15 - Induction - Awakening

You can go almost any direction from here, but since this is just about inductions, I’ll give you an awakener.

I’d like to give you the opportunity to enjoy that feeling of relaxation for as long as you like. When you’re ready, you’re welcome to return back to the surface. While you’re returning, I don’t want you to come back any more quickly than you can savor the experience, taking as much time as you like… letting your eyes open in their own time, and at your own pace. Take as much time as you need to enjoy how you feel right now, as well as how good it feels to slowly return.

(This will generally be okay. I know one subject that likes to be brought back quickly and re-energized during the process, but this is rare.)

When I tell someone that they should take as much time as they’d like to return, I mean it. That includes you. Let them enjoy themselves. If they’re thoroughly zonked and it’s been a bit, you can ask them to give you a gentle nod to check in, and repeat that about every five or ten minutes.

Since this session (presumably) wasn’t spicy - this is more of a check in. Give them a bit to come back, ask them if they need to hydrate, and give some time for some light conversation.

Exit Interview

Calling this an exit interview is a bit much, but now you’ll never forget to do it.

Assuming they didn’t pass out, the individual you’re working with likely has a few things to say. Take it in, take note of the feedback, and take your time with it. During your chat, hit the following points - there’s no rush.

Really - this isn’t a checklist. When they respond, ask them to elaborate. Make it a conversation. Do not use motivated leading - such as - you had a good time, yeah? In NLP terms, keep your language “clean.” If you want to ask, a much better way would be “how was that?”

Some ideas:

• Did anything take you out of the experience? This is a much softer way of asking “Is there anything I can improve on?”
• What was your favorite part? Leading, but it’s nice to know if there were highlights.
• Did you notice anything else that was interesting?
• What was most memorable for you?
• Coke or Pepsi? If they say Coke, they’re wrong. Send them back down for funishment. (If you have consent for mischief.)

In general, it is not your job to convince your partner they were hypnotized. Starting out, what I’d recommend is mentioning there’s a gradient of hypnotic response, as well as ask them about what they experienced that was out of the ordinary, if anything. Telling someone they have incorrect conclusions about their subjective experience is a waste of time, and can be harmful. However, if they just spent the last five minutes laughing at a writing utensil due to a post-hypnotic suggestion, it’s absolutely fair game to ask “do you usually laugh at pens or does that only happen on Tuesdays?”

Closing Roles

This is a nice spot to say something like “ah, I hope / I’m glad you enjoyed your session.” You’ll want to re-frame yourself out of the control of being The Hypnotist, if you’ve earned that much swagger. This might be me being superstitious - but I feel that some ‘post-hypnotic-crushes’ (transferences) develop because there was never a clean break between the two social statuses.

Maybe that’s a bit abstract - let’s recontextualize that. Say for instance, you have a friend that’s a dentist, and you go to see them for a regular cleaning. They remind you that you’ve got board game night tonight with them in passing.

Later - board game night happens, but your friend shows up in their dental get-up from the office, and refers to you professionally as if you were back at the office. Seductively, you slide up on the table in front of your friends, sending game tokens and paper money flying as you submissively leave your mouth agape, repeatedly slapping a box of nitrile gloves you prepared earlier. That’d be fucking weird.

Or kinky. Maybe both. Not judging.

You haven’t established yourself as Their Hypnotist, or any other sort of relationship. You just got in their brain. It’s up to you - but I like the idea of putting the act up on the clothing rack when you’re done.