Interdialogging With RICK
ON FANTASY VS. REALITY
Rick, you posed a long list of possibilities in states of irreality created by autohypnosis, even though you did not actually use that term. Although I do not belong to the +- 25% of hynotizable people, I have used hypnosis enough to know a lot about its possibilities. I trancefixed in less than a jiffy a fellow who was mocking me for believing in hypnosis. You can read my postings on the subject.
Here I'll reduce myself to the following comments:
You will never get jaded of hypnotical experiences, because the feeling of saciety can be eliminated at will. All previous experiences can be erased and resumed at will as if new.
Time loses meaning. A typical experience I repeated several times was as follows: I tell the willing subject, "When I count to three, you will travel to Africa by ship, chase lions, and have other adventures, and when I say 'four' you return home by ship."
Now the subject agrees that she/he will not realize that it was all fiction untill I tell her/him to realize it. I count from 1 to 4 at intervals of 1 second. When reaching the number 3, the subject's visage is classically "lost in space" and a second later at number 4, it returns to normal, and I ask why I had not seen her/him for some time. Well, now is the time to listen to a long story of adventures on board the ship both ways, the lions' chase and other fascinating stories. You ask when she/he arrived, and then they remember that they have not been home yet and are in a hurry, so you tell them to remember that it is all hypnotical fiction, and then you are again surprised by the fellow's reaction of almost disbelief, explaining how all seems to have been real.
Still, after a while, the impact of the experience loses its freshness, becoming as if it had been an interesting dream. Personally, I enjoy many dreams.
What is the point to all this, Rick? Take the case of fictional experiences lived with hallucinogenic substances. They may be pleasant, preferable to real life, but they are inimical to mental and physical health. Now think of being able to self-hypnotize, and become the "god" you mentioned. In this, I am ignorant, yet it is not difficult to imagine that there is the possibility of becoming hooked to this situation, or may be you can control it and enjoy it harmlessly.
I never used hypnosis to give the subject the capability of self-hypnosis. But I did help some people by telling things as: "When you get hot flashes (menopausal) they will disappear when you touch your face." "When you desire to smoke, draw a cigarette and inhale without lighting it, and you will feel satisfied."
I felt not inclined to use hypnosis for such purposes. I will now answer your question:
"What is the difference between knowing me and being me?"
One is always oneself, even when under hypnotical or any other mental influence, although obviouly one's behavior is not the usual one. But in such case, one is not able of knowing oneself. But one is capable in other cases to realize that one is behaving unusually, and also know the reason.
Thus, this subject is complex, and many will understandably diasagree with me depending on terminology. Perhaps one may not make a moral person commit a crime under hypnotical command, but there are ways to overcoming that barrier.
Recently a matron consulted me by email because she suspected of being under the hypnotical influence of a pastor that had given her spiritual help. Her story was bizarre, yet I helped her through four email exchanges without any attempt to hypnotize her in order to find out if she was under a "spell," but only by means of logical reasoning. She told me that our exchange during that week had changed her to a happy being able to fully enjoy life.
