In this blog, I’m going to teach you how to do the ‘magnetic hands’ rapid induction. This has to be my absolute favourite rapid induction. It’s fast, it’s theatrical, but above all, it’s effective!
The below is an extract from my rapid induction book, The Instant Hypnosis and Rapid Induction Guidebook (available on Amazon in paperback, hardback and Kindle).
The magnetic hands rapid induction
The magnetic hands induction consists of having the subject, with their arms outstretched, imagine that their hands are magnetised – the same as with the magnetic hands suggestibility test. Then, when their hands are almost touching, you create a shock by pushing the hands together as you give the command to “sleep”.
This is a shock induction that relies on an ideomotor response (the hands coming together). It also engages the subject’s imagination (which is a really helpful precursor to the hypnosis process).
Overview of the magnetic hands induction
Ask the subject if they’re ready to go into hypnosis, and check for any physical reasons that this induction would not be suitable (see the safety/contra-indications section for details). Then, before you begin, explain what’s going to happen, that their hands will come together using the power of their imagination, and when they touch the subject will go into hypnosis. If you’ve already done the magnetic hands suggestibility test before this, then you can abbreviate the explanation, instead saying, “this time when your hands touch, you will go into hypnosis”.
Have your subject hold their arms out in front of them, palms facing each other, around 6” (15cm) apart. The reason for starting with such a small space in between the hands is that some subjects will take absolutely ages for the hands to come together. Remember, these are rapid inductions, so you want the process to happen fast!
Using your index finger, point at the space in between their hands and ask them to focus their attention on that point. Then, suggest that they close their eyes and keep focusing there – this is quite difficult for them to do with their eyes closed, and therefore ties up a little ‘conscious processing power’.
At this point, you can give the suggestions that will cause their hands to come together. As with the magnetic hands suggestibility test, this is best achieved by having them imagine that there’s something causing the hands to come together, such as there being a powerful magnet on each of their palms, or a thick, strong rubber band wrapped around both hands, or a powerful energy/force just pulling those hands together… You get the idea.
As this process is happening and the hands are moving together, if you have time, you can remind the subject that as soon as the hands touch, they will relax and go into hypnosis. Keep in mind, different people’s hands will move at different speeds. Some will come together in literally a second, others may take five, ten or even thirty seconds to come together. It’s at this point that you need a little flexibility in what you’re going to say, and when to deliver your shock.
Once the hands are an inch or two apart, that’s when you will do the shock. If you need to stop what you’re saying and cut yourself off mid-script in order to deliver the shock, then do so. Conversely, if you get to the end of the ‘hands coming together’ part of the script, and their hands aren’t close enough together yet to do the shock, then carry on giving suggestions about the hands coming together until they are close enough.
The shock consists of pushing the subject’s hands together and then down into their lap. So, when you’re ready to deliver the shock, position your hands to either side of the subject’s hands, then, you gently but firmly push their hands together, then send them down into their lap. Ideally, your aim is to merge the two parts, pushing their hands in and then down in one fluid motion:
If you do this right, you’ll be touching their hands for less than a second. Also, it will be fast but gentle! You don’t want to ‘slap’ their hands together, as that would cause discomfort for them (and potentially for you, if they got annoyed about you hurting their hands). Finally, at the same time as you push their hands in, that’s when you give the command to “sleep”.
Magnetic hands rapid induction script
“Are you ready to go into hypnosis? *wait for subject’s agreement* …good. Firstly, do you have any issues with your arms, shoulders, back or neck?
(If subject says ‘yes’, move on to a different induction.)
(If subject says ‘no’, proceed.)
Good. In a moment, what’s going to happen is your hands will come together like this *demonstrate as you continue* using the power of your imagination, and when they touch, your hands will drop down and you’ll go into hypnosis. Happy to do that? *wait for response* …great!
OK, I’d like you to hold out your arms with the palms facing each other, about 6” apart… *move their hands yourself if you prefer* Now focus on this point *point at the space in between their hands* and close your eyes. Continue to focus on that point, with your eyes closed.
Now, I’d like you to imagine that I’m placing a powerful magnet on your left palm *touch the left palm gently with your finger* and another really powerful magnet on your right palm… *touch the right palm* …these magnets are attracted to each other, and they’re beginning to pull those hands together. You don’t even need to try to move those hands, as they can just begin to move all by themselves. The magnets getting stronger and more powerful, those hands drawing closer together.
Now I’d like you to imagine that I’m wrapping a big, thick rubber band around your hands, and that rubber band is pulling your hands in even faster now. The closer they get, the faster they move, and just as soon as those hands touch, you will immediately feel a wave of relaxation from the top of your head all the way down to the tips of your toes… and you will immediately drop your hands, allow your head to drop down and go into a state of hypnosis… *continue delivering similar suggestions until the hands are close enough together*
…sleep!” *continue to deepen*
[Note: As mentioned before, if the subject’s hands come together really quickly, obviously you can cut the suggestions short at any point and deliver the shock and sleep suggestion. Sometimes however, it will take a subject a lot longer than the script provided allows for their hands to come together. In this case, you will just have to add more suggestions designed to bring the hands together. Be creative or just do more of the same. So long as you are making them imagine their hands coming together, you’re doing alright!]
Magnetic hands induction key points
- Get consent to hypnotise
- Check for any contra-indications
- Explain what’s going to happen (hands come together = hypnosis)
- Have them put their hands out, 6” (15cm) apart
- Focus on the space in between, close eyes, keep focusing
- Imagine magnets pulling hands together
- Imagine rubber band wrapped around hands, pulling more
- Push the hands together and down as you give the “sleep” suggestion
- Immediately deepen
Additional points
With the magnetic hands induction, the duration of the induction can vary based on a subject’s responsiveness to suggestion (as mentioned previously). If you have a subject who’s taking ages, it can be good to throw in the following suggestion, “the more that you try and resist, the faster those hands begin to move now… and the faster they move, the better you feel and the closer they become…”. This counters any resistance by feeding their resistance back into doing what you want them to do… and how can they resist that? (sneaky, right?)
I mentioned ‘delivery’ earlier when talking through the magnetic hands suggestibility test, but it’s worth a reminder. When you’re getting the subject to imagine the magnets and the elastic band, use your voice to convey your message. Put tension in your voice for words like “pullllllllling your hands together”, and you’ll notice your subjects will respond better.
This induction is very simple and easy to perform successfully. However, you can also add in some sneaky hypnotic language patterns in order to make it even more effective. For example, instead of “they’re beginning to pull your hands together”, you can say “they’re beginning to pull those hands together”. At a quick glance it’s almost the same, but replacing “your hands” with “those hands” allows for dissociation and therefore gives you more power over the dissociated limbs. Also, suggesting “when they touch, your hands will drop down and you’ll go into hypnosis” is a handy trick. Using ‘when’ rather than ‘if’ pre-supposes that their hands are definitely going to touch, and the embedded command (to “go into hypnosis”) is set to trigger when this happens. As always, these hypnotic language patterns aren’t mandatory, but they do sure help to boost your success!
Contra-indications and safety for the magnetic hands induction
Be ready to catch your subject by the shoulder, in case they fall forwards (as with the hand drop induction). Also be aware of using this induction with anyone who has shoulder, back or neck issues. If you have a subject with physical issues/injuries, you have two ‘workaround’ options with this induction. You can either do this as a non-shock induction, or you can change the positioning of the subject’s arms.
By changing the subject’s position at the start of the induction, you can make it safe to do with people who have shoulder, back and neck issues. To take the shoulders out of the equation, have the subject bend their arms at the elbows so that their arms are moving from the elbows, rather than from the shoulders. Then, when you do the shock, their shoulders won’t be influenced by it. To take the back and neck out of the equation, as mentioned earlier in the book, all you have to do is position the subject a little forward in their chair so they can recline back a little. Then, when their hands drop down, they will remain comfortably supported in the chair. Too easy!
The non-shock version is a simple variation of the magnetic hands induction. To do the non-shock version, you just need to let the subject’s hands come together by themselves. You could even do this as a ‘non-touch’ version if you have a subject that doesn’t want to be touched at all, you want a rapid to use online/remotely, or if you’d like to hypnotise a group of people relatively quickly. The only downside is, as this is a ‘shock induction’, if you take the shock away, the induction isn’t quite as effective. There may be a slight shock when their hands touch (as their eyes will be closed), and sure, you’ll still have compliance to suggestion working in your favour, but it’s still not quite the same. I personally prefer to always include a shock at the end of this induction where possible, simply because it takes the subjects down faster and deeper than if they just complete the task themselves. But hey, if needs must, then do what you’ve gotta do!
I hope you enjoyed this breakdown of the magnetic hands rapid induction. If you’d like to learn more about rapid inductions, check out my rapid induction guidebook, here:
Otherwise, if you’d like to join me on a 1-day rapid induction course, these are also a fantastic way to develop your confidence, and get a whole lot of hands-on practice hypnotising various people from all round the world. I have rapid induction course dates and locations all over the UK, and would love to see you there!
