From: "Sully" <the.third.millennium@rcn.com>
Subject: A theory of hypnotism - Hypnotism and the Dream Observer
Date: Sun, 23 Mar 2003 14:01:49 -0500

Hypnotism and the Dream Observer


I have had a theory of hypnotism for many years that is very structured. It
is overly structured for the purpose of analysis. It does explain things I
knew about hypnotism and it has explained or predicted other things that
demand explanation.

In my Usual State of Consciousness (USC) I am aware of a certain sense of
"I". Let us call this Consciousness simply "I". Compared to the dream state,
I have a relatively much higher level of control/access to critical
judgement and it is intrinsic to the sense of "I" so lets call the Control
Element "I-control".

=> When I dream I have a similar sense of "I", but it is definitely not the
same. This is very clear to me because I dream vividly and remember my
dreams and all my feelings at that time. I remember moments of questioning
absurd situations, but; my critical judgement is not available to me, unless
the context of the dream demands it. In fact it is actively suppressed by a
not-I element. This effect is spectacular, such as when you dream your home
15 miles from the ocean is now oceanfront. I am forced to confabulate lies
and false memories to support the theme. I will call the normal dream
Consciousness the "Dream Observer (DO)". The Dream Observer, as I have so
far described it, is wholly passive, but; it is really a participant like an
overwhelmed improvisational actor swept along by external direction, setting
and expectation but still a partner in determining the story line. For this
reason I include in the Dream Observer the concept of this dominated but
participating improv-actor and a contributor to the story. Some dreams have
a media form of stream of consciousness and others have a more pointed
message and story.

=> By analogy to the USC where I can divide the world into I and Not-I; we
can divide the dream world into I and Not-I. Not physically but by
perception and control. What is the Not-I? Why am I dreaming about my
basement that is changed in incongruous ways. Why have I gone back in time?
Where did the theme, feeling and mood come from? Why do I agree to false
memories? What compels me to go down there when there is a foreboding sense
and I don't want to. I call all these Not-I elements the Dream Director
(DD). The dream Control Element = "Dream Director" and it is the relative
higher control element in the dream state. Relatively, this is not the
control center in the USC.

=> Where does coercive hypnotism come from? There is an economy in evolution
that does not develop extra body part or extra behavior. I am not talking
about a person referred to as being "hypnotized as they read a book". I am
talking about those instances of a dominating state in which, for instance,
a stage hypnotist (or experimenter) can tell a person that mathematics is
funny and a person that is usually too inhibited and has no acting ability
will play the role with conviction and more significantly - ignore everyone
else in the audience. This, to me, is a distinct state from the Usual State
of Consciousness. A completely honest and sober person who is directed by
the hypnotist, or knowledge of what is expected, will confabulate a story of
satanic abuse (so convincingly that the FBI investigated for all the
murdered sacrificed babies /other evidence/participants and nothing came of
the investigation) or past lives or alien abduction. This is spectacular and
needs to be explained.

=> My theory is simply this: The hypnotized person, without changing
physiological state, gives up their usual state of consciousness to become
(consciousness-) the Dream Observer and allows the hypnotist (control
element-) to become the Dream Director. One obvious induction method is
relaxation and related techniques that "bore" the left brain into giving up
control. Just as we do every night! I do not have an explanation for other
induction methods but they must result in the giving up of left brain
control "I" of the USC. In dreaming we switch control to the right brain
function of the dream director. That is why its unique messages are often in
the visual form of a verbal pun. The right brain is normally verbally
challenged when it is driving the point.

Let us list the elements so far:

CONDITION------PHYSIOLOGICAL--------CONSCIOUSNESS----CONTROL

------------------------STATE-------------------------------ELEMENT

==========================================================

USC----------------AWAKE-------------------- I----------------I-control

DREAMING----------ASLEEP----------------DO----------- DREAM DIR

HYPNOTISM----------AWAKE------------- -DO------------HYPNOTIST (as DD)

These are outputs of combination that I did not think about when I started
this theory.

LUCID DREAMING--ASLEEP----------------I------------------I-control

CORRIDOR DREAM-ASLEEP----------------I-----------------NOT ACTIVE

Trans. Meditation-----AWAKE---------------DO---------------PRIOR INTENTION

FUGUE-----------------AWAKE---------------DO---------------DREAM DIR

This theory also explains why honest persons who are hypnotized will tell
convincing stories of satanic abuse, past lives or alien abduction wholly
according to the specialty of the hypnotist. The same type of thing happens
every night.

It also predicts that if a hypnotist goes too far - a lower level of
resistance/inhibition can be triggered and the hypnotized person could
become lucid. I read of an account of this by Roy Hunter in hypnosis.alt.
FAQ.

Both these states share amnesia, false memories, resistance, lucidity,
ability to tune out external stimulus (but hypnotism is not physiological
sleep), restricted access to critical judgement unless direction includes
it. Why do honest people lie both when they are dreaming and when they are
hypnotized? This is why the the hypnotized person is the worst experimental
subject imaginable.

I know that there are many partial effects and states but partial hypnotism
effects or long term effects from therapists (another route to the same
transaction?) but this does not invalidate hypnotism any more than all the
partial effects of rest, momentary reverie etc. invalidate the state of
sleep.

Modern theorist in deconstructing hypnotism are sweeping out this important
link. Deconstruction is more of an uncertainty principle and a political
position than a theory in itself. Imagine, if all sleep study was limited to
the entire spectrum of rest. Nothing would be known at this time. Surely the
"state" of sleep could be denied if you were far-fetched enough to compare
it to momentary reverie (even though they do share common elements). Luckily
it is not politically necessary to deny the state of sleep.