Thursday 5 December 2013

You are feeling sleepy…. The exploration of hypnosis as a kink

You’re going under…..


I have noticed in the kink world fetishes rise in popularity and commonality in a voguish fashion. Now I have no empirical data to back this up, only my own observations, so I’m not going to claim this as fact. A few years ago it seemed like fisting was on the rise, with more people dabbling their toes in it. Currently I think its puppy play that is the rising star of fetishes. Many people I know are eager to explore it and find that the nature of puppy play fits their psychology, the kink blogs and podcasts I follow seem to be talking about puppy play to a great degree. I’m talking about this because a fetish I have long held now seems to be entering the up and coming category and recently swelling in fans. I talk of course about hypnosis.
Now the general populace I find tend to find have a vague, often misinformed understanding of the nature and limits of hypnosis. It is seen as a dark and near magical art, and very few people think it could be used for mutual sexual enjoyment. (I say mutual sexual enjoyment because online seems to be littered with adverts promising to teach other how to use hypnosis to pick up women and bed them. If this was possible I believe it would count as date-rape, however as I learned, someone can’t be made to do something they would consciously object to.) People tend to easily see how things like rope, paddles, floggers can fit into a sexual scenario but hypnosis is rarely ever placed in with them. The truth of the matter is this; the cliché of the mind being the biggest sex organ we have is true, and hypnosis is an incredible tool for stimulating it in many strange and fantastic ways.
My personal fetish for hypnosis and mind control has been something quite innate, as opposed to more recent fetishes I have gained from discovery. Like many people who early years had an oddly specific interest in seeing people tied up on TV or in stories and play, I always had an intense interest whenever hypnosis was used in the media I consumed. As I grew into an adult this grew to a full sexual fetish. Like much of my interests the basis is the power dynamic. It features someone submitting to another; however the nature of hypnosis takes this to a much higher and more intense degree. As I have discovered ways to explore this fetish I have found the fun people are able to have doesn’t all have to be based on power exchange, it can be a much more playful and light-hearted experience of sensory play. It came in incredibly useful when my partner and I were living long distance and A hypnotist I worked with gave us some verbal triggers to simulate certain *ahem* intimate sensations when my partner and I was chatting over Skype.

You’re getting curious…..you want to know more….

A lot of people claim that they don’t believe they can be hypnotised. This isn’t true as we all enter a hypnotic state multiple times a day. Don’t think you do? Well the just think for a moment, have you ever found your mind wandering off and daydreaming? Ever just sat in front of the TV to let you mind rest and just passively experience the program on TV? If the answer is yes then you have entered the mental state of a hypnotic trance. There is nothing special to it really, it’s no magical rare state and no one needs esoteric powers to put people in that state. All it is, put simply is letting your minds ability to critically analyse and examine information drop. Your brain goes into a passive state where your mind will just accept new information it is provided with. Don’t worry however, yourself preservation mechanism still works in this state, so if you’re in a hypnotic state no one can suggest to you to jump off a cliff or give out your bank details. Anything you morally opposed to, or if it’s a concept you naturally would be opposed to your mind won’t accept. Apart from that your mind will accept what it’s told. If you’re told you feel like your cold whenever you hear the word weasel, you brain will tell you you’re feeling cold.
This manipulation of your perception or your senses can lead to a lot of fun. Having trigger words or actions that set of reactions in a sub can be very fun, especially if the sub can’t remember what these triggers are, giving the Dom/hypnotist a lot of fun to play about with them. My early experience with a hypnotist was a very enjoyable session where he made me forget important information, such as my current address or my own name before returning that information to me. This was trippy at the time, but when he then asked me if I was sure that the name I could remember was really my own or one he had placed there, that was when it really got interesting. To quote Dr Frank N. Furter; “a mental mindfuck can be nice”.
As well as perception play and using triggers as tools in play another common desire I see amongst hypno fetishists is the desire for mental transformation. A lot of them are for things like getting into puppy headspace. A friend who in the past could never comfortably fit into a puppy persona despite wanting to do puppy play went to see a Dom with knowledge of hypnotism. After a session of hypnosis he reports he easily slipped into the mind-set of a puppy and had a deeply enjoyable time in that state. Other doms and subs like the idea of long term changes. A popular request is for a hypnotist to help change a person’s outlook and interests into that of more of a jock; to be obsessed with building a muscular body and to have over masculine behaviour. Many hypnotists are quite happy to comply with this; the subject gets help for filling their desired goal and the hypnotists seem to take enjoyment out of changing a person and being able to nurture a positive change in someone.
AS mentioned previously my own experiences have been great, for the most part. I started with a wonderful ‘tist who lives in Brighton. He has been great to work with as he was very informative and able to answer a lot of the questions both I and my partner had at the time. As mentioned before he placed a few triggers for my other half to use over Skype or telephone whilst we had been living apart long distance. I have worked with one or two hypnotists since then and enjoyed the kind of fun of having my perception played about with in small, entertaining ways. I have also run into one or two assholes along the way. This brings me to the point we must come to in any discussion about fetishes and kink play: Safety.

.you’re getting the urge to stay safe sane and consensual…..

Now as I said before. Your self-preservation and innate senses of right and wrong will protect you whilst you are under hypnosis, but that doesn't mean there aren't people that won’t try and overstep boundaries, often in some more subtle ways. I had a session fairly recently with someone who tried to implant suggestions that I would feel a greater sense of trust with him which, as the greater trust you have in some means you tend to be more receptive to suggestions from them. This of course made me feel uneasy and brought me out of trance. He then proceeded to try and get me to only want to work with him as a sol hypnotist and agree to things whilst he thought I was under his influence. Needless to say I haven’t worked with him again. The whole unethical behaviour of the session made me feel very freaked out. Unfortunately, as with any kink or power exchange play, there are people who will try and use the vulnerable positions people put themselves in for play in unethical or horrible ways. So what can be done? My advice is to take the same precautions that you would use with any kink play. Firstly draw up a list of hard and soft limits for yourself. It helps a great deal to clearly define your own boundary’s in your own head. Next, when trying hypnotism out with someone, don’t rush into things. Always, always have a discussion to clearly define boundaries and things that make you uncomfortable.
This is just as much about helping out the hypnotist as yourself. Things are better when all parties involved know where they stand. I have heard many examples of subs becoming upset after telling the hypnotist they are ‘up for anything’ and then freaking out later when a ‘tist crossed a personal boundary they never thought to mention to the hypnotist they were playing with. Also get to know a person before playing with them. Take some time to have a few conversations with them to get a feel for them as a person. Lastly, if you listen to pre-recorded hypnotic tapes, skip the induction and listen to it once while fully conscious to see if someone hasn't put some unlisted, malicious suggestions.

.and on the count of five, you will be awake and ready for more.

If you follow these guidelines you should be safe to go ahead and enjoy all the new avenues hypnosis play can offer you. I do suggest that everyone try it once to explore what possibilities can be opened up by playing with your perception, I’m sure you will be amazed. To fall back onto a cliché I have avoided for this entire article; the brain can be the greatest sex organ.
For further information on this subject I recommend the No Safeword podcasts episodes guest starring the professional erotic hypnotist Neil:
And for your own exploration feel free to visit the following sites: