First Hypnotic Experience

After reading a great deal on hypnosis I became confident that I would have the ability to induce trance in a subject. The first induction that I attempted was also my first success. This gave me a massive confidence boost. Although the first induction I gave was a success, I did leave plenty of room for failures. I often practised my newfound skill of friends, sometimes the inductions were successful and sometimes they were not. At the time it was a little disheartening when the subject did not 'go under' but as you begin to practise your new skills bare in mind that there will be some failures in the beginning.

The first trance I induced was not premeditated. I was reading a book on the subject and Mark, a friend of my sister, happened to notice. He was curious about hypnosis and was keen to experience the trance state. He asked if I were able to hypnotise people and, although I had never previously actually hypnotised anybody, I knew that in theory I could. So, I told him I had been doing it for months. I used the ‘progressive relaxation’ method of induction, which I will go into in more detail later. Although I kept the trance state short I was able to create the effects of both unbearable heat and unbearable cold. I was probably more amazed than anybody when he began to sweat in a matter of seconds at my suggestion and then, just as quickly, he was shivering. His teeth were chattering and the small hairs on his arms stood on end. To see physical reactions resulting solely from my suggestion was a very encouraging sight.

The simplicity of the suggestions I gave to Mark was probably the key to the success of that first induction. I very much doubt that the results would have been so favourable if I was to have suggested that he perform a striptease routine. Mark was probably in a very light trance during the whole process. To get a subject to perform an act of a more complex nature would have required a much deeper state. As you practise your first inductions try to stick to basic routines that will not embarrass your volunteers. As you confidence in your ability increases your routines will become more and more complex.