Life of Brian

Hypnotic Scripts that Work

Hypnotic Scripts that Work by John Cerbone is a worthwhile addition to a hypnotist's collection of resources.  Basically, this is a script book, however, unlike many such books, Cebone goes the extra distance and makes it very clear to readers that before using his scripts (and there are a LOT of them in this tome) they should read through them and adapt the language and suggestions to their own needs.

Cerbone has provided hypnotists with example scripts that fit a very wide range of hypnotherapy issues.

For me, I love scripts but never use them in my work.  Rather, as I encourage my students and others, I look at scripts as models of how to apply a particular process to a certain situation and then I look for the underlying process beneath the language so that I can then apply that process to a wide number of situations.  Cebone's book is a very nice resource for just such an approach.

You can order the book directly from John Cerbone's webpages (complete with a CD with all the scripts in pdf format ready to print individually) or get it here.  You can also find it showcased at the Experiential Hypnosis Bookstore in both the reviews and selected categories.

All the best,
Brian

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Brian David Phillips, PhD, CH [phillips@nccu.edu.tw]
Certified Hypnotherapist
President, Society of Experiential Trance
Associate Professor, NCCU, Taipei, Taiwan
http://www.BrianDavidPhillips.com

Bookstore Now Online

We've added a bookstore to our webpages.  You can go directly there via the pages at http://astore.amazon.com/shakespeareeclec or just click on the bookstore link in the sidebars here or at our main pages at http://www.briandavidphillips.com for convenient access.

Not a lot there right now, but we will be adding new products and categories over time (I probably will just have the one bookstore for all of my interests instead of several small stores for different sites and just expand the categories).

It will be easier to keep everything under one roof that way.

If there's something you feel I really must list that's available from Amazon, the let me know and I'll consider adding it).  I will likely material sent to us for a reveiwer here in a category here and in the bookstore as well so it's easier for folks to access.

All the best,
Brian

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Brian David Phillips, PhD, CH [phillips@nccu.edu.tw]
Certified Hypnotherapist
President, Society of Experiential Trance
Associate Professor, NCCU, Taipei, Taiwan
http://www.BrianDavidPhillips.com

Suggestiive Suggestions . . .. . . practical Couples Hypnosis . . .. . . still time to sign up!

Can you really influence emotional responses in others through suggestion?  Is Suggestive Suggestion something that can be used to link external stimuli to internal emotional or physical responses?  Yes.  As we've seen before in discussions here, we can easily work with individuals for Linking Hypnotic Responsiveness to Pleasure Responses and that works very well as we have discussed On Hypnosis and Extreme Pleasure Sensations.

What about groups? Can the same processes and techniques be used with larger groups. Yes. The following clip is a preview of just such a mass hypnosis program in which fifty girls were hypnotized. Just as in the previous video in this thread of essays, one of the demonstrations is that senses in one area can be transferred to another through suggestion and that automatic response can be built in through posthypnotic suggestion. The use of mass suggestion for pleasure response is also demonstrated as well as posthypnotic conditioning for automatic response patterns - in other words, the girls have an erotic emotional reactiona and begin stripping at the sound of certain music. There is no nudity in this video but the material is adult in nature . . .

If the embedded player software does not begin streaming the video, then right click and click on the "about" links to install the latest shockwave or flash on your system.

We'll be covering these processes and many others in the Couples Hypnosis course I am teaching in Taipei this September but the video is of enough general interest I thought I would share it here. Obviously, you could use the same setup for non-erotic contexts as well (see the "magic finger" episode of my hypnocast for a video example of a process that does something like that).

The Couples Hypnosis seminar (Sept. 23-24) is my course on Hypnosis and Trance Techniques for Enhancing Romance and Intensifying Intimacy and is for consenting adults only.  It's two full days of intensive material on the subject.  You are encouraged to sign up with a practice partner.  Couplese are preferred but singles are welcome.  Those who take advantage of the couple's discount will be given additional homework to be fulfilled between classes. Obviously, due to the particular nature of the material, all students in the course must be adults.  This is a one-of-a-kind course on material that is rarely taught in an open seminar.

Participants who complete this course and meet all other eligibility requirements are qualified to take the examination for a Specialization Certificate in Eros Hypnosis from the Society of Experiential Trance.

The video demonstration used with this piece is from E Onna A Onna Two (in Chinese, the series is known as E Nu A Nu or E Woman A Woman) and the girls consist of volunteers mixed from everyday life and girls in the adult business.  There are three episodes in the series (numbers two and three are available in many night markets in Taipei although the first episode is more difficult to find). The shows are a lot of fun.  I never could find episode one of the series.  The same company, Soft On Demand (SOD) in Tokyo, just released a mega video (non-hypnotic) with the same setup and hostess of five hundred people having sex at the same time as someone calls out positions (an epic testament to Japanese communal social style).

I noticed that in episode two there are some girls who do not strip completely during the initial mass nude scenes (they are in the back and obviously uncomfortable being nude).  Evidently they vetted volunteers a bit differently for the third episode as everyone strips.

The E Onna A Onna series seems to be a hardcore variation of a late night adult television show A Onna E Onna which had a number of episodes with hypnosis with the same hypnotist, Wataru, who did the Gilgamesh Nights show years ago.  There are some short clips from those shows on my youtube at Meiguolangren at Youtube which give you an idea of the programs.

The hypnotists in the E Onna A Onna hardcore mass hypnosis series are MickyB and Syou.  Some of you may recognize the guy giving suggestions in the clips as the same hypnotist in the Psychedelic Fuck series (I have three of those and they are rather interesting bits as well) which I used as discussion points in the posts referenced at the beginning of this post.  I am teaching the Couples Hypnosis: Trance Techniques for Enhancing Romance and Intensifying Intimacy course in September in order to actually cover these effects and how to do them in a variety of contexts ranging from hypnotherapy to straightforward recreational intimate relations.  There is no nudity in this clip but it does have the same transference of sensation effect.  The series is interesting and has a premise of introducing the "star" to hypnosis by having her come on set while a session is being conducted with another girl.

MickyB was also in the King of Mesmerism series which showcased a different erotic hypnotist in each episode although my favorite hypnotist from that series was Red who has done some amazing solo work as well.  I believe MickyB may also have been in the King of Mesmerism Special Challenge program which has nine hypnotists competing with one another to run a brief sexual hypnosis stage show with nine girls with hypnotist giving out challenges to one another on which girl to work with individually and what sort of group effects to do.  Typically in Japanese hypnosis videos, some will show their faces and others will hide behind masks . . . personally, I have much more respect for hypnotists who show their faces as my belief is that if you are ashamed to be doing it then don't do it or at least don't stand on screen.  The challenge video is interesting but a number of the hypnotists are not very skilled - the judges actually gave the win to a couple guys who were obviously outclasses by some of the losers but who seemed to have won because they gave the girls the suggestion to rub their naked bodies against the judges.  Sheesh.  One guy in the competition was just horrible, reading a script from a piece of paper while another was disqualified (not sure what he did as they cut the offence from the video).

While you can read more about this fascinating and wonderful form of hypnosis in the Erotic and Sexual Hypnosis category of Life of Brian, you really will get much further along through guided insruction and practical experience that the Couples Hypnosis seminar will bring.  However, time is limited so you need to sign up early to reserve your place.

Completion of the Couples Hypnosis: Trance Techniques for Enhancing Romance and Intensifying Intimacy course this September 23-24 qualifies those who meet all other eligibility requirements to take the competence examination for a Specialization Certificate in Eros Hypnosis from the Society of Experiential Trance.

For more information about the Couples Hypnosis course and other upcoming courses, see the "classes and training" section of the webpages at http://www.BrianDavidPhillips.com . . . the course is taught in English with Chinese interpretation for those who need it.

All the best,
Brian

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STAGE, PERFORMANCE, ENTERTAINMENT HYPNOSIS - Sept. 4-8, 2006COUPLES HYPNOSIS - Sept. 23-24, 2006SPEED HYPNOSIS - Nov. 18-19, 2006And MORE! See "training" at http://www.BrianDavidPhillips.com for details!

Brian David Phillips, PhD, CH [phillips@nccu.edu.tw]
Certified Hypnotherapist
President, Society of Experiential Trance
Associate Professor, NCCU, Taipei, Taiwan
http://www.BrianDavidPhillips.com

hypnosis video review . . . . . . Strange Variety Special . . .. . . . . . masked hypnotist strange program

This is just plain weird . . . truly weird . . . not sure if it's a good weird or just a plain ol' everyday "that's f*cked" kind of weird, but weird it is.

This DVD of the Strange Variety Special is of interested in erotic hypnosis and stage hypnotis and perhaps those interested in very oddball Japanese undergroundish adult television late night entertainment. This was a live broadcast originally and comes off as very over the top and very very amateurish production values all the way. The environment feels as if what one would come up with if a bunch of playful yet technically unskilled university students with sophomoric ideas about sexuality and humor might come up with if they were given some equipment and a time slot to produce a television program with naked ladies.

The hostesses wear street clothes - skirts - with their tops pulled up to expose their breasts the whole time. Every once in awhile one of the girls needs to re-adjust her top as it falls down so she hikes it back up. The rest of their demeanor is straight as if they neither notice nor acknowledge their seminudity, robbing the context of any sensuality . . . which in itself would make an interesting point towards the nature of sexuality but that is not their point as they seem to think nudity alone is enough for erotic response and it's not.

They have a couple groups of volunteers, women from all walks of life and a variety of ages. The hypnotist comes out and does pretty standard stage induction and some straightforward suggestibility demonstrations. All pretty standard fare except that the is yet another of those goofy hypnotists who don't want to show their face in the program as they don't want their vanilla lives to be associated with adult entertainment but really want to be doing the adult work so they wear masks. This isn't just any mask, he's wearing one of those hooded affairs that we most powerfully associate with Mexican Professional Wrestling . . . albeit, the hoods have now been imported into the Japanese Professional Wrestling circuit so the local television viewing public no doubt made that connection.

Either way, it's incredibly silly looking and does not engender awe or respect. It merely trivializes the context . . . which given some of the suggestions may make sense.

As far as hypnotists go, he's okay, not the greatest I've seen and certainly not up to the calibre of some of the better programs of this type. Solid but no particular flair. . . albeit much better than a few of the American programs of this type who some of the fans consider to be strong hypnotists (when really they're just guys going through the motions with no real skills or knowledge).

Some of the individual girls are interesting and the group bit where the hypnotist suggests that the girls strip and then forget where their clothes are is pretty funny as they rush around looking for clothes they don't remember taking off.

The Strange Variety Special is an intriguing piece and well worth seeing as long as one keeps in mind the limitations of the program . . . still far ahead of some of the other pieces out there getting good press . . . but . . . keep the caveats in mind and enjoy it for what it is and not for what it could have been . . . for those with an interest in such things as erotica and hypnosis, it is a keeper. Of course, if you want to learn how to do this sort of thing on your own, be sure to sign up for my courses on Couples Hypnosis for Sensuality and Romance in February and the Stage Hypnosis course in June! See http://www.briandavidphillips.com for details!

All the best,
Brian

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See "training" at http://www.briandavidphillips.com for details!

Brian David Phillips, PhD, CH [phillips@nccu.edu.tw]
Certified Hypnotherapist
Associate Professor, NCCU, Taipei, Taiwan
http://www.briandavidphillips.com

hypnosis video review . . .. . . King of Mesmerism Competition . . .. . . . . . hypnotists in erotic hypnosis tournament

This is not a typical competition. For one thing, hypnotists don't normally have competitions . . . not like the various magician's groups that have this or that king or master or grand champion of magic . . . hypnotists tend to leave each other alone or compete in the market place rather than on stage as a bona fide head to head hypnotic battle . . . not stage hypnotists, and certainly not erotic hypnotists . . . and certainly not erotic stage hypnotists.

However, that's exactly what this video purports to do.

Nine hypnotists have competed in preliminary rounds to hypnotically win spots to hypnotically battle it out for the championship.

In all fairness, some of these guys are really good hypnotists . . . we're talking real skills. Some of them . . . well . . . to put it mildly . . . suck . . . not just a little suck we're talking full on raging hard suck. While most of the guys in the competition do seem to know their way around a swinging pendulum, and a few are obviously masters at the craft . . . a couple couldn't hypnotize their way out of a pre-moistened tissue paper bag in the rain.

Now, it is still an interesting competition.

They have nine ladies who have volunteered - it looks like some of the lady volunteers have been supplied by the hypnotists themselves as well, what with the backstage goings on - lined up in chairs and each hypnotist takes his turn to do a full induction on the group then some group erotic hypnosis effects followed by some individual bits with one or two girls good naturedly selected by the opponents either because of responsiveness or unresponsiveness depending upon the charity or playfullness of the group.

Some of these guys are of the "I am a real hypnosit and I don't want to show my face on camera doing this naughty stuff so I will wear a silly mask" ilk which I just don't get. If you're too ashamed to show your face doing adult work, then don't do the work! My motto is that if you can't look your mother square in the eye and tell her you've done this or that, then don't do it. If you can tell your mother that you're doing it without shame then screw the rest of the world because if it's okay with your mom then the planet doens't matter all that much. Of course, we've had this issue before in the stage hypnosis category so look up my big ol' essay on owning up there.

One hypnotist who seems to be styling himself as a doctor who obviously sucks, comes in with notes on a sheet that he reads from . . . yes, he is reading his induction and his hypnogags . . . not even on notecards, he's using handwritten scratchings on notepaper . . . sheesh . . . not sure what the hell he does which is considered and infraction as it's cut from the footage. We are going into his mundane bit and suddenly there is a cut and he's standing there ashamed and the MC is chastizing him for breaking the rules and he is disqualified.

The two best hypnotists don't actually advance to the finals, they have excellent hypnotic technique and manage the committee of ladies very well during the group bit.

The two guys who advance to the final round suck . . . they really do . . . the only reasons I can think for them to advance are any of the following (1) the contest is rigged and they are predetermined to be the winners, (2) the judges are idiots, and (3) they both told one or three girls to strip naked and rub their naked nude no-clothes but really hot and horny bodies against the judges who are so obviously excited to get that sort of attention.

The final round is for each of the hypnotists to hypnotize a porn star into having sex with a stunt penis guy brought in for the occassion. Sorry, but that really isn't an indication of hypnotic skill . . . porn stars will have sex with some guy if you pay them so you don't really need any hypnosis in the experience. The do a bit with the situation to enhance it but not really anything of value or particularly worthwhile. Folks who take my couples hypnosis course on intimate romance and sensuality hypnosis will actually learn to do so very much more than what these guys could come up with. (that's a plug for the course, see my webpages for the blurbs and more information - but sign up now as the seats are limited and the early bird special expires very soon).

Even though the final round sucks . . . pun . . . in more ways than one, the program is still worth seeing for the initial bits as it is interesting to compare personalities and techniques of different hypnotists for this sort of context in what is truly a unique way.

Actually, I think it would be nice to organize a similar event . . . one with some of the American erotic hypnotist out there (and myself, of course) and put 'em all head to head with a pack of ladies and see what comes of it all. Hmmm. Maybe an International Erotic Hypnosis Cup . . . hmmmmmm.

All the best,
Brian

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Practical Approaches to Metaphysical Hypnosis - Feb. 6-10, 2006
Romance and Sensuality Hypnosis - Feb. 13-17, 2006
See "training" at http://www.briandavidphillips.com for details!

Brian David Phillips, PhD, CH [phillips@nccu.edu.tw]
Certified Hypnotherapist
Associate Professor, NCCU, Taipei, Taiwan
http://www.briandavidphillips.com

hypnosis video review . . . . . . E Onna A Onna Two . . .. . . . . . fifty naked hypnotized girls

Imagine . . . if you will . . . fifty young women, well, mostly young . . . ranging in age from eighteen to fifty-five with the bulk of them in their very early twenties . . . most of them quite attractive and adventurous . . . from different walks of life . . . all of them stepping into an exciting new event they've never tried before . . . mass group erotic hypnosis.

E Onna A Onna Two (aka E Nu A Nu or E Woman A Wiman) is the sequel to the very popular preceeding piece, which is an adult version of the television erotic hypnosis programs A Onna E Onna, the first of the mass group erotic hypnosis videos. I've never seen the original piece (would love to have a copy, but haven't found one readily available here) but the still photos I've seen stand out similar to the clip going around where a large group of girls were hypnotized so that loud sounds would make them orgasm then they're sent on a crawling obstacle race with a buch of guys making loud sounds all around them. You can see that clip from here (evidently Wataru was on a couple episodes of the program).  As racy as that is, the adult DVD is much racier.  There are other clips from the television program at the same youtube user profile.

The sequel is equally as ambitious, albeit without the big name hypnotist and with perhaps more sexual content then the previous film.

A large number of girls are led through a looooooong group induction (we see parts but the indication is that they spend a number of hours in the induction and testing process - indicates to me that the hypnotist needs to work on his skills a bit more as it should not have taken that long to vette the participants and eliminate the ones who are nonresponsive). A lot of the girls are asked to leave as they get the group down to the fifty they accept.

Most of the girls are responsive and the initial bits are cute or clever.

I found the straight sexual stuff to be a little on the stupid side (it's not as if they are being hypnotized to have sex so why bother with it?) just do the effects and keep at it. I could also do without the masturbating men bits that were supposed to excite the girls via suggestion. Sophomoric and a bit more than just plain stupid.

One of the hypnotic effects that bothered me was the bomb bit where the girls were told they were stuck to the floor and that a guy with a balloon and a pin had a bomb and he was going to blow them up. I don't really find fear or pain suggestions to be very entertaining. I know it's possible to create negative emotions via suggestion but I prefer my hypnotic entertainment to be much more positive. You can demonstrate the same effects via suggesting positive emotional states or positive playful hallucinations without freaking the girls out.

If you do entertainment or recreational hypnosis, you should always think of your volunteers' best interests and treat them with respect, compassion, and playful joy.

Overall, it is an interesting video and worth having if you are particularly interested in hypnosis. The mass group erotic hypnosis element is very interesting in and of itself as there aren't many examples of this sort of work outside the private videos of some of the folks who do ritual trance pieces for the likes of the Temple of Ishtar so it's worth having for its curiousity value and to see some techniques for managing large groups for effects or experiential hypnosis.

A Onna E Onna Two is interesting and worth seeing for those with an interest in such things as erotica and hypnosis. Of course, if you want to learn how to do this sort of thing on your own, be sure to sign up for my courses on Couples Hypnosis for Sensuality and Romance in February and the Stage Hypnosis course in June! See http://www.briandavidphillips.com for details!

All the best,
Brian

Sign Up Now!
Practical Approaches to Metaphysical Hypnosis - Feb. 6-10, 2006
Romance and Sensuality Hypnosis - Feb. 13-17, 2006
See "training" at http://www.briandavidphillips.com for details!

Brian David Phillips, PhD, CH [phillips@nccu.edu.tw]
Certified Hypnotherapist
Associate Professor, NCCU, Taipei, Taiwan
http://www.briandavidphillips.com

video review . . . . . . Hypnosis Red X . . . . . . a special from the Face series . . . . . . . . . hypnotist Red, trance subject Riko Tachibana

Recently, I've been researching hypnosis techniques by watching a few Japanese adult hypnosis DVDs. One that stands out is a special presentation from the folks who make the Face series which in itself has a number of episodes devoted to erotic or sensual hypnosis. Produced by Audaz, this particular episode, Hypnosis Red X featuring the very beautiful Riko Tachibana as the hypnotic subject responding to the suggestions made by veteran video hypnotist Red, is a lengthy demonstration of standard hypnotic phenomena as well as erotic suggestions. Some of you may know Riko from a number of adult products, many of which are now available on UMD for Sony PSPs. I just noticed that I have her appearance in the super hero video Supahiroinryoujo kushirizu04choujinki shishiatoranja so I guess I'll have to watch that one soon. For those unfamiliar with Riko, her official webpage is here (with her online journal and galleries among other things).

The piece opens with an interview of Riko about hypnosis in general and she seems open to the idea. The initial interview took place on Jan. 21, 2005, then the video cuts to Feb. 11, 2005, when Riko and Red meet for their session.

I've seen Red in a few videos and unlike a number of the run of the mill "sexy hypnosis" hypnotists working in the Japanese AV industry, he is a competent hypnotist and knows his way around proper session work with a subject. He's participated in a number of solo and group session pieces and this one shines in part as it demonstrates some solid hypnosis as well as some nice improvisational suggestions bits (the part where he picks up Riko's guitar and gives her the suggestion that she will continue to play it, getting more and more deeply sexually aroused while she plays) seems to be very improvised and worked well.

Of course, the key to the success of the show is Riko's responsiveness. She starts out a little slow but as Red deepens her imaginative response (as any competent hypnotist should but I've seen a number of folks who don't seem to know how to do it and he does it very well).

The first hour of the program is straight suggestibility testing, induction, deepening, and standard tests - albeit, it is always fun to see a good hypnotist work with a responsive subject and Red does do some nice twists with Riko that many viewers may not have seen before, even those of us who are seasoned professional hypnotists. Actually, for the first hour, it is difficult to really see that this is an adult video as there is nothing sexual in any of the suggestions or in the costuming.

However, the last hour and a half of the two and a half hour program is pure adult entertainment. For those who are more interested in the hypnotic effects, this piece is more appropriate than so many so-called adult hypnosis features coming out of Japan where the hypnotist "hypnotizes" the actress to have sex with some guy . . . come on, porn stars don't need hypnosis to have sex with someone . . . boring . . . this piece is superior in that there is no hard core sex other than within Riko's mind as she responds to imaginative suggestions of sexual activity with full sensory experience but no actual partner.

For me, that sort of show is superior as I am more interested in the hypnosis in hypno-fetish programs than I am in the sex. For sex, I can just pick up any ol' porn piece. If they want to feature actual sex, then they should at least make the suggestions more interesting than "you're hot to have sex with this guy."

Anytime you do a "stage hypnosis" routine with one person, there are always going to be some shortcomings. That is true here as well. However, as Red is a personable and competent hypnotist and Riko is a good subject who also happens to be extremely attractive (did I mention she's incredibly beautiful?), these shortcomings are not as evident and the advantages of single subject session work shine through.

I've never been a fan of the "you're a chicken" or "you're a puppy dog" type stage suggestions but Red pulls them off in part because Riko really gets into the roles. Her "chicken" is amazing in a creepy alien way. Her eyes no longer had any human characteristics and the way she moved was extremely unnerving. Her puppy was extremely affectionate and very appealing as well.

Obviously, Riko had a wonderful time during the session as she's very grateful to Red for the experience during the debriefing and seems genuinely happy about the whole thing (further evidenced as she also appears in another real hypnosis themed adult video for Audaz, Face #82 - there are some preview photos of that video in the extras on this DVD).

Of course, anyone with a full understanding of both erotic hypnosis and/or stage or performance hypnosis will not be very surprised by most of the suggestions and bits in this video. However, they will find some nice twists here and there. Those with no full understanding will find it a fascinating piece. Further, for those inspired to learn or explore more . . . I do offer workshops on many of these and other topics. If I don't have something in the schedule appropriate to your needs, get a group of fifteen eager folks together and I will set something up for you. I am also available for waking dream experiential hypnosis performances for those with an interest in scheduling a show.

All the best,
Brian
http://www.briandavidphillips.com

The Secret Hypnosis Trance Inductions of Ormond McGill

I thoroughly enjoyed the DVD of The Secret Hypnosis Trance Inductions of Ormond McGill with plenty of never before seen techniques . . . well, the cover blurb says never before seen but that's not completely accurate . . . while quite a number of them have not been publicly demonstrated before, a few of them are described in McGill's incredibly comprehensive The New Encyclopedia of Stage Hypnotism which is pretty much THE classic for those interested in stage hypnosis (therapists and anyone else interested in hypnosis should have it too, it's that important and that comprehensive).

Of course, reading a brief description of a technique and seeing it demonstrated by one of the living legends of hypnosis is entirely a different thing. McGill has been performing and practicing hypnosis professionally longer than most of the big names and old-timers of the profession have been alive and he's still going strong and so it is truly a joy and an honor to have the opportunity to see him work his magick in live . . . well taped . . . demonstration.

While I don't think I will be using the Clock Dial induction anytime soon with clients, it is an interesting approach that I believe can be adapted to some interesting applications. The Pendulum Induction and Hypnotic Spiral techniques are takes on classic processes anyone should know and become proficient with. The Blindfold and Nonverbal techniques are quirky and worthwhile. I've seen McGill demonstrate the Ladder of Colors before as a stage induction with a callback to the Force of the Star Wars and it works beautifully. I've used it was well with wonderful success. Tying that one in with the Om Mantra Technique seems to be a nobrainer.

I've read Tom Silver and Ormond McGill's description of using Mesmerism or Animal Magnetism in the past and so seeing it demonstrated was nice. I actually had the opportunity to demonstrate the process not long ago as I often teach about the concepts of Mesmerism in graduate courses related to literature. The process described in the McGill DVD is very straightforward and easy to duplicate.

I love material that presents a series of methods and techniques in a straightforward and easily comprehensivle manner. I especially love pieces that have material that is not readily available elsewhere. This is one of those pieces.

While the video had some coloration problems when Ormond asked for the lights to be turned down for his Ladder of Colors, it is clear and the sound is perfectly fine. Certainly the less than Hollywood quality may be distracting to perfectionists but the content is well worth it and far outweighs any technical difficulties in the recording. Besides, the content is what is most important . . . there are no bells and whistles, no slick presentation, no dancing girls, just straightfoward presentation of content and that is most definately of interest . . . besides, it's Ormond McGill!

This important piece was created in partnership with Tom Silver and you can contact Tom about this and other products at http://www.tomsilver.com.

All the best,
Brian

Note: For information on review policies, go here.

Hypnosis Trainings Bulletin Board

For those of you who requested a useful resource where trainers can post their announcements and others can read about them, the Hypnosis Trainings Bulletin Board list is now open!

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/hypnosis-trainings/

This group is for folks with an interest in hypnosis and other trance-based changework techniques to find out more about what is available as well as to keep others posted on their own trainings.

I am co-moderating the list with Richard Clark and David Snyder, two gifted tranceworkers in their own right who are also highly dynamic proponents of community building among lay hypnotists.

Since a number of discussion groups (my own included) have decided to keep training announcements and the like to a minimum, the Hypnosis Trainings Bulletin Board group is specifically for folks to post informative announcements about their training schedule where folks can receive them without cluttering other content-based lists with a lot of promotional material. The bulletin board list is intended as a hub type list where folks can find a variety of informative announcements related to trainings in hypnosis, NLP, and other related trance-based techniques.

The group will moderate the amount of postings so we keep it useful rather than a deluge so each trainer may post about their events once a week.

Folks may post queries about a specific training but they should be answered via private email. This is not a general discussion list. It is specifically intended to streamline the announcements and take some of the repetitive burdern off other lists.

I encourage you to join. I have found an easy trick to organizing the posts is to have a filter in my email client that puts all of the hypnosis-trainings announcements into a folder which I can periodically check when the mood hits me (or, you can check via the web to see what's available when).

If you are a trainer, we STRONGLY encourage you to join the Hypnosis Trainings list as a forum to promote your schedule . . . if you are not a trainer, then it is a worthwhile location to get up to date information on trainings that are available from a wide assortment of trainers.

All the best,
Brian
http://www.briandavidphillips.com

Hypnosis Reviews

Due to reader request, I am adding a new category to Life of Brian for Hypnosis Reviews. I will put the quick link to the category in the sidebar as well. This is where I will post my thoughts, comments, critical analysis, or simple reviews of various hypnosis, NLP, Influence, guided imagery, psychology, critical theory, or trance related products . . . books, videos, training programs, recordings, the gamut.  Some of the material I review here has been specifically sent to me for review while other pieces are just random bits and pieces that I pick up and enjoy.

It is my hope that folks will find this section to be helpful and useful.

Those who wish me to include a review their material here can contact me via email for particulars on how to get review copies to me. Don't ask me to purchase your materials to review it. If I don't have it and you want me to review it, you need to get a copy to me.  Simple as that. Reviewed material will include a link to the webpage of the publisher or producer. Not all reviews are solicited, if I find something worth commenting upon, I will.

For the most part, I will only post reviews of material that I find helpful or useful in some way.  On rare occasions, I may post a negative review of a product, service, or training but that would be an exception as I am more interested in toward strategies than away ones and would rather showcase materials I find useful, helpful, or interesting.

Please Note: Reviews are unbiased, or rather, they are based upon my own critical bias and impressions given my own particular expertise and experiences. Just because you may give me a comp copy to review (non-returnable), that doesn't guarantee a positive review will be posted here.  If you send something to review, and I decide it's not worthy of a positive post, I will let you know via private email but probably won't post a negative review here. That's pretty standard.