AshDoge TF

The answer is different for everyone and the type of hypnosis induction which is best suited to bringing you down into trance will vary according to the way your mind works. A body scan relaxation induction might bore the heck out of some people, but sink others into pure bliss – while a confusion induction will drag some subjects down before they know what hit them – but may leave others wondering what grammatically-challenged nonsense they’re listening to. Step 1 is always to try to establish what sort of subject you are, then seek out an induction that works for you – usually through trial and error!

Practice makes, well… better – no one is perfect. Like anything, hypnosis is a skill – one that both the hypnotist and the subject must work on. From the perspective of the subject, you will need to become familiar with the feeling of trance – allowing your mind to open up to it over time, thus beginning to comprehend whatever unique properties it may hold for you. One of the best ways to achieve this is to ‘play along’ initially, remaining active and participating in the trance. You can do this by picturing what the hypnotist describes and allowing your imagination to ‘pretend’, or perhaps even simply by repeating the suggestions in your head. Over time, you might begin to notice you aren’t really just pretending any more.

It is helpful to set aside judgment and try not to 1) ‘force’ it, or 2) check whether it’s happening. Focus on the feelings in your mind and body, but gently let go of the voice that asks “is this what it’s supposed to feel like?” That voice keeps you connected to your conscious self-evaluation and will hinder your ability to go into trance, much like wondering “when am I going to fall asleep?” while laying in bed might not be the quickest way to drift off.

Looping fractionation files can help by giving you an opportunity to ‘practice’ going under, as fractionation at its core is simply training your mind to transition into trance more easily. Even those who aren’t blessed with a natural ability to descend into trance can reach similar states with perseverance, positivity and conditioning. Don’t be discouraged if things don’t work straight away. It will only make it more satisfying when you eventually feel that ‘real’ drop. And of course, when you feel yourself drop once – it becomes easier the next time… and it’s easy to see how you might begin to drop deeper and deeper every time. How fun.

Post-hypnotic suggestions, or ‘triggers’ are so-called because they trigger an associated state, behavior or sensation etc. This means, in order for a trigger to work well, your subconscious needs to anchor the desired effect with a unique action, phrase or event. Typically, this is achieved via repetition of the trigger during trance while creating and linking a sufficiently powerful experience or notion of the desired effect. This is where active participation can help by allowing your mind to become immersed and follow suggestions during trance, you can create a powerful experience that you will be able to draw upon while awake.

Ultimately, you can think of a well-functioning trigger operating similarly to a reflex – like blinking when you see something flying toward your eye. It just happens, because your body knows how to respond instinctively. The only difference is that this ‘instinct’ is learned through suggestion, repetition and reinforcement, until it becomes a habit. Of course, hypnotic triggers – especially the fun ones – can often set up unexpected behaviors, which might seem confusing. If you’ve ever experienced a malfunction of one of those habitual actions – like putting the yogurt pot in the bin instead of the lid, then maybe you know how it might feel to respond to a hypnotic trigger.

Triggers can be incredibly effective, especially when reinforced with regular use, and this is why there are usually ‘safeties’ put in place, to limit their scope. For example, if I wanted you to bark like a dog whenever you hear the word Speak… and I do… then I would probably also mention that it will only work when someone you trust uses the trigger, in a safe place. But maybe you trust the guy trying to sell you the home cinema system with seven Speak-er surround sound? Luckily, most subjects are able to maintain a good deal of agency, and their subconscious will easily discern whether the context is appropriate for the trigger to work or not.

You can, assuming you are still able to get restful sleep simultaneously, and you may find you can develop some familiarity with the hypnotist’s voice – you may even find it soothing to listen to hypnotic language and begin to associate the feeling of relaxation with the idea of hypnosis in this way. However, it is unlikely you will enter into a trance state while sleeping, because the two states are very different.

The state of trance might be best described as “arousal of the subconscious or unconscious”, requiring focused attention from that part of your mind, whether directed at an automatic process, a habitual routine or perhaps even a hypnotist’s suggestions. Clearly then, this is very different to the sleep state, where the mind is not engaged and any attention is directed inward.

If your mind is not engaged and actively participating or ‘playing along’ with the trance, many of the intended effects will likely be lost. The classic command that hypnotists give for their subject to ‘sleep’ is only figurative – evocative of the state of relaxation that promotes trance, but not to be taken literally!

Popular culture and mainstream media do a fantastic job of making people think that hypnosis is: 1) a panacea and/or 2) magic. It’s neither. It’s really just guided meditation which exploits common psychological traits to invoke focused thought patterns that bypass our inherent critical factor. Problem is – common as they are – these psychological traits aren’t shared by everyone to the same extent, hence the need for different types of inductions. So, my first tip is an obvious one: lower your expectations and be kind to yourself – it may take a lot of practice to get results worthy of the stage shows we have come to expect.

Even with plenty of practice – some people’s brains just aren’t wired to respond in the ways that are beneficial to experiencing hypnotic trance. But all isn’t lost… In these situations, we can revert to the one thing that [nearly] every living creature responds to in some way or form – catalogueing cause and effect, i.e. conditioning. It’s how we learn, it’s a prerequisite for cognitive and behavioral development, and it’s also ‘the hard way‘ when it comes to hypnosis. But it works. So… a thousand beats around the bush later. My second tip will sound familiar: allow yourself to play along at the start.

Consider the two basic options along this axis: 1) Assume it either works on you or doesn’t and hence – don’t play along. If it didn’t work for you – then it just doesn’t work, right? Or you’re just not compatible as a subject, yeah? Over time… repeated perceptions of failure (either blaming yourself or attributed to the quality of the hypnosis) will condition you to expect failure.

OR 2) Perhaps enter with some healthy skepticism about the efficacy of hypnosis, but at least play along. This could be by visualizing effects, repeating suggestions in your head, reflecting on what felt good afterwards – or whatever else. Then over time… repeatedly treating it as a positive experience and training your mind to focus on the suggestions by playing along will, that’s right, condition you to naturally focus and feel the effects.

My final tip is a riposte to the other prevalent idea in mainstream media: that hypnosis is scary, because it can control people’s minds. You should always trust in the power of your own agency as a subject. Your mind is your own and you always have the power to stop any trance and reject any suggestion if it does not fit comfortably within your morality or limits. Furthermore, your mind is elastic and will always be able to recover from any suggestion if given time. Therefore, while it is important to have respect for your mental health and choose carefully who or what you allow into your mind while in trance, any fear or difficulty lowering you guard that may accompany the idea of entering trance should not be something you arbitrarily allow to hold you back.

‘Maybe’. That’s probably the most accurate answer. That, or perhaps ‘no’. Permanent effects, whether we’re talking about personality play, habitual changes or long-term post-hypnotic suggestions/triggers, are never truly permanent – because your mind is always capable of change. The fact that an effect was even achieved to begin with disproves its permanence. However, it is true that many effects can become as-good-as permanent, due to numerous factors. Perhaps a suggestion complemented your existing goals and desires, or maybe it spoke to a subconscious imperative you were barely aware of, or maybe it is anchored to a behavior you’ll be repeating constantly – therefore reinforcing the effect over and over.

So what does this mean if you feel anxious about trying out ‘permanent’ or ‘curse’ hypnosis files? Well, as always – as an individual subject, with agency and sole power over and insight into your own mind, you are the best person to determine whether you feel able to try this kind of hypnosis. If you feel that you are particularly suggestible, or you have any mental health concerns and worry about the potential negative impact of a suggestion on your ability to function, then you should pay attention to your instincts and be cautious in your approach. This doesn’t mean ruling out ‘permanent’ hypnosis altogether though, as any effects are only likely to take hold with repeated listens, which gives you the opportunity to monitor and assess your progress.

Of course, it also helps if you are aware of some of the safeguards that your subconscious naturally adopts to protect you from harm – and the ways that you can take advantage of these. One such safeguard is often considered a barrier by hypnotists, which tells you everything you need to know about how useful of a defense it can be – and this is subject ecology. The morality, belief systems and desires you hold consciously, are also held – to a greater or lesser extent – by your subconscious. If a suggestion conflicts with these, then your subconscious will simply reject it, or potentially modify it – accepting those puzzle pieces which seem to fit most easily within the jigsaw of your mind.

Therefore, you can be assured that your subconscious is usually not a powerless thrall in servitude to the hypnotist’s words, but rather a discerning customer – browsing their hypnotic wares and deciding what to buy and display on the shelf at home. As a subject, you can also take advantage of this – in the case of files, by choosing to read a hypnosis script first to prime yourself for any suggestions which you do not feel comfortable with. Maybe noting that you will reject that suggestion when you hear it – or, even better, focusing on your interpretation of it – to ensure you accept it in the way that’s most beneficial for you. For example, if the suggestion is“you will be my simple pet dog from now on”, but you’re painfully aware you need to earn money and remember words other than ‘woof’, you could choose to interpret this as “you will easily enter this trance state when you listen to my voice and act like my pet dog from now on”. You don’t need to give up the job and accept your life on all fours (unless you want to). Just view it as a relationship you share with that voice – one which will exist within you and you can choose to easily revisit, but still only existing within that context. Your subconscious should find this to be a welcome compromise.

All of this said, there are hypnotic techniques and methods which exist specifically to break down your resistance and install malicious effects into your mind. I won’t go into detail for this answer, but clearly anything that seeks to explicitly attack your sense of self, especially with auto-reinforcing mechanisms or the creation of alternate personalities or entities which may threaten mental stability, should be avoided by most subjects.