Life of Brian

QT's Diary

Fun to read . . . QT's Diary . . . real or not, some interesting tidbits.

Masters of the Pillow

Noy Thrupkaew takes a look at the Ronin of Raunch, Darrell Hamamoto, a professor turned adult filmmaker who decries a lack of Asian men in American adult entertainment . . . seeing a consipiracy by White supremacists . . . who has gone so far as to attempt to create a correction in Masters of the Pillow . When looking at the original essay theat started it all and Ms. Thrupkaew's analysis, one is reminded that those who decry the negative stereotypes regarding Asian-American penis size and the like are themselves trapped in the same thought-sinkhole. Of course, this view is also common here in Asia. There are other more positive ways to address the issue without the paranoia.

BOP-C

BOP-C is an interesting attempt to apply some of the work of Wilhelm Reich on contemporary politics. Not quite the Reichian ideas I would suggest in this situation, but interesting nonetheless.

AWOL . . . Brian off living his life

I am posting this from beautiful Hong Kong where my family will be spending the next week or so . . . enjoying this wonderful city and visiting family and friends (my wife is from Hong Kong so we've got an agenda all setup). I will post once in a while but don't expect daily updates.

Step Aside, Travolta, Scientology Has A New Face Man

Tom Cruise has opened up to Rolling Stone about his love-slash-obession with Scientology . . . complete with railing against psychiatry and psychology. The nifty thing about all that stuff is that while Hubbard talked about hypnosis as being a bad thing and that his followers should never go to therapists other than the church, he was a hypnotist back in the day when his writing was still considered science fiction by most. He and the Church of Christ Scientist founder had a lot in common.

Cruise is now changing his image and his life . . . current career choices seem similar to recent life choices, challenging what was before and some would say mixed identy crises and self-destruction. There are some definate mixed signals in the interview.

Economic Indicators . . . Miniskirts Going Micro, Sunny Days Ahead

One of the traditional indicators that the economy is on an upswing has is showing that Japan is in recovery . . . as microminiskirts are becoming more popular. While there has never been a proven causal link, the length of women's hemlines has often correlated well to economic prosperity. The longer the length of dresses, the poorer the economy while shorter dresses have almost always been in fashion during times of economic prosperity. The WaiWai article speculates on some of the reasons for the correlation but I wonder why some government economic planner hasn't come to the conclusion that he can stimulate economic growth by artificially manipulating women's fashion. I say, mandate the wearing of superbrief microminiskirts for a few years and see how that stimulates economic growth. It's an economic experiment worthy of pursuing. None of this trickle-down or stimulate-up stuff, let's get right to the nanoskirt . . . a hightech ultramodern dress so short that it is barely distinguishable from a pretty waistline belt of ultrafine glittery fishing line perhaps with pretty colored lights that flash off and on in different colors . . . now, that's economic policy planning!

Quite Possibly One of the Most Important Books Ever Published

An Insider's Guide to Robert Anton Wilson by Eric Wagner is on deck and waiting to be read, or devoured as the case may be. I got a heads up on this book from Kevin Dilmore, an important author in his own right who I would strongly encourage anyone and everyone to read. Kevin and I have known each other for years upon years upon years and have greatly enjoyed making Robert Anton Wilson references in the presence of others with that secret thrill when one shares a deep and meaningful secret with another while in the oblivious presence of others. Wilson is very very important. His ideas are very much worth the read and anyone interested in critical theory should be bathing in his words. Whenever anyone asks me who my favorite author is, Robert Anton Wilson is it . . . it's now a knee-jerk reaction to just spit out his name along with a rather interesting trigger-response conditioned sort of joy at being reminded of his pieces. If you are one of the folks unfamiliar with Wilson, I should point out that while you may not know of the guy, you no doubt have read novels, seen movies, or listened to music heavily inspired by him. There are allusions to his work all over the place. Folks from economics to neuorlinguistic programming to hypnosis to literature to critical theory to social dynamics to space travel quote and allude to him often and repeatedly. The guy is basically a kaptain prolific in more fields of endeavor than most humans should be allowed to work in. I have read and loved his work since I was a high school kid . . . yes, long ago when dinosaurs walked the Earth . . . and still get a thrill of anticipation when a rumor is floated that a new piece is coming out. I imprinted my rather powerful fixation on big-breasted redheads while recovering from major surgery and reading his Schrodinger's Cat series (the orignal printings). I like to think of my wife as my own Miss Mao as well (no, Mao as in cat, not the other way). Wilson is as important as an author can become and still be a secret from the general populace. If you haven't read him, don't you think it's about time you should?

Pornography is Good for You

A recent study in Australia has found that in many ways pornography is good for you. Thank you, sir, may I have another!

"The surprising finding was that pornography is actually good for you in many ways," Dr McKee said. "When you look at people who are using it in everyday life, over 90 per cent report it has had a very positive effect." Dr McKee said porn users reported it had taught them "to be more relaxed about their sexuality" and marriages were healthier, while porn made people think about another person's pleasure and made them less judgmental about body shapes.

Okay, I'll buy into that one . . . albeit the conclusions posted in the news account are a bit more simplistic than the actual study would warrant. However, it is clear that the folks who oppose porn with the over-simplistic assumption that they must protect children by eliminating all access to porn or that porn is harmful to adults are just pissing into the wind. In appropriate contexts, adult entertainment is healthy and worthwhile . . . it's also a basic human need that stretches back to the dawn of mankind. The folks who are censoring are focusing in the wrong arena. Legalizing is a more effective way to control access by children.

World's Worst Superhero Costumes

Uh . . . I object. Some of these World's Worst Superhero Costumes are actually quite nifty. Some are incredibly suckful and others you forgive. Oh, btw, I collected Dazzler appearances and she is only half as lame as the site contends. Her power was not just colored lights, they were colored lights that dazzled! Yes, lame, but sometimes I have lame taste. Iron Fist was kool in the black and white original series too.

Micky Yanai's Helicopter

Micky Yanai is a Japanese adult video performer who has been around for awhile. He is one of the few such male performers who is known by name outside of Japan. Actually, most folks don't know him by name but a lot of them have seen a video clip of his most famous invention . . . the Helicopter F**k. Most definately not safe for work.

Like many adult performers, his testicles and penis have no hair . . . male performers will often scupt or shave their penis hair to give the impression of length . . . Micky's difference is that most performers in Japan don't do this and he doesn't shave, rather he plucked all the hair out with tweezers. That makes most guys tingle with sympathy pain just thinking about it. Ouch. The guy is either screwed up or really dedicated to his art and craft or both.

Either way, he is quite the bedroom athlete. Don't try this stuff at home, folks, Micky is a trained and highly skilled professional.

Loss

My sincere and heartfelt condolences to hypnotist, hypnoAsia member, and father, Hsu Ming on the most unfortunate loss of his daughter. He was in Athens helping an Olympic archer with hypnosis when he received the news and has cut the trip short. I am very sorry to hear of your loss. Our prayers are with you and your family in this time of need.

- Brian

Legal Hypnosis Myths

If you look at this case, you will find some myths about hypnosis that are still guiding legal decisions . . . and they are still wrong, law or not, they are myths:

"basic principle that, no matter how an offense is defined, the minimal requirement for criminal liability is conduct which includes a 'voluntary' act or omission. This excludes all 'involuntary' acts such as reflex actions, acts committed during hypnosis, epileptic [seizure], etc." . . . Commentary to Criminal Law Revision Commission Proposed Oregon Criminal Code, Final Draft and Report (July 1970), § 8. Other legislative history echos the commentary; committee minutes reveal that the minimum requirement for criminal culpability is that the person "must do something *** that he is able to do." Minutes, Senate Criminal Law and Procedure Committee, SB 40, February 17, 1971, p 9. Excluded from criminal liability are involuntary acts, such as reflexive acts, acts committed under hypnosis, or acts committed during an epileptic seizure. Id. . . . . The legislative history reveals the legislature's intent more clearly. Acts that occur when the actor is unconscious, while having a seizure, or that are reflexive do not result in criminal liability because the actor, on account of the seizure or the hypnosis, no longer possesses the ability to choose his or her actions; those actions are beyond the person's ability to control.

Sorry folks, but hypnosis may seem to be a state of complete mind control in the movies and in literature, but it just doesn't work that way. People are still responsible for the actions in hypnosis, same as any other state. Study after study has found that you can't be hypnotized to do something criminal or against your deeper moral values . . . just because stage hypnotists can indeed get folks to perform unusual stunts, these actions are done as part of the context of entertainment so the subjects know there is a context of playfulness and basic safety and non-seriousness. Take away the hypnotic context and they may not accept the very same suggestions. Sure, folks can use influence coupled with hypnosis to seduce or change beliefes or get behaviors to change . . . but if the hypnotic context is removed, those folks could still be influenced and would still be responsible for their actions.

Just because the law says it, doesn't make it so.

Don't get me wrong, there are powerful changework techniques that can come to bear and change beliefs and the like but the person is not going to be running around like a mindless automaton. The person is still responsible for accepting the suggestions. Hypnosis is not a failsafe excuse to do antisocial acts. Responsibility for committing such acts still lies within the individual committing them. If someone has consensual sex with a hypnotist, it is not because of the hypnosis alone . . . at some level, the subject wanted the sex to occur, assuming we're not talking about rape. If someone is hypnotized to steal or murder, it is not the hypnosis that causes the acceptance of such suggestions. Responsibility is still there. Just as . . . if someone chooses to stop smoking or lose weight with hypnosis, they have to choose to accept those suggestions and say "yes" to making those changes.

Just because some old law is still on the books that misidentifies what can be done with hypnosis, doesn't make it so.

Hypnotic Foamy

This is really rather cute . . . HYPNOTIC FOAMY . . . via HypnoFocus.

Fansign Fun

Fansign time.

A bit on the quirky fun side this time around. The large frame submission is here.

Thank you, Carrie!

Remember, send in your fansigns to Life of Brian by emailing photos to phillips@nccu.edu.tw. Be sure to include any "message" or "links" you would like included with the post in the gallery.

For those who don't know, the fansign base post which explains what fansigns are and how to send them in for this site is here. You can also see all of the past fansign posts by going to the category index here. You can also look at the full gallery with the multiple submissions here.

Have fun and please do . . . remember . . . send in your fansigns by emailing them to phillips@nccu.edu.tw. If you wish a linkback, I would be more than happy to include it. If not, then I won't. If you would like an autostereoscopic fansign in return, then I'll send one of those too. If you like, you send me one and I'll send you one. Use real photos though with real writing on the cards or body . . . the ones with text photoshopped in are okay but not as authentic.

Keep in mind, sexy + costume + partial nudity + quirky = FUN!

Here's the short list:

• 1. POST FANSIGNS - Read how to Post or Send a FanSign Photo to the Life of Brian FanSigns Gallery.
• 2. READ FANSIGNS - See all the FanSigns posted to Life of Brian in the fansign category section of this site.
• 3. VIEW FANSIGNS - See the full gallery of FanSigns in the official fansign gallery.
• 4. FANSIGNS BY BRIAN - See the gallery of FanSigns created by Brian David Phillips for others.
• 5. LISTEN TO THE FANSIGN TRANCE INDUCTION MP3 - Listen to either the Fansign or Fansign Extended MP3 recording which induces a trance and then gives you suggestions to create a fansign. The files are located in the Experimental Fun Recordings section. These recordings are intended to be good fun and was made by special request of a regular reader of the Life of Brian webpages.
• 6. SEND FANSIGNS - Email a FanSign

Enjoy.
- Brian

Learning Your ABCs

Hmmmm . . . what an interesting way to teach the alphabet . . . Learning Your ABCs!

Rock, Scissors, Paper . . . serious competition

Some people take competition a bit too serously . . . Rock, Paper, Scissors Fight.

Is This Art?

Internet sex addict show sets out to shock the Fringe . . . basically Tim Fountain's show is him going online at gaydar and finding some guy to meet - based upon the audience's votes - he sets up a meeting, goes out and meets the guy, has sex, and then comes back and tells the audience about it. The "date" is never aware he has been part of performance art. Tim claims to have had sex with over 5,000 men and one lesbian. I don't doubt his claim, given some surveys of gay swing lifestylers . . . but I do doubt the intelligence of the act. Come on, Tim, at least tell the guys what you're about and see if they're still interested. Many of them will still want to have sex with you and they'll think it's kind of neat you'll be talking about them. Some will even show up for the performance. If you don't tell them what you're about, then you're just as bad as those idiots in the high school jock's locker room with their kiss-and-tell lifestyle.

Comic World Taipei Seven

I submitted a full-frame non wobble version of this image to the 3D-StereoviewXchange.

Comic World Taipei 7 was held Father's Day, Aug 8, 2004 - the Chinese numbers 8-8 are homonyms for the Chinese word for Father "BaBa" - at National Taiwan University. We only went to the one day for a couple hours. I used my Canon Digital Rebel and the Loreo 3D-Lens-in-a-Cap attachment. I then batch processed the images that survived with Anabuilder. This image is of a couple girls in cosplay dressed like two of the female characters from the Dynasty Warriors videogame which is based upon the Romance of the Three Kingdoms classic Chinese novel. The rest of the images are in the gallery here.

Sharp Introduces 3-D Desktop Computer Display

Sharp introduces 3-D desktop computer display . . . they're taking the technology from their notebooks and putting them on a desktop LCD.

While the news of the notebook was very exciting . . . see this post for information and links to some worthwhile stereographic display sites . . . I never actually saw one of the suckers in any stores here. The folks who claimed my next display would be a 3D one were also way off the mark . . . sadly so.

Well, in any case a 3D LCD display may get things started a bit. The folks at Sharp are hoping to start some sort of revolution according to their press releases:

Hoping to spur a 3-D revolution, Sharp Systems of America introduced a new flat-panel computer display Monday that is designed to deliver eye-popping images without the need for special glasses.

Sharp and the other members of the 3D Consortium need to get off their butts and get some 3D stereodigicams out there now. Get young people taking stereographic photos and give them a display method then the revolution will get into full tilt.

And . . . I'm all for that revolution. For now, it's lonely out here in 3D Land.

Fansign

Another fansign.

Thank you, Mame!

Mentorship and Hypnosis Practice

Currently in discussion at HypnoAsia . . .

Actually, you have given me a very interesting idea. In the medical field, they typically work in teams for many operations.

Yes, but for most consulting work it is done one-on-one. In cases where a patient is seen by more than one physician, the junior doctors always defer to the senior.

This way, not only the young doctors learn from their more experienced colleagues, but also the senior doctors can keep an eye on their mistakes and make amends.

In most cases like this, the senior doctor does the consulting while the junior doctors are observing (typically interns). If a senior doctor asks a junior for his opinion, then the patient will wait to hear whether he is right or not from the senior (testing, not practicing). In most of these circumstances, the junior doctors are not seen as "real" doctors by the patients but as students learning their trade.

If the team is comprised of non-learning doctors then they almost always defer to one another's opinion in their specialty area (the team is made up of specialists who work together). In any case, there would be no correcting in front of a patient.

I wonder if it is a viable solution to the practicing scenario in our therapy practices. Would you care to share your view on this?

Personally, I believe that internships are a good idea . . . but not in the team consultation model. If a senior hypnotist meets with a client with juniors, the juniors would not be able to assert themselves in their own right but would be looking over their shoulders too much. Also, they would not be able to establish real hypnotic rappor with the client who would be wondering if they knew everything they need to know if a supervisor was present.

A better model is to have a team but to not have them present during sessions or meetings with clients. So, to the public, eash hypnotists working at the clinic is fully trained and competent . . . which is a good model anyway . . . have sessions videotaped and then later, the team can randomly pick videos for one another and go over them with the other members of the team. Peer mentoring but not monitoring.

If one wants less experienced folks to learn from those who have more experience then they can watch videos of the more experienced person, workshop with that hypnotist, and perhaps directly observe sessions with explicit explanations to the client that the observer is an intern and will keep his mouth shut and that all things in the therapy room are still covered by confidentiality.

However, some folks are just super uncomfortable with more than one person in the room when undergoing therapy. I would strongly suggest minimizing the stressors on the client as much as possible. Clients don't want to be educational gunea pigs, they want to get in, get the best therapy they can, and get out free, clear, and better for it.

A number of clinics that have more than one hypnotist do use a peer-mentoring system of viewing videos of sessions and giving ongoing feedback. Others in some communities will establish a mentoring relationship with their teacher or an older more-experienced hypnotist in their area and meet for coffee or the like twice a month or more or less and just go over questions and get advice. Still others, who are either uncomfortable with this sort of face-to-face relationship use email lists like this one (HypnoAsia) or my Hypnosis Technique Exchange or the Hypnosis-Hypnotherapy and Mindlist lists as a means to get feedback and ideas without a feeling of personal risk. Some teachers have their own lists where their students mentor with them or where they are the center of the list and others turn to them for advice or information while ostensibly open but still very much personality-centric which can make them problematic personality-cults for marketing purposes only when they go awry or they can be very very valuable and rich resources when done very well such as the Omnigrads and Marknosis lists. Regardless, some degree of mentoring is very very valuable and the idea that even folks who have been in the business for awhile can always learn new tricks and all of us, experienced or new to the whole shebang, could use someone to talk to and ask advice of at some point. It really depends upon how formalized you want the relationship to become.

When looking to the idea of interning or practical experience gathering before someone goes out into the world and meets with real live clients to do changework beyond the simple induction and suggestion, then supervised hours are a worthy goal. This will also depend upon what level of training a person has. Some training programs require a large degree of actual practice before certifying a person while others are quick courses about the subject with no real hands-on experience prior to certification. If a training program has a competence exam as a prerequisite to certification, then graduates of the program are likely to have better skills at the get-go than those that do not have written, oral, AND demonstrational exams as part of the certification process. Folks who come through programs without the benefit of all three testing strategies really need mentoring as they begin to practice (even those who do, could use it and support groups are very valuable - any organization worth its salt should have community building processes to engender mentoring or peer-mentoring of some sort). Folks who are aggresively self-taught may or may not have initial skill levels to get them started (some have more self-awareness of a need to learn than those who come from non-testing certification programs as some folks who go through those programs actually believe they know what they're doing when their programs are rather lacking).

Of course, I'm babbling anyway.

All the best,
Brian

Nipple Hypnosis

About a week ago, I received an email query from a regular reader here at Life of Brian. My answer may or may not interest other readers here . . . but I'm posting it anyway. Note that the processes I outline apply to women or men for nipples or anything else you decide to focus your mind upon.

Hi. I am a frequent reader of your blog and i find hypnosis very fascinating.

Thanks for stopping in! I appreciate knowing there are actual humans out there reading this thing other than the folks getting rather hot under the collar about Stairway to Heaven (don't get me wrong, I appreciate those folks to). Do keep in mind . . . I love fansigns . . . really, feel free to send 'em in.

I have listened to several of your guided imagery mp3s and find them very relaxing

I am glad you have found them helpful. I periodically add one or two to the free lists and am always thrilled to hear that someone has found them useful.

however my interest in hypnosis has taken an interesting turn. I have been trying to find a way to successfully either be hypnotised through AIM or through other files online from hypnotists.

Well, the DRTRC files will help get you started. If you're interested in online hypnosis, you might want to take a peek at the E-Hypnosis list (the "E" stands for erotic so it's right up your alley) which is associated to a Yahoo Chat group for folks to discuss and hook up for online hypnosis. My Hypnosis Technique Exchange has some information about chat-based hypnosis in the archives as well (both for spoken via microphone (which I would consider a surer way) and via text-based hypnosis which I've written about here at Life of Brian and elsewhere. You could also listen to the free MP3s by "Evil Mindwarp Guy" at Warp My Mind which are much more kinky and fetishistic compared to anything you will find on any of my sites, albeit he does have a few pieces that fit your described needs perfectly.

Mind you these are for semi-erotic purposes, but my main goal is to implant a suggestion that would make (and this is gonna sound wierd), my nipples an EXTREME erogenous zone the point of stimulation would cause me to climax. Short of hiring a hypnotist, how could i go about this. Thanks

Well . . . the first thing I would suggest doing is to hire a competent hypnotist. That really is the surest way to do this.

However, if you're out on that then the approaches above would help get you started. You might also consider using a text-to-speech hypnosis program like Virtual Hypnotist (the program is here and the discussion list is here which is software that lets you plug in your own script (or modify one from the discussion list archives) for whatever suggestions you like. The program then converts the text into sound so you can listen to a hypnotist's voice while watching a hypnotic spiral pattern. I don't really use anything like that so I can't vouch for it completely but I have seen a number of good responses from folks who do use it. Personally, since I'm a trained and qualified certified hypnotherapist and I'm really good at this stuff, I can create my own tapes and scripts if I like or just pop myself into self-hypnosis . . . or, I can just ask my wife to pop me into trance and do the trance dance thing on my brain.

Some other things you might like to do . . . look into simple anchoring, a process of associated conditioned response that is perfect for your needs . . . re-read some of the hypnosis-related posts I've made here and modify several of them to your needs. For instance, you really want to look at my essay on Nipple Buttons and think about how you can use that process for yourself as it has very obvious applications to your needs. The information on Erotic Post-Hypnotic Suggestions should prove useful. You can also use the information at Hypnosis for Increasing Erotic Sensitivity and Response. You should also consider the Elman procedure outlined here for your own needs along with a few others which you can find in the archives on this site.

You might also like to get started with a simple meditation process I call Nipple Meditation which I first posted to the web on 23 February 2002, oh so long ago, and originally wrote as a humorous response to someone's query about meditation and the soul but which when pared down to it's component parts is actually perfect for you needs. Read through it and DO THE PROCESS, don't just think about the process, really do it and imagine the responses fully and completely. Really get into it:

You can meditate and be very attached to your body, for instance . . . for the next few moments . . . humor me . . . breathe in deeply, all the way in, and with each deep breath feel yourself relaxing more and more. Now on the third deep breath close your eyes and allow yourself to feel as if you are floating . . . now concentrate with each deep breath on the way your nipples feel . . . that's right, your nipples, notice how they feel . . . with each deep breath in how they feel and notice a sensation . . . something very interesting happening to them . . . you will know what I mean when it happens . . . be ready for it . . . with each deep breath out, feel your body becoming more relaxed, really concentrate on letting yourself go even further loose limp and relaxed . . . deep breaths in . . . feel those nipples . . . deep breaths out . . . and really feel yourself going down, down down . . . do this for a few moments . . . twenty-three nipple breaths . . . and notice how good it feels, how attached to your body you feel . . . then open your eyes and continue reading . . . . . .

Nice. How do you feel? Do you feel like you left your body? Or, do you feel like you were really getting inside those nipples and letting that sensation grow? Was your soul wandering around the etheric plane? Or, were you just sitting around thinking about your nipples? Either way, all you were doing was Nipple Meditation . . . the secret art of the grand masters of nipple manipulation. Now that you've given that a go, it's time to graduate . . . sit or lie down and do the same thing except instead of feeling the interesting sensations in your nipples, concentrate on your penis (or clitoris for the ladies) and see what sort of sensations arise and what kind of feelings come up during the experience . . . then imagine you are connecting the erotic feelings from one part of your body to another, say from your clitoris or penis to your nipples and really actively imagine the connection is there . . . then try to tell me that you're not attached to your body when meditating. :-)

Relax, don't fret about it, you will be okay.

That really should help quite a bit towards getting you started . . . particularly if you combine it with using the triggers from the DRTRC set or some other conditioning series.

I hope you have found this helpful. Please write back and let us know how things go.

All the best,
Brian

Women Have Less Sex Today than Their Grandmothers Did

Depressing news when you think about it. We often assume and like to delude ourselves that we're sexually more aware and open than our uptight grandparents. However, that may not be the case. The proof is in th pudding and our pudding's pretty cold when compared to days of yore. According to a new survey, we had more sex in the 50s. Housewives of the 1950s reported on average having sex twice a week. Today, two-thirds of housewives do NOT have sex even that much. They have more responsibility, work outside of the home, and television is now on past ten o'clock in the evening. Now, to me, twice a week sounds like a very dry spell . . . a sexual drought akin to the Sahara or the like . . . so when I hear that that many folks are not having sex even to that miniscule degree, it makes me wonder . . . what the hell are you people doing? Stop doing that and start making love . . . and if you can't make love then at least have sex. I can't imagine having a longterm relationship where one's intimacy was expressed sexually to such an insignificant degree. No wonder marital dissociation is at an all-time high as are divorce rates.

Missing the Boat on Parenting

Former porn star wins custody . . . she gets custody of her child as long as she never makes another movie? Whether she makes movies or not has nothing to do with parenting skills. Whether her film life interferes with taking proper care of her child is a much more important matter. If she can go to work, do the job, and then be there for her child then what job she does is not so relevant. It's not as if she would be making movies in front of the child . . . in that case, then not getting custody might make some sense. Of course, there are those who disagree . . . let 'em . . . the judge obviously did . . . but he is in a position where his prejudices can do more harm than good.

Hypnotic Progression, Future Life Progression, and Parallel Life Connection

I am crossposting this from the Hypnosis Technique Exchange after having been offline for a number of days (we had been thinking about switching ISPs so one thing led to another and we made the switch earlier than we had originally anticipated . . . this does mean some good things within the next couple months).

Anyhow . . . recently, on Hypno Taiwan there was some discussion about a fuss at the NGH Taiwan Chapter discussion groups which has been described by one participant in the discussion as a controversy around one leading NGH member who he says has claimed she can use hypnosis to guide people to see the future, to see their own death or the death of a spouse, or any other future event.  This is supposedly not an imagined future but the "real" future or actual visions of what is to come.  Well, having checked with friends who do frequent the NGH Taiwan discussion boards (I am a member, but I cannot read the Chinese posts), the boards have been alive of late with quite a bit of bickering and anonymous attacks at one another (look for changes in how the boards allow posting very soon to help combat this).  In my understanding, the arguing is partly based upon issues and partly based upon simple turf wars as more folks have been certified as trainers while others have been respected in the past but are finding their own market share shrinking and so some folks who should know better are battling it out to be king expert on the hill.  Don't get me wrong, I am just describing it.  I do not participate in it as my own market share is rather niche oriented right now.  Eventually, the NGH will have to deal with those issues within its ranks or face dissatisfaction and organizational level splits . . . problems not unique to my area of the globe.

Be that as it may . . . the really interesting issue is the current excuse for all that bickering . . . it has been described as an NLP Timeline method but really, as it has been described, it is more to do with New Age Hypnosis than NLP.

This is called Progression or Age Progression.  It is basically a reverse idea of standard Regression or Age Regression therapy (which is a technique I am rather positive on).  It is a simple method to use and works on the level of metaphor.  There are also folks who work with Future Life Progression (the flip-side of Past Life Regression) where you progress a person to a future lifetime where the problem resides.  I believe that these are most usefully considered metaphoric techniques.  However, there are a number of folks who use them and teach them as "real" methods for "real" experiences.  This is very spurious as there currently is no objective convincing proof that the experience is real . . . albeit, if one does simple close-to-present progressions, one could actually test the results by recording events, comparing the projected events to the ones that actually occur but even then we have to take into account the phenomenon of self-fulfilling prophecy.  However, as it is often used, just like with Past Life Regression, we enter the area of faith rather than therapy.  If used as a metaphor for unconscious energies, it can be very helpful.  To discuss it as real, we cross over into faith and spiritual beliefs which can never really be disputed one way or another as it's beyond the ken of science.  We cross into Spiritualism rather than hypnotic craft . . . and that is okay to some degree . . . as hypnotists, we should be using the client's frame of reference as appropriate anyway.

Don't get me wrong, there's NOTHING wrong with using hypnosis as an adjunct to spiritual belief and practice.  I use it for that quite a bit.  However, I prefer to keep my spiritual beliefs within the spiritual realm and not to project them onto the reality or beliefs of others.  Just as I do not want folks projecting their religious ideas onto my life, craft, or science.  I certainly understand that while I may find it useful and helpful to periodically have discourse with my animal spirit guides (Wolf and Bear to anyone who is curious) or to travel in noncorporeal form to the Temples of Eris Discordia in astral journeys that are very real in context of my spiritual experience, that even though the experience for me is very very real, it doesn't mean it is an objectively real experience that is true for everyone.  The actual process is non-spiritual and can be discussed and understood free from any spiritual baggage so that those of different faiths can adapt and apply it to their own needs.  You keep your deep trance identification with the guy in agony nailed to a tree to yourself and I will keep my Dionysian raptures to myself but we can still discuss what the common process is to get to the experiences.

Since I don't know the specifics of the original discussion which was referenced, I can't respond beyond saying that some folks use progression  as metaphor and they find it helpful in reframing energy paths and some folks say it's all factual and real which I BELIEVE is more phantasy and confabulation than what is objectively demonstrable.  That is, of course, my personal bias, so I find rather than getting into the level of bias, we should look at the techniques and see what they can actually yield.

The method is very easy.  I find it an interesting "idea" but am skeptical of the so-called science associated with it by many practitioners.  It is certainly quite "interesting."

Age Progression or Progression can be quite helpful in cases where someone is quite concerned about or in dread of a future event (presentation, interview, marriage, whatever) to the point that a lot of negative energy gets locked into it . . . self-fulfilling prophecies start occurring . . . so a progression to the event and freeing up the energy by associating positive outcomes and emotions to it can be very very worthwhile.  Nothing new age or spiritualist to it at all.  Simple positive work on a person's timeline.

Most folks I know of who use Progression, Future Life Progression, or Parallel Life Connections couch it in the idea that there are possible frequencies for the future so that there are possiblities beyond what you see within the session.  Most will progress to the key event which serves as the metaphor for where the energy associated with the problem is trapped.  They run that sequence and unblock the energy by then taking the person back to the present where they use "higher knowledge" type ideas to change the frequency (or, choices) so that a new more positive outcome occurs and then runs the person through that new better sequence where the negative energy has been replaced.  The key is to then lock that new positive sequence in.  It's not really the same thing as Timeline as it is usually taught, but there are enough similarities (although, I certainly haven't read everything on the subject and won't be reading certain authors at all).

For those who are in Taipei, if you go to Page One bookstore in Taipei 101, they carry a book that outlines the method (written by a NGH member) . . . New Age Hypnosis (or click on the link to get it at Amazon).  The book is written by Dr. Bruce Goldberg (the same guy was featured on an episode of Penn & Teller's Bullshit program in an episode on alien abduction hypnotherapy and currently claims many alien abductions are actually cases of people being abducted by people from the future . . . cue Twilight Zone music . . . P&T were not kind to him at all (as they often aren't to their subjects) . . . I have found the book to be difficult reading as I find SO MUCH that I disagree with, but I am pushing on with it as I have found a couple bits that I find new and interesting and probably worth adapting to my own needs and uses - compartmentalize what you read and use what you can whild disregarding what you can't).  If you can get through all the faulty thinking and very often just plain weird belief systems that have nothing to do with hypnosis, the technique is very easy to use but I BELIEVE the new age gobbledygook that colors it is just that . . . gobbledygook.

If you've never done progression work, it is worth giving a go . . . particularly when working with someone in somnambulism, with all the bells and whistles of vivication where everything feels "full-on real" . . . perhaps for experimental or recreational reasons.  I am wary of using the method for therapy as I find other techniques much more valid and useful for me.  Before I saw the post that sent me off on this, I was thinking of doing a playful experimental session on new age techniques of that type for my experimental workshop (Taipei Experimental Hypnosis Workshop). Now that I have seen the post and thought about it a bit, I most definitely will do a session on it.

Some folks concerned with the technique worry of dangers that a client may see the imagined future as locked in as something that truly is and has to happen.  This is only possible if the client sees it as a locked-in scenario with no positive outs.  However, as metaphor it can be useful.  An interesting note is that there are some Amerinidian cultures for whom many young warriors will go on a spirit journey which includes facing one's death.  The understanding being that by seeing one's death, one is freed from worrying about it.  Personally, I'd rather keep my death distant . . . but then, if that is the case, doesn't it mean it has power over us?  There was a discussion of this sort of visualization exericise - pros and cons - on the Marknosis yahoogroup fairy recently so it can easily be found in the archives there.

This idea of feeling locked into a negative future and then taking very rash and very negative actions to escape summons up images of the recent film Minority Report for some.  I think we do need to keep in mind that there is a difference between fact and fantasy.  Minority Report was an interesting film (many of Philip K. Dick's novels and short stories deal with the nature of reality and of ethical responsibility with the expansion of identity and the understanding of the soul . . . albeit the films are never quite what the original stories were . . . see the films and the original literary pieces for Minority Report, Paycheck , and Bladerunner).

While a few hypnotists on the Taiwan boards have said that progression techniques are fine for recreation or experimentation but unethical for therapy, I don't buy the argument.  If they're okay for experimentation, then they're okay to be used with clients . . . the key is how you use them and that they should be couched in language and context that make them appropriate and maximize the good for the client.  This isn't just true of age progression, future life progression, or parallel lives progression but of all techniques.  We should be playful and open in our discovery and experimentation as well as respectful and ethically resourceful.  Techniques are clean of ethical baggage or context sensitivity.  Any technique can be used safely and with good results in any context – educational, recreational, entertainment, or therapeutically.  The test is in the serving, not in the pudding.

Often progression techniques do not lock into one future as critics may suggest.  Rather, they build upon the idea that there are possible futures and allowing the client to choose one that does not have negativity attached to it . . . to jump from one track to another.  The key is to expend the trapped energy by sending the person into a new path - with appropriate resources - that resonates with positive energy.  You help them lock into a positive future with real benefits and without negative action (so the idea of someone killing his wife is only fantasy as the technique is used to find good alternatives and the like - perhaps having the strength to leave an abusive spouse or, better yet, to communicate openly and fix whatever is broken, or something else that leaves a positive outcome for everyone).  You don't just visualize the future and then leave it at that.

Interestingly, at least one of the critics of the technique stated that he knew it would not work as he had been trying it for years to see the lottery numbers with no success.  He needs to read up about energy systems, synchronicity, and abundance manifestation.  He'll get better results if his visualizations are positive rather than simply greedy.  He then goes on to say that the method is unethical and so no one should use it with clients . . . even though it does not work.  I am certain it was not intended to seem this way but . . . to me, this really looks like "I have been trying to do this but can't get it right so if you can do it you must be lying. besides it's unethical."

At this point, it really is NOT an ethical question.  It is only a question of "real" versus "phantasy" and how useful it is for therapy or life.  The ethics come in when you discuss how it is used with clients . . . a bunch of folks trying to convince themselves that they can see lottery numbers is a utilitarian question, one that is rather spurious at that as the ethics involved are aimed at these self-same hypnotists who criticize others for the unlikely event of putting a fictional client at risk with the intent of helping the client when they attempt the same method in order to gain unfair advantage in the lottery (yes, looking at the numbers in the future would be cheating) . . . of course, here in Taiwan, hundreds of folks go to temple every week here in order to pray to the gods for the numbers as well . . . asking their gods to cheat for them too.  Hmmm.  Mr. Pot says, "Hello, Kettle, you look Black today."

Perhaps these folks would do just as well to read Richard Matheson's Somewhere in Time and start using hypnosis to physically travel through time to plunder for locations of secret treasures and the like or to find lost loves among their ancestors . . . but they would do very well to read the last chapter very carefully . . . the chapter that does not appear in the movie.  The same author wrote Stir of Echoes so perhaps these folks will want to use hypnosis to see ghosts and the like as well.

Literature, fiction, is kool.  I love fiction.  I teach literature.  However, fiction is not the same as reality.  Just because a novelist says it's so, that does not mean it is.  Fiction and fantasy are not the same as real, hypnosis or not, and we shouldn't be hypnotizing ourselves or our subjects to believe it isn't.  Playing around with a construct but understanding it is fantasy is fine, but keep it that way.  In my opinion.  If we're not sure if it's fact or fiction, then get objective data and don't rely on subjective experience.  I've had folks sitting in my "hypnosis chair" with baby purple fairy dragons resting in the palms of their hands that they could see and feel with all senses completely and as real.  A person from Missouri might be convinced (the "show me State") but I know that our experience of reality is affected very powerfully by suggestion.  We need other proof than testimonial evidence.

It may or may not be real.  The caveat is always there.  We cannot prove a negative.  There could always be an exception.  Now, the thing is . . . can enough people do it that it can be reliably reproduced by others, and if so, then how?

Perhaps there really is a way to peer across the real void . . . hmmm.  Objective tests are simple enough to design for this.  They're also simple enough to cheat.  See Steve Shaw's notes on the time he was being studied by academics as a real psyhcic.  He was certified by reputable researchers as the real deal.  When they found out he was working with the Amazing Randi to expose faulty testing and the like, they didn't appreciate the help.  Steve now works under the name Banachek and his psychokinetic time effect is still used by many so-called psychics to fool others (Banachek exposes frauds while working as a real mentalist and entertainer, some of his psychological effects are wonderful - professional entertainment hypnotists would do well to see his material, like material by Derren Brown there is quite a bit of psychological force involved with the trickery - those interested in such combinations of NLP, waking suggestion, and magic should also definately check out Kenton Kenppers material on the subject).

I am told that a vocal proponent of the belief that hypnotic future progressions are real time-travel events, states that as a true NLPer, she believes that anything is possible, and she pities skeptics for their lack of imagination and close-minded attitude.  Hmmm.  Even NLP has limits in this regard.  Being open minded, does NOT mean being gullible.  Being suggestible is not the same as being ingenuous.  However, being open-minded does mean giving something a go to see what happens and to be open to new results when doing so.

In any case, it is certainly an interesting technique . . . reality or fantasy.  Well worth a play-with or few.

All the best,
Brian