So you want to learn to hypnotize? Hypnotism is not only entertaining, but an incredibly fascinating art.  From it’s beneficial uses in the medical field, to the laughter it unlocks as an unsuspecting audience member becomes a chicken for 2 minutes, clucking his way through an audience in hysterics, it’s little wonder why so many people want to learn to hypnotize.

So what exactly is hypnotism?  Hypnotism is the act in which you gently direct a subject (it could be yourself) into a state of hypnosis, which, according to wikipedia is “a mental state (state theory) or set of attitudes (non-state theory) usually induced by a procedure known as a hypnotic induction, which is commonly composed of a series of preliminary instructions and suggestions.” (wikipedia.org).

In laymans terms: a state of mind, or pattern of behaviours, induced by the hypnotist (soon to be you).

Now at this point you’re probably conjuring up images of purchasing a pocket watch and swaying it in front of your friends saying “you’re getting vvvvveeeeerrryyyy ssssllllleeeeeppppyyy”.  This is NOT the process, as you will soon see when you learn to hypnotize.

Don’t worry, it is not a difficult process: I’ll outline the basics for you here.

When you learn to hypnotize, you’ll quickly realise the basic premise of hypnotism is to be able to bring a subject into a sort of “trance” state by getting them to relax their body, their mind, and lower their brain defences (some of these defences are beneficial for everyday living, but others are strongly formed habits that may prevent the subject from experiencing their life to their fullest potential: just look at a smoker, or any other addict).  This part is called the “induction”.

During the induction, you will instruct the subject to gradually relax every muscle in the body, to become calm, to slow their breathing, and to become completely at ease and relaxed.

It is important to note, when you learn to hypnotize, that your subjects behaviour will mimick yours, so it’s no good being uptight, and panicked when you attempt to induce a hypnotic state, as your subject will become uptight and panicked.

It is for this reason that many hypnotists speak in a slower, more deliberate tone, as it sets the calm, relaxed mood they would like their subject to experience.

Once the induction is complete, the subject is now ready for hypnotic suggestion: don’t worry, you can’t suggest anything the subject is morally against, it just won’t work.  If the brain is willing to accept your suggestions, now is the time to communicate them.

When you learn to hypnotize, you will learn to bring the session to an end usually by counting backwards from 5, with a suggestion at each number indicating that the subject is becoming more energized, and more aware of their surroundings, so that by the time the you reache the number 1, the subject is wide awake, and fully recharged.

As to whether or not the subject will remember the events? They may, and they may not, each person is different.  As long as the subject is initially willing, however, the benefits of hypnotism will become obvious.

So there you have it, a basic overview of hypnosis to kick of your journey as you learn to hypnotize.

More to come soon.