So, for a bit of context, I have been both writing inductions over text and improvising them over call with my friends for a while now. Recently, I tried my hand at writing a script to be read out loud. I was working with a subject I had already given some triggers to before hand, but wanted it to be general enough that even without that context it could be effective. This induction is an edited version of that script meant to be read as a text post rather than spoken. Its a very simple relaxation induction with very basic suggestions, no complex or particularly entertaining triggers here yet, but I think you'll still have fun with it. Enjoy!
CW: Hypnotic language, word repetition, suggestion for trigger instillation, block text.
Being hypnotized, even when you're out of practice, is such an easy pattern to fall into. Let your breath come easily, in... and out. In... and out. Repeating again and again. So simple, so natural. Each breath driving your attention to another part of your body. Relaxing yourself from one point out. In... and out. In... and out. You can feel it. It comes in through your nose and sinks down, into your lungs. That calming breath, reaching every part of your body. Sinking down, pulling the stress from your shoulders, sinking down your arms, into your hands, your fingers. Sinking down, helping you relax your core muscles. Sinking down, allowing that tension in your spine to flow out. Sinking down, letting your legs go limp and lax. Sinking down, down, down, that feeling of calm driving everything else out. In... and out. In... and out. Each breath another wave of calm, another wave of relaxation. One of the wonderful parts of sinking down, deeper and deeper down again is how eventually it seems that thoughts just stop. The calm of each breath, of each word sinks down into your body, leaving the outside world unimportant around you . Some people describe it as empty, some people describe it as quiet. We can describe it as blank. Blank comes easily, naturally, when you allow the calm to bring you down, down, down. When there is nothing to do but follow along with your eyes. But we can bring the feeling of blank even when you are up. The feeling of the world simplifying, of your mind supplying nothing new but more calm as you breath in... and out. In... and out. No words need to come from that calm, no difficulty can reach you. That is the feeling of blank. And again and again, you can find yourself becoming blank just when I ask. No thoughts as you become blank, no worries as you blank, no memories as you blank. For a moment, everything is simple and calm. Everything is blank. Even when you are awake you can experience what its like to blank. Going back and remembering my words in the right context can help everything become simple, become easy, become blank. A moment, and then you're back. But you can always become blank again, letting the thoughts filter out as everything goes quiet. It's easy, now, to float in that nice simple feeling. In that calm blankness, letting each breath carry you along. So I will allow you to stay in this state for as long as you'd like. And when you decide to move on, to keep scrolling or to change tasks, you’ll remember only that you've done very well.
This is something I have referred to often in the various posts on trance techniques over the years so let me offer a brief outline of what I mean by it now.
(note: This is centered on text trancing as it is my most commonly used and most comfortable format but I have found the principles of this very effective in voice trancing too)
------ What (is this) and Why (should I care)? ------
This is a technique that will greatly help your induction - it is advice for hypnotists. Anybody who is in any way serious about real (as opposed to roleplay) hypnosis should care about holding a subject's attention properly so you can draw them into deeper states of trance.
It is not possible to induce someone by giving them a paragraph to read. It can also be jarring, however, to hit a subject repeatedly with too many separate lines of text.
A word of caution; this is going to be getting into the minutia of text-based inductions. Unless you are properly interested in the nitty gritty of hypnotic inductions, it will be, I expect, insufferably dull.
You have been warned.
------------ How does it work? ------------
A sentence break, as the name might suggest, is a sentence that is broken somewhere in the middle.
For example;
- Tell me about the last time
- you remember being hypnotised
This post will be examining that small couplet as an example, across a three dimensions; cadence, hook, and framing.
1. Cadence
First, and of some significance, you will notice that this couplet simply feels quite different to the same sentence given in full.
Compare how it sounds in your mind to read;
- Tell me about the last time you remember being hypnotised.
and note how differently it feels to read;
- Tell me about the last time
- you remember being hypnotised
There is a difference, isn't there? Even without the benefit of actually being able to insert a small pause between those lines, it still feels different.
Though the words are precisely the same and grammatically the two are identical, the latter conveys something the former doesn't. In fact, it conveys something normal text always struggles to convey - rythym.
I don't find much time or inclination to write poetry anymore but studying poetry, and being more mindful of how words simply feel, particularly how they feel together, is something which every hypnotist should be mindful.
It carries a kind of .. breath, maybe.. or even just a slight pause that would be almost imperceptible in normal conversation.
- Tell me about the last time
.. a small pause..
- you remember being hypnotised
Of course this blog post, by it's nature, cannot convey this point perfectly well but I trust it isn't difficult to sense how leaving a second or two between each of those lines creates a sense of ease, a kind of spaciousness and simplicity that putting them together does not. Comparatively, one long sentence can feel somehow cluttered and fastidious in a way that is antithetical to relaxation.
Comparably,
- Breathe in for six seconds, hold it for four and then breathe out for eight.
is a line which, I confess, I have used in my earlier days. It isn't terrible, but it's not as clear, not as simple, and not nearly as comfortable as
- Breathe in
...
- and breathe out.
This way of structuring 'breathe in and breathe out' is, I suspect, how most tists first encounter the value of sentence breaking but not many seem to carry it much further than that, which is a shame.
But it remains a perfectly good example of how breaking sentences functions to cultivate a more normal, more natural feeling to text and there is no reason for it to stop there.
2. Hook
Let's let ourselves notice what happens internally, when we see the line all together
- Tell me about the last time you remember being hypnotised
So what happens? How do you feel on reading that?
'Ok I guess I can do that. If you want me to and if I am in the mood and I feel like playing along. I can choose to tell you about the last time I was hypnotised. Eh maybe I will pick the time I went to ... '
Something like that. You gave an instruction. They received the instruction and they now have something of a job to do. They have to think about how they might accomplish it and then go about accomplishing it. They are chosing if and how to do that.
They are choosing. They are in control.
Now pay attention
- Tell me about the last time
Right here, in this moment, after that first line, how do you feel?
Well, you feel sort of ... paused, don't you?
Right here, in this moment you would normally not even really be thinking much of anything ... because you're waiting.
All of human interaction is intricately structured around recognising those moments when you are expected to speak and react and those moments when you are not. You can and should leverage that structure when inducing someone.
When the subject is waiting on the hypnotist to finish the sentence, they can't reply until you do. They are not thinking about doing anything until you do. They are not thinking. They are waiting.
The locus of activity has shifted from 'me and what I might say and what I might do' to being fully attentive on the hypnotist, eyes open, vacantly attentive.
It is only for a moment of course (and man-handling that moment poorly and letting it run on doesn't just flush the magic but replaces it with annoyance) but a moment of putting the subject into an open, attentive state is.. certainly a step in the right direction.
The more they find themselves in that state the more normal it becomes. And I should hope the implications of that are obvious.
3. Framing
This one maybe a little more fun so we can consider it a treat for all the perverts who bothered to read down thus far.
Breaking our one sentence into two half sentences creates a kind of temporal duality.
- Tell me about the last time
- you remember being hypnotised
is both one sentence and two, even if only for a moment. The spacing and physical appearance of those lines is understood as both a single sentence over two lines and also two things being said.
Look at that second one.
When you break up a sentence like that, it creates an opportunity to frame a a sentence all on it's own. A sentence which, on it's own, would not be acceptable.
As much as you may want the subject to bring back to mind that warm feeling of sinking down into trance, simply stating...
- You remember being hypnotised.
... would sound odd. Too odd, in fact. It wouldn't feel like a conversation anymore. It would feel more like someone is trying some kind of janky induction technique. The whole point here is to be able to slip some quiet suggestions into the subject's mind without their noticing. Janky is not what you want.
But that same suggestion embedded neatly in the base of
- Tell me about the last time
- you remember being hypnotised
sounds natural and normal, insignificant and unnoticeable. Insignificant and unnoticeable is the opposite of janky and it is precisely what we are looking for.
A slightly sexier example of this, might be
- So, sarah
- tell me a little about why
- you want to be hypnotised
And by now, I think, you should be able to see it clearly.
Again, stating outright the line
- you want to be hypnotised
in a normal conversation is... well, you may as well be swinging a pocket-watch and waggling your fingers. It's so crude and overt a suggestion that the incompetence is a little tickling.
But because of the cadence, because of the hanging-waiting sensation that's created at the point of every gap, the sequence
- So, sarah
- tell me a little about why
- you want to be hypnotised
contains exactly the same suggestion, but now it is all but invisible. It doesn't even sound like a suggestion. It sounds like the end of the sentence. Because it's both.
In summary, consciously and smoothly breaking sentences allows you to say, straight to your subjects face, the words
"- you want to be hypnotised"
And they will accept them without so much as batting an eye-lid.
------------ So now what? ------------
There is still quite a bit to say about this that I would like to get into but I think I had better pause there. I strongly recommend beginning to break sentences in innocuous contexts for a while first - learn to find the places it is comfortable and natural to break them, until it becomes more natural to you.
If the first time you do it, you have framed out 'you are going deeper' it may stand out garishly and may create an uncomfortable vibe for the rest of the trance so... go easy.
And other than that, as always, practice, practice, practise...
Have fun geeks.
Anything can be an induction if you're brave enough!
No but think about it. That's what's so great about hypnosis! Being able to experiment. Taking objects or ideas and seeing what works in terms of putting someone into a trance state.
For those just starting out or even those who have experience with different induction styles and practices, I think it's fun to just find something in your environment and use it to take someone's thoughts away.
During downtimes, I'll find a random object in the room and try to make an induction out of it. Sometimes they'll see the light of day, others probably shouldn't (I have a mean Mickey Mouse impression induction). But other times it's just good to get those muscles moving. Being able to weave words from things you wouldn't have thought to be trancey before can help you gain experience with hypnotic language.
Of course, there's the challenge aspect too, and who doesn't like a challenge?
As an example, I went to a random object generator website and my first result was "purse". So here's my go at it~
Even if you don't have one yourself, it's safe to say everyone knows at least one person who owns a purse.
They come in different shapes sizes, the straps can be different... different kinds of designs and styles. Some have zippers, some don't. others remain open.
Among all of these differences though, is they're all designed to hold things, right? All of these purses are meant to carry as little or as much as we can fit in them.
Wallets, gum, makeup, tissues, pens... whatever it may be.
And with these differences and this similarity, I'm sure whether you yourself own a purse or know someone who does, you have one pictured in your mind right now. And if not, picture it for me.
Have the design in your mind's eye. The size, the shape, the color... whether there are zippers or not. The purse of course, filled. With a wallet, gum, makeup, tissues, and a pen.
Because that's the common theme, isn't it? People tend to have their purses filled, often times unable to find what they're looking for. Unable to remember where they put things.
There's hardly a moment in the day to day where the purse is empty.
It's time now, however, to clear the clutter.
It's time now to remove the belongings. One by one, until the purse is empty.
We'll take our time, sifting through to ensure we don't miss anything, sorting through to make sure that every single item gets removed.
We'll remove the wallet first, arguably the biggest of items. You can already feel the difference that makes, with all of that new space.
But we still have four more items to go. Still so much more room to make.
Let's remove the gum next. A smaller item, but still. Feeling the heaviness lift as it's removed.
And with three items left, we can now take the makeup away, adding to that lightness. Feel how much more emptiness there is as we continue to create space.
And as we remove the second item, those tissues being pulled from the purse, more of that clutter is cleared.
One last item. Only a pen remaining until the purse is completely empty. Until we've cleared the space completely.
And you've noticed it already, haven't you? The purse being so prominent in your mind, you've felt your thoughts being removed as we've cleared the items away.
You've felt your mind getting lighter as the purse becomes lighter.
And with one more item to go, that one little pen left, that must mean you're on the precipice of being completely empty. Just like that purse is.
Well let's not keep you waiting too long, shall we?
Let's remove that pen from the purse. Completely removing the clutter and clearing the space.
And you can rest and relax here for a moment, knowing how well you've done to clear the clutter.
Making both it, and you...
Empty.
Feeling how nice it is to feel your mind so light, void of content.
Very good.
But it's time now, to put our items back in the purse. To restore your thoughts once more.
We'll take our time, organizing and ensuring everything is properly stored for future use.
Seeing the purse in your mind, and taking a nice, deep breath for me now.
We'll start with the pen, finding the perfect place for our first item as we begin our ascension.
Once in its proper place, we can move on to item number two, the tissues. Setting them in the place they fit best, feeling your thoughts start to gently return.
The makeup easily falling into place as our third item, helping to increase your awareness as you continue to rise.
Our fourth item, the gum, is next. With the rest of the items being so perfectly placed, it's easy to find the spot where the gum fits best.
And our fifth item, the wallet gently falls into place. And as the purse is filled again, organized and just as we like, feel the contents of your mind completely restored and wake for me.
‐----
Whether you dropped or not, I hope you enjoyed! And I hope this gives you confidence and/or inspiration to try out your own different types of silly or unique induction styles. Yes, hypnosis is hot (I mean, obviously), but finding the different ways to pave the road into mindlessness can be just as fun as the destination if you set your mind to it~
