Hypnosis doubles as medical treatment and XXX
Kristen De Palma
Issue date: 11/8/05 Section: Arts & Entertainment
Hypnosis serves a number of functions in today's society, whether for memory retrieval, to increase concentration, or to assist with surgery, phobias, criminology, illness, weight loss, and the list goes on.
Self-hypnosis is also possible, using one's own induction process and concentrating on a specific goal in mind. This type of hypnosis is most often used to increase self-confidence, focus on weight loss, quitting smoking, or overcoming shyness.
Although the act of hypnosis is very common and professionally used, there are still skeptics.
"I love [when people call hypnosis a hoax]," said Lee. "They're our best form of advertising. Because in Canada, we've got about five million people who have seen or heard of the show, so one out of every 10 Canadians over the last 10 years knows who we are, so the credibility's there."
While hypnosis can have many positive impacts, there is also the danger in placing someone in a state in which they are quite vulnerable. Hypnosis can force people to recall painful events from their past, or become manipulated and do things that they would not normally do in their right frame of mind and may later regret.
With Lee's XXX shows, the participants are volunteers, who are made to sign a waiver before being asked to do anything for the demonstration. Once hypnotized, there's no telling what the audience members will do with each performance.
"The volunteers are always different. I mean, we have no idea what these people are going to do at each show. It sounds really obscure, but it's all done in fun and in the parameters of good taste, so you don't cross that barrier, wherever you draw that line."
As hypnosis continues to be developed and researched in its field, it is no surprise that it has fascinated society for so many years - after all; the art has hypnotized Lee for the majority of his life.
"When I first started, I said you know what, I'll do some shows at the bar and have some fun. Over the years, we developed new hypnosis methods and figured that we'd go on the road for a couple years and see the world before we get a real job. Twenty years later, we're still doing it."
Self-hypnosis is also possible, using one's own induction process and concentrating on a specific goal in mind. This type of hypnosis is most often used to increase self-confidence, focus on weight loss, quitting smoking, or overcoming shyness.
Although the act of hypnosis is very common and professionally used, there are still skeptics.
"I love [when people call hypnosis a hoax]," said Lee. "They're our best form of advertising. Because in Canada, we've got about five million people who have seen or heard of the show, so one out of every 10 Canadians over the last 10 years knows who we are, so the credibility's there."
While hypnosis can have many positive impacts, there is also the danger in placing someone in a state in which they are quite vulnerable. Hypnosis can force people to recall painful events from their past, or become manipulated and do things that they would not normally do in their right frame of mind and may later regret.
With Lee's XXX shows, the participants are volunteers, who are made to sign a waiver before being asked to do anything for the demonstration. Once hypnotized, there's no telling what the audience members will do with each performance.
"The volunteers are always different. I mean, we have no idea what these people are going to do at each show. It sounds really obscure, but it's all done in fun and in the parameters of good taste, so you don't cross that barrier, wherever you draw that line."
As hypnosis continues to be developed and researched in its field, it is no surprise that it has fascinated society for so many years - after all; the art has hypnotized Lee for the majority of his life.
"When I first started, I said you know what, I'll do some shows at the bar and have some fun. Over the years, we developed new hypnosis methods and figured that we'd go on the road for a couple years and see the world before we get a real job. Twenty years later, we're still doing it."
