WRITTEN IN THE STARS
The Truth About Hypnosis – William W Hewitt
“Why did you buy this book?”, I grumbled at Kev as I worked my way through its few but unremarkable pages. Kev had read it previously and had found it too forgettable to write about, so I’d picked it up as unfinished business.
“I bought it because it’s The Truth!”, he laughed. “The Truth about hypnosis! Another guy! Another truth!”
As much as it amuses us both how many hypnotists profess to know The Truth about hypnosis – before revealing how little they know about hypnosis itself – this book’s bold title strikes me as a series boast rather than the author’s.
William W Hewitt (1929-2001), I gather, was an American freelance writer who describes himself in this 1996 book, The Truth About Hypnosis, as a practising hypnotherapist and “professional astrologer”. He’d previously worked as an IBM executive and non-commissioned Air Force officer, with his interests in ‘mind-body-spirit’, metaphysics, human potential, and self-improvement supplementing his work for private industry.
The book is succinct at just 49 pages, so there’s not much sense of Hewitt’s personality or hypnotic prestige. We learn that he’s the voice of several hypnosis audio tapes as well as a regular lecturer in hypnotherapy, but this is a sales pitch for hypnosis rather than Hewitt – perhaps it was a freebie with a magazine… Whatever, I’m amused that the author of Tea Leaf Reading was also busily bashing out copy on the computer, nuclear power, and mining industries. As a former writer and editor for hire, I can relate to this strange mix of specialist topics!
The contents are indeed forgettable. We’re reassured that hypnosis isn’t the “spooky stuff” of Hollywood zombie movies, but instead is a miracle cure-all using “the natural powers of your own mind”. Hewitt begins by busting a few common myths before bamboozling readers with brain frequencies blah – as if the curious layperson cares whether they’re in delta, theta, alpha or beta ‘states’ when playing with his self-hypnosis suggestions. His reliance on ‘technical’ language concerning brain functions – eg, the differences between adults and children; or describing the hypnotist as the “operator” – feels off-putting for the average reader.
Next, there’s a menu of hypnotic induction routines, followed by an anecdote about an overweight client of his. This woman was addicted to popcorn, with Hewitt ‘curing’ her via a post-hypnotic suggestion that her favourite snack smelt of wet chicken feathers, which were a source of disgust from plucking chickens as a child. He suggests readers freestyle with disgust suggestions to treat unwanted eating habits – not something I’d recommend unless you want more disordered eating habits than you started with.
Advice on conducting (professional-ish) hypnosis sessions includes tone, pace, seating, and lighting – as well as a CAPS LOCK caution not to use electric shock machines for smoking cessation. It’s funny to think that such gadgetry was available for self-help purposes!
The book ends with an unwieldy list of practical applications, from overcoming phobias to helping prison inmates. Sample suggestions are similarly mixed, from boosting your aura to mastering a foreign language. In between, Hewitt includes two unconvincing anecdotes about injuries being minimised with (self-)hypnosis. The only valuable piece of advice is for keen laypeople to start a buddy system with fellow enthusiasts to practice on rather than going for training.
In sum, The Truth about hypnosis remains elusive – it’s certainly not in this book.
