[Summary: Audio recording of the script with the same title. Visual component to be added.] - Audio posted 08/28/2020

Without further adieu, I'm happy to present the audio recording of The Descent.

Vocals alone:

With Binaural:

[Edit: now featuring visuals.]

The Descent - with binaural, with visual:

As always, enjoy.

-C

[Summary: the first entry in a new series, meant to explore what matters and what doesn't when going into trance...and then to deepen the hypnotic state through fractionation as the series continues.] - 08/06/2020 - 05:12

Let's talk about hypnosis.

Imagine a staircase.

You know what it is, and you have a clear and concise understanding of what it's for - to ascend or descend. Simple, right? I could tell you to picture one, and have you focus on the act of walking down; step after step, guiding you into trance via that simple and familiar structure. That's the idea behind many inductions, particularly progressive relaxation: I'll use an image or concept you're familiar with to make you comfortable, then create a scaffolding from associations surrounding it, and finally, I'll operate within that framework to help your mind make new connections between things you've experienced and things you are being asked to do that aren't necessarily as straightforward as "take a step down lower, now."

We could use a beach, instead, and I could describe the inexorable motion of the waves or the constant warmth of the sun and sand. Then, the mechanism of trance becomes the gradual transition into a relaxed state from the influence of the imagined stimuli. The waves make such a soothing sound, don't they? The sand feels nice against your skin, and the sun warms your body just right; those are the associations, the conceptual connections you've made around the topic of discussion. The "image" can be as simple as the single object of a staircase, or as complex as an elaborate beach fantasy.

But are these images really necessary? Do you need to imagine the staircase vividly enough to see it in your mind, or envision the beach effectively enough to feel the sensations of the sand and the sea? What happens if you're not able to do that? Are you unable to go into a hypnotic trance as a result?

In short, no. Like I said, everything presented in those little exercises is a framework, and it uses connections that are familiar to you in order to create a mental state with which you are, perhaps, less well-acquainted. But those connections are not required: not the connotative knowledge, not the intuitive understanding, not even the mental imagery. We hypnotists use the staircase to create an implicit recognition that you are meant to go down it; we describe the beach to intimate the idea of relaxation so you'll accept it as the reasonable outcome.

Ultimately, none of this is important to the mechanism of hypnosis; even the words are, themselves, meaningless when you're being taken into a trance state. That might seem a bit strange to you, considering I'm proposing to mesmerize you using my words, but it remains true nevertheless.

The only thing that matters when going into a trance is your desire to do so. You have to want to be hypnotized. It doesn't make the slightest difference whether or not that inclination is conscious, nor whether you understand what a trance state truly entails. The attraction to going under does, by far, the bulk of the work of putting you there. All the myriad of mental mechanisms are really for is to connect you with that desire, that craving, sufficiently intensely that you drop.

That's not quite everything, of course, we also need to aim your desire at a target - and one that you know, at least on some level, how to reach. But didn't I just say it doesn't make a difference if you understand what a hypnotic state is? As it happens, you're already aware that you can go on a journey without knowing the destination - and that's especially true when there's a trail to follow. If you've been entranced before, this is a very simple task; your brain already knows the path. If you haven't been hypnotized before, that's where things need to get creative, clever, maybe tricky. But do I need to convince you to give up your free will? Of course not, we can save that for later.

In truth, and you might have heard this before, your brain slips into and out of trance states by itself, all the time. That's why it can be somewhat hard to describe either the states themselves or the process to reach them, and it is why we rely on these common analogues to introduce the concept initially. Capturing the essence of anything without implying other, unintentional references, can be surprisingly difficult. It's tough enough to do with objects and with ideas you'd expect to be obvious, let alone with the magnificent mysteries of mesmerism.

Despite that, here you are, so it's pretty clear that you want to be hypnotized...meaning we've got the desire covered, so let's connect with that instead. What does that desire look like, to you? I expect it's a bit harder to picture than a staircase might've been. Where does it come from? That's easier: are you here to be freed from the responsibility and burden of thought? Do you know trance to be a pleasant state? Are you simply curious how it feels? Does the motivation beneath your fascination actually have any impact?

Of course it does, but not for our purposes just now. Just now, we've got you thinking about why you want to go into trance - which means you've acknowledged that you -do- want it. That's more than enough.

Because obviously you want to go into trance. You're here, reading a script designed to hypnotize you. You've not only acknowledged your desire, but acted on it. Navigating to this website is significantly more complicated a task than the mental exercise required of you now. So why not just drop? Why not start your descent?

You already have. Like I said, you've connected with your need to go under hypnosis. You've acted on it. You've read my words, with the hope and expectation that you will be put into a trance as a result. The descent into a hypnotic state has been inevitable, from the moment you started. The only variable, really, is time. How long will it take to conjure the ideal image, the proper parsing of phrase, some sufficiently seductive sound?

But I said none of those things matter, didn't I?

Which brings us, at last, to the important question: did you believe me when I said that? Have you focused on my words long enough to become convinced of the truth of them? Did you, perhaps, already suspect the things I've said to be the case? Because if so, you've already gone into a trance state, and this has become an exploration of your descent.

I told you the words didn't matter, and so they don't matter. I told you the images and concepts aren't important, and so they are not. I told you that the desire to drop, to descend, was sufficient...and so it is. It has been sufficient since you encountered the statement earlier, and you've been reading plenty since then. Each sentence you've accepted with that aspect of wanting - needing - to go into trance sitting comfortably in the back of your head, at the fringe of your consciousness this entire time, has been the structure to guide your descent.

But let's ramp things up a bit, because it may not feel like you're under hypnosis just yet. That's where we get into trouble with preconceptions and expectations. Do you need to be mindless for it to count as a trance state? You certainly can be, but it's not necessary. You need only to be willing to accept what I am telling you. That cooperation needs only to occur more readily than your other thoughts, if there are any.

Consider again the staircase, but let's focus on something much more specific about it. When you take a step down a staircase, there is a point when you have one foot off the ground, hovering over the lower step. In that position, you can perceive the pull of gravity much more effectively than you could a mere moment before. You don't have to picture the staircase to know that feeling; it came to you the instant I described it. There is a sensation almost exactly like that between reading my words and moving on to the next - and the only relevant question is, do you feel the way my words pull on your mind? That sequence has repeated itself with every passing sentence, each successive phrase, until now. You've been walking down a staircase the entire time.

At first, your desire to descend made you defer to my statements - perhaps hesitantly, perhaps not, it's irrelevant. But eventually, you reached a point when you began to accept my words just after you finished reading them. Now you're willing, and able, to trust my words before the statements are even complete.

From here, we can only descend deeper. But you should know, getting to this point was inevitable. You've been on this path all along; I told you, the words and images and concepts aren't important. You want to be hypnotized, and so here you are...hypnotized. Take a bit of time to let yourself ponder your present mental state, your trance state. Draw in a few deep breaths, and relax awhile. Become aware of how pleasant the sensation of being hypnotized is, if you can isolate it. Don't concern yourself over it if you can't yet separate specific components of being entranced - that will come with time.

Then, wake up.

Did you feel that mental shift? If you'd like, start over again. I'll be waiting.

The words still don't matter, only the descent.

-C