I was recently at a gathering of friends when the subject of hypnosis and hypnotherapy came up in conversation (it often does when I am there). Someone asked me if hypnotherapy really worked and before I could get a word out of my mouth, a woman, whom I had never met, spoke out and said, “Hypnosis is a cult!” …a quick hush feel over the room as I immediately focused my eyes on hers. Now, I don’t mind anyone having their opinions, just don’t be ignorant when expressing them in front of me.

It was obvious, at least to me, that this woman had no clue about what she was interjecting her thoughts, otherwise, she would have kept it to herself. I then asked, “What makes you believe that?” She fired back with “everybody knows it …even the Bible says it’s black magic.” So, now I have to go into the religious end of this as well. After a short talk on the history of hypnosis and how it is used and how I have even been asked by priests and nuns to perform hypnosis on them, she sat there with her mouth open with a foolish look on her face. Her response was typical of a person who was backed up by the big, mean hypnotists …she said, “Yeah, right!”

It seems that we, as hypnotists will always be on this seesaw between skeptics and believers but we need to make sure we have every tool in our possession to be ready to build our case whenever we are confronted with idiotic statements. Now, I am not saying this woman was an idiot …just her statement was idiotic. She was obviously misinformed and I felt it was my solemn duty to set her straight. I am also reminded that the great hypnosis instructor Gerald Kein once said, “You are not here to prove to anyone that hypnosis is real.” Ahhh, but he never said I couldn’t do my best to prove hypnosis wasn’t black magic! Believe me, I know there are hundreds of reasons why people think hypnosis is a parlor trick or something that Satan has placed on earth to control people but I also know the real truth about what a wonderful tool hypnosis is for people who are open enough to give it a chance. How sad it is to think that someone could live a happier, and sometimes, healthier life, but never will because someone jumped into a conversation one evening and proceeded to convince everyone in the room that hypnosis was a cult or black magic and they should avoid it like the plague! Man, I get frustrated with those who usually get a positive “nod” from on-lookers and then they look at me as the evil guy.

So, my suggestion to you is this, be prepared for these types of people. They are usually in every room. Some are more likely to speak up than others and some will walk off and mumble to others outside of the room about how this hypnotist guy or gal is just full of it and only wants to make people look like a bunch of jerks. You must be ready with a good background on hypnosis, its many uses and accomplishments and then be prepared with a rock solid rapid or instant induction to take someone into that wonderful state of trance. Be forewarned, there will still be the skeptics but if you follow your induction with something other than a funny routine….something a bit more serious, you are more likely to “win” over the skeptics rather than have someone say “See, he just wants to make a clown out of you!” Later, you can always roll into a funny routine but the first thing is to prove that hypnosis is a serious science and you are serious about what it is you do.

Rich Wilson has been a professional entertainer, Stage Hypnotists & Motivational Speaker for thirty years. He has graced the stages of just about every type of venue that is available.

As a professional entertainer Rich has shared the stage with such artists as Willie Nelson, The Platters, The Drifters, Charlie Daniels, The Tokens, Toby Keith, The Del-Vikings, Alabama, Johnny Maestro & The Brooklyn Bridge, George Jones, Johnny Paycheck, Martina McBride and many more.

The HypnoRich Stage Show is filled with a wide variety of routines that are created to entertain everyone. A clean and completely interactive performance that is designed to show how remarkable the human mind is while sharing some wonderful laughs throughout the show.

HypnoRich.com
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The Fellowship of Christian Hypnotists

Publishers Note: This article touched on the interesting and somewhat conversational topic of Religion and Hypnosis. Many people tend to think Hypnosis isn’t christian or that it’s something from the devil as Rich mentioned above. Rich and I are both members of The Fellowship of Christian Hypnotists which is a non-profit group created to help educate the general public about hypnosis and the christian religion.

If you would like to learn more information about The Fellowship of Christian Hypnotists than please check out their website as it contains tons of great information about Hypnosis and the Christian Religion. Don’t you owe it to yourself to know the truth?