Assembling a scene

Hypnotists, you know that confidence is key. And when you bring someone out of that initial trance, it's good to know beforehand which wild-ass effects are likely to work for that person.

That knowledge is not so accessible with "ordinary" hypnosis. But the Global Suggestion gives you a way to inventory the nearly limitless possibilities.

Depending on the person you're playing with, the subconscious may have control over just a few aspects of the conscious self -- or many of them.

So, to find out efficiently what you have to play with, you can ask the subconscious about the handful of physical and mental "components" or building blocks from which almost any scene can be built.

"Are you able to control her arousal? Her sensations? Her emotions? Her body? Can you make her hear things, see things, taste things, smell things? Can you block a memory? Create a memory?" The subconscious usually knows what they can do, can't do, or might be able to do with some practice.

Then the answers to those questions can guide the effects you choose for your scenes -- with some confidence that they will work.

Even a small set of controls can be turned into hours of fun. For instance, let's see what you could do with some of those single modes,  used by themselves.

Control over the body: Turn them into a doll, or robot, or piece of art, for objectification of any sort. Pose them in public, in support of exhibitionism or humiliation. Bondage of course is simple. So is endless helpless sex. (As a photographer, I can vouch for the blessing of having a subject so frozen that she does not even blink.)

Control over arousal: Play with orgasm amplification, control, or denial. Launch them into the land beyond orgasm. Eroticize any object, touch, sight, sound or smell, in any combination or sequence. (Someone I know responds quite intensely to the sight of a particular green ballpoint pen, because that's all that was within reach at the time.)

Control over sensation: Deliver pleasure or torment with warm showers or cold showers, tingling or electric shocks, spankings or canings, lemonade or just lemons. Make them feel like they're nude. Or swimming. Or flying. (I play a lot with synesthesia, deliberately converting a touch to a favorite flavor or remapping a painful sensation as pleasurable.)

Control over memory: Temporarily hide awareness of parts of your scene: Forget inserting the dildo, forget that anyone else is in the room, forget moving to the couch, forget being hypnotized at all. (In one of my recent demos, a fully awake subject spent half the time topless, entirely unaware of it until I told her to look at her breasts.)

Control over images: We're in the mall. No, we're in the street. No, we're in your office. Look outside, it's sunny with palm trees. Now it's snowing pink snow. There's a rose on your desk. OMG, look at what's on your TV. Where'd your underwear go? (One of my favorite mindfucks: "When you open your eyes, all the colors will be reversed.")

Most people have control over more than one of these modes. It's most powerful to combine them in complementary ways, for instance having them hold and taste an object (blindfold them if they can't see the illusion anyway), or putting your objectified nude sculpture on display in a glass case at the library (if they can't hear illusory sounds).

At this point, any limitations are not those of the subconscious but of your imagination.

Going Global Again

Tams was sitting beside me, her right hand stuck firmly to the top of her head, her fingers wiggling impatiently while she waited for me to remember to undo the command. I have no idea what she was thinking.

Here's what I was thinking: "Damn, it works!"

I was in the midst of my second-ever public demonstration of the Global Suggestion, this time for an erotic hypnosis group in the Bay Area. And Tams had just helped me nail it.

After my first demonstration, last spring, I'd concluded that, for any future demos, having a subject already familiar with the Global Suggestion was crucial. I'd also decided to present the technique in reverse order -- to show off the impressive results first, before turning to the more subtle business of the induction and placement of the suggestion.

It was a perfect job for my hypnosub Shelly, who could not be more familiar with the ins and outs of this technique,  already knows some of this group's members and would cheerfully perform for me in public.

But to her frustration and mine, Shelly couldn't be there. I was going to have to trust that someone at the meeting would volunteer and respond well, for a method they'd never heard of.

Then, a week before the meeting, fortune smiled. Or Yahoo beeped, anyway.

It was Tams, on instant messenger, saying hi. We'd never met face to face, but four years earlier  I had tranced her online and installed the global suggestion. We'd played with it a bit, but reality intervened, our contact dwindled, and our last hello had been more than a year ago.

Now here she was again. She remembered me. I could bet that her subconscious remembered me. And she happens to live in the Bay Area. I suggested she attend the demonstration and help with my demo.

So that night, there we were, 15 of us in a big room, sitting in comfy chairs in a circle, with pizza in the middle.

I described the Global Suggestion  -- "Whatever I say, make it so". One of the merits, I said, is that, unlike many complicated hypnotic suggestions, it is so simple that the subconscious can remember it for years without reinforcement.

And to demonstrate that, here was my long-lost friend Tams.

I opened with a little scene. Imagine you're sitting next to each other at Starbucks, in a crowd, I said. Imagine you want to put a hypnosub through a little torment in public.

I told Tams to set her palms on the table ... and that they were stuck there. I told her that the smell of coffee was gradually raising her arousal. I told her that the sound of the espresso machine frothing up a drink was making her clench. And that each time I said "bang" she would feel a flogger across her upper back. Tams, very much a sensation fiend, felt every one of those things, immediately and vividly.

She responded so vividly that I had to admit to the group that I had tried out these little effects already, when I met her just before the meeting.

So then I threw in an effect that I was sure that Tams and her subconscious had not heard before.

Freeing her hands from the tabletop, I picked up her right hand and pointed to the palm. "Velcro," I said. Then I tapped the top of her head. "Velcro." Then I slapped her hand to the top of her head.

Bingo. She was stuck.

Damn. It works. It's really that simple.

And for the rest of the demo, I did not lack for volunteers.

Sensational play

A long time ago, I was amazed to discover that I could simply tell a subject that she was aroused -- and she was.

Some time later it occurred to me to tell someone that she was feeling pain, intense pain -- and she was.

Then I told someone about a taste she could taste. And a smell she could smell. Those worked too.

If those instructions already are effective for you and your hypnotic subjects, then you might be interested in going one step further. One slightly crazy step further.

Here, let me demonstrate on my friend Shelly. This is how it went the first time I tried it.

She had no idea what I was up to.

I ran my fingernails down her back. "That feels pleasurable. Yes?"

"Yes..."

I did it again. "Now that feels painful. Yes?"

"Uh! Yes!"

I did it again. "And that feels chocolate."

Oh my. Very funny look. Creased forehead. Smiles. Relaxation. Raised eyebrows. Smiles.

Then I rubbed her arms. "That feels lemonade." She shivered and I noticed her eyes sort of spiraling.

Rubbing again: "That's the sound of seagulls." She tensed up at that one, and giggled. I quickly shifted away.

"That's the sound of the wind." She smiled and relaxed into my touch again.

Finally, knowing a bit about her, I stroked her and said:

"That's the smell of old books."

She moaned -- deep, guttural. And her knees buckled.  I'd found her weak spot.

Later I asked her what on earth this had felt like.

"It was like my skin as tasting your hands," she said. "The chocolate was smooth, warm, slippery. The lemonade was tingly and cold."

"The seagulls made me laugh, and I kaleidoscoped through a lot of attempts before my brain settled for noisy.  But first it was a bit of a "The Birds" moment."

And the old books? "I took a deep breath of the smell, and it was swirling around inside my belly, and I wanted to rub myself against you. That was hot.   Books smell like pleasure even in my ordinary world."

"It was very disorienting. And I loved it."

Try This 2

One of the most common questions from people who haven't tried hypnosis in BDSM is: But she'll just obey me anyway, so what's the point of adding hypnotic controls?
Well ... here are three answers to that, scene enhancements that are hard to achieve otherwise.

1. Turn up the sensitivity. Tell her, "You'll feel everything twice as intensely as usual." The most ordinary contact with the most mundane parts of her body will trigger very satisfying gasps and jumps. After she's gotten used to that, say, "This is a melting ice cube" and run your fingertip lightly over her skin in a realistic melting pattern.

2. Turn down the sensitivity. Some subs would love to be marked up, but can't tolerate the pain involved. So simply instruct her, "You can't feel this flogger at all," before giving her a good workout.

3. Does she have fantasies of being kidnapped or abused by strangers? No problem, turn yourself into a stranger. Tell her something like, "As long as I'm wearing this hat, you won't recognize me at all." Then set up the scene, pop your hat on, and prepare to cover her mouth to block the screams.

A Personal Endorsement

A while back I wrote here a three-step set of advice for hypnotizing your favorite submissive. At the time, I realized that it was based on a pretty limited set of examples. How useful could it be?

Pretty damn useful, it turns out. I had the chance recently to hypnotize someone new, and without much time to assess and customize the situation, simply used my own formula.

What happened? Well, I quickly found myself a promising hypnosub. Let's call her Hypnosub y since I suspect she'll put in more appearances here.

The induction occurred in an unlikely setting: a quiet park, after sunset. The bright object she stared at was a street light. To deepen the trance, I used a metaphor I happened to know would appeal to her: floating in a huge bath. (I knew to use this because I remembered to ask her beforehand about her favorite way to relax.)

During the deepening, I counted down from 100, and since she was motionless and deep breathing from about 50 on down, I figured it had worked. The only unexpected part was her body tone. Instead of limp and floppy, she was frozen and rigid. I haven't seen that before.

I gave y's subconscious just one instruction, the 're-induction' trigger, then let her wake up. She couldn't recall my conversation with her subconscious (an excellent sign). And when I tried the trigger, she dropped immediately back into trance. Of course I tried a variety of instructions: I told her she was feeling very warm between her legs. (When she woke up, she just said she had to pee badly. Whoops.) I told her to forget the number six. That one she responded to very nicely.

A few days later I installed the word "statue" as a trigger. Worked great. We'll be using that a lot. I then tried my old favorite, the general-purpose command. ("Whenever I say 'flashlight', you will obey whatever I say next.") It failed miserably. No reaction at all. I think her subconscious is able to 'stop' actions so far, but unable to 'start' them.

Most recently, I introduced hypnotic body sensations, first telling her subconscious that she was being stroked between her legs, then saying the same thing to her semi-awake mind, and finally repeating the scene to her conscious mind. She immediately started feeling the commands quite vividly; in fact the phantom fingers stroked her to a pretty good imitation of an orgasm. (Now, when we're apart, I send her little body-tingling text instructions.)

Hypnosub y is not particularly excited about hypnotism, but sees it as a pleasant addition to conscious submission. She loves how much it relaxes her, eliminating any nervousness about our scenes.

I'll let you know how things progress. Meanwhile, take it from me, those instructions really do work.

My Life As A Dog

There have been some great comments about sense of "self" and giving up control in regards to hypnosis so i thought i would try to delve a little deeper into what i get out of it and perhaps give some specific examples.

i've been discussing this with Sir lately, trying to get a better idea of what is actually going on. i know that i definitely don't lose myself when He puts me into trance, in fact i feel more myself since we started delving into hypnosis. i think the key here is that going that deeply into trance actually allows me to focus in on certain areas of my personality without having to worry about anything else.

My life is fairly hectic on a daily basis, with a lot of people and things needing my time and attention. Often i feel more 'lost' in my regular life than when He has me deep in some interesting situation, using hypnosis to in essence block out the 'noise' of the rest of my life.

One really good example of this would be puppy time. Sir makes me His puppy, curled up at His feet. At that moment.....i am a puppy...there is no telephone, no laundry or dishes, no bills or other distractions. All that exists is devotion, cuddles, love, warmth and the happiness of being at His feet.

As a puppy i can focus totally on Him with the loyalty and love of a pet. i relax and am totally at peace, thinking of nothing more than cuddling or perhaps occasionally playing with my little red squeaky ball in the park. This is one of the most relaxing places i have ever known and i always come back a little 'dreamy' as Sir says, and feeling very very refreshed and happy.

This is such a special place for me that most of the time when i pee now it’s as a puppy in the park. i know, sitting here right now, than when i actually go into the bathroom i do sit down like a woman on the toilet, but it is so real that i would swear i’m squatting in the middle of a park. Sometimes there are other puppies around with their owners, and occasionally Sir is holding onto my leash.

It’s very freeing to pee outside like that, with only the slightest hint of embarrassment if someone happens to be watching. It’s only even unpleasant if it’s raining out, but luckily my subconscious doesn’t seem to like the rain so that doesn’t happen often.

Another example of this kind of focus is something new that we've been working with. Lately Sir has been turning me into a RealDoll at night. This is objectification in the best and most complete sense of the word. i become nothing more than an object for His pleasure, to be posed, turned, bent over and used any way He wishes.

Being objectified in this way is extremely arousing for me and focuses the part of my personality that is deeply into service. i know that i'm being used, that He is there with me. i can 'feel' that i am being penetrated in the most minute way but there is no physical pleasure at all. Mostly what i feel is pressure, the sense that my 'skin' is being moved. It is absolutely amazing, relaxing, and incredibly arousing mentally.

Recently Sir has turned me into a man when i pee at noon. i've been completely a man, not a woman in a man's body...it actually feels very normal. This has been a very enlightening experience. Aside from having all new equipment to play with, i'm also getting a new perspective on myself. i'm finding that in that male role there is a definite feeling of boldness, of openness that i don't always feel as a woman.

Obviously those feelings have always been inside me, but we're realizing now that they may be readily accessible for me to call upon when i may need them. This is something that we're still trying to figure out, but i'm sure we can let you know how it goes in a future post. i think it could be really useful when dealing with difficult situations, or telemarketers!

Senses and Sensations

Used to be, when I thought of "sensation play" I meant floggers or ice cubes or my bare right hand. That's so limiting. After all, there are at least five senses, and it turns out that hypnotic commands let you play with all of them.

After a bit of practice, and after you're done with the clearly silly stunts, you can construct remarkably persuasive scenes.

For us, skin and body sensations are still the major element.
* "I'm sitting behind you, reaching around and rubbing your breasts."
* "You're tied tight over the spanking bench, and I'm flogging you."
* It's easy to make pain come and go. She can attach a dozen real-life clothes pins to herself and not feel them until I permit it
* I should probably make a bigger deal of this, but ... she hasn't felt any menstrual cramps for months now. I banished them.

Vision is huge too
* "You're invisible." ("Whoa," she said.)
* "Your clothes are transparent." (That one we've kept permanently.)
* "Whenever you go to Costco, I'm on all the TV screens." (That order is interesting because her subconscious remembered it for two months before needing to invoke it for the first time.)

Taste is subject to my whims:
* I've turned a glass of her fresh pee into a glass of water, and then into the best mojito she's ever tasted.
* Cheap chocolates taste much better when I turn them into Godiva truffles.
* Whenever I say the name of a food or drink, she tastes it on her tongue.

Sound:
* Her car radio has a novel feature. All the men's voices sound like me. Apparently I sound especially great singing Abba tunes.

Smell? Yep. Hypno poop stinks.

As in the real world, the various senses are often combined, making the event seem that much more real.

* During hypnotic sexual acts, she sees, feels and hears me, quite convincingly.
* She can simply watch my hands, miming the stroking and tugging of her nipples, to feel them in action.
* I've inserted a dozen illusionary needles in her breasts. Both seeing and feeling them triggered an orgasm.

But I can also disable sensations, or redirect them:

* The other day, she dripped candle wax onto her own chest, feeling each drop not there but instead as a tongue-lick against her clit. First time I've known someone to cum just from candle drippings alone.

* I turned off all her sensations for 10 seconds. I don't know where she went, but when she came back she was very quiet for a while.

If you have any suggestions for new sense-twisting effects, let us know in a Comment. We'll do some experimenting and get back to you with the results.