talkmagic.co.uk

Hello from Germany,

I signed up to contribute a few thoughts to this topic:

1. i do the same as most of you did here with hypnosis with gambling systems aiming at protecting People from wasting money on "winning systems", i would never come up with the idea of selling my knowledge, ripping Off People by making money of them which they would Otherwise spend on a rip-Off (hypnosis/gambling) my question is
Why do you, mark lewis?

2. i am glad you agree that there are things going on in the brain, beenos and I would call it hypnosis. Of course it is essentially only an overloading of the conscious brain in combination with oral guiding. If you speak of hypnosis as in a superpower that of course is Quatsch.

3. the main Thing i would like to say is, that i think, People denying hypnosis have a Problem accepting the unsouvereignity of the Brain/the individual. It is hard to accept but our thoughts are not worth anything and can be guided/formed/shaped/replaced by externals as long as they can access us via our perception.

If hypnosis or lets say the underlying psychodynamic mechanics do not exist, what would you describe Virtual reality as?

The Future will show that our hypnotic abilities are only limited by our Human limitations. We cant yet hypnotise/absorb us fully, well enough.

Sorry for spelling and grammar, i had a long Fight with my auto-correction

Interesting thoughts, perhaps a little extreme but interesting nevertheless.

I'm not sure I get the connection between Hypnosis and Gambling but, if you're referring to rip off courses or systems then you may be right. Bear in mind that such rip offs exist in many other ares, weight loss, exercise, 'natural' medications, roof repairs, driveway surfacing, car repairs and so on - in fact just about anywhere at all!

Many practitioners of Hypnosis have said that their skills are more to do with counselling and encouraging the subject rather than putting them into any sort of trance - just take away the reasons to resist and the subject will go along with the suggestions. Not that I know anything about the subject of course!

I really do not know what to say to the esteemed gentleman from Germany. He must bear in mind that he is replying to an old topic from 2010 which even according to the German calendar is 6 years ago. My aged brain has become feebler since that time and I have no idea what the hell we were all talking about so long ago. However, if he wishes to donate a fee to help me go over this long thread I will be delighted to help him. After all my time is very valuable. However, if I deem his donation to be large enough I will agree with everything he says.

Besides I rather like Germans ever since I read that Adolf Hitler banned the exposure of magic secrets in newspapers. He had his faults in other areas of course but perhaps we had better not get into that.

I am not sure what gambling has to do with the matter but once you provide us with a translation I will be
delighted to respond to you. After all, from what I hear it might be my last chance to do so since we British may be leaving the EU which I do consider a great pity.

I have studied the first post of this thread and particularly the first paragraph since it mentions me by name. It appears to be asking me a question but alas I have no idea what the question is. I would heartily recommend the original poster refrains from using google translation as even google does not know what on earth it means. Something to do with gambling and ripping off people and why do I do it?

I haven't gambled for decades although I certainly was foolish enough to do it in my youth. I hope I don't owe this chap any money and he has come back to haunt me over it. I do vaguely remember playing Poker with some German chap some decades ago and he seemed unduly suspicious about me.

As for "ripping off" people I consider that to be a most commendable activity but alas it seems that our new member has led a sheltered life and doesn't understand these things for which, of course, he must be forgiven. However, I am not sure what is so reprehensible about sharing one's knowledge or even selling it to those who want it. I must be missing something somewhere, I suppose. I would suggest a better translation may be necessary.

Mark,

Your ideas on how stage shows go are accurate. It's more likely that people who are comfortable in front of an audience will join a hypnotist on stage. Also, if it turns out they're comfortable, like showing off, or being class clown then the hypnotist can assume his/her work is, for the most part, done. So, stage hypnosis is more akin to social role-playing than "genuine phenomenon." Which is probably why your friend said that in 30+ years he was confident he hadn't "hypnotized" anyone and was hesitant to do so. Which brings me to this point (the "power" of the hypnotist): rarely do people think of a stage show in terms of the hypnotist hypnotizing the members on stage rather than the audience. People who work in a stage setting, unfortunately, are unlikely to use hypnosis in its most effective form.

There is a big difference between a (informal) stage setting and a (formal) "clinical" setting.
In one case, subjects are invited to be informal. And in the other there's nothing but formality.


The idea that Hypnosis is simply relaxation is also common misconception. No one would put someone through a surgery with merely a relaxation technique. It requires more focus of attention and sometimes being "removed" from immediate stimuli. This is part of why it varies intensity - the participant's motivation, ability to trust, ability to focus, the relevance of the hypnotist's suggestions etc. can determine how "deep" a participant goes.

Do you mean "real" in the sense that it can be proven by verifiable data?

Oh, I know it is far more than just relaxation. I should mention that my "friend" made a fortune out of hypnotherapy and although he passed away a few years ago his clinic is still going. I have seen some learned articles he is supposed to have written on hypnosis and you would think from reading it that he believed every word of it. He didn't. He knew it was all a load of old cobblers. And that definitely includes the clinical situation too.

However, that does not necessarily mean that hypnosis in a therapy session cannot be useful. Indeed it can and I have always believed it is a boon to humanity. It can be so helpful in so many conditions. However, the therapy is not due to the so called "hypnosis". It is due to other factors of a psychological nature because the mind affects the body.

As for operations under hypnosis it is indeed possible but that is not because of the non existent "power" of hypnosis. It is because of the reasons outlined in "They Call it Hypnosis" by Robert Baker which devotes a whole chapter to this very subject.