The Transparent Hypnotist

Photography by lilivanili

Every now and then my fancy gets sparked by some technical toy. I crave a pleasant interface, good design, user compatibility, and something to make me marvel at the wonder that is man (man in the human sense, not just gender). When I did yesterday’s news round up, I came across the 404 podcast, which interviewed hypnotist Paul Ramsey. Paul actually stopped by this blog as well and left a comment about the induction he did on the show using an alpha-theta machine. First, let me say that the induction results were very impressive. Using a standard step-down deepener, he gave his participant a suggestion to bring the feeling and effects of Novocain to his mouth. Then he had the participant speak and one could hear the Novocain in his voice. I know this is nothing unusual for hypnosis, but since the alpha-theta machine was used, it was interesting to witness the results.

Apparently the machine uses flashing lights and sound frequencies to induce an alpha and theta state of mind, which is appropriate for hypnotic suggestion. Awhile ago, I had posted about making a home-made version of an alpha-beta, but it was called The Dream Machine. It was used in the context of helping people have lucid dreams. I had almost forgotten about it, until I saw the 404 podcast. It is nice to see such a device used in straight (technical hypnosis, hmm…another form of hypnosis?) hypnosis.

Before I get you too enamored with this device, if you have not read Paul’s comment from yesterday, it should be considered:

The 404 targets a tech-savvy audience, so I brought along the alpha-theta machine thinking it would interest them. It was fun to demo it to them. I haven’t used it with a client in over three years. It is good to use with clients who can’t stop analyzing what you’re saying as you’re doing your induction. For average clients, though, I favor an Elman induction, quick and simple.

Okay, so he favors the voice approach, but the gadget is still cool. I think the idea of using something that blocks out visual reality and focuses sound is interesting. It may play into the myth that hypnosis needs a quiet, non-chaotic environment, but I often wonder if it is not be worth-while to have such available for clients. I have had a few clients who have eventually come back to me and told me that the brightness of my session room (day light) or the sounds of the offices around it were distracting, even though they were given suggestions for those ideas to help them relax even more. I sometimes think totally removing certain people from reality in every way may lead to a more satisfying experience.

Just my thoughts for the day. And darn it, I want one of these machines…

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 3rd, 2009 at 8:45 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.