A San Francisco Treat

The first annual WEstern Erotic Hypnosis Unconference, or WEEHU, took place over this past weekend and I had the privilege of being there for most of it.  Yay!!

There were so many high points that it's hard to pick just a few.  Meeting up with Lady Ru'etha in Phoenix and flying together the rest of the way to San Francisco was definitely at the top.  Ru'etha is a dear friend and I loved seeing her happy and well cared for.

The WEEHU crowd was awesome.  I taught a lot, as I tend to do at these things:

• Erotic Hypnosis 101
• Your Hypnotic Self -- aimed at new hypnotists learning to develop their own style and technique
• Kinky Human Tricks, of course
• Deeper, Faster, Easier -- a new class I put together for WEEHU on how to get better at going into trance
• It Takes Two -- Lady Ru'etha and I presented this together; it was about dual and mutual inductions
• More Instant Inductions -- I hadn't actually planned on this but someone put it on the schedule so, in the Unconference spirit, I went with it.

As always happens at an EHU, I met some absolutely delightful new friends and got to catch up with a number of existing ones.  The play parties at the San Francisco Citadel were splendid, and we got to mix with some of the new members who didn't realize they were walking into an erotic hypnosis event.  And it looks as though HypnoMaestro and I will be hatching a joint project in the future relating to education; more on that when we're ready to talk about it.

My biggest regret is that I wasn't able to stay to the end.  I had to catch an early afternoon flight, which meant leaving WEEHU after the first class on Sunday.  So I probably missed a lot, but at the same time I know I'll see these good people again.  This is an amazing community we have.

-wg

The Hypnotist is IN

Spent a lovely day today at FetFest 2013 hypnotizing people, catching up with friends, and generally enjoying the atmosphere.

For those of you unfamiliar, FetFest is an annual gathering of kinksters sponsored by the people at FetLife.  It takes place at a private campground in northern Maryland (the same location as Dark Odyssey: Fusion for those who've been), and it's basically a celebration of all things kinky.  Like Fusion, the camp is organized into villages for some of the more popular interests.  There is a Rope Village, a Bouncey Place (for littles), a Goddess Village (for those who revere women), etc.  And there is a Hypnosis Village, which this year is organized by the lovely and energetic LuckyAlbatross.

One of the features of Hypnosis Village is the Hypno-Booth.  There is generally always at least one hypnotist in attendance giving trances to anyone who is interested.  We take requests, or people can spin the Wheel of Hypnosis to choose from a variety of fun and sexy suggestions.  Today the Booth was staffed by HypnoGuru, Joyful007, LeeAllure, HypnoTodd, and myself.  My friends MrDream and ZanyM were also nearby, and it was great to see them again.   I also got to finally meet up in person with Darkside007, a long-time member of the MC Forum, and spend some time with him.

A highlight of the day for me was attending ZanyM's kinesthetic trancing class.  Zany demonstrated several silent inductions, using only physical rapport built through touch and intent to induce trance and bring the person back out.  LeeAllure and I practiced on each other, and later Zany worked her magic on me as well.  Zany's style is intense and moving; I blissed out and didn't really want to come back right away.

Tomorrow at 10:30am I'll be presenting Kinky Human Tricks in the Hypnosis Village.  We'll have a book signing after the class and then I'll be in the Hypno Booth again, trancing people for fun and pleasure.

-wg

Saturday Night with NEHG Boston

It was a lovely and entertaining Saturday evening, especially for me.  ;^)

Dani and I met up with MissIsis at our hotel and drove together to the home of stormhawke, who graciously agreed to host the talk.  The group was a mixture of old friends from NEEHUs and events past and new friends we made that night.

We began by discussing the Ericksonian concept of utilization, which simply means making use of the circumstances of the trance -- what's in the trancee's mind already and what the environment adds -- to facilitate things.  This could be as simple as acknowledging a background noise that may be distracting and instead turning it into a trigger to go deeper (very common, and quite useful in a play party or room trance), or as subtle as noticing that your partner's mouth twitches in a certain way when they become aroused and tying that twitch to increased obedience, arousal, or whatever you need for the scene.

Mixing Business with Pleasure

This weekend (August 9-11) is the annual National Guild of Hypnotists convention in Marlboro, MA.  I'll be there in my Bruce Wayne persona, communing with my fellow wizards and earning the continuing education credits I need to keep my professional certification current.

While I'm in the neighborhood, I'll be sitting down with a small group from NEHG Boston on Saturday evening to discuss utilization, modalities, and sensation play.  RSVP's for the event are already closed, but we can always schedule another talk if there is interest -- join the New England Hypnosis Group (FetLife login required) on FetLife to stay informed and/or log a request.

-wg

Launch party recap

The launch party for Mind Play was Saturday (7/27) and it was everything I wanted it to be.

It started with a presentation sponsored by The Eulenspiegel Society (TES) Hypnosis SIG.  MrDream, ZanyM, and Mephki put it all together for me and TES got the word out.  As a result we had over 40 people in the room, almost all of which came in pairs.  We filled the room.  Mephki's introduction was appropriately embarrassing and sweet, and then it was my turn.

It turned out that a good half to two-thirds of the room were people who were new to erotic hypnosis, so I quickly altered the plan to make the talk more useful to them.  We covered some of the basics from Hypnosis 101 and then I taught a few inductions.  For Body Scanning and the Hand Squeeze, I demonstrated on a volunteer and then we had everyone practice with their partner (since just about everybody had a partner).  Then demonstrated Terence Watts's exquisite "Seven Plus or Minus Two" induction.  About half the room opted to go into trance for that.

The First 100!

Mind Play sold its 100th copy earlier today, not quite three weeks after it first went on sale.  I'm ridiculously excited at the milestone.

So far over half of the sales have been Kindle editions sold through Amazon.  Print copies are next, with Smashwords a distant third and Nook trailing.  (Really trailing -- there have been more copies sold to Amazon users in Germany than to the whole Nook world.)

This is even before the launch party this weekend in New York, which is very cool.  I haven't blogged about them yet, but I have two more appearances coming up:

• Saturday, August 10th, in the Boston area 
• Labor Day Weekend at FetFest in northern Maryland

At both of these appearances I'll be doing a talk ("Kinky Human Tricks" at FetFest), signing books, and I'll have some print copies on hand for direct sale.  (No, those copies aren't counted in the 100 because they haven't been sold yet.)  Plans are brewing for more road trips coming up, too.

A million thanks to everyone who's bought, reviewed, or talked about this book.  This has been a great personal and professional thrill, and it's only just taking off.

-wg

The Dangers of Writing About Ethics

When I put a section on Ethics into Mind Play I knew I was painting a bullseye on my back to some extent.  After all, ethics are always subjective.  And sure enough, the first negative feedback I've seen so far on the book stems from one of my Rules for Ethical Online Hypnoplay on page 47 of the print edition:

You have an obligation to disclose your true biological sex to the hypnotee before there is any agreement to play.

The discussion, in this Fetlife thread (a Fetlife login is required to follow the link), makes some good points before it starts getting emotional.  The first person to object, for example, pointed out that the phrase "true biological sex" is hard to define and may be viewed as prejudicial to transsexual, genderqueer, or gender-fluid people.  They're right; it probably would have been better to say "gender identity" instead.  Unfortunately, the discourse has been swirling dangerously close to the drain of ad hominem -- one poster, whom I respect and generally think of fondly, has apparently concluded that because that one sentence exists the whole book is unworthy, and actually wished they'd bought a print copy so they could return it as some kind of protest  -- and the real issue is in danger of being lost.

Mind Play launch party

The Eulenspiegel Society (TES) Hypnokink SIG in New York is sponsoring an event to celebrate the launch of my book Mind Play: A Guide to Erotic Hypnosis on Saturday, July 27th at 440 Studios in New York City.

My friends Mephki, MrDream, and ZanyM are organizing the event.  I'll be presenting material from Mind Play including some Kinky Human Tricks, and I will also be demonstrating the famous Seven Plus or Minus Two confusion induction.  We'll have paperback copies of Mind Play on hand and I'll be signing copies as long as people want me to.

TES is asking $8 for TES members and students, $10 for affiliates, and $12 for non-members to attend the event to help defray their costs for the venue and support staff.

More details when we nail down the plan the rest of the way.  Until then, check out the FetLife event page for the latest.

Mind Play, Kindle Edition

The Kindle edition of Mind Play is now up for sale on the Kindle Store (see the link to the right.)  This version has no DRM and sells for $9.99.

I know a number of people have been waiting for ebook formats.  This was the easiest of the ebook formats to create from the original print files.  I'm working on an .epub version I will be able to post to the Nook Bookstores and SmashWords.

-wg

How Deep is Deep?

(This is a free sample from my new book Mind Play: A Guide to Erotic Hypnosis.  If you like what you're about to read, see the links to the right to buy the book.)

-wg

How Deep is Deep?

Like so many aspects of the art of hypnosis, the whole concept of depth is an abstraction. We tend to think of going into trance as going “down,” so it is logical to measure degrees of how far down and to call those degrees “depth.” In reality, though, hypnosis isn't a vertical thing; it is merely an altered state of consciousness, one of focused concentration. So when we say someone is going deeper, what we really mean is they are becoming more focused on the trance state and less inclined to respond to external stimuli or distractions.

In the mid 20^th century two major scales for measuring hypnotic depth were commonly used: the Friedlander-Sarbin scale and the later Stanford Scales, developed by Andre Weitzenhoffer and Ernest Hilgard. These sought to measure hypnotic depth by applying a series of test suggestions of increasing difficulty – that is, requiring an increasing ability to distort, ignore, or invent sensory information to comply with hypnotic suggestions. The problem with these measurements is that they assume everyone is identical in that everyone, if they are “deep enough,” can perform every suggestion on the scale. In reality people's minds are different; some people find it far easier than the scale's inventors thought to do some things and all but impossible to do others regardless of trance depth. The scales also fail to take into account that people get better at manifesting trance phenomena with practice. Today most of the professional hypnotists I know don't bother with these formal scales unless they are conducting research and need to cater to academia.

It's Here!!

The print edition of Mind Play: A Guide to Erotic Hypnosis went on sale today at the CreateSpace eStore.  The list price is $23.99, but I'm offering an introductory discount that brings the price down to $19.99 if you use the discount code 5WB8FDRZ when you check out.

The print edition of Mind Play will be up on Amazon.com in 5 to 7 days, but the discount code above will only work on the CreateSpace store, and only until July 31, 2013.

I'm working on ebook editions and will have those up soon.  The ebook will list for $9.99 and will be on the Kindle Store, the Nook Bookstores, and Smashwords.

I'm excited to see this project finally taking off and I hope you will be, too, when you read the book.  Free copies will be going out to local hypnosis groups starting next week.

-wg

Coming soon

People often ask me, "What book(s) are out there to help people learn about erotic hypnosis?"  Often the person asking is a local community leader who is getting asked by people in the community and wants to be able to give them a good answer.

Coming soon, I will have one. Mind Play: A Guide to Erotic Hypnosis is a genuine how-to manual on erotic hypnosis written primarily for the hypnokink community.  It contains 220 pages of material taken from presentations I've done at NEEHU, Dark Odyssey, and other functions.

Inside you'll find:

• Hypnosis 101 -- For those who are new, a primer on what erotic hypnosis is, how it is used, and basic tips on safety, ethics, and developing your own hypnotic voice and style.
• There and Back Again -- Inductions and deepeners anyone can learn to use.  This is more than just a list of scripts, though; I explain how each induction actually works so that you understand why you would choose one induction over another, and I give variations.  There is also a discussion of what "depth" really means and how you can test to gauge whether you're being successful.
• The Power of Suggestion -- A detailed discussion of how to formulate hypnotic suggestions.  You'll learn about direct and indirect suggestion, Ericksonian language patterns, and common suggestions used in all kinds of contexts.
• Kinky Human Tricks -- Most hypnosis books leave it up to you to figure out what to do with your partner once they're in trance.  Not this one.  In this chapter you'll learn how I do some of the most asked-about erotic hypnosis techniques:  creating arousal and desire, sensation play, hypnotic role play, freeze/puppet/mannequin/robot play, hypno-bondage/tickling/flogging, memory play, and of course multiple ways to give someone a hypnotic orgasm, including my Five-Point Palm Exploding Orgasm Technique.
• Resources -- Once you've absorbed everything in Mind Play, you'll need tips on where to go for more learning, more practice, and more fun.  This chapter recommends further reading resources and talks about local erotic hypnosis groups and events.

If you want to be an erotic hypnotist, this book will teach you how to be a skilled and responsible one.  If you want to be the one being hypnotized, Mind Play will teach you what to look for in a hypno-dominant and provide advice on staying safe as you play.

I expect Mind Play to be on sale on Amazon.com and the CreateSpace eStore by July 15th -- sooner if I can make it happen. It will also be available in ebook form soon after the print version goes on sale.  If you are the leader of a local erotic hypnosis group, email me about receiving a free print edition copy for your group.

-wg