by busboy » February 3rd, 2008, 11:59 pm
@baby_jessica:
I had toyed with that idea (using trigger during consious arousal for association), but ended up shying away from it.
This whole bizzare little experiment came about from a conversation on the chat channel with Rogue and Wildsprite. As a total rookie to hypno, I was expressing frustration with the fact that I was seemingly able to reach trance, but couldn't accomplish anything beyond that. I had been attempting to elicit some form of physical reaction to hypnotic instruction (stage behavior like "baloon lifting your arm"), but couldn't get anything to happen. The closest I could get was my post-hyp trigger to re-trance . . . it doesn't put me under, but does cause the same sensation as a "head rush", as if I stood up too fast while hyperventilating.
The suggestion was made to focus on one trigger, and Rogue had mentioned he had success with people using the TrigArousal file. Given his stated success with it, plus the fact that the intended effect (trigger phrase gets you aroused) seemed relatively easy to create (as opposed to, say, trigger phrase makes you think you're a robot), I decided to focus on it. The reason I'm not going to test it for a month is to give it time to absolutely sink in (or not) -- trying it without any effect only feeds into frustration and doubt for me.
All this backstory is to explain why I decided not to try associating the trigger outside of the trance. If I go that route, and presuming the trigger works in a month, then I'm going to be asking myself whether the trigger worked because of the post-hyp command or because of the association made during non-trance, which then leaves me back at square one (does this stuff actually work?).
I started exploring hypnosis as an extreme skeptic, and while much of that doubt has been eliminated (my being able to go into trance and the effects of the post-hyp "sleep" trigger shocked the hell out of me), I'm still left debating with myself whether hypnosis can go (for me, at least) any farther than the equivilent of deep focused meditation. Although I tend to assume stage hypnotism is bunk, the apparent ability to create a strong enough command to either cause a physical reaction (freeze, your nose is super-sensitive, etc.) or a mental one (believe you're driving a car, you're a robot, etc.) is something that facinates me, and I'd like to see if it's actually achievable with hypnosis or if it's just wishful role-playing on the part of the subjects. Thus, the test . . . if I can get one trigger to actually work, then I'll be convinced -- more complicated triggers and effects would then just be a matter of degrees. If I can't get a post-hyp trigger to actually work . . . then mabye for me hypno will never be anything but a form of meditation. I'm deeply hoping that's not the case as hypnosis in theory offers both great practical opportunities (I'm ADD, and being able to intensify my ability to focus would be a godsend) as well as purely entertainment value (being able to get turned on with the snap of my fingers wouldn't be something too unwelcome :D ).
Anyway, sorry to blather on. My deep thanks for the suggestion.