Getting perspective

I've had a few thoughts recently about my own writing that I thought I'd like to share.

When I first started writing this blog I made it clear that this blog is my personal account of my experience of learning to be a hypnotist. It's so I can look back on it in the future and enjoy all of the memories associated with it. I also enjoy sharing my writing with others, and I like to think that others who are learning and going through what I have can draw benefit from it.

I guess what I'm worried about is coming across in my writing as though I am an authority on hypnosis. The more I do learn, and I feel I have learned a lot since I started in mid-September, the more I realise how eclipsed it is by what I don't know.

Recently I asked a question on the Uncommon Knowledge forum, it was about whether people can learn to become better hypnotic subject with practice, and when I read a couple of the responses I felt like asking "Sorry, is that actually in English?!" There are so many concepts, especially with NLP, that I've not even started to grasp yet.

There has also been a recent occasion where I wrote a post about the detrimental effects alcohol appears to have on hypnosis. Well fine, yes, the three or so people I have hypnotised who had been drinking reacted in this way. I was feeling good about having built that little sandcastle for myself until a more experienced member on the forum posted saying that his best couple of sessions ever had been with subjects who were drunk at the time! The number of hypnosis sessions I have had with people is now well into double figures, but if someone who's probably at least into quadruple figures says things that contradict my own very small number of observations I know who I'm going to believe!

Having established just exactly how green I am at this however, there are the confidence and certainty factors to take into account. Jon Chase, in his book Deeper and Deeper, talks about asking his students "who is THE hypnotist?", and if they say "you are" it's fair to say they don't yet understand. The right answer, the answer that one really needs to believe, is "ME! I am THE hypnotist!" As far any of my subjects are concerned I am the authority on hypnosis and of course I know exactly what I'm doing. What I say is the truth, and what I say goes. That is the face that any good hypnotist has to present.

It's an interesting line to try to walk.

So I will continue to describe my experiences and, as with the alcohol thing, try to make intelligent observations as I go, and try not to deviate too much from the line. Maybe years into the future I'll look back and say to myself "Hah! Did I really believe that? What a fool I was!" Hopefully it will at least be entertaining reading.

So if you're reading my blog and you don't think that what I've written is correct, or that I'm just talking complete rubbish, please post a reply and put me right.

Or just post a reply anyway. I like replies.