05 - Community Misunderstandings

There’s not just one recreational hypnosis community. Some are focused on learning, others socializing, and a lot of online forums degenerate into a pile of requests for files or uninformed therapy recommendations. Given its flexible nature, it’s understandable to find many groups are small walled gardens, with admins generously donating their time and sanity. The individuals there are just as diverse as the communities themselves.

I wouldn’t be doing hypnosis today if a friend hadn’t introduced me to my first meetup. Moreover, I’d likely still be reading arbitrary garbage if I hadn’t found a friendly hypnosis book club. It feels awkward to mention, but even before I’d get razzed for having a smart-ass hypnosis domain, people were incredibly warm and welcoming. Go meet folks.

As part of that, you’ll meet a lot of cool individuals. You’ll meet hypnodoms that have been around the block and seen all sorts of absurdities, and subjects that have been through the ringer multiple times. There are SFW street hypnotists in kink-oriented groups just because they want to practice their craft, and psychology researchers that are open to finding information and perspectives in unexpected places. There’s also some nerds that read way too much about the subject.

All of this is a long way to say - don’t expect people to have the same experiences, expectations, and background that you have, regardless of where you end up. Here’s what I think you should be aware of.

Dominance and Submission Is Not Universal

The hypnosis kink space is an anomaly. In most kink communities, it’s common to have a mutual understanding of safewords, consent, and implied risk. People generally have a good idea of what’s dangerous, stupid, and what’s a normal misunderstanding. This isn’t universal in hypnokink.

Sometimes there’s an assumption that subject identified individuals are primarily interested in submission. Many are looking for relationships, friendships, a good time and just to have some of their fantasies played out. They may also be looking for a hypnotist/subject relationship without any of the strings of dominance and submission attached.

Roles are dynamic, even yours. It’s perfectly OK to be a service hypnotist, a switch, a hypnodom, or a street hypnotist with no attachment to kink whatsoever. It’s all right to try something, decide you don’t like it, and perhaps try it again if you see an interesting opportunity. In the same way that all of this is voluntary, don’t let someone else’s expectations shape your relationship.

Tinkering is Formalized

After seeing celebrity street hypnotists involved in ridiculous antics, it would be easy to infer that you have plenty of leeway. Don’t emulate these actions, especially in online communities. As these spaces are often mixed with kink, you’ll want to get clear consent before putting someone in an uncomfortable situation.

Aside from that, in the linked video, having a camera crew behind you will likely boost expectancy and compliance, given that the subject understands they’re likely safe. Shoplifting then suggesting amnesia isn’t an everyday application of hypnosis. (Anthony Jacquin is great - just don’t try to pull that shit off. It’s misleading.)

Varied Backgrounds

Surprising no one, there’s no single approach to doing hypnosis. If you’re involved in a community, you can learn from almost anyone with experience, regardless of their model. NLP practitioners generally have solid people skills, Ericksonians are masters of indirect suggestion, stage hypnotists can show you performance tricks and physiological convincers, and the kinksters can show you how to negotiate and stay safe.