Mass Hypnosis At Private School Goes Alarmingly Awry

Originally posted by WeRpeons
I've been "hypnotized" before but it really didn't work on me. I was kind of embarrassed for the guy who tried to put me under, because he definitely didn't put me under a trance like state. Some people are more susceptible to hypnotic suggestions. In college, I had a physics professor that hypnotized the class. Only a small percentage succumbed to his suggestions.

If I recall correctly, he said people can take themselves out of a hypnotic trance. It's supposedly like driving down a highway and how you forget the past 20 miles because your mind was focused so much on the road. You really don't lose all Considering these were high school kids, I wonder if they were pretending not to be able to come out of their trance like state. Maybe they wanted to prolong the show so they didn't have to go back to class.

My parents have been "hypnotized" to stop smoking....like 5 times.

They still smoke.

And I can absolutely see someone doing that to avoid class. Couldn't say that I wouldn't have done the same 20 years ago.

Originally posted by daynight42
If this is the effect of a hypnotist on children and they said they're especially vulnerable, then that is just even more reason for children to be potentially damaged and indoctrinated by television. TV and movies are not exactly the same as this, but their minds are very open to suggestion, and TV/movies/YouTube provides plenty of that.

You can really compare children to animals. If you don't "train" them your way, someone else will train them their way. It's probably going to be the marketers. Most parents don't mind that, though, as long as little Jimmy or Susie is quiet. Such a shame, to shove your kids in front of a TV and have it corrupt their minds.

That is one of the reasons I posted this here. It made me wonder how easy it was if this could happen. I am with you on the "training", others may call it something different but children are molded by what they are raised with. Some can break away from it, others never even try.

The mass hypnosis idea could make one paranoid about things like the television, radio, print ads, etc. These people pay BIG money to find the best way to make you WANT what they HAVE that you probably don't even need. Testing hypnosis for that purpose would not surprise me in the least. One should always pay attention to what their children are paying attention to IMO.

reply to post by Kangaruex4Ewe


My first response to this is that it is clearly irresponsible of the school to have done this.

I have seen professionals stating that mass hypnosis is highly dangerous. You need to work with a small group of people, and preferably after assessing how susceptible they are to the process too.

The idea that this guy was invited into a school to do this to a load of children is terrifying. And when you think the school didn't even think to consult the parents... It's just crazy!

"We're just gonna screw with your child's mental state and consciousness for a while, using techniques that the brightest minds on Earth can't explain, and a method that has been known to cause psychiatric problems for many thousands of people all around the world. We don't need your permission..."

Complete crazy. The person at the school who made that decision should be fired.

Originally posted by jcolsto
reply to post by Kangaruex4Ewe

 

Almost this exact same story was told to me by my former Psychology professor. We had a section of the course devoted to hypnosis, mass hysteria, etc. During his PhD training, a bunch of his friends wanted him to show them some hypnosis tricks. He found that, after embarrassing his subject enough, that he couldn't get him to pull out either. The same thing in this story above happened here. He called one of his professors, and after a few tries, was able to wake him up.

He summed this up by telling us that he would never do hypnosis for entertainment again, and we should be wary of performers that do. You never know what trigger they could leave implanted, whether because they're unskilled or for more malicious reasons.

Wow! So this appears to happen more often than people would probably like...especially the one "stuck" I suppose. At least he has enough sense to learn from his lesson. These folks want to DO IT AGAIN!!

It is still freaking me out a bit, that one can be just "stuck" like that. I didn't really believe in hypnosis before this and may have tried it for "fun" some time in the future...not now. Not being in control of myself would make me very not happy.

Originally posted by XXXN3O
reply to post by Kangaruex4Ewe

 

It is really more than a bit scary that someone can put you under, but have difficulty bringing you out again. This would make me think that it would then be semi plausible to assume that there is a slim chance that one could stay under permanently? I don't know enough about it to know if that is remotely possible, but it does creep one out to know that a replacement needed to be called in.

It is impossible for you to stay under hypnosis permanently.

I also highly doubt this story (as a hypnotist myself) if this happened exactly as they are saying then the hypnotist should not be doing shows yet as he lacks practice.

When people go under they can enjoy it so or simply need rest so much that they will not respond to you bringing them back out of it.
In the event this happens, all the hypnotist has to do is chance their tactics with what they are saying, even if that does not work which is highly unlikely. Whispering into their ears something a bit more shocking will certainly jolt them out of it as a last ditch attempt, the reason I say last ditch attempt is because it might feel unpleasant or a bit unpleasant to the person under hypnosis.

If somehow you cannot get anyone out of the hypnosis for whatever reasons, the person will come out of it naturally the same as anyone does after a good sleep.

The worst thing any hypnotist can do at a show in my opinion is panic like this guy did and he should not be anywhere near a person under 18 years old either.

edit on 19-6-2012 by XXXN3O because: (no reason given)

Thanks for the extra information. I didn't think he should have been there either. It leaves the door open for misuse in my opinion since it seems it does work on people. It would make sense that a child would be more susceptible as well. It is good to know that they would have been fine even if the other guy hadn't come in though.

Originally posted by The_Oracle
What about what Keith Barry did in one of his shows on Discovery, where he tested the theory whether CIA sleeper agents could really exist?

Turned out to be true in the end.

I missed that, and now I am going to have to search for it. This has me interested now. Thanks!

Originally posted by detachedindividual
reply to post by Kangaruex4Ewe

 

My first response to this is that it is clearly irresponsible of the school to have done this.

I have seen professionals stating that mass hypnosis is highly dangerous. You need to work with a small group of people, and preferably after assessing how susceptible they are to the process too.

The idea that this guy was invited into a school to do this to a load of children is terrifying. And when you think the school didn't even think to consult the parents... It's just crazy!

"We're just gonna screw with your child's mental state and consciousness for a while, using techniques that the brightest minds on Earth can't explain, and a method that has been known to cause psychiatric problems for many thousands of people all around the world. We don't need your permission..."

Complete crazy. The person at the school who made that decision should be fired.

Awesome points and post! You summed it up pretty dead on for me. I would not have been happy if it had been my child being hypnotized with/out my consent. I can't think of many folks who don't care if someone is manipulating their child's thoughts.

School children are mass hypnotised eveyday, and they never snap out of it. So at least they eventually came out of it today, the real question is when are the bureaucrats going to snap out of their mass hypnosis which believes more tax money equals smarter children.

Years ago my brother and I went to a comedy club where the featured act was a hypnotist. He asked for volunteers and to my surprise my normally shy brother went on stage. The guy did a few tests on the subjects and sent some back to the audience but my brother stayed.

Each person was led to believe they were famous and had to introduce themself to the audience. My brother stated " I obviously need no introduction but I am your President, Bill Clinton". This was shortly after the Lewinsky affair. The girl beside him thought she was Shania Twain and my brother casually put his arm around her! Later, they were told to go out in the audience and give their autograph. I flagged him down and he unhesitatingly signed his name William Jefferson Clinton!

If it had not been my own brother, I would have thought they were all actors in the employ of the comedian. He also had them believe that blank pieces of paper he threw in the air was money and they almost got into fights trying to get it. My brother even took some sticking out of a guys pocket!

It was the funniest thing I've ever seen but also scary that a person could be made to do things completely out of character and not remember a thing.

Yes, TV is a big player in the hypnosis game. You are all in a trance shortly after you settle in to watch your favorite shows each evening.

The Battle For Your Mind

Persuasion & Brainwashing Techniques
Being Used On The Public Today

By Dick Sutphen
www.dicksutphen.com...

I doubt that those girls were truly in a hypnotic trance. More likely they were simply on the verge of real sleep.
Everything is hypnosis. If you are afraid of it, then don't drive, don't read, don't watch TV or anything that requires focused concentration.

Be aware that your mind under hypnosis or not is very fragile when it comes to suggestions.
Watch some of Darren Brown's videos to see what I mean. Here's one:
Sorry, I've never had any luck with embedding them.

www.youtube.com...

This is said to have been cause my a 20 old kid that did not know what he was doing so just think what some one who really knew thier stuff could do. Now that is the scary part.

Originally posted by fixer1967
This is said to have been cause my a 20 old kid that did not know what he was doing so just think what some one who really knew thier stuff could do. Now that is the scary part.

I do hypnosis shows and hypnotherapy with two things in mind, creating laughter, challenging peoples perceptions of life to better themselves or simply helping people.

This is what makes me wonder, if an ordinary person like myself can influence another what can governing bodies, media, technology, advertisements and other areas do to us?

If your really think about how much content is bombarded into our minds on a daily basis when we look at it all, even an expert in NLP, hypnosis, spotting disinformation, spotting misinformation, marketing, advertising or anything even slightly related has no chance of being unaffected by it.

Our minds are a cesspit of what others want you to be, feel and do. Yet so few can even begin to see this and even worse is the fact that even if you can see it, you cannot stop yourself from being affected by it.

It is time that people stopped looking in the wrong places if you get my meaning, only then can you actually realise yourself and begin learning.

Stop looking at the crap, start learning, its pretty simple really yet even the people who believe in conspiracies look at the same stuff as the rest of society only with anger or an alternative view from the rest. We are so trapped in this never ending cycle of confusion it must have some people wetting themselves with laughter. It is sad.

I was once hypnotized during a counseling session after a divorce. When he counted backwards from 10-1, I was supposed to come up from the deep relaxed pace he sent me, it had worked every week before

I could not come back this time because this time he left out the last words about coming back, I felt like i was in a deep well I was trying so hard but could not rise to the surface, In my head I was yelling to him I could not get back.

It was a terrifying experience and I started wondering if coma victims may not be in just such a state.

If someone were to try hypnosis on them and then worked it back, maybe they would wake.

Originally posted by Char-Lee
I was once hypnotized during a counseling session after a divorce. When he counted backwards from 10-1, I was supposed to come up from the deep relaxed pace he sent me, it had worked every week before

I could not come back this time because this time he left out the last words about coming back, I felt like i was in a deep well I was trying so hard but could not rise to the surface, In my head I was yelling to him I could not get back.

It was a terrifying experience and I started wondering if coma victims may not be in just such a state.

If someone were to try hypnosis on them and then worked it back, maybe they would wake.

Geez! I guess you were terrified!! Did you ever go under again after that?

Your coma comment is something I have often thought of. Like the "pull the plug" scenario. I always wondered if they weren't fully aware somewhere on the inside just screaming... Intense.

reply to post by detachedindividual


They did it at our school when we were kids and it was pretty fun.

Besides, kids get brainwashed a lot worse through the normal curriculum or by watching TV. Maybe that's why the kids were so susceptible in the first place, they believe everything they hear.

In our all the senior classes, I think we only had 12 people that went under. 3 were even on stage trying but they couldn't.

Funniest part was when they were told to find someone they thought was cute in the audience, and a few ran over to the people that they were known as them hating.

I love the thought of hypnosis. I have never been able to go under though. I really wanted to for a pain killer free labor and birth on my first child. Just never could really let go enough to trust anyone with my head.

If you are over 18 and want to have a good laugh, google jackpot no hands. If you are wandering if you are someone susceptible what better way to find out than this?

These girls must have wanted it to work. That is the only thing I can think would cause this. I personally feel you really have to trust the person before you can let go enough to go under. Otherwise, you are busy planning how the rest of your night will go while listening the person babble on and on.

Originally posted by rival
Personal experience about my father...First, he was self-driven and curious. On a normal blue-collar
income he became a licensed pilot, a licensed charter boat captain, deep diver, created a gasoline
aspirating gizmo he attached to a behemoth Ford Fairlane that I witnessed, measured, and can verify
attained 67 miles to the gallon (albeit, with no real power and much sputtering and coughing--this
is before fuel injection with a modified carburetor), skied behind an airplane, created the first light
and siren bars for police cars and got no credit, and did many other strange and imaginative things
like constructing the first potato gun I ever heard of, back in the sixties....

Plus he once read a book about hypnosis...

I have watched my father, many times, hypnotize people for fun, or to stop smoking, or regression, or
other reasons.

I have personally watched a woman in my home freak out when under hypnotic suggestion Elvis walked
in and greeted her. She went hysterical and Dad had a hard time "bringing her back."

I have watched another grown woman go back to her third or fourth Christmas and describe yellow
haired dolls and the Christmas tree, and who was present.

I have watched people quit smoking, lose weight (temporarily), come to grips with irrational fears,
all due to hypnosis. Even been there for lots of parlor tricks when "trigger" words
would make them suddenly itch, or start laughing for no reason other then post-hypnotic suggestion.

But to this day, I have yet to be hypnotized, and after careful reading of the book he read (plus MANY
others on the subject---you can hardly find them nowadays) I have yet to successfully hypnotize
anyone.

Hypnosis requires a willing subject, who is very trusting of the hypnotist...or it won't work. Skeptical
and wary folks are very hard to hypnotize. I would bet most members here fall in the latter category
so don't waste your money on hypnotic "stopping-smoking" seminars....you probably won't be
affected and waste your money.

But I assure from personal experience hypnosis does work on some people...and on some people
it works extremely well...

edit on 18-6-2012 by rival because: (no reason given)

I agree. I went to one of those smoking cessitation sessions. Not only could I not be hypnotized, but when it came time for the hypnotist to get to the part where he was telling his audience to cough all the gunk out of their lungs, and the room started coughing their lungs out, I embarrassingly started laughing. I had to get up and leave. I didn't mean to laugh, I really didn't!

Originally posted by Kangaruex4Ewe

Originally posted by Char-Lee
I was once hypnotized during a counseling session after a divorce. When he counted backwards from 10-1, I was supposed to come up from the deep relaxed pace he sent me, it had worked every week before

I could not come back this time because this time he left out the last words about coming back, I felt like i was in a deep well I was trying so hard but could not rise to the surface, In my head I was yelling to him I could not get back.

It was a terrifying experience and I started wondering if coma victims may not be in just such a state.

If someone were to try hypnosis on them and then worked it back, maybe they would wake.

Geez! I guess you were terrified!!

Did you ever go under again after that?

Your coma comment is something I have often thought of. Like the "pull the plug" scenario. I always wondered if they weren't fully aware somewhere on the inside just screaming... Intense.

No and I never will be hypnotized again, you can get lost in there..weird but inside you feels like a real place under those circumstances, you are deep in a black hole.

Originally posted by Kangaruex4Ewe

Originally posted by Char-Lee
I was once hypnotized during a counseling session after a divorce. When he counted backwards from 10-1, I was supposed to come up from the deep relaxed pace he sent me, it had worked every week before

I could not come back this time because this time he left out the last words about coming back, I felt like i was in a deep well I was trying so hard but could not rise to the surface, In my head I was yelling to him I could not get back.

It was a terrifying experience and I started wondering if coma victims may not be in just such a state.

If someone were to try hypnosis on them and then worked it back, maybe they would wake.

Geez! I guess you were terrified!!

Did you ever go under again after that?

Your coma comment is something I have often thought of. Like the "pull the plug" scenario. I always wondered if they weren't fully aware somewhere on the inside just screaming... Intense.

I don't know if anyone will see this, but recently a doctor found that many patients we consider to be in constant vegetative states really are both aware and has successfully communicated with them, meaning there are countless people who have likely been fully aware they they're "getting the plug pulled." He used MRI scans to look for normal brain activity when given certain stimuli. It's important to note that there's a low efficacy rate for the procedure, but it's in its infancy. To me, even finding one person that otherwise might have been put to death is significant. Here's the NY Times article on the whole thing. I really think this belongs in its own thread, but since you asked...

well.blogs.nytimes.com...

I'll include another article that I believe to be more informative but less reputable about the same study:

silverbuzzcafe.com...

Just have the friendly U.S. government send over a trained hypnotist for the kid's fun and entertainment for less than market price. Hell, even book it for free.

Hypnotism is cool and all, good for adults, but I think kids are a little sensitive to that stuff. Sham or not, it still caused quite a "trance", which could be viewed as problematic among many.