Hypnosis
As we’ve noted, the cannabis experience is one of the rare states in which both executive function and the default network can be accessed simultaneously. The set of experiences closest to cannabis might be found via the techniques of hypnosis. As with meditation and magick, this isn’t a new idea, and the association of hypnosis and cannabis may go back a long way, perhaps to the Egyptian temples of sleep, which probably employed an early form of hypnosis.
James Braid, considered one of the seminal figures in modern hypnosis and the person who coined the term “hypnotism” in the nineteenth century, made a study of hashish use and noted the similarity with hypnotic, magical, and psychological phenomena.95 Much later and more infamously, US intelligence agencies in the precursors to the better-known MK-ULTRA program found that a combination of a high dose of cannabis and hypnosis was the closest thing to a truth serum that they could produce.96
A popular conception of hypnosis isolates it in the psychotherapist’s office, in some kind of occult setting, or in the performance of a stage hypnotist. While early theories of hypnosis were based on mystical mesmeric fluid or animal magnetism, a modern understanding of the field treats hypnotic phenomena as a process that utilizes natural shifts in our language and perception.
There is no hard and fast definition for a hypnotic experience or trance. The best that we can do is to say that a trance state is an altered state of consciousness, one that represents a shift from “ordinary” waking consciousness. Some emphasis has been given to the ideas that a trance state represents a more internalized experience, a narrowing of focus, dissociation, increased suggestibility, or automatism. While any of these can come into play in a hypnotic experience, none of them are either necessary or universal. Perhaps one of the most useful definitions of hypnosis is “a goal-directed striving which takes place in an altered psychological state.” 97 Speaking of hypnosis in the context of a therapeutic setting, Milton Erickson wrote, “Trance permits the operator to evoke in a controlled manner the same mental mechanisms that are operative spontaneously in everyday life.” 98
Notice that both of these quotes, written before there was a well-developed field of neuroscience, can be understood as references to the relationship between the default and executive function modes of the brain. Ronald Shor’s “goal-directed striving” would be an aspect of executive function, and the altered state would involve the internal experience of the default network. And given Milton Erickson’s hypnotic style, the “mental mechanisms” of which he wrote would be the ones that allow switching between the two major brain modes.
As we are able to observe some of the action of the default network, it may be easier to understand that our minds have the ability to shift from one state of consciousness to another very easily. We have all experienced trance-like states while daydreaming, bored in a lecture or class, driving along a long highway, getting a massage, sitting in a hot tub, shifting our attention in order to read an article or book, watching television, or going inside our own minds to think about something.
There are many, many methods of hypnosis and self-hypnosis. For a long time, some researchers used a kind of statistical approach to studying hypnosis. That is, they would take one method of inducing trance and apply it to a large group of test subjects. The results, invariably, would “prove” that only a percentage of the population were “good hypnotic subjects.” In fact, all that was really demonstrated was that that particular method of hypnosis was effective with a percentage of the population. In the 1960s and ’70s, Milton Erickson began publishing papers on his inquiries into hypnotherapy. Erickson proposed a new model of hypnosis that suggested that trance states could be accessed quickly and easily in everyone by using flexible trance inductions that developed a biofeedback loop between the therapist and patient. That is, Erickson would incorporate observable aspects of the client’s experience and feed them back to the client in a variety of ways. He would, for instance, match the rhythm of his voice to the client’s breathing or heart rate, while describing with his language other verifiable aspects of the client’s experience such as the way they were sitting, any movements they made, what they were looking at, etc. The observable aspects could then be tied to less verifiable “leading” suggestions; for instance, Erickson might gently slow the rhythm of his speech while saying, “As you breathe … like this … you can become … more relaxed.” The tendency is for the patient to follow into the suggested states. This was a dramatic departure from the predominant hypnotic methods of the time that were more directive and less permissive.
Erickson’s techniques can be applied to self-hypnosis as well as the therapist/client situation. The following, developed by Milton Erickson’s wife, Betty, according to legend,99 is a simple method of self-hypnosis that can be learned and practiced quickly:
The Betty Erickson Technique
Sitting comfortably with eyes open or closed, list to yourself three things you can see, then three things you can hear, then three things you can feel (for example, “I see the color of the wall, I see the person opposite me, I see the color of her hair, I hear the sounds outside the room, I hear people moving about, I hear my own breathing, I feel the cushion underneath me, I feel the air on my skin, I feel my hands on my lap …”). Then narrow it down to a list of two things in each sensory mode and one thing in each mode. Tell yourself, “As I count from ten down to one, I can go into a deep, comfortable trance.” Then count breaths backward from ten to one and enjoy the trance that you are drifting into. This works most powerfully when the verbal listing within your head is timed in rhythm with your breathing.
Practice this a few times (on different days) without cannabis. Notice what the trance experience is like. Notice whatever similarities and differences to the cannabis experience you can. Then (on another day) practice after you get high. Notice any differences in the experience. Are parts of it more or less intense, relaxing, or unusual?
While cannabis in the popular imagination is thought of as something that interferes with memory, in reality it can be very useful for recall of long-term or even long-lost memories. The similar properties of hypnotic trance are also often used for this purpose—and the combination of cannabis and hypnosis can be a very powerful way to reexperience aspects of past times and remembered places. Again, it is recommended that the following exercise be practiced at least a time or two without cannabis, to familiarize yourself with the technique and the experience, before combining.
Hypnotic Memories
1. Identify a particularly relaxing or enjoyable experience.
2. Recall what you saw there, what colors were present, whether it was bright or dark, what objects were in your field of vision, whether there was motion or stillness in what you saw.
3. Recall what you heard there, what kind of tone the sounds had, whether it was loud or quiet, rhythmic or not.
4. Recall what you felt at the time, the temperature of the air, what position your body was in, what your skin felt like, what kind of emotional or internal feelings you may have had.
5. Recall what you tasted or smelled at the time, whether it was sweet or sour or bitter, strong or mild.
6. Run through each sense and increase the intensity in your mind—make the colors brighter, the sounds clearer or louder, the feelings stronger.
7. Enjoy your experience and explore it in whatever way is comfortable. This kind of suggestion can be used in a therapeutic or medical context to help a patient relax in the face of what might otherwise be an anxiety-producing situation. By accessing a past state when the patient was more relaxed or had a reduced heart rate or lower blood pressure, it may also be possible to help the patient reexperience the physical parameters of that memory as well as the mental. The suggestions can be incorporated into a conversational context or can be marked out to isolate a “relaxation experience.” As with anything else, practice is required, though these techniques are simple enough that they can yield effective results very quickly.
A particularly useful aspect of this kind of recall is that you can recall and reexperience altered states as well as mundane memories. This happens quite naturally sometimes. When I presented this technique at the Starwood Festival, many years ago, I was approached afterward by Stephen Gaskin, who related to me that he often didn’t actually have to smoke his herb, but would get very high just looking at it, smelling it, and rolling a joint.
The key to this kind of recall is what we call anchoring. That is, we use sensory cues that are either naturally occurring or deliberately created that serve to recall the state. The sensory cues need not represent all the senses, but starting with one kind (usually kinesthetic cues—feelings) can serve to help recall all associated sensory experiences. That is, by recalling the way cannabis makes you feel, you can often reexperience much of the complete high.
Weed of Choice Pattern
(Recalling a High)
Recall a time when you were pleasantly high. Remember where you were, whatever that place was like. Take some time to recall what you did to get high, starting at the beginning; for instance, opening a bag, crushing a bud, smelling the herb, the feel of it in your fingers, the way it felt to roll a joint (or whatever you did), the way the joint felt in your hand, and so on, up to and including smoking, vaping, etc. At that point, recall how it felt as the effects first became noticeable. Then, track the kinesthetics of the experience as follows:
1. Notice where in your body the feeling of the state begins.
2. Notice where it moves to as the experience develops toward its peak.
Pay attention to whether the feeling is moving or static, cycling or pulsing.
3. Give the feeling a color. “If this feeling had a color, what would it be?”
4. Apply the color everywhere you have the feeling, creating a three-dimensional colored shape.
5. Experiment by making the colored shape brighter, darker, richer, faded, larger, or smaller to determine which of these increases the feeling associated with the state.
6. Notice any other changes in feeling as well as in what you might see, hear, taste, or smell.
When you have accessed the desired state, enjoy it and make use of it in whatever way you choose. Afterward take some time to think about what aspects of the experience were more difficult to access, what aspects were easier to access, and how the experience was similar to or different from the original experience.
Another useful aspect of this kind of hypnotic process is that you can take present experiences and enhance or tweak them in various ways.
Enhancing a High
This begins much like the previous exercise, except instead of using a memory, take some time to get high in the present. Smoke, vape, eat, or whatever you do and when you have reached the desired state, map the experience by following the internal physical sensations:
1. Notice where in your body the feeling of the state begins.
2. Notice where it moves to as the experience develops toward its peak.
3. Pay attention to whether the feeling is moving or static, cycling or pulsing.
4. Give the feeling a color. “If this feeling had a color, what would it be?”
5. Apply the color everywhere you have the feeling, creating a three-dimensional colored shape.
6. Experiment by making the colored shape brighter, darker, richer, faded, larger, or smaller to determine which of these increases the feeling associated with the state.
7. Notice if the colored shape is cycling or pulsing (usually as you breathe). If it is, you can accentuate the cycle or pulse, expanding it and moving it through your whole body.
8. Add some special effects to your color(s). These can include sparkles, auras, shimmers, diffraction, or whatever helps to further intensify the experience.
9. Enjoy and make use of the resulting state for ritual, meditation, activity enhancement, relaxation, or fun.
The Imaginary Joint
This is a group experiment that can offer insights into cannabis rituals when it is practiced in a few different ways. Practice (1) with a group that has never smoked or vaped together, (2) with a group that regularly gets high together, and (3) if possible, with a mix of experienced cannabis users and participants who have never used cannabis.
Very simply, have everyone act as if a real joint is being prepared and smoked. Items like rolling papers, trays, grinders, and lighters can be employed as they usually are—but with only imaginary cannabis. Imagine and act out every detail you can think of—opening the bag, smelling the herb, the feeling of crushing a bud between fingers, using a grinder, rolling the joint, lighting it, passing it around, toking, holding it, exhaling, etc. (Pass around an entirely imaginary joint; put the real rolling papers, etc., away after the imaginary joint has been created.)
After you have imagined that the joint has burned all the way down, take a moment to notice how you feel, what the other participants are doing or saying, and anything else of note. If you were able to practice this with different groups of people, as described above, how were the sessions different?
95. Braid, James. The Discovery of Hypnosis: The Complete Writings of James Braid, the Father of Hypnotherapy. National Council for Hypnotherapy, June 2009.
96. Lee, Martin A., and Bruce Shlain. Acid Dreams: The Complete Social History of LSD. Grove Press, 1994.
97. Shor, Ronald E. Amer. J. Psychology, Vol. 13, 1959, 582–602.
98. Paper credited “circa 1960s” first published in Hypnotic Investigation of Psychodynamic Processes, The Collected Papers of Milton H. Erickson, vol. III. Irvington Publishers, 1984.
99. It is taught with this title in numerous hypnosis courses and books around the world, although an original source written by Mrs. Erickson cannot be found.