Mind Control

[NOIRTRASH]

I know lots about hypnosis. I've studied and practiced it since 1985 or so.

Its a powerful way to influence people but is simplicity itself.

An example of hypnosis: Toss a Frisbee at a kid.

An example of mind control (get ready): Feel your ass pressed against your chair.

Hypnosis and mind control are nothing more than knowing what people will do when you act one way or another.

 

[Tio_Narratore]

Ok, James... Don't think about elephants.


(Does that do both?)

 

[PervOtaku]

Hypnosis as commonly depicted by Hollywood (e.g. mind control against the subject's will) doesn't exist. What you describe, people may better associate with Mentalism, for instance the antics in the tv show with Simon Baker a few years back.

The author of Dilbert, Scott Adams, has a blog in which he's often discussed the tools he learned while becoming a trained hypnotist. More recently he's been focusing on a related subject, persuasion, as it relates to the American presidential campaign. Even without the political stuff, it's very educational. Hypnosis and persuasion is all about knowing how the human brain responds to stimulii, and that we aren't really as in control over ourselves as we like to think we are, unless we understand what really goes into our behaviors on a brain-chemistry level.

Some of the pickup artist stuff you see advertised around the web probably operates on the same level. Learn how to cold read what a woman is after, even when she doesn't actually know herself, and you can charm her into bed and make her think it was her idea. In theory, anyway. Good fodder for a story, perhaps, though it would take some education to get it correct.

 

[HandsInTheDark]

I did a How To on hypnosis recently. I'm self-taught, but successful at it.

Hypnosis is NOT knowing how a person will react and then taking credit for it. That's mentalism. Mentalism is great for party tricks and stage shows.

Hypnotic trances are an entirely different mental state for the subject. It's a state that has to be entered willingly - you can at most persuade someone to enter a trace, but you won't succeed if they firmly refuse.

Once in a trace, though, a subject will generally comply with any request which doesn't violate firmly held personal rules - which, more often than not, are the very rules people try to use it to break, and then they wonder why it's not working.

It doesn't require any special techniques, no swinging watches or flashing lights. I've always done it using nothing but my voice, and frequently over the internet. Willingness = success, and often curiosity = willingness.

If someone tells you "I bet you can't hypnotise me" they probably want you to try and succeed. There's some mentalism for you.

 

[NOIRTRASH]

I never heard of MENTALISM before now. So I looked it up.

Back in 1993 a man called the hospital threatening suicide, and his call was transferred to me. Such calls scared the crap outta staff, so the calls came to me. The man told me he was drunk, had a loaded gun, and intended to kill himself. I said, OK. GOOD LUCK! and I hung up the phone. There's no mentalism in that. It was a simple transaction. Everyone around me got excited tho they had no idea what to do. I knew what to do.

To make a long story short, the man called me several times, and I hung up on him several times. Then he quit calling but called me the next day, sober.

He said he intended to shoot himself but I made him so mad he changed his mind and wanted to shoot me but was too drunk to operate his car to come shoot me. So he went to bed.