The Transparent Hypnotist

Good morning!

More on the title in a moment.  First, I feel a duty to carry on in Ellie’s Monday tradition by calling out some hypnosis news from the past week.

The Good

From livingstondaily.com comes a story on a Community Health and Fitness Fair hosted by the Hamburg Kiwanis Club.  It’s coming up this Saturday, November 1, so if you live near southeast Michigan it might be a good chance to introduce some people to the benefits of hypnosis.

New Scientist (sorry, it’s a paid article) posted a piece on 10/15 which, from the abstract I can see, looks very positive about the increasing uses of hypnosis in conjunction with medicine.

And from NaturalNews.com, you can read about how hypnosis is being used to help children and teens who suffer from dyspnea, a disease of the airway, lungs, or heart.

The Bad (as in cool)

From Ben-Gurion University of the Negev by way of medicalnewstoday.com, there’s a short piece about a study in which hypnosis was used to induce synesthesia — that is, one sense triggering another in odd or interesting ways.

Along the same lines, Wired reports that another group of psychologists have used hypnosis to give people the ability to see numbers as colors, which is also a form of synesthesia.

Which brings me to …

The Weird

A hypnotist friend of mine sent me a missive that’s been circulating around the ‘Net recently and accuses Democratic Presidential candidate Barak Obama of using Ericksonian covert hypnosis techniques to “override the voters’ rational judgment” and compel people to vote for him in the upcoming US Presidential election.  Included with the email was a 67-page PDF that discusses what “covert hypnosis” is, talks a little about Erickson and his methods, and then goes on to detail several speeches of Obama’s and point out the embedded hypnotic commands.

To a degree the piece is interesting because, when you peel away all the alarmist rhetoric about subverting the democratic process and the gross overstatements of how universally and irresistibly effective these techniques are, the document does illustrate some habits and behaviors that may partly explain how Obama was able to rise from relative obscurity to his present position in just a few years.  Whether he uses these techniques deliberately and with malice aforethought, as the document author claims (and I can’t help but imagine the writer adjusting his tin foil hat every so often while typing it all out), or whether they are habits he learned and uses unconsciously, Obama is definitely skilled in the arts of persuasion.  And while I remain among the undecided as far as my personal vote goes, the whole thing does have me thinking:  if I had a job where my success depended on persuading 535 other people, each of whom has his/her own and probably conflicting agenda, to do things my way, wouldn’t it help to have Erickson’s natural ability?

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Maybe there was a time in your life when you wanted to change something. Maybe you were able to use sheer will power to make the change a reality such as giving up an addiction (smoking, caffeine, or the big dogs - drugs, sex or even  rock and roll).  But what about the changes that did not come so easy or seemed to be just outside of your grasp? This is where hypnosis becomes the tool for manifesting those change sin your life. And the thing is, hypnosis is not just one tool. There are several - self-hypnosis (the basis of all hypnosis), suggestion work, client centered hypnosis, regression, and parts therapy to name a few. The latter acts as follows:

The negotiator enters the space. On one side, there is the problem. On the other side is the one who needs certain things to happen for one’s well being. Both sides state their points and the negotiator makes sure both sides are truly heard. One side presents a desired outcome, the other takes this into consideration. This element is tweaked, that idea given up, and after the process, change happens. This is the mental world that Roy Hunter inserts himself - negotiator, hypnotist, trainer, extraordinaire.

One of Roy’s biggest claims to fame is the book he wrote,called Master the Power of Self-Hypnosis. With a background in sales, and the soul of  trainer, he became a distinguished member of the hypnosis community providing a valuable resource of hypnotic methods. His text books and training methods are often used in many schools for teaching the hypnotic arts. He also became a member in the International Hypnosis Hall of Fame in April of 2000 (for his writing prowess). In 2004, St. John’s University awarded him with an honorary doctorate in clinical hypnotherapy.

I did not know any of this when I met Roy. He was selling his books at an National Guild of Hypnotists conference, but for all I knew, he could have been a friend helping sell the Roy Hunter books. Almost walking past his table, he caught my eye and said hello. Feeling obligated to at least look at the products in his booth, I picked up the book Conflict Resolution: Introducing Parts Therapy. After looking at the table of contents (and several pages of the text to be sure it was not academia speak), I realized this was one of those kismet moments. This particular book seemed to address all my needs for helping a certain client. I bought the book (and Roy autographed it) and consumed it immediately. I looked up his other books (and those of his hero Charles Tebbits). When I felt confident enough, thanks to his well explained methods, I gave parts therapy a shot with my client. I became the negotiator for the conscious and subconscious parts of the client’s mind. With this technique, we broke through the client’s block in healing his chronic pain.

By the time I finished Conflict Resolution, I realized I had learned an awful lot. Not only did I gain experience from his knowledge and methods, as well as new techniques to help my clients, I learned more about the subconscious mind. I had tiptoed around so much, fearful of not saying the right words or even really understanding how the subconscious worked. Sure I had lots of theory to help explain it, but it seemed completely mystical and like a delicate, fine, blown-glass figurine. Handed the wrong way or even breathed upon, it could break. Yes, it is delicate, but thanks to Roy, I know better how to handle it. I can communicate with it (within myself and others) and know I have a way to conduct a responsible, helpful dialogue.

His theories and knowledge and the ability to disseminate it all make Roy Hunter one of my personal heros. He explains self-hypnosis in a way that many could really find beneficial. He explains hypnotic techniques in a way that can help a number of hypnotists help others. Roy Hunter’s work goes beyond the man behind the books, it is carried on through the work of others.

Resource:

Roy Hunter’s Web Site

Author’s note: This post is part of a group writing project called Heroes of Healing and is the brain child of Jenny Mannion. Please visit both sites.

Debbie has made me feel a bit better (and Michael, too for sending an nice email on a day of really crappy ones), so I think I will stop being a curmudgeon and do something a little more productive than complain about the business side of hypnosis. It is time to go back to our discussions about forms of hypnosis. It has been awhile (please click on the link to see what we have already covered) and I came across Mesmer in my reading the other day in a book a borrowed form a friend. Many of the hypnotists reading this know where I am going, but for those of you who do not, this is Mesmer - as in mesmerizing or animal magnetism.

Truthfully, I had only read a little about him. Here is what I thought I knew about the man - he was larger than life, a supreme showman, and a little silly. Slap my wrist and blow me down. I have been a victim of ignorance.

So, buckle down children. Let’s learn a little bit.

Mr. Mesmer, otherwise known as Franz Anton Mesmer pursued medical studies at the University of Vienna. This was in the 1760s. Based on the thought of the days (alchemical and astrological), he had a lovely view of how the universe worked. It was all balance and harmony that happened because of a subtle magnetic like fluid that runs through everything. What a great thought behind the idea of Universal Consciousness - maybe it is the said fluid that connects us all. But I digress. He believed maladies could be cured with the help of ordinary magnets (I am a huge fan of my copper magnetic bracelet). When he applied the magnets to patients, there were a variety of reactions that happened, including trance (not to mention convulsions or loss of control of the limbs). The original treatments were done with mineral magnets.

Enter Animal Magnetism. Did you think people at that time could just run out and buy magnets and apply them themselves? No. Animal Magnetism is all about the healer. It is about using the magnetism, that subtle magnetic fluid that runs through us all, and healing others. Because the sweeping gestures needed to do this, we have a form of hypnosis. Later, the system got more complicated as large baths of magnetized water were also used in the process.

So, how do we get to the idea of hypnosis here? First let me tell you, Mesmer’s contemporaries in Vienna were not impressed. But the French were a little more receptive. King Louis XVI put together the Royal Commission of inquiry, a group to study this form of healing (Good ol’ Ben Franklin headed this up). What they discovered is that when Mesmerism and Animal Magnetism worked, it was due to the idea of suggestion. Ah, a basis for hypnosis itself.

Do you see it glimmering there, sparkling and beginning something very important?

Source: Parapsychology: The Controversial Science by Richard Broughton

How’s that for over intellectualizing something? LOL. I have begun the perusal over the topic of hypnotizing animals. Though I mentioned in an earlier post about a rambunctious cat that relaxed when he was around humans who were in the Alpha state, this is not what often immediately comes to mind when one thinks about animals being hypnotized. It is usually the old deer in the headlights.

So, is it true that indeed the lights are hypnotizing said animal? Andre M. Weitzenhoffer does not think so, as he wrote in his book The Practice of Hypnotism. He list ten ideas as to why what we tend to call animal hypnosis is not related to human hypnosis. I will paraphrase a few:

1. Muscles changes that occur in animals (the rigidity?) do not occur in humans when they are hypnotized. He also cites Charcot’s experiments as having similarities, but mentions that those ideas have been done away.
2. Immobility (tonic rigidity) is what happens to these animals during this state. Humans do not necessarily do this and can move during hypnosis. Also, the immobility last until the state is terminated.
3. Within animals, this is not a state where suggestions can be applied.

So, there you go - Weitzenhoffer feels that in terms of the deer in the headlight analogy, this is not hypnosis. I would tend to agree.

However, it does not explain my cat experiment, so perhaps I will continue on in this research.

Source: The Practice of Hypnotism

The day has started out with a luke-warm cup of tea and two plumbers in my bathroom. The hot water tap on the sink is all awho and that is no way for a lady to live. We do like our hot water, you know (okay gentlemen, stop your grumbling).

So as they say scary things, the plumbers, this is, I will occupy myself with happier thoughts and talk to you (except as I listen to one of them cough, mine seems to have returned - what an unfortunate suggestion). I am going back to my “forms of hypnosis” jag. At one point I promised to talk to about animal hypnosis, so we will start there.

When I went for hypnosis training at one point, there was a cat that was also present. This particular cat, still a bit of a pesky kitten (okay - psycho kitty), ended up being an excellent indicator in how well we were doing. As we were getting the hang of the Alpha stage of hypnosis (light hypnosis), the cat would begin to settle down. He would end up in the lap of whoever seemed to be most affected by this stage. Settling into a ball of purring fur, he would remain still until the person returned to normal consciousness.

At this time, we were told that animals exist and relate to the world in a perpetual Alpha stage. The possibilities here could be astounding - communication might be possible. Just think of the training implications…

So, I am not sure what I think about this, but it serves a good beginning as we delve into the topic.

If you have any Alpha or hypnotized animal stories, please consider sharing them.

For a little while, we romanced Charcot and his hysterical ideas that hypnosis could only be experienced by those thought to suffer from hysteria. Well, alas, it is time to wipe our hands clean of the spectral from this early performance art and get back to the therapeutic side. But before you roll your eyes, yawn and click off this post, the story is hardly boring.

It is time to introduce Hippolyte Bernheim, nemeses of Charcot. Can you hear the hisses from the Salpêtrière School (where Charcot practiced)? Enter in the idea of suggestibility. That’s right. This is where that whole concept begins to manifest itself into consciousness. (1) Bernheim believed that Charcot’s provocation of hysteria during hypnosis came about from suggestions given at that time - hence the hysteria was induced via suggestion not heredity. He also took Charcot’s studies forward a bit and believed that hypnosis could be used therapeutically. He even surmised that hypnosis could be used to even treat hysteria. Charcot’s main interest was in studying hysteria, not helping those suffering from it. (2)

Now we need to add a little somnambulism to the mix and we have a most modern notion of hypnosis. While a professor at the aculté de Médicine at Nancy (or the Nancy School of Hypnosis), Bernheim learned about a gentleman doctor who worked with patients using artificial somnambulism. This gentleman was Liébeault. So, this acquaintance influenced Bernheim to adjust his views of hypnosis a bit more. He defined hypnosis as a heightened state of artificially induced suggestibility. (2) Amen.

So, powerful advocate of modern hypnosis - Yes! Friend of Charcot - No. Not only did Bernheim disagree with Charcot’s ideas, he also implied that the study controls of Charcot’s students were suspect, as well as Charcot.

Sources:
Library of Congress Exhibit
Serendip

And so I have gotten out of bed again. The day smacks of being potentially too hurried, but maybe with a little deep breathing work, it will remain calm and casual. How does your day look?

Yesterday, my partner wanted to know what The Sunday Question was and he responded verbally. Pancakes. Pancakes help him to change things up and make life worth getting up in the morning. Now that is a nice answer. The question remains open for your response as well.

My answer? I try to avoid too much ritual in general. I try to not confine myself too much to any box, except for those that I find most pleasant. I blog in the mornings, have my coffee or tea and figure out the rest of the day at that point. That is the plus side of owning your own business. Others do not dictate your work hours. I go the office when I have clients or just need some quiet time. It is rarely ever the same.

Interesting poll results on Would You Let a Stranger that You Just Met Hypnotize You on the Street? So far the majority says “No.” Perhaps I should have included a question about stage hypnosis. Ah, there I think we have a new poll. Just give me a few…

Tentative upcoming plans for the blog this week:

1. Who the heck is Hippolyte Bernheim?
2. Another variation of the definition of hypnosis
3. Maybe, just maybe another of my favorite five somethings
4. 10 Questions with Adam Eason

And of course, we must not forget Esoteric Saturday and The Sunday Question. Animal hypnosis is still high on my list, but it needs time to do it properly. In our discussion on forms of hypnosis, we are still on the divergent history of the French Schools.

Also, on The Unwinding Path, I am still on the second chapter of The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain, but I did post my pre-reading-the-book-drawings over the weekend.

You are probably here today in expectation of the “10 Question” segment I normally run on this day. Call it mixed karma or other things happening in the universe, this segment will return next Friday. It has been one of those weeks (months) were things are connecting in a way that has nothing to do with my preferences.

And for those keeping up with my obsessively, time draining cat story from yesterday, she made it through the night (a terribly cold one), but no kittens as yet. I bought her one of those NASA space heater things - it is silver and reflects body heat back. You put a blanket over it and it helps to keep the animal warm. When I fed her this morning and put my hand in the little house I made for it, it still seems fairly cool in there.

I was reading Wangbu’s Hulga blog this morning and found a phrase that I thought was quite sufficient in describing how I feel (though I am still on the over emotional and worried side) about this cat. The phrase is Hopeful Resignation. It is described in terms of a dying lung cancer patient, and though my problem is far from this, the phrase embodies it all. Normally I always try for acceptance, but I think this is probably a very close relative to it, maybe the part one gets to right before acceptance.

Anyway, I will leave you with those thoughts - but with an addition - I think I may delve a little into a form of hypnosis a bit later, time providing. A nice discussion on animal hypnosis might be fun, don’t you think?

Maybe there is a manic quality. Maybe there is anger. Maybe there is an uncommunicative quality. Maybe there is intense passion. Maybe there is intense fear. And maybe there is nothing but a swoon.

Half dressed and on display, Blanche Marie Wittman does just that in Andrè Brouillet’s portrayal of a Jean-Martin Charcot hypnosis session. Charcot is on the left. If you are in hypnosis, art or neurology circles, you may have seen this painting. Perhaps you wondered about it, perhaps not. But recently, these people came back to life for me, or at least at my imagination. Who are they? To begin with, let’s take the beautiful swooning woman. Just an average Victorian? Not so. She was Blanche Marine Wittman, known as the “Queen of the Hysterics” (5) at the Salpêtrière Hospital. The man to her left? Why that is Jean Jean-Martin Charcot, the subject of this posting. We also briefly met him during our Freudian Esoteric Saturday.

*Note the photo series below - this is the reality of Blanche.

Interesting things to know about Charcot:

• He was a professor at the University of Paris for 33 years. (2)
• In 1862 he became involved with the Salpêtrière Hospital, where he established a neurological clinic. He also became director of it. (2)
• He discovered and described many neurological maladies. (3)
• He was opposed to animal testing (a hurray from the animal lovers). (3)
• He utilized hypnosis (yes,this is where it comes in) to study hysteria.

His premise: Hysteria is caused by hereditary that creates a weak neurological system. Traumatic events could cause the hysteria to manifest, and the hysteria would be “progressive and irreversible.” (2)

His hypnotic theory: Hypnosis could induce hysteria. The only people who could be hypnotized were those for a propensity towards hereditary hysteria. He did not use it to cure hysteria or alleviate it; he used only to study hysteria. (2)

So what is so special about Charcot hypnosis? You guess it - hysteria. Through hypnotic means, he studied hysteria in women - inducing it to create universal rules for hysteria attacks. He used hypnosis to support his theories, devised from his profession of being a neurologist.

For those who have not kept up with hypnosis, his findings have been laid to rest and are no longer necessarily believed by practitioners or the psychological community.

But what he also did, was bring back some validity towards hypnosis after poor Mesmer caused it to go out of favor (that is a whole another story for a different rainy day, but suffice to say, Mesmer brought hypnosis into the lime light in the 1800s and it did not go so well).

However, somewhere along the line, the results Charcot was getting may have had more to do with phenomenon related to hypnosis shows of today. In fact, in his demonstrations, he used the Salpêtrière’s amphitheatre and was know for his dramatics. His results were thought to be more like those of hypnosis show, where the desire of the person being hypnotized is to please and give the results that are suggested. (4) Along with putting his subjects in a theatrical light in the amphitheater, he also photographed his clients in the midst’s of their hysteria. (6) See photo to the left.

At some point, Charcot started to doubt his findings and even told his protege, Sigmund Freud that he felt that there is always an underlying reason for hysteria. (1) Later Freud, Alfred Binet, and Pierre Janet, his students, went on in the study of hypnosis, advancing it and disproving that only those who are hysterically minded can be hypnotized. (2)

Sources:

1. Sigmund Freud - Life and Work - Jean-Martin Charcot
2. People and Discoveries - Jean-Martin Charcot
3. Jean-Martin Charcot Biography (1825-1893)
4. Human Intelligence: Jean-Martin Charcot
5. Jean Martin Charcot and Blanche Wittmann
6. Image & Narrative:Gender, Ideology and Display
7. Wikipedia

It has turned out that this little feature is harder than I thought originally. There really are not that many sites out there who give away their scripts and then finding ones I like creates a challenge.

So, we continue on our discussion of forms of hypnosis. We have been talking about permissive hypnosis.

R.A.Neves - Permission To Trance: Multi-Purpose Permissive Script - this is a wonderfully permissive induction.

David Mason - Hypnosis Script: Sitting an Exam or Test - David actually analyzes his script on this page, dividing it into sections and for each, gives information, so it is a wonderful learning tool.

Terrance Watts - Permissive Quit Smoking Script - This is not the first time Terrance has been one of my favorites. To use this script, you would need to do an induction and deepener first.

American Pacific University - Creative Abilities - a short script that is used after an induction and deepener, this one relies on letting the client fill in the blanks. It does not specifically point the client in a given direction, but allows the client to create their own ideas.

Dan Elliott - Skin Problems This is an interesting script that walks the line a bit between permissive and authoritative, but it falls closer to the former. Again you would need an induction and a deepener to add to this.