Trance and the Trickster: Hypnosis as a Liminal Phenomenon

Abstract

This paper makes the case that hypnotic phenomena are liminal in nature and that hypnotic practitioners (such as Milton Erickson) share many traits with traditional societies’ “tricksters.” The ambiguous nature of hypnosis has been apparent since the days of Mesmer's animal magnetism. Hypnotized people often report hallucinations that confound their ordinary distinctions between reality and illusion, external and internal processes, and many other binary oppositions, including time and space as well as mind and body. In addition, hypnosis can obscure the distinction between fact and fiction in one's memory, as is evident in the “recovered memory” controversy. The role played by imagination is central to both indigenous rituals and hypnosis, and hypnosis is a multifaceted phenomenon requiring explanation at multiple levels. Some investigators and practitioners have missed the importance of the social context in which hypnosis occurs, while others have come close to destroying the most interesting and useful hypnotic phenomena under the guise of objectivity.

¹Preparation of this paper was supported by the Chair for the Study of Consciousness, Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center, San Francisco, CA. This address accompanied the 2002 Award for Contributions to Professional Hypnosis given by Division 30 of the American Psychological Association, the Society for Psychological Hypnosis.

Zusammenfassung

In diesem Artikel wird behauptet, dass hypnotische Phänomene marginaler Natur sind und dass praktizierende Hypnotiseure viel gemeinsam haben mit den Trickstern traditioneller Gesellschaften. Das nicht festlegbare Wesen der Hypnose war bereits zur Zeit von Mesmers Animalischem Magnetismus erkennbar. Hypnotisierte Personen berichten oft von Halluzinationen, die ihre Unterscheidungsfähigkeit zwischen Realität und Illusion, zwischen externen und internen Prozessen sowie weiteren Gegensatzpaaren - darunter auch Raum und Zeit oder Geist und Körper - beeinträchtigen. Zusätzlich dazu kann Hypnose die Unterscheidung zwischen Fakten und Fiktionen im Gedächtnis verschleiern, wie in der Debatte um “aufgedeckte Gedächtnisinhalte” offenkundig wurde. Die Rolle der Imagination ist zentral sowohl für Rituale in traditionellen Kulturen als auch für Hypnose. Hypnose ist ein vielgestaltiges Phänomen, welches Erklärungen auf verschiedenen Ebenen erfordert. Einige Forscher und Praktiker haben die Bedeutung des sozialen Kontexts, innerhalb dessen Hypnose stattfindet, vernachlässigt, andere hingegen hätten beinahe die interessantesten und wertvollsten hypnotischen Phänomene unter dem Deckmantel der Objektivität vernichtet.

Ralf Schmaelzle University of KonstanzKonstanz Germany

Résumé

Cet article argumente de manière convaincante sur le fait que les phénomènes hypnotiques sont de nature luminale et que les practiciens (tels que Milton Erickson) partagent beaucoup de points communs avec les ‘guérisseurs’ des sociétés traditionnelles. La nature ambiguë de l’hypnose est évidente depuis le temps de Mesmer et du magnétisme animal. Les personnes hypnotisées font souvent part d’hallucinations qui rendent confuse la distinction habituelle entre la réalité et l’illusion, les processus internes et externes et tout un tas d’autres oppositions binaires tels que le temps et l’espace ou l’esprit et le corps. De plus, l’hypnose peut rendre vague la distinction entre un souvenir factuel ou fictionnel, tel qu’il apparaît évident dans la controverse des ‘faux souvenirs’. Le rôle de l’imagination est central à la fois dans les rituels indigènes et dans l’hypnose, en outre l’hypnose est un phénomène à multi-facettes qui demande une explication à plusieurs niveaux. Certains chercheurs et praticiens sont passés à côté de l’importance du contexte social dans lequel l’hypnose est effectuée, alors que d’autres ont failli détruire les phénomènes hypnotiques les plus intéressants et les plus utiles sous prétexte d’objectivité.

Victor Simon Psychosomatic Medicine & Clinical Hypnosis InstituteLille France

Resumen

Este artículo arguye que los fenómenos hipnóticos son esencialmente liminales y que los practicantes de la hipnosis (tales como Milton Erickson) comparten muchos rasgos con los “embusteros” de las sociedades tradicionales. La naturaleza ambigua de la hipnosis ha sido aparente desde los días del magnetismo animal de Mesmer. Las personas hipnotizadas a menudo mencionan alucinaciones que confunden las distinciones ordinarias entre la realidad y la ilusión, los procesos externos e internos, y muchas otras oposiciones binarias, incluyendo las del tiempo y el espacio, y las de la mente y el cuerpo. Asimismo, la hipnosis puede oscurecer la distinción entre los hechos y la ficción en los recuerdos, como es evidente en la controversia de las “memorias recuperadas.” El papel jugado por la imaginación es central tanto en los rituales indígenas como en la hipnosis, y la hipnosis es un fenómeno multifacético que requiere de una explicación a múltiples niveles. Algunos investigadores y clínicos han subestimado la importancia del contexto social en el que la hipnosis ocurre, mientras que otros casi han destruido la la mayoría de fenómenos hipnóticos interesantes y útiles en aras de la objetividad.

Etzel Cardeña University of Texas, Pan AmericanEdinburg Texas USA

Notes

¹Preparation of this paper was supported by the Chair for the Study of Consciousness, Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center, San Francisco, CA. This address accompanied the 2002 Award for Contributions to Professional Hypnosis given by Division 30 of the American Psychological Association, the Society for Psychological Hypnosis.

In addition, there is an extensive literature on the role played by hypnosis in the investigation and treatment of such anomalous phenomena as putative telepathy, clairvoyance, precognition, and psychokinesis. The French psychiatrist Jean-Martin Charcot used hypnosis with hysterics, especially those who were sleepwalkers and who reported clairvoyance or remote perception. Hansen (2001) observes, “Here again we see a confluence of liminal elements” (p. 398). Hansen has written an entire book, The Trickster and the Paranormal, in which he describes the social marginality of so-called parapsychological phenomena. In his words, “The central theme developed in this book is that psi, the paranormal, and the supernatural are fundamentally linked to deconstructing, change, transition, disorder, marginality, the ephemeral, fluidity, ambiguity, and blurring of boundaries” (p. 22). Some of the ideas developed in this essay were inspired by Hansen's unpublished manuscript of October 15, 2002, which he graciously made available to me when I told him that I was preparing this manuscript.

Hypnosis and illicit sexual activity have long been associated. During Mesmer's heyday in Paris, the King of France appointed a commission to investigate the so-called animal magnetism. The committee was headed by Benjamin Franklin and included a number of prominent French scientists such as Antoine Lavoisier and Joseph Ignace Guillotin. In their public report, issued in 1784, they disparaged Mesmer's notion of a magnetic field, asserting that imagination and imitation could explain the phenomena (Franklin et al., 1784/2002). The commission also produced a secret report (Bailly et al., 1784/2002), meant only for the eyes of the king, warning that hypnosis could lead to sexual immorality (Hansen, 2001, p. 140).