I was recently inspired by a YouTube video by Nick Davies, Mind Magician, where Mr. Davies asks a willing volunteer to pick a card from a deck, and he attempts to “read her mind” to identify the card. The setting is informal. It’s in someone’s home, and with the gleeful squeals children’s voices in the background, there is no pretense of actually reading her mind. In fact, it appears that Mr. Davies is coaching someone else in the camera’s frame on how to perform this feat.

The premise here is that when we communicate, the words we use in conversation actually amounts to about 40% of all the information that is actually being conveyed, (J. Navarro, M. Karlins, What Every Body Is Saying; Harper-Collins, 2008.) The rest is all non-verbal communication. As in Ikebana, the venerable Zen-like art of Japanese flower arranging, the spaces in between and around the subject is an integral component of the whole composition, and therefore, has significance. By using our awareness and developing our abilities of perceptual acuity, we can train to perceive and register minute details. We can learn how to see the facial tics, hear the pauses, watch the eye movement, pupil dilation, changes of skin color, nods, shrugs, micro-expressions that last for tenths of a second, among many other “tells” that we are largely unaware of doing, and therefore, almost never see.

The Structure of the Exercise

Because I had just been talking about expanding one’s perceptual acuity, I adapted this and brought a deck of cards with me to a recent Hypno MeetUp. After settling into our seats, I produced my deck of cards and explained how we would try this exercise. By using an ordinary deck of playing cards in an experimental and playful setting, we would create a non-personal context where micro-expressions can be elicited, observed and used in “guessing” a target card. What looks like ESP or mind-reading is actually doing “a read” on someone’s non-verbal communication.

The task of the reader is to try to observe any cues that give away the identity of the card as the reader mentions the various attributes of the deck. The task of the subject is not to mask or thwart the attempts of the reader to pick out genuine micro-expressions of the face and body. The objective of the subject is to mentally project a thought, in this case, a playing card. There is no competition or testing. It’s merely a skill-developing exercise, comparable to practicing scales on a piano.

Pick A Card. No, Not That One!

I had NM pick a card and look at it. I coached him to say the card, silently to himself. I encouraged him to shout it silently to himself. Picture the card. See the card, and expand it to the size of a poster, or a painting in a museum. Blow it up big, really BIG. Silently bellow out that card, turn it into a cheer! Shout it, silently in his mind and make the colors and the details of the card brighter, more vivid. And as he held that impression of the card, I began to talk about the choices I could make about the attributes of the card that he picked. Whether it’s a  RED card or a BLACK card. I kept repeating variations of that choice until I think I see an unconscious signal. Then I made my choice and asked him directly if my choice was correct.  Was it a RED card? And then I continued. A number card, a face card. Odd, even, male, female, what suite it is, high numbered or low numbered. Many of us got to participate in the fun, experimental exercise. And most of us faired about an 80% success rate in getting the right card with very few wrong attributes.

As a scientific experiment, this protocol is quite flawed. But as an exercise, it was fun to do and we all learned a few things after having done it. Doing more exercises of this type can help increase one’s perceptual acuity, not to mention one’s confidence, that such skills can be developed and used to help hypnotists and NLP practitioners alike.

I had left a comment on his page, speaking about a similar conversation that I had at a recent Hypno MeetUp. At the Hypno MeetUp we were talking about the Elman Induction and someone had asked if that was something that she needed to memorize to be able to perform it. That got me thinking about the many other assorted videos, and articles on the internet on covert hypnosis and conversational hypnosis, and open-eyed hypnosis, that proves that hypnotic phenomena can effectively be achieved without the formal hypnotic induction that so many of us are familiar with.  So why use one if you don’t need to?

Well… if we are following the premise that the formal hypnotic induction is a ritual of sorts, we can take a moment now to sort out what a ritual actually is.

A ritual is usually a prescribed set of actions that are performed without variance. While not always necessarily functional, they are purposeful. The performance of these actions usually signifies a process of transition from the mundane to the sanctified. Think of when a member of the clergy dons their vestments before giving a service on a High Holy Day and how the order and procedure and placement of ritual garments and objects are important and significant.

A ritual also provides focus for a specific context. Think of the act of lighting a candle in a house of worship, or kneeling to pray. Perhaps reclining on a couch at the therapists office can also be considered as  part of a ritual.

There are every day actions that we take that are performed with a ritual-like focus that almost have the power to trance without us knowing it. Think of polishing a pair of boots, or cleaning a firearm. Professional athletes often have very personal, sometimes peculiar private rituals that they perform before important matches or games. Perhaps even the convivial dinner table toast can be considered to be an abbreviated ritual that we do when we clink our drinking glasses together;  a social convention to mark of sharing drink together.

Most of the daily rituals that we have are quite specific and often they are performed as a condensed a series of actions or processes into a shorthand version or codified gesture. Both process and outcome are predictable. The process sets up an expectation. Doesn’t that describe, at least in part, what a formal hypnotic induction is?

Going back to the earlier question; why use a formal hypnotic induction if you don’t need to? Well, because they work and they usually work well. When Dave Elman taught a lecture hall full of physicians about how they could use hypnosis to augment their medical practice, he gave them a formulaic induction that had a high probability of a successful outcome, even if they had little to no rapport and had a squeaky voice, and no air of mystery. These were dentists, general practitioners, surgeons, and they already had their training, their degrees and practices. They didn’t want to become hypnotists. They just wanted another tool in their medical kits that they could use with reliability if the occasion came up.

The ritual of induction works well for the one who performs it, but how about the person it’s being performed on? If you share the meaning of the ritual with them, the probability of a successful outcome increases. Now you have a reason for the pre-talk, the patter, the client interview. Explain how it supposed to work. How it WILL work. Describe what they might experience as well as what they might not experience. Ally and anxieties or fears they may have. Dispel any myths they may be clinging to. Tell them hypnosis is not mind control and you will not make them cluck like a chicken all the way home. Explain what the expectation is and what the outcome will be.

Even though there is much evidence that this type of hypnosis is not new and can be traced as far back as Esdaile, Emile Coué and James Braid. It seems that the collective awareness throughout much of the history of hypnosis, whether for hypnotherapy, stage hypnosis or street hypnosis, includes an established process by which hypnosis and hypnotic trance was brought about; a certain, proper ritual, if you will. With that ritual, both the hypnotist and the subject are mentally, emotionally and possibly even psychically prepared and predisposed for hypnosis to occur.

These days, hypnosis techniques appear to be evolving very rapidly, and skilled professionals are taking the field into new directions. It is becoming more and more evident that hypnotic phenomena can be achieved without going through the expected, familiar inductions. Hypnosis can be done as conversational hypnosis, or as some hypnotists are fond of presenting it, covert hypnosis, where there is no conspicuous induction. There are also many variants of rapid hypnotic inductions and shock hypnotic inductions. These occur very quickly and it appears that an induction is not used at all, but it often is if you  know what to look for. There is now open-eyed inductions or what is also known as hypnosis without trance, as hypnotist James Rolf calls it.

I am surmising that although one may require more skill to execute than the other, each has it’s utility. The use of open-eyed hypnosis can bleed over into the applications of persuasion, or for by-passing a challenging (resistant) subject), but there is also great effect to be had from the collusion of the hypnotist and subject as they interact with one another in the ritual known as the hypnotic induction.

Pick a Pace of Inductions is about choosing the tempo of your induction based on observing the tempo of your subject and pacing them.

The Arm Up/Arm Down Set Piece is a variation of the Heavy/Light Arms set piece where one arm floats as the other one sinks.

The You Will Realize Induction is a quick, three-step suggestion that may fit in best when you are using a fractionation technique and you want to put your subject back in trance swiftly.

The Take a Pebble Induction is an image-rich metaphor that’s quite enjoyable.

This week I was inspired by some videos of a Japanese hypnotist. All I can gather is that on Google videos, he’s referred to as Red, as in “Red Hypnosis DX-9″ and all the videos of him that I found had a theme of erotic hypnosis. Red induced trances by fixing the subject’s gaze with a pocket penlight, similar to what a physician might carry in their breast pocket. In other inductions, Red also used a red, Zippo lighter by using the flame and the loud, distinctive metallic click of the lighter’s lid snapping shut. See the video below. It’s entirely in Japanese. No subtitles.

When I got ready to go to the HypnoMeet, I decided to give this approach a try. I don’t have a Zippo lighter or a working penlight. So instead, I brought my Infinity Trance Projector with me. This device is nothing more than a child’s toy that I purchased last Autumn at a greeting card shop. This $3 novelty is a series of battery-operated colored LED’s with 5 blinking patterns. One pattern is a slow, cycling morphing of all the colors. I bought it that day because I thought that it would be a goof to use it for hypnosis some day.

Core Group Braves the Cold To Get Their Hypno-Fix

The news weatherman said it was going to be the coldest night of the season so far. Altogether, nine people defied the icy winds to come out to the HypnoMeet.  There were couple of faces present that we hadn’t seen in awhile, E and also V, the founder of the group. Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these hypno-junkies from getting their weekly fix. Ha ha.

Soon after claiming a table and settling down, we got into a discussion about Dr. Herbert Spiegel, a clinical professor at Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons. He’s the person who came up with the Eye-Roll Test that reportedly can gauge a person’s susceptibility to being hypnotized.

The Debut of The Infinity Trance Projector

We went on about whether the Eye-Roll Test was a real test or yet another pre-induction induction (set-piece) like Magnetic Fingers and the like. I thought, what a great lead-in to try out my Infinity Trance Projector! I withdrew it from my pocket and showed it to D. I have never used this before in a hypnotic context. The timing couldn’t be better. I held it above D’s eye level from across the café table, turned it on, and began a patter. In less than a minute or two, I had eye-closure and I began to deepen his trance. I gave him some suggestions about accessing his learnings from his recently completed hypnosis seminar and then I brought him out. He verified that it was an interesting experience and that the device was a fun way to be led into a trance state.

Soon after, M showed up and she was curious to be caught up on what she had missed from arriving late. Well, I thought, what a great lead-in to try out my Infinity Trance Projector! Again, I withdrew it from my pocket and showed it to her. Her fascination with the mysterious, alien-looking chrome device soon gave way to nervous jocular skepticism; always a good sign with M that we’ve got her on the run! So I turned it on to show her and despite her giggling, I finally got her to look inside of it, deep inside of it. When I saw her eyelids flutter, I had her follow my Infinity Trance Projector with her eyes as I brought it down in front of her and got eye closure. I immediately began to deepen her trance, gently rocking her to and fro as I spoke softly and insistently to her, directing her to let go and relax. I brought her out and back in again, repeating this fractionating process three times before I felt that she was finally focussed on my voice. I gave her some suggestions for enhancing her experience at the HypnoMeet, and clearing her head and feeling clear and alert. Then I brought her back out. She seemed to have enjoyed that, as well.

NLP me, baby!

Meanwhile, there was alot of NLP-type activity going on at the table. There were at least three experienced NLP practicioners at the HypnoMeet. V worked on M2 and attempted to work on M with this new variation of EFT. I didn’t catch the full name. If anyone from the HypnoMeet is reading this and can remember it, please put it in a comment below. Then J worked with M for a bit, trying to get her to loosen up a bit more because she declined an invitation to do an induction. Also, M3 worked with D for about an hour, accessing a resourceful state and anchoring it, as D has just experienced some recent life changes. M3 is a licensed hypnotherapist and it’s very generous of him to provide that sort of experience when he comes to the HypnoMeet.

All in all, I had another awesome night at the HypnoMeet.

This is one of many improvements, updates and changes that will be going on here at Champion Mind Skills. Check in regularly and see what’s new.

I’ve been following Joshua Houghton and Taylor Sherman on their blogs and other hypnosis forums more much of last year. One of the qualities that keeps me coming back to read their posts is how well they communicate. I always get the impression that they’re being genuine and authentic and they communicate their ideas in a clear, friendly and respectful manner. Together they run a site of hypnosis and NLP resources called www.freehypnosiscommunity.com.

Taylor and Josh have put their heads together and developed a course that I’m sure many hypnotists will want. And this month, these two guys are launching TRANCED OUT: The World’s First Instant & Rapid Inductions Home Study Course.

This course will include 5 DVDs, 2 Perfect Bound Manuals and a ton of bonuses from some of the biggest names in Hypnosis such as Adam Eason, Richard Nongard, Sean Michael Andrews, Reg Blackwood, Nathan Thomas & many more. Plus, when you go to their site, you’ll find all kinds of give-aways and free stuff. As a promotion for their new product, they’re actually giving away two of these Courses, complete with all the trimmings. Find out how.

So, if you want to get better at Instant and Rapid Hypnotic Inductions, go now to TRANCED OUT: The World’s First Instant & Rapid Inductions Home Study Course, and check out their free videos of excellent tips and find out how you can be on your way to mastering instant and rapid hypnotic inductions NOW.

D and I both agreed that, no, she wouldn’t want to memorize it. Not to repeat it verbatim. Not even like an actor would memorize their lines so they could perform it with feeling. We suggested that she analyze the induction, break it down to its components and try to understand the sequence. I asked her if she ever had the experience of giving someone a massage. “Yes,” she said. I asked her if she had ever given the same person a massage on more than one occasion. Again she said, “Yes”. I then said that if she could remember the massages she’d given, she would probably realize that she didn’t do them each exactly the same, but that they were probably all good massages. And what made them good was that she understood how to do it, and that she had a good idea of the sequence of it, and had a specific objective that she was working towards. If you have that, the process just flows. The flow might be different each time, depending on the prevailing circumstances or conditions. You might have to work around an injured body part, of emphasize one part over the rest, but you know how to tie in all the different parts and the different strokes together to get a coherent and synergetic effect. If you were to speak aloud while you gave a massage, describing exactly what your hands were doing and where they were going and why, it would be very similar to doing an induction.

As an exercise for a new hypnotist, this could be an interesting way to practice tonality and volume and tempo.  You could do that without having to think about what to say next. Let your hands guide your words as it takes your conscious mind offline and lets your unconscious take over.

At last night’s HypnoMeet, D was hypnotizing R at the table. D just got certified as a hypnotist and I can already see the impact it is having on pumping up his confidence. His delivery is more sure and his cadence is more even. He had R going pretty deep when I returned to the group with my cup of hot green tea. It seemed that I had returned just in time to catch some more deepening techniques which included fractionation and lifting and dropping R’s limp arm. Then D tested the depth of trance with a stuck hand suggestion. Now, R is very new to all this. Last night was only her second time at the HypnoMeet and she is still a little skittish about losing control, even though she seems to be an excellent subject; perhaps even a natural somnambulist. Her hand did not stick. With her eyes still closed, she acknowledged the event with spontaneous giggling. D moved on and soon brought her out of trance and back to the café.

Utilization As A Possible Save

During the recap, we discussed how it felt and how it all went and what we observed and learned. One of the things that I mentioned was that perhaps D might have stuck with the hand stuck part a little longer. I suggested we really don’t know how deep R was at that point; how much of her mind was still in trance. I offered that he might have tried utilizing the turn of events by saying something on the order of; “Perhaps the right hand to stick to your thigh is the one you left behind and you can relax now and enjoy the sensation of being aware that your other hand is firmly glued to your leg and you can laugh about that too because it’s really OK that you have one hand that’s stuck while the other hand is free. You wanted see if you could move that free hand, and you did and yet your stuck hand remains on your thigh and you want it to be stuck there until I give you the direction to make it unstuck.”

Even though I haven’t been posting, I’ve been working a bunch on this blog. Mostly back-end stuff. There’s a whole lot back there and the learning curve is not exactly what I’d call steep, as much as it seems to be deep.

If I don’t count the weeks of the Christmas and New Year’s holidays, I’ve been going out to the weekly HypnoMeets and getting some practice with my inductions. Most have been rather smooth and successful with the exception of one colossal fail. It seems I’ve really got to get better at failing so that I can recover more smoothly. Gawd, sometimes this learning process reminds me of learning how to drive a stick-shift automobile. Shifting gears and causing lurches, stalls, screeching tires and a head-achy, queasy feeling when it’s over! LOL!

I’ve also been studying some excellent books and taking some notes. All of these activities ought to contribute to some very awesome posts coming up in the very near future and I’m very excited about that.

In the meanwhile, I will keep on coming up with new scripts, and routines to practice at the MeetUps and hopefully I will be putting those up real soon.

Speaking of the Hypnosis MeetUps, we had our first one of the year just last week and we had fifteen people attending.  It was crazy! We usually average maybe 1/3 that number at best. I think this is going to be one of the best and most exciting years for hypnosis yet. So keep visiting this blog, where you can read about some book reviews and hopefully some new product reviews, what with all the many new product launches that are scheduled to take off this year. This will be the year to learn how to do hypnosis. No doubt!