So there’s this theory that’s expressed in the (Z Dienes – Hypnosis Happens: 2008) paper that you

will find a link to in the members section. One of the main people pushing it forwards if my memory

serves me is the researcher called Lynn, and I think she began research on it in the early 90’s. I

believe this theory might have a lot of weight to it….

Ok the theory goes like this… We’ve already covered that we don’t necessary believe in hypnosis…

… well, what if different types of phenomena had their own ways of achieving them, and even used

completely different mechanisms to bring them about.

That maybe kinaesthetic phenomena is performed in such a way compared to mental phenomena

such as name amnesia… This is something I’ve spent many days, weeks, months worrying about.. it is

a worrying thought. Even thinking this thought has damaged the integrity of my delivery when

performing name amnesia.

It’s a really scary thought… that perhaps name amnesia, and other delusion routines might be

suggestions in the conscious mind….. about having one part of the conscious mind say “I’m seeing

the hallucination” (in this case the hypnotist being invisible) and the other part of the conscious

mind say “I’m focusing on being unable to recall x, or see x, I’m actively trying to look away from x”

(looking away from the hypnotist).

It’s a really quite worrying thought…. But whether it’s true or not, I can tell you on which level it

might be true.

Kinaesthetic phenomena clearly use visible illustrations of the priming/schematic processes which in

the theory I’m keen on, are the main driving force behind hypnotic phenomena. It’s quite easy to

interact with the muscles in your hand and see the response and this be a guide showing you what

your managing to achieve with your mind. The muscular responses, or micro ‘occupational therapy’

style tasks involved in moving a hand to make a sandwich might be really highly developed units of

interaction… compared to forgetting one’s name.

Suppose we take my latter analysis to be true and ignore the prior that perhaps all mental

phenomena aren’t as good as kinaesthetic because they are ‘playing along’ whereas kinaesthetic can

be genuine…

Then this has several implications for the way we should work. There’s a hypnosis theory being put

forward by a training company on the internet, and I’m going to use this opportunity to state how

much I disagree with it.

I think my responses I get on at least kinaesthetic routines are entirely genuine. That there isn’t any

playing along, there isn’t any imagination. I don’t even need to ask the subject to do anything… I can

just speak and assume it and its more efficient because the processes happen by themselves… just

upon mentioning muscle movements I tend to get an immediate response of muscular movement in

my subjects.

I’ll happily admit, I have my doubts about the mental phenomena…. Which is a very odd thing for me

to say, because for a long time I saw other hypnotists around me having their doubts about mental

phenomena but I was always convinced by my name amnesia because it seems very sophisticated

and thereby got a more sophisticated response.

Either way, I have definitely learnt something from the analysis of whether kinaesthetic routines are

superior to mental phenomena. And that’s although you can jump straight into name amnesia on a

stranger… I definitely think the stranger has to ‘think like you do’ to almost make it work, they need

to for a second question whether they have forgot their own name.

With hand stick, I don’t need to have them question whether their hand is stuck for it to be stuck, it

can be stuck long before this final moment…

Although with name amnesia I can make it difficult for them to forget their name long before I want

them to suspend their disbelief for a moment and assume it’s forgotten. I do wonder if its only

difficult for them to recall their name, rather than impossible.

I think the only difference between something being difficult and impossible is the way the subject

frames the experience – thus coming back to the need to deliver suggestions for what they are to do

consciously, I can deliver the frame “it’s like I have control over you”, “like whatever I say becomes

your reality” these aren’t suggestions for unconscious responses, these are suggestions for how they

should frame the experience… I’m saying “things will happen by itself and that’s all you can do” as if I

need them to believe that in order to prevent them checking whether they can recall more difficult

things rather than going for the easiest.

I do appreciate that I can build various complex mechanisms to distract the person, for example I can

have the person rehearse moving their tongue to forget their name, I can have them rehearse

mentally recalling the sound of different letters… and I can have them repeatedly say my name…

these ways make sure the subject goes down a path of difficult thoughts to search through that

won’t result in their name suddenly being recalled, while keeping the easy priming/schema of “its

forgotten” still ready to be assumed whenever they get tired of the difficult routes and return back

to being still.

So maybe in the sense that there is lots of ways that I can ensure its difficult for them to say their

name, coupled with me actually suggesting them to conclude I have a power over them, is actually

enough to take away their ability to choose. I mean it seems logical for them to conclude I have a

power over them, considering the way I make them stuck, or considering the way… I can almost

make them forget their name… but by drawing this conclusion suddenly I don’t have to work very

hard.

Maybe I’m analysing it too much, and it really is as simple as the kinaesthetic is just as good as the

mental phenomena and vice versa… both just need to be sophisticated in order to ensure a genuine

response without the subject having the slightest sense of playing along, or using a subject who is

good at tricking themselves that they are not playing along when they really are (the latter of which I

believe accounts for the population of somnambulists) in which case means that my approach to

hypnotizing is designed to only use people who aren’t somnambulists, because really I’ve made no

preparations in the language or style of the way I work for those who are naturally good at having

those two simuntalous conscious processes going on “one where they actively perform and act the

tasks out” and simultaously “convince themselves that they aren’t the one who’s carrying out the

task”.

It is really quite worrying… because if at least one of two paragraphs of doubt listed above turned

out to be true, the logical conclusion to make is that kinaesthetic phenomena needs to act as a

moment where you cause the subject to then conclude that you can make things happen by itself to

them – Which is the worst case scenario.

The best case scenario is that kinaesthetic routines provide an active learning process where the

subject can visibly watch themselves lose control, and interact with their muscular responses, and

responsiveness with a hypnotist that teaches them exactly what the hypnotist requires in the later

routines so the subject can more easily understand how to respond to a suggestion.

So the suggestion for the further mental routines would be carried out automatically by itself, but

they need the prior learning experience of experiencing this happen unconsciously, to make the

unconscious parts capable of organising their attention, and sub controls possible to make the

mental phenomena possible.

This may seem like a quick fire conclusion to the last two paragraphs; but it might be – (forgive me

for drawing a conclusion just to end the debate) it might be… that the unconscious and conscious

really are so similar… that such distinctions between whether they need to learn how to have an

unconscious response, or whether they need to learn that they do have unconscious responses… is

just an academic intellectual debate and not really necessary for practice.

But either way, we are going to conclude that kinaesthetic (particularly the binary version of) before

mental phenomena is a good strategy.

Binary kinaesthetic to name amnesia

“Those (name of) are stuck yeah?” “The reason they are stuck is because in a moment, you know

how you’ve known your name your entire life, but… you know how when you try and recall the

name of a celebrity to tell to a friend, and you can’t remember that name, it’s like you can’t work out

the lettering or the pronunciation (point at your own mouth trying to make sounds), its like that

names gone, in a moment I tap you on the forehead and I’ll ask you a question you will forget the

answer to the question and won’t be able to work it out however hard you try, (tap forehead as you

say) you forget your name, you have no idea what that name is, you just can’t say speak or

pronounce it…

I decided to script out the suggestions found in the video here”

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NnJQdj4C4kg) “( says her name) that hand is stuck to the table

yeah that's really weird, sometimes ideas do get stuck in the mind, so basically the reason your hand

is completely stuck to the table, is because ideas do get stuck in the mind...occassionally at times, we

try to remember something, now you've known your name your entire life yeah? and sometimes we

try and like say the name of a celebrity (and just look at me right now) and realize that hand is stuck

to the table.. like when you try and remember something simple.. like sometimes you try and

remember the name of a celebrity, and your mind goes blank. like ideas you try and focus on, like

you have too much energy.. like if i say cats to you, then its very hard to think of any other animal

other than cats, like the idea of cats seems activated, you try and think of an animal, and cats comes

out right? so basically even though sometimes you try and remember the name of a celebrity, you

can't remember it, like ideas get blank sometimes. that's why the hands stuck to the table because

your so focused that its stuck it feels like it is... So you forget your own name now, you have no idea

what your name is, you can't say your own name right now, as you try and think about it your mind

goes blank (snap fingers above right upper side of her head), it just goes from your mind you just

don't know why you don't know your name anymore, you just can't say the pronunciation (point at

own mouth controls attention) you can't work out the letters, or the sounds, and you won't be able

to work it out until i clap my hands...and its just gone from your mind...it's weird right? not having a

name, everyone needs a name, but you just can't say it, you just cant work out how, its gone from

your mind... lost and your thinking” "why don't i know my own name anymore", “your minds

completely blank”, “... it's a strange feeling isn't it?”, “... i know...”

Now the vast majority of these suggestions are unnecessary (particularly in her case) you don’t need

to memorize this list of suggestions, but I do want you to appreciate why I said each and everyone

one of them.

The most sophisticated and necessary section is the first bit

“ ( says her name) that hand is stuck to the table yeah that's really weird, sometimes ideas do get

stuck in the mind, so basically the reason your hand is completely stuck to the table, is because ideas

do get stuck in the mind...occasionally at times, we try to remember something, now you've known

your name your entire life yeah?”

Sorry to celebrate my own triumphs but this set of suggestions is genius; based on the theories

we’ve outlined in this worksheet and the guide. In this set of suggestions I did two references to the

fact she has a name in the opening section

I say her name, “that hand is stuck to the table” and “that’s weird” – I suspect the focus on the

weirdness is to illustrate that she’s out of control. “Sometimes ideas do get stuck in the mind” this is

an attempt to pace the fact her hand is stuck and now lead that stuck-ness to mind stuck-ness.

“occasionally we try to remember something”, “now you’ve known your name your entire yeah?”

once again I re mention the fact she knows her name as a direct pace into the lead that’s about to be

her forgetting her name.

“and sometimes we try and like say the name of a celebrity (and just look at me right now) and

realize that hand is stuck to the table.. like when you try and remember something simple.. like

sometimes you try and remember the name of a celebrity, and your mind goes blank” “so basically

even though sometimes you try and remember the name of a celebrity, you can't remember it, like

ideas get blank sometimes. that's why the hands stuck to the table because your so focused that its

stuck it feels like it is...”… “its like the name is on the tip of your tongue you just can’t get the letters

or sounds or pronounce it (point at tongue mouth movements)… its like in a moment I will tap you

on the forehead and ask you a question but you’ll forget the answer, you just can’t say it (like you’ll

have) no idea what your name is you forget your name, (tap forehead) you just can’t say it, my name

is (your name) and you can say that name.. .but you just can’t work out how to pronounce your own

name… until I clap my hands you have no idea what your name is”.

I know how many words there seems like I’ve taught you here, and that’s a much shorter version of

the one that I used in the video. But in the video I hadn’t done a pre talk on the subject so I was

doing a pre talk while I was delivering the suggestions for the name amnesia.

Ok

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