Most folks really don’t get what hypnosis is all about. Far less understand how it works in a covert manner. I’d like to discuss what hypnosis is. We’ll also cover what it is not.
Hypnosis is not about being unconsciously under the influence of a hypnotist and following all his orders. What you witness in the cinemas is not true. If it is a live performance, hypnosis happens because the subjects are willing and they really want to be hypnotized. And that is also the reason why they really follow the seemingly absurd instructions being given them. Covert hypnosis is totally different from this.
And what really is hypnosis? Well, it is a state of consciousness where a person is very focused on a single idea. You listen and react more to suggestions and proposals when you are in a hypnotic state.
You’ve certainly been in a hypnotic trance thousands of times in your life. You just may not have realized it until now. Remember the last time you were in a car on a long journey? Did you ever just kind of “zone out”, driving the car automatically? What about watching a movie? Do you ever seem to forget that the movie is not real? Imagine how tense your muscles would be while watching an intense car chase scene. That is a form of hypnotic trance.
So how does one apply hypnotic trance in regular conversations? First off, you have to build trust with your listener. After this, get the listener to intently listen to a single topic by telling a story. This can be done by a mastery of the language and you can observe the reaction of your listener while you try to coerce him into a trance state.
One simple way to do this is to tell a story. If you tell a compelling story with vivid detail, your subject will be focused in on every aspect of the story. You will be controlling his focus. This causes trance. This opens his mind to suggestion. Once a state of trance is formed, you move to the suggestion phase.
However, deep trance is not the usual effect of covert hypnosis. It usually results in only a light trance. But this is all you need. Most people might not even recognize the trance. A good hypnotist will certainly recognize the signs, though.
Therapeutic hypnosis, on the other hand, does tend to result in a very deep trance. This is because in therapy, the subject knows he is going to do hypnosis. He is a willing participant. He wants to fix a problem, and wants to learn how to go deeply into hypnosis.
You can use covert hypnosis for influencing people to do things. You can help someone make a big decision, or change something major in their life. You can use it to build friendships, or close business deals. There are endless possibilities.
So how do you actually learn the skill? You could start with books, but you would have a hard time mastering the skill with only books. You could study at home with audio courses such as those from Igor Ledochowski or Steven Peliari. Those are good options. Finally, you can go train with someone in person – this is the most expensive option but can give you the best results.
To find out exactly how you can learn to hypnotize people, read my review of Art of Covert Hypnosis.