'Manufacturing Consent' and Hypnosis
...... like meditation or good sex. Like many avenues to the soul and away from the control of those who would keep us in the dark and treat us like mushrooms (feeding us the excrement of animals they think are as low as 'they' truly are); hypnotism has suffered the attacks of many well-respected 'experts'. It has shown it has validity and value despite this often frontal assault on what actually 'works'! The power of positive thinking became a major part of the culture and self-help genre in the 70s and it is a form of hypnosis sometimes.
"Hypnosis is a level of consciousness that is being neither awake nor asleep. Hypnosis is a state of heightened suggestibility normally characterized by focused or concentrated attention and often bodily relaxation. Music, focusing on deep breathing, isolation tanks, meditation, focusing on a word such as 'calm' over and over, running, massage, saunas, even warm baths can alter consciousness. {Fasting can accentuate any INTENT, as well.}
Any atmosphere that encourages imagery can alter consciousness. This may include:
*The scent of burning incense
*Lighting effects with flickering candles in darkness, stained glass windows
*Emotion-arousing music, repetitive sounds, chanting
*Symbolism with specific architectural designs, decor with pictures and ornate carvings, robes, etc.
*Point of fixation such as an altar, picture, candle flame, or cross
*Ceremony with certain rituals
*Sermon with repetitive ideas or sounds and specific voice inflections
*Silent meditation with eyes closed, focusing attention away from the outer world to the inner world of the mind
Any and all of these factors {Plus repetitive propaganda and peer expectation.} may aid the creation of an altered state of consciousness, which some people call the superconscious state of a 'higher self' state. The unfortunate fact is that this state also is capitalized on by more than 5,000 cults in America, which exploit followers under the guise of healing, personal growth, and self-actualization.
My most memorable show of the eighties was at the Pacific National Exhibition (PNE) in Vancouver, British Columbia. We held 33 evening concerts in 17 days. More than 50,000 people saw our presentations with up to 5,000 spectators at a single performance. The shows were done on a huge stage that was often over-crowded even though it could hold more than 200 people.
The expectancy of the crowd reached the point where I could walk on stage and within
seconds have 50 to 100 people collapse in seconds and fall to the floor. All I had to do was go to the center of the stage, look over the entire crowd, raise my right hand and simultaneously drop it, and in a commanding voice shout 'Sleep'. This was a quick way to get the show moving, and that was important for full entertainment impact. The audience couldn't get enough of the show and enjoyed the humor the volunteers' antics created much more than how the actual hypnosis worked.' (7)
About the Author
Columnist in The ES Press Magazine
World-Mysteries.com guest expert
Author of Diverse Druids
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