Why I do this

This is a post that I have been intending to write for some time, but I've been encouraged to get on and write it thanks to a comment left by a reader in a recent post. I feel that whilst I have covered a lot about what can be achieved using hypnosis, how it can be done and how it feels, I guess I haven't really explained what it is that motivates me to learn and practice it.

A while back I remember somebody saying to me "Being a hypnotist doesn't appeal to me; I don't like the idea of being a puppeteer."

There are indeed hypnotists out there who enjoy the idea of gaining absolute power over someone, or indeed many others, but I do not count myself among them.

I believe that there are two reasons why:

The first reason for my not wanting to impose my will on another person has its origins in certain events that occurred in my first couple of years in university; events involving members of the opposite sex. I know what saying that might imply, but believe me it's nothing so dramatic. To an outside observer those events may have seemed completely trivial and unimportant, but they did have a strong influence on me and shaped a significant proportion of what the person I am today seeks from human contact. Suffice to say that if I am to enjoy sharing something with someone else it has to be because they want to do it, not because I want them to do it.

The second reason is that the thought of having power and control over another individual is actually something that I find quite daunting. I believe that too many people who seek power forget that with power there comes responsibility.

To my mind if as a hypnotist you are entering into a relationship with somebody whereby you have the ability to completely alter their perception of the world around them, and where they are not necessarily able to judge any risks they might be subject to, it is clear that it is the duty of the hypnotist to take responsibility for the subject and ensure they do not come to any harm. The subject must put their trust in the hypnotist, and it is essential that their trust is respected.

This is something of which I am very conscious of whenever I work with a subject who responds well. Yes, I do get quite a kick out of seeing a subject drop into trance on the command to sleep, but I also find that it is actually very intimidating too and especially when shortly afterwards I meet their gaze and see such a sense of child-like innocence and trust as they are unwittingly affected by suggestions I have given.

I always feel the need to bring things "back to normal", have the subject remember or at least know everything that went on, so that it is an experience they are able to appreciate.

The idea of not doing that, and to have a subject unaware of something crucial that has happened, or even worse to change an aspect of a subject's mind merely on some whim of my own, is most definitely not something that appeals to me. I could not morally bring myself to abuse anybody's trust like that, and of course even if I could entertain the idea of playing god in that way I know I would feel incredibly lonely in doing so.

So for me at least being a hypnotist isn't about being a puppeteer. Sure I have met and have worked with subjects who have enjoyed playing the part of the puppet, and in which case I have been happy to oblige them, but my enjoyment is derived much more from sharing their enjoyment than from my own desires.

There is more though; much more. To me being a hypnotist is about taking on the role of being a kind of guide on a magical journey. I've been with subjects as I've lit candles by clicking my fingers, made things disappear in front of their eyes, blocked doorways with invisible force fields, walked through walls, and led them as they swim in secret oceans.

To some extent a hypnotist is also a teacher as well as a guide. Trance is a skill, and in many ways teaching somebody who was previously to experience any hypnotic phenomena how to let their arm float up or stick their hand to something is just as rewarding as convincing a complete natural that your train ticket is a whatever false ID you care to name (thankyou Dr Who!). It is very satisfying to be able to show somebody aspects of themself and abilities that they simply weren't aware of before. Everybody carries around with them the ability to go into trance and ultimately to experience some amazing phenomena as a result every day of their lives, but so few people realise it.

I feel that the question of motivation is a very large subject area and that I have barely scratched the surface with this article. Needless to say I will revisit it at some point in the future.