A friend of mine had a drunken and wholly unsatisfactory sexual encounter with a “self-confessed player” a couple of nights ago. The following evening, he tried to give her a provocative brush-off via text message. She replied, gloriously, with:
“Sorry Mark, it never would have worked out.”
His name was Matt.
ONE THING ABOUT RELIGION is that it makes people afraid of themselves. The recommendation from most mainstream religions seems to be that one should segregate aspects of one’s own personality and deny the parts that don’t quite equate with the righteous ideal, giving these cerebral offcuts a life of their own, personifying them, and distancing one’s *true* self from them. Evangelical Christians have often informed me that I’m full of demons and should get myself exorcised. In reality, humans are constructed as much of these metaphorical demons as they are of anything else, and to attempt to remove them would be as futile as trying to shake off an arm or a leg with the theory that it isn’t *really* yours. My normal response is this (normally in a raised voice as they’ve started gibbering in tongues by this point): “Don’t hassle my demons! I like them! It’s them who make me good at sex!”
Tori Amos recently penned a song called “Devils and Gods” that appears to stride purposefully in the same general direction:
“Devils and Gods now that’s an idea
But if we believe that it’s They who decide
That’s the ultimate detractor of crimes
‘cause Devils and Gods
They are You and I
Devils and Gods
They are You and I
Devils and Gods
Safe and Inside”
There are many intriguing facets to hypnosis: one of which is the area of consent.
The question is asked many times about whether one can be forced to do anything against his will whilst in a trance. The answer is normally “no”. Unless of course the querent is a customer of mine, in which case the answer is “get your wallet out and close your eyes, breathing slowly and deeply, and with every breath you are feeling more and more relaxed…”
The myth I base much of my living on is that I can turn my more subservient clients into mindless automatons and have them do anything I choose. In reality, it is they who decide exactly to what extent they want to be manipulated. I merely facilitate their fantasy of mental helplessness. A taxi driver willingly goes where he is instructed, yet it is still he who drives the car (and he who can choose to brake if I get annoyed with the pedestrians crossing the road too slowly and order him to drive straight over them).
And, as many theorise, if hypnosis does not exist as a magical state in itself and is merely a combination of suggestion and compliance, then with whom does the responsibility lie? My answer: Anyone but me, your honour.
