Mind Wars
In the above video Derren Brown uses subtle methods to persuade a stranger to willingly hand over his wallet and mobile phone, not once but twice.
Through my hypnotherapy and NLP training I know how Brown manages to bypass this man’s normal instincts and manipulate him into doing something that he normally would never do or could ever imagine himself doing.
Whilst entertaining, there is a huge lesson here. How often are our actions, reactions, emotions and thoughts manipulated by others without us realising?
When we pick one brand of soap over another at the supermarket, is it free will or have we been ‘guided’ into this ‘choice’ via the corporate version of Derren Brown?
When we are bombarded by images of the latest, must have, HD ready plasma screen TV and feel the ‘need’ to have it and find ourselves handing over ‘our virtual wallet’ willingly at the cash-desk….is that any different?
Similarly, when we respond to a newspaper headline or TV news report…are we reacting from a place of free will or are we being hypnotised into responding in a certain way?
November 4, 2007 at 8:03 am
I love Derren Brown! I think the guy is a hero. Have you seen the one where he gets a whole bunch of executives to commit “armed robbery”. The stunt took a year to set up but it was done via one of those leadership courses for high flying execs.
What Brown shows us is that some things that we might consider extremely unlikely are in fact completely feasible.
NB (for example) Sirhan Sirhan is still in jail for the murder of Bobby Kennedy but attempting to get a re-trial.
A google search for “Sirhan Sirhan hypnosis” delivers numerous articles of interest.
http://tinyurl.com/24c92c