Hypnosis for Beginners by Dylan Morgan

This is a very basic book about hypnosis, but it teaches the basics of hypnosis extremely well.

The most valuable part I got from this is that with hypnosis, like everything else, then people will respond differently. Some people can be hypnotized very quickly, and can visualize things quickly, but most people will take some time.

This book starts out saying, "Entertainment hypnotists love to make hypnosis look dark and mysterious and complicated and pretend they have special powers. I love to make things bright and clear and open, and I do not claim any special powers." This book totally fulfills on that promise, and it will make hypnosis accessible to everyone who reads it. It explains a lot about the human brain, and how the subconscious works, and explains a ton about psychology. For instance, the author asks, "Which shoe did you put on first this morning?" as a way of explaining the various subsystems of the brain, and how they don't all necessarily talk to each other.

As a side note, the author Dylan Morgan passed away this year. I wish I would have found this book a year earlier, so I could have written him a thank you for his very valuable contribution to the field.

Pros:
+Very awesome introduction to hypnosis
+If you can only hypnotize 10% of everyone, then this book will teach you how to hypnotize the remaining 90% of everyone
+You can try most of the exercises on your friends, either without hypnosis, or during a hypnosis session
+A short book, packed full of great information
+The author is awesome, and very accessible! I'll definitely read more of his works.
+The book explains how hypnosis works in everyday life, not just in a hypnotic trance

Cons:
-The 'illustrations' are mainly just clip art
-Even though this is a good thing, this book doesn't teach you how to do very many cool hypnosis tricks, only one actually, because it's mostly a foundational book to teach you the basics of hypnosis

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Best Beginner's Hypnosis Book!, August 14, 2011
By thebig

As a Linguist that is very skeptical of the claims made by NLP, this book was eye-opening, engaging, and practical. After discovering that most of the "amazing" things in NLP can be discovered in a textbook on semantics, I realized that much of hypnosis probably rests on psychological and linguistic principles, while building from there. Unlike many authors on the subject of hypnosis, Morgan clearly illustrates this concept. He makes no over-generalizations, and suggests the reader discover the effects on his/her own rather than telling him/her "what is going to happen." I wanted a strong grasp of the key concepts in hypnosis, and was rather worried since this book was not nearly as popular nor as long (I assumed detailed) as many similar books. I do not know why I chose to read this book first. I read two similar books after this one, and I probably would have never been interested in hypnosis had I started with one of the others. One of them was quite "cheesily self-helpish", and the other was aimed at convincing people that they can control others' minds, get rich, and do stage hypnosis (just like that.) Both of them followed the same format: 1. The author would first talk about all of the wonderful things they have, how great their life is, and how skilled at hypnosis they are, 2)The author then tells the reader how easy it is, and that they can have all the same things as the author, usually followed by a concrete example of the author getting something that they want/getting rid of someone's terrible problem, 3) they tell you how to hypnotize yourself/someone else with minimal explanation as to how it is actually done. In contrast to other books on the subject, Morgan teaches "just the fundamentals of hypnosis" without confusing it with hypnotherapy, mesmerism, or sideshow acts such as stage hypnosis. I understand that many people need to be told, "you are awesome; you can do it," and some people delight in delusions of grandeur such as becoming the richest person in the world from performing a sideshow; Morgan does not indulge these childish needs, and it reads very much like a textbook. I give a tip of the hat to the marketing genius of the authors and publishers of the other books, but the quality of writing is bad, the level of instruction is minimal, and self promotion is prevalent. I strongly recommend this book to anyone that wants to learn how to do hypnosis, or anyone that is interested in more than just the basic suppositions found in other books on the topic. However, it is not a book that constantly tells the reader what a great person they can be if they just follow the steps indicated; it leaves the reader open to many possibilities, and after reading several books on the subject, I agree with Morgan's point, "there is not one correct way." I have now given up on other books until I finish Morgan's book about hypnotherapy; the writing is simple, easy to understand, and very to the point; if I were teaching hypnosis, my students would be required to have this book.

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Excellent comprehensive beginning hypnosis manual, July 10, 2010
By Trancelucence

I've read several of Dylan Morgan's books (and many books on hypnosis, from Erickson to Yapko to Newton), and his are consistently excellent- lots of information on the workings of the mind from both a practical and neurocognitive perspective. Dr. Morgan strikes me as a client-centered practitioner with efficacy and the client's best interests at heart. His down-to-earth, conversational style and clear writing are easy to digest, but much is learned. You will reap the benefit of his many years of experience- he demystifies much of the hypnotic process and yet approaches the work with respect/reverence. Highly recommended!

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