Hypnosis

We don't know much about it! Buuuuut it's kinda cool. Ok. So.

We started getting interested in it via ~erotic hypnosis~ files by some overhyped dude and we weren't exactly surprised when we heard that he was a massive asshole (to a degree that made us not want to listen to his files anymore). He had a nice voice though and his descriptions of bodies were really nice and neutral (in the files that were supposed to be for everyone, not in the gender-specific ones, well). We never really found an alternative to his stuff, now we just listen to non-sexy guided meditation to fall asleep.

This is a really cool explanation of how to do hypnosis. It's coming from a kink perspective but the guide itself isn't very explicit – there's a more detailed warning on the first page. We've never tried it or had it tried on us, but if we were ever to actively engage in any hypno thing (not just with partners, maybe we'll make our own files for internet strangers one day~), we'd make sure this guide was involved!

What we've actually been playing with is self hypnosis. And this topic is kinda hard to read about, because a lot is written about it as this neoliberal tool of making yourself a more effective worker and a healthier-coded and more presentable body. We don't like that. What we do is using it for Big Explory Mood. Soooo, if we're having trouble talking to each other, we might get ourselves in a nice trance and then it's easier. The one guide to self hypnosis that we've enjoyed is this one, however, we feel like if we're linking that we also have to link this piece about authors doing some not cool things.

Side note, we sometimes wonder what makes us call our explory version of self hypnosis self hypnosis, and not just… meditation or smth. Our current use of the words goes somewhat like this:

• Meditation: We call it that when it's not goal-focused at all. Just noticing shit or whatever. Sure, it might have nice effects, but that's not the main point. Open to us and our surroundings.
• Self hypnosis: Super goal focused in that we do it to get to a certain state, and we want to get to that state to do a thing (even if it's just explore). We're actively shutting out our surroundings and focusing inwards only.
• Relaxation stuff: Also goal focused, but like, that's more like when we take techniques that might appear in meditation or hypnosis contexts and use them to calm the fuck down. Like, paying attention to our breath, sure, but only because we're stressed and want to not be as stressed.

We're totally still figuring out what we can do with that. And when we can do it – it seems like it's easiest to do when we're in a bad-ish place but also kinda calm and determined to connect to each other.

What we've been doing so far is more or less this:

1. We get comfy. In the bathtub, maybe with low light and/or candles. In our bed, maybe with colorful light, maybe changing color.
2. We try to relax a little. Focus on our breath for a few moments, feel our body, things like that.
3. We stop paying attention to what is, and start breathing in some way that we decide on.
4. We do the boring trancey thing: We count to 100. Often, we will breathe in a certain way around that, or we do the "feel how heavy body blah blah" stuff. (We do no try to visualise anything, no stairs, nothing, it's hard and it makes our eyes hurt from trying.)
5. When we're done, we enjoy the feeling that has probably started to happen! We will probably get some idea of the vibe we're going for.
6. We do some more relaxy thing, maybe go through our body parts one by one and relax them while breathing ritualistically.
7. We hecking explore. And maybe enjoy the floaty feeling.
8. We kinda find our way out of it? We don't have a "that's how we do that" yet.