Manipulate Or Maneuver?

The word "manipulate" carries a lot of negative weight, but its cousin "maneuver" has a lighter touch and has a better chance of helping you get where you want to go.

 Grasshopper Notes are the writings from America's Best Known Hypnotherapist John Morgan. His podcasts contain his most responded to essays and blog posts from the past two decades. 

Find the written versions of these podcasts on John's podcasting site: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1628038

"The Grasshopper" is the part of you that whispers pearls of wisdom that  seem to pop into your mind from out of the blue. John's essays and blog posts are his interpretations of these "Nips of Nectar." Others have labeled his writings as timeless wisdom. 

Most of the John's writings revolve around self improvement and self help. They address topics like:

• Mindfulness
• Peace of mind
• Creativity
• How to stay in the present moment
• Spirituality
• Behavior improvement

And stories that transform you to a wider sense of awareness that presents more options. And isn't that what we all want, more options? 

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Transcript

Manipulate Or Maneuver?

Over the years, I’ve been asked whether hypnosis is a manipulative practice.

My answer is: yes and no.

If you hear the word manipulative and immediately equate it with being unscrupulous or deceptive, I can appreciate why you might think hypnosis is about manipulating people.

It’s not.

I actually prefer another word: maneuver.

It doesn’t carry nearly as much baggage.

The role of a hypnotist is to guide you from one frame of mind to another. In a sense, you’re being guided up a mountain. I’m the sherpa, and getting you to the top sometimes requires a few maneuvers.

Why?

Well, let’s say I simply hand you a straightforward solution to your problem. I tell you, “This is what you need to do.”

There’s a pretty good chance you’ll dismiss it right out of hand.

Even if I tell you it works.

So now I have to maneuver.

Sometimes I have to take you somewhere other than where you think we’re going in order to get you to a place that can actually help you.

Some might call that deception for the greater good.

Think about a doctor who gives someone a placebo for what he believes is a psychosomatic condition or hypochondria.

He may know there’s nothing physically wrong, but if he simply says, “There’s nothing wrong with you,” the patient may not believe him.

So the doctor’s maneuver is a harmless pill.

In hypnosis, my maneuver might be a story.

I might tell you about someone you’ve never met who had a huge problem and somehow managed to overcome it.

The story isn’t directly about you.

It isn’t even directly about your particular problem.

It’s simply a story about someone overcoming obstacles.

And because you’re not busy defending yourself against a suggestion about you, your guard comes down.

Now I have a better chance of you hearing – and accepting – the indirect suggestions woven into the story I just told you.

My friend, photographer Peter Hurley, is a master at doing something very similar.

He knows how to get past people’s guards so he can capture a genuinely natural photograph of them.

He’ll get you off your game with his comments, questions, and sometimes completely inane suggestions.

Why?

To get your mind off the camera.

Because the more you think about the camera, your face, your pose, and whether you’re looking natural, the less natural you look.

Peter’s maneuver is designed to get all of that out of your head so he can photograph the real you.

Hypnosis can work the same way.

Sometimes I have to get past your facade before you’ll even entertain an idea that might help you.

Is that manipulation?

I don’t think so.

I think it’s a maneuver.

And sometimes, the best way to help someone who’s standing in their own way is to maneuver around the very thing that’s standing in their way.

The goal isn’t to control you.

The goal is to help you get where you really want to go.

Sometimes that takes a straight line.

And sometimes it takes a maneuver.

A harmless, helpful maneuver.

All the best,
John