If you want to watch an hypnosis video - there are many on You Tube. The idea is that you stare at the video and somehow you become hypnotised. It's a nice idea and the concept of being hypnotised by watching a video is a familiar one. Derren Brown the British magician and hypnotist used this type of video is one of his recent TV shows. He said that by watching the video you would become glued to your seat. For some it seemed to work, didn't do anything for me. Maybe I'm not as easy to hypnotise as some people. Either way I certainly wasn't glued to my couch.
But, of course, these are not the only types of hypnosis video. If you want to learn hypnosis you can buy videos which teach you how to hypnotise people and to develop your skills as a hypnotist. That's really where my focus will be with this blog but I will also look at things like hypnosis audio, hypnosis books and hypnosis courses. Basically if you are looking for hypnosis this will be, I hope, the place you come to learn, comment and to engage in discussion.
The main advantage of watching an hypnosis video is that you can pick up how to create an induction and how to develop your hypnosis skills quickly. Reading about hypnosis is great and there are some fantastic books out there for you to read and extend your knowledge of hypnosis. But video can have the edge for those new to hypnosis because you can see exactly how it works from the induction through to bringing the person out of trance at the end of the session. You can also pause the tutorial and skip to the part you are finding hardest. Most people who learn hypnosis from an hypnosis video seem to acquire their skills faster than those who just read about it. I will also look at one to one in person courses but if you can't find a personal trainer that you think is good or if you just don't want to do it that way watching an hypnosis video is a very good substitute.
One of the other good things about watching an hypnosis video is that you can do it and relax at the same time. You can grab yourself a coffee, sit back and soak up the lessons! And you can watch the video as many times as you want to let it sink in.
I've found, in my own learning, that watching an hypnosis video enabled me to really understand the actions you need to take to properly induce a trance in someone. I remember watching a Richard Bandler (one of the founders of NLP) video where he did the handshake induction. At first I couldn't believe that you could really induce a trance like that. As I watched it more and more I developed the belief that maybe it was just possible if I did it with confidence. I then went out and started trying it on people. I didn't get anywhere at first and then I had my fist success! And with that success came even more confidence and my success rate soured. It was a great feeling to know that I'd learned a proper induction! I didn't do much with the trance after the induction at first but just getting people into a trance was a blast and removed any doubts I may have had about hypnosis and whether it "worked".
In fact one of the questions that I get asked a lot is "Is hypnosis real?". One of the best ways I've come across to describe being in a trance, to someone who's not been in an induced trance, is borrowed from Paul McKenna. In his first book he uses the analogy of a child who is playing with their toys. If you stopped them and asked them whether their toy soldiers, for example, were real they would tell you that of course they were not. Yet during the time they were playing with them they lost themselves in the world of imagination and for that time they were "real". That's what trance is like. You know that you are in a trance and you choose to stay there and relax in the unreality of trance.
I've digressed slightly but hey this is allowed here! I've found that sometimes, to learn hypnosis, it helps to approach it in a less direct and less obvious route. Like Milton Erickson sometimes the best approach is a sideways, covert approach to learning. The incredible Mr Erickson will appear again, I'm sure, in some later posts. For know just remember his name - he's important in the world of hypnosis. Ericksonian hypnosis is a type of hypnosis and it's one that I've practiced over the years.
Well I think that's about all on hypnosis video for now but there will be other posts soon.
