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1. 

   DDM
   Member

   How do Athiesm and Hynosis interact with each other? I've always been told that hypnosis makes you extremely susceptible to suggestions, but that seems to be the anti-thesis of a very important part of Atheism(Assuming the atheist left a religion): Thinking for yourself.

   They also say you can't hypnotize someone into doing something they wouldn't normally do(like killing someone), so I'm thinking that maybe, because of that, Athiests wouldn't be so susceptible to suggestions from the hypnotist. Or maybe there's something else at work, because some of the ridiculous things that people do while hypnotized they'd never do while not hypnotized.

   Of course, my view is based on my very limited knowledge of the subject, so feel free to correct me. I'd love to see a study based on how Atheism and hypnosis interact.

   Posted 3 years ago #
2. 

   the_original_xy
   Member

   i've heard that you can't be hypnotized unless you want to be hypnotized.

   Posted 3 years ago #
3. 

   Sock
   Member

   My brother in law and sister were hypnotized at a comedy club once. About all I remember was that they were told to act like they were 5 again, and my brother in law was pulling my sister's hair while she cried. As a lingering imprint, my brother-in-law was hypnotized into thinking that the next cigarette he smoked would taste like camel shit.

   So, when all was said and done, outside the club he lit up. Puffed, and then threw the cigarette away, gagging. "It tastes like shit!"

   Both of them still say, to this day, that it was 100% real, that they weren't just playing along.

   Posted 3 years ago #
4. 

   Jeremy
   Member

   I've also been to a hypnosis comedy, despite my father's stern objections. Every year one comes to my hometown, and every year he writes a letter to his member of parliament saying how it's against the law here in Ontario. He's a doctor who performs hypnosis occasionally, and he gets very angry when people use it for entertainment, claiming that once in a while people come away from those shows having been seriously psychologically injured. But I won't deny that it was entertaining.

   It was kind of surreal seeing the things the comedian was able to make people do. Gave me a tremendous insight to why people have religious experiences like speaking in tongues. But I would be very hesitant to suggest atheists are less susceptible than believers. I think it'd be far more accurate to say skeptical people are less susceptible, but that doesn't describe all atheists.

   It is true that you can't be hypnotized if you're aware of what's going on and are unwilling. When you go to those comedy acts you'll see the comedian call dozens of people on-stage, then quietly dismiss most of them during the act, until you're left with a small number that are completely into it, clucking like chickens or thinking they're on a roller coaster or whatever.

   The lingering imprint this comedian left was that each participant would remember everything they did the next time they entered a public washroom. Later, after the show, one guy in the bathroom yelled out "OH MY GOD!! I DID THAT?!"

   Posted 3 years ago #
5. 

   Darwin
   Member

   Obvious troll is obvious. Also sucks at HTML.

   Posted 2 years ago #
6. 

   Ty
   Moderator

   Actually, spam troll was spam.

   Poof.

   Posted 2 years ago #
7. 

   Jeremiah
   Member

   From what I remember from psychology, the susceptibility to hypnosis varies from person to person, and was tied in with how much they daydream (I think?, it has been awhile). Part of the trick of stage hypnotists is trying to identify a mark that they think is highly susceptible. I think most rational people, and skeptics in particular (including myself), tend to think they would be immune to hypnosis, but never having anyone attempt it on me I couldn't honestly say for certain.

   Posted 2 years ago #
8. 

   WR_Orion
   Member

   I haven't done it since I was about 19, back in the early 90's, but at that time I was hypnotized to quit smoking.

   I was skeptical, but at the same time willing. I honestly didn't think it would work, but hoped that I was wrong.

   I think that's the key, if you want it to work, it will.

   The experience itself was very cool actually. It was just a room full of people, maybe 20 of us, and the hypnotist was a woman just speaking over a microphone that came through the overhead sound system. She asked us to lay on the floor and close our eyes and relax, then starting talking. She described us flying through the air, surrounded by clouds, those clouds being our addiction, and blowing the clouds away as we flew. Also something about being in an ice cavern. What was amazing was that everything she said, I saw and felt. VERY cool.

   After awhile, I just woke up. At that point I thought that I'd fallen asleep and it didn't work. She told us we were done and we could leave and that there was a trash can by the door in which to throw our smokes away if we wanted. I realized as I walked through the door that I was fine with throwing away a full pack of cigarettes and I had NO desire for one. Amazing! In a relatively short period of time, maybe an hour, a strange told me to quit smoking and I did. Powerful stuff.

   Posted 2 years ago #

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