Observations of telepathy in an hypnotic state.

By Michael Peace.

I grew up in a small town and was always interested in the powers of the mind. My interests involved learning all I could about hypnosis, and in my High School Psychology class, I demonstrated one of these mental powers -- instant memory -- to my class.

I hypnotized 6 people at once, then picked out the best subject of the group. I asked her to page through a magazine from the cover to about page 60. Then, without her seeing the magazine, I held it up to the class while I asked her to describe what she saw on page 26. She accurately identified the three pictures on the page, and the headline. She repeated the task for 3 other pages. The class was amazed and I got straight A's in Psychology.

By the time I was about nineteen years old, I had hypnotized almost everyone in my small town of my age group. There are ways of speeding up the hypnosis process for "second time" subjects. That is to say, once someone has been hypnotized you can give them a post-hypnotic suggestion. An example would be, "Whenever I say the secret word..., you will fall immediately asleep and in my control." This was very cool. But I had to remember everyone's secret word and be careful not to say it when that person was present. If I did say their special word, they would collapse wherever they were.

One of my best subjects had the word "ecstasy" as her special control word. She said it was her favorite word. We worked together on testing ESP while under hypnosis. To do this, I placed her into a very deep sleep, then told her that the next command that I would give her would not be verbal, but telepathically sent to her. She was to respond by doing what she thought I was telling her to do.

The first test.

She sat motionless in her chair as I thought the words, "stand up". Almost a minute had passed and nothing was happening. I said, "All right, just relax and we'll try this again."

"I want you to do the first thing that enters your mind. I will not say anything more until you respond to my thought." She slumped deeper into the chair, as I continued to think, "Stand up." Then, to my complete shock, she quickly stood up. "Very good," I said. I was amazed. Then I thought ,"How special is that? She is sitting on a chair, what else could she do but stand up?" She was still standing as I continued thinking the next command. "Walk to the door and touch the door knob and then come back to the chair." I pictured her movement in my mind as I thought of saying the sentence over and over. Within 20 seconds, she began walking to the door. Her eyes were closed, but she walked directly to the door as if she were able to see. She raised her hand to touch the door knob, then abruptly stopped.

Mentally, I'm not sure where I was in all the excitement, but I know I had lost the train of thought that was sending her to the door. Now she was frozen with her hand directly out in front of her just inches from the door knob. She stayed like that for maybe 3 or 4 minutes. I held my breath and tried to send the message again. She lowered her hand and sat down on the floor. I thought, "Okay. It's not a complete success -- but not a failure either. "

I found that you cannot push ESP or hypnotic events. You cannot make anyone do something that they don't want to do, and most people do not want to feel stupid or ridiculed. Stage hypnosis does just that. It can be very embarrassing to a person when they realize what the hypnotist had them doing in front of a room of laughing people. (But that's another story. ) Anyway, we continued our experiments over the next few months with increasing success. Sherry, the subject, was able to accurately identify the first three commands I sent to her telepathically, no matter how complicated. Then she would consistently fail on the fourth attempt. This may have been a pattern that she developed, or it could have been something to do with my abilities to "send" messages. In any case I would not try to push her to get the fourth command.

A Witness to ESP

I was at a gas station talking to Dale, the attendant, who had heard about some of the things I had been doing with hypnosis around our town. I mentioned that I was working with Sherry on ESP and described some of the successful trials we were having. Dale wouldn't believe in such nonsense. His mind didn't accept what he could not see. As I was trying to assure him that it was true, Sherry walked out of the local restaurant directly across from the gas station. "Isn't that Sherry?" Dale asked. "Yes it is," I said. "Okay, show me something," Dale insisted. Sherry had already passed, but was within ear shot. I yelled out "ecstasy!" At that very moment, she stopped and sat down on the sidewalk. I ran over to her and asked her if she wouldn't mind demonstrating her powers of ESP. She shook her head no. I had her get up and come with me back to the gas station. I asked Dale to write three or four commands on a sheet of paper and explained that I would send them to her telepathically. Dale thought for some time and came up with four fairly complicated commands.

Utter amazement ensued.

I took the paper from Dale and suggested that Sherry listen for the telepathic commands. Sherry immediately got up from her chair, picked up a pen from the desk in front of her and wrote the word 'DALE' in large letters on his desk blotter. Dale was amazed and tried to see if there was anyway she might have been looking at the paper I was holding. She received the suggestion completely and accurately.

When Sherry is hypnotized, she keeps here eyes closed, only opening them for short moments to get her bearings. Now for the next command... I concentrated on Dale's instructions. Sherry walked to a shelf of products, grabbed a can of Shell oil, and placed it on Dale's desk. I looked at Dale. His mouth dropped to the floor. I was standing about 20 feet away from her and the writing was very small. Dale realized that there was no way that she could have seen the paper through her closed eyes -- much less read dales horrible handwriting. Heck, I could hardly read it up close! On the next command, Sherry walked into the back repair area and brought back Dale's empty coffee cup. All of these actions were performed as if I had read them aloud to her. The last one was the simplest command, but I knew she wouldn't get it. She was just supposed to take the change on the desk to the cash register and leave it there, but Sherry just sat down in her chair.

It then occurred to me that maybe I wasn't sending the last message as well as the first three because I knew she wouldn't get it. None the less, this demonstration quickly became the talk of the town, and everyone was asking for repeat performances. I was willing, but Sherry didn't seem to have the same interest anymore. Looking back now, I guess I don't blame her. I was anxious to prove that ESP exists and could be magnified using hypnosis, but Sherry had no intention of being a guinea pig on display. That was the very thing I disliked about stage hypnosis.

 

 
Frequently Asked Questions about hypnosis...

Can you make someone do something they would not morally want to do?

This is a real gray area. Most hypnotists will tell you, "You will not do anything that goes against your own will or moral background." However, when you are under hypnosis, the hypnotist is speaking to your subconscious mind. The subconscious does not have a very good sense of reason. When you dream, you may flap your arms and fly. This may seem odd but not impossible to your subconscious. If a hypnotist can convince you that you are in a shower with all your clothes on, you may well take your clothes off in front of a whole crowd of onlookers. Never completely trust anyone who is going to be controlling your dreams!

How long does a post-hypnotic suggestion last?

This actually depends on the suggestion and how it is used. When I give the suggestion using a secret word to re-hypnotize a person, it could last for years, depending on the person being able to remember who I am. Some suggestions like those I use to have someone quit smoking will wear off in a couple days to a couple weeks. This is because if the person is a heavy smoker, he or she will be bringing the suggestion into play every time he/she wants a cigarette. The more a suggestion is activated the sooner it fails. That is why in some cases the individual needs to return to have a posthypnotic suggestion reinforced.

Can we be hypnotized without knowing it or consenting to it?

Yes. I will not give details as to how this is done because too many unethical people may want to know the answers.

Do you have any warnings to those wanting to be hypnotized?

Always check out the hypnotist. Make sure he/she is ethical and truly cares about his subjects. Being a member of the various hypnotists societies is helpful, but there are devious people everywhere. Make sure that even your oral surgeon is trustworthy. One of the safest things you can do is bring along a friend with you. Any ethical hypnotist will not mind and will make your friend comfortable while he waits.

Is it possible to learn to hypnotize yourself?

Yes. Hypnotism is a very natural phenomenon. Highway hypnosis does occur. There are many ways an methods to bring yourself into a hypnotic state. The problem is, once you are there, your subconscious is in control and very is easily distracted. If you have an agenda in mind, don't count on your subconscious to know anything about it. Hypnosis tapes with posthypnotic suggestions to quit smoking, loose weight, remove tension and almost any other need someone may have are available and are fairly effective.

The good thing about tapes is that you can skip through an safely listen to a tape the first time by not following the instructions on the tape. If the speaker on the tape tells you to sit comfortably with your hands in your lap, stand up and walk around. This way you can listen and get an idea what the final outcome is. If you hear the mention of overthrowing the government, to buy more Wheaties or anything else on the tape that just doesn't hit you right, don't use it.

How can I learn more about Hypnosis?

There are many books on the subject of hypnosis in your local library. Anyone can learn to do it but it does take a great deal of patience to start. There are also a great deal of do's and don'ts. Learn these ethical standards above all else and act with common sense, love and understanding. Practice, practice and practice... and always remind yourself that peoples minds are not toys to be played with.

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