If you have ever considered putting on a stage hypnosis show, or simply learning how stage hypnosis is done, Deeper and Deeper, the Secrets of Stage Hypnosis, by Jonathan Chase is the book to get.
Jon Chase’s style of writing makes the content very straight forward and easy to follow, with no unneeded waffle or space fillers. He gets to the point quickly and clearly gets his message across.
Jon works hard to give you the overall picture of hypnosis. He covers the history of hypnosis and his own take on what hypnosis actually is, and what it is not (very interesting section, those who know Jon knows he has very controversial opinions).
He covers several stage hypnosis style hypnotic inductions, managing somehow to be both brief and detailed. The inductions are ideal for use on the stage, but being quick and entertaining can in many cases be used in other situations also. For the visual learner, Jon uses many photographs of the inductions in progress which help make the methods even clearer.
Jon also talks about the art of suggestion. He covers how to phrase your suggestions properly, and also the incredibly useful ‘super suggestion.’
For the stage hypnotist, Jon covers absolutely everything that you need to know to put on a stage show. He talks about tests, convincers, lies to children (basically his term for pretalk) volunteer, selection, safety, how to recognise hypnosis and deal with fakers (a particularly useful section which will save both the stage and street hypnotist plenty of humiliation), and a whole lot more. Jon finished off with a mighty list of stage hypnosis routines, to get your mind rolling.
A crucial section for both the stage hypnotist and regular hypnotist is the awakening. You learn how to efficiently emerge your volunteers in such a way that they don’t end up suing you several months later, obviously a very useful thing to know how to do!
What really sets this book apart from just another hypnosis book is what you learn about confidence and charisma. I get dozens of questions from new hypnotists who describe to me how they executed an induction perfectly and gave their subjects poetically elegant suggestions, and achieved nothing. The reason behind this is confidence. Your self belief is perhaps the most important factor in any hypnotic interaction, and Jon teaches this well. Even if you are a devout student of Milton Erickson who despises stage hypnosis and all who practice it, this section alone will be worth you getting the book.
Another particularly valuable section is Impromptu Hypnosis. Jon talks about how to pull off easy and virtually fail safe demonstrations of hypnosis whenever and wherever you are asked. As with many other sections, I would have liked more information, but the brief process described was still very useful.
Unlike many hypnosis books which subject the unfortunate reader to a litany of old and ineffective material and drown any distant sparks of originality and creativity in the mounds of sheer drivel Deeper and Deeper is an entertaining read.
The witty and controversial writing style make the book hard to put down, and a fascinating and mind expanding read, even if you do not agree with half of what Jon writes.
If you are just starting out on your hypnotic journey, and not entirely sure where to go and what direction to take, this book will be immensely useful for you. You will learn the entire hypnotic process, complete from pretalk to awakening in a fast and no B.S manner, and, although the book is themed at stage hypnotists, the skills and techniques can easily be carried across to hypnosis in any other environment.
For the more experienced hypnotist the book will give you plenty of fresh ideas to use when demonstrating hypnosis in a formal or casual setting, and help you further hone your skills and craft your technique. My only caveat to any reader of this book is that you bear in mind certain sections of this book are opinion, rather than fact, and I would suggest think about what are reading before you accept Jon’s opinions as your own. (This is not to say his opinions are wrong, they obviously work very well for him, but merely to encourage you to make your own judgments)
Although Jon does seem to skip over some important sections, on the whole the book is definitely a must have for any experienced or aspiring hypnotist. As a man who has spent decades at the very top of his field Jon has much wisdom and experience to share, and he does very effectively in Deeper and Deeper. The book is very useful and will be a valuable addition to your hypnotic library.
You can find it here: http://www.effectivehypnosis.com/recommends/DandD.htm
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