NGH Certification

I alluded to this in my previous post, but it's time for more details.  (Yay!)

This fall I will be offering the full National Guild of Hypnotists certification course in hypnosis/hypnotherapy.  Students who complete the course will be certified by NGH and qualified to practice hypnotism professionally.  The course is 100 hours of instruction, including roughly 80 hours of classroom time and a minimum 20 hours of between-session assignments and observed practice.  Topics covered include:

• When, and when not, to use hypnosis
• Lots of inductions, deepeners, and emergings (of course!)
• Forming effective suggestions
• Handling abreactions
• Advanced hypnotic techniques including:
• Age regression
• Parts regression ("parts therapy")
• Time line
• Specific approaches to the most common requested therapies:
• Smoking cessation
• Weight loss
• Stress management
• Basics of Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP), including how to integrate NLP and hypnosis together
• How to start, manage, and grow a professional hypnosis business
• How to teach an adult-ed style self-hypnosis class
• Since I am only offering this distance learning course to the erotic hypnosis community, we will be able to include additional material that is not part of the NGH standard curriculum, if you get my meaning.

My class will be offered online as a distance learning course.  We will "meet" online for 10 class days, scheduled on 5 non-consecutive weekends, using a web video conferencing service.  In order to participate you will need a computer -- Linux, Mac, or Windows, though iOS and Android tablets may also work -- with web cam, microphone, and speakers.  A good headset is recommended.  You will also need volunteer "clients" that you can practice with, sometimes live and sometimes recorded.  When you pass the final exam, which is practical in nature (you will demonstrate your skill by working with a volunteer), you receive a certificate from NGH identifying you as a Certified Hypnotist (or Hypnotherapist).

The tuition for this course is $1295 per student.  Included with that are your first year's membership dues in NGH and a package containing the class manuals, sample promotional material, and DVD videos on practice building, promotion/marketing, motivation, and demonstrations from well-known NGH instructors. I may also add a couple of things to that package.

Email me (wiseguy35@gmail.com) to get yourself signed up.  As long as we have at least four I'll hold the class starting in mid September 2014.  It's going to be an exciting adventure for everyone who participates.

-wg

Catching Up

Way too long without a post.  There is so much to catch up on!

NEEHU-5

Most of what I would say about NEEHU 5 has already been said by others.  It was exciting ... it was fun ... it was delightful.  I met a lot of new friends and revisited many old ones.  It was NEEHU.

I particularly enjoyed seeing so many new presenters at NEEHU 5.  Occasionally in a discussion someone will remark how *EHU has mostly the same presenters all the time (not always in a negative context), and there's really nothing I can say to that because I'm one of those same presenters.  I teach a lot, because it's what I love to do.  So I was delighted to see people like Professor X, who not only volunteered to present but chose a gutsy and difficult topic and presented it in a lively and highly effective way.  I hope we get more first-time presenters and that the new blood stays around, so that those of us in the "old guard" can relax and enjoy seeing our lessons carried on.

Coming Up ...

There is a lot coming up in the next few months for me and for the community.

This Friday, May 23, I'll be doing an online class on Hypbook as part of their Live Learning series.  The topic is "Your Hypnotic Self," which is a class I taught at WEEHU 2013 and am planning to repeat at the inaugural MEEHU in July.  Class starts at 8pm Eastern time.  If you can't make it then, Hypbook will be recording the class and posting it in their learning library.

The next big thing is MEEHU, taking place July 18-20 in Glendale Heights, IL (just outside Chicago).  You can get details at the MEEHU Fetlife group or from http://www.meehu.org/.  MEEHU is the first Midwest Erotic Hypnosis Unconference, put on by the local community in the spirit of NEEHU and WEEHU.  I'll be there, of course, along with a lot of well-known names from *EHUs past and present.  It will be an awesome time.

Looking further ahead, WEEHU 2014 is beginning to take shape as well.  It will be held the last weekend of September at the Citadel in San Francisco, CA.  Registration is already open.  Details are at http://weehu.org and on FetLife.

NGH Certification Course

I'm starting to formulate a plan to offer the National Guild of Hypnotists (NGH) certification class in a distance learning format, so people don't have to travel physically for multiple weekends for it.  The NGH curriculum is a solid platform that teaches the methods and techniques of professional hypnotism.  There is no kinky content on the syllabus, of course, but a class full of erotic hypnosis enthusiasts is bound to wander into that territory repeatedly.  Just sayin'.  ;^)

The class will likely happen in the fall, assuming enough people are up for it and I can work out a suitable platform for teaching it.  If you want to suggest a service that will let us connect up to, say, 8 people with audio and video so we can hold a class that includes inductions, demonstrations, and practice sessions I'm very open to hearing your ideas.  Please email me (wiseguy35@gmail.com).

That about catches me up.  It's going to be a very busy -- and very exciting -- rest of the year!

-wg

NEEHU is Coming!

NEEHU 5 is less than two weeks away now.  Time to start getting excited!

For those who are unaware, NEEHU is the seminal erotic hypnosis event organized by the delightful Mephki and members of several local erotic hypnosis groups throughout New England.  This will be the fifth NEEHU, and it's been my privilege and pleasure to be at all of them, teaching and coaching and doing whatever else looks like fun at the time.

NEEHU draws people from all over the globe:  East Coast, West Coast, Canada, Texas -- heck, last year we had someone come all the way from Australia.  They come for the community, for the interactions, for the classes, and for the opportunity to meet and play with each other.

Looking at the schedule grid for this year tells me this is going to be exceptional even by the high standards set by previous NEEHUs.  The schedule has been expanded to include activities and classes during the day on Friday.  That means even more chances to learn from people like HypnoMaestro, Lady Ru'etha, Marc Cabot, Lee Allure, MrDream, ZanyM, Dr. Headcrash, Hypnobruce, and more.  I see several new-to-NEEHU names on the presenter roster as well; it will be exciting to see them in action.

As usual, I'll be doing a lot of teaching at NEEHU 5.  I'm on the schedule to do:

• Hypnosis 101 (intro for beginners and the idly curious)
• Kinky Human Tricks (popular uses of erotic hypnosis)
• Deeper, Faster, Easier (tips and tricks to learn to go into trance more deeply and easily) 
• Brain Overload (all about confusion and overload inductions)
• Sleep Now! (Instant inductions)
• All the Way Down (about taking people to very deep levels)

I'll also be participating in Marc Cabot's writing roundtable, hopefully at least one of the ethics panels led by HypnoMaestro, mentored trance practice, and assisting at the dual inductions practice session.  

When I'm not teaching I love to meet, talk, and play with people so if you see me between sessions please do chat me up.  And if you haven't got your NEEHU ticket yet, what are you waiting for?  ;^)

-wg

A San Francisco Treat

The first annual WEstern Erotic Hypnosis Unconference, or WEEHU, took place over this past weekend and I had the privilege of being there for most of it.  Yay!!

There were so many high points that it's hard to pick just a few.  Meeting up with Lady Ru'etha in Phoenix and flying together the rest of the way to San Francisco was definitely at the top.  Ru'etha is a dear friend and I loved seeing her happy and well cared for.

The WEEHU crowd was awesome.  I taught a lot, as I tend to do at these things:

• Erotic Hypnosis 101
• Your Hypnotic Self -- aimed at new hypnotists learning to develop their own style and technique
• Kinky Human Tricks, of course
• Deeper, Faster, Easier -- a new class I put together for WEEHU on how to get better at going into trance
• It Takes Two -- Lady Ru'etha and I presented this together; it was about dual and mutual inductions
• More Instant Inductions -- I hadn't actually planned on this but someone put it on the schedule so, in the Unconference spirit, I went with it.

As always happens at an EHU, I met some absolutely delightful new friends and got to catch up with a number of existing ones.  The play parties at the San Francisco Citadel were splendid, and we got to mix with some of the new members who didn't realize they were walking into an erotic hypnosis event.  And it looks as though HypnoMaestro and I will be hatching a joint project in the future relating to education; more on that when we're ready to talk about it.

My biggest regret is that I wasn't able to stay to the end.  I had to catch an early afternoon flight, which meant leaving WEEHU after the first class on Sunday.  So I probably missed a lot, but at the same time I know I'll see these good people again.  This is an amazing community we have.

-wg

The Hypnotist is IN

Spent a lovely day today at FetFest 2013 hypnotizing people, catching up with friends, and generally enjoying the atmosphere.

For those of you unfamiliar, FetFest is an annual gathering of kinksters sponsored by the people at FetLife.  It takes place at a private campground in northern Maryland (the same location as Dark Odyssey: Fusion for those who've been), and it's basically a celebration of all things kinky.  Like Fusion, the camp is organized into villages for some of the more popular interests.  There is a Rope Village, a Bouncey Place (for littles), a Goddess Village (for those who revere women), etc.  And there is a Hypnosis Village, which this year is organized by the lovely and energetic LuckyAlbatross.

One of the features of Hypnosis Village is the Hypno-Booth.  There is generally always at least one hypnotist in attendance giving trances to anyone who is interested.  We take requests, or people can spin the Wheel of Hypnosis to choose from a variety of fun and sexy suggestions.  Today the Booth was staffed by HypnoGuru, Joyful007, LeeAllure, HypnoTodd, and myself.  My friends MrDream and ZanyM were also nearby, and it was great to see them again.   I also got to finally meet up in person with Darkside007, a long-time member of the MC Forum, and spend some time with him.

A highlight of the day for me was attending ZanyM's kinesthetic trancing class.  Zany demonstrated several silent inductions, using only physical rapport built through touch and intent to induce trance and bring the person back out.  LeeAllure and I practiced on each other, and later Zany worked her magic on me as well.  Zany's style is intense and moving; I blissed out and didn't really want to come back right away.

Tomorrow at 10:30am I'll be presenting Kinky Human Tricks in the Hypnosis Village.  We'll have a book signing after the class and then I'll be in the Hypno Booth again, trancing people for fun and pleasure.

-wg

Saturday Night with NEHG Boston

It was a lovely and entertaining Saturday evening, especially for me.  ;^)

Dani and I met up with MissIsis at our hotel and drove together to the home of stormhawke, who graciously agreed to host the talk.  The group was a mixture of old friends from NEEHUs and events past and new friends we made that night.

We began by discussing the Ericksonian concept of utilization, which simply means making use of the circumstances of the trance -- what's in the trancee's mind already and what the environment adds -- to facilitate things.  This could be as simple as acknowledging a background noise that may be distracting and instead turning it into a trigger to go deeper (very common, and quite useful in a play party or room trance), or as subtle as noticing that your partner's mouth twitches in a certain way when they become aroused and tying that twitch to increased obedience, arousal, or whatever you need for the scene.

Mixing Business with Pleasure

This weekend (August 9-11) is the annual National Guild of Hypnotists convention in Marlboro, MA.  I'll be there in my Bruce Wayne persona, communing with my fellow wizards and earning the continuing education credits I need to keep my professional certification current.

While I'm in the neighborhood, I'll be sitting down with a small group from NEHG Boston on Saturday evening to discuss utilization, modalities, and sensation play.  RSVP's for the event are already closed, but we can always schedule another talk if there is interest -- join the New England Hypnosis Group (FetLife login required) on FetLife to stay informed and/or log a request.

-wg