Derren Brown's special Faith Healer and my opinion on these practices

Derren Brown has been a major influence on me! There's no denying that, when I've learned so much from his inspiring last 10 years on television. It was Derren's work that finally led me into the world of mentalism.

In his newest special Derren Brown Miracles for Sale -> Derren Brown Faith Healer, Derren picks an ordinary man from the street and turns him into a Faith Healer.
Faith healings are especially big in the US Bible Belt, where the word of God is seemingly the only valid word. Faith healings are a collection of psychological and magical trickery to temporarily instill pain relieve for witch people of to dig deep into their pockets.
It always struck me as odd that people would actually need to pay to either see a healing or donate in order to be healed. If I had this gift I would do it for free, especially when it's seemingly so simple and quick! I would sacrifice my lunch hour to go out and heal people.

The best message in Derren Brown's show was at the end of Nathan -- which did a bang-up job -- says that: "The Lord doesn't need your money, in order to heal you!"
That does make sense doesn't it? Why would you need to pay the Pastor/Minister or Church in order to receive support from Jesus or God?

In my country The Netherlands, there are hardly any faith healings, we are not religious enough. However there are many 'hypnotherapists' and new-age practitioners who supposedly heal people.

I recently got into a hefty debate with fellow hypnotists who claim to "cure" allergies or even more far fetched PTSD, ADD and Hormonal Depression.

That little word "cure" is what stabs me. If they say, we use suggestion to assist in relieving symptoms I would be fine. But the word "cure" is different.

Claiming to "cure" something as potentially lethal as an allergy is misguiding. Most hypnotherapist who were claiming this, did not even know what caused an allergic reaction. It's the over production of a histamine; a organic nitrogene compound that acts as  neuro-transmitter. Too much histamine makes your neuro-receptors over react and causes itching, swelling and other physiological reactions. What many people do not know is that histamine can be countered by adreneline. Benadryl "an antihistamine drug" actually blocks the neuro-transmitters in the brain. So even if you can "evoke" this blocking of neuro-transmitters with suggestion (adrenaline rushes in people being hypnotized is very normal) then still you do not "cure" these people. You give relieve that lasts, God know how long but most definitely not for ever. You will never see people with severe live threatening allergies go to a minister or hypnotist...

I have suffered one severe allergy attack (cause not yet known). It was two years ago in America where I had red spots all over my exposed body parts which was annoying but not live threatening. During my drive from Lancaster PA to New Orleans it hardly bothered me because I was too focussed on the driving. The second time when I came back to Lancaster (must be something local, because in New Orleans I got better back in PA it struck again) I woke up having trouble breathing. There was NOT ONE MOMENT, I as a hypnotist thought: Let's go to hypnotherapist! I called my friends in that town and asked them for the address of their doctor's office.

In the doctor's office they told me that in these cases I should've gone to the ER even.  In the doctor's office they did not cure me from my allergy! They never claimed they would or could! 

They simply said: "We will inject predisolon, we'll put you on predisolon pills for the remaining 10 days you are here and we give you antihistamine to stop the itching..." => Those words stop the itching and the foresight of that made my itch and breathing already feel better; I know even as a psychological entertainer, that I am prone to conditioned responses, placebo and authority as any other human being.

The predisolon probably saved my life, there's no telling if the physical reaction would've continued to worsen and prevent me from breathing.

If I'd gone to a faith healer, a hypnotherapist, the local P.A. Voodoo Doctor  I may have had temporary relieve from a combination of endorphines, adrenaline and the expectation plus suggestions for the experience but I'd probably suffocated because the swelling would most likely have continued.

I know I am not cured from whatever (probably cats) evoked that allergic reaction, the doctors didn't mislead me but they did literally safe me, I paid them for the medication and treatment not for a suggestive lie. 

A faith healer, hypnotherapist,  or whatever would've gotten paid for a misleading suggestion without actually having done anything to cure the person. Putting people's life potentially at risk. Like in Derren Brown's special where he explains that some Faith Healers (I call them quacks) ask people to throw away their medicine and believe solely in the alternative therapy.

The defensive argument of these quacks is: "Modern medicine doen't know everything!" They never claim and yes they too experiment. However they do it with empirical tests. Or: "We don't know how it works but it does!" -- wel that's easy, how do you prove it actually works? You never hear quacks talk about the times that their client wasn't cured.... Even moderns medicine doesn't have a 100% cure rate.

So please when you are ill or have physical discomforts, seek medical assistance from a real doctor. You do not need to pay God to heal you, God doesn't have any use for money!

I am not religious but if I were I would see it like this: God has created mankind, mankind has used their brain --the gift from God-- to invent medicine, therefore modern medicine is God's gift. If you go and see a Quack than realize that they cannot heal you! At the most they can provide temporary relieve but when modern medicine with it's billions of dollars of research and millions of man years of experience can not cure you, what do you think the odds are that a man holding a bible asking for your money can? Let alone a man in the South American Jungle wearing a strawskirt who thinks that a radio is a little box with an even smaller man inside of it.

Luca Volpe's new project

Luca Volpe is a great.... yeah is a great..... he's a wonderful.....

Darn... I love to be able to put people into a single box but Luca is one of those people who can do just about anything. He's a awesome illusionist, close up magician, singer/songwriter/piano player and a great mentalist. If he'd play guitar and wear a purple trenchcoat, he would look similar to Prince in Purple Rain.

Him and I have exchanged emails on mentalism on a few occasions the past two years. Shared ideas and products and I always enjoy reading his stuff.

When he asked me to contribute to his new project and that he told me that Paul Brook, (for whom I have the utmost respect and who's written the most influential work in the last 10 years on psychological entertainment) I was completely into it. I was thinking about what to share because the subject is very big and I did not want to contribute something cheesy or something that may have been covered in the project.

So after some thought, I decided to post an effect that is part of my World War 2 story-telling history infotainment lesson. This particular effect has moved several people to choking up. It's a very powerful moment where a volunteer reveals the person's visual characteristics and then seeing the picture matching for the very first time that it really touches deep and hard.

In the meantime I asked Luca when his project would be released and he keeps saying in a few months, so I patiently wait.

Today he mailed me whether I could resend the document because him or his producer could not open the document (anymore). I was frantic because I did not have the document on my drive anymore.
In a brief moment I was thinking that my contribution would not be on this project. Luckily I remembered that I had made a backup and dug through my "Scrapheap" and found the drive. I was able to find the document quickly thanks to Apple Time Machine.

So all I need to do now, is wait until the project is released I cannot wait.

Misleading NLP and Hypnosis

As many of you know, I am an atheist and a born skeptic. Ironically many hypnotists claim to be skeptics too. However, all too often you will find images like these at hypnosis or NLP workshops.

Glass walking

Firewalking

Arrow Snapping

Some NLP and Hypnosis, workshop trainers work people up into a frenzy and to prove that their NLP/Hypnosis or pendulum swinging exercises have indeed had any effect they will use: Arrow Snapping, Fire walking and/or Glass walking as a convincer of their suggestive workshops. They want to prove that after their workshop you have the "energy" the "spirit" the "strength" whatever it is to charge over those hot coals and feel good about yourself. Because after all you need to be able to engage a certain "subconscious" mechanism to deal with the excruciating pain that goes hand in hand with walking over hot coals creates. Or you need to focus all your "healing" or "positive" energy to keep those sharp glass shards from cutting the soles of your feet!

When I see this I literally see a new religion in the making. Which is my problem with most Hypnosis and NLP courses. People are brains washed in similar ways as some religious leaders do. A trainer who will use one of these techniques to show that you can control your mind, is nothing short but another Peter Popoff. Peter Popoff, is a so called "minister"/"faith healer" who apparently heals people using the power of God... After these people paid money to get into the whole "stage hypnosis" show.

Fire walking, Glass Walking and Arrow snapping to name a few of these abused rituals to self proof. Are Fakir effects. Used by Fakir's as far back as the 800 AD. These methods came to europe in the early middle ages and have since been abused by any charlatan under the sun, from medieval potion makers to current day Hypnotherapists claiming to be Doctors. 

The Medieval potion maker would cook up some brew and sell it from town to town. Aften the potion was nothing more than some animal based oil (hence the expression snake-oil). A so called "stooge" in the crowd would buy the potion drink it and feel strong and amazing and to prove that he did not get hurt walk over charred coals, glass, or break arrows with his eye socket or larynx or bend metal bars. Many people were convinced by these methods and also bought the miracle potion (aka snake oil). They too would be coached over the smouldering coals or stand bare feet and to 4 razor sharp swords. Adding a new "high" to the now well known and documented placebo effect.

Fire walking has all to do with reduced heat conduction. The ash on the coal works as an insulator and when you walk at a steady pace having a foot no more than one second on the hot ashes then your feet will be fine. Do not kick up the ash or you will be in trouble. Ash is a very poor heat conductor! Would you heat up a metal plate to the same temperature as the coals underneath the ash then trust me! There's no way you can walk over there!

Psychologically its very weird, when you are on the edge one part of you screams NOOOOO! The other part screams: TRUST IN SCIENCE! It's setting that first step that is the hardest, but when you know in your mind that you will be safe it's no big deal. 

I once was at the CN Tower and I had to walk onto the glass floor, 400 meters above ground and bear i mind, I suffer from vertigo! 

As I stood on that edge, I felt a simular struggle in my psychology as with the fire walking. My analytical neocortex said: "It's all fine! Those plates can hold a group of rhinos" my limbic system screamed: "DANGER DANGER, WILL ROBINSON!" -- with my amygdala screaming the loudest.

Me pretending to fall down for the photo. (Never mind the hair there)

Two years later I came back with my best friend and I instantly walked up. My best friend who doesn't suffer from vertigo (unlike me), froze for a few minutes, experiencing what I'd two years prior. As soon as he got on he felt as liberated as I did two years ago. 

This feeling is very powerful! Hence the trainers/coaches like to associate (anchor in NLP terms) that feeling with their workshop. But fire walking, glass walking, sword walking, bar bending all that stuff is no different than walking on the glass floor at the CN-Tower or at the Grand Canyon.

Glass walking is something that relies on science as well, bar bending/arrow snapping rely on science and actually some setup work in advance to make it safe for everybody! 

I've done all of these effects myself at some point and the irony is: When you know you are safe and when you know science is at work it looses it's power. Sure there's an adrenaline rush, much like you get from a rollercoaster but it's not a groundbreaking achievement! But those "GURUs" want to make it appear that way.

Here I demonstrate how to stick a needle through someone's hand without feeling a pain sensation:

Needle Through hand of Spectator this actually is more of an achievement than walking on glass or coals. Because here the spectator needs to completely trust me. Also this here is merely for entertainment purposes. However, I never use this in my courses.

Conclusion: When you see an NLP/Hypnosis or what ever do fakir stunts, then you know you should stay away! Even some very great names like Anthony Robbins does fire walking and to me that's the trademark of a charlatan. It's the same as the hypnotist placing a person between to chairs, which is also nothing special and has nothing to do with hypnosis.

Please people, this is 2011, we should not fall for tricks that were invented in the early medieval times anymore. 

These are demonstrations that should only be admired when performed by a professional fakir. The fakir act is a wonderful piece of entertainment and todays fakirs will almost always do demonstrations that push the envelop of human endurance. Unlike fire/glass walking or arrow snapping/bar bending.