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Mind Play: A Guide to Erotic Hypnosis
THIS BOOK WAS REVISED AND RE-ISSUED IN SEPTEMBER 2017 --
Please see amazon.com/Mind-Play-Guide-Erotic-Hyp... for the 2017 print edition.
All kinds of people are secretly (or not so secretly) fascinated by the erotic possibilities of hypnosis. Many of us know that hypnosis doesn't really have the kind of mind-melting power we see in movies. Still, we can't help but get turned on at the thought of either controlling someone, or being controlled by someone, into doing things we've been told we shouldn't do ... but really, inside, kind of want to.
In this book, Mark Wiseman (Wiseguy) will teach you how to put your partner into a hypnotic trance safely and effectively. Then the fun begins as you learn how
Whether you are new to hypnosis or have already learned the basics, Mind Play will give you the tools you need to become a skilled, responsible erotic hypnotist.
Please see amazon.com/Mind-Play-Guide-Erotic-Hyp... for the 2017 print edition.
All kinds of people are secretly (or not so secretly) fascinated by the erotic possibilities of hypnosis. Many of us know that hypnosis doesn't really have the kind of mind-melting power we see in movies. Still, we can't help but get turned on at the thought of either controlling someone, or being controlled by someone, into doing things we've been told we shouldn't do ... but really, inside, kind of want to.
In this book, Mark Wiseman (Wiseguy) will teach you how to put your partner into a hypnotic trance safely and effectively. Then the fun begins as you learn how
Whether you are new to hypnosis or have already learned the basics, Mind Play will give you the tools you need to become a skilled, responsible erotic hypnotist.
226 pages, Paperback
First published July 3, 2013
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
January 15, 2018
As a professional hypnotist, I was very disappointed.
A self described "classic" in how to do erotic hypnosis, it does absolutely nothing for a trained hypnotist who might want to learn more about this especially given the amount of clients that approach professional hypnotherapists asking for this due to concerns about lay people. If you are a trained hypnotist, you can probably figure it out on your own and probably do a better job. If you are a layperson please don't just read a book on the subject, there is a tendency to think after you read one book you are an expert. Even if that book is published through CreateSpace which is Amazon's self publishing.
Here are some of my concerns
1) My biggest problem is that there needs to be more discussion of ethics in this book. I have met a fair amount of erotic hypnotists (I am not ashamed to say I am on fetlife) who are playing rather dangerously and they all are claiming that they are learning from him either through books or trainings and are doing things that are outside the scope of their knowledge. I assume this comes from not vetting students or something, but I think that should give readers pause and cause for concern.
2) Many of the scripts on here are for direct suggestibles which only make up about 30% or less of the population. What about the other 70%? And how many hypnotists still use scripts? I was off scripts long before I was certified. I used scripts only three times in my several hundred hour trainings.
3) Elman style inductions do not work on everyone, which is what he is promoting is definitely more of a stage and street thing. It might be helpful if more inductions were included, more deepeners, and more of an explanation of how this works to the lay person.
4) The author claims he is trained and by how he promotes NGH, I am assuming that is where he was certified from although I do not believe he says directly. I think that is unusual.
I think there was a reason this was a self published book and I do not think it has anything to do with the subject matter.
A self described "classic" in how to do erotic hypnosis, it does absolutely nothing for a trained hypnotist who might want to learn more about this especially given the amount of clients that approach professional hypnotherapists asking for this due to concerns about lay people. If you are a trained hypnotist, you can probably figure it out on your own and probably do a better job. If you are a layperson please don't just read a book on the subject, there is a tendency to think after you read one book you are an expert. Even if that book is published through CreateSpace which is Amazon's self publishing.
Here are some of my concerns
1) My biggest problem is that there needs to be more discussion of ethics in this book. I have met a fair amount of erotic hypnotists (I am not ashamed to say I am on fetlife) who are playing rather dangerously and they all are claiming that they are learning from him either through books or trainings and are doing things that are outside the scope of their knowledge. I assume this comes from not vetting students or something, but I think that should give readers pause and cause for concern.
2) Many of the scripts on here are for direct suggestibles which only make up about 30% or less of the population. What about the other 70%? And how many hypnotists still use scripts? I was off scripts long before I was certified. I used scripts only three times in my several hundred hour trainings.
3) Elman style inductions do not work on everyone, which is what he is promoting is definitely more of a stage and street thing. It might be helpful if more inductions were included, more deepeners, and more of an explanation of how this works to the lay person.
4) The author claims he is trained and by how he promotes NGH, I am assuming that is where he was certified from although I do not believe he says directly. I think that is unusual.
I think there was a reason this was a self published book and I do not think it has anything to do with the subject matter.
February 2, 2019
Definitely the better (of two) on this topic. For some reason, I'm vaguely dissatisfied. Sorry if this is unhelpful.
Postscript (5/03/21) Now joined by the authoritative Mastering Erotic Hypnosis on my shelf, I have a higher opinion of Mind Play. Revise above to 'best of three' and not convinced that the last word has been written on this subject, but this is certainly the place to start.
Postscript (5/03/21) Now joined by the authoritative Mastering Erotic Hypnosis on my shelf, I have a higher opinion of Mind Play. Revise above to 'best of three' and not convinced that the last word has been written on this subject, but this is certainly the place to start.
February 20, 2020
Quality Hypnokink instruction - everything you need to get started
This book is considered a foundational script for anyone wanting to get into Hypnokink, and for good reason. It is chock full of instruction, examples, and guidelines for you to create some of the best kinky fun out there.
This book is considered a foundational script for anyone wanting to get into Hypnokink, and for good reason. It is chock full of instruction, examples, and guidelines for you to create some of the best kinky fun out there.
July 25, 2019
Excellent, comprehensive guide. Includes inductions etc, so also a good guide to hypnosis in general, not only erotic.
September 16, 2026
I'm a kinkster with an academic background in cognitive neuroscience. I am learning hypnosis, phenomenological control and consciousness as a hobby.
This is the book my local community recommended as an introduction to hypnokink. In my first year, I felt it helped me to learn (while taking some aspects with a grain of salt), but I got disillusioned in my second year.
I don't recommend the book. Consult those two free websites instead: Your Induction Suck; The Newbie Guide of Hypnosis. Learning Hypnokink.
About the content:
- More emphasis on pseudoscience than science. I don't mind, for kink play, to use technics coming from pseudoscience. But we need a presentation of critical perspective about it. To explain hypnosis, science should be more valued than pseudoscience. Even for kink. Even if science does not explain everything and that kink might have a few steps ahead.
- No mention of Spanos? Kirsch? Lynn? Dienes? No references of even one scientific theory? But of course, they are mentions of NLP, VAK model and Ericksonian hypnosis.
- Considers Erickson as the father of modern hypnosis. Erickson is an important figure in clinical hypnosis, and we owe him the importance to consider individuality, and the indirect suggestions. But since he passed in the 80s, there is a current that worships him while twisting his practice with rigidity, almost as a dogma. He's not the father of modern hypnosis. He was just a very good clinician.
- Defining hypnosis as a state is bullshit. Stating that 'almost every authorities agree on this' is even worse. We don't need an induction or to reach a trancy state to respond to suggestions. It's more a cultural ritual part of the experience, than a requirement.
- The unconscious mind is bullshit. It's a metaphor, a philosophical concept presented as something real. We rather use the term unconscious processes.
- The hidden observer is more than bullshit; it's pure misinformation potentially harmful. It's true that it comes from Hilgard, but it has been severely criticized by sociocognitive researchers (mainly Spanos) with empirical evidence in many studies involving many hypnotic context / phenomena. It's a suggestion strongly depending on the instruction given to the subjects. Not something that protects us.
- NLP is pseudoscience, but that can be efficient in play. This acknowledgement would have been appreciated. Sleepingirl is more transparent about it in her book Kinky NLP.
Around the book:
- The author has a background in hypnotherapy with a training of 130h. He also teaches hypnosis and NLP. It's not clear where he got trained, but there are elements that makes me suspect it's at an organization that I don't trust (I won't name it as a don't wanna dox him).
- The book is also self-published (CreateSpace Independant Publishing Platform, which is now part of Kindle Direct Publishing since 2018). Considering it's a book about hypnokink, and that hypnosis is shadow banned by credit cards companies since 2017, it is not a read flag. I checked for the other books about hypnokink I know, and none of them have been published from a genuine publisher. They all kinda self-published. It's normal.
- In the thanks section, the author only names one reviewer, which is DreamsOfControl. I tried to find more info about him. He background, training, etc. Unfortunately I found nothing. I don't know who the other reviewers were. In more recent websites for hypnokink, the educators name the reviewers.
This is the book my local community recommended as an introduction to hypnokink. In my first year, I felt it helped me to learn (while taking some aspects with a grain of salt), but I got disillusioned in my second year.
I don't recommend the book. Consult those two free websites instead: Your Induction Suck; The Newbie Guide of Hypnosis. Learning Hypnokink.
About the content:
- More emphasis on pseudoscience than science. I don't mind, for kink play, to use technics coming from pseudoscience. But we need a presentation of critical perspective about it. To explain hypnosis, science should be more valued than pseudoscience. Even for kink. Even if science does not explain everything and that kink might have a few steps ahead.
- No mention of Spanos? Kirsch? Lynn? Dienes? No references of even one scientific theory? But of course, they are mentions of NLP, VAK model and Ericksonian hypnosis.
- Considers Erickson as the father of modern hypnosis. Erickson is an important figure in clinical hypnosis, and we owe him the importance to consider individuality, and the indirect suggestions. But since he passed in the 80s, there is a current that worships him while twisting his practice with rigidity, almost as a dogma. He's not the father of modern hypnosis. He was just a very good clinician.
- Defining hypnosis as a state is bullshit. Stating that 'almost every authorities agree on this' is even worse. We don't need an induction or to reach a trancy state to respond to suggestions. It's more a cultural ritual part of the experience, than a requirement.
- The unconscious mind is bullshit. It's a metaphor, a philosophical concept presented as something real. We rather use the term unconscious processes.
- The hidden observer is more than bullshit; it's pure misinformation potentially harmful. It's true that it comes from Hilgard, but it has been severely criticized by sociocognitive researchers (mainly Spanos) with empirical evidence in many studies involving many hypnotic context / phenomena. It's a suggestion strongly depending on the instruction given to the subjects. Not something that protects us.
- NLP is pseudoscience, but that can be efficient in play. This acknowledgement would have been appreciated. Sleepingirl is more transparent about it in her book Kinky NLP.
Around the book:
- The author has a background in hypnotherapy with a training of 130h. He also teaches hypnosis and NLP. It's not clear where he got trained, but there are elements that makes me suspect it's at an organization that I don't trust (I won't name it as a don't wanna dox him).
- The book is also self-published (CreateSpace Independant Publishing Platform, which is now part of Kindle Direct Publishing since 2018). Considering it's a book about hypnokink, and that hypnosis is shadow banned by credit cards companies since 2017, it is not a read flag. I checked for the other books about hypnokink I know, and none of them have been published from a genuine publisher. They all kinda self-published. It's normal.
- In the thanks section, the author only names one reviewer, which is DreamsOfControl. I tried to find more info about him. He background, training, etc. Unfortunately I found nothing. I don't know who the other reviewers were. In more recent websites for hypnokink, the educators name the reviewers.
May 3, 2021
I read this book without knowing much about hypnosis in advance.
It felt like an easy way to approach hypnosis through ready made scripts that can to some degree guarantee easy success.
Maybe that's why many people like it.
However I noticed several problems with it.
1) The way it is structured doesn't really help you learn. How is it useful if you first have to read through all the inductions before you can learn about a deepener? Maybe the book could have kept its structure if it introduced a reading guide in the beginning. At least for a book that is for beginners and has the word "Guide"at the title, I would expect such an approach.
2) Even if you don't have other resources about hypnosis you realise at some point that the book doesn't follow its own advice. All scripts are written in the form of direct suggestions that wouldn't work for a lot of people. Sure you can modify them yourself "once you realise that", but what kind of example does the book give you?
3) Once you learn more about hypnosis from other sources you realise many more omissions this book has. Understandably an introductory book can not include everything. However there are fundamental things missing, like
a) Bigger focus on indirect suggestions
b) More detailed discussion on the contraindications of hypnosis. And this seriously is a safety issue.
c) Common inductions like the pendulum category. (there is for a non-moving object)
d) Discussion of modalities not only as ways to engage the imagination with internal points of focus (e.g. imagine you see, hear, etc...) but also as external points of focus (butterfly, arm lowering) and multi-modal approaches.
e) Introduction to simple hypnotic phenomena like magnetic fingers, magnetic palms, balloon and weight. I am a bit puzzled how these are not part of an introductory book.
All in all there are things to gain from this book, but there are also a lot of insufficiencies.
If you are lucky enough so that your partner is a highly suggestible person then you may find it good enough.
Considering all the above I honestly don't understand why the majority of people praise it to such a high degree without even mentioning its insufficiencies.
It felt like an easy way to approach hypnosis through ready made scripts that can to some degree guarantee easy success.
Maybe that's why many people like it.
However I noticed several problems with it.
1) The way it is structured doesn't really help you learn. How is it useful if you first have to read through all the inductions before you can learn about a deepener? Maybe the book could have kept its structure if it introduced a reading guide in the beginning. At least for a book that is for beginners and has the word "Guide"at the title, I would expect such an approach.
2) Even if you don't have other resources about hypnosis you realise at some point that the book doesn't follow its own advice. All scripts are written in the form of direct suggestions that wouldn't work for a lot of people. Sure you can modify them yourself "once you realise that", but what kind of example does the book give you?
3) Once you learn more about hypnosis from other sources you realise many more omissions this book has. Understandably an introductory book can not include everything. However there are fundamental things missing, like
a) Bigger focus on indirect suggestions
b) More detailed discussion on the contraindications of hypnosis. And this seriously is a safety issue.
c) Common inductions like the pendulum category. (there is for a non-moving object)
d) Discussion of modalities not only as ways to engage the imagination with internal points of focus (e.g. imagine you see, hear, etc...) but also as external points of focus (butterfly, arm lowering) and multi-modal approaches.
e) Introduction to simple hypnotic phenomena like magnetic fingers, magnetic palms, balloon and weight. I am a bit puzzled how these are not part of an introductory book.
All in all there are things to gain from this book, but there are also a lot of insufficiencies.
If you are lucky enough so that your partner is a highly suggestible person then you may find it good enough.
Considering all the above I honestly don't understand why the majority of people praise it to such a high degree without even mentioning its insufficiencies.
December 19, 2023
This book was an absolute delight. The information is practical, well explained, and has a thorough amount of examples. Even discounting the erotic context this is one of the best books I’ve read on the subject of hobbyist hypnosis on the whole. As someone who lands somewhere on the ace spectrum, I will admit that not all the examples and ideas were as compelling to me personally. But even then there was plenty that was exciting in the realm of kink, or for those who just love hypnosis for the sake of it. Don’t let the word “erotic” scare you away if you’re in this camp! I am downright excited to practice what this book has taught me.
So will you be reading it sooner, or later this year?
So will you be reading it sooner, or later this year?
March 1, 2024
I wasn't interested in hypnosis until I stumbled across this book. Usually these type of books promise a lot but don't deliver. Mark Wiseman is a very wise man and he's not stingy with sharing that. He doesn't hold back and I've learned so much about the state of mind, relaxation, and so much more. Prior to reading this book I was one of those people that didn't really believe in hypnosis but the way he describes everything makes me understand and really believe in it. Maybe he hypnotized me! Hahaha either way, many props.:) it is probably the best self-published book I will ever read.
October 26, 2025
A great complement to the excellent introduction to hypnosis workshop by English Leather Master I attended earlier this year. The book provides some really useful context and colour, and a variety of inductions and deepeners for different situations and subjects. But crucially it gives lots of examples of the fun you can have with hypnosis, in particular as part of kink play. Just what I was looking for!
July 1, 2022
An interesting primer on hypnosis techniques, with sample scripts and examples of different suggestions and triggers that can be implemented once the subject is under. Spends a good amount of time on the ethics of hypnosis and how to properly negotiate consent and limits, which is important for both subjects and tists to know.
January 4, 2024
I think that Mind Play is an excellent supplement to learning erotic hypnosis. With these scripts and examples from Wiseman and some guidance on hypnotic language from other sources, I use it at work very regularly with a great deal of success.
September 26, 2024
everybody writes a book nowadays
this has typical american depth, very good for beginners
I wish educational books are oblidged to classify the degree of expertise they contain
this has typical american depth, very good for beginners
I wish educational books are oblidged to classify the degree of expertise they contain
April 7, 2017
A quite good introduction to erotic hypnosis, simple and very clear
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews