November 5th, 2008 by Steven

Have you ever been in a group setting, or a crowd of any form, where you felt yourself become a part of the crowd? You most likely felt a unique form of bonding with those present, as if you shared a common interest with everyone else. Perhaps you even thought or did things that you normally wouldn’t.

When we’re in a group setting we’re looking for acceptance. We want to be part of the group, not be left out of it. This stems back throughout the course of evolution, where animals need to be in a pack in order to survive for any substantial period of time. Without being accepted into a group, or making sacrifices, we were historically more likely to die trying to fend for ourselves. One man alone was unlikely to be able to take upon a giant mammoth.

This same biological functioning has retained itself in our brains throughout history. We still have that need to be in a group, almost at whatever the cost. Look at the way people behave in a riot, or a protest that goes wrong. People that may normally be quite peaceful can suddenly turn into dangerous, riotous and aggressive individuals. This is due entirely to them being in a group where they share a form of bonding and interest with all those present. They may feel a need to be aggressive because everyone else is, and by not being aggressive they may feel that they will be rejected from the group.

So how does any of this relate to mass hypnosis? Here’s the thing: This is Mass Hypnosis.

If you can become the leader of a crowd of people, and you share a common interest with that crowd, then you’ve effectively established yourself as an authority within their lives. Whilst you maintain that form of leadership over those people, they will do almost anything that you tell them to do. The reason that anyone will be unlikely to disobey you is because they will feel left out of the group if they do, which is something that nobody wants.

If you look throughout history, you will see plenty of examples of leaders who convinced otherwise ordinary people to be turned into raging killing machines with ideals that we would normally consider barbaric. The frightening thing is, is that if you were in the same shoes as any of those people, you too would most likely have tried to gain acceptance into the same group, at whatever the cost.

Politicians themselves are ones that use mass hypnotic principles to hold sway over large amounts of people. They find out what a large group of people want in their lives, and they give the group the promises that they want to hear. Those people will look up to that politician as an authority, and will support them vigorously, even defending the politician from friends or family that may oppose their views.

Think about that for a moment. A complete stranger who you’ve never met is able to hold more influence over you than people you have known for many years. If you’ve read my introduction to the Fundamentals Of Suggestion then you’ll realise the importance of establishing yourself as an authority in people’s lives. The best hypnotists don’t need to know someone to establish themselves as an authority, they can do it without even knowing the person.

So the principles behind Mass Hypnosis work as follows:

1. A person feels a need for acceptance in a group, and is willing to do anything to gain and retain acceptance.

2. Someone that shares a common interest with the group and is viewed as an authority by the group will become the leader of the group. This leader can effectively lead the group to do almost anything they wish.

3. Because no one wishes to be rejected by the group, each person in the group will do as the leader says, even if it’s something they normally wouldn’t do.

This covers the basic principles of mass hypnosis. Later on you will learn how to combine these principles with suggestion and other forms of hypnosis in order to really work some magic, however that will come in future posts.

For now, it’s important that you understand what the principles of mass hypnosis are, and why people are willing to do things they normally wouldn’t when in a crowded setting. Remember: The way someone behaves in a group isn’t determined by that person’s ethics, it’s determined by how much that person views the leader as an authority in their lives.