I am English, so lots of people send me messages asking if I want tea, telling me how brilliant they are at making tea, or even that, because they want me to drink tea, I should make some and drink it right now!
Here’s the thing, though: I only like certain kinds of tea. And, I do not want to take your tea unless I can be sure you want to share your tea with me.
If you offer me tea, I will want to talk about the tea. I want to be sure you’re okay sharing your tea with me, and that it’s a kind of tea I like.
When I am offered tea I think I’ll like, I’ll say, “Yes please, let’s have tea together.” Then, you’ll know I’m happy to drink the tea.
But if I say, “sorry, no, I don’t like that kind of tea,” then don’t make me tea. I don’t want to drink tea I don’t like.
If you try to make me tea without asking, well, that’s kind of you. But, lots of people make me lots of cups of tea, and I can’t drink them all. Not all of them are kinds of tea I like, and some of them go cold before I get to drink them. Save yourself the trouble and ask me first, then you’ll know whether I want to drink tea with you.
And if I tell you I don’t want your tea, do not try forcing me to drink your tea. You can’t blackmail me into drinking tea. You can’t shame me into drinking tea. You can’t guilt-trip me into drinking tea. Just because you want me to drink your tea, doesn’t mean I have to drink your tea.
So, do we all understand about the tea? Good. Now, I’m off to make myself a cup of tea.
After today’s news about Tumblr, I want to put together a list of alternatives so, answers under this post: where, other than Tumblr, do you post/chat about hypnosis?
This is just a simple hypnosis file that will take you down into a deep trance and then give you a trigger I can use to put you under again more easily.
Subjects who do sessions with me get access to the audio-only version of this (to listen to on a phone/iPod/etc). For everyone else; if you want to grab a downloadable copy, you can get one by clicking: http://bit.ly/RelaxationInduction-HypnoMasterUK
Are you: * a guy? * a teen or in your early 20s? * living in the UK (or the same timezone)?
Then I want to hear from you!
Specifically, I’m looking for people who are interested in exploring what hypnosis can do and have a genuine interest in trance. If you’re looking for something erotic, we can talk about that but it shouldn’t be the only thing you want from a your sessions.
This is one of the most common question I get asked, and one of the hardest to answer because it depends on where you live.
In the UK
If you, like me, are in the UK, then there is no law that says how
old you must be to get hypnotised. However, you must be able to give
your ‘informed consent’.
Anyone aged of 16 or over is presumed to be able to give their
informed consent unless there’s a reason to suspect that’s not the case
(e.g. they have learning difficulties). So, if you’re in the UK and are aged 16 or over, you’re good to go.
Under 16s
If you’re in the UK and aged 15 or under, the law isn’t quite as
clear. Your ability to give informed consent as a child or young person
is governed by a legal test known as “Gillick Competency,” which says that:
“…it is not enough that she should
understand the nature of the advice which is being given: she must also
have a sufficient maturity to understand what is involved.”
and
“parental right yields to the
child’s right to make his own decisions when he reaches a sufficient
understanding and intelligence to be capable of making up his own mind
on the matter requiring decision.”
This means that if you are mature enough to understand what you are
doing, what is involved, the implications of it, and weigh up the
potential risks and benefits, then you can give your own consent to
being hypnotised.
So, it’s a question of maturity. If you’re mature and responsible enough to make an informed decision, then you can get hypnotised. As
a guide, most 15 year olds are likely to be able to make that decision
on their own, most 11 year olds are not. If you don’t seem mature and
grown up enough to make the decision on your own, please don’t be
offended if I ask you to come back when you’re older.
All of that said, you should always discuss anything you
do online with trusted friends and family. They can help you stay safe.
And if you have any concerns about being asked to do things you aren’t
comfortable with, or shouldn’t be asked to do, talk to a parent,
teacher, or ChildLine for help.
There are some people online who want to hurt you, including in the
hypnosis community, and your safety is the most important thing.
Erotic Hypnosis
I do get asked to do hypnosis sessions with an erotic or sexual focus. This is something I do, although I’ve written before about how these aren’t always my favourite kind of session.
UK law says that the youngest age at which you are legally able to
consent to any kind of sexual activity is 16, so this is the youngest
you can be to have this kind of session.
However, just like anyone else, you shouldn’t expect your first
session with me to go that way. I want to get to know you and build some
kind of relationship before we do anything erotic. This applies even
more so if you’re younger, because I need to know that you genuinely
consent, and it’s what you really want.
Outside the UK
Laws vary around the world, and I’m not a lawyer so I can’t give a
definitive answer to how old you have to be to get hypnotised in Country
X. As a guide, you should be of an age where, in your country, it would
be legal for you to:
be a subject in a stage hypnosis show without anyone else’s permission; and
(for erotic hypnosis) have sex.
Because I’m in the UK, you also need to comply with UK law as explained above.
Maximum age
I prefer hypnotising younger people. Generally, younger people are
better subjects for hypnosis, and more fun to work with. If you’re older
than me (34 at the time of writing), I’m unlikely to consider you. But,
get in touch and ask, you’ve nothing to lose.
Any questions?
This is a challenging, and sometimes controversial, topic. Use the comments to discuss it (in a mature manner) or Contact Me if you have a specific question and I’ll see what I can do to help.
If you’re a guy in your 20s or younger, and into hypnosis, I’d like to try a new (to me) style of trance with you. Message me your email address to take part.
If you know me, you’ll know that I don’t lose my temper easily. But
today, I’m angry. And I’m angry with a very irresponsibly hypnotist.
For some time, I’ve been aware of a guy calling himself
“Hypnotistify”, “Louis Hypnosis”, and “Hypnotist__” online. He’s on
YouTube, YouNow, and also apparently Skype. I’ve watched some of his
sessions, and found them relatively entertaining.
Then, this popped up in my inbox:
First of all, I’m glad Chris (the subject in the video) is okay. What
he experienced here is called an abreaction. It’s rare, but it can
happen, and one of the most important parts of training as a hypnotist
is understanding how to deal with it. Essentially, it’s about calmly
reasurring them, bringing their awareness back into the room, and
bringing them out of the hypnotic state before talking things through
with them so they understand what happpened.
I’d recommend reading this, and this, if you want to know more about abreactions; but a quick search will uncover plenty of information.
Dealing with dodgy connections…
Now, I’ve had connections drop out on me more than once during online
sessions. That’s why you always prepare by reminding the person you’re
hypnotising that, if that does happen, they’ll simply come out of
hypnosis completely and be able to deal with whatever they need to.
Frankly, that’s a pretty basic – and, I think, obvious – safety measure
for any online session.
If I thought that was all that was wrong here, though, I’d find this situation a lot easier to deal with. But it’s not.
Imcompetance, or worse?
Underneath the video is this comment, which was evidently posted by the so-called hypnotist ‘Louis’:
Let’s get one important thing out of the way first, it is true that
you can’t get stuck in hypnosis. Even without the safety suggestion I
mentioned before, a person would, sooner or later, simply come out of
hypnosis and be completely back to normal.
Now, onto the thing that’s really got my back up. Read Louis’ comment
again. He says, “I had my suspicions … so I decided to see how you’d
react, at least you got a video out of it right?” What does that say to
you?
To me, it says that he deliberately abandonned Chris in the middle of
a hypnosis session. At best that’s unethical, at worst it’s simply
dangerous. Not only that, but my understanding is that he saw Chris
having a, really quite serious, abreaction and still made the decision to cut him off.
I can think of only two possible reasons for Louis’ actions:
Incompetance
Maliciousness
If it’s imcompetance, then this video is a shining example of why
anyone who wants to practice hypnosis should seek out some form of
training. Even if that training is simply reading books, or watching
online tutorials, paying attention and learning what you’re doing can
prevent situations like this happening.
If this is a case of pure maliciousness, on the other hand, which is what Louis’ implies in his own comment,
then I really don’t know what to say except that I hope as many people
as possible online see this and understand how dangerous working with an
untrustworthy hypnotist can be.
Louis, if you’re reading this…
Please either stop hypnotising people altogether or go out and get
some proper training. It will be better for you and far, far better for
your subjects. If you don’t, and you keep behaving like you have here,
it’s only a matter of time before somebody sues you and you end up in
court. You don’t want that.
And to everyone who might be thinking about getting hypnotised online…
I implore you to please, please ask potential hypnotists about their
training and experience. You should only ever agree to let yourself be
hypnotised by someone who have talked to, got to know, trust, and know
the real identity of. At the very least, any reputable hypnosist will
allow you to see and hear them on Skype (or whatever app you use).
As Chris himself says in the video description, “Being hypnotized can
be a super fun experience, but it can also be extremely scary if not
done correctly.” Have fun, by all means, but please stay safe while
you’re doing it.