Ok, So I will first admit that there has been some radio silence here at the IAYH on my part lately, and I would apologize if there wasn’t some really great reasons for this. First, the not so good reason for me being away – My Mother was diagnosed with Pancreatic cancer – but moving on.
After releasing the IAYH Hypnosis Guide last year, it provided a more indepth and comprehensive structure to the hypnosis lessons.
Now, I want to take that a step higher and create a platform where you can do online hypnosis lessons, etc.
But – we also know that most of the users here are quite young – so we need content for parents, for schools, for starting interest groups etc.
I can not do all of these on my own so I am getting other hypnotists to assist with these -
Also – Lessons, Lessons, Lessons -
Feel free to Suggest as well as submit hypnosis lessons to the IAYH!
The International Association for Youth Hypnotists has now released the first version of our membership platform, all content is now available to those that are serious enough to take a few seconds to join. The members that do Join will get exclusive access to upcoming hypnosis downloads, mp3′s, ebooks, manuals, discounts and much more (Not to mention the completely free access to the current IAYH Lessons)
Maybe I can blame this one on hypnotic time distortion, but seriously, it feels like just the other Day that Nathan Thomas, and myself (Leo Gopal) were having an interesting chat on Skype about increasing our hypnosis skills and gaining more practice.
Nathan and myself were still in High School back then, we really considered ourselves hypno-junkies because we would rarely go a day without hypnotizing someone or another. I had just recently crept from behind and overtook him by averaging 3 to 5 new subjects a day and we wanted to figure out how to make hypnosis more widely accepted especially by helping others in our age group to learn hypnosis. This comes from me recently being “banned” by the school headmaster to not perform hypnosis again due to a lack of understanding… However all that changed was I began doing and learning more covert, conversational and waking hypnosis (Hypnosis Without Trance).
Then we started chatting about how sad and disappointing it was that other kids like us could not learn hypnosis or get access to decent material. We know how we think, we will find a way to do something, no matter what. There was also a load of very terrible content and lessons that would just mislead those that read it or tried to learn from it, especially some of the youtube.com video’s we saw.
Nathan and I put our brains together and came up with the plan and idea of working together and creating the first place that people of all ages, under 18 and over 18 can come together, learn hypnosis the right way with a code of ethics and safety and actual real lessons, as well as a forum to discuss and ask their questions and share their knowledge. That is how the concept of the International Association of Teenage Hypnosis [IATH] was born.
By then I was in my final year of high school preparing for finals and one of my subjects and passions was for IT. We can all guess who was tasked with actually creating the site .
Nathan bought the first hosting, I began building the site, I coded away for a few days as Nathan went away to create the first lessons the IATH will see. and 7 days Later, we were ready to launch!
The IATH was born on the 21st September 2008.
It grew and expanded faster than either of us expected, due to some issues and projects I had here in South Africa I had to take a break off the IATH for a year intermittently…
Last year, I came back full time and with that, I did an entire overhaul of the new IAYH that you are using now, we transformed the International Association for Teenage Hypnosis [IAYH] into the International Association for Youth Hypnotists [IAYH]. This transformation was our answer to the growing age of the founders (Nathan and Myself) as well as the large amount of over 18′s that found the site very useful. We decided to become the first Association to cater for everyone, as well as under 18s with a strong focus on the Youth. The Youth are the future .
As you would have noticed from the IAYH Roadmap I published a few days ago, there is a lot on our plate to move forward and constantly grow, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for being amazing on this great journey that we undertook. It was not easy. There were many, many, many late nights, with lessons and hackers and spammers and everything that attempted to stand in our way. But we are here. Three Years Old, and you are here with Us! Congratulations! Hypnosis is something that will change your life if it has not done so already, so stick with us, we will stick with you and let’s work together in creating an awesome future in the world of hypnosis.
I will leave you with this thought by Richard Nongard, the Future of Hypnosis is bright!
You will find many hypnotists, trainers and even newbies to the hypnotic world talk and discuss idea’s (or ideals) with regards to how they can best increase their success rates as a hypnotist. How does one become a hypnotherapist and help people of a vast selection of “suggestibility” types, or how does one manage to hypnotize with one model as opposed to another and what are the best ways to increase ones success rates.
I have witnessed, time and time again, from my students, students of other hypnosis trainers and even a lot of members of the IAYH that we often change our model of hypnosis to increase our success, and that does often work. The reason we change or adopt any model of hypnosis is because we find that the model we were originally operating with or learned about had a lot of limiting beliefs that naturally decreased our success. What we then fail to take into account is that the model of hypnosis we are adopting because of this reason may also have its own vast amounts of limiting beliefs that we just do now see.
School’s of Hypnotic Thoughts:
Let’s take a quick visit to some of the current school’s of thought that have been dominating the hypnosis scene lately:
We have the Ericksonian Hypnotists verse the Elmanian Hypnotists (this has been an age old battle, somewhat boring).
Then, related but not the same, we have the direct, authoritative hypnotists verse the permissive, indirect hypnotists. (getting warmer)
We also have the more interesting covert and conversational hypnotists verse the direct and overt hypnotists (all seem the same don’t they?)
Recently there is also the battle of the Trance based hypnotists verse the ‘Hypnosis without Trance’ Hypnotists (related would be the state verse non-state hypnotists)
In this wicked mix we could also throw in those hypnotherapists who feel that Stage Hypnosis is Bad and Damaging to the profession.
And Finally, We have those hypnotists who are drastically confused as to what hypnosis is or is’nt (oh boy, fear them!)
What we all have in common:
What do all these various model’s, school’s etc. have in common?
They All Work!
It is because they work that each of these various schools have such a vast amount of following, They are real, the methods work, the models of hypnosis work, they may seem contradictory, but they are not. What everyone of the people that follow any single one of these models get wrong is that, where one model fails another model succeeds, where one model, another model does it better and so on.
Increasing your success rates and becoming a master hypnotist
A Master Hypnotist is one who identifies that he does not know everything and understands that there is so much to learn, from everyone, every model and every hypnosis school of thought. This may sound contradictory, but I assure you, that is not the case.
Someone who does not stick to any of these popular and opposing models of hypnosis is not someone without a model or someone who is confused. No, he or she is someone who has created and defined a model of hypnosis beyond the conventional systems that govern our understanding of hypnosis, suggestibility and success.
Because this almost sounds too good to be true, almost magical, it takes hypnosis to the level of Enchantment, this is how my ‘Hypnosis Enchantment (H.E.) Model’ was born. Don’t get me wrong, this is nothing new, nothing *I* created, but its not what most hypnosis trainers teach either and not what most hypnotists in general have fully realized to the point of “living the laws” of Enchantment.
I am not going to go in-depth into the H.E. Model right now, I will save that for a book (kidding… probably), but here is the basic thinking of how it came into existence.
We know that Hypnosis is different for everyone, everyone hypnotizes and experiences hypnosis in different ways. Before Hypnosis there was Animal Magnetism, Mesmerism where the word hypnosis was not mentioned and the only thing that existed was intention and expectation and it worked, even though with a totally different name, and way before that hypnosis existed, it just had no real name (reminds me of the lesson on “Roses, Hypnosis and Names“, worth the read).
We know from studying all the different model’s and schools of hypnosis that they work, either by using the model and experiencing first hand that its real or works, or by seeing it happen and knowing its true. We also understand that some model’s does certain things better and assists us with increasing our success, so if someone doesnt believe or feel hypnosis is real because they don’t believe in trance, using trance-free hypnosis will work just fine, however if they expect trance, that would work better and faster. Giving the subject exactly what they expect as opposed to “what you want” increases your success ten-fold.
Understand?
Think of it this way…
Everyone can be hypnotized, everyone is hypnotize-able, everyone is suggestible.
I say “everyone” with complete confidence, not leaving anyone out (except people with low IQ’s, communication skills and with certain mental disorders). Currently the people we label as suggestible are those people who fall into our “model of hypnosis” if we redefine our model, we redefine who is suggestible and who isn’t…. no one isn’t!
So, All the schools and models of hypnosis work… and all of them do not work… and all of them work best and all of them do not work best… the trick is where does it work? where does it not work? where does X model work best? where does Y model not work best? and how can we bring this understanding of X, Y and Z’s school of thought to work thoroughly and effectively together with little or no limiting beliefs…
I do not Claim that the Hypnosis Enchantment Model (HE Model) is free from all limiting beliefs, but its on the path to accomplishing this, and works brilliantly even in the therapy lounge. Now, here are some questions to honestly ask yourself:
Why are you bothering to learn hypnosis and increase your skill?
What model of Hypnosis are you using now?
Where are the limiting beliefs in the model that you use now?
Does it work on everyone and have you ever “failed”?
Is there a need for a new and different model?
What are your beliefs and thoughts on the Suggestibility and Hypnotizing of everyone?
Answer these questions honestly for yourself and see where this inner journey takes you. Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments below
In a few days, the IAYH is going to be 3 years old, and I have been working on a lot of things to come for the IAYH and many of which I have already begun to implement such as the forum changes. Most of these updates in the Roadmap are technical but are part of a bigger picture. Feel free to comment if you have other idea’s of what should be here.
Roadmap moving ahead:
Memberships System
A membership system to be built into the IAYH, this will still be free but allow us to drip content to only the serious members.
For example, these members will get automatic and continuous updates of the latest lessons. Get free downloads of the handbooks and manuals to come, or discounts on training and courses, free downloads of the Audio Lessons, eBooks, access to advanced lessons, Quizes and more.
This system will be integrated with the Forum, once active you can sign up and to the main site and If you already have a Forum account you get the option to link the two together so signing into one will make global sign in possible.
A Guide to Hypnosis eBook
Once the membership side is complete, we will be dishing out content and downloads specifically for those serious enough to join as an official IAYH site member.
The Guide will be a pdf download that will cover the basics of hypnosis right up to the point of becoming a real and actual hypnotist with troubleshooting. This wont be a “beginners” guide. This will be beneficial to all hypnotists.
Online Hypnosis Academy
The Tulsi Hypnosis Institute (Founded by IAYH Co-Founder Leo Gopal) will be creating an online hypnosis academy where you can learn hypnosis, advanced courses and hypnotherapy courses. These will offer assessments and Certification for IAYH members of all ages and will be completely online. So that will be a huge project and will take a while. But will be worth it.
Parents, Children and School Resource Area
With our endeavor to make hypnosis as understood and widely accepted as possible one of the major places to start is to create resources to help kids get their parents and schools to understand what they are doing and what hypnosis is. Also, The IAYH is not exclusively for kids but is obviously one of the only associations that willingly and openly accept kids of all ages to join and be members.
This resource will also provide items like indemnity forms, resources to aid you in creating live IAYH Hypnosis Interest groups in your area’s/school’s and much more along these lines.
IAYH Certified Ambassadors
We will be looking to get the IAYH as international as possible and the most educated, mature and awesome IAYH Members will be given the privilege and opportunity of becoming an IAYH Certified Ambassadors for their Area, region or country (state). These members can then hold that status and be able to create IAYH approved hypnosis groups and mini-workshops etc.
The most beneficial path…
The IAYH is Free and will always be, way may sometimes charge for things that take a lot of work to create and that would be re-utilized for keeping the IAYH alive and ongoing, donations to the IAYH are always welcome but never asked for or necessary to be a member of the IAYH.
We always endeavor and strive to bring to you nothing but the most beneficial things for you,
If you would like to volunteer, or suggest ways to improve, we are all ears (eyes), assistance is always welcome
Please feel free to leave your comments and idea’s
The IAYH is a few days away from being 3 years old, and for that, I would like you to tell us what you think about the International Association for Youth Hypnotists?
I would like to share with you some insights I have learned along this path of being a student and trainer of Hypnosis and NLP. This is not going to be a jargon filled article and I intend this article to be entertaining and informative.
In the process of hypnosis, Often we refer to counting down 10 to 1 or going down an elevator/escalator (and many other variations) as deepening the trance. In most forms of hypnosis, this happens right after the Induction and (especially after an Instant induction). So, by now, we have often seen this deepening process in action but why do we do this?
Nathan has written a fantastically informative report called “Win Before you Begin”. I will be referring to this report in places and this is one way to ensure that we are all on the same page, here. Now, we will be discussing some ideas about Deepening the trance state through Framing. For the sake of convention, I am going to assume that you have been on the IAYH site for a while and you have read, at least, some of the articles on how to hypnotize and the safety measures one should really take whenever hypnotizing a subject. Safety first, right? So assuming you have these ideas and that you have had some practice hypnotizing yourself, and/or others, lets move on to this material.
What is deepening?
Deepening is, basically, a series of techniques that a hypnotist will use to clarify and magnify the trance state and the responsiveness of the subject. While there are many forms, variations and distinctions we can make about the deepening process, we are going to focus in on one very powerful tool for deepening the trance: Framing.
First, a little metaphor that I like to use to explain deepening:
Most people have heard of an acoustic guitar before and have seen one in action (either personally or another person). When a person plays an acoustic guitar all by itself, it does not have much of a range of volume. It’s all about how much force a person is using in order to make the strings vibrate. You can hear it in the room and you can enjoy many of the aspect of that instrument in it’s natural state (especially if you’ve invested the necessary time practicing A great guitarist playing great songs with that instrument is a beautiful thing and the world can be a happy place with more beautiful music in it. This is all well and good if that guitar is played solo but variety is the spice of life. Music is often a social activity and so, if you want to play with other musicians as well, often, that beautiful music can become drowned about by the volume of the other musicians. It’s just the nature of the practice. Each instrument has it’s own natural range of volume and each instrument has it’s own place in the musical process. So, sometimes it becomes useful to be able to amplify the sound of an acoustical instrument in order to balance out the sound in concert with those other instruments. And there are an array of different methods to do this, however, the easiest way to do this is to have a microphone attachment to that acoustic guitar (or own an acoustic/electric hybrid). This amplification gives the guitarist all the power a musician needs in order to really be heard in the balance of all the other notes, rhythms and harmonies. Now, I am sure you can see the inherent value in that, right?
Well in the context of hypnosis, being able to amplify the effects of the trance in a subject works in, very much, the same manner.
So why should we deepen a trance? The short answer is: Better Results. We need more power Captain! (In my best Scotty impression).
Remember all of that great information about Framing from Nathan’s article? I am sure you read it already or, if your the truly studious type, re-read it so that you don’t miss out on all of the nuances of the usefulness of framing so moving right along….
One thing I would like to point out that Nathan so aptly stated “A frame is, basically, the way you package and interpret the information you receive.”
So we have two parts here; the package and the receiving of that package. So can a hypnotist package information that will lead a person to enhance their entrancing experience? You bet! By learning how to better use Framing you will be able to build more detailed and impacting frames.
How about the receiving part of that equation? How can you know that your information is being received? Acuity! Acuity is basically the hypnotist’s ability to really pay attention. It’s an awareness frame that the hypnotist sets for him/herself. The whole time we are trancing a subject we need to be aware of what’s happening so that we can use what’s happening (valuable information) and build that into the frame so that we can deepen that experience for the subject.
I break down the deepening part of that trance into 3 parts. 3 Frames, if you will. The focus frame. The initial part is where we build the standard frame where we usually use “Counting Down from x to 0” or Stepping Down a stair case or even “Eyes up. Breathe. Eyes down and go 50 times deeper. The main point of this is to create some sense of distance from the subjects external world. We are guiding that trance subject inside in a more profound way. Another way to do that is to build a “world inside”. There may be rooms in that world, there may be landscapes and I am sure that you can imagine many different ways of describing this internal world. This is a world built by the hypnotist with the imagination of the trance subject involved, fully engaged. Think if it like writing a very descriptive story. The more senses you have the subject use “inside” the deeper that subject is going into trance, now. As you become more skilled at this you, can start to use less and less description in your language and encourage the trance subject to fill in more and more blanks in their own description as you use more and more vague language. The real key is to teach that subject how to build “worlds of experience” inside and be highly skilled at that.
Another way of Deepening is by Fractionation. This is interrupting a behavior or thought process abruptly and then immediately following up with a deepener. You have seen this used as an induction before as in the Ericksonian Handshake and the Elman Handshake induction. These can be used as a means for Fractionating because they are abrupt in nature. To quote my long time friend and co-trainer Will May (a.k.a Lazarus Black on IAYH). “ Have you ever noticed how a black line can look so much blacker on a white background? Or how a loud noise seems much louder when surrounded by silence? Contrast creates an opportunity to notice an experience that you might have overlooked in another context, and you may already be wondering how this can apply to hypnosis, because that is what we are focusing on now. You see, this type of contrast can easily be applied to relaxation of the type that hypnotic states often utilize. For example, you can imagine how it feels so much more relaxing to let your hand go limp after you have tensed it as much as possible into a tight fist.
Fractionation is a specific way of using this kind of contrast in creating deep hypnotic states, by first bringing a person into a trance and then bringing them out, only so that you can bring them right back into an even deeper trance.” Confusion inductions can be used as well for the same ends and let’s not forget any of the basic suggestibility tests. While doing any of these re-inductions you can (and should) add a suggestion to “go even deeper into trance” as another way of setting a frame.
Which brings me to another thought. What are the depths of trance?
In Psychology, attempts have been made at measuring trance depth. There is the Hilgard Scale and the Aaron’s scale of suggestibility and depth. Personally, I think of trace depth as a subjective experience that is unique to each subject. This is why I give multiple methods of deepening. I will often say “Go deeper, further or higher into that state where you can easily and effortlessly experience your world inside” I also prefer to think of depth of trance as the ability to associate into that inner world with increasing richness of sensory hues. In fact, I think it’s a fair assumption that we can define trance as being a measure of how rich the trance is in terms of sensory experience: the deeper the trance, the richer and more vivid they’re experience is.
Another good quote from “Win Before you Begin” also can be useful in creating a deepening frames since “Everyone has their own frames about hypnosis” you can put the subject on task to build their own deepening experiences. For some subjects they may want to float high above their body or further and further away. It has been said that “All trance is learning to go into trance” and we can either direct a subject to do this or they we can ask them questions about how they do these things. Each way has it’s benefits and liabilities. At the earliest stages of learning to be a hypnotist I recommend that you direct your subject and use acuity to notice how that subject is going to go deeper, further or higher.
And to reiterate another point from the article:
Your frame, Your Game:
“Remember you are the hypnotist, you are the expert, you know what you are doing, so your frame is the right one.”
So to wrap things up here, I would like to suggest that you pay attention to 3 primary frames in deepening the trance
Focus Frame: Set a frame of supreme focus. Suggest your subject remove any and all distractions from their mind while focusing only on your voice. This is how we guide a subject from external awareness to a more internally oriented focus. You may want to use Jon Chase’s super suggestion, “From this moment on, everything that I say to you, no matter how ridiculous or absurd, will instantly become your complete and total reality. Everything I say to you will instantly become your reality, no matter how ridiculous or absurd it sounds.”
Compliance/Capacity Frame: Increase compliance by doing not one or two, but quite a few suggestibility/convincer tests or skits to progressively create a frame of compliance and capacity for the trance phenomena. This way the subject becomes really comfortable performing the trance phenomena and becomes accustomed to taking direction. Here it is important for you to create that sense of appreciation for your subject’s Unconscious mind. Here, I suggest positively reinforcing compliance and capacity with the phrase “That’s right” or “Your doing great” and adding “as a reward you can go even deeper into that comfortable state”. If the client has not been able to perform the skit then assume that it went perfectly while moving on to another test. Again, everyone has their own beliefs and expectations about trance and a subject can learn to perform any trance phenomenon (given enough instruction and encouragement). If you are performing, you don’t necessarily want to practice with your subject in that environment. Another time, another place for learning may be more appropriate.
The Responsiveness Frame: is what we are building with our subjects. The more we positively reinforce unconscious responsiveness the more profound the experience for all. This is why we do multiple skits and demonstrate multiple trance phenomena. We want to build that expectation that the subject can do these thing and will enjoy it.
The last frame I would like to discuss is the Flexibility Frame. This is the frame that I attribute the most successes to. It is the ability to be able to frame, reframe, behave and communicate in the most creative ways until we get our desired results with ourselves and/or our subjects.
Building a frame that you can utilize any feedback from yourself or your subject is one of the most powerful and rewarding practices to have as a Hypnotist. If one is flexible in approach and understanding one can always be learning and integrating new skills as a hypnotist. If one is flexible one can always frame or re-frame the experience a subject is having in a way that is beneficial to, both, the subject and the hypnotist. If one is a flexible enough in tone and language one can create an experience that can be compelling or dramatic or ridiculously comical.
The most important frame that you are building as a performing hypnotist is that you are The Hypnotist. You are the expert. You have seen it. You have done it and everything is going as planned.
As a student (and we are all students, always) the best frame that you can build is that you are supremely curious, you have a voracious appetite for learning and that you can learn anything.
As an artist, learn to make Framing your Life’s practice because reality itself is just a metaphor and you can frame it any way that you want by being consistent. Emotionally positive repetition is highly hypnotic. Always repeat your best version of yourself often and you will hypnotize the world.
I am not going to go on a philosophical rant here, but these three things, for anyone wanting to learn and master anything are essential to making it possible.
The 3 Essentials for Learning and Mastering Hypnosis are:
Practice what you Learn
Ask Questions and Get Feedback
Never, Never Give Up!
Now, you may be thinking that this is quite obvious so why am I even bothering to tell you this?
Because it is only obvious because you now know it. To what level are you actively living these three essential principles?
You are here, reading this article, wanting to know more, learn more and constantly become a better hypnotist.
But what are you doing to make that happen now? What are you actively doing to make sure you reach your goal?
As you would notice, these three essentials fit more than just the hypnosis world. It can be actively applied and lived practically in every aspect of your life with which you wish to be successful in.
Practice what you learn
This is the first rule for a reason, the only way you can become a hypnotist is if you DO hypnosis. Simple.
There are many free hypnosis lessons here on the IAYH and everywhere on the web if you know where to look. You can have the greatest theoretical knowledge of hypnosis that is in existence, but If you have not hypnotized anyone you are not a hypnotist.
Practice. Practice. Practice.
There is no such thing as confidence so there is no reason not to just go out there and do it. Obviously with something like hypnosis you have to have the foundational knowledge of safety and ethics before you go about attempting to hypnotize people, not to mention the maturity needed to interact with other people at this level.
I have written an post about how I became a hypnotist and shared with you there the difficulties I encountered and how the first induction is for some. Take the advice I gave there, and learn till you feel you know what to do, envision doing it, have your intent, and then do it, there is no easier way.
Ask Questions and Get Feedback
I just recently wrote an article on how failure does not exist and how everything is just one step to success if you get feedback from it.
Asking Questions and Getting feedback is the best thing I ever did!
When I started hypnosis, I failed more than I succeeded, in fact for a good amount of time, “failing” was all I did.
But I video recorded my failures, I posted them, I asked questions from the masters to critique them, I got feedback and I listened, Learned and Implemented the suggestions which allowed me to move closer and closer to success, and learn from myself all the ways not to hypnotize, leaving me with the best ways that do. Failure is good, it allows you to gain the feedback needed to succeed.
When I have a new theory, I practice it, I fail or succeed, either way, I make sure I get feedback, This increases my success and eliminates my failure and is by far the greatest way to become a great hypnotist.
Never, Never Give Up!
If you follow step one and practice. You will fail, you will fail a lot (if you don’t fail you are not doing anything). When one fails, they often have a strong urge to think that this is not for them, they want to give up, they feel embarrassed or sometimes try to justify why they failed and they are just not capable.
Do not move in that direction. Understand that failure does not exist. All “Failure” is awesome “Feedback” designed to make you a greater hypnotist (and person). So, Never, Never Back down and never give up. Being and becoming a hypnotist is one of the most amazing and greatest things you can do. Understanding how the mind works, even just for yourself, changes the way you see and interact with the world.
Here is the formula to your success:
Learn and Practice, Ask Questions and Get Feedback and Never Give Up!
Here are some secrets you may not have known about me:
I learned everything I could on hypnosis and spent months contemplating doing something about it
I was afraid to do my first induction and kept making excuses not to try
My first 9 attempts at hypnosis FAILED… I did it, I tried, and nothing seemed to happen
I thought hypnosis was not for me, I began to think it was a myth, I almost gave up!
Then, before I was totally gone from the Hypnosis World:
My Physics and Maths Tutor asked me about my Hobbies and I mentioned Hypnosis, He asked to be Hypnotized.
I thought to myself that, why not? Before I give up, let me give it a shot. Lets Do it!
I had my first success. I posted it online. I got critiqued. I Gained Feedback. I implemented that feedback.
I did it again, used my feedback and got better, and I kept this Cycle going.
I practiced, requested feedback, practiced, got better, and this went on.
2 Months After my first Induction I celebrated having hypnotized my 100th person.
2 Months After my first induction the IAYH (back then the IATH) was born.
3 years Later… I have Hypnotized Thousands of people and Train people around the world.
Will you follow and Live these 3 Essentials to success? Or will you just give up?
Success is in your hands, not anyone else, you choose the Success you wish to be.
Firstly, If you do not know who James Tripp is, you would possibly increase your hypnotic success by finding out (maybe I am exaggerating, but his work is that brilliant, so go for it). James Tripp is most famously known for his development of ‘Hypnosis Without Trance‘ and he inspired this Lesson on Failure by his most recent blog post, video and TeleSeminar on ‘Failure and Feedback Loops‘. If you missed the TeleSeminar you can listen and download it there.
(P.S. I usually do not mention anyone who has not written lessons for the IAYH or point you out of the IAYH, nor am I selling anything or getting a commission for mentioning James, this is completely on his own merit)
Now, I am done with my blurb and rant and possible ego-boost of James, Let us get back to the Lesson on Failure and Success in Hypnosis.
“Failure is only the opportunity to begin again, only this time more wisely.” ~ Henry Ford
These famous words by Henry Ford ring true especially in our lives as hypnotists and is a great way to view how we see and frame our supposed failure. Here is how another very successful person who has lit up all our lives frames failure:
“I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.” ~ Thomas Alva Edison
Thomas Edison is the man who created the light-bulb (if you did not get my previous pun), this was supposedly said by Edison when asked by a reporter why he is still trying to create a light-bulb after he has failed thousands of times already.
In Edison’s mind, there was no failure. Edison Successfully discovered thousands of ways how not to make a light-bulb, so in his model, if he continued in this way, he would eventually have found a way to successfully create the first working light-bulb based on the feedback he received from the ways he discovered of how not to do it.
Here is the greatest re-framing of failure and mindset of success to take back from this (Which would be very familiar to those in the NLP field):
There is no Failure, only Feedback!
In James’s post he asks a great question with regards to this statement;
“There is no failure, only feedback! To what extent do you practically live it?”
It is one thing saying it. It is another thing understanding it, but it is a completely different thing altogether when you practically utilize and live it!
The Feedback Loop: Do, Observe, Gain Feedback, Utilize…
The only way I can fully explain the feedback loop is if I show it to you, the below video is the video from one James’s Live Trainings and also the very same video that inspired this post, I also suggest you go to the full post on ‘Failure and Feedback Loops‘ on the HWT Blog and listen to the complete teleseminar, here is the video:
Remember, it does not fail because James does something wrong. It would have succeeded perfectly on someone who was more Visually orientated. It just so happened that this subject’s Primary Representational System was very kinesthetic and therefore the suggestions, which were highly visual, did not have the same desired outcome… until James customized it to fit the model of the subject.
This proves more the point about hypnosis being a lot about how we communicate, and the more we communicate in a way that the subject understands, the greater the success of suggestions will be, this is most apparent when one starts doing change-work.
In the video you would have noticed that when James “Fails” he does not shrug his shoulders make an intelligently worded reason for why it “failed” making it look like its because of the subject, he does not creep away into a comfort zone, but he attempts again, he fails, gets feedback, attempts again, he fails, he asks questions, he gets feedback, he utilizes the feedback (in this case the words and representational system of the subject) and he succeeds.
So then, the Feedback loop will look like this: Do, Observe, Gain Feedback and Utilize
Do:
Go for it, make your attempt and see what happens.
Observe:
See if it succeeds or not and what happens, what reactions you get either way
Gain Feedback:
Whether you succeed or whether you fail, gaining feedback by asking questions is always important, if you succeed and gain feedback it will help you see what works best and assist you in increases your current success. If you failed, it helps you find out why you failed and what would possibly work.
Ask the subject about their experience, get them to describe it, this will assist you in working out what representational system they are using and also in finding their ‘trigger words’ or the words that makes them tick and that would work best for them, very much like what was done in the above video.
Utilize:
Use the Feedback you have gained to increase your success if you already had success, If you supposedly failed, you simply utilize the feedback you received and use that as an opportunity to have another opportunity and being more intelligent than before.
Repeat until you achieve the desired level of success. Yes, there are “levels” of success!
This is just the beginning of elaborating more on how to increase your hypnotic success and this is just a small segment of ways to do it, but it is one of the most important things you can begin doing now if you are truly serious about your own success. Tell us what you think, feel free to leave comments and what you do to increase your own success and how Feedback Loops work for you.
Once you learn how to “hypnotize” someone, the next obvious step is to deliver suggestions that work. We have already elaborated on how to deliver irresistible hypnotic suggestions and also on how to master hypnotic phenomena. Though, recently I have been getting quite a bit of requests to elaborate on how to get some specific hypnotic phenomena to work for you, in this Lesson I am going to focus on the phenomena of Amnesia.
Amnesia (from Greek Ἀμνησία) is a condition in which memory is disturbed or lost.
Now, before I begin by telling you how to do and accomplish this phenomenon of hypnotic amnesia, you need to have read and understood the IAYH Code of Ethics and Standards. Basically, Hypnotic Amnesia always be temporary and for small things such as: Names, Numbers, Faces, etc.
With being a hypnotist and having this skill, you will get people who have had bad experiences in their life, such as the loss of a loved one or a trauma in their life that they believe they would be better off forgetting. We do not do this with Hypnosis, this will fall under area’s of being irresponsible and unethical. Every experience we have had in our lives is something to learn from, to grow from and to expand from.
Take for example someone who wishes to forget their former boyfriend/girlfriend/husband/wife. Forgetting a person, or experiences with that person also removes all the lessons learned from those experiences, and the reasons for their current position. By forgetting, a couple of things can happen, but most commonly; They could forget the reasons they are not with that person and fall for them again, more naive than before.
You may argue that you could also create an aversion to that person as well, but what if those reasons change, the people change etc, it is simply unfair and hypnosis should not meddle. Hypnosis is a process that is there to assist people in learning greater ways of improving their lives, it is not a quick fix solution that could backfire, as a hypnotist, you are responsible for the well-being of your subjects and you should be responsible in what you are doing. As a re-fresher, I suggest you also review the lesson on Hypnotic Safety.
Now, back to the actual lesson on Hypnotic Amnesia. (there is a really informative audio at the bottom of this post, so read everything and you will get an enormous load of information here to help you master this phenomenon and understand amnesia better)
Understanding the Basics:
Amnesia is basically the process of making someone forget something or lose a bit of information that they previous had. From previous lessons on how to structure and deliver your suggestions you would know by now that, What you focus on increases. We also know, from common sense, that it is quite hard to forget something you are being reminded about (though it is possible, just difficult).
Just as if I were to tell you, “Don’t think about a purple cow!”, you are mentioning the purple cow and in order not to think about it and obey the command, I have to first do what you requested me not to, and that is to think about a purple cow.
Understanding those basics of suggestion, we can then swiftly and effectively get hypnotic amnesia, and its quite simple.
Achieving Hypnotic Amnesia:
Getting hypnotic amnesia is easy and does not take a special level of ‘trance’ or an advanced skill level to achieve, it simply takes a few well articulated words to a hypnotized subject to achieve.
How to get Number Amnesia with Hypnosis:
If you would like to get someone to forget a number (make sure you, as the hypnotist, know how to count before you attempt this ) the easiest way is to suggest it like I do below:
“In a moment I am going to do ‘X’ and when I do ‘X’ you will completely have forgotten the number 4, there is no room for a number between 3 and 5, the space between 3 and 5 is completely blank, that’s right, if you are to count you would count 1,2,3,5,6… [Do 'X'] Count your fingers for me please…”
I just created this suggestion now on the spot (which is the best way to do hypnosis as its not rehearsed and feels and sounds natural, provided you have the focus and strong intent), I use association, compounding and a touch of compliments to make this suggestion work well.
Association: I associated the doing of ‘X’ with forgetting a specific number. This basically allows the subject to know when it will occur and also gives a reason in the mind of the subject for it to happen (though not a ‘real’ reason, just something to know that ‘A’ happened because of ‘X’). ‘X’ can be absolutely anything, such as counting from 1 to 3, snapping your fingers, tapping the subject, saying a particular word. ‘X’ becomes your hypnotic trigger.
Compounding: I compounded the Suggestions above, which basically means I gave the same suggestion to forget a number in more than one way, I paraphrased and elaborated. So the compounding used here is:
Objective: Forgetting of the number four [4]
First Suggestion (with association [hypnotic trigger]): In a moment I am going to do ‘X’ and when I do ‘X’ you will completely have forgotten the number 4
Compound 1: there is no room for a number between 3 and 5
Compound 2: the space between 3 and 5 is completely blank
Compound 3: if you are to count you would count 1,2,3,5,6…
Here I used the initial suggestion, plus three compounds of the suggestion to make this as effective as possible. Though, you will have instances when you just give the plain suggestion and it works without compounds, or even with just one or two compounds as opposed to three. This is so that the subject fully understands the suggestion and what is expected of him, compounding is a way to make sure you elaborate in ways the subject will surely understand.
The Compliment: Though very simple, this can be quite powerful, you would notice that in my suggestion, I sneak in a little “that’s right” that is my way of complimenting the subject, that they are doing what is expected, creating the expectation and belief in their mind that they have begun to do what I am suggesting to do and also assists in making them more comfortable with following my suggestions. Though you will get your suggestions to work without compliments, this does help and also creates or strengthens rapport with the subject.
In one of the first hypnosis courses I taught in South Africa a few years ago, one of my students recorded some short snippets of the hypnotic amnesia phenomena that I suggested and created very similar to what I spoke of now, here are the short snippets of me doing it:
Forgetting the Number 6:
Forgetting the Number 5:
I chose these numbers because they each have a specific effect when one forgets them and goes to count their own fingers (basically any number above 0 below 5 and any number above 5 below 10 will do the trick. Other numbers to forget are their phone numbers, house address, etc.
How to get Name Amnesia with Hypnosis:
Many people also ask how they can get someone to forget something as well known to them as their name, and its just as simple as forgetting anything else, here is a demo suggestion you can work with to achieve this:
“In a moment I am going to count from 1 to 3 and when I do you would have completely forgotten your name, I can as you your name and its just blank, its there but you just cant say it, its gone, thats right… 1,2,3″
Here is a quick video of the hypnotic amnesia phenomena:
Its worth noting at the end that I do give his name back
Give it all back…
As I mentioned at the start of this lesson, You have to return things as they were, that is, give back whatever you have made your subject forget, revert the amnesia.
The quickest and easiest way is to just remind them:
“The number between 3 and 5 is 4, you remember that now!”
“Your name is John, back to normal, remembering your name now, What is your name?”
Always restore everything back to normal, never forget this.
Extras:
You can always build in some powerful extra’s into your suggestions which help increase your success with some subjects or in general, like using metaphors and analogies to associate with the forgetting of a specific item such as referencing previous experiences similar to what you wish to achieve, like:
“John, do you remember sometimes when you forget something now and you know its there, its at the tip of your tongue and you try to remember it, try to say it but its just blank and you cant remember it, its gone? [get a nod or sign of agreement and understanding, then move on to them forgetting something in a similar way] in a moment you are going to forget your name, you know its there but you are just blank and you try in vain to remember and say it, but its gone, that’s right… what’s your name?”
Those are just quick examples of what you can do, mash it up, mix it together, make it your own and be confident and see what you get. Chris Baboch has written an interesting lesson building upon this idea: Hypnotic Phenomena: Reference Experiences for Increased Success.
Summary points:
What you focus on increases, focus on forgetting as opposed to “not remembering”
Do not remind them or mention what you wish for them to forget.
Use Association or Hypnotic triggers to assist (When ‘X’, ‘Y’)
Compound your suggestions, elaborate and paraphrase.
Compliment… it helps!
Use metaphors and analogies (take them to a point when they remember what it feels like to forget something)
Be Confident and congruent, obvious but important.
Restore Everything back to normal, give back what you got them to forget!
Update:
Tim Shay and William May have contributed an incredible Audio Lesson to this series. Its over an hour long and is a storehouse of brilliant information to assist you in better understanding and producing amnesia, you will definitely learn a lot from this even if you believe you are “efficient” at producing Amnesia. Masters are those who always Learn.
Listen in on this great Amnesia Conversation now:
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I do hope you enjoyed this and that it elaborated a bit more on creating suggestions for hypnotic amnesia. Feel free to leave your comments and thoughts.
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