Is stage hypnotism black magic?

August 7, 2020 at 1:24 pm, No comments

I loved this question first thing this morning and the video that went along with it. I'm inspired to write a blog post.

Take a look at this video of hypnotist, Michael C Anthony performing a live stage hypnotist act, then come back and I'll explain what's going on here: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=602020040504357

(If you're not on Facebook, look up another one of Michael C Anthony's videos on YouTube, etc.).

What's going on here? It's quite clever really

Firstly, the people are having fun!

They are up for a laugh and going along with it. If they didn't want to do it, they wouldn't have put their hand up to participate.

Famous person and an authority figure.

The hypnotist, Michael C Anthony, is a renowned entertainer, having won Male Entertainer of the Year with Campus Activities Magazine, among a number of other accolades. The people would likely have heard of him and have seen others having fun at a hypnosis show and are curious about it. Having credibility as someone famous gives the entertainer a perceived authority, which is helpful for the entertainer in influencing people to obey commands.

Rapport is a key element for the hypnosis phenomenon to take place

Michael is a master at building rapport with an audience. He has many years' experience doing so and has written a number of books on the subject. He is a born entertainer and would have had the audience super fired up with energy and having a lot of fun prior to this video.

A high-energy state is a hypnotic state

When people are in this fun, high-energy state, they are hypnotised. i.e., they are not thinking so much with their critical/analytical mind, they are cheering, clapping, laughing and having fun; they are thinking more with their subconscious mind and are open to suggestion without questioning it.

During the 'entertainment' before this video was taken, the hypnotist fired up the people to be in a heightened state of energy, celebration-type energy! He would have fired up the idea that it would be 'so cool' if you're the lucky one to get up on this stage because we're going to have more fun than you've ever had in your life!

Being so fired up, they can't wait for that command to scramble up on the stage in the hope that they will be the lucky ones! The hypnotist has given them the first command and they have followed it, any other commands he gives they will follow them too, piece of cake.

The somnabulists

Once they are up on the stage, the hypnotist is easily able to work out which ones are the somnambulists, a relatively small percentage of the population who are even more disposed to go into hypnosis and follow commands. They are easy to spot, they would have been the first ones to rush up on the stage and the first ones who dropped down on the 'sleep' command. Although pretty much all of these kids would likely go along with it because they are all having so much fun and they are egged on from the peer pressure. They are all in a 'happy high' state, therefore thinking with their subconscious mind to go along with it rather than questioning will I or won't I do it... some of them may slip out of that state, go back into conscious questioning and get stage fright for example and question whether they want to really do it.

Kids are more open to the suggestions being given here

Notice that all the ones who scrambled up on the stage are all kids. There are adults in the audience but they didn't get up. Adults have been trained out of using the power of their subconscious mind, having the idea that it is dangerous or black magic or that they can be controlled to do something they don't want to do. The peer pressure among adults would be more along the lines that it would be unseemly for them to behave in such a whimsical way. But kids are still open to using the power of their mind, even for entertainment, until someone brainwashes them out of it too. So these kids are up for a laugh without thinking about it too much.

Peer pressure

Plus peer pressure would be another factor that would help the hypnotist greatly, and the entertainer plays on this beautifully. The participants want to be seen as cool and funny among their friends!

Let's look at what is going on neurologically and biologically speaking.

In very basic terms, the happy hormones are coursing through these kids' bodies and multiplying the happy effect, further heightening their hypnotised state. Especially being hormone-driven young people, they are biologically wired to have fun and behave in a way that may lead to a greater possibility of attracting a sexual mate. They follow impulses to get sex. A number of other neurological and biological processes are at play here, but that would make a really long article.

That's it in a nutshell. Interesting hey?

How is therapeutic hypnosis different?

A number of these concepts are used in therapeutic hypnosis; essentially rapport and guiding a person to use their subconscious mind instead of their critical conscious mind, but with relaxation techniques rather than a heightened entertainment or celebration state. The first part of a hypnotherapeutic process entails explaining in-depth all aspects of what hypnosis is and what it is not, so that the person can decide for themselves whether they wish to explore it. If they feel comfortable to do so, it is totally safe with a qualified and reputable hypnotherapist. And it is powerful! Think about these kids in the video who dropped on command. The person who wishes to have hypnotherapy makes an agreement with their hypnotherapist prior to going into hypnosis about which kinds of commands they are interested in. This involves a lot of questions and answers until they get to the ones they really want. Then they may be given commands such as 'no desire to ever smoke another cigarette in your life,' 'you easily and naturally put on your training shoes in the morning and enjoy taking exercise more than ever before,' you feel confident, happy and at peace, and so on, the possibilities are endless. Love my work!

Kathleen Misson

Dip, Hyp. I.S.C.H. GHR GQHP

Online Clinical Hypnotherapist

www.goodlifehypnosis.com

+34 637 321 798