the Free Online Hypnosis Community

From Convulsions, to "Zombification," to Mystical Trance

Most of us are aware of the phenomena of Mesmerism, in which the patients would go into convulsions, followed by a swoon. But the exact circumstances which gave birth to what we refer to today as “hypnosis” are not as well known. The “sleeping” form of the hypnotic trance was a historical accident, which was first manifested by people who were imitating the behavior of a retardate who had been brought to experience a Mesmeric treatment. He was apparently too stupid to realize that he was “supposed” to go into convulsions, and went to sleep instead! Other people standing nearby promptly did the same, and it was soon discovered that these changes could be brought about merely by describing what was going to take place, which came to be referred to as an “induction procedure.” James Braid coined the term “hypnosis” from the Greek word, hypnos, and hypnosis in its modern form was upon us.

The question then arises, why should we continue to rely upon the example provided to us by a sleeping retardate over two hundred years ago, when much better models are available? The saints and mystics of all ages have demonstrated the life-changing potential of mystical trance, and the life-changing potential of such experience has long served as a source of inspiration for all humankind. Now, with the advent of modern techniques, we no longer have to wait for years in order to have such experiences ourselves, and we are much more free to determine their dimensions.

Two examples of mystical trance, hyperempiria and the induction of the void, are provided in the thread entitled, "Are Hypnosis and Mystical Experience Related?" which was posted July 24. I would like to invite all who are interested to experiment with these models and see what you can come up with. Perhaps those of us who enjoy a good mystery may be inclined to share the words of Sherlock Holmes, "By Jove, Watson! The game's afoot!"

▶ Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Brian David Phillips on July 28, 2008 at 6:09am: Don, here's an example of a mystical type induction http://briandavidphillips.typepad.com/brian/2008/07/energy-hypnosis... . . . obviously, the "expectancy" operator is a primary component of this process. I also have a magnet-based mesmeric induction process and explanation in the same DVD series. We had a lot of fun shooting that series.

Alison Winters' nonfiction MESMERIZED is a wonderful exploration on the nineteenth century evolution of hypnosis. Braid actually regretted using the term neurohypnotism and later tried to change to monoideism but by then hypnosis had sunk in. He was trying to use a new term to rid the field of the baggage associated with mesmerism and animal magnetism only to reinforce other myths.

It is amazing how many folks still think you have to have eye closure and relaxation for hypnosis . . . even among hypnotists there is a substantial number of folks who think you have to be a bit of a lethargic zombie to be hypnotized. So, for those folks, something that starts with eyes open and has no significant relaxation component like http://briandavidphillips.typepad.com/brian/2008/06/sticky-stick-hy... can't possibly be hypnosis and yet the experience is so obviously comprised of hypnotic operators (granted, the trance partner in that example is indeed wonderfully experientially gifted).

As to mystical trance . . . hmmmm . . . methinks we have a topic for the August Hypnotic Video Challenge . . . I will post the challenge in a couple days and see what we can shake loose. :-)

All the best,
Brian
http://www.briandavidphillips.com/products/core.html; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Don Gibbons, Ph.D. on July 28, 2008 at 8:50am: Hi Brian,

Many thanks for all the fascinating references.

The ability to open one's eyes without affecting the trance has been included in most of the old "depth" scales, going back as far as the Davis and Husband Scale in the 1930s..One of my favorite class demonstrations (and I'm sure you have done something similar to this too), was to take three people briefly out of the room, hypnotize one of them whom I knew to be highly responsive, and tell this person to remain hypnotized but to act completely normal. Then I would bring them all back into the room, and have the class ask them questions to see if they could determine which one was hypnotized and which one was not. They could not tell, unless the hypnotized person was either directly asked, or given a suggestion, such as a visual hallucination.

When I published my first book, Beyond Hypnosis, I dedicated it "to my wife -- and to Victor Emmanuel," the latter being the retarded peasant lad who went to sleep instead of going into convulsions like he was "supposed" to do.

Rather than inquiring how many alterations in perceived awareness it is possible to induce by means of suggestion, or how one might go about measuring their purported "depth" -- which is, after all, pointless when one is dealing with subjective experiences for which new phenomenlological dimensions can be invented, suggested, and consequently experienced by sufficiently responsive individuals virtually at will -- it is more appropriate to inquire how such experiences may best be defined and guided to fulfill their intended aim, which is to assist people in achieving an increased measure of self-awareness, self-control, and, if the mystics are any guide -- personal transformation.

I'll be looking forward to the results of August Hypnotic Video Challenge!

Don; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Brian David Phillips on August 2, 2008 at 12:52am: As promised . . . here is the August Hypnotic Video Challenge . . . http://briandavidphillips.typepad.com/brian/2008/08/mystical-magick...

All the best,
Brian
http://www.briandavidphillips.com; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Don Gibbons, Ph.D. on August 2, 2008 at 4:54am: Hi Brian,

I think your “playful” approach strikes exactly the right note.

In the days before television came into widespread use, very young children often had be cautioned, as I was, not to laugh, or talk, or cry when they were taken to see their first motion picture. “It’s only a movie!” they would be told, until they learned to enjoy and profit from the experience in much the same manner as adults, without confusing the events portrayed upon the screen with events in the real world. The power and versatility of hypnosis and hyperempiria make it necessary for everyone to be cautioned, "It's only a suggestion!" so that they are able to enjoy such experiences for what they truly are, without confusing the mystical potential of trance experiences with objective reality.

Once this distinction is made, and trance is regarded as a form of experiential theater, the ability of highly responsive clients to become comprehensively involved with suggested events should make it possible for us to draw more broadly upon the fields of history, literature, and the mass media for our sources.

If sufficiently willing and responsive trance partners are able to actually live out, and experience to the fullest, the reality of whatever is suggested to them, the entire creative genius of humankind may be viewed as a potential source of inspirational and therapeutic material. To cite just one example, a former client who was a lover of horses, and who was fond of the motion picture Sea Biscuit, was able to derive a considerable boost to her self-esteem and achievement motivation by being able to experience riding the horse to victory in the race of his life.

I can’t wait to see the results!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Sean Michael Andrews C.H. C.I. - WorldsFastestHypnotist.com on August 2, 2008 at 6:14am: Don:
That sounds like a very cool demonstration to give your class! Could you please elaborate on how you ended the demonstration? I suppose you could suggest a positive hallucination which only the hypnotized person would see, but then how would his reaction be different than someone operating under a post hypnotic suggestion? I'm intrigued.

Sean; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Brian David Phillips on August 2, 2008 at 3:49pm: Don, I believe Sean was referring to your 'favorite class demonstration' as you described in your first comment above:

"One of my favorite class demonstrations (and I'm sure you have done something similar to this too), was to take three people briefly out of the room, hypnotize one of them whom I knew to be highly responsive, and tell this person to remain hypnotized but to act completely normal. Then I would bring them all back into the room, and have the class ask them questions to see if they could determine which one was hypnotized and which one was not. They could not tell, unless the hypnotized person was either directly asked, or given a suggestion, such as a visual hallucination."

All the best,
Brian
http://www.briandavidphillips.com; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Don Gibbons, Ph.D. on August 2, 2008 at 10:16pm: You're right, of course. As the late comedian Jimmy Durante used to say, "I was laborin' under a mis-prehem-prehension!" But I hope the example may prove useful.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Don Gibbons, Ph.D. on August 2, 2008 at 11:45pm: Sean,

Sorry that I initially misunderstood your question.

Since the hypnotized person knew that he was the one who was hypnotized, all that I had to do was to ask him to close his eyes while I brought him out of hypnosis in the usual manner. I would count backwards from five to one, with suggestions of progressive awakening, clear-headedness, and well-being, and that's all there was to it.

Don; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by bruce on August 2, 2008 at 10:05pm: I took a Holotropic Breathing workshop that was quite incredible, and I think is relevant to this thread...

The method for the workshop is quite simple: you breathe as deeply and quickly as you can, lying on your back, while loud thumping music is playing. This may sound crazy... and even dangerous, but it's a fairly well-trod path, and the session was over-seen by a well know doctor of psychiatry.

Anyway, I breathed hard and fast for about 15 minutes, when I noticed some tension in my chest (to be expected). I decide to 'breathe into the tension,' and WHAMMO! I had an explosive reaction. It could only be called a cathartic fit, or even a seizure of some type. My body must have jumped a foot off the ground... like a fish in the bottom of a boat. I was completely aware through the whole episode, and most interestingly it was mainly a body thing; there wasn't much in the way of thought content or emotional content in the catharsis.

Well, after this I was dead-tired, but the psychiatrist said I wasn't done: I had to keep on breathing. So I kept on breathing. Very quickly, my body began to move on it's own accord. My hands and feet started to do a strange dance on their own - slowly. I found out later that these are called 'Mudras' and are quite a common reaction to Holotropic Breathwork. You might have seen some Mudras in Indian religious or mystical artwork. What was weird was I wasn't doing it! My hands were responding on their own to a feeling like there was a huge current of energy running through me.

After the session, I was very high. Colours were enhanced... I felt very good. Later on, a lot of raw emotion came up... a lot of grief; but it felt good, as if I were processing something that had been repressed for a long time. My only criticism of the process was that I was still very raw by the time I had to go to work on Monday.

This was certainly an intense trance, and not centered on relaxation at all. Apparently lots of people have mystical experiences doing this kind of breathwork. I am convinced it's an effective way to get in touch with repressed emotions (if that's what you want to do). Certainly quick intense breathing is a way into trance.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Ernest frost on August 3, 2008 at 8:31pm: Fascinating. Thanks for sharing this. Any emotional release should usually go with a connected learning. Releasing without the learnings from the spesific triggers often just leads to another build up over time and then another release in a few years time. Thanks Ernest; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Katt Lowe on August 3, 2008 at 11:42pm: Interesting! I must add a lttle twist..I believe Mesmer was also working with the
" Electro Magnetic Field." The clients claimed to have felt " mesmerized or magnatized. " He would wave his hands in front of them. Staring at them while holding their hands...in my belief system...sending them Energy and telepathic messages.

When I personally put my hands over any part of my clients body they feel a magnetic force and so do I.... or when I do it to myself. The registers are the same as someone in hypnosis. In fact...working with the clients energy before putting them in hypnosis is very powerful. You may even find just adding some positive suggestions while working with their Energy is just as effective.

If anybody has worked with Energy or practiced Qigong...you should understand! I teach this to my students in Hypnosis and Qi Balancing classes.

When I am working to clear someones Energy field/healing, I also receive a lot of information. Am I hearing their thoughts, their higher self, my higher self ...(so many more I can name off)...or is it in their energy field? I may never know. Sometimes I think all the above. It doesn't really matter, because it works. I think Mesmer was on to so much more than has ever been written.

I am not sure if anyone has really looked into that before...or should I say...wrote about it in a book.

Just my thoughts,

Katt Lowe
http://www.connectwithin.com/; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Brian David Phillips on August 4, 2008 at 2:26am: I live in Asia where the whole qigong energy paradigm is pretty well established and commonly accepted. My Alma Mater, National Taiwan University, one of the top research institutions in this part of the world and ranked high worldwide, where I earned by doctorate, has a number of researchers who have done experiments involving magnetic resonance imaging brain scans and qigong practitioners. I did a Mesmeric magnetic induction in the same DVD set mentioned above with the Energy Induction example. When Mesmer was sued by a number of doctors and was then taken before a panel of illustrious experts, the conclusion was that he was a fraud while it was Benjamin Franklin who wrote the minority opinion on the matter acknowledging that many of his cures seem to have been genuine but that the mechanism was very unlikely to have been the biomagnetic filed that Mesmer assumed it to be but rather a factor related to the imagination . . . the assumption was that this was also a dismissal of Mesmer's work but actually pointed to a very powerful area of inquiry that alas was not seriously explored for some time.

All the best,
Brian
http://www.briandavidphillips.com; ▶ Reply to This