At the technique exchange, I have recently been discussing Hypnotic Orgasms.

One of the discussion participants in another list who was responding to a statement about state versus non-state theories of hypnosis in that he believes that despite conclusions regarding recent studies that have demonstrated neurological changes associated to hypnotic states that indicate automatism to be a real phenomenon with hypnosis, particularly stage hypnosis where it is most often demonstrated. He stated that while some things like blood pressure and perspiration are easy to suggest that others are well nigh impossible. He specividally stated that suggested or hypnotic orgasms are well nigh impossible as there may be what he refers to as rare individuals who can achieve orgasm through fantasy alone that they are significantly very rare and that the only folks who will achieve orgasm via hypnosis are of that type so the hypnotic orgasm is unlikely.

Obviously, I disagree with this conclusion as well as the premise . . . big time . . . based upon my understanding of the data, the appropriate studies, and personal experience . . . big time.

The ability to achieve physical erotic experience via fantasy alone is not really a rare ability. More and more evidence is pointing to the mind-body connection as being very powerfully linked in relation to sexual response and orgasm and even climax. Suggested orgasm may simply be a intensification of that experiential link. Most people have a fantasy or emotional component to their sexual response, it is rarely mere physical manipulation. While physical manipulation alone can elicit physical responses (such as in rape or harassment), the experience is rarely satisfying or as satisfying as when the fantasy or emotional component is given more play. The data has long supported the conclusion that women have a higher emotional or fantasy component to their erotic experience than men do but even the guys sitting alone in a darkened room masturbating will use fantasy and visual stimuli to increase their imaginative involvement in the experience. A recent study on orgasm showed the emotional and fantasy components to be very strong parts of the experience, the mind connection being much much higher than previously believed. Sorry, I do not have the citation offhand but I do believe I posted about it at least once on my blog.

Contemporary surveys of human sexuality have found that climax from fantasy alone – while not particularly a high number – is growing. This is NOT because human sexual potential is changing but because cultural factors have changed to allow more folks to feel comfortable enough with their own sexuality to go ahead and engage in sexual activities that were formerly taboo (for instance, the recent Durex study found that in many countries the number of women who own their own vibrator has risen dramatically in the past few years and in some countries over half of the adult women have bought a vibrator for themselves and even some ostensibly conservative countries like Japan have a thirty percent vibrator ownership rate for adult women). Fantasy based sexual experience in either autoerotic or appropriate couples context is rising and the number of persons who achieve orgasm as well as climax from such experience is also on the rise.

Just as the number of women who now experience climax via intercourse or other forms of physcial stimulation is higher, the number of fantasy-produced climaxes is also on the rise.

While I agree that most people are not aware of their ability to experience such pleasure, I would disagree with the conclusion that it is an inherently rare ability. The ability is actually quite common. Cultural factors have limited the number of persons experiencing it but that is not due to a limitation in physical or mental ability, it is a sociocultural limitation.

I agree with part of the conclusion about hypnotic or suggested or fantasy orgasms not being a common experiece but not in the premise of why that is.

The feat in and of itself is not so remarkable.

I also would suggest that hypnotic conditioning toward orgasm is not a difficult task at all . . . regardless of whether you believe in state or non-state theories (personally, I strongly believe the truth is somewhere in the middle as there are physiological and neurologial markers but we interpret response based upon sociocultural factors).

If you haven’t done it, then give it a go . . . in an appropriate context with an appropriate consenting adult partner, that is. I know a number of folks who have done this sort of thing with a number of folks, albeit my personal experience and that of most of the folks I know who do this or who’ve written about it is with women as subjects. When I was doing that sort of thing regularly, I didn’t find the response effect to be particularly rare or remarkable. They found the experience to be rather unique and powerful . . . but then, those of us who do "higher self" or "intense emotional state" suggestions routinely find our subjects have anything but a routine experience in so far as they are concerned. I may routinely suggest a feeling of joy that intensifies within the session as a matter of course but the subject doesn’t realize they’re experiencing a rather mundane process that is simple and straightforward but this unique experience is merely unique because they’ve never experienced it before. The same with suggested orgasm, it may seem entirely unique and special at the time it is occurring because most folks have never experienced it and never will and many hypnotists have never made that sort of connection on their own either . . . but the process and the experience is not inherently remarkable. Most folks are capable of it.

If you are doubtful of that, then I would strongly encourage you to find an appropriate consenting adult experimental partner or three and run a process and note the results . . . even if your subject does not experience orgasm, for whatever reasons, I assure you, the experience will be positive. Nudge, nudge, wink, wink, and all that.

Anything from anchoring states to sliding anchors to simple suggestion can build up to erotic response . . . many of the same suggestive and therapeutic processes we would use in a session with a person experiencing some forms of sexual desire or response problems . . . once desire and physical responses are established, these can be inensified up to orgasm . . . which in turn can be set to a trigger-response pattern that jumps from zero state to orgasm. If you’re not sure how to achieve this (regardless of your state versus non-state views), there are folks here who can help you or you can go to other forums with more specific information such as the technique exchange or even my blog which also has a number of books listed you can reference.

I do not for an instance believe that the resulting orgasms are merely the result of social roleplay or that they are any less real as orgasm than other orgasms, they are full on experienced events. While folks on stage may be affected by social role expectations and certainly there are poorly skilled or disreputable stage hypnotists who do use stooges, plants, or who rely upon audience roleplay . . . but there are also quite a number who do the work and achieve effects based upon suggestion alone (which may or may not be state or non-state). Even folks who go with a completely non-state or social-compliance theory do not suggest that the subjects are being anything but congruent in that when they respond they believe they are responding and feeling the full force of the suggestion. They forget the number seven not because they are pretending but because they believe they are supposed to forget the number seven due to the power of the suggestion and therefore actually believe they have forgotten the number. Because they believe it to be so, it happens . . . they really believe they have forgotten it. This is not the same as pretending to forget the number seven. At this level of belief and response, the effect becomes the same and the difference between the two becomes merely one of academic interest, the practical difference is not significant. If I tell you to have an orgasm and you have an orgasm, it doesn’t really matter if the orgasm is a "real" orgasm or if it’s merely a false suggested orgasm, you still feel as if you have had a bona fide orgasm and that’s what really matters . . . the effect and practical use . . . to the person having the orgasm, it is the orgasm that matters, not why it occurs or it’s nature . . . whether it is caused by social conditioning and expectation or by physical responses that are hard wired, it doesn’t matter . . . it’s still an orgasm.

All the best,
Brian