It's not in my scope to discuss all the (fantastic) workshops that have been given during the whole event. If/when any of the other presenters write their own report (and let me know), I will link to them from here!
This is my report of the UK Recreational Hypnosis Workshop, to record and share what a fantastic experience it has been.
The atmosphere could not have been better, the location was gorgeous and the people have been firmly hugged.
From the beginning we set the tone strongly, displaying how to trance safely and how (and when) to ask for consent. A brief introduction into what hypnosis is and why we do it was also given.
In alphabetical order:
I very much hope to see any of you again at a future event!
I want to make it clear that before each session, consent, intent and comfort was clearly discussed and after each session, aftercare was provided. Most often in the form of hugs, cuddling, head-scritches.
It was both scary and exciting to do the first hypnosis session of the conference. The intention behind this was to show how to weave hypnotic language into stories and how to use hypnosis to provide context to a scene. Letting people see how changing the context will alter the experience significantly.
The audience provided input on the first story:
With these suggestions I weaved a story for the whole audience to enjoy. Creating a relaxing, calm trance for anyone who wanted to participate. As I did this, I used a pattern of: visual, audio, kinesthetic to describe what was happening. After the trance we further elaborated on what elements were used and how the flow was created.
The second story was a hypnotist hypnotizing his audience (how original, I know), as he is telling them a story. Here, the elements of storytelling were used very differently, almost as a distraction from the trance itself to allow people to be surprised and go even deeper.
After all the sessions ended, some people who had actually read the program, approached me as volunteers for the resistance workshop. Initially I had planned to just have one person on stage, but the idea of linking resistance from one person to the other quickly entered my mind. During the session, 5 seats were rapidly filled and the last one had to be taken by the birthday girl.
What is really important with resistance play is that you make sure that the players know the rules of the game. That they know that this is not about winning, but about losing in the most fun way possible. Doing a bit of training where all 6 *tried* to close their hands was a lovely way of making sure that all of them understood the game.
The session contained lots of teasing and tempting language. Reminding them of how nice it is to go into trance and just... Not quite saying the word that they wanted to hear. One of my favorite parts was to let them all link hands with the person next to them and then *after* they did that, explain that this means that they can feel the person next to them falling into trance, pulling them down with them.
Another highlight was a very cheeky double-bind about one hand being stuck to their leg that would pull them in trance if they managed to lift it.
Originally just "Erotic Hypnosis", but I felt that it could be really nice to actually show the difference. For this I had 2 volunteers with a very different purpose. One to be dominated, one to be played with erotically *without* dominance.
It was really good fun to switch between the roles. From playful to strict. From stern to smiling. My pose, language and phrasing were all highlighted to help the audience understand all that was going on. The feedback from the volunteers was especially interesting. As everyone could easily notice the differences in tone, language and words.
Since this was erotic hypnosis, I asked the erotic subject if she wanted the audience to decide how many orgasms she'd get. The enthusiastic nodding came both as a surprise and a delightful example of a "clear yes".
The answer was: 9.5, which I interpreted as 9 orgasms and one ruined one. I split the 9 into 3 groups of 3, focusing on kinesthetic, visual or audio elements as the base for the orgasm.
During all of this I had the submissive girl observe or perform small tasks to help with her obedient feeling.
Finally, to do a ruined orgasm it was no more than building up with a countdown, giving her the command to cum and immediately (maybe half a second) telling it to stop. The angry look she shot me was answered with an evil smile (and a big hug later).
Many people have asked me for private sessions during the event for various reasons. Of course I will not share any details.
I simply wanted to thank all of you for having the courage to ask, the patience to discuss consent, limits and desires, and the enjoyment you gave me in allowing me to play with your brain.
Thank you all. It was an awesome event that could only work because of all of you!