Article by PeaceTied Hypnosis
Most subjects will remember everything that happens during their trance, but if it’s something you both want, then hypnotic amnesia is within reach. Anyone can do it with some practice and the right techniques. Here are 12 tips to get your partner forgetting like a pro:
When encouraging hypnotic amnesia, try placing the memory somewhere to store it. In a box, or a book, so that it can get closed up and put away safely. The logic of physically putting it somewhere can help. It’s also safely stored there for later.
Have a designated location for hypnotic forgetting (a vault, room storage closet, etc.) Having them imagine a specific spot to forget helps them recognize the situation as separate from the rest of their life — further separation from the things they can remember.
Hypnotically visualizing the location of a memory getting farther away & vanishing gives a logical reason for it to be gone. Put the memory in a box & watch it float away. Drive away from the forgetting room & watch it get smaller in the rear view mirror, etc.
Start with a random conversation before the induction, and at the end, immediately upon waking up, keep going with the same conversation as if no time has passed.(Framing the session with a single conversation helps the subject skip over the segment in their memory).
If you’ve placed your hypnotic subject’s memory in a box, ask them to close it themselves. They’re the ones doing it, which gives it power.
Describe amnesia as a fun game, including safeties to encourage subconscious buy-in. (This should be safe & reassuring, not scary) They can remember it if they ever need to. This is something that it’s okay to let go of. It’s nothing important worth remembering.
Try simply giving your hypnotic subject permission to forget. If it’s their decision, there’s nothing for them to accidentally resist.
Tell your subject to forget. Some respond well to direct amnesia suggestions. Others will focus on & specifically remember that thing. For those people, use some misdirection: use these tricks, but tell them they’re forgetting something else. (Play consensually!)
Have your subject think of a time when they couldn’t remember something (where their keys are, why they walked into a room, name of someone they once met), & focus on that feeling to encourage amnesia. Reassurance that it’s ok to forget, & happens all the time.
Move on to another session with unrelated content right after a hypnosis session containing something that you want them to forget. Don’t let them sit and think about what just happened. Keep them distracted. “wide awake, welcome back … Now sleep again…”
At the end of a hypnosis session ask a non-trance related question as a distraction if you want to encourage amnesia. (What did you have for breakfast? Is it supposed to rain tomorrow? Get them thinking about anything other than what just happened.)
It’s hard to not think of something, so tell your hypnotic subject what to think about instead of what they’re supposed to forget. “When you start to think of what we discussed, you’ll instead remember relaxing in a field of flowers.”
Try these out and see what works. Keep in mind, amnesia play requires trust and skill on both sides of the watch. It may take some practice, but you can do it!