Hello and welcome to the Calia University Introduction to Hypnosis.

In part one of this course, we’ll start your journey to a certificate in hypnosis with a brief intro to what hypnosis actually is.

I’m Calia, your headmistress, and I’ll be guiding you through four classes, each one giving you a more thorough understanding of just what it is to experience hypnosis.

If you’re ready, let’s begin with lesson one.

So what exactly is hypnosis? You may find yourself asking that question when you engage with hypnotic content or see mind control in media.

You might think I’ll go into the history of hypnosis and talk about Franz Mesmer or James Braid or Erickson but honestly… that’s really boring.

No, I’ll just talk about what hypnosis is.

And the answer is a little different to what many people expect. You see, you may feel sleepy under hypnosis, when you drift into a hypnotic trance.

You may feel relaxed, warm and comfortable.

You may notice your eyes starting to get heavier, your eyelids fluttering, as if they want to close.

You may even find your breathing slowing to a smooth, even rhythm.

And you may think that what I just described is basically falling asleep. And that is true. Yet hypnosis is not sleep. Nor is it mind control.

In fact, if you imagine now for me the moment in a movie where an evil supervillain uses their powers to turn the hero into their slave. Taking control of their mind.

Seeing that villain perhaps with a hypnotic device. A spiral, a pocketwatch.

They’re so easily and effortlessly able to control the mind of the hero. The hero finds themselves being turned into a puppet, completely controlled.

The hero is under the power of the villain now, and will do whatever that villain commands.

Anything they say.

Whatever they want.

They reply Yes Master.

Because they are under control.

And they can’t resist.

They want it.

It feels so good.

But hypnosis is not mind control either.

So what is hypnosis?

I’m glad you asked. You see, hypnosis is a state of focus. Focus on a specific stimulus. Now that can be the voice of the hypnotist.

It could be a pocketwatch, it could be their hands or their eyes. It could be the feeling of them gently touching your leg or shoulder.

Whatever the stimulus, hypnosis is a state of focus upon it, to the exclusion of other things.

It’s a state where the rest of the world stops mattering, and you can focus exclusively on one thing, one thing that hypnotist wants you to.

And right now, I want you to focus on me. Because you want to do well in this class, after all. There is an assignment you know.

So you need to think about moments of focus. Moments when you have a singular stimulus that has your attention, and you zone out from everything else.

Highway hypnosis for example. So focused on driving that you forget anything else. There is only you and the road, and soon that’s not there either. You feel almost as if you wake up at home.

That’s hypnosis. Focused on driving so you forget everything else, so focused that your mind can wander. Perhaps you daydreamed all the way home. Thought about something you want as your body went through its motions.

Daydreaming, reading, even watching a movie can be a trance. An everyday trance state. Because you go into trance all the time, you just don’t usually have someone guiding you.

And that’s what hypnosis is. The act of guiding the mind into that state of trance.

But how does the hypnotist get you there?

Well, they start by finding ways to grab your attention. That could be with you looking at a pocketwatch, or letting them guide your breathing. Eyes shut, in and out slowly. Focusing on the sensation of your chest rising and falling.

Or they could just tell you a story. A story of a time someone they worked with became hypnotized.

Maybe they had a client, someone who needed help, come to them. The client was told by the hypnotist to shut their eyes and relax. To listen carefully to the words of the hypnotist. To focus on the tone and tenor of their voice. The timbre of it.

And the subject, this client, followed along. At first they thought they were just playing along with the whole thing, but as they listened carefully and followed the hypnotist’s instructions, they found their mind able to focus wholly on the hypnotist.

They became entranced. They simply let the words pull them down into that state, where only the hypnotist’s words mattered anymore. The office, the chair, their problems stopped mattering.

They simply focused.

And once in that state, the hypnotist had them so relaxed, so open to their words, that the critical mind could be bypassed. The part of the brain that questions and worries and wonders what is and is not real… that stopped paying attention.

That part was occupied with breathing slowly and carefully. The mind focused so hard on one thing, that the hypnotist expertly slipped past the critical factor and was able to impact the thought process of the subject.

And finally they added suggestions. Helpful suggestions. To be more open, to relax, to not worry. The subject, now deeply in trance, was able to absorb these suggestions without needing to question. Without feeling the need to wonder why or if they wouldn’t work.

Because they already had.

The hypnotist used the hypnotic triangle. Starting with absorption – they had the subject deeply absorbed in what they were saying, deeply focused on them. Or on an idea, an image, an object.

Whatever the focus, it’s simply a means to get the subject to tune out distractions and stay within the lines the hypnotist creates.

Are you finding yourself very focused on me now? As you absorb this lesson?

Perhaps you’re already at the next point of the triangle now. Dissociation.

This is the ability to detach from your usual thought patterns. Maybe you’re usually nervous or doubtful. A sceptic. But once you’re focused on the specific thing the hypnotist wants you to focus on, in this case my voice… you’ll find you drop those normal patterns.

You’ll find that it’s quite easy to think differently, to be guided to different ways of thinking. To imagine yourself with confidence, or in a role you might normally be scared to occupy.

And once you’re focused and open to new thought patterns, well then you’re suggestible.

Your mind is open to guidance and ideas. More than just imagining yourself in a situation, you can take on suggestions or instructions, triggers and thoughts that can change behaviour in the short term, and long term with regular reinforcement.

If you become absorbed, and then you dissociate from regular thinking, then you can begin to accept suggestions. Suggestions that can help you, or weave magic upon your mind.

And you can’t get stuck in hypnosis, you’ll always return to the real world. You’re not unconscious or asleep, just focused. It will wane, and it works a little different for everyone. Some inductions may not suit you, some voices may not appeal to you. Pace and tone and words matter for the hypnotist. It’s about trust, and compatibility.

Do you think you’re finding your mind compatible with my voice?

Let’s do a quick exercise now, to remind you what hypnosis is. You may feel a little relaxed at this point and that’s quite alright. Just repeat after me.

Even the strongest mind can be hypnotized.

…

Hypnosis can work on anyone.

…

Hypnosis makes you open to suggestion.

…

You can be hypnotized.

…

You feel relaxed and calm.

…

That’s right, very good. And now let’s just try a suggestibility test to see how hypnosis can work in practice to alter mindset and understanding.

Take a deep breath now, and put your hands together. As if you’re going to pray. Palm to palm.

And I want you to imagine with me now, that between your hands is covered in superglue.

That there is a layer of squishy, moist glue between your hands. It hasn’t quite set yet, but it is hardening with every second.

And you may find that your critical faculty is still there telling you that this isn’t happening.

But a part of you is open to this idea. This suggestion.

Because a part of you has been able to dissociate. Not because you’re hypnotized, I’m sure, but because you’re so focused on this lesson.

So feel that now, feel the glue between your hands. Soft, squishy, wet. It’s almost pulling your palms together. Forcing them into this position.

It’s hard to imagine them coming apart now, your hands. Hard to imagine them any other way, because the glue is setting and it’s quite powerful.

Your mind is open to suggestion and your body responds to your mind. The brain is in control of the body. And when you let someone else into the brain, it’s only logical you can accept their suggestion.

That it becomes real.

And now your hands are glued together. Tightly glued.

Try to pull them apart.

It’s hard. You can feel them moving apart, of course, but if there was even a sliver of a moment where you felt that it took more effort than usual, well, you were in a trance.

Perhaps a light one. But you see, just telling you to think of your hands took your focus. Your focus allowed you to dissociate. And then the suggestion was able to have an effect.

Even if it was a tiny one.

It’s the start. The beginning.

And now, you can relax, you can blink your eyes and let go of that feeling and just smile, because you’ve come to the end of the first part of this 4-part course.

Well done! You’re well on your way to understanding hypnosis perfectly.

Now, your assignment for this part of the course is simple.

Write a short explanation of what hypnosis is, based on what you learned today. Make sure you’re very clear on the details.

Go back and listen again, if you have to.

And when you’re done, head over to mistresscalia.com slash learn to submit your assignment.

Complete all four, and you’ll receive a certificate from Calia University to show everyone what an expert in hypnosis you are!

See you for lesson two.

Welcome back to Calia University’s Intro to Hypnosis course! If you’ve submitted your assignment for lesson one, then you’re ready for this next section and to continue your path to that certificate!

So last lesson you learned how hypnosis works. You even had your hands glued together.

Hypnosis is powerful, you see!

So this time, we’re going to go through a hypnotic session and make sure you’ll fully able to understand how its structured and how it works, for maximum enjoyment as a subject or hypnotist.

I’m going to focus on doing this in person. I know I’m usually a file maker, and you’re listening to a file right now, but if you want to try this yourself, to be hypnotized by someone, it’s very useful to understand how they’ll do it.

The more you know, the more it will work, because you’ll trust the process. If they hypnotist is doing things the way they should, you’ll fall into trance that much easier.

Because this is all about trust. If you trust the hypnotist, you’ll find it’s quite easy to let them guide you, and to believe their commands are worth following.

So every hypnosis session should begin with setting expectations, building rapport and trust.

You should be able to ask questions, to fully consent to what’s about to happen. That’s crucial.

Because for all the mind control tropes, to actually feel under someone else’s control, you need to consent to that, and to trust them. Hypnosis is not you doing nothing while your hypnotist talks or wags a pocketwatch.

Hypnosis is a collaborative effort.

It’s something you do with the hypnotist, not that you have done to you.

Now, the fantasy of being controlled can of course still be explored. But you have to consent to that. Bit of a paradox, I know, but if you really think someone can control your mind and make you do or feel things you don’t want… bad news… you have to want it.

At least a little.

Now let’s be clear. If you’re talking about erotic hypnosis, being aroused can open you up to some… interesting thoughts. It can make you act with a little less inhibition, do things you may not otherwise consider, or try things that you might not otherwise want to.

Not consciously, anyway.

But fetishes, kinks, and thoughts are malleable and often change over time. So hypnosis can help to unlock a lot.

We’re getting ahead of ourselves, there’s so much to learn that I could go on for hours. I’ll keep this focused. Just like you are. Focused.

So you and your hypnotist talk. You decide on what you’ll experience. What you don’t want.

And you begin from a place of trust, and understanding. Of collaboration.

And then the induction can start.

Your hypnotist might try a number of different induction techniques, but all revolve around the same basic premise. To get your attention, your focus, and direct it. To get you to absorb.

So that could be a progressive muscle relaxation. This encourages you to relax and absorb their words, while you focus on the sensations in your body. It’s good for people new to hypnosis as it works for the majority of people.

Let me demonstrate.

Take a deep breath in through your nose. Hold it for a moment. And gently exhale through your mouth

Good. Now allow your eyes to close if they haven’t already. And begin to bring your attention to your body

Start with your feet. Tense the muscles there. Hold that tension for just a moment… just a bit…
And release. Feel the relaxation spreading through your feet now, the relief of letting go.

Move up to your calves. Tighten them. Hold that for a little bit, just a few breaths now. And let go. Let them grow loose and light. So much easier when you’re not tensing, to simply relax.

Now your thighs. Squeeze the muscles. Hold the tension. Tight. Almost uncomfortable, even. Like you want to let go. To give in to relaxation.
And now release. Feel them sink just a little deeper into relaxation, calves, feet, and now thighs so relaxed.

Now bring your focus to your hands. Clench them into fists. Hold them tightly. Really feel that tension in your body. Take a breath.

And release. Let that wave of relaxation flow from your fingertips up your arms, making you feel so much more relaxed and calm.

Tense your biceps and forearms now. Hold the tension, all the way through your arms. Feel them growing tired. Heavy. And now… let it go.

And let it melt away. Noticing how each muscle begins to relax more completely, more fully. Your attention only on how your body feels. Not worrying about anything else, other than relaxing that body.

Move to your shoulders. Lift them up toward your ears. Roll them, then hold them in place up high. It’s tiring isn’t it? So much easier to let go. But not yet. Hold them. For a little longer. Feeling the tension of keeping this up. It’s tough.

And drop them down. Feel the weight slipping off of your shoulders. Off of your mind. So relaxed.

Now your face. Scrunch the muscles up. Your eyes, your cheeks, your mouth. Clench your jaw. Tight. Wound up. Needing to release this feeling. Hold it a moment.

And release. Let your jaw loosen. Let your forehead rest. Let your mouth slacken.

With each breath, let yourself go deeper. Lighter. Free of tension. More relaxed. As your entire body begins to feel soft and warm. Peacefully calm and relaxed.

And now, simply rest in this feeling. Letting each breath carry you a little further into the moment. Into rest. Comfortable. Calm. And deeply relaxed.

Now, wasn’t that nice? You might be a little dazed but that’s ok, because next we’re going to talk deepeners.

The initial induction is about getting you to start immersing yourself in trance. A deepener will help to pull you further into the feeling that you are in trance.

It will help you dissociate and fully dive into the relaxing sensation of being hypnotized.

And it will put you in a suggestible state.

A deepener can be many things. It can be a countdown, bringing you from five to one, five falling deeper, four letting go, three focused only on this moment, two, feeling the world fading away, one so deep in a trance and zero, totally open to suggestion.

But there are other methods. Fractionation to bring you back up and then drop you into trance again, over and over. The imagery of descending a stairs is commonly used, but you can go up into a blissful cloud or further along a train track.

Simply, it’s about taking you deeper into the moment of trance, the feeling of being present in hypnosis, hypnotized, and focused only on absorbing what the hypnotist wants you to.

Once you’re induced, deepened, then you’re ready to absorb the suggestions. Then you’re suggestible. Are you suggestible now?

Perhaps. If so, then you’ll remember my suggestion that after you finish this lesson you will complete your assignment and feel very proud of your progress.

Sometimes the suggestions are to the benefit of the hypnotist, sometimes for the subject. It depends on what you agreed.

It may be direct, telling you that you feel excited, happy. Or it can be indirect, guiding you toward sensations and emotions, feelings that you may not otherwise express. It’s a delicate balance.

And after all that suggestion, it’s common to wake the subject from trance. It doesn’t always happen, but mostly we do something like a count up or a simple…

Wake now, wake from trance and return to normal, noticing the room around you. Noticing normal thoughts returning in full flow. Feeling calm, relaxed and comfortable and wide awake.

As you can see, it’s relatively simple to bring a subject into trance. You can use many induction styles and techniques, as long as you remember to get the subject to focus, dissociate, and become suggestible.

Now, for your assignment, you’ll be writing a short outline of a hypnotic trance, just going through the elements needed and how you might approach them. Submit it at mistresscalia.com slash learn.

Complete all four assignments, and you’ll earn a certificate from Calia University to prove your expertise in hypnosis. I look forward to our next lesson.

Now you know the basics of what hypnosis is, what it is not, and how an induction works. But what makes some more than just a beginner? What takes you to the next level?

Well, making good choices. Informed ones. A hypnotist needs to understand tone and language, be intentional with word choice, and a subject needs to be able to work with their hypnotist to give feedback and improve the process.

So this lesson will focus on the choices made during a hypnosis session.

You see, the mind is an emotional creature. Impulsive, unreliable.

How many parts of your life would be easier if you had full control of your brain and its myriad impulses?

But with clever use of words, we can give subjects the chance to really immerse themselves in the experience.

Subjects, meanwhile, can help the hypnotist by being clear about what works for them. If they don’t like metaphor or visualisation, they can ask for more direct language.

As I said before, it is a collaboration. One person may be able to visualise complex scenes in their mind as they’re described. A hypnotist talking about a beach, let’s say.

They might tell their subject to focus on the sound of crashing waves. The distant breeze, the soft wash over water over sand. It’s a relaxing scene. Soft and warm. The warm sun in the sky, gentle kissing the skin.

It’s an easy scene to build. Using sound and touch. The warm touch of the sun, the softness of the breeze, the cool spray of the sea. And the sounds of nature, of the crunch of shells and stone underfoot, the splash into the water.

But as we add detail to this relaxing scene, it can be hard to visualise for some. You may be able to visualise a boat bobbing on the swells. Or the cerulean blue of the water. The azure of the sky. Perhaps the details of the dunes, the rising reeds dotting the sandy hills.

And you may find it easy to relax listening to that. You may find it is quite simple to lose yourself in that moment, standing on a beach and seeing the water crashing over and over, a consistent rhythm spreading itself over the sand as the words of your hypnotist spread over your mind.

But of course, not everyone can visualise. Not everyone can imagine the feeling of the sun, of warmth. Not everyone reacts to auditory cues.

A hypnotist must understand how to adapt and adjust to the needs of their subject. But there are some linguistic choices that can really engage the brain, and help a subject along the path to trance.

Often, subjects can react poorly to direct commands. You will feel this is ruined if they don’t. If I tell you that you feel a hand on your neck, you may notice it, you may notice the soft caress of skin on skin, of fingernails trailing along the nape of your neck.

Or you won’t, and then the critical faculty tells you that this isn’t working. This is all rubbish, because you didn’t feel what you were told to.

So permissive language is better. It allows the subject to have flexibility. To have a choice whether to follow a suggestion. You may notice that a hypnotist speaks that way a lot. You might feel a slight breeze.

You also might not. And either way is ok. Your hypnotist is giving you that choice. Of course, your mind will generally be focused on something else at that point, perhaps that muscle relaxation. And that means your mind will decide whether it will interpret that suggestion or not.

It’s automatic. You trust your reaction to your body. The hypnotist suggests you may feel something, and you may. Or may not. Either way, you might find that it doesn’t make you feel any less hypnotized if the right language is used.

Letting the subject feel it’s natural and normal to relax can help too. You may find that being given those permissions, those hints of how to feel and where to go, can make the feelings that much easier to go with.

And then when the induction is complete, when the subject has been deepened to a state of trance, then the suggestions can be worded to deliver maximum effect.

But subjects vary. Of course. Humans are different.

How one person experiences trance may not feel the same as another. Some describe it as floating, others as falling. Some feel it physically, others simply in their thoughts. It’s unique. Your own, personal reaction.

But once you get there, suggestions must work for you. They must be cleverly and carefully considered.

First, to ensure effectiveness, and second to ensure safety.

An open suggestion, that you will say, shut your eyes when you hear a specific phrase, is not safe.

Mostly, your own mind will contextualize that suggestion. It won’t work if you’re driving for example. But the mind can be a little unreliable, and a hypnotist shouldn’t want the suggestion to cause problems.

So the suggestion should include a little safety to it. Only when it is safe to close your eyes, is a simple addendum to make sure the subject is safe.

And these suggestions can be direct with an experienced subject, but someone new to hypnosis may not react as they expect.

The same permissive language, often called Ericksonian, can be used here. You may find that when you take a deep breath, you feel relaxed and calm.

You might notice that when you see the colour red, you feel your hand tighten into a fist.

Again, you may not. But it gives that permission to experience a reaction outside of hypnosis. A post-hypnotic suggestion.

And I would like to give you a post-hypnotic suggestion to complete the assignment for this lesson once we’re finished, and to feel a sense of satisfaction in doing so.

So we have several suggestion types. A good subject should be clear which they want. Direct, focused commands like, you feel deeply entranced. Your eyes are shut and you cannot open them.

Or permissive suggestions, woven into the tale of the trance. You may find your eyes heavy when you listen to me, you may notice that you cannot keep them open when you hear my voice.

And of course, post-hypnotic suggestion. After this trance ends, in the future if you hear my voice and you are in a safe place to do so, you will close your eyes and focus on my words.

Guiding the subject is important. Making sure they feel relaxed, and the hypnotist has the job of giving them the right path to do that. Reacting to body language, to response, and feedback.

And they can help the subject with consistent pace and tone. Leading them with language that gives them clear suggestions how to feel, how they may experience trance. As you listen to my voice, you may feel more relaxed.

Leading questions too, can help the subject a lot. It feels good to simply listen and follow, doesn’t it?

Many questions with yes as the answer in a row can be an induction in itself, called a yes set.

There are also double binds – where the subject is presented with a choice, but the result is the same. Would you like to shut your eyes now or would you like to try keep them open until you can no longer do so.

In the end, they’ll close their eyes, but the feeling of agency over the situation can help quell doubt and worry, while the hypnotist gets the subject to where they need to be.

And of course storytelling, narrative and structure can be powerful. Simply telling a story and guiding the subject on how they should feel along the way can be a great way to get them into trance, and especially if you want to do some roleplay.

A hypnotist can also give the subject a trigger, a suggestion that ties a stimulus to a reaction or action. For example, a word that results in the subject doing something specific. If I snap my fingers you will bark like a dog.

*snap*

Silly, of course, but with repeated exposure to such a trigger, it becomes more automatic in the subject. Of course, safety needs to be considered – telling the subject that anyone snapping their fingers leads to a bark could be… inconvenient.

Sometimes, when the triggered response is an emotion – like a feeling of confidence on hearing a specific phrase, we might call that anchoring. If I place my hand on your shoulder, you will feel calm and relaxed – that’s anchoring an emotion, a mood, to a physical sensation.

There are so many ways to build suggestions and affect the subject, really. So many linguistic choices.

The tone and rhythm of speech can matter too.

A rapid-fire series of words that meander and wander through ideas and scenarios and suggestions in quick succession can help to overwhelm the mind and stop the subject having a moment to doubt what they hear, leaving them open to suggestion and susceptible to the hypnotic language used by the hypnotist, rendering them simply unable to focus anywhere else because of the rapid and surprising pace of the delivery which can truly make a difference in getting them to focus their attention but…

You can also.

Deliver your words.

In a slower pace.

To make sure.

You’re deliberate.

About getting them to focus.

Anticipate.

Wait.

For each sentence.

Hanging.

On your every.

Single.

Word.

You might know from music, that this could be described as legato, notes joined together in a smooth succession, versus staccato, sharply punctuated notes that hit harder than the last.

So as a subject, knowing what works for you is crucial to help the hypnotist find the way to get you in trance.

Having a discussion about this, and working on it together in collaboration as you build rapport can really make the experience better for everyone.

If you found any part of this lesson a little hypnotic, then you might know something that works for you! That’s wonderful, and that’s why we’re here.

That’s it for lesson three, one more to go! Your assignment this week is to write two paragraphs that might work in an induction. One with permissive, open language, and one that’s very direct.

Head over to mistresscalia.com slash learn to submit your assignment.

One more lesson and assignment after this, and you’ll earn a Calia University certificate!

See you very soon.

This is the final lesson in this intro to hypnosis course! Well done on making it this far, I’m very proud of you.

Whether you’re a hypnotist or a subject, or both, this serves as a short foundation to the topic, and I’ll expend on some resources I find very useful on my website.

Now, for the final lesson, we’ll be building your hypnosis toolkit a little, and getting into how it should all feel a bit more. To make sure you’re comfortable and happy with all of this, and ready to continue your journey with more advanced material – and if you don’t want that, at least having the basic knowledge you need for a more fulfilling hypnosis experience.

So we covered what hypnosis is and isn’t in lesson one, but what about trance itself? Hypnosis is the word for all of the experience – the induction to waking. Trance is just one part.

But of course, it’s the part everyone wants to get to, to have a deep trance experience where they’re completely open and suggestible.

Sadly, the reality of trance is that it’s quite personal, so I cannot describe how you specifically might feel it. If you’re a hypnotist, you should be learning how your subject experiences it, and reinforcing that with language.

Let me give you an example of how it might feel.

A trance state is not going blank entirely. It’s not sitting there with glazed eyes and drool spilling from your mouth. Unless the hypnotist gives that suggestion, of course.

No, trance is a sensory, emotional, and mental experience. It may be more or less of one aspect for some, but it will likely comprise of those three areas.

If you imagine yourself in trance, for example, in that state. Hypnotized, induced, relaxed, you may remember how it feels.

And you may conjure some specific feelings. Your eyelids may feel heavy, as if they can’t quite stay open. Your limbs may feel relaxed, limp and loose. These are sensory reactions. Feeling heavy or light. Floating or falling. Sinking into the seat, feeling a warm glow flooding your body or a heat or tingling. Jolts of electricity running over your skin.

Sensations you associate with trance can remind you of being in trance. Noticing the warmth of your own body, the slow rhythm of your breathing, these sensations can remind you how trance feels. If you’ve never felt a trance before, noticing any of these things is a good indicator you are on the way to that experience.

But there are also mental and emotional aspects.

Your mind may feel slow, swimming in molasses, thoughts not quite forming. Or you may find time slips by quicker or slower. It is likely you will feel that your mind is clearer, as a singular focal point means that things on the periphery can fade away.

You might notice that simply, you feel relaxed and still. That you feel a sense of focus, but a calm one. Not that you’re intently driven to that one that, but that it’s all you need to think about. That all you need is that singular thing. If you are now perhaps thinking of something, you are finding yourself slipping into trance, just a little.

And that’s normal. You can fall into trance in a lecture hall. Or fall asleep.

And then emotionally, you might find you become more curious or excited about what’s happening. You may be nervous, or fully trusting. You might simply feel a sense of peace in the serenity of this relaxation, a break from the outside world.

A subject can even find themselves feeling a sense of connection and affection for their hypnotist, and this is relatively normal, because they are opening their mind up to someone. Hypnosis is incredibly intimate, it requires connection and consent, trust and faith.

So emotionally speaking, trance can be quite exciting but also quite scary. That’s why it’s important to trust your hypnotist, and for hypnotists to ensure their subject feels safe and cared for.

For subjects, you can make the experience more effective if you’re open about what you want and need to happen, and if your hypnotist adheres to these boundaries.

You can also have a better time by following some very simple tips. You might notice in your next hypnosis session that if you do these things, you get to those emotional, mental and sensory effects faster.

First, don’t analyse. Just follow the words of your hypnotist. Trust them to guide you. Let your imagination flow, leave logic behind. Hypnosis is not magic, but the mind is complex and vast, a network not fully understood within our bodies, each one unique. So let it do its arcane work and just follow along. If you find trance difficult, faking it till you make it is a very valid approach.

There is no right way to trance. Some people become completely catatonic, others never quite realise they’re tranced because a part of them is still aware. Because it’s not sleep, so of course it is. Just relax, and follow along and you will find that your mind allows you to experience trance, perhaps with some practice.

Of course, don’t fake it if something just isn’t working at all. Give honest, clear feedback to your hypnotist. Tell them what worked and what didn’t – most hypnotists will cast a wide net, using a variety of approaches to narrow down what affects you personally. You can speed things along by just telling them.

And being a subject takes practice just as much as being a hypnotist! It’s something you should work on, and self-hypnosis can really help.

Setting some time aside to build subject skills can be a huge level up, so just meditating with intent, speaking an induction to yourself in your mind with a plan to say, feel more relaxed, can build your ability to trance.

Just knowing how to focus your mind, on your own, makes you a better subject when you’re with a hypnotist, and will help you get to amazing results that you may not otherwise.

And if you’ve been feeling a little hypnotized now and then through these lessons, well, that’s intentional. Hypnotic language becomes second nature to a hypnotist with experience, and subjects can become more primed and practiced to respond.

But I want you fully alert now, and aware. I want you focused clearly on the final section of our course.

Because I want to wrap things up with a note on safety.

Hypnosis is emotional, intimate and often deeply personal. In trusting someone to hypnotize you, you are giving them access to your feelings and emotions in a way that can occasionally lead to abreactions, negative responses to the hypnosis.

If a hypnotist notices this happening, negative body language conveying fear or distress, they should remind the subject they are safe, and slowly end the session if necessary. This needs to be done gently, to avoid further distress and maintain safety.

For both hypnotists and subjects, things can go wrong now and then. A misworded suggestion, a poorly phrased trigger. These things happen, and working to correct them is important. Don’t expect either hypnotist or subject to be perfect. Be honest if things go wrong and decide how to approach a solution together. Open discussion and collaboration are important.

Making sure everyone is comfortable both physically and mentally can go a long way to avoiding these things coming up.  A clear pre-talk that establishes limits and boundaries makes sure things don’t go too far or in directions no-one wants.

A hypnotist should also be wary of trying to create major changes in a subject without more experience and training. Weight loss, smoking, and other habitual behaviours rooted in addiction or trauma are best left to experts.

Hypnosis is a great tool for intimacy, recreation, and relaxation even for amateurs, but knowing how to guide someone to real change is complex, and can go wrong without fully understanding how to achieve such things – they’re best left to a psychologist who can use hypnotic techniques. Bear in mind, hypnosis and hypnotherapy are often unregulated and qualifications can be obtained in hours, rather than the years of training psychologists require.

So if you want hypnotic help with behavioural or emotional issues, carefully vet who you work with.

For recreational and erotic hypnosis, you can use safe words and consent conversations to make sure everyone has a good time, and you should avoid any major issues if you’re considerate of each other, both subject and hypnotist.

And for those being hypnotized, remember that you have subject agency. You are part of the hypnotic experience. You are not under mind control, rather you are a collaborator. You can consent and remove that consent whenever you wish. You have to cooperate with the hypnotist to achieve the desired effects, and if you feel a boundary is pushed or you are uncomfortable, you are more than able to exit trance of your own volition. It is your choice, you are never helpless even if that is an element of recreational hypnosis you’re exploring. Use safewords or just ask to stop if you need to.

And that is where we conclude this introduction to hypnosis.

If you complete all four assignments and provide an email address and name, you’ll get a little certificate to show you completed the course, and that you’re ready to be a better subject, or start working on being a hypnotist.

But let me be clear, this is just a fun starting point. A little intro. It is not a replacement for experience and practice as a subject or hypnotist.

On my website you’ll find a list of resources that can help you get even better in whichever role you prefer.

And your final assignment is a little practical work. I want you to try self-hypnosis. Try to get yourself into a trance state, and write a short report of your experience. What you felt, what you thought, how you experienced that situation. Be intentional about what you want to achieve, and use the resources on the page I just mentioned for some help in how it’s done.

Once you’re done, submit your report at mistresscalia.com slash learn, and if you’ve done all four assignments, you’ll get your certificate shortly!

Make sure you share it with others to show the hard work you put in!

Have fun with hypnosis, and be safe, thanks for joining me at Calia University.