Lesson One: What is Hypnosis?
1.0 Introduction
1.1 The Basic Principles of Hypnosis
1.2 Having Fun with Hypnosis
1.3 The Dangers of Hypnosis
1.4 Exercises
1.5 Summary
1.0 Introduction by Wayne Perkins, Stage Hypnotist
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Greetings and welcome to the wonderful world of professional stage hypnotism. My name is Wayne Perkins and I will be your instructor for these classes. I have been hypnotizing people of over 25 years and I am going to teach you the secrets and shortcuts involving stage hypnotism as well as the basic fundamentals.
You can learn how to hypnotize other people to satisfy your curiosity, create a new income stream or learn a new fulltime profession. Regardless of your reason of downloading this class, I can help you achieve success in a very short time.
The majority of stage hypnotists learned from reading a book and just trying the stuff out for themselves. Books are great and they will help you, however the quickest and easiest way is to get some great instructions and dive right into the material.
Based upon the success habits of successful stage hypnotism students, here is the single most important tip that I can give you...
Get off to a FAST and ORGANIZED start.
To really organize you class, please print this E-mail and keep it in a 3-ring binder. When you are ready, e-mail the rest of the class in numerical order and place that in your binder as well.
Make sure you write notes where you feel notes are appropriate.
Get all the education you can. Lean to become the best Professional Stage Hypnotist you can!
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Question: What is hypnosis?
Hypnosis refers to the extraordinary power words have when surrounded by our complete attention. When you are hypnotized you are actually in a very focused state of concentration.
Many people think a hypnotized person is asleep because of all the relaxation. But this is not true. As a person goes deeper and deeper into hypnosis the concentration gets more and more pronounced.
Back in the 1970s a professional boxer named Ken Norton would hypnotize himself before and while he was in the boxing ring. He became the heavyweight champion of the world by using hypnosis for concentration.
Dolly Parton, the country singer/song-writer used hypnosis to improve her song writing ability.
Lilly Tomlin used hypnosis to become more creative in her comedy writing and performing.
Sylvester Stallone used hypnosis to become more self-confident when he was selling the idea of the "Rocky" movies to Hollywood movie producers.
Many sports figures use hypnosis to help them improve their sports performances.
Think of hypnosis as super concentration because that is exactly what it is.
Question: What are the conscious mind and the subconscious mind?
Answer: The conscious mind is the part of the mind that we use to analyze and make decisions regarding movement or activities to engage in. We use our conscious mind all day long.
Question: What is the sub-conscious mind?
The sub-conscious mind is the part of the mind that is always active but operates behind the scenes unless we call upon it through meditation or hypnosis. By operating behind the scenes I mean whenever we engage in an automatic activity such as singing a song we "know by heart," drive a car, run on a treadmill or listen to music we have heard over and over again.
Those all would be conscious activities if we were learning the song for the first time, learning how to drive for the first few times, getting on a treadmill for the first time or listening carefully to a new song.
Our subconscious mind is like a computer. Once it is programmed it works on its own. In order to change the activity you must change the program. A hypnotist is successful to the degree he can temporarily change the program, (with stage hypnosis) or permanently affect the program through hypnotherapy.
For more information regarding frequently asked questions regarding hypnosis, go to the following URL when you are connected to the Internet. http://www.wayneperkins.net/hypnosis/faq.html
Hypnosis is fun. It is fun for the hypnotist and it is fun for the person being hypnotized. It is also a great deal of fun for people watching your performance.
Since most hypnotic inductions suggest relaxation of all of the muscle groups, most of your hypnotic subjects, also known as hypnotees, really enjoy the process.
Question: Do people remember everything that happens to them when they are hypnotized?
Answer: People will remember everything that happens to them when they are hypnotized, unless you instruct them to forget. Many stage hypnotists like to tell them they will forget everything that happened to them on stage.
The reason for this is because it will be proof to that individual that he/she was really hypnotized as other people will ask that person what happened, or why did you ask so strange when you were on-stage? It will also prove to that person's friends that something strange really did happen.
When I hypnotize on stage, sometimes I ask for "amnesia" and sometimes I don't.
Remember that whenever you are hypnotizing an individual, keep in mind that they want to have fun and keep their interests and safety in the forefront of your mind.
When you hypnotize an individual or a group, you will be developing a very deep rapport with that individual or group. You can count on people following every suggestion you give them and following it to the letter.
With that in mind, you need to give suggestions to people that will not harm them physically or emotionally.
You would never want to hypnotize a stranger, lay that stranger between two chairs with his head resting on one end and his feet resting on the opposite chair and then walk across his/her stomach.
Many hypnotists still do that bit, and you have no idea if that person just came out of stomach surgery or has a serious physical problem.
Always keep the safety and well being of the subject foremost in your mine.
Question: What is so dangerous about hypnosis other than standing on someone's stomach?
Answer: If you are taking a person back in time, for example, you may trigger a very traumatic experience that doesn't lend itself to entertainment. You NEVER want to suggest that a person is getting an electric shock or that he is going to be physically burned. Very suggestible subjects will not only feel the burns but also have physical burns appear on their bodies.
There is no place for physical harm in a hypnotism show.
There are thousands of hypnosis phenomena you can produce that are funny and will not harm anyone.
Question: What about removing the affects of the show?
Answer: You must always remove the affects of the show. If you made the hypnotic subject hot or cold, happy or sad, or affected any of the senses, you have to always make sure you suggest that all of the affects will be removed when the subject awakens from hypnosis. Otherwise the person may carry those affects into his conscious, waking state of mind.
We will go into this further as you learn how to hypnotize your first subjects.
1.4 Hypnosis Exercises
In order to get to know what hypnosis is really like I have created an exercise especially for you. During the exercise I want you to read the directions, memorize them and then follow the procedure.
Exercise: Try Hypnosis on for Size
Directions
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1. Put on some soft music.
2. Light a candle and place it on a table in such a way that you will be able to see the flickering flame of the candle at about eye level when you are sitting comfortably in the chair.
3. Write down on a piece of paper that you want to focus on a wonderful even that you experienced some time ago.
4. Then sit down in the chair, read the words that you just have written and close your eyes when they begin to water or feel tired.
5. Listen to the music and think about that time in your life when you had a very wonderful experience.
Memorize the steps above and then complete the exercise.
Feedback
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After the exercise is over write down answers to these questions. You can write them down on this page.
1. How did you feel during the exercise?
2. How did your eyes feel staring at the flickering flame?
3. Did you feel peaceful and relaxed during the exercise?
4. How vividly did you remember the experience of the past?
In this lesson you learned how to get a quick and organized start by creating a binder for each lesson. You include your own personal notes as you progress through the course. You learned the hypnosis is focused concentration. It is not sleep.
Many movie and sports celebrities use hypnosis to improve their performance.
In hypnosis you are communicating with your powerful subconscious mind, which acts as a computer.
Although hypnosis is fun it can be dangerous. Make sure you always give suggestions that will not cause any harm.
You will learn more about that in future lessons.
Lesson Two: How to Select Your First Hypnotic Subject
2.0 How to Select Your First Subject
2.1 Exercise 1: Making a List and checking it twice
2.2 How to guarantee success with your first subject
2.3 Pre-hypnosis Your Guarantee for Success!
2.4 Hypnosis Experiments in the Waking State
2.5 Exercises for Further Learning
2.6 Summary
2.0 How to Select Your First Hypnotic Subject
Questions: How do I select my very first subject? Why are you asking me before I have learned how to hypnotize?
Answers: You need to begin thinking of who you would like to hypnotize. In the next lesson you will learn how to hypnotize and that lesson is coming quick.
Who makes a good first subject?
Everyone wants to be hypnotized!
Yes, even your biggest skeptics want to be hypnotized. However, it's best to find a willing subject first. Even though the temptation is to ask a close friend or relative if they want to be hypnotized, I would wait until you have had many successes under your belt.
Hypnosis is a very subjective state of mind. Belief in your abilities as a hypnotist is the key. Your close friends may know that you are just starting out and may fail only because they are trying too hard to please you. Or they may fail because deep down inside, they don't believe in your abilities to hypnotize.
On the other hand, complete strangers make the best hypnotic subjects when starting out. If they have never been hypnotized before, even if you have a little knowledge, you are way ahead of them.
You begin by finding strangers in social clubs you may belong to, or people that overhear you talking about hypnosis. Maybe you join a night class at a community college and when someone asks you what you do, you tell them, I am a hypnotist.
Usually the inquiring person will say, "I have never been hypnotized before, will you hypnotize me?"
Then they will ask, "How much do you charge?"
Since you are new and don't really know how to hypnotize much less fix something that is wrong with them, you respond with. "I will work with you for free. I have a new technique I am trying out and I need volunteers to work with until I feel more comfortable with it. When would you like to be hypnotized?"
Then off you go. You have your first willing subject. Since you are not going to charge the person for your service, you will have someone who will work with you.
If you ever decide to become a professional hypnotist and charge money for your services, you have someone that will praise your services, because of the successful experience he had with you.
Keys to Success
Hypnosis involves credibility. Subjects have to believe you have the skill to hypnotize.
Hypnosis involves belief. The person has to believe that something will go on as a result of your personal intervention.
Hypnosis requires rapport with your subjects. They have to trust you and like you. Even if they respond as a great hypnotic subject for someone else, they may not respond to you because they don't like you. Because all of this is happening at a subconscious level, they may not demonstrate the fact that they like or don't like you.
2.1 Exercise 1: Making a List and checking it Twice
Make a list of places you go to on a regular basis where you may engage in conversation with a stranger. Remember that strangers will make some of the best hypnotic subjects because they have no reason to doubt your abilities. Hypnotizing personal friends will work much better once you establish a reputation as a hypnotist.
Along side the list of places you may find your first hypnotic subject, include names of people you meet that will be interested in becoming your first hypnotic subjects. Make a list of places you will find your first hypnotic subject and add to the list as you proceed through the stage hypnotism course.
1. Work
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2. Social organizations
3. Church
_____________________________________
4. Other
2.2 How to Guarantee Success with Your First Subject
Once you have completed the exercises in this lesson on hypnotizing you will be coming back to this page to remind yourself how to guarantee success for your first subject.
After completing the exercise in part 2.1 of this lesson, I want you to ask one of the above individuals to engage in a hypnosis experiment with you. Remember to say that you are trying out a new technique and you would appreciate the help in conducting the experiment. The subject will usually be excited about helping out and may share some previous hypnosis experiences with you.
Make sure you listen to the person very carefully for he/she will give you some very good feedback on what worked and what didn't work during the previous session.
If the person has had no previous experience being hypnotized, then your chances of success improve, as you will not be compared with somebody else.
2.3 Pre-hypnosis: Your Guarantee for Success!
What is pre-hypnosis?
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Pre-hypnosis involves everything you say to a subject prior to the actual hypnotism ceremony. What you are trying to accomplish with pre-hypnosis is setting up favorable conditions for you and your subject to operate.
People that are getting ready to become hypnotized for the first time have several issues you want to address before the session. This will help guarantee your success as a hypnotist.
Here are the issues or questions the subject will be thinking about.
1. Will I remember everything that happened during the hypnotic session?
2. Can I get stuck in hypnosis?
3. Will I tell you something I don't want to tell you about my past?
4. How long will I be under?
5. Can I hear other things going on in the room while I am hypnotized?
6. Can you make me do something I don't want to do?
Your Pre-hypnosis Briefing
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For your first subject as well as when you will be presenting stage hypnosis shows, you will want to use a pre-hypnosis briefing for all of your subjects and clients.
I will give you a briefing that will include all six elements. Feel free to use this briefing word for word or re-design it any way you seem necessary.
Make sure you include all six elements. This will be good practice for all of you future sessions with hypnotizing individuals and well as hypnotizing groups.
Briefing
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This is going to be fun!
Many people have concerns about hypnosis. At any time feel free to ask any questions but let me go over a few things most people are curious about.
Many people wonder, if they will remember everything that happens during the hypnosis session. You will remember anything you wish to remember and forget anything you wish to forget. When subjects volunteer to do stage shows, many times they will forget most of the things going on because the things they do may be embarrassing to discuss with their friends attending the show. However, if they wish to remember everything that happens, they will remember everything that happens while under hypnosis.
Another concern many people have is if they can get stuck in hypnosis.
Hypnosis is a state of awareness and a state of total concentration. It takes a great deal of effort to concentrate intently. It is physically impossible to keep that concentration up for a very long time.
Another concern many people have is if they will tell me something that they would never tell another person. For example, this may be a secret you don't want to reveal to anyone.
Make sure you tell your subject the following. "I can assure you that you will not reveal anything to me that you don't wish to reveal." "In hypnosis you always retain the freedom of choice."
"You may also wonder, how long will you be under hypnosis?"
"You will be under hypnosis for just a couple of minutes."
Another question everyone has is, "will I hear everything that is going on in the room?"
"Many hypnotic subjects will hear every sound that is going on since hypnosis is a heightened state of consciousness." "Other people will only hear my voice." "They will tune out the normal sounds going on around them."
"The last concern people have is if I will make them do something they don't want to do."
"The answer is no." "You always do what you wish to do." "I may ask you to do 10 things and you only do 8." "You may do all 10 things." "You determine how deeply and to what degree you will be hypnotized."
"Do you have any other questions?"
"If not, let us proceed."
2.4 Hypnosis Experiments In the Waking State
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Now that you have answered all of the questions your subject may ask you are ready to proceed in experiments in the waking state.
The waking state of hypnosis is actually a very light state of hypnosis.
Many times this state is good enough for a stage show; however it is your goal to learn stage hypnosis in a very short period of time. Success at waking hypnosis helps you achieve success very quickly.
It is also fun for the subject!
We will work with three experiments in the state of waking hypnosis.
We will not work with a specific hypnosis induction during this lesson. However, as you learn how to effectively deliver suggestions in the waking state, you can use this state to develop very rapid inductions where the subject will be deeply hypnotized in just a few seconds.
So let's get started.
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