The Experiment
Week Two—Monday
This evening I had my first hypnosis session with Professor B. Wanting to make a good impression, I arrived a few minutes early for my appointment. After I’d waited two or three minutes in a small lounge near his office, Professor B ushered me in. He has a lovely office—lots of books, a few plants, a small sofa, and a leather recliner, in addition to his wooden desk. He propped himself on the edge of the desk and motioned towards the chair. I sank into the deeply padded fabric, enjoying its cushy comfort.
I was quite nervous, not knowing what to expect. We chatted for a few minutes, and I could tell he was trying his best to put me at ease. It worked, actually. He’s such a nice man. He has a gentle, soothing voice, and just talking with him helped me to feel more relaxed. After discussing school for a bit, he asked if I had questions about being hypnotized. I’m sure I had a million, but I couldn’t think of any at that moment. “Let’s get started, then,” he said in his low-key way.
He had me lean back in the recliner, and used the locking lever to fix it in place. I saw the room lights dim, and then a bright spot appeared on the ceiling above my head. I had to crane my neck a bit to see it, but he told me not to move my head, just to roll my eyes upward until I could focus on the light. I found I could do this easily, although it put a bit of a strain on my eyes.
He began to talk to me in that low, soothing voice. He told me that he would help me to relax, and that we’d take everything at my own pace. He asked me not to close my eyes until he told me to, even when they got very heavy. As he said that, I became aware of how the strain of staring at the spot was tiring my eyes. He repeated that I should keep my heavy eyes open. In response to my “OK,” he told me that there was no need to speak; I could simply nod my head in agreement whenever he gave me a suggestion or asked me a question.
He talked for a while about relaxing, and about feeling tired. I was feeling tired. My body was settling into the chair, and I could feel myself relaxing. His voice seemed to drift away, and I became more and more aware of the strain on my eyelids. They were so heavy now. I really wanted to close them. I found myself wishing that he’d let me close my eyes, but he’d asked me to wait, so I did.
His voice was making me feel tired. I was aware of that now. He kept droning on, talking about relaxing, feeling tired, becoming heavy. It was so true. I felt so heavy, so tired. My eyes were burning now and blinking continuously. I could barely see the spot, although I was trying as hard as I could to keep it in view. I wanted to close my eyes so badly—it was all I could think about. I could no longer focus on his voice, just on how tired my eyes were. I was thinking, “please, I’ll do anything, just let me close my eyes.”
At last, I heard his voice say, “close your eyes now, Katie, and slip into deep hypnosis.” Oh yes, it felt so good. My eyes closed instantly, and I felt a wave of relaxation. I was so heavy, so tired, so relaxed. He told me to try opening my eyes. I didn’t want to open them; they felt so tired, so heavy; I just wanted to leave them shut. He told me to try harder, and I did, but I couldn’t remember how to open them. All I could do was scrunch up my forehead. It was like I’d lost track of the switch that would let me open my eyes. I knew there no way I’d ever be able to open them, no matter how hard I tried. When he told me to stop trying, I sighed with relief and relaxed even more.
After that, things became hazy. I remember walking down some steps and then collapsing into a deep feather bed. I think he talked to me for a long time. I have a vague recollection of answering questions, but I’m not sure what he asked or how I answered. I felt like I was floating on a warm cloud. Nothing seemed to matter; it felt so good.
The next thing I remember is his voice saying, "...Four ... Five.” I blinked my eyes open and for a moment felt a sense of disorientation—where was I? What had happened? Then I remembered—I was in Professor B’s office, and he’d hypnotized me. At least I think he had. Hadn’t he? I wasn’t sure.
“Did it work?” I asked. He smiled and nodded. “You’re a wonderful subject, Katie. This is going to work out just splendidly. If you have any doubts about being hypnotized, have a look at the time. I glanced at the clock on his wall; it was 9 o’clock. I’d arrived just before 7. Two hours! Where had they gone? I’d have sworn I was there no more than fifteen minutes.
I felt just great. I was relaxed, and after a couple of minutes of being just a little dazed, I felt all bubbly. It was almost like having a couple of glasses of wine, but without that slightly draggy feeling I get when I’m drinking. Although I couldn’t remember most of what had happened and still can’t, I wasn’t at all concerned. I don’t need to remember. This was going to be just great! I’d had a very pleasant experience and was getting paid for it, to boot! After confirming our next session, I left his office, feeling like I was walking on air.
Week Two—Wednesday
Now that I know what to expect, I was looking forward to today’s session. Once we got settled, Professor B told me that he was going to hypnotize me in a variety of ways during our next few sessions, so I’d learn what it felt like. That sounded interesting! Today he had a motorized spiral that he placed on a table near the recliner, where I could easily watch it.
As soon as he turned it on, I could feel my eyes being pulled into the center. Professor B was talking, but all I was aware of was the spiral. I felt like I was falling into it. It actually seemed to recede into the distance, pulling me with it. It was the strangest sensation. I kept falling, and falling, and falling.
After a while, I heard Professor B telling me to close my eyes. I did, and I could still see the spiral! It was the weirdest thing! This time I knew I was hypnotized. I could feel it. It was a physical sensation of being pulled deeper and deeper as I gazed at the spiral.
I began to notice Professor B’s voice. He was telling me that I was going deeper into hypnosis, that I felt relaxed, that I wanted to respond. I could feel his words inside my head. It was so easy to listen to them now, and I wanted to so much. His words were taking me deeper, and I wanted that. It felt so wonderful.
He told me that this time I’d remember everything when I awoke, and could enjoy the memory of being deeply hypnotized. That sounded great.
He spent a long time deepening my trance. He had me imagine lying in a meadow, watching the leaves of the trees swaying back and forth. He directed my focus to various parts of my body, helping me to relax each one. By the time he got to the top of my head, I felt like a pool of molten Jell-O—I was so incredibly relaxed!
He told me that each time he hypnotized me, I’d go deeper, feel more relaxed, more responsive. It’s hard for me to imagine that I can get any more relaxed, but if I can, I’m going to love it.
He kept telling me to notice how much I enjoyed his voice, how much I wanted to hear it, how much I wanted to respond to it. That mirrored my own feelings perfectly. His voice is so warm, so smooth. I could listen to it for hours and hours. And everything he tells me makes such good sense, seems so right.
As I think about it now, he must have been giving me hypnotic suggestions. It didn’t feel that way though. I guess I thought that hypnotic suggestions were things you really didn’t want to do, but for some reason feel you have to. The hypnotist has some sort of weird power over you, and you have no choice. Right? This didn’t feel like that at all. He kept saying things that I was already thinking. It’s almost as if he was agreeing with me and not the other way around.
He told me that he was going to conduct a few tests of my trance depth, mostly so I’d see how very deep I was. That sounded interesting. He started by having me close my eyes, and then suggested that when I tried to open them, they’d be too heavy. He was right. They felt like they were make of concrete. Nothing I did could budge them even a millimeter. When he said that I could open them, they practically flew open. Wild!
He followed that with suggesting that my arm was stiff and rigid, and that I couldn’t move it. I imagined it was a board—a two-by-four. It really felt like one, and I could almost see it. It was impossible to move. He awakened me from the trance, counting up to five, and to my surprise, my arm still wouldn’t move. I was definitely wide-awake, there’s no question, but my arm was stiff as a board. He told me that when he snapped his fingers, my arm would become limp, fall to my side, and when it hit my hip, I’d drop into even deeper hypnosis. He snapped and I dropped. Wow! I was so deep. I can’t believe how quickly I responded.
I was thinking about how enjoyable this was, and how if it felt this good to be hypnotized on just my second session, how terrific it would be after a few weeks, when I’d learned to go really deep. He seemed to understand that, and reassured me that he’d teach me to go much deeper and help me to enjoy it more and more. I still can’t believe I’m getting paid to have one of the nicest experiences I’ve had in a long time.
Although from looking at the clock afterwards, I know the session was a full two hours, it flew by so quickly! I’m sure I remember everything this time (at least, I think I do!), but it still had that “gosh it went fast” feeling—sort of like going to a movie that you just love, where you don’t want it to be over. I can hardly wait till my next session!
Week Two—Saturday
I had my third hypnosis session with Professor B yesterday. I wonder if he could tell how eager I was? I’m sure he must have known; it felt like I practically rushed his office.
Today he hypnotized me using a crystal pendant. This was so cool! He had me lean back in the recliner and then brought out a beautiful cut-glass jewel on the end of a thin chain. He dangled it over my eyes and began to twirl the chain between his fingers, telling me to focus on it. The crystal caught the light as it spun and was so beautiful, so fascinating; my eyes were drawn to it without effort.
Almost immediately, before he even said anything, I could feel my eyelids getting tired and wanting to close. He must have noticed this, because he told me that I didn’t need to wait for permission this time—as soon as my eyes were really tired, I could close them. I felt so grateful as my lids sank shut.
That’s the last thing I remember until I heard his voice say “Five.” I felt just great when I awoke. I was relaxed, but full of energy. I love being hypnotized! It feels so great! I’ve wondered once or twice what happened while I was asleep, but it’s really not worrying me. I don’t need to remember. Professor B is such a nice man, and I trust him completely. I just hope he’s going to hypnotize me every time we meet.