9 What Is Hypnotic Writing?
R
ecently I spoke at the world’s largest hypnosis convention.
Two thousand professional hypnotists from all over the world
came to hear me describe Hypnotic Writing. I told the crowd that
Hypnotic Writing is a form ofwaking hypnosis.
“Waking hypnosis” is a term coined by Wesley Wells in 1924 and
first published in the book An Outline of Abnormal Psychologyin
- He wanted to separate the idea of hypnosis as conscious sleep
with hypnosis as awake concentration. In other words, traditional
hypnosis thinks of someone with their eyes closed but aware; Wells
proposed that someone could have their eyes openand still be sub-
ject to hypnotic suggestion.
Later in his 1964 book Hypnotherapy, Dave Elman defined
waking hypnosis as: “When hypnotic effects are achieved with-
out the trance state, such hypnotic effects are called waking hyp-
nosis.”
Waking hypnosis is not magical or mystical. It’s no different
from being absorbed in a good movie. Or being riveted by a good
book. Or driving down the highway for hours and being “zoned
out.” In each instance you are in a waking trance.
A waking trance is a concentration of attention. You are fo-