Chapter 10 - More Methods

Now, let us get back to the methods of induction. The following is known as the fascination method. You may use this method while subjects stand or sit. Face him and place your hands on his shoulders or take his hands in yours or just place your hands behind your back. It really makes little difference. Tell the subject to gaze into your eyes and not look off. Gaze at the root of his nose just between his eyes. It appears to him that you are gazing into his eyes. You must have a steady gaze. Do not blink your eyes. It requires much practice to acquire this steady, unblinking stare. You must not smile, grin or change facial expression. Do not let your thoughts wander. Concentrate your attention upon the subject. If the subject smiles, titters or treats the matter as a joke, ask him to be serious. Now look steadily at the root of his nose and say, "You are going sound asleep. Just listen to my words. Think about nothing else. Soon your eyes will get tired. Your eyelids will get heavy, very heavy. They will get so heavy that you will have to close them. When you close them, you will go fast asleep. Your head is heavy. Your arms are heavy. Your legs are heavy. You are very tired and sleepy." Watch his eyes. You can do this without moving your eyes. When his lids begin to flutter, continue, changing the wording to suit his condition and feelings. "Your eyes are getting heavy. They are beginning to close. They are tired, very tired. Soon you'll have to close them and go to sleep. They are closing. You are going to sleep." His eyes should be closed by now. If so, shove him over the line with the following words: "Go deep asleep. You are deep asleep. You will not awaken until I command you to awaken. Sleep."

Now, if your subject is standing, pass your hands up and down near, but not touching the legs and body and say, "You will not fall. Stand erect. Hold your body erect." Then you may proceed to drive him deeper asleep. Have him raise his arm straight out from his shoulder or seize his fingers and pull his arm straight out from his side. Pass your hand along it outwardly from his shoulder and say, "Your arm is as stiff as a piece of steel. You cannot bend it. Try, but you cannot bend it." He will try to bend his arm but will be unable to do so. When he has tried, then say, "That will do. Stop trying. Relax. You can bend your arm. Drop it to your side. Go deeper asleep." Each time you have a subject do anything, command him to go deeper asleep. Now you are ready to have your subject do other things.

If you have used the above method while your subject stood before you, you could have used the slightly swaying motion to aid induction. The subject is lightly swayed back and forth on his feet with a light pressure on his shoulder with your finger tips. If you use this method while the subject is seated, you may use the same wording. Of course, if subject is seated, you would not gain anything by attempting to sway his body. Being seated would nullify its effect. Always remember that it is not necessary to repeat the exact words as they are written but be quick to vary them to take advantage of the condition of the subject as you proceed and make them fit into the circumstances which may develop. You will note the progressive development of the sleep formula or the sleep IDEA, as the speech proceeds toward that point of passivity of the conscious mind, at which point, sleep seizes the conscious mind of the subject. The reaction involved here will be explained later and it will become clearer just why the wording as given brings on sleep and why it is important to follow the general outline.

The relaxation method above shows the subject just as she went to sleep. The subject is seated in a comfortable chair. She is told to close her eyes and relax, then the formula for inducing hypnosis is spoken to her. A good subject is usually asleep in a few seconds. Sleep is indicated by her head drooping forward, backward, or sidewise as a usual thing. Sometimes, especially in light hypnosis, the head may remain erect. When this happens, it is difficult for the beginner to determine when hypnosis begins.

There are a few things to watch for in using this method. In fact, they might be watched for in using any method. Do not let subject twiddle his thumbs or fingers, or any object. Do not let his gaze wander from your eyes. Keep him relaxed. Keep his undivided attention. Do not let him speak to you. Do not let any other person speak to him or make any diverting remarks in his hearing. It is best to have utter silence until subject is asleep. These are musts in any system. Do not make any wild or diverting gestures. You may make passes before the eyes, if you can do so without being amusing to the subject. Right here, I wish to say that anything which diverts subject's mind from your words and causes him to interrupt the chain of thought you are developing, will prolong the process. You will understand why this is true when you study brain reactions in a future chapter.

The subject stands with her side toward the hypnotist, who places his hand on the back o£ her neck. Really, it is not necessary to press any certain spot in this procedure. She is told to tilt her head back and look at the ceiling, then the hypnotist proceeds as directed on the opposite page. Tilting of the head creates a sensation of unbalance in the subject. This sensation aids induction.

As I have said above, some hypnotists place their hands lightly on the shoulders of subject and gently sway or rock him back and forth. This is not necessary, but any swaying of the body while the eyes are focused above subject's feet while standing will cause a peculiar disconcerting sensation and will aid the process of induction. In fact, there is a quick method based entirely on this sensation and it will also be explained later. Try swaying while your eyes are closed or while looking up and you will realize this same sensation. Try standing on a swaying platform while looking up; then close your eyes while swaying. You will realize just how disconcerting it is. Just at this point, if someone shouted "Sleep" in your ears, and you were thinking about sleep, and were a good hypnotic subject, you might go to sleep and fall.

If the subject's eyes do not close when you think they should you may, as previously outlined, say, "I am going to count One-Two, One-Two; when I count One, close your eyes and when I count Two, open them and gaze back into my eyes. Soon you will be unable to open your eyes. When you can no longer open your eyes, you will be sound asleep. Now I am going to count One; close your eyes, Two; open them." Continue counting thus, with longer spaces between closing and opening until the subject's eyes fail to open. Then command sleep. Proceed to deepen sleep as before suggested and test your subject for depth.

Instead of gazing at the subject's nose as above directed you may gaze directly into the subject's eyes. Always select one eye and do not shift your gaze from one eye to the other. YOU MAY DO THIS ONLY IF YOU FEEL CONFIDENT IN
 
THE PRESENCE OF YOUR SUBJECT, and only if you know your formula and the gaze of the subject does not disconcert you and cause you to falter. Some persons have difficulty thinking and talking while gazing steadily into another's eyes. This is caused by interruption of thought processes when searching for words or ideas difficult to recall. Therefore, only if you know your formula perfectly so that you do not falter and if you can put force and conviction in your words, you may look steadily into the eyes of your subject, instead of at the root of his nose. It is my opinion that this method requires more will power and self-possession than any other method. I cannot prove that I am right, but no one can prove that I am wrong. I know that it works out as stated. That is sufficient proof for me.

Except a few which are similar to the foregoing, this about covers the methods of induction. Experience will assist the hypnotist in selecting the method which is most suitable to him and for the purposes for which he desires to use it. In difficult cases, experimentation will develop the method to be used and this is very appropriate in medicine, but in stage work, experimentation is not permissible. Your audience must be considered. They will not wait for you to experiment. They will lose interest and think you are a fake. Dismiss a difficult subject with some inoffensive comment such as, "It will require too much of my time to hypnotize you. It requires more time to hypnotize some subjects than others. You are excused. Please return to your seat." Where medical hypnosis is desired, time is not so important, except in emergencies.

I have learned that some persons reach only a light stage of hypnosis. They go no deeper than a certain stage. This lack of depth does interfere with the efficiency of suggestions, but if the treatment of such patients is handled by a skilled operator, it will be beneficial and effective. Doctors of medicine have the same difficulty with effectiveness of their remedies. Therefore, we should not condemn either form of remedy just because it does not act with maximum effectiveness every time it is used.

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