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The Accidental Hypnotist

May the Trance Be With You! A 21st Century Look at Hypnosis

(SALEM, Ore.) - Most people have two sides. One side is like a rainbow. This quality allows us see both sides of an argument. This is what gives us the ability to make fine distinctions, to reason and reflect as well as create poetry and art. It is a peacemaker.

The other side is binary: yin and yang, hot and cold, black and white. It’s powered by emotion: anger, love, hate and fear. It’s irrational. It’s the quality that makes us blindly loyal to our country or to a silly sports team. It’s what drives men to seek justice. This may be thought of as stubbornness or determination. We’re going to use hypnosis to control it for our purposes.

Hypnosis and the Subconscious Mind

May the Trance Be With You! A 21st Century Look at Hypnosis

(SALEM, Ore.) - Our mind appears to be divided into conscious and subconscious functions. The conscious mind is that little voice in our head that represents who we believe ourselves to be. It is the part of us that is us when we say “I think, therefore I am.”

The other part of our mind is the subconscious. It’s a much bigger part of our mind. It’s the rest of the iceberg beneath the water.

Misconceptions about Hypnosis

May the Trance Be With You! A 21st Century Look at Hypnosis

(SALEM, Ore.) - When I meet someone for the first time I'll usually give them a firm handshake and make eye contact in a friendly way. If someone is introducing me they'll often add that I'm a magician and a hypnotist. Not every time, but often enough I'll notice the smiles of my new acquaintances fade slightly and their eyes shift away. Why? They're afraid I'll hypnotize them, and they usually tell me so.

So let's examine this misconception about the nature of hypnosis as well as some of the other persistent ones.