Love may not be in the air but there’s definitely something going on.

HOOKING UP is here to stay and dating seems to be heading the way of the dinosaur, if recent sociological studies of teen behavior are any indicator.  Charles M. Blow writes an op-ed on the recent demise of dating and the ascendancy of hooking up in the New York Times and he can’t help but lament the passing of more traditional dating . . . The Demise of Dating . . . http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/13/opinion/13blow.html . . . for those who aren’t familiar with the term, "Hooking Up" refers to a casual sexual encounter with no expectation of a relationship (no, it is not the same as an fuckbuddy which is more like hooking up but with longterm effect while hooking up is a random short-term event-driven relationship).

The paradigm has shifted. Dating is dated. Hooking up is here to stay. (For those over 30 years old: hooking up is a casual sexual encounter with no expectation of future emotional commitment. Think of it as a one-night stand with someone you know.) According to a report released this spring by Child Trends, a Washington research group, there are now more high school seniors saying that they never date than seniors who say that they date frequently. Apparently, it’s all about the hookup. When I first heard about hooking up years ago, I figured that it was a fad that would soon fizzle. I was wrong. It seems to be becoming the norm. I should point out that just because more young people seem to be hooking up instead of dating doesn’t mean that they’re having more sex (they’ve been having less, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) or having sex with strangers (they’re more likely to hook up with a friend, according to a 2006 paper in the Journal of Adolescent Research). To help me understand this phenomenon, I called Kathleen Bogle, a professor at La Salle University in Philadelphia who has studied hooking up among college students and is the author of the 2008 book, “Hooking Up: Sex, Dating and Relationships on Campus.” It turns out that everything is the opposite of what I remember. Under the old model, you dated a few times and, if you really liked the person, you might consider having sex. Under the new model, you hook up a few times and, if you really like the person, you might consider going on a date. I asked her to explain the pros and cons of this strange culture. According to her, the pros are that hooking up emphasizes group friendships over the one-pair model of dating, and, therefore, removes the negative stigma from those who can’t get a date. As she put it, “It used to be that if you couldn’t get a date, you were a loser.” Now, she said, you just hang out with your friends and hope that something happens. The cons center on the issues of gender inequity. Girls get tired of hooking up because they want it to lead to a relationship (the guys don’t), and, as they get older, they start to realize that it’s not a good way to find a spouse. Also, there’s an increased likelihood of sexual assaults because hooking up is often fueled by alcohol. That’s not good. So why is there an increase in hooking up? According to Professor Bogle, it’s the collapse of advanced planning, lopsided gender ratios on campus, delaying marriage, relaxing values and sheer momentum. It used to be that “you were trained your whole life to date,” said Ms. Bogle. “Now we’ve lost that ability — the ability to just ask someone out and get to know them.” Now that’s sad.

Sad indeed.  It’s not like it was ever all that easy – at least emotionally – for most folks in the old dating game anyway (although there are studies that show men and women tend to have a fifty percent chance of success when asking a stranger out on a date via cold walkup, if only they just had the courage to try, but then most folks aren’t aware of the studies on this stuff).

Now, whether you are looking to hook up or if you are looking for new and effective ways to "just ask someone out" and perhaps get to know them in both the carnal or relationshippy way . . . or, if you just want to have a really good time, thenI would suggest something particularly new and fun . . . this Saturday night I will be performing a brand new comedy hypnosis show like no other . . . we’re going to be taking a lighthearted and fun look at social influence and hypnosis and dating and seduction.

This is a very very different and new show: SEDUCTION MINDTRICKS 情場高手速成班 (The Comedy Hypnosis Show with an Adult Twist 好玩有趣的追求異性催眠法).  No one has ever done quite what we’re planning on.  Of course, as with any comedy hypnosis show, things work out best if you bring your friends, lots of them, especially for the sort of things we plan on.

SEDUCTION MINDTRICKS
情場高手速成班
The Comedy Hypnosis Show with an Adult Twist
好玩有趣的追求異性催眠法

For show info/reservations http://www.comedy.com.tw
For performer info http://www.briandavidphillips.com

12月20日 地點：Live COMEDY CLUB Taipei (http://comedy.com.tw)
時間：10:00pm
地址：台北市泰順街24號B1
訂位電話：02-2369373
口譯：羅玉蘭

Dec 20: Live COMEDY CLUB Taipei (http://www.comedy.com.tw)
Bilingual Chinese-English Performance
10:00pm
B1, No.24, Taishun St., (in the Shirda area)
Telephone: 02-2369373
Interpreter: Lorraine Phillips

什麼是隱藏式催眠? 讓陌生人對你產生好感的竅門在裡? 異性追求術在歐美已形成一種次文化, 有些人像宗教一般沈迷,
不少宅男宅女為了打開社交大門, 不惜花三、五千美元只為跟慕名已久的大師上一堂課, 如果你想知道情場高手靠的是那門子的秘笈功夫,
歡迎你今晚來跟羅教授學習, 有伴沒伴帥不帥美不美都沒關係, 趕快報名。

Casanova, Don Juan, Valentino . . . Lilith, Cleopatra, Catherine the
Great . . . all the great lovers knew just what to do to guide another
person into powerful states of affection, attraction, ecstasy, and
beyond. What did these skilled seducers know that most of us don’t?
Step into a fun-filled evening of playful seduction with a humorous
twist. Learn a few of the tricks of the seductionist trade while having
a hilarious evening of hypnotic fun. This performance is unlike any
other as audience members learn about genuine techniques used by
so-called speed seducers and members of the pickup artists secret
underground while having a laugh-filled good time. Men and women will
learn something about themselves and about the world of seduction while
experiencing a truly unique evening’s entertainment. Bring your friends
as the more the merrier and the wilder the fun.

徵求十八歲以上愛現的觀眾 • 350元 • 隨票附送催眠CD送完為止

Risque Hypnosis Show (Adults Only) • 350NT • Free Hypnosis Audio CD and Psychic "Love" Pendulum (while supplies last)

Poster http://public.fotki.com/briandavidphillips/hypnosis/posters/20081220hypnoseduct.html

For show info/reservations http://www.comedy.com.tw
For performer info http://www.briandavidphillips.com

Speaking of seduction.  While the SEDUCTION MINDTRICKS 情場高手速成班 (The Comedy Hypnosis Show with an Adult Twist 好玩有趣的追求異性催眠法) performance will include some real world influence and seduction techniques – the real thing – it’s focused on light-hearted entertainment so while you will indeed learn some really kool stuff, if you want the real thing, Lorraine has finally convinced me to offer a course on actual bona fide seduction.  So, in January, I will be teaching a course on CONSENSUAL SEDUCTION.  See http://www.briandavidphillips.com/training/socialinfluence.html for the details.  In brief:

CONSENSUAL SEDUCTION &
SOCIAL INFLUENCE

A Practical Course in
Social Life Skills Enhancement for
Love, Business, and Life

Social Influence, Hypnosis,
Neurolinguistic Programming, and
Waking Trance for
Building Social Opportunities for Romance and
Creating Intimate Social Connections

Brian David Phillips, Ph.D., C.H.

Imagine having the confidence and skills to be the sort of person who
can walk up to a stranger and to create an amazing connection. No fear,
no manipulation, just honestly being the sort of person who is
comfortable and confident who creates special moments for others,
enjoying opportunities for romance. This course is about gaining
skillsets and about inner transformation . . . becoming that sort of
person, the sort of person you wish to be.

 

DATES: January 17-18, 2009
LOCATION: Taipei, Taiwan (Venue Announced After Registration Finalization)
COURSE HOURS: 14 hours (two days)
LIMITED SEATING: Positions in the class are filled on the basis of first-come first-served.
PREREQUISITE: previous experience not required
REGISTRATION: contact Lorraine Phillips here
for information on how to register. International guests should contact
Lorraine about accommodation suggestions or other matters.
This course is offered in cooperation with Crystal Hypnosis, contact Lorraine at yuklan.law@msa.hinet.net
and she will tell you how to register (please let her know whether you
are Taiwanese or not as the registration process is different). This
seminar is open to both men and women.
COURSE MATERIALS and BONUS VALUE GIFTS: Students receive the course handouts and a special Psychic Love Pendulum
with Autoquestioning Answer Card. Those who register before January 1
receive their reservation for the basic course materials and bonus
value gifts including (1) the Social Confidence Enhancement hypnosis audio CD and (2) the Inviting Love In hypnosis audio CD.

Recently, in popular culture, more and more people have become
interested in learning ways to enhance their romantic persona. Films
like Hitch and Cassanova
have shown fictional characters who know how to engage the romantic
imaginations of others and create pleasurable consenting relationships.
Those films are just fiction and show a fictional world. However, now
we see books like The Game and television series like The Pick-Up Artist
purport to take regular folks and teach them how to be more successful
with the appropriate sex. What about the reality? Yes, there are
naturals out there and yes some folks really are more successful in
romance. However, while romantic success is certainly partly based upon
natural inclinations, it’s also based upon skillsets . . . skillsets
that can be learned and can be improved upon. This course shows you the
real world techniques of social influence used in such programs of
consensual seduction . . . creating contexts that enable you to build
real romantic, intimate, or social connections with others, enhance
your real relationships, and allow you to intensify real pleasure
within real relationships with real people. Learn that real people like
yourself can go further and be much more effective than Cassanova or Hitch could ever dream.

This is an intensive course in social influence, personality
strengthening, and consensual seduction techniques, enhanced hypnosis
techniques for self-awareness and positive change, including trance
processes to engage the imaginations of others in ways that enhance
intimate and social connections. Participants should be prepared to
leave all their preconceptions at the door and jump into this seminar
with imaginations open and ready to experience new worlds and powerful
processes.

Note, the intended learning processes will be demonstrated,
explained, and practiced by those in attendance. Men and women will
find the skills and information presented in this course to be
invaluable. For much of the material, you will learn by doing, so come
prepared to actually practice these powerful techniques. The actual
course presentation is tailored to the needs of the participants. This
course covers how to use hypnosis and waking trance to enhance your
social skills and intimate relationships, how to become a better
socializer or lover lover through internal self-improvement, how to
enhance romantic and intimate connections with others, as well as an
introduction to how to intensify and create pleasure experiences with
others within an appropriate loving and romantic context. This is our
powerhouse introductory course for Social Influence and Personality Development for a variety of contexts, including consensual seduction, social interaction, business,
and more, and will take participants through some very powerful
changework processes as well as instill skills that give them the
ability to walk up to a perfect stranger and being creating romantic
connections at the get-go. We will cover powerful change and trance
state processes so that participants will be able to enhance their
business, love, romance, sexual, and intimate relationships.

Students are asked to bring a digital camera with still image and video
capability for certain in-class exercises as well as for the homework
(yes, there is homework).

Check the webpage at http://www.briandavidphillips.com/training/socialinfluence.html for more information.  Contact Lorraine at yuklan.law@msa.hinet.net to signup now.