"Before we begin, I'd like to describe the goals we're going to be working to achieve with today's session. If these goals don't interest you, or if you don't feel safe and comfortable with them, you can simply make the choice to stop listening and find a different experience to enjoy. You are always in control of your trance state, and any suggestions you hear will only apply if you feel safe and comfortable accepting them.
"The goal of today's trance is to train you to become more sensitive to tickling, and to associate the sensation of being tickled with a positive, enjoyable sense of helplessness. There are no specific hypnotic triggers I'm asking you to accept--we're going to teach your mind to recognize situations that are invitations to feel these ticklish sensations, and to enjoy those experiences when they occur. This is more flexible and open-ended than a trigger, and may result in you getting ticklish unexpectedly... although, again, only when it is safe and comfortable for you to do so.
"Although there are points in this session where you may be encouraged to pay less conscious attention to the hypnotist, there are no direct amnesia suggestions incorporated into this session, and no suggestions or triggers that are intended to be forgotten after the session is over. Even so, spontaneous amnesia does happen to some people during hypnosis, so you may find yourself experiencing difficulty recalling details of the trance experience. If you enjoy forgetting your trances, your mind is going to work to make that happen. You have permission to remember or to forget as much of this session as you want--again, within the boundaries of what is safe and comfortable for you.
"This session contains permissive language directing you to disrobe and touch yourself. If you believe you will have difficulty resisting these instructions, please wait until you have some privacy to begin. If you do not feel safe or comfortable following any of the described suggestions or instructions, this would be a good place for you to stop. Otherwise, please get comfortable for me so that we can begin.
"And it's kind of lucky for us that we can begin and end in the same place for this trance, with laughter. Don't worry, you don't have to laugh out loud if that makes you feel a little bit silly, but I do want you to think about how good it feels to let out a giggle or a chuckle when you're feeling stressed. That's because laughter naturally releases tension; it's an emotional response to the unexpected, but unlike so many of those responses, laughter occurs when we feel safe and comfortable expressing our feelings. If you were scared or worried or sad, you might cry instead, but laughter is the message our deep self sends us when we're ready to unburden our cares for a little while.
"And so as you imagine yourself laughing... and it is okay to laugh out loud, if you feel safe and comfortable doing so... you can picture all that stress and tension popping inside your head like tiny little soap bubbles. All those little giggles and chortles and guffaws burst those bubbles from the inside, flowing out into your mind like a soft, gentle mist of peace and relaxation and happiness that warms your thoughts and leaves you filled with joy. You can actually see that in your mental theater, now, watch that cheerful pink fog swirling around inside your brain.
"And it's funny how that kind of laughter leads to more laughter, like that warm pink mist inside your head drifts over to the next bubble and squeezes it until it bursts too. And then that bubble releases more of that silly, swirling fog that floats over to the next bubble, and on to the next, and the next after that, and pretty soon everything just feels so happy and giggly and floaty and drifty that you don't even remember what it's like to feel any tension anymore. You've got a head full of laughing gas now, and it's so bright and it's so cheerful and it's so joyous that all that stress simply melts right out of your mind and leaves you delighted and relaxed.
"And even those thoughts that weren't very stressful, well... it still feels like work to hold on to them. It still feels like effort to think those thoughts, and it still feels so good when the happy pink mist pops them with another peal of laughter and leaves you relaxed and floaty and giggly. Even if pink isn't usually your color, even if you prefer blue or red or yellow or indigo, it's hard to dislike anything that swirls so pleasantly inside your mellow, drowsy brain like this. Pink can be a special color just for these fuzzy, foggy times if you like.
"It's so nice to pop all those thoughts with laughter, one by one, giving you more space inside your vacant, giggly brain for relaxation. Even the act of laughing releases physical tension; every time you tighten your stomach in laughter and bunch up your whole body in a big, hearty guffaw, you can feel those muscles relaxing a little bit more whenever you finish, leaving you that much more loose and limp and lazy wherever you happen to be resting. Even just thinking about laughing like that, even just thinking about tightening and relaxing your muscles makes you feel that much more mellow and peaceful and pleasantly worn out when you finish. It's good to laugh like that.
"In fact, that warm pink fog that's filling up your head right now really is kind of the essence of the warm, safe, happy feeling you get when you're hypnotized, isn't it? I know we talk a lot about things being 'safe and comfortable', but is there anything more safe and comfortable than really letting go and laughing yourself silly around someone you trust? Not really. Not when letting go and giggling your empty, bubbly brains out makes you so relaxed, helpless to stop one laugh from leading to the next and to the next and to the next in a chain reaction that melts all your thoughts into blank, blissful surrender to the joy that flows through you.
"Really, you're just waiting for an invitation to laugh yourself silly for someone you trust. And there's no invitation quite like being tickled, is there? Go ahead and picture that light, brushing finger stroke across your skin and imagine the smile of someone you trust as they tease your body into those first little chuckles. If you need to remove your clothing and touch yourself to get the sensation nice and bright and strong inside your head, you can. It's okay, so long as you're safe and comfortable. And when you are safe and comfortable, being tickled feels even better.
