An Outrageous, Smart-Ass Hypnotist
I got a strange email the other day. I wish it were stranger but I get emails like this fairly regularly. Learning how to frame hypnosis to people is an important part of success in the field. And that’s true if you’re just hypnotizing your friends, as well.
And there’s a way to frame hypnosis and NLP so that you help people feel comfortable and increase their understanding of what these incredible techniques can do for them. This isn’t it.
FYI, I’ve changed the name and a few other details to protect the guilty…
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Send Me An Object That Hypnotizes Women And Makes Men Do The Opposite I Tell Them!
From: Bill
To: Keith Livingston
Subject: Hypnotizing People
Please send me an object that hypnotizes people. I want it to only work on women. For men: if I use it on men, it will cause the man or boy to do the opposite of what they are told to do while hypnotized. I want the cheapest hypnotizing object so I do not have to spend too much money. I will send you another message about it when I am ready for it to be brought to me. Please let an instruction maual about the object with the object when it is brought to me.
If you have any requests, questions, or comments, please send them to me (email address deleted).
Bill
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Let’s Try Making Sense
From: Keith Livingston
To: Bill
Subject: Re: Hypnotizing People
It doesn’t work that way Bill.
I don’t have an object that hypnotizes people. There is no such object.
I’d suggest you read a bit about how hypnosis works.
Sincerely,
Keith Livingston
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I Demand Satisfaction!
From: Bill
To: Keith Livingston
Subject: Re: Re: Hypnotizing People
You must find an object soon before July 1. It could be a ring or a spiral clock. But it must be sent before June 28.
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The Kicker
From: Keith Livingston
To: Bill
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Hypnotizing People
OK,
I will send it to you. I’ve got to do it secretly though. I’m going to send it to you disguised as an ordinary object. You’ll know it because it will hypnotize you. Look through your regular mail and packages you receive until you find it.
Sincerely,
Keith Livingston
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“Bill” wrote me back and asked me not to point the hypnosis at him. Since he seemed genuinely concerned, I told him I was kidding and there was no such thing as an object that hypnotizes people and makes women do what you say and men do the opposite. While I’m sure you could set that up with suggestion, I can’t imagine it being put to good use anyway (except perhaps as a stage hypnosis suggestion).
PS: I’d love to hear your stories about the craziest things people have approached you to do with hypnosis or the crazy things they think hypnosis can do.
Enjoy,
Keith
[Disclaimer: I am not the Bill referred to in this post!]
Keith,
What a funny request. I understand why a man might want something to make women do as he says, but also to make men do the opposite? It sounds more and more like the plot of one of those crazy romantic comedies starring Steve Martin and Lily Tomlin.
Bill
Hi Bill,
My guess was that he was up to no good. Maybe he thought he could make a suggestion that people fall in love with him or be extremely attracted to him. He didn’t want men to fall in love with him though…
The thing that gets me is that often, once people get an (wrong) idea of what hypnosis is like, they won’t listen to any explanation about it. I did tell him there was no such object but he insisted I send it to him. And quickly too!
It would make a good movie plot though.
Keith
Dear Keith,
It just so happens that I DO have an object that hypnotizes people (it’s a spiral ring clock). Therefore, please forward Bill’s email address to me. I promise to give you 10% of the $10,000.00 price for this cool little object.
Marty
Remember Marty,
He wanted the cheapest object, lol.
Keith
Hi Keith, when reading this, at first I thought he was trying to make you look like an idiot. But now I realize…like many people, they do not know what hypnosis is about and have watched too many You Tube Stage Shows. Glad you filled him in…thanks for sharing!
Hi Theresa,
You’re probably right–he saw a stage show, or a fictional TV show or book where someone used a clock or ring or and thought, “The power of hypnosis is in the ring.” To tell the truth, I would have loved to continue the illusion but I felt some small sense of responsibility and he seemed genuinely concerned that I might point the hypnosis at him.
Keith
Hello Keith, i was reading this post and maybe you can find me a Harry Poter´s magic wand for me, but a cheap one, i don´t need all the powers, just enough to get what i want all the time.(LOL)
Sorry i couldn´t resist to make this joke, but is very funny to read people like this man, or probably young boy and we can see how wrong is too many people about Hypnosis.
We need more information about real hypnosis and stop the fake shows on tv, that only make people more confused about what really happen after the inductions.
sorry if i made mistake on spelling, but i am from spain.
Thank you !!
Hi Silvio,
Thanks for the comments. I don’t know what specific tv shows you’re talking about but there’s a lot of that going around. The Mentalist actually does a pretty good job from what I’ve seen, although they mix it in with mentalism and some other stuff. I’ve seen from pretty bad representations of hypnosis though!
I think some of the “blame” has to go to people’s assumptions though. They some someone who hypnotizes a person with a pendulum (for example) and assume that the hypnosis must be in the pendulum.
Keith
I was as recently ask if I could cure a woman of being psychic. She told me that she sends her thoughts out to people she knows and they talk back to her in her head, and “sometime the conversations are really annoying”. I can imagine.
Yeah,
I knew you were going to write that. I had an annoying conversation about it in my head too.
K
PS: Thanks for stopping by, Alan!
Keith,
I laughed and laughed when I read the request and your replies!
You know there is something about “law of attraction!”
I never get request like that!
Since you are the funny hypnotist or as you said the “smart ass hypnotist,” I guess they are seeking you out!
Whatever…it was quite amusing. Thank you for the laughs!
In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I want you to know I appreciate you and your humor!
Best, Jackie
You’re funny Keith! Nice work on the response. The only unreal thing I got from anyone is someone telling me how evil it is to use hypnosis and that shouldn’t be doing that.
Yeah, I used to get similar calls, every once in a while. One guy used to call me and say that what I teach could be used to mind-control children for evil purposes. I told him it doesn’t work that way. Kids are indoctrinated quite easily, without formal hypnosis. Children basically don’t have nearly the critical evaluation powers that adults have, so inductions don’t really add much, in terms of hypnotizing children. They’re basically already most of the way there.
It quickly became apparent that he didn’t know anything about hypnosis, and his mind was made up. He wouldn’t listen to anything I said about — just thought it was evil. He used to call me every year or so. Frankly, it’s concerning. But I haven’t heard from him in a few years.