This week, I had the honor of being interviewed about my upcoming class at the Bellingham Sex-Positive Center, Hypnokink for Sadists and Masochists, which will occur Saturday the 23rd at 6pm.
What is hypnokink and how did you discover it?
Hypnosis shows up in many contexts, from therapeutic or medical uses to the stage shows that many of us have seen. Just like our minds, hypnosis is wonderfully versatile! Hypnokink is a bit different from the other contexts mentioned, because it’s happening for mutual pleasure, rather than to “fix” something or as a performance. (And just like anything else done for mutual pleasure, it needs negotiation to make sure that goal is achieved!)
I started playing with hypnokink after a partner pointed out that the suggestibility he experienced when we did SM play was basically hypnosis. It was a slippery slope from there, and I’ll tell all about that at the workshop!
How can you use it in play?
Some people refer to hypnosis as “the chocolate sauce of kink” – you can add it to anything else you like to do, to make your play more immersive and decadent. Popular uses range from enhancing orgasm to doing mindfucks to intensifying D/s to getting into the right headspace for puppy play.
How difficult is it and what can attendees expect to learn from the upcoming class?
The most common comment I hear after teaching Hypnokink for Sadists and Masochists is that people have suddenly realized that they have already been doing hypnosis in their play! Subspace and ropespace are very often suggestible states, and many players already know how to achieve them. I’ll show a variety of easy ways to take skills that you already have and use them to do things you might not have known were possible!
What are some misconceptions about hypnotism or hypnokink?
Often, people are concerned about how consent works when doing hypnosis. On Saturday, we’ll talk not just about ways to negotiate thoroughly for hypnotic play and minimize risk, but also how hypnosis is much more effective when partners have the trust for each other that comes from careful attention to consent.
Will there be future classes?
Yes! A class is already scheduled for May, Slipping Into Hypnosis: Easy Ways to Play with Trance. That class doesn’t have the focus on using SM or bondage to do hypnosis, so it’s very accessible no matter what your experience level with BDSM might be.
If you’d like to make sure hypnosis classes keep happening regularly, please do come out for one or both of these events! Attendance is what will show us that there’s demand for in-depth hypnokink education in Bellingham.
Hope to see you all on Saturday!
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