So... Wiseguy wrote a book.
If for some strange reason you've been
living under a rock in the MCStories or hypnosis community circles,
Wiseguy writes... a lot. And does, in my opinion, quite, quite
well.
But Wiseguy also does his fair share of
demos and presentations for various BDSM and hypnosis groups. I had
the pleasure of meeting him at NEEHU4 this year (spoilers!)
and attending a demonstration as well as overhearing a
lecture/discussion, and I could see that he is a fantastic educator in the world of
hypnokink.
Under the name Mark Wiseman, he's just
published a book called “Mind Play: A Guide to Erotic Hypnosis”,
and, shortly after asking if I could review it, I found myself
engrossed in its 200+ pages. And, a bit after that, found myself here
with a reinvigorated excitement for our community as a whole.
There are decidedly few resources for
hypnosis instruction with an emphasis on Sexy Fun Times (to use a
technical term). (The two existing books which come to mind are Wendi
Friesen's “How to Hypnotize Your Lover” and Peter Master's “Look Into My Eyes”. Full disclosure is that I have only read excerpts of
both.) “Mind Play”, refreshingly, is about hypnokink, for
the hypnokinky, by a
hypnokinkster.
And
you know what? I'm really happy with that. Much of the instruction
I've read spends quite a bit of time rationalizing why someone might
want to incorporate
trancing into their sex lives. But here, it's presupposed
that because
you have your hands on this book you are interested in
and even turned on by erotic
hypnosis. What a concept! It was about time someone addressed our
little (big!) niche...
that is where I see most of the demand for education. As
a bonus, I didn't have to sit through 10 pages of “Ever
wanted to make your lover orgasm with the snap of your fingers???”
As far
as the content goes,
it almost goes
without saying that beginners will be learning a lot here;
it's aimed towards them!
Concepts
that I don't usually see in
“intro to hypnosis”
material (such as modalities,
indirect language, NLP-esque
phrasing, etc) are covered as
well, and
Wiseguy knows how to make the
journey down the rabbit-hole
accessible to
those with no prior background.
Readers
with previous experience will be familiar with most if not all of the
subject matter
he covers (namely the “101”
section), though
I found it quite beneficial to see exactly how he
presents the material and what else he has to say about it. There
is something to be said for
reviewing the basics... from someone with a very creative
mind.
I was
quite pleased as well with the fact that Wiseguy approaches most everything from the context
of BDSM, and terms and safety protocol known to much of the kink
community as a whole are explained for those unfamiliar with them.
It's used as a connecting
framework, no more and no less, so vanilla-identified individuals
won't be alienated by obtuse vocabulary or unrelatable situations.
But it does provide
some (already existing) necessary starting grounds for ethics and
practicality. (I was particularly satisfied with the “Safety When Looking For A
Partner” section; I never see enough of these.)
Aside
from the “101” stuff, the book is filled with some awesome
scene ideas and how to apply newfound knowledge in a practical
context. The variety is quite
novel – from BDSM-related (rope and bondage and floggers, oh my!) to
how-to-make-your-vanilla-sex-better to mind control
tropes and common fantasies (like dolls and freezeplay). The elements
therein are explored in such a way that the core concepts are
outlined (and sample scripts
are provided and analyzed),
but Wiseguy encourages the reader to do it the way they
want to and provides them with
the means and know-how
to do so.
Absolutely
nowhere is it written
to go out and read the script to one's significant other – very
much the opposite. That's a “win” in my book.
...His book. You
get the idea.
There
were a lot of fantastic ideas in there; some refreshingly
new to me! There is of course discussion on how exactly to make
your lover orgasm at the snap of your fingers,
but there's also a whole lot of creative and
original suggestions (beaten-to-death-pun intended).
Enough attention was given to
each scene and I was quite impressed with the breadth of knowledge
that was included (in general and especially in a book for beginners).
And, you know... a lot of it was pretty hot, too.
–
The
final verdict is that I walked away from the book with a sense of
enrichment, glee, and the fact that I had learned a few things and
gotten inspiration to stash in my brain for later. For beginners (and
even those with marginal experience), I can't recommend this book
nearly enough. More
seasoned hypnotists will probably pick up a thing or two as well. Get
it, read it; spread the goodwill, cheer and mind control.
Happy trancing!
