Ambiguity

Techniques > Hypnotism > Principles > Ambiguity

Principle | Practice | Discussion | See also

Principle

When things have multiple meaning we try to find out which is intended. This occupies the conscious mind.

Practice

Ambiguity can also be used to confuse, distract and engage the brain whilst the hypnotist is getting on the real work.

Hear, you go. And who is listening? You can listen to me now as ...

An ideal ambiguity situation occurs where there is an obvious meaning and a less obvious meaning. The person accepts something because of its obvious meaning, then realizes too late that they have also accepted the less obvious meaning.

Discussion

When faced with ambiguity, our normal approach is to try to figure out what the real meaning is. We consider each possibility and reflect on whether it is more or less significant for the context than other possibilities. Ambiguity thus engages and holds the conscious mind.

In speech, you can use words that sound the same, even though they are spelled differently. Hear and Here. To, Two and Too. And sew on.