Hypnotism: Snap out of it

[IglooDame]

Just to avoid potential confusion, I'm not meaning "suggestible" in the "gullible" meaning. Suggestible when related to hypnosis essentially means "trance-able". Generally speaking the best subjects are younger, intelligent, imaginative, and able to focus. The "weak-minded" thing is pretty much movie magic BS.

 

[Bozo Erectus]

Gloo, what Im essentially saying is that the subjects are not under the control of the stage hypnotist. Theyre willingly going along with it and can stop at any time. Its fun, thats all.

I want to make clear that Im talking about show biz hypnotism and the absurd things that the hypnotist is supposedly making the person see, hear, taste, feel and believe.

Therapeutic hypnosis isnt quite as exciting or fun, but its real, and beneficial. The subject is never under the control of the therapist. All the therapist does is suggest things that the subject should focus on, leading them down a 'thought path'. The success of the session is entirely dependent on the desire of the patient to be helped, and their belief that they can be helped with hypnosis.

 

[warpus]

Bozo, so you don't think that people can be suggested to believe absurd things via hypnotism?

 

[Bozo Erectus]

I sat there far about 3-4 minutes thinking the whole thing was kinda stupid but then, after she gently repeater herself (saying different variations of the same thing) for about 5 minutes my hand did slowly start rising. I could have slammed it back on the table at any time mind you but I kinda let it do what it wanted to do. A few minutes later I was moving it towards my face (per instructions) and eventually touched my nose. It didn't feel like it was a choice I was making, more like a choice to go along w/ it.

You sat down in front of the 'psychic' because you wanted to experience something interesting. You were already open and willing to go along. Like you said, you could have stopped the whole thing at any moment.

What Im trying to do is dispel the apparently common perception that these entertainers have some sort of power to control people. Think about it. Imagine if there were a group of people who really could do what stage hypnotists claim? Theyd rule the world, and wouldnt be performing tricks in carnivals, or Vegas

 

[Bozo Erectus]

Bozo, so you don't think that people can be suggested to believe absurd things via hypnotism?

I think people can be suggested to believe just about anything. But real, therapeutic hypnosis isnt about making people believe absurd things. Stage hypnotism is just entertainment, show business. Those people dont believe any of that crap. Its a show.

Its weird, I feel like Im struggling to convince people that when a magician pulls a rabbit out of a hat, its not really magic.

 

[warpus]

You sat down in front of the 'psychic' because you wanted to experience something interesting. You were already open and willing to go along. Like you said, you could have stopped the whole thing at any moment.

What Im trying to do is dispel the apparently common perception that these entertainers have some sort of power to control people. Think about it. Imagine if there were a group of people who really could do what stage hypnotists claim? Theyd rule the world, and wouldnt be performing tricks in carnivals, or Vegas

Bozo, one of the most fundamental concepts of hypnotism is that the person affected is totally willing to go through the experience. You can't hypnotize someone who doesn't want to be hypnotized.

It does not mean that they fake it when they are doing absurd things, such as thinking that everyone in the room is naked, that everyone on stage is on a rollercoaster, or not being able to remember their own name.

 

[IglooDame]

Gloo, what Im essentially saying is that the subjects are not under the control of the stage hypnotist. Theyre willingly going along with it and can stop at any time. Its fun, thats all.

I want to make clear that Im talking about show biz hypnotism and the absurd things that the hypnotist is supposedly making the person see, hear, taste, feel and believe.

Therapeutic hypnosis isnt quite as exciting or fun, but its real, and beneficial. The subject is never under the control of the therapist. All the therapist does is suggest things that the subject should focus on, leading them down a 'thought path'. The success of the session is entirely dependent on the desire of the patient to be helped, and their belief that they can be helped with hypnosis.

You sat down in front of the 'psychic' because you wanted to experience something interesting. You were already open and willing to go along. Like you said, you could have stopped the whole thing at any moment.

What Im trying to do is dispel the apparently common perception that these entertainers have some sort of power to control people. Think about it. Imagine if there were a group of people who really could do what stage hypnotists claim? Theyd rule the world, and wouldnt be performing tricks in carnivals, or Vegas

I sort of agree with you all the way through, except for one part. "Theyre willingly going along with it and can stop at any time" implies that they're consciously just pretending to be hypnotized. By and large, they really are in trance. They're cooperating, but at an unconscious level. They're pretty much going to do everything until they hit something that even unconsciously they don't want to do, at which point they'll either creatively reinterpret the suggestion, ignore it, come out of trance, and/or go off the stage.

You're right that it isn't mind control, though, and any stage hypnotist claiming that it is is just as wrong (and is knowingly lying in the exact same way) as the magician claiming that he really did saw his assistant in half.

 

[Abaddon]

Otherwise why else don't hypnotists rule the world?

 

[Narz]

You sat down in front of the 'psychic' because you wanted to experience something interesting. You were already open and willing to go along. Like you said, you could have stopped the whole thing at any moment.

Yes, but I definitely felt very unusual while I was raising my hand.

BTW, psychic was a typo, I changed it to hypnotist, I've never paid for a psychic in my life except once or twice for my ex-GF ($5 ones) who found them entertaining.

 

[IglooDame]

Otherwise why else don't hypnotists rule the world?

Of course, the obvious answer to this question is "Who's to say they don't? "

 

[Masquerouge]

You should take the show for what is it, entertainment, nothing more. It's not your fault if people are fooled by it, and there's likely not much you can do about it, so why not just enjoy it for your own reasons, and not worry about what others might think of it?

 

[Warman17]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=BIfVQTS1P3o

'Nuff said.

 

[Abaddon]

ok watching all of those has just cost me the next few hours...

 

[Narz]

You should take the show for what is it, entertainment, nothing more. It's not your fault if people are fooled by it, and there's likely not much you can do about it, so why not just enjoy it for your own reasons, and not worry about what others might think of it?

Indeed. It's also not definitively right. Often they misjudge evidence and/or downright ignore it. Remember, they've got a show to run & money to make, they will do what they can to make their case, even if their case is not airtight (I typed at long rant about the holes in the arguments concerning anti-GMO people but sadly that was lost when my forum closed).

Some of their stuff is pretty dead-on and funny like the whole (AA) 12-steps one.

I made a comment on the yoga/new-age one.