EVERYONE IS A HYPNOTIST
I focus on the 100 dollars I will earn, but I wonder what I’ve gotten myself into.
I’m sitting in what looks like a shrink’s office. Walls painted in soothing colors with some nondescript paintings; a large sofa, and a comfortable chair with large armrests for the shrink. What’s weird is that I’m in the shrink’s chair.
Yesterday I saw this ad: ‘Would you like to earn 100 dollars in one afternoon? Participate in a simple research project.’ The ad underscored that no drugs or invasive procedures were involved. Of course I could use 100 dollars; students are always short on cash.
So I applied and got invited to come down to the office of Dr. Milgram, in one of the more non-descript buildings at the edge of campus. I was ushered in by her Research Assistant.
Hi, I’m Dr. Milgram,” she introduced herself.
“Tessa,” I said. We shook hands and sat down.
Dr. Milgram did not waste time on small talk: “Did you know that anyone can be hypnotized?”
“I thought hypnosis was, like, a prank,” I answered.
“It’s not. Hypnosis is very real.”
“And now you’re going to hypnotize me for 100 dollar?”
“We don’t need to, we’ve already proven that could be done.” Dr. Milgram waited for a moment, sensing my concern: “We’re not going to pay you to get hypnotized.”
“So what am I supposed to do?”
“We’re setting out to prove that anyone can hypnotize anyone else. You will hypnotize another subject.”
I was stunned: “How?”
The ‘How’ was actually simple. I got an earbud in my right ear; Dr. Milgram would be in the adjacent room, from where she could observe me. The earbud made continuous communication during the session possible.
“But then it isn’t me doing the hypnotizing,” I protested.
“O, it is,” Dr. Milgram emphatically assured me. “I will just give suggestions, guide you where necessary. The most important part is that you are calm and self assured. Quiet confidence is difficult to resist.”
I didn’t believe I could do it, but Dr. Milgram was clear on the reimbursement. I would only get the 100 dollar if I completed the whole session. If I would pull out early, I would get nothing.
So we did a short dry run: I practiced speaking in a slow and steady voice, based on the suggestions Dr. Milgram gave me. It felt awkward, although I seemed to improve a bit after a few minutes. As a finishing touch, I had to change from my casual jeans into a classical doctor’s white coat.
Now I’m sitting here, and there’s a knock on the door.
You can tell her to come in,” I hear Dr. Milgram’s voice in my right ear.
“Come in,” I say, trying to sound steady.
The door opens haphazardly. A face peeks around the corner.
“Hi,” a young woman says shyly. “This is the right room?”
”Acknowledge,” Dr. Milgram says, overruling my own indecision about what to do.
“It is,” I say. “Please come in and make yourself at ease on the sofa.”
”Very good,” Dr. Milgram compliments me.
She sits down, and I observe her for a second: Apparently another college student, dressed in loose fitting light grey sweatpants and a zippered pink college hoodie, which matches well with her platinum blonde hair.
Ask her name, Dr. Milgram suggests.
“Please state your name,” I ask.
“Uhm, Mindy,” she answers.
I scribble something on a notepad, not because I have to, but to look professional while I’m awaiting Dr. Milgram’s next suggestions. .
“I’m, uhm, here, for the interview?” Mindy says anxiously.
I want to ask Mindy if she’s aware that she’s here for a session of hypnosis, but Dr. Milgram interrupts:
”Acknowledge, and tell the subject you will do a relaxation exercise first.”
I can’t ask Dr. Milgram for clarification; that would be a break in the session, and imply no reimbursement.
“Indeed, Mindy, the interview,” I ramble. “But, uhm, because of the subject, we’ll make you feel comfortable first. So we’ll do a small relaxation exercise. Okay?”
“Uhm, okay.”
”Make her lay down on the sofa, close her eyes. Talk soothingly to her,” Dr. Milgram suggests.
I sigh very softly. I don’t know what Mindy knows, but if I want to earn the fucking 100 dollars, I have to go on.
“You can lay down on the sofa, Mindy. Just lie down and close your eyes.”
Mindy complies.
”Remember your practice run. Tell the subject to think about something innocent and sweet. Like kittens.”
“Mindy, I want you to think about innocent and sweet things,” I said. “Things like little kittens.”
“Kittens are sweet,” Mindy agrees.
“Imagine those little kittens.”
“Kittens. Kittens like to play.” Mindy seems to imagine those kittens already vividly.
”Well done. Carry on. Let the kittens purr.”
“They are so busy purring and playing. Can you see them playing?”
“Yes.”
”Let the subject repeat your words.”
“Repeat my words, Mindy,” I say. “ Can you see them playing?”
“Yes. I see them playing,” Mindy answers.
“Can you hear them purring? Repeat my words, Mindy.”
“Yes. I hear them purring.” Mindy’s voice betrays she’s enthralled.
”Very good,” Dr. Milgram encourages me. “Continue along this line, like we practiced. Kittens like to play. It’s what they’re for.”
“Kittens like to play. It’s what they’re for,” I repeat Dr. Milgram.
“Yes. Kittens play,” Mindy repeats me.
“You can watch this forever.”
“Yesss.” Mindy voice slows to a drawl. “Watch. Forever.”
“It makes you feel relaxed. Repeat my words. It makes you feel relaxed. To watch the kittens. To listen to their purring.”
“Relaxed. Kittens. Purrr.”
Just as I wonder what to say next, Dr.. Milgram offers me a new suggestion: Now say the kittens are relaxed and free from worries.
“Mindy, the kittens are relaxed. Repeat me. You see that the kittens are relaxed.”
“Kittens. Relaxed.”
“Very good. Kittens are free. Free from worries.”
“Kittens. Free.” Mindy sighs deeply.
“Yes, Mindy, they are free.”
I’m actually getting the hang of this hypnosis thing.
Now tell her she can be a kitten, Dr. Milgram suggests.
“You can be a kitten, Mindy,” I suggest to her.
“I’m. Kitten.”
“You can be a kitten. Relaxed and free.”
“I’m. Kitten. Free.”
Dr. Milgram is now coaching me closely: ”She can be free from worries and thoughts.”
“You can be a kitten. Free from worries. Free from thoughts.”
“Free. Thoughts.”
”Mindy can be free from thoughts. If she listens to you”
“You can be free from thoughts. If you listen to me.”
“Free. Listen.”
”Mindy can be free from thoughts. If she listens to your voice.”
“You can be free from thoughts. If you listen to my voice.”
“Free. Listen.”
”Repeat,” Dr. Milgram coaches me.
“Repeat after me. You can be free from thoughts. If you listen to my voice.”
“Free. Listen. Voice.”
“Repeat after me. You can be free from thoughts. If you listen to my voice.”
“Free. Listen. Voice.”
”Repeat,” Dr. Milgram repeats.
“Repeat. You are free from thoughts. Just listen to my voice.”
“Listen. Voice.”
“Just listen to my voice,” I say confidently. Damn, I’ve got talent!
“ Listen. Voice.”
”Make her listen to you; your voice is all there is.”
“Just listen to my voice. My voice is all there is, ” I repeat.
“Your voice. All.”
“My voice is all there is. There’s nothing but my voice.”
“Your voice... Is all...”
”Time for the final stage,” Dr. Milgram says. ”Let her count backwards.”
I hesitate a moment, Dr. Milgram feels I need more guidance. I’m glad she provides it.
”Count backwards, at zero, everything’s gone but your voice.”
“Mindy,” I announce. “ I’ll count backwards. At zero, everything’s gone. Only my voice will be there.”
“At zero. Your voice. Is all...”
“At zero, my voice is all,” I confirm. I started counting, very slowly: “Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one… Zero.”
Silence.
I savor the moment of nothingness myself. Hypnotizing Mindy had been an intense effort, but now she’s lying down quietly, on her back, hands folded together, eyes closed. She isn’t sleeping, but she looks content.
Dr. Milgram breaks the silence: ”Very good, Tessa. It looks like you accomplished to hypnotize the subject.”
I nod very slightly, not to break the spell.
”Now we’ll have to check if she’s truly hypnotized,” Dr. Milgram continues. ”Mindy has to perform a number of tasks under your command.”
I nod again. I’m unable to think of a suitable task, but Dr. Milgram helps me out again:
”Let the subject raise her right arm.”
“Raise your right arm,” I say.
Mindy promptly complies.
”Now let the subject stand up.”
“Stand up,” I command.
Mindy gets up from the sofa, while her right arm remains somewhat clumsily pointing upwards.
Just as I wonder if I’d tell Mindy to lower her arm, Dr. Milgram suggests this:
”She can lower her arm and stand at ease.”
I’m relieved by this confirmation: “At ease Mindy, you can lower your arm.”
”Now the proof of the pudding. To see if she’s truly hypnotized, she has to do tasks that she would otherwise refuse.”
I nod again, eagerly awaiting what to do.
”Let her unzip her hoodie.”
Unzip the hoodie? I hesitate for a moment.
“Unzip your hoodie,” I say.
There’s a tremble ín my voice but Mindy lowers the zipper immediately all the way down. The soft fabric of the pink hoodie hangs loosely on Mindy’s shoulder, her bellybutton proudly showing off. I catch a glimpse of a black sports bra.
”Let her take off that hoodie.”
I hold back again. But what can I do?
“Take off your hoodie,” I say.
Mindy calmly pulls her arms out of the hoodie’s sleeves and lays the garment down on the sofa.
”Now let her take off her pants.”
I’m a bit freaked out, but I can’t protest. I can’t ask for clarification. And if I quit, I won’t get the money.
“Take off your pants, Mindy.”.
I fear Mindy will protest, but she starts executing the order without delay. It’s just that this task takes more time, because she starts lowering her sweatpants, then discovers that she has to get out of her sneakers first. But after a minute or so, she’s standing in just the bra and a matching black sports thong.
”Let her undress completely.”
I am committed, I have to go on. But where will this end?
“Undress completely.” I manage to keep my voice steady.
A few seconds later, Mindy is completely nude. She’s just standing there, completely at ease. I guess she’s used to this; I can’t find any tan lines. Perhaps she’s a regular at the local clothes optional beach? She doesn’t notice I’m ogling her shaven pussy.
”Well done, Tessa,” Dr. Milgram compliments me. ”Now the final test.”
I’m bewildered, doesn’t this prove that Mindy’s hypnotized?
”First, Mindy may sit down.”
I tell her to do so.
”Let her touch her clit, let her finger herself,” Dr. Milgram says.
I’m stupefied. Literally. I don’t want to quit, but I don’t dare to do anything either. It takes ages before something happens.
”You must do this. If you can make her do this, we have confirmation that the subject’s hypnotized.”
Mindy’s sitting demurely on the sofa. She acts hypnotized enough.
“Mindy,” I say. “I want you to touch your clit.”
Mindy puts her right hand between her legs.
“Finger yourself,” I say, more confidently.
Mindy spreads her legs and leans back a little. I can see her finger between her labia, rubbing her clit. I see her index finger gliding inside. I’m staring again, almost mesmerized myself.
Mindy doesn’t stop, she’s pleasuring herself. Her eyes are closed again, she’s panting. Suddenly she spasms a little and sighs. The fingering stops, then slowly starts again.
”Tessa, you may tell the subject to stop; and to get dressed again.”
“Mindy, you can stop fingering yourself,” I say. “And you can put on your clothes again.”
I’m feeling both relieved and a bit weird. A feeling I can’t make sense of. Mindy gets dressed readily; within a few moments she’s sitting on the sofa again in her grey sweatpants and pink hoodie. Only her blushing cheeks betray that something happened. I touch my cheeks, I’m blushing too. Embarrassment?
”Time to wrap up the session. Tell the subject to forget what happened, then count backwards again, like we practiced. Wrap up after that.”
Making Mindy forget that she fingered herself to orgams in front of a total stranger seems like an extremely good idea to me.
“Mindy, I want you to forget everything that happened during this relaxation exercise.”
She looks blankly.
“Mindy, I’ll count backwards from ten to one again. When I arrive at zero, you will wake up from this trance.”
“Wake. Up,” Mindy mutters.
“Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one… Zero.”
Mindy looks befuddled at me.
“I, ehm, was distracted for a moment,” she says. “What were we talking about?”
“It’s fine,”I say. “I think we’ve covered a lot of ground and can wrap up the session. Unless there’s anything else you want to share?”
“I’m good,” she says. “Goodbye then.”
“Goodbye,” I say while I pretend to scribble something on the notepad again.
Mindy gets up and leaves.
There’s a short debriefing but Dr. Milgram and her assistant are in a hurry. So I get my 100 dollar check and leave.
But something triggered me, and I want to repeat this weird experience. The following days I try to hypnotize others. First my roommate Stacey, then others from my dorm. Without much success, however. They feel it’s either relaxing, or a good prank, especially when I suggest getting rid of some clothes.
Therefore I want to visit Dr. Milgram again, to see if she can share some further tips and tricks. However, when I walk up to her office, it is vacated. I walk through the empty rooms; there’s no indication she’s ever been here.
Disappointed, I exit Dr. Milgram’s former reception room and bump into Mindy.
“Hi,” she says. “Trying to get another gig too?”
I am completely bewildered: “Do you know who I am?”
“Of course. You ‘hypnotized’ me here about a week ago,” Mindy says, while making the quote-unquote gesture when she utters ‘hypnotized’.
“You remember, then, Mindy?”
“Duh,” she confirms. “And my name ain’t Mindy, that’s just my stage name. I never caught your name, by the way.”
“Tessa,” I mumble.
“Cheryl. Nice to meet you again.”
“But, how…” I’m lost for words.
“You want some chai at my apartment?” Mindy/Cheryl. “We can share what happened while we walk.
We walk across campus, then into town to Cheryl’s off campus apartment.
Cheryl clearly returned from a workout. She’s wearing a burgundy colored sleeved top and matching seamless legging, hair tied in a ponytail.
“You wanted to get hypnotized or whatever for a second time?” I ask.
“I’ve pretended being hypnotized at least 20 times,” she says. “It paid well; 250 dollars for each session.”
“That much!” I exclaim. “I only got 100 dollar.”
“You didn’t have to lower your pants,” Cheryl smirks.
“But you didn’t mind, getting nude, and ehhm.. getting off?”
“No,” she shrugs. “I did some webcamming, girls-gone-wild pix, that kinda stuff. This paid much better. It’s just a gig, you know.”
“A gig. It was all fake?”
“Obviously,” Cheryl says. “This Dr. Milgram never exactly told me what it was all about, but I eavesdropped a bit. I more or less grasped she wanted to duplicate the infamous Stanford prison experiment. Demonstrate that people will do whatever they are told to do by someone in authority.”
Cheryl lives in a small off-campus apartment. I’m totally flabbergasted, still digesting what she told me on the way. I’d been manipulated for a fistful of dollars, and the worst part was that I secretly seemed to relish it.
So Cheryl puts me on the couch while she’s taking a shower. After about ten minutes she returns, a towel wrapped around her head but otherwise wearing absolutely nothing at all.
I look away in embarrassment.
“Hey,” she says. “Nothing you ain’t seen before.”
She brings me the promised cup of chai.
“So you ain’t bothered?” I say. “You lost a good job.”
Cheryl shrugs: “I can do some camming again if money runs low. I think you were much more disappointed.”
“Well, the experience was.. Interesting.”
“Interesting, huh. I remember you, you were completely into it. I don’t know if you’re into girls, but you looked so dejected when the session was terminated.”
I nod: “Yes, I think I was captivated.”
“Captivated?” Cheryl’s eyes grow wider when the epiphany strikes her: “You were mesmerized. You were the one being hypnotized! By Dr. Milgram’s voice in your ears.”
We are going to do a little experiment ourselves. I want to be hypnotized and Cheryl wants to be in control for a change.
“When I’m camming it’s always others telling me what to do,” she complains. “Makes you loathe men.”
Cheryl owns a pair of high-end noise canceling headphones. She jacks them into her laptop and fiddles a bit with phones and apps until she can communicate through them.
I put the headphones over my head, and now there’s no sound but Cheryl’s voice. She starts to speak. Slowly. Serenely.
”Remember the kittens? Think about the kittens. Happy kittens.”
I almost immediately give in.
“Happy kittens,” I mumble.
”Yes. Happy kittens. Free. Free from worries. Free.”
“Free… From worries.”
”Yes. Happy kittens. Free. Free from worries. Free from thoughts. Free.”
“Free… From thoughts.”
I’ll count backwards from ten to Zero. At zero, you will be free. Free from thoughts. Only my voice will be there.”
“Free…”
”At zero, my voice is all there is.”
“At zero. Your voice. Is all...”
“Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one… Zero.”
Silence.
”Undress.”
I comply.
”We are kittens. Kittens play.”
And the kittens play.