"Oh, come
on
, honey!" my wife sighed exasperated, "not this hypnosis-crap again?" She'd come into my office and found me reading in
How Hypnosis Works
, the newest addition in my growing collection of hypnosis-themed books.
"What?" I asked, looking up from my book.
"I thought you were in here working. Let go of that garbage and spend a little time with your wife instead.
American Idol
is on," she insisted.
"It's
not
garbage!" I exclaimed tired, "it's fascinating -- you can change and help people in so many ways, and I-"
"Yeah, yeah, I've heard it before," she interrupted me, "and you really wanna try it someday. Once you've studied it enough, learnt enough. But really, dear, enough is enough. You're always reading about it, and you're never gonna try it. Because it doesn't work. Hypnosis isn't real, and you've been hoodwinked into thinking it is."
"You've really figured it all out, huh Elisha?" I snapped, suddenly angry with her, "I've read hundreds of accounts of people who've been hypnotised -- have they all been hoodwinked too? Just because you don't believe something or haven't seen something doesn't mean, it isn't real."
Usually, she backed off and let me be once she'd gotten me riled up (this wasn't the first time we'd had this argument, see), but this time she really stood her ground.
"John, have you ever tried it on someone?" she asked, calmly.
"You know I haven't. I don't have enough..." I began excusing myself.
"Linda who wants to stop smoking? Your mom's weight-losing programme? Making Paul cluck like a chicken at dinner-parties?" she demanded, knowing full well the answer.
"No, as I was
trying
to say, I haven't..." I tried again, letting my irritation show in my voice.
"No, you've got lots and lots of information!" she exclaimed and pointed at my bookshelf where the middle-row was occupied by some of the best guides and introductions into the world of hypnosis, "you know why you haven't hypnotised anyone? Why you haven't even tried?"
"Oh, so you know?" I sneered at her, growing increasingly annoyed.
"Yeah, I do," she insisted with a nod, "you're scared."
"What!? Scared?" I scoffed, "what would I be scared of?" That was not what I had expected -- because it was ludicrous, of course.
"Yeah, scared. Because if you actually did try, you'd realise that it's just a hoax. A hoax that you've spent hours and hours and hundreds of dollars on. So it's better just to sit back and read and watch films, pretend it's real and never risk getting proven wrong."
"I'm not... that's not... No, Elisha, it's..." I tried to find an appropriate response, but somewhere deep inside, something worrying was stirring.
"Yes, it is, John," she said in a calm, soothing voice, "I've been thinking about this for a while. And you know what? It's alright. We can cut our losses, leave this behind and have a nice evening together. We don't have to watch television, we can just... relax. Enjoy ourselves..." She sent me a suggestive smile, hinting at what kind of enjoyment, we could have, if I were willing to let go of my hobby. However, I wasn't willing to pay that price.
"It's not that I'm afraid it's a hoax, though," I insisted, "it's real, I know it is. But..."
"But...?" she probed me, clearly sensing victory.
"But I'm afraid that... I'll fail," I answered after a little while's thinking. "Imagine the disappointment, if I can't make Linda or mom or whoever fall into a trance. Imagine how... how humiliating it'd be. Never try, never fail, you know?"
"Then try it on me," she said, "try it on me. I love you, I won't judge you. If it doesn't work, there'll be no humiliation, no shame. We'll just say, 'it didn't work' and go our merry way. No harm, no foul."
"I... it doesn't work like that, Elisha," I said somewhat reluctant, "you can't hypnotise someone against their will."
"It's okay," she hurriedly answered me, "I won't resist or anything like that. I'll be perfectly accepting, doing what you tell me to. I'll be the best... what do you call it... subject you can imagine. And when...
if
... it doesn't work, you'll agree to let go of all this."
"I don't know..." I sighed but knew that the battle was lost. She sensed it too.
"Let's do this, John," she said with a smile, and I nodded, my heart beating like crazy.
---
Ten minutes later, Elisha was sitting comfortably in the lazy-chair in my office, awaiting our little... experiment. I sat across from her, holding a crystal in my hands. Adrenaline was making me a little shaky and the little prism caught and reflected the dim light in the room in an array of different ways. It had a been a real bargain -- only 300 dollars online. I had started a CD with the soothing sounds of waves on a beach to set the mood. It might be a little overkill, but I figured I needed all the assistance I could get.
Not that the props alone would be enough. It was up to me to do this.
"Okay," I began and swallowed nervously, "okay. I want you to focus on the crystal. I want you to listen to my words very carefully. I want you to relax as best you can, follow my voice and look at the crystal. Okay?"
"Okay," she nodded, a little nervous too but determined, "I love you, John."
"I love you too, Elisha," I said as I leaned in and gave her a kiss. She smiled at me, and I held the crystal out before her eyes.
"Just relax," I said very slowly, very carefully, "relax. Listen to the waves. Look at the crystal. The crystal. Relax. Listen to my voice. Slowly, feel how you are getting tired. Tired. See the light in the crystal. Your legs, feel your legs. They are so heavy. You can barely lift them. You don't want to lift them. It feels good to just relax. Listen to me... Do as I say..."
I droned on and on for at least fifteen minutes before I noticed it. Her eyes had lost their spark. They were still open and she blinked regularly, but
she
was missing from them.
"Elisha, you are now hypnotised," I declared, excited and scared. Excited that it seemed to have worked, scared that it hadn't.
She didn't respond which had to be a good sign.
"You will listen to my voice. You will follow its command," I demanded, "and you will answer me."
"Yes." She said.
"Stand up," I ordered, and she stood up with another clear "Yes."
"Say: It worked, John. Hypnosis is real. I was wrong," I ordered her, somewhat petty, I know. But... somewhere, deep inside, we're all a bit petty, I think. Especially towards someone who's been so adamant that we're wrong.
"It worked, John. Hypnosis is real. I was wrong," she said. Not like a robot but not like a real person either. It was Elisha's voice, but... not Elisha.
I looked at her as she stood in front of me, almost at attention. My wife is a pretty good looking woman. Not a tall, beautiful goddess or anything, but rather... good looking in an ordinary way. She's half a head shorter than me, with curly, blond hair and blue eyes. She was wearing a blouse that obscured but didn't completely hide her wonderfully large breasts. Her jeans were loose and comfy but far from arousing. Not her sexiest attire, I must admit.
Studying my wife while she just stared straight ahead with a blank expression, waiting for my command, arose a series of dark thoughts in me. See, the ability to help others had been a strong motivator for studying hypnosis -- but the power was another one. In the darkest, most secret corners of my mind, ideas and fantasies about control and dominance had always lurked. Especially the sexual kind. I had imagined (and even written about) having a woman under my control so many times... And here it was.
But even so... hypnosis is not an exact science. And how would Elisha react if she 'came to' while we were... busy? Although... well, I was fairly sure she was very deep under. I know my wife -- she would not admit to being wrong if she had any kind of choice.
"Elisha," I said, my voice shaking a little, "cluck like a chicken." Well, a little entertainment was not a bad place to start. This would also ensure that she really
was
under, wouldn't it?
"Cluck, cluck, cluck," she immediately obeyed, humiliating herself on my command. Her eyes stared into nothingness while her mouth formed the words again and again.
"And flap your wings." She did so, standing in the middle of my office, clucking and flapping her arms like a retarded chicken.
"Stop."
And she stopped, returning to her empty stare. A little unnerving, but at the same time, quite arousing.
"Elisha, take off your blouse," I commanded. Without any hesitation, she pulled the blue thing over her head, standing in just a faded, grey tank-top and jeans. She wasn't wearing a bra, so I could easily see her forms. Now, of course, this was nothing new, since I'd been married to her for 12 years now, but it was... strangely forbidden, now. I was clearly invading her privacy, in a big way.
"Your pants too." And voilà , the pants were gone, leaving her in just panties and tank-top.
"Kneel," I commanded, voice shaking. It felt so bad! So wrong... so hot!