while you constructively channel your anger; take pride in your appearance
Demonstrate Trustworthiness: Communicate both your wants and unknowns clearly, and a willingness to collaborate
Demonstrate Environmental Control: Showing control over your environment, quietly and calmly - it's worth far more than talk
(There's a quick talk on pacing and leading here… but I've got this down, and there's no reason for me to regurgitate it.)

Hypnosis is a science, and employing it is an art.
Gordon, James; Doll, Rebecca. Mastering Erotic Hypnosis: A Comprehensive Manual for Erotic Play, Fetish, and Kink (Comprehensive Mastery Book 1) (p. 92). Comprehensive Mastery. Kindle Edition.
Things that are true and don't hurt to reinforce:

Intelligence, generally, corresponds to suggestibility (response)
Imagination and creativity are correlated to suggestibility (response)
This isn't a battle of the wills

(Even if I don't really think this is necessary…)

Incredibly slight anxiety. EG: boredom at the DMV, or driving while your mind is on something else. Think anticipation. Encourage this by sharpening your voice, or having them sit straight up.
Use VAK, and don't skimp. Actually 'touch' your partner during a session. Don't neglect Kog if it's available.
As a note, you need to be aware of overload because you can have too much of it. If your erotic hypnosis partner is wide-eyed, breathing fast, skin flushed, clearly in that state where touch will melt them, you need to hold back on stimuli that would create overload, not pour on more. If your partner isn't overly excited already, a few quick reminders about what you have negotiated to do, focusing on any things they seemed to find exciting or edgy, can create an intense state of anticipatory anxiety. Gordon, James; Doll, Rebecca. Mastering Erotic Hypnosis: A Comprehensive Manual for Erotic Play, Fetish, and Kink (Comprehensive Mastery Book 1) (p. 99). Comprehensive Mastery. Kindle Edition.

Redirection is a way of doubling down on the senses to create overload. EG:
"I want you to feel your feet flat against the floor, and you may also notice the sun's warmth on your skin." "You can focus on my words. Outside, you can hear background noises, cars, trucks, but that isn't important." Don't overdo redirection. Usually, one to three redirections per induction, particularly as interrupts to your patter, as you can see they are beginning to go under, is sufficient. Gordon, James; Doll, Rebecca. Mastering Erotic Hypnosis: A Comprehensive Manual for Erotic Play, Fetish, and Kink (Comprehensive Mastery Book 1) (p. 98). Comprehensive Mastery. Kindle Edition.

This book is talking more about providing techniques than scripts, and I am fucking hyped.

Ensure a hypnotic modality exists (establishing authority that hypnosis will work and eventually create overload)
Build a compliance chain - a yes set and a compliance set, and this should be easy
(It should be obvious, but check for their physical comfort and safety. Pain distracts from a hypnotic state.)
They suggest using slight tension; they should not be -too- comfortable.
Focal Device - often called the induction itself
Aside from auditory fascination, there's eye fascination, hypno-disks, arm-raising, all just to create overload, allegedly
Patter - hypnotic cadence, hypnotic speech
Keep your cadence clear and slow; remember you can work with both paternal and maternal tones, and don't worry about fancy wording (it's sexy but ineffective)
Pacing with 'truisms,' using that as evidence, creating heteroaction (Taking this from MMHA, but it's covering the same stuff), I do like the you may have a tendency to want to swallow as a pacing statement
Continuing with their indirect suggestibles model, suggest emotional excitement first then move to physical. Do the opposite with direct.
Breathing regulation can be handy as it adds, interestingly in their model, overload
USE THE TERM IMAGINE -OR- VISUALIZE, as not all can visualize; if you want just one, just stick with imagine
Don't be fancy with words. If you keep saying, "Your eyelids feel heavier and heavier…" and repeat, "heavier and heavier," they'll feel heavier. Don't kick them out just to be creative.
You can deliver suggestions by example.
[You feel (optional emotional modifiers) THING] (You feel a pleasant warmth)
May remind you of some pleasant experience you've had in the past, non-specific
Perhaps when [concrete examples]
Gather their nominalizations ala Mastering the Leisure Induction notes

Given their model, conversion is the place where someone goes 'deep' into a hypnotic state - even though hypnosis is already happening. For example, when their head slumps down, or someone goes deeply into a trance.
Their model of conversion has the following components:

Build
Shifting gradually to a commanding tone, using less permissive language
Read
You do the reading. However, working with experienced partners, you might get a false positive from watching their eyes or seeing physiological signs early. They'll describe inductions that are easier to read later.
Shock
Something unexpected to suggest going in. "Aaaand…. sleep!" Poke their forehead, shoulders down… some sort of shift or change.
Immediate Deepening
- Use whatever you like, but the usual is the countdown.
- According to them, this is where you add your reinduction trigger.
Don't ask if they're in hypnosis; instead, ask them about things that will help them enter hypnosis. EG: "Are you comfortable?"

You can use something gentler when waking them from hypnosis before bed. (I like to tell them that they can enjoy this same state of relaxation in their pillow and set it up as a trigger if they wish.)
Important FWIW, this book discusses quickly bringing subjects out of trance - I do personally have one subject that gets headaches when brought out of hypnosis too quickly, and another (more experienced) hypnotist was able to get rid of their return headaches by allowing them to count themselves out in stages, at their own pace.

Don't seem desperate, prefer "How did that feel to you?" over "Did you feel anything?"

After hypnosis, I don't think this is entirely genuine, but they say, "Downplay failures, don't cast blame, and look for other methods." I prefer to focus on the positives and set up something to try again or start troubleshooting from there.
You can improve your success rate and soften the blow of a low response by:

Reading their suggestibility beforehand, looking at skepticism and resistance. (Or even their environment. If your dumb ass forgot to tell them to take their phone out of their pocket, forgot to tell them to take a piss, or their cat jumped on their junk, that's on you.)
Pad expectations - a mild state is good enough for therapeutic effects and can improve over time.
Invite them to interrupt during the process.
Not in the book, but I like the question, 'Did anything take you out of the experience?'
Head checks for you if you feel like you aren't getting anywhere:
Are they just not very reactive, but in state?
Have you tried switching between direct/indirect suggestions?
Did I make sure to use both "imagine and visualize?"
If they're disappointed, remind them of the expectations. (Apply head pats if appropriate. Poor bean.)
If they interrupt, work with them. Try an auto-dual induction.
If things seem really fucked, just tell them we'll continue with a relaxation exercise, it's worth doing in preparation, and sometimes it takes a while.
The authors rant and practically beg you to use an eye fascination induction and say that arm-raising inductions are effective but less sexy.

Take your fixation object and hold it 8-15 inches away from their eyes
Hold it slightly above their eyeline; it should be slightly uncomfortable to look at
Watch your partner's eyes - they should contact and then dilate
After this, after a while, or after the eyes have begun wavering, move your hand forward
Their eyes should close
Apply shock. (Touch and tell them to sleep.)
Deepen
You can also do this with your own eyes, too.
As a neat little tip, you can add some eye fixation to whatever you're doing, such as, "And now, I want you to focus on my fingernail."

Have your partner sitting
Position their arm and elbow so they can touch their face. This teaches them how to move their hand, and you're ensuring it can move comfortably.
Suggest their arm is raising. You can suggest it could be the wrist or hand leading, lightness, weightlessness, lifting, higher…
As the arm raises well above the surface, suggest it moves inwards to the face.
When it touches their face, convert with whatever mechanism you want to.
- Pace and lead on the usual… swallowing, breathing, feeling the chair…
- If it doesn't seem to start, try suggesting a 'jerking' motion from the arm, wrist, or hand
Problems:
If it doesn't move, just keep trying. One of James' instructors said, "Just keep going, five minutes, thirty minutes; it'll move."…
Change up your suggestion style
If you see signs of trance, convert with touching their forehead
If it all fails, back out gracefully and try something else

Important They suggest using a focal induction even for highly suggestible partners, as it can create a deeper initial state. Remember, you have the option of adding a 'stealth focus.'
If you're forced to do a talk induction cold, they suggest you must focus on redirection far more than if you were doing this with an eye fascination component, unless you lucked out on an easy drop.
Important Horny cheat sheet: Sexy emotions: desire, want, hungry/hunger, smolder, thrill, safe, blissful, arousing, exciting, ecstatic, magical
Sexy sensations: breath, heat, touch, pulse, warmth, slick, strong, soft, delicateAvoid easily misunderstood words

Shock inductions are (well) performed:

As a secondary induction
On highly suggestible individuals
When a profound hypnotic modality already exists
Shock inductions work when:
Enough hypnotic modality exists
The bottom knows how to drop into state
The bottom understands the cue to drop in
Or, in less BS, the subject is in enough hypnotic modality to go in, and the bottom understands and can infer "sleep" means "go into trance" unconsciously.

Have the bottom lock their fingers and extend them out in front of them
Suggest that if they begin to come apart, they will tighten their fingers and clamp down
Suggest glue to include indirect suggestibles
Add a countdown and further suggestions
Try and fail convincer

aka (hypnotize yourself with my instructions)
Use a normal induction, but ask them to repeat everything you say to them. Use all the caveats you have for low suggestibles (typically high inferentials or intellecutals.) Reassure them that they can exit the state at any time, and they will remain aware. As a second option, suggest they could be suggestible, to themselves, like being lost in a film or book, r a hypnotic shift while driving.
Use an induction with some ideomotor phenomena, it's a good convincer.
Remind them that hypnosis may be not what they expect or very light at first, and may require repeated work. If necessary and they are literal (arms do not respond to magnets) suggest we rely on a cartoonish willingness to accept the idea symbolically. You might need to use something like "feels as if their arm has become paralyzed."

Allegedly, the relaxation induction develops overload by coincidence and is not good for creating strong suggestibility.

Hypnotic modality
Authority
Do they think it will work?
Compliance chain – create some chances to take direction
Physical comfort and safety
Are they comfortable
Hazards
Not too comfortable
Comfortable place to continue
Do they imagine or visualize?
Should I use direct or indirect suggestions?
Patter - describe the effects of going into state
Cadence/Tone
Repetition
Physiological tricks
Overload
Focal device - focus their attention
Redirect - move their attention
Physiological cues - call their attention to elements that suggest they are going into state
Conversion
Verbal component
Physical Component
Immediate Deepening
Coming Up
Post Hypnosis
Gordon, James; Doll, Rebecca. Mastering Erotic Hypnosis: A Comprehensive Manual for Erotic Play, Fetish, and Kink (Comprehensive Mastery Book 1) (pp. 143-144). Comprehensive Mastery. Kindle Edition.

They provide four depths of hypnosis, for example:

Shallow. What you may see on a first induction. Incomplete suggestibility.
Initial state
Light. Glazed eyes, REM eye movement, eye flicking, slower breathing.
Orgasm enhancement, sensual experiences, participatory visualization
Moderate. Side-to-side eye movement slowing when compared to REM.
Age Regression, gender experimentation, doll state, exploration of alternative personalities, pain play, posthypnotic suggestion
Deep. Eyes may roll up - don't worry, it's fine.
1. Pain relief, deep visualizations, exploration of alternative personalities
Their suggestion for deepening is creating additional 'overload,' since they may be familiar with the previous overload.
When you're deepening, prefer questions that don't require much thought, are simple to answer, and opt for ideomotor responses (nodding, fingers, arm raising, tilting foot). Suggest that they respond off the cuff, and there is no wrong answer. You can give them permission to speak normally and conversationally, but you can give a beginner some yes/no exercises.
A no-brainer, but be careful what information you ask for; it might breach trust.
You can PMR someone as a deepener - the example they provided looks a bit like the furniture store deepener from Mind Play, but optionally, some sort of jacuzzi could relax them step by step through their body parts. You can suggest that negative emotions are cast 'out' of the body during your PMR.
They're still leaning on the idea of overload to deepen state, and I'm not… sold.

Have them build their own safe space. If they're not sure, some ideas to jog the memory… Indoors or outdoors, big or small space, fantasy or real, ground level, upstairs, downstairs, what things need to be there, food, drink, comfort items (blankets, cushions, books), other people, animals
Push them to make a space where they feel good. Help them revivify this as you would in a leisure induction, parrot-phrasing and using their own words.
If creating a safe space is very difficult, perhaps leave it alone if it starts to become more therapy than play.

Any challenge where they are intended to fail can be a deepener and suggest you have stronger authority. Challenges can have the following components:
The challenge itself, the suggestibility of the subject, direct and indirect suggestions, buildup to explain the challenge, the dominant suggestion, the challenge 'you may try,' amplification with 'the harder you try the more difficult it becomes,' and repetition, and then discharge, and rarely some confusion redirection.

Usually, they think the subject just didn't understand the challenge. In some cases, the depth is too deep, or there is some lack of trust. They recommend saying 'good' and moving on.

Why the fuck didn't they just call this fractionation?

Some no-shit tips:

Limit expectations beforehand
Respect wishes to stop
Be willing to continue
Don't freak out or cast blame
"You might be more suggestible to someone you knew better."
"We may need to use a different approach."
If your partner blames you, take it (and preserve their faith in themselves,) also take the blame for causing emotional turmoil; you'll fuck up sometimes, as this is intense
You are the rock in the session, the dom, provide comfort and stability if shit goes south
You, as the hypnotist, have the right to change course or end the session if you feel your emotional wellbeing is at risk
If your partner asks you to leave, do it; their hypnotic state does not trump consent, grab a friend during negotiation
Avoid dead air - do something simple like a staircase exercise if you need a minute to think
Figure out precisely what's the problem:

Not going into state
Not able to remain in state
Abreacting in state
Not responding visibly to suggestions (but could be in state)
Not giving positive responses to questions
"Let me know when you are able to visualize (or imagine) that."
Causes:

Physical Discomfort
Imagine v Visualize
Suggestibility, or sometimes, they 'don't get' what you're asking them to do, or you're giving too many direct suggestions
Locus of control; instead of telling them to "feel relaxation," tell them to "create relaxation."
Clarity and Confusion (are your suggestions clear?)
Landmines
Broken modality - do they trust you, do they respect you, do they doubt they can be hypnotized
Important If they don't think they can be hypnotized… perhaps try this example. Tell them to place their hand on the table, and whatever happens, do not move the hand. Then, try to move their hand. Suggest that they know they could move their hand, but that's not why they're here.

While abreactions in older clinical hypnosis means "releasing a previously repressed emotion through reliving an experience," it's also a common term for body movements that betray some sort of emotional pushback during a session.

These are minor physical tics. These are normal but unexplained and nothing to worry about. (Although, if you're getting close to something emotional, check-in.)

Sudden strong body movements resembling a spasm or convolution can indicate an abreaction. It could be anything - even "I have to pee." This can even be from a "yeah, right" response. Telling them something outside of their abilities can cause abreaction or convulsion, like remaining calm during public speaking. You can also accidentally hit a core belief on a word like 'slut.' In my case, feeling the 'tension of the hour, the day, the days release' autocompleting to the weeks, months, and years.
Try…
"If you would like to avoid X right now, squeeze my finger."
If things are fucking up, bring them to a safe place slowly, reassuringly. Minor ones can be avoided, and do not mean you need to stop a session, but major trauma responses might mean you need to pause for the night.

Something like arm flailing. This can stem from physical or emotional discomfort. If it doesn't stop after a brief bit of time, bring them up and discuss.

If there's anything self-destructive in your partner, dead air can let this fester, and is remarkably common. Give your partners a focal exercise.

Sometimes, it feels like people may be deliberately misunderstanding our suggestions, but that's a rare problem. Even those mildly on the autism spectrum can take things hyper-literally. There's also a critical failure of trust, which is possible. In my personal experiences, there was a hypnotist my gut would just not let me trust (which ended up saving my ass,) as well as other suggestions a different hypnotist gave me about "being in this together." The critical mind will remain vigilant.
Check:

Is it frequent? Sometimes shit happens.
Are you communicating clearly?
Would it be normal to get pushback on this suggestion? Troubleshoot outside of state.
Is it hyperliteralism?
Begin a discussion about conscious or unconscious impairment of trust or authority, and work it out in the waking world. Just acknowledging this can be helpful.

I disagree with the term of bratting, but here are some examples to look out for.

Make unwanted inferences
While in state, beginning sexual activity that was not negotiated on the grounds that they "can't stop themselves," etc.
Retain suggestions that were intended to be short-term as long-term suggestions, despite limiting language, especially sexual suggestions or suggestions about the hypnotist
Make leaps of logic
Guide the scene play toward landmines
Express many issues with coming out of hypnosis
Unable to come up Feeling lingering or morbid issues with suggestions that seem at odds with the actual content
Experience other time-intensive "problems" after hypnosis
Apparently dismissing any suggestions designed to ameliorate ill effects
Insists on follow-up sessions to "fix" problems that lie outside the framework of the actual suggestions in the initial session
If they're a shitty partner, stop playing with them.

They mention 'splash damage' as a 'ricochet' or 'sympathetic' trance.
Presuming they do not need McDonald's to come free them from the compulsion to buy hamburgers after every television commercial, they should not particularly need to be "freed" from a suggestion which they caught peripherally not directed at them.
It's perfectly within your rights to push people away from this. Or explain conversation that these suggestions are not for them.

“BDSM isn’t therapy… but it can be therapeutic.
Should you require a doctor to prescribe a cup of tea or a warm bath?
Here's a good litmus test if you can help out:

Does your partner want it?
Is it in your skillset?
If it's mental, is it something you'd be willing to help them out within a non-hypnotic setting?

There's a lot of panic over hypnotists that have 'caused' DID. The book suggests that clinically, this is marked by distinct personality states and recurrent episodes of amnesia, to the point of causing significant distress in social or occupational settings. The TLDR of this section is don't freak out if your partner has alters.
They can always check out a "Kink Aware Professional" through the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom's KAP project.
They understand their own safety better than you do since you're not a therapist, so… chill. (And as a personal note, don't… make new ones without consent. Jesus fucking christ.)

Very unlikely this will happen…
"It would be highly unusual for a person to develop chronic schizophrenia from one incident. After a stage performance, a person may worry that the hypnosis has altered them, and this may affect their grasp on reality, but hypnosis does not create psychotic vulnerabilities and I do not believe that the effect of hypnosis is strong enough to expose those kind of vulnerabilities." Michael Heap, clinical psychologist, president of British Society of Experimental and Clinical Hypnosis
You're probably fine, but a partner who thinks hypnosis might cause them to develop a mental illness is a cause for concern. There's evidence that if they think hypnosis will cause them to experience a disorder, they -will- start to experience that disorder. Make sure they know it won't cause them to go nuts, and make sure they have self-directed and healthy activities to keep their shit together.

Hearing voices is not an indication that someone suffers from schizophrenia.
Make sure you're comfortable with your partner, and if it's involved, understand their religious practices.

While you do have the right to play with only those you are comfortable with, it is ableist to remove susceptible people from opportunities where they 'might' be harmed.
If someone has a disorder or predisposition, do the following:

Ensure awareness - there's no firm understanding of how this may interact with their disorder or predisposition
Talk with and consider previous situations and issues that may have caused problems
Remind them you're not a therapist and can't offer a sound medical/psychological/psychiatric opinion for their suitability for hypnosis
Ensure you have their informed consent for hobbyist hypnosis
Make sure you are comfortable with them

It's unlikely you are the cause. Treating these issues as 'hypnotically induced' will mask the larger problem, as it's nearly impossible for you to be the cause. Find a KAP.

Bleed-over is rare, but 'flashbacks' to hypnosis do happen.
One technique is to give explicit suggestions that these things are imaginary, and after 'our game,' you will have no feelings after these events. If this doesn't work, suggest these things or events are being seen through a window, television, or movie screen.

Where psychological stress is converted into physical symptoms, selective amnesia, shallow volatile emotions, and overdramatic or attention-seeking behavior.
Important A chemist's assistant wanted to be hypnotized by Emile Coue. They feared they would never awaken, and when the 'tist tried to bring them back, they said they were blind. The hypnotist just dropped them again and dismissed the blindness.
We pointed out before that Milton Erickson's sidewalk was not littered with the corpses of his subjects who, hypnotized without their knowledge, were never released, and therefore blundered somnambulistically under the nearest bus.
Everyone can be hypnotized, but… some people probably shouldn't. Avoid, if you can, those who will use their unconscious 'defense mechanisms' to cause themselves problems or get attention.

First off, these are not conscious issues. Uh - but frankly, because you're a recreational hypnotist, don't deal with these people until they get their shit together. You're not obligated, and they should probably get a therapist before they're ready to go.
If it's someone you know, are they prone to creating drama and disaster? It's a good call to avoid them for hypnosis.
If you suspect someone may be in this category, you can ask some framing questions in negotiation which allow you to proceed with due caution. "Do you ever feel that bad things tend to happen to you more than other people?" You can slip this one into the suggestibility test questions and note the results separately. Ask the question last, and allow them to expand on it unlike the others, watching carefully for answers that self-contradict, e.g. "Oh of course not, but bad things do seem to happen to me a lot…" Another is "Do you have any specific fears or concerns about undergoing hypnosis." If this results in a litany of how every previous attempt has resulted in disaster, not merely failure, including ten near car-wrecks and inexplicable pains, you may wish to consider avoiding that person as a partner. You can politely make it your fault by saying you're a hobbyist and that you feel they should work with a more qualified professional first. We want to teach you to master erotic hypnosis, but that doesn't mean you need to prove it to everyone who comes along. Gordon, James; Doll, Rebecca. Mastering Erotic Hypnosis: A Comprehensive Manual for Erotic Play, Fetish, and Kink (Comprehensive Mastery Book 1) (p. 204). Comprehensive Mastery. Kindle Edition.
If you do play with hysterically-inclined subjects, stick with simple entertainment. Avoid D/s or eroticization as this may cause unconscious struggle. Consider the dual-auto induction.
Use strong dismissal to call out the unconscious's bullshit, bring them out of state firmly, and tell them they do not have lingering voices. Your strong voice says, "I'm on to your shit." Usually, these are attention-getting issues. However, you can sate the unconscious mind by giving them attention before the issues arise.
The people will not be harmed by hypnosis; they'll just cause you pain.

If you're in a kink world, count them up and give them aftercare. Counting them up in a gentle voice can give them a natural break point for their emotions to ramp down.
The first thing you need to do is comfort them; figuring out what happened can come later. Offer them physical affection (if it's welcome) and allow them to have the choice, don't force it on them. See if they need water - providing something can help a lot, and drinking water can change state.
If they're in the fetal position, this is not the time to try a state change. If they're responsive but upset, get up and move to a different spot to 'break the frame from the trauma. Let them talk, and leave questions open-ended. "Can you tell me what happened" is much better than what happened; keep your questions inviting.
If they seem upset and responsive, but not angry, offer a relaxation exercise, or offer cuddles/sit/relax, or I can do some relaxation with you, or we can go back to where we were before this happened. Offering that last option can be important since it means the relationship is not broken.
Do whatever they need. "Leave me alone, get my friend" are all valid. You can ask if they'll be all right if you do this, but this is not a good time for you to override what they think is good for them.
Be sexy like Erickson, and utilize their negative self-talk if you're calming them down. Avoid "you're not a shitty person" if they say they're a shitty person. Say something like, "I can see how that would make you feel that way right now, but that's not the way I see you at all."

(I'm taking everything at face value in this section. Nothing sounds terrible in here! But I don't know if I'm sold on the psychological explanations.)
Suggestion types:

Knowledge - "Smoking is bad" or "eggplants r hawt."
Behavioral - A change in personal outlook. "I want to quit smoking" or "I become aroused around coconuts."
Active - Imagine/Visualize - Momentary active imagination - "looking at the coconut makes you begin to feel aroused."
Active - Do - "Stand up, kneel, meow like a cat"
It is possible for someone to be able to imagine/visualize but not be able to actively do as a suggestion
Posthypnotic - "when you wake up, you will be aroused" or "when you wake up, you will not feel any pain."
Posthypnotic (amnesia) - amnesia uses specific neural centers - conditional amnesia can be part of a suggestion

Law of focal attention (or repetition.) Repeating this as a battering ram to get through to the unconscious. (paraphrased) We are more likely to create an obsession through emotionally powerful communication, suggestibility and personality than through repetition
Allegedly, mantra-like repetition has little value outside of induction and deepening. They suggest a mantra used by the subject may be slightly less useful.
Repeat the idea before hypnosis, during hypnosis, and after hypnosis. Why not.
Important
Tell them what you are going to tell them. 2. Tell them. 3. Tell them what you told them.

Law of emotion - they suggest you can 'get beyond the rider and speak directly to the elephant (unconscious,) but you must speak the elephant's language - emotion 💩
Law of reversed effect/effort - this has allegedly been muddied by the concept of reverse psychology
Dominant Suggestion - The more powerful suggestion will usually be embraced.
This can fail if the 'weaker' idea has a stronger appeal. Like - if someone really wants to smoke a cigarette, you're not going to get around it with this one.
Perversity - "Don't think of the pink elephant." This can be a drive, but there can also be some psychological elements like guilt, attention-getting, desire for excitement, or desire to induce crisis for emotional release. You'll need to figure out what's up.
Reactance - "Fuck you, I do what I want. doesn't clean the room."
"You shouldn't eat your vegetables, you're not old enough…"
Do not look at this as 'reverse psychology.' Look at this as reframing.
"Keep out" is ineffective; "Keep out - raw sewage" is more effective.
This is usually not handy unless there's bratting
Law of self-fulfillment
Don't micro-manage - the unconscious mind will come up with its own solutions.
Don't frontload your suggestions with a lot of details. Don't start with a goal. Break it up into chunks. The unconscious is "bad at planning."
Break suggestions up, but don't detail how they should be realized
Dissonance - "You'd like to pet a tarantula" is dissonant. "You are a horse (in hypnosis)" is fine.

OK - thankfully, this isn't all about writing bad smut.
Some tips on speaking prose:

You don't need to go too crazy with this, as the unconscious uses symbols. However, you should make it emotionally engaging.
Word things clearly
Avoid humor (or strongly consider why you're using it) - it takes a lot of cognitive processing power and may break state
Avoid being overly mechanical. "I put your penis inside your vagina."
It's about emotions. Do not add on critical thinking. You will not get any points for being 'technically' correct. Tap into what they say inside of their heads and speak smut language.
Fuck grammar, use run-on sentences
Use adjectives to add color and vividness
Relate concepts to their experiences. (But avoid landmines or specific events…)
To give experience, write a bit of story, with steps. However, in lewd times, focus on feel…
Repeat yourself a-plenty
Ask your partner for the keys 🙂

Remember that your subject will start filling in details as well, but you should VAKog your descriptions. You are more concerned with setting the tone of the scene than detailing everything. Use it to set the emotional context.
The primary facets of the pirate ship in our partner's mind aren't a capstan or rigging. They are the noises and scents that go with such a vessel: creaking boards and rigging, the slap of waves, the scent of salt air, perhaps crew singing a sea chanty as they work. You can enlist the sense of taste, even if there is no food in the scene you are describing. For example, salt air has a flavor as well as a scent. Scent and taste are interlinked, and trying to invoke both of them is generally a good idea.
Use temperature or humidity descriptions as they'll affect the real body.

You'll want to describe what's happening - including the struggle making them sweaty, or fingers arousing them. focus on simplicity during the activity.

In your suggestions, ensure you have a reference point that both you and your subject can go back to.
"I want you to recall the sensation of being cut by paper...now when I press my finger against your skin, that is a shiny, very sharp scalpel and you are going to feel that sensation following the tip of my finger, that slight burning sensation, followed by a deeper pain."

OK - here's a cool idea - take a pile of experience ingredients to make a new one. So... for instance...
Flying

See if they know how to swim or something where they can move in three dimensions
Then, attach the feeling of moving swiftly... a fan nearby blowing air through their hair, or sticking their head out of a vehicle
You could stack multiple of these on, but hook it up with the suggestion of flying.

Be sure you tailor your suggestions to your subject. Some may just get "you're aroused," and others you might want to lead with something that'll lead to arousal. They're back on the direct and indirect suggestibles, but it's good to make sure that they're experiencing the phenomena you'd like them to experience.

Attach existing sensations and bind them to a finger/appendage. A wand, a papercut, a match...
You can attach an erotic or arousing sensation to another body part - e.g., feeling aroused or stroking along their length as you stroke their throat.
Attach orgasms or arousal to your staircase deepener.

I've done something similar to this with a deck of cards with wants on them before. Their setup for doing this is...

Set up a safe place in their mind. Explain doors and options.
Explain something sexy is going on behind all these doors. They may be extreme, or something or someone they know.
Ask them to think about what could be behind the doors.
If they have taste and they're a monster fucker, say there may be monsters...
Pick a door to look into.
Have them look into it through a video monitor or a peephole. You need to bait and prep the unconscious to cook something hot up for them.
For a sly squeeze, tell them they must tell you all the details. It's no reflection on them, just what's in the room, and they have no control over it.
If they don't see anything, tell them it might take a bit for it to transpire.
Ask for at least a finger squeeze for confirmation.
Bring them back up, or have them describe the tasty details.
This is one of my favorite things I've read so far.
Some hardcore players don't like check-ins, but it is your right as the top to insist on them. Gordon, James; Doll, Rebecca. Mastering Erotic Hypnosis: A Comprehensive Manual for Erotic Play, Fetish, and Kink (Comprehensive Mastery Book 1) (p. 247). Comprehensive Mastery. Kindle Edition.

In an fMRI test from Yann Cojan, they studied the difference between people in hypnotic catalepsy vs people just pretending to be paralyzed. The people pretending to be paralyzed activated a part of their brain for motor inhibition, those in hypnosis did not. TLDR - hypnotic paralysis is very real.
Keeping this in mind, it is quite possible to cut circulation with unsafe bondage suggestions, which can cover up nerve damage. Your partner can also fall; they're not pretending to be stuck; they are stuck.
Partners under hypnosis may be able to carry out acts they could not or would not in a waking state, and that can be a bad thing. Stress can trigger asthma attacks, fibromyalgia flare-ups, and problems with existing injuries.

Your partner may be shy or even traumatized about being made erect in front of people
Don't get upset if they don't immediately snap to attention
Calling attention to their lack of an erection is a good way to ruin everything
Sometimes, you can do this just by suggestion alone, but a light touch and asking them to focus on something that'd cause an erection is a good place to start
Say lewd things, get lewd erections, use that sexy brain organ of theirs and yours
Training someone with a penis to orgasm without stimulus may take multiple tries and prove difficult unless they are highly suggestible.
The age of your partner will affect their refractory period
You might be able to override ED or a refractory period with hypnosis, but... don't bet on it
OK - as a mostly ace gay dude, is this information interesting...

Lubrication may or may not indicate arousal, and the absence of lubrication is not an indication of a lack of arousal
You probably need to stimulate the clit to get someone to orgasm
Talk with your partner, but stimulating it over the 'hood' is a nice way to not overstimulate.
The clit is a structure that extends around the vaginal canal on either side that contacts at the top
I guess that's the usual location of the G spot?
Lubrication is associated with Bartholin's gland - located on either side of the vaginal opening
Squirt is the first clear, thin fluid.
It's not pee, but it does come out of the bladder.
Female ejaculation - thicker and milkier.
Allegedly, science doesn't know where this comes from? Supposedly, Skene's glands?
Massage the G spot until a high level of arousal is reached, then pull one or two fingers away from the G-spot rapidly and out of the vagina
If you need to squirt but it feels like you need to pee, just relax and let the squirt happen
It's rare but possible your partner has never orgasmed before

Both penis and vagina drivers can both (usually) orgasm from prostate stimulation and milking.

Many people can experience orgasm through anal penetration
Gender doesn't seem to be a big deal
Penetration can be painful, dumbass
Thrusting may be profoundly uncomfortable

You'll want to know why they orgasm, beyond if it feels good, and how strong their drive for it is. Is it biological for anxiety relief, or something they do with very close partners? Dig into their deeper drive.
Explore when they orgasm - is it related to a situation or stimulation? What will you need to do to stimulate them? How do they treat their genitals? Do they use toys? What's going on in their head when they orgasm?

Understand that the difficulties you'll encounter are proportional to the ease at which they orgasm normally. If they're tuned in to one situation, it'll be difficult, but if they orgasm with many partners under many different situations, you're good to go.
You'll need to encourage them to touch themselves if you're unable to touch them or if they're not able to use toys. As a last-ditch effort, you'll have to ask them to think about touching themselves.
The first thing you'll want to do is anchor the orgasm...
At first, you do this and nothing else. Just make sure you pair your trigger with their orgasm. You can also capture the feeling leading up to or immediately after orgasm. "I want you to remember this feeling, how you feel right now. When I suggest you will be able to recall this level of arousal/how it felt to orgasm, and you will be inclined to recall it, and thinking about it will return to this level of arousal."
This is just classical conditioning - but hypnosis makes it more effective.
First, tinker with the new stimulus and link it with both the feeling of the orgasm and the excitement you're trying to build. Build up the suggestion with the trigger and remind them about feeling the orgasm. You don't have to use the trigger right away; set up a few practice runs and just do it for the association while you manually help them orgasm. Then, gradually switch to the trigger only. If they don't pop, help them along again.
When you're successful, spread your trigger out, giving them a little warning before using the trigger. Gradually move to less and less edging, to the trigger directly. Use their language, the way they speak about orgasms and sex, not your own.

Get them aroused
Get them to the edge
Precipitate orgasm/use your trigger
Repeat
Each time, use less actual stimulus to arouse them and focus more on the idea of orgasm from your command alone
Be patient

You'll have to know what your partner looks like when they're close.
Use a relax trigger when they're close.
"You will edge... you may come close to orgasm... but you won't come until I say you can... you're free to try... you can get close... but you won't get there without my permission."
Suggest that they can cool down near orgasm...
Suggest they cannot orgasm
Test it 😈 by touching
If they start to slip, give them permission
If they're not slipping, keep going at it

You can always move an erogenous zone, but moving that to the point of orgasm may be difficult. Or, if there's something they're not used to (like anal), you can help them by providing additional imagery.
If you already have an orgasm trigger set up, you can improve it by borrowing some of their positive associations or kinks and describing the imagery, suggesting that their orgasm will be "stronger and more intense."
You can "extend" an orgasm just by telling them it'll be a longer orgasm, but it may be an illusion.
You can ruin an orgasm by stopping stimulus, suggesting cold ice, or anything else that would stop the orgasm. Or, train a "stop" trigger by doing a back and forth on stimulation.

Start off by checking the basics and ensuring they're stimulating themselves correctly. Take their history with orgasms and take notes. "See where it goes," and don't bring it up initially. Try to recreate a previous orgasm or try to build a perfect experience. Try to build a full combo to help them orgasm.

In this area, it's imperative that you understand your subject in order to satisfy them. This is not as simple as "I enjoy being shocked" since you'll need to figure out what physical (or physiological) part they enjoy.
Info While you can divide these up into physical and emotional masochism groups, not all of these needs are necessarily masochism. (Bondage can be pretty comfy!) Physical: Confinement, Restraint, Physical Pain
Emotional: Control, emotional pain, humiliation
Info Masochistic Motivations
A runner's high
Opponent process - where it "feels so good to stop"
This is suggested to be neurochemical but isn't well understood
This is also different from the runner's high, to be clear. This occurs when everything stops via a different mechanism
To return to familiar or unhealthy caregiving relationships or situations and environments
Returning to past battles - to unconsciously try to return to figure out how to elicit a caregiver's care
Suffering to please someone or to prove loyalty or value
Stockholm Syndrome
The bonding reaction occurs when there is a real threat to their wellbeing, with a small kindness being shown to them.
A willful behavior to avoid punishment, including the possibility of regression
Captive Bonding
or to achieve social rank, being 'safe' with your captor
Proving yourself or your own strength
NSSI for emotional regulation (non-suicidal self-injury)

If you're going to be a sadist or do things that are sadistic, it's imperative to know yourself and your weaknesses. A willingness to hurt comes from a desire to display the willingness to use force.
Info Sadistic Motivations
Proving value or strength to intimidate or impress
To dominate (ritualized coercion)
Proving toughness
Frustrated or sublimated competition - a need to 'win' in an easy setting
Insecurity - ritualized dominance is more comfortable than unrestrained, competitive dominance

The more detailed the description the better. Having a clear point of focus for the delivery of the pain payload will help. If you use physical touch, avoid dissonance - it'll reduce your effectiveness. As a downside, this sort of pain easily goes into extinction - it becomes ineffective after about four to five uses, or after 30 minutes. The body doesn't want to feel pain.
As a tip, use other common painful events to intensify the pain. (Scalding, burning, papercuts, a cut with a knife, stubbing your toe, your funny bone.)

Instead of creating the imagery, just cause the pain or stimulus itself, then bind it to something. They suggest having some overload on top will help the suggestions go through.

Contrast Pairs
"I am a Goddess; you are a pig."
Requires buy-in (obviously.)
Creating Subordination (Automatic agreement and submission, under a manager)
Autosuggestion
Direct suggestion
Visualizations
Describing the partner in submissive positions
Reframing
Dominance and submission as identifying leadership and submission as the gift of support, rather than winning and losing
Mantras
Battle of the wills
You feel control slipping away from you...
You feel yourself coming under my spell...
You may feel as if you are paralyzed in front of my gaze, staring into my eyes as prey hypnotized by a cobra
Body Veneration
"My pussy is the best"
Anchoring
Using eye fixation, a collar, or other props

General technique:

Ask them how they see the change, gather keywords
Describe the change to themselves as if they were in front of a mirror
Find some art and ask them what they notice most about it
Set up some sort of scene for them to transform, an excuse
Possibly even some backstory ("As part of your excursion into toaster-topia, you'll be required to wear a toaster-suit for three days.")
For 'intellectuals,' sell the effects, not the transformation
Describe the feelings, suggest it's as if they were playing a characters
Be sure to check for flavor (painful? loud? messy? grotesque? scientific? magical?)
Example Pre-flight checklist
[ ] How does my body feel different overall?
[ ] How do I feel different emotionally?
[ ] What can I see of my own body right away?
[ ] How does my movement differ?
[ ] What do I see in the mirror?

You can suggest how others would see them, given their transformation
(feeling a gaze perhaps, or how they'd want them)
The sensation of the clothing or costume
Soft, starchy, harsh, ill-fitting, frilly, restrictive
Accessories
Describe using existing knowledge (if they've handled snakes, remembering snakeskin)
Pick a representative emotional state and hammer it in with some description
"You can feel yourself sitting on your glittering pile of gold. It might seem cold to some, but to you, it feels like sitting on a mountain of warmth, your own heating pad, your gold is almost a living breathing thing, and you are filled with the satisfaction of owning it."

There's not a whole lot here, minus a few tidbits, but here we go!

Emotional excitement will help eroticize something. (Say, for instance, a crowded dance club.)
The dominant response will... well, be dominant in conditioning.
If the fear is stronger than the erotic component of watching a horror flick with your squeeze, your lust is going to fuel the fear, backfiring.
If there's a negative emotion, it's going to be next to impossible to eroticize it.
This is mostly just classical conditioning.
In hypnosis, you can suggest...
Adding erotic context, that things are better or more appealing
Highlighting components that are already appealing
Go slowly working against disgust - present very small amounts
If you're numbing pain since it's a problem - don't make it a worse problem and end up in the hospital
If you're De-eroticizing actively, try replacing the response rather than negative hallucination. You're going to have a difficult time

Dig out an existing fear
If you're concerned about it being too strong, put the scene behind glass or on a screen
If they're into fear for fear's sake, you don't need to worry about taking it as easy
They've likely eroticized fear on a deeper level
Use hypnosis (after negotiating) to get them to spit out their interests
Either use halls and doorways
(I personally like using a deck of cards)
Do an interrogation scene

Science People who forget things under hypnosis are not "pretending" to forget them. A summary of findings from neuroimaging studies of hypnosis from the early 2000s[40] showed that hypnosis altered elements of the attentional network, which carries out the function of "alerting, orienting, and executive control, and in the case of suggestions to "forget" this showed reduced activation in areas of the brain responsible for recall. [81] One interesting finding was that subjects who were instructed to forget a movie did not forget the context in which it was shown, suggesting that hypnotic blocks on memory can be extremely specific. One theory is that hypnosis (and other forms of amnesia) may affect a stage before recall where the brain decides to call a memory, and monitor and prevent its retrieval. We think this is very consistent with how memory blocks behave in regards to hypnosis.
The cue to remember should be immediately after the cue to forget - you do need to be precise, but you do not need to repeat the language. If it's been a while since you created the cue to forget or had them forget, you'll want to spell out what they were instructed to forget so they can remember it later.
Be direct and specific.
"You will forget I have given you a white envelope to place under your chair. When I tell you to remember the envelope you will remember where it is and be able to retrieve it for us."
The author suggests that, given neuroimaging studies, the hypnotic suggestion to forget works primarily on memory retrieval, blocking the retrieval attempt. Given that, the most effective way to forget may be to replace the memory, along with suggestions that directly reference the recall itself. "When you try to recall, you think of x" may be a good approach.
Dissociation If your subject has a dissociative tendency, tinkering with this sort of play may strengthen their ability to dissociate or recall. It's not always bad, but you'll need to be prepared to deal with the consequences, or at least be able to get informed consent in this area. "Causing dissociation on purpose may tend to strengthen the mechanisms for unplanned dissociation." However, if there is a wish to strengthen "alters," giving the alter tasks separate from the primary consciousness can be useful.

I didn't find much useful in this chapter that didn't just go back to "What do you want to experience, VAKog and emotionally?" Solid communication can solve this.
FWIW, if you're a third party reading this, go check out Mark Wiseman's hypnotic roleplay ideas in Mind Play—they work great.
In the gender roleplay section, they suggested a few things to enable someone, but I think some would be handy in other scenes. (EG - if you're trapped in a lab tank, is it OK for you to scream out in fear, or would the cops get called and there's some drug preventing you from doing so?)

The power to behave aggressively
Permission to show compassion, nurturing, or tenderness
The power to take the lead in sexual relations
The power to compel the sexual interests of others

Partner Questions:

What is your level of experience with hypnosis?
What is your level of experience with (other kink elements)?
What do you want to get out of this scene?
What emotions or feelings do you want?
What physical sensations would you like?
Whitelist - what do you DEFINITELY want.
Known triggers to avoid?
Limits - what should definitely not happen?
Off-limit body parts/areas?
Injuries/issues?
Health concerns and allergies?
Have you ever had problems with hypnotic suggestions carrying into waking life?
Safewords
Safe Signs
What do abreactions look like for you (if known?)
What should we do if there's a significant abreaction?
What sort of aftercare should we do?
Safety/Emergency Contact
During Hypnosis:

Description of sexual acts
Erotic Stimulation
Suggestions/whitelist - what would you like?
Requested triggers/control/suggestions about yourself?
Permission for
Eroticization
Orgasm triggers
Arousal triggers
Public arousal triggers
Roleplay scenes
Taboo areas open to investigation
Information regarding experiences, taste, touch sensations
Anything else?

Section 2 Mindfucking in BDSM

Tue, 16 Jul 2024 03:09:35 GMT

FRIES - freely given, reversible, informed, enthusiastic, and specific.

Getting consent for something you have no plan on doing, or pulling out toys you have no intention of using.
The most common mindfuck is playing with expectation. A common tool is a fictional infraction - "I know what you did and I'm disappointed. Confess, or the punishment will be much worse."
In the following example, the dom got consent to give their sub two substances, Sodium thiopental and 'Something to make the truth serum work faster' - Vitamin B3. Of course, Sodium Thiopental was never given to the subject, but instead two safe doses of Vitamin B3, using the sleight of mouth to infer they had taken two substances.
Instead, the bottom was only given two pills of niacin (from different manufacturers, so they looked different). Niacin, or Vitamin B3, is an essential vitamin, available off-the-shelf in the vitamins/supplements section of almost any health food store or pharmacy. Large amounts of Niacin (1000 Mg or greater) should never be taken without consulting a doctor, as overdoses of this vitamin can lead to serious complications including liver damage. However, in recommended over-the-counter dosages (one or two 100-300 mg pills), the vitamin's side effects may include the very sensations of heating, flushing, dizziness, and itching that the interrogator suggested would be caused by the "truth serum.” Algos, Sir Ezra. Mindfucking Mindfully: A Guide To Mental Manipulation For BDSM And Sadomasochism (p. 50). House of Algos Inc.. Kindle Edition.

"I have magical powers."
Written word has a ton of power behind it. Using it for 'accountability' or consent and rules. The symbol itself (your physical notebook) is useful on it's own as an anchor.
Signing something can also remind us of times when we felt taken advantage of by banks, lawyers, police, or other people wielding power over us. Algos, Sir Ezra. Mindfucking Mindfully: A Guide To Mental Manipulation For BDSM And Sadomasochism (p. 47). House of Algos Inc.. Kindle Edition.

Like a shepherds tone or a fake knife.
Once Candy was placed back on the floor in her chair, Midori pulled out her knife. The knife clicked open and Candy shivered with excitement. The dungeon monitor interrupted Midori and they proceeded to argue. Knives, it seemed, were not allowed at the dungeon and the dungeon monitor wasn’t having it. They proceeded to argue loudly while Candy stayed tied up in her chair. The dungeon monitor stormed off and Midori turned back to Candy and said “Screw him, I’m doing it anyway.” The crowd gasped as Candy felt the blade on her skin. In reality, the argument had been prearranged and the knife had only been real at first so that the sound of the knife unfolding was authentic. After that, it was just a piece of plastic that felt like an edge. The gasping crowd were all the same people Midori had recruited to carry Candy around. Algos, Sir Ezra. Mindfucking Mindfully: A Guide To Mental Manipulation For BDSM And Sadomasochism (pp. 53-54). House of Algos Inc.. Kindle Edition.

"I know what you did." Or - taking information about their preferences without reciprocating your own.

The difference between "playing a game" and "interviewing" someone.
There are many advantages to this [roleplaying] practice. Perhaps the D-type is in a bad habit of asking for feedback in the middle of the scene and killing the mood. To use a previous example, maybe the doctor/patient role-play is specifying that the patient is mute. Perhaps the D-type has a nasty habit of being too delicate with the s-type and role-playing a prison guard can help them get out of that headspace for the evening. Perhaps the s-type is not in the habit of serving the D-type and the Queen and servant role-play can be a way to get into a service role without feeling degraded (it is after all a privilege to serve the Queen). Algos, Sir Ezra. Mindfucking Mindfully: A Guide To Mental Manipulation For BDSM And Sadomasochism (p. 49). House of Algos Inc.. Kindle Edition.

Ennobling being treating them like royalty, or degrading them to give them a demeaning task.

Causes extreme embarrassment.

It's critical that the top can safeword, and encouraged to do so, just as the bottom.
Tops are obligated to observe the temporal nature of their role. EG - you must cleanly end the scene and your Perceived Power unless you've negotiated something before hand.
If you want to explore consensual non-consent because it is a fantasy of yours, it is one thing, but it is an entirely different thing if you want to explore consensual non-consent to process your rape trauma. Both are valid but engaging in the latter without informing your partner is dishonest and unethical. Algos, Sir Ezra. Mindfucking Mindfully: A Guide To Mental Manipulation For BDSM And Sadomasochism (p. 85). House of Algos Inc.. Kindle Edition.
Negotiating Trauma Informed Play
What happened the last time you were traumatized?
What kind of care was required for you to feel safe after you were last traumatized?
What is the plan if one of us becomes traumatized?
Is it an automatic end of scene?
Do you want to do a check in at that point?
Do you want to push through it?
What if I am not able or suitable to care for you when you are feeling traumatized?
Is there a friend we can call?
Do you have a therapist/psychiatrist that we can get in touch with if we need to? Algos, Sir Ezra. Mindfucking Mindfully: A Guide To Mental Manipulation For BDSM And Sadomasochism (p. 74). House of Algos Inc.. Kindle Edition.

Takeaways:

Ask if someone is interested in negotiating, not playing - it removes the expectation to play before negotiation.
If you'd like, ask questions in the format of "If X, then y? Because Z," giving someone a soft out. For instance, "If you have time tonight, would you like to have some fun with your pishock? I really do love watching you squirm."
Sometimes, it's all right to give someone a taste-test during negotiation!
To keep a surprise/mindfuck concealed, two techniques are spamming and long-term planning - both reasonably self-explanatory.
Regardless of your consent, check in the day-of. Your partner could've had a bad day or have any other reason (medical, emotional) to not go along with your plans.
As a dom, you're responsible for unfucking the mind after a session - this includes cleanly setting your D/s relationship to an appropriate peer level after the interaction, unless previously negotiated otherwise.
You can use the technique of epiloguing, de-rolling, and debriefing for cleaning up after more intense scenes
Epiloguing - reveal the secrets, explain the content of the mindfuck and wrap it up
De-rolling - discard character aspects
De-briefing - an opportunity to talk and discharge emotion
It's OK to set up an aftercare proxy - someone else to provide aftercare ahead of time

Introduction

Thu, 30 May 2024 19:08:17 GMT

(The author talks a lot about how cool and smart he is.)

Yup, nothing good here either.

The author spends a hell of a lot of time explaining that hypnotic states and phenomena happen all around us, without hypnotic ritual.

There are three metaphors that make the author feel like he’s cool and gonna drop a fat knowledge bomb on you…

Appearances are deceiving enough to cause ruin, and emulation is not always good.
Your environment decides your awareness, therefore your possibilities.
A monkey acclimates to their environment.
The author is suggesting you look to your past experiences to reevaluate hypnosis.

The author provides a cheap example of pacing and leading his waiter into having a great day.
Finally - a novel idea - during standard therapy, the client ‘uses hypnosis’ on the therapist to describe their situation, and the therapist fills in the blanks. They give a few examples of revivification, ‘regression,’ and using that to find associated states.
They infer that asking 2 + 2, the reflexive automatic response to 4 is hypnotic, or a conditioned response. According to that line of logic, all learned behavior and education is hypnotic in nature, and are learned by hypnotic transaction.
(I hate this book.)
They give a far-fetched example of one of their clients that self-sabotaged because they were told to ‘never be better than their father.’
From the author’s perspective, no matter how real someone’s problems are, if they are ‘acting psychotic,’ it doesn’t make sense to approach it from a sensible manner - and that you should find the causes directly.
The author suggests that many problems are conditioned responses, where the cause is illogical or hidden.

They provide an example where a subject was given a suggestion with amnesia to do something silly, and when it came time for her to do it, she came up with her own logic for doing so. Disassembling this explanation would not bear fruit, given that she hallucinated her explanation.
They give some really far fetched suggestions of associations from things from early childhood, and how they pushed these back away with breaking state with NLP. They then eschew how this magically fixed their whole life.
(I hate this book. I want something useful out of this but man the credibility of the author is REALLY lacking at this point. I’m really hoping they’re trying to sell an idea more than trying to make up bullshit stories.)
They provide the suggestion that you shouldn’t believe everything you read about hypnosis. And fuck I’m tired of this book already.

They introduce the idea of Bandler and Grinder’s MAPs - that we do not directly interact with the world.
Just as attempting to convince a hypnotic subject with logic that the “growling dogs” are not real will be met with resistance, so too will attacking his inner belief systems most often be met with the same results: “resistance.” Heller, Steven; Steele, Terry Lee. Monsters and Magical Sticks: There's No Such Thing As Hypnosis? (p. 52). The Original Falcon Press. Kindle Edition.
They continue to suggest that beliefs come from memories, simply from association. Providing information that doesn’t fit into someone’s MAP will result in a negative hallucination. (EG - ‘everyone hates’ the subject, and the client has affectionate friends, they’ll never really believe it.)
Important Finally something good. An idea generated by this book - perhaps try suggested amnesia by providing something that doesn’t fit into their map, or suggesting they find something that does fit into their map.
Ah, and something else good, from someone that ‘couldn’t be hypnotized.’ He suggests they ignore everything he says, and just listen to their inner voice on what they think they need to do to be hypnotized.
I then told him that no matter what I said he should ignore my remarks, and instead listen to his own inner voice saying the “proper” words. He nodded his head, and I began saying a few unimportant things, such as “you continue just as you are” and “that’s right…even more slowly” (timed to his breathing). After a few more such comments, I said, “and keep on listening to your own inner voice.” With that I shut up. After three or four minutes I took his right wrist gently and began to slowly raise his right arm straight out in front of him, and then held it there for about 30 seconds. Heller, Steven; Steele, Terry Lee. Monsters and Magical Sticks: There's No Such Thing As Hypnosis? (pp. 55-56). The Original Falcon Press. Kindle Edition.
And finally, an excellent point - if you’re in a ‘map’ where hypnosis is ineffective, get the hell out of the map. It feels as if this idea could be supplied outside of the areas suggested in this book.

Allegedly, they asked Erickson if they perceived symptoms and complaints as metaphors that contain a story about a ‘real’ problem. Erickson responded that they felt belief systems are metaphors, and that the individual operates and responds metaphorically to the world. That’s why he uses metaphoric approaches.
(My mood’s improved a bit, finally, something juicy in this book.)

They talk about VAK systems and preferences, however, they offer the tip to look at what the other person is trying to paint in their output system. Through their description, are they trying to give you the view, the sounds, or the feelings, stepping back to a secondary modality, or - not mentioned in this book, are they auditory digital. Try to follow what system they use for their logic to arrive at a feeling or view, more than the conclusion they arrive at. Auditory thinkers can be difficult to pull out.
The author uses the following technique at their Clinical Hypnosis: Innovative Technique©️ seminars:

They pick three people, ideally one for each VAK
They ask the visual to hold out their hand and to get the feeling of warmth in ‘that’ hand
Usually, they will fail
Then, they’ll ask them to look up to the picture of a warm day
THEN it will come
(They’re suggesting they use their visual thinking to arrive at the warmth)
They will then ask the kinesthetic to get a clear picture of the sun
They will fail, according to the author’s model
Then, they will ask them to feel the warm day on their hand
Then they can build up the picture of the sun
With the auditory, they will try to figure what is not their secondary system
1. First, they’ll ask them to try to get a picture
2. They’ll fail
3. Then, they’ll ask them to remember the sound
4. Then, ask them to remember the warmth of the sand on their hand.
5. Slowly raise that hand and build a picture of the sun
6. Allegedly, this builds from auditory ⇒ kinesthetic ⇒ visual… This means that the visual is likely the least preferred. Whatever man. 🤷
(The author proceeds to get lost in the sauce, describing how he helped an auditory thinker get out of their painful kinesthetic system by describing the sound of the waves.)
The author suggests, with analog marking, TRYING THIS YOURSELF - shifting modalities to help a patient.

All right - this isn’t the point of this paragraph in this book, but all the analog marking for helpful instructions is kind of neat. I’ll bold the analog-marked instructions…
Becoming aware of the output system of the people around you may be the beginning of a very exciting adventure. To help you to take that trip, I would like to give you an exercise that you can choose to go out and enjoy doing, or you can just do it and then choose to enjoy it. You can even choose not to choose to do it. That is also your choice. Heller, Steven; Steele, Terry Lee. Monsters and Magical Sticks: There's No Such Thing As Hypnosis? (pp. 67-68). The Original Falcon Press. Kindle Edition.

All right, another aside, but this one is interesting… providing you can give someone a double or triple bind, but use their preferred VAK system to lead them.
Within a few minutes, her breathing rate had deepened and her general demeanor was much improved. Several minutes later she began to laugh, and stated, “I have a picture but it doesn’t make any sense. In fact, it looks ridiculous.” I said, “You now have several choices as to how to deal with that picture”—an implied suggestion that there were options in reaching a new solution. “You can remember the sound of the wind and see the picture being blown further and further away until you can see a beautiful sky. In that clear sky is a bright warm sun, and you can soon feel all that warmth and comfort.” This last statement offered her the option of moving back to her kinesthetic system, but now in a pleasurable way. This would result in a basic restructuring of her kinesthetic experience. “Another choice you have is to question some object or person in your picture. If you do so, listen first to the sound of that voice, and then the words, until it is clear to you.” Heller, Steven; Steele, Terry Lee. Monsters and Magical Sticks: There's No Such Thing As Hypnosis? (pp. 69-70). The Original Falcon Press. Kindle Edition.
The author says if you detect the right system, you can use that to build rapport by matching it.

Wow. NLP eye directions. What’s an eyeroll amount to? (Sorry I just really doubt the effectiveness of this…)

I’m… going to see if there’s anything novel in here. I think there is something to say about looking away from a visually complex scene to help free up cognitive processing, (as in, sometimes, when lying, or even just trying to construct a complex sentence,) but the direction seems bunk. I’m sharing my own opinion here and taking liberty and not regurgitating notes.
The author notes that someone has a preferred ‘unconscious system,’ as denoted by the eye chart.
A novel note, is that sometimes people will allegedly avoid a system that’s painful. EG, someone describing an emotional injury in visual or auditory terms, or auditory digital to avoid going into how it felt.
I’m skimming the rest of this chapter.
Important Man this guy gets all up his own ass about how hypnosis doesn’t exist and then provides poorly verified information on eye directions indicating an internal state. I’m all for acknowledging medical research is old, crusty, slow, and even given that sometimes inaccurate, but come on man don’t preach the sauce so fucking hard.I’m in so much deep shit if I meet any of these people.

Allegedly, matching your patient’s preferred system can build rapport.
I’m skipping this fucking chapter.

Fuck this - as they suggest non-sequiturs can knock someone out of a pain or depression pattern. I’d fucking slap my therapist.

Yup, I still feel like I’m reading horse-shit.
Important Man maybe if this author was as smart as he thought he was I wouldn’t be calling horseshit on everything.

Whatever man.
I’m not reading this book anymore. If I learn anything - I don’t want it to be from here.

A Prelude - I'm Gonna Bitch a Lot

Thu, 18 Jul 2024 20:50:53 GMT

This book was one of my first on hypnosis, as it was recommended alongside Mind Play. For probably 8 months or so, I was frustrated with this book's content - with it's forceful view that you need to be The Hypnotist, it almost turned me off entirely from trying at all. I'm re-reading this to both scrape up the good bits and add my own (probably inexperienced) opinions, providing some nuance to the material as well as making it more digestible to newcomers.

Let me get my major beef with this book out of the way first. Firstly, there's the statement "...you must first become The Hypnotist and think of yourself as The Hypnotist..." Later, this rolls into the following quote:
"You must express absolute confidence, congruence and expertise in your skills, knowledge and abilities. In the beginning this can take a certain amount of front. Pretend and master it. Believe you are one of the best. Believe you are a natural. Behave like you are."
Don't get me wrong - confidence is great. But it's no so paramount in recreational or clinical hypnosis that it should prevent you from practicing. I also disagree that you should have "a certain amount of front." In a recreational setting, this is absolutely unnecessary. Experienced subjects will lend you a hand, and other nearby hypnotists worth their salt will be happy to drag you deeper into this hole help you out and give you critique. In a learning setting, coming clean about what you are and are not comfortable with is also perfectly respectable. The strength and force of the author's previous statements drowns out a helpful approach to this - which is...
"Ultimately be yourself - just more so."
I prefer James Tripp's take on this from Hypnosis without Trance that it's a collaboration - calling you the 'operator' and your subject the 'co-operator.' Another nice way to look at it is Binaural Histolog's take on their behavior page, that your behavior should be contextual. Don't present yourself like a stage hypnotist in a relaxed, recreational setting - you'll look like a clown that's out of touch.

The second chapter also covers a short history of hypnosis, mentioning Mesmerism and 'animal magnetism,' moving on to James Braid, then moving on to today's 20th century heroes of hypnosis - Milton Erickson and Dave Elman. Dave Elman's 'wedge' into hypnosis was 'disabling critical faculty,' and Milton Erickson attempted to speak directly to the 'unconscious.' The book suggests either of these approaches are acceptable.
Either of these models are 'ok' to work with, even Anthony says "... you can hold any of the major views about hypnosis and still be a good hypnotist." However, you'll do a lot better understanding that critical faculty is not "a thing you can bypass," just the same way that the unconscious is not something you plug into with USB-C. Troubleshooting your hypnotic suggestions with the point of view that you need to do either of these things will mislead and frustrate you.
Here's where I do agree with Anthony:
"Understand—your job is to turn a doing into a happening."
I'm going back to James Tripp and Binaural Histolog again - but I prefer James's and Binaural's approach of coaching in most situations. Your best source of information on why something isn't 'working' is right in front of you - your subject. James Tripp - Hypnosis Without Trance goes into a solid amount of detail on this, and despite it being peppered with NLP I recommend you picking up your own copy.
Anthony's Definition of Hypnosis Hypnosis is a social construct that causes the cognitive processes of automatic imagination. Hypnotic responses are defined by their subjective sensation of automaticity or involuntariness because they lack the knowledge or feeling of intention. Jacquin, Anthony. Reality is Plastic. The Art of Impromptu Hypnosis. (p. 36). Anthony Jacquin. Kindle Edition.
An Alternative (less fun) Definition Hypnosis is where:
Volitional responses feel or become automatic
(Some) Imagination feels like reality (or is experienced) (I believe this is from a lecture from Zoltan Dienes )
This chapter mentions "...hypnosis is not sleep and does not require the subject to be relaxed", but I think we can take this further - my opinion is that trance is a hypnotic phenomena. This makes 'waking hypnosis' much more approachable, as you're making those volitional responses feel automatic. Interestingly, we use all the same tools to create waking hypnosis as we do to create trance. I don't want to harangue you, so I'll just leave this as food for thought.

Anthony calls what would traditionally be used as a hypnotizability test a set piece. I do like this - but I think it still misses something that could be even better - suggesting that this test/set piece could just be something to be experienced without expectation.
I should save this for a separate 'coaching guide' later, but Graham Old and Mark Wiseman have both touched on making their tests 'fail proof.' Focus on what things felt like, and while you can explain there's 'no way to fail this test,' I think it's better to frame it as an experience to suggest a gradient of hypnotic response.
The chapter highlights these as perks to doing a test Set Piece:

To test suggestibility and get feedback
A taster of the hypnotist's skill and their own response
The hypnotist gets a confidence boost
Builds expectation for later
A way to kickstart the induction
It's okay to invite trying one of these with:

Let's try something
Let me show you something interesting
An 'exercise in concentration'
The Word Try Some hypnotists feel paranoid using the word 'try.' It can be used to imply intentional failure during a test, but really, I feel that most subjects are sufficiently intelligent enough to understand that try can have multiple contexts - such as trying something to 'do something with low stakes.'

While the book doesn't call any of these quotes I've gathered up from the book 'coaching,' they touch on the same concept. Helping someone, either before or during, how to experience hypnotic suggestion. There's also some sneaky NLP-esque presuppositions in here, but I'll let you find them yourself.

I don't want you to (x), I just want you to do (y), and then you will (z).
In practice: I don't want you to force or fight anything, I just want you to imagine your hand becoming lighter, and then your body will begin to react all on it's own.
"Now you could pretend that, but that’s not what I want."
"...if you don’t feel something, you don’t feel something; it takes a little while, but just relax and wait for it; it will happen..."
"If you imagine exactly what I ask you to imagine, your body will respond."
"I know it is difficult to tell exactly when they are going to touch, but I can assure you they are going to touch, just like..."

I'm skimping over the details on here - a lot of these are pretty common, so I don't feel like regurgitating this info needlessly.

as your fingers wrap together in finger-guns, they'll start to come together automatically
When working - start with the outcome that they'll touch first, before describing the magnets. Otherwise, you might have them touch before you suggest they'll touch.

"Think of the subject’s arms as your arms. They do what you tell them to do. Take ownership of them like they are two objects entirely detached from the subject. They are your props."

In a moment I'll ask you to close your eyes, so that you can (imagine)
If it's slow and you need to change gears, present it positively - "give them something more interesting to do." Or, my preference, ask them to put their hands down, open their eyes, and ask them how it felt (from Mark Wiseman.)

Okay, I'm nitpicking this next one - but instead of using try, you can use an 'analog test' as the cool NLP kids call it. Have them compare the stiffness of their arms, or ask them how it feels compared to earlier. Or - soften the test, tell them that when they try to move it, they can notice just how much harder it is to move than a moment ago...
"Now your arm is getting stiff… make it stiff, stiff… stiffer and stiffer, tighter and tighter… you cannot bend it, try as hard as you will. Try hard and find you cannot bend it; the harder you try, the stiffer it gets. You cannot bend your arm..."
And another tip on stiffening here from the writing:
Remind them that it feels stiff and will straighten out or set into place by saying, ‘that’s weird, it bends a bit and then springs right back straight again’. Tap them on the triceps as you do, encouraging the arm to straighten.

When I started out - I believed that there was something magical about pattern interrupts - and I bought into all that jazz about "the confusion allows suggestions to drop right into the subconscious." I'm no longer on board with this - I believe it gives you a moment of undivided focus to start giving suggestions. Given that, I'm in agreement with what Anthony has to say about this.
When you interrupt this pattern, by seizing the wrist rather than actually shaking hands, conscious activity is temporarily suspended while the subject searches for meaning in the interruption. They are looking for the next cue about how to proceed—if you wait too long, more than a second or two being too long, they will find the cue themselves—but if you make use of this short window by going straight into the script above, you can keep them suspended there.
If you're new to this, you can even explain the process beforehand and model the behavior. There's nothing terribly special about the surprise.
In truth you can use it without shock, surprise or confusion.

...continuing to seek out new inductions in the hope that finding the ultimate induction will make you a better hypnotist is normally a fruitless effort. Ultimately it is The Hypnotist that does the hypnotising, not the procedure itself.
I disagree. Sorta.
You should absolutely experiment and continue to learn. There's absolutely nothing wrong with trying out a goofy idea, and maybe getting feedback about it. As a friend said, "just be aware that if you're doing something weird, you may find yourself swimming upstream."

There's a bunch of handy teaching tools surrounding the larger context of a hypnotic suggestion. Wordweaver created CREAM, which was riffed on by Binaural Histolog with C(REI) => C(S). James Tripp provides the "Beliefs ⇒ Imagination ⇒ Physiology ⇒ Experience" pattern. This book has it's own ideas on the subject, providing the following checklist to think through.
Context Checklist:
Attitude. What is the subject’s attitude? Do they think their role is to challenge, participate, or be entirely passive?
Preferences. Have they expressed a preference for relaxation? Do they fear giving up control?
Abilities. Do they have the ability to think, visualise, fantasise and absorb themselves?
Expectations. What do they expect? Have they experienced hypnosis before?
Condition. Does their condition prime them for or prevent them from doing certain things?

The material here focused entirely on difficult (or uncomfortable) inductions for newbies to pull off. On a second read, these are all reasonable inductions to use - but not at all something I'd hand to someone just starting out. Later on, they add this note about instant inductions...
Just because there is not much to an instant induction does not mean there must be much more to it. There is not—just the confidence it will work and the intention to ensure it does.
Again - confidence is great, but it won't teach your subject how to get into trance if they're having trouble. I really like the ideas in James Tripp - Hypnosis Without Trance that involve utilizing and coaching your subjects experience, and for rapid inductions Graham Old - The Hypnotic Handshakes has some solid ideas as well, all of which can be applied to the material in this book.
I've taken some quick notes on a few novel inductions in the book - they're neat, look reasonable, but will probably work better if you have a ton of stage presence, and you've already ensured you have a suggestible or experienced subject. If you really want me to outline these in more details, ping me!

The rehearsal (just explain what you're going to do, and what will happen)
Suggest that as you move their wrist closer to their body, they'll close their eyes and start to into hypnosis, explaining some trance indicators
Continue with "I'm not going to do it yet" and keep going for a few rounds until you start to see reactions, 'helping them get a feel for it.'
When you see the arm start to lift on it's own, you can start to use their automatic response to go deeper - either suggesting their hand go to their face like a handshake, or their eyes can stay closed and they can fall deep into hypnosis as their hand goes down, taking them in

Model and demonstrate on yourself.
Arm up, allow your eyes to close.
Arm down, notice going deeper, allowing your eyes to open. Push gently on the arm as if it was resisting a bit.
Repeat, simplify, eyes close on lift, eyes opening and mind and body relaxing as you push down.
Suggest this time, when lifting the arm, the eyes will close automatically.
Suggest stiffness. Poke the bicep, forearm, and wrist, telling them to feel stiffening.
Start to deepen.
Either have their hand automatically go to their face and they can drop in, or have their arm relax, taking them down and deeper.

Start with a Compliance Set to relax.
Have them focus on a spit right underneath one of your eyes.
Hear the word relax four times in your mind. "Don't go into a deep state of hypnosis until you hear that word for the fourth time."
Suggest hand/arm/finger levitation.

"Look at this. Take a deep breath. Now close your eyes and sleep."
Deepen. Wave your hand over their eyes if you need to, if you'd like to encourage them to close their eyes.

While the material says these suggestion types are for deepening, I think these are perfectly fine (great, honestly) ways of crafting suggestion.

A link connects one thing to another. An example of this is fractionation, bringing someone up out of trance as they open their eyes, and deeper down when their eyelids automatically follow your hand back down. This applies to counting, or really any other action.
In a moment I am going to click my fingers... your eyes will open and you will look up; you will no longer be able to see me or anything I am wearing; everything else will be normal, but you will no longer be able to see me or anything I am wearing. You will be able to hear me and feel my touch, but you will no longer be able to see me.’

There are two notable examples - something like a double bind, as well as something you can just easily keep doing. The idea is to use feedback to intensify.
‘The deeper you go the better you feel and the better you feel the deeper you go.’
‘As I rock your shoulder (with one hand on the subject’s shoulder rock their body gently back and forward) go deeper and deeper. That’s right, your legs will support you even as you continue relaxing.’

Associate something to an ongoing experience.
‘Every breath you take will send you deeper and deeper.’

Make a direct suggestion, with your choice of intensity. I particularly liked ‘Sink, drift, melt, bliss; go there now.’
Combined with some physical encouragement such as a finger-tap on the head, or a gentle rock of a shoulder, or the body or one hand gently applying some pressure to a shoulder, many subjects just get the idea and dive into whatever those words mean to them.
If I'm doing this recreationally, I'll build tension and then top it off with a finger snap, if your subject welcomes being bossed around.
"You may have already noticed a feeling building... A profound amount of relaxation... where every single fiber of your being can let go... where you an drift deeply... where your body can go far off into the distance... and where your mind can follow... going there... (Snap) Now."

Be descriptive, but not too detailed. Let their mind fill in the blanks.
I would say - be deliberate with the detail that you provide. Avoid providing detail that is incongruent with their experience.
Ideas:

Ask your subject to imagine something - like their hand becoming stuck, or being on a beach.
Suggest their imagination causes an effect. Like imagining being on a beach, and they can feel a cool breeze passing overhead.
Link something to an action. "Every time I snap my fingers, you'll feel twice as cold."
Instead of suggesting something that'd conflict internally, provide a new reason for them to do something.
If something goes wrong, just fractionate them (command them to sleep.)
Keep your suggestion stack simple - it's less for both of you to keep track of, and is less likely to break their state. Instruction Ideas (From the book) "It is much easier to tell them that the watch belongs to me and it is time to return it." "If you want someone to bite into an onion believing it is a peach, do not ask just ask them to imagine it is a peach. Tell them you are going to hand them a peach." "You are changing their beliefs, therefore their reality—not just asking them to imagine."
A Gripe on the Numbers Any time someone tells me "twice as deep," it puts me off - as I'm disappointed with the expectation to feel 'at least twice as deep.' I try to use more analog terms (such as - so much deeper,) as they're less likely to piss me or my hypothetical subject off.

Suggest stronger suggestibility, if you like.
‘From this moment, everything I say now is your reality—every single thing. You know what I say you know, you will do what I ask you to do, feel what I say you can feel and see what I say you can see. Everything I say is instantly your reality without doubt, question or hesitation, because you have a super-powerful mind. You will follow perfectly every suggestion I give you.’
Prove this immediately after doing this - either through some sort of convincer or test.

Offering words of encouragement during your session, so long as it's sincere (or contextually appropriate to be condescending,) is always a plus. It lets them know they're doing well, gently assuages them to think less critically, reinforces previous successes, keeps the mood light, and (contextually) hints that you're on the same side.
Encouragement Examples ‘You have a natural ability to go into hypnosis. You have a super-powerful mind. You are doing brilliantly.’ 'That's right. That's it.'

Earlier - the book stated some pretty wild things were possible with hypnosis. When it did - it glossed over the events likely being partially staged. Chapters 7 and 8 cover some of Anthony's street antics - but I feel like these are more performance than hypnosis. Use common sense when reading this section - but there wasn't much here worth summarizing or regurgitating.

You cannot 'force' truth out of someone with hypnosis. While it's not absolute, irrefutable proof, Dr David and Herbert Spiegel wrote an article on this - Uses of hypnosis in evaluating malingering and deception.

In passing, the author covers a technique to teach people how to re-enter hypnosis.
...when you are ready I would like you to hear the word ‘relax’ four times in your mind and the fourth time your hear it just allow your eyes to close; that’s right, do it now, and as your eyes close you will immediately drift back inside, into hypnosis, deeper and deeper... that’s it.
This reminded me of Graham Old - PHRIT - but a little hastier. If you're teaching someone to re-enter hypnosis on their own, I recommend using Graham Old's technique - I think it has the additional perk of teaching some degree of subject agency.
It's also worth noting that it's not a super great idea to suggest you can "use your unconscious" to make decisions for you in impromptu therapy.
(To the subject) "If there is a decision you need to make and are unsure what to do, ask your unconscious, intuitive mind to provide you with an answer that is best for you."
You'll end up having the subject go with a gut feeling without verifying it, while also indirectly suggesting their 'unconscious' is this powerful thing that always comes up with the right answer.

There's a handy awakener in this chapter! You can use almost anything you like, but sometimes I find myself being lazy with this, so I personally like grabbing these things.
‘In a moment I am going to count from one to five and on the count of “five” your eyes will open and you will be back at full, conscious, wakeful alertness, everything back to normal in every way. It will be like you have woken up from a wonderful night’s sleep. You will understand hypnosis is not sleep, and the next time you get in bed and sleep, you will sleep wonderfully, better than you have for years, and awake at an appropriate time, refreshed, revitalised, feeling brand new. One. Feeling less relaxed now, every muscle, nerve and fibre coming alive. Two. A surge of energy is pouring in through your fingers, toes, up arms, legs, spine to the top of your head. Three. Take a deep breath, fill your chest with energy-giving oxygen, it spreads to every muscle nerve and fibre. Four. Take another breath as your head is being washed through with cool clear spring water, your entire body washed through, refreshed and revitalised. Five. Eyes open, wide awake, back in the room.’
Jacquin, Anthony. Reality is Plastic. The Art of Impromptu Hypnosis. (pp. 182-183). Anthony Jacquin. Kindle Edition.

A few tips from the book on abreactions and some thoughts:

Resist the temptation to start doing therapy with them.
Do use suggestion to suggest the reaction away. (I think this is worded poorly. I prefer suggesting they're grounded, and that they are safe. Someone might get the idea to suggest they stop crying, and that's going to go about as well as you'd expect.)
Avoid touching them during the process, you don't want them to associate that touch with the abreaction. (I'm not sure I'd use this as a hard and fast rule - touch can be a solid way to re-ground someone. Just be aware you may be 'anchoring' this.)
"Do not suggest they have issues to deal with and should seek therapy." Moreover - don't tell them there's something wrong with them. They can draw their own conclusions on how to handle their state without you indirectly suggesting their reaction is inappropriate.

This was a wholesome way to close the book, and decent food for thought.

The words are not as important as the ideas. The techniques are not as important as your intention. Observe your subject—they will give you all the guidance you need.
Aim to leave your subjects and your audience with a new view of the world.
Give them a positive experience they will still recount twenty years from now.

Chapter 3 - Classical Conditioning

Thu, 06 Jun 2024 00:42:11 GMT

Definitions:

Unconditioned stimulus (food): A stimulus that evokes a response
Unconditioned response (salivating to the food): The natural response to the unconditioned stimulus
Conditioned stimulus (bell): A stimulus that is generally neutral
Conditioned response (salivating to the bell): The learned response to the conditioned stimulus
While you can lose a trigger to either letting it die out (extinguishing) on it's own or the conditioned stimulus being present inappropriately, you can bring it back by either conditioning it again the same way, or you can even just try to kick the memory back on by asking if they remember how it felt before trying the stimulus.
Forward conditioning puts the conditioned stimulus (the bell) first, then the unconditioned stimulus (the food). "Delay" conditioning keeps the conditioned stimulus running simultaneously with the unconditioned stimulus, and "trace" conditioning leaves space between the stimuli. Simultaneous conditioning is where both stimuli are presented at the same time. While you'd think this would work, this is not an effective method. Second-order conditioning chains two unconditioned stimuli. First, conditioning the bell, then conditioning the metronome, both by forward conditioning. Temporal conditioning is - you guessed it, conditioning at a time of day or a day of week, etc. Backwards conditioning has the unconditioned stimulus follow the conditioned stimulus - ringing the bell after the food.
Stimulus generalization - if your partner is conditioned to bark at the sound of a certain dog clicker, they may feel the urge to bark at the sound of a finger snap. Stimulus discrimination is something you can train if you continue to repeat the correct stimuli, and continue to avoid rewards on the conditioned stimulus. Latent inhibition is where a familiar existing stimulus takes longer to associate, since the old association gets in the way (or makes it feel as if it doesn't fit.)
Prediction theory is just the idea of expectation - we don't need to know the details of this, all we need to know is that forward conditioning is the ideal method of conditioning, because of the concept of prediction. In addition, your conditioned stimulus should 'belong,' otherwise you're going against the grain. Your partner may just not get the idea of looking at a keyboard and salivating immediately, or find it silly.

A form of learning in which behaviors are dependent on, or controlled by its rewards and consequences. The carrot and stick for training behavior.
Throughout considering the concept of conditioning, it's important to remember that we're ALWAYS conditioning each other.
In the terms we use in operant conditioning:

Positive (+): To add a stimulus
Negative (-): To take away a stimulus
Reinforcement (R): To encourage a behavior
Punishment (P): To discourage a behavior

Since this is about operant conditioning, not classical conditioning, extinction is a bit different. Extinction can still happen naturally over time, but now we have the phenomena of extinction bursts, where, if the positive reinforcement isn't given, they'll try repeating things again and again until they get the positive reinforcement.

-Giving a lukewarm response 'going through the motions' can be a negative reinforcement.
Funishment is absolutely a thing - for a masochist that wants to be shocked or spanked, or someone who wishes to be humiliated being treated like a dog. Or even, they can find intrinsic value of the D/s relationship, so taking away their ability to masturbate may become a treat because they'd like the control.
For some, the ultimate punishment is explaining genuine disappointment, especially in D/s relationships.
Be aware that while you need to make sure that you use a reinforcement appropriately, that you do not use one at an inappropriate or unrelated time.

Reward size can vary - not only when you give it, but also contextually depending on where your partner is at mentally or emotionally at the moment. For example, if your partner is an a poor mood, you'll likely need to give them a bit more than just a quiet small chocolate to knock them out of that state. (Or, in some cases, a small amount of praise can really turn their day around.) Being judicious with the reward size can help prevent escalation.
On the other side, a Jackpot and be used occasionally to make major changes. Or, you can use one to prep your partner for behavior modification.

While there are some suggestions here about reinforcement schedules, being in tune to your partner really is the most important part. Take these as inspiration, not rules.

The TLDR of this is - use these all as tools and inspiration, not as a guide. Get in tune with your partner and see what works. None of this is to suggest that we give our partners the cold shoulder to make our training more effective - in the end this is about your relationship. (So, be aware that a mild or lukewarm thank you may actually R-.)

This can be broken down into a simple, easy to follow strategy:

Figure out what your target behavior is, draw out a map, and be flexible
Make sure the steps are small and achievable
Reinforce each step, make sure the process is rewarding, and after a while - increase the bar
If you lose progress, go back and reinforce the earlier steps
End each training session or set of attempts on success, if possible
Assuming your partner is into this, finding out their eager to proceed will help the process. If they're in to denial, deny them the ability to try to progress for a bit. If they want to move faster, encourage it, but be sure to pace alongside them, and reward their progress.
Move slowly - there's no reason to hastily squander an enjoyable process. In addition, if there's no end goal, this could be an enjoyable, never-ending project instead of a mountain to climb.

(There isn't a hell of a lot here.)
Some tips:

Be less concerned with creating trance, and more concerned with clearly communicating
Realize your partner is always communicating, in trance or out
For example, little twitches, their breathing slowing down, shifting during trance can all be clues as to what's going on with them
In addition, classically reinforcing with "That's right" whenever you see their eyelids flutter or their head dip forward is communicating back and forth with them, in this light
There's no 'wrong' answers here, and preferentially, no goal aside from you to work with your partner as the hypnotist
Don't forget your utilization - even outside of trance
For example, I'd probably say something like "I'm kinda anxious about turning up the strength of the shock collar." A solid response would utilize that with "Yeah... That's perfectly okay to be anxious for now, and sometimes that makes the scene a little hotter, giving into the situation... don't you think?"

Consider that - the path to brainwashing is nonlinear, and will provide you with many choices. It's all right (and encouraged) to experiment. For example, if your partner is begging for sub time, you could give it to them, but you're reinforcing the behavior to beg. You might try denying them and asking them to prove to you how much they'd like sub time, or ask them for some other behavior you've discussed.
Don't forget to reinforce the choices they make for you that you like positively - if you like them dressing up or even showing up on time for you, make sure you reward that and show your appreciation.
There's not much reason to use punishment in positive reinforcement - from earlier chapters, we already know that using this is likely to reduce the urge to engage as an undesirable side effect to discouraging the unwanted behavior. In addition, in your hypnotic sessions, you'll obviously want them to interact with you and feel comfortable opening up to you, so avoiding punishments (not to be confused with funishments) is ideal.
Know that if we're trying to adjust some sort of pattern or belief that is unconscious, as usual, avoid punishments. Beliefs and feelings often feel out of our control. Positively reinforcing behaviors and thoughts that you want to encourage will be much easier than trying to wrangle their unconscious into submission.
The biggest tip I like from this chapter is to change the rules to fit the behavior, rather than change the behavior to fit the rules. This is 'free' to do emotionally, and will give you a wedge in for change, rather than going directly against the grain. (Ex: If you'd like your partner to make more advances on you, shift the rules and requests to include something they're already doing, like texting you with requests to play.)
As the brainwasher, you're also subject to all the effects and needs as an animal as well. You gain satisfaction from watching behaviors change, as well as possibly becoming dependent on your partner wanting to be there for you. Be aware that their actions, responsiveness, and even existence are changing you as well. Exercise vigilance and awareness of something souring your mood or changing your needs, and taking those needs out on your partner.

Remember that, with anchoring and triggers, simultaneous conditioning is not the most effective method of pairing responses. Use your trigger a bit before the response that you want.
Praise or reward your subject for doing exactly what you intended - it's not always easy.
You can also provide parameters for them to self reward - like saying "I am a good pet" after cleaning their room.
An interesting concept - give them permission to use an erotic mantra or phrase when they do something well. Such as, after they've pleased you, order or give them permission to say "I love to serve."

The branding or theming around the emotional pleasure you give your subject can dictate the vibe or direction of your brainwashing (or relationship.)
Even though praise is positive, some people have tender feelings around areas they feel insecure, so it may be worthwhile to proceed gently. There are at least two directions you can take this - either make it so that they are rewarded for accepting the praise, or make it into a fun humiliation game.

Mantras are far more effective when they're associated with something. "I'm a horny sex toy" in itself isn't much, but having them imagine some toy like scene or imagery will help out. For a fun, sexy idea, have them repeat the mantra out loud as you stack on images.
Make a mantra part of their daily ritual.
Frame the mantra as something that'll create change.

Be clear about your protocols, and when you expect them to be followed (or when they're flexible or a nice-to-have.) For example, have explicit high-protocol times.
Haters gonna hate, have fun with your protocols, they don't need to be serious
Watch for patterns, either from you or your subject, as these can be hints as to protocols to create
Don't be an asshole and punish someone for being unable to follow a protocol - you're both on the same team

If you're feeling cheeky, you can deny something and be ambiguous about when you'll give it back to them - they may struggle to find a way to please you. (This is effective, but I'm not sure this fits my vibe!)
Denial can just be used to increase anticipation. No need to be mean about it.
Watch for negative signs - like sulking, being upset, or losing interest. You'll want to re-evaluate your game.

Really, this is just creating association in a broader sense. Instead of (pace, pace, pace), leading to their body becoming heavier, you (pace) lead into a 'complex change.' Such as, because they've been so receptive to your conditioning, they're ideal for brainwashing.

This is just an extension of radical utilization. In the broadest sense, make everything a 'win' for your control. EG - if they're masturbating without thinking of you, the next time it will be even stronger.

You don't really need to make big changes to give the feeling of 'control.' Simply suggest they're doing something because of your will. Even changing some basic preferences can feel huge to your partner. Giving your partner a mantra in the morning can really boost that feeling of corruption if they want it. Continuing that, reminding your partner about how they used to behave or see themselves can be huge.

Something I haven't thought about before - good scenes should have multiple ramps of intensity.
I do like the idea of, in your pre talk, if your subject gives you a 'blue' and you're comfortable with the risk, agreeing to be able to negotiate up during a scene. You can even consider negotiating 'sideways' if a scene starts to take a different direction.
Warning Be careful with intentional or unintentional metaphors in your scene, they can encourage deeper, undesirable changes. Framing something as teacher/student, moon/underwater, psychologist/subject can really let things go deeper than intended. I've run into this before - I've definitely had a few pet/master situations bleed outside of the scene and into my personal relationships. Not ideal.

I yoinked these handy-dandy lists for ideas during negotiation.
Situations:

Becoming recruited to be a member of a sexy brainwashing cult or hivemind
Volunteering to be a test subject for a mind control ray experiment
Going throughout their day while unknowingly being subject to subliminal messaging
A stranger drugs their drink with something that makes them malleable or lowers their IQ
Taken for an examination by a perverted doctor with drugs that make them docile and obedient
A supervillain caught in the clutches of the hero with mind-bending powers
A dolly or android brought to life and controlled by its maker
Trapped in a room filled with spiral screens or wearing special headphones, unaware of how they got there
Meeting for the first time as someone totally new to hypnosis
Becoming a servant to the master of the house
Tones:

Caring and loving
Dark and dangerous
Devotional and exalting
Predator and prey
Forceful and pushing
Playful and frisky
Scary and chilling
Seductive and captivating
Authoritative and domineering

Questions for both the ‘tist and subject:

What could go wrong?
What conditions could affect how risky this is?
What conditions can I create to reduce risk?
What can I do if something goes wrong.
RACK means not only awareness, but acceptance. I also like throwing PRICK in here as well as both parties should take personal responsibility in this. If you are ‘tisting, require your subject to take active part in risk awareness and management. If your subject already has problems with their independence, this makes high-risk play even less advisable.
If you are hypnotically reducing resistance, paradoxically, you will also need to make sure you encourage their own agency, perhaps framing their lack of resistance as their inability to prevent their own agency. You need to encourage them and make sure they learn to say 'no' during trance, and can bring themselves out. You, as the 'tist, need to be able to trust they can reject unwanted phenomena. Safety suggestions are good, but fallible, and you should be promoting healthy behavior patterns in addition to permission to resist and reject unwanted suggestions.

Gaslighting, at it's core, is manipulating your subject into putting their own beliefs into question. Obviously, as a negative and long-term side-effect of this is your partner may begin to question their beliefs and memories.
You can mitigate some risks by gaslighting in a playful or flirtatious manner, perhaps with a tell, over things that are of little consequence like 'what to have for dinner.' You can also do it over pre-arranged topics with limited scope.
Gaslighting Idea Bank
Denial
Take what they say and insist that they are remembering it wrong or thinking about it wrong. "What are you talking about? You never said that."
Trivializing
Question the importance of whatever they are saying. "Is this really that big of a deal?"
Diversion
Move the subject of the conversation. "Are you questioning my memory about this?"
Telling untruths
Think about what makes the most suggestive or believable lie. "Are you sure you weren't going into trance then, even a little?"
Gaslighting VRC Group Descriptor Interestingly - there's a gaslighter group on VRC, and they've got plenty of nasty examples.
Gaslighting? Where'd you learn that word?
Are you friends telling you things again?
You're too smart to be gaslit.
You think that I would do that to you?
You can NEVER be gaslit.
Stop listening to your friends, this relationship is between us remember?
I've told you they do nothing but harm our relationship.
They don't know what its like for us, the bond we have.
They will never understand the feeling of the love we have.
How do you not see they are controlling the narrative?
You're better than that.
"You're overreacting."
"You're being paranoid."
"You're imagining things."
"You're too sensitive."
"You're crazy."
"You're just trying to start an argument."
"You're blowing things out of proportion."
"You're making a big deal out of nothing."
"You're always so dramatic."
"I was just joking, don't be so serious."
"You're just trying to confuse me."
"You're misremembering what happened."
"You must be confused. "
"You must have misunderstood what I said. "
"You're overthinking it. "
"You're making assumptions. "
"You're jumping to conclusions. "
"You're being unrealistic. "
"You're not thinking clearly. "
"You're just being emotional. "

Set limits and boundaries on 'gassy' topics
Ensure your partner knows how to spot gaslighting and how it works
Use signaling, it can be helpful if you need to be serious

This can be seen as an intense crush or an need for a drug, with a component of relief
They directly say do not set up any sort of negative effects without you - they'll likely already naturally experience it
Withdrawal is real - and happens with any normal relationship

This play is dangerous, and there is no way to make it safe
Ensure you have consistent contact
Give you subject tools to 'stave off' the addiction, like tasks like writing in a journal to you, or to take a selfie
Normalize taking time apart

Suggesting that someone is malleable is attractive and desirable is one step, but the next level would be using their history against them to explain why they are malleable, and 'trapping' them implying the causality sounds you, is another step.
A brainwashed identity, even without direct suggestions, can (and likely will) happen spontaneously, and is self-reinforcing
Find out explicitly what you can tinker with

Neither of you are going to know where your emotional landmines are
Conditioning will never be magically contained with suggestion
There is no clear 'how far is too far,' so communicate

You already know how to create these associations, you can use the same tools you already know to break them.
Ask yourself why a behavior is persisting, since the best choice is the one that will persist

There's the clear obvious component of the direct pleasure and satisfaction...
But perhaps other needs like control and restriction are benefitting them
Guilt may be a component, even the slightest admonishments can be powerful
Learned behaviors and associations will naturally go extinct over time
Keep an eye on anchors and behaviors, making sure to remove reinforcements
Extinction can be very unpleasant, especially if they're losing their attachment for you - it would be humane to find some sort of replacement satisfaction for your subject, or help them with that
Replacing some conditioning is just reconditioning towards something more permissive
For example, replacing the 'guilt' of masturbating to someone that's not you with the sensation of perseverance
Assure them that it's a process, that they're not doing anything wrong
Defining 'what' makes an un-brainwashed person can give direction
Perhaps they're obsessing over waiting for a message, encourage a behavior that's healthier
You'll need to dig in a few levels here
Don't be a therapist
Seek professional help if there are untenable behavioral changes

Links

Tue, 18 Jun 2024 00:18:24 GMT

Weaver's Guide to the Guides
https://www.learnhypnokink.com
Binaural Histolog's Newbie Guide
Kinky NLP (book)
Hypnosis without Trance (book)
Mind Play (book)

Back to the index.

Welcome!

Mon, 01 Jul 2024 23:39:01 GMT

Here's a pile of poorly maintained notes!
A few things worth mentioning:

This is an excerpt from my personal Obsidian vault.
As such, you'll find dead links - I'm all right posting some notes, but I'd feel uncomfortable reproducing entire scripts.
Expect 5% shitposting by volume.
If you are a book author and you are uncomfortable with the amount of information I've shared, please get in touch with me, and I will remove it ASAP.
In addition, if you're an author and have a preferred link for folks to buy your book, let me know!
Just getting started? Go here.

James Tripp - Hypnosis Without Trance
An perspective on hypnosis from the perspective that trance is a phenomena of hypnosis, but trance is not a requirement of hypnosis. This book doesn't present itself as scientific, and includes a small smattering of NLP, but it does prevent a good 'teaching-model' of how hypnosis 'works.' The hypnotist and subject are referred to as operator and co-operator, highlighting it's focus on cooperation and coaching.
Learnhypnokink
An introduction to hypnokink with just the right amount of information to get you started. This focuses on language patterns (NLP) rather than giving you specific scripts to go by.
Binaural Histolog's Newbie Guide
While an excellent guide on hypnosis, this is not a guide to be relegated as a beginner's read. It provides a good understanding of both how to explain hypnosis as a layman, as well as quickly provides insights into hypnosis by citing modern day studies. Binaural's methods lean strongly on cooperation. Despite being kink-friendly, there's very little mention of kink inside of this guide.

Graham Old - Revisiting Hypnosis - PHRIT
Graham Old - The Elman Induction
Graham Old - The Hypnotic Handshakes
Graham Old - Hypnosis with the Hard to Hypnotize notes
Mastering Erotic Hypnosis
Monsters and Magical Sticks
Kinky NLP
The Brainwashing Book

Book Notes - Urban Tantra (Unfinished)
Book Notes - The Forked Tongue Revisited - A handbook for treating people badly

https://yourinductionsucks.fyi/
(My website needs a fucking update and a half. Go read Binaural Histolog instead.)
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1zPib2IxE0FHVNY6RkxVs0jfz3e37FmHGGYzXNqde6rU/edit?usp=sharing