Mike Bishop talks to audience members Friday evening during his show at the Wood County Fair.
J.D. Pooley | Sentinel-Tribune
Mike Bishop’s hypnosis show kicked off Thursday evening at the Wood County Fair.
Each show starts off with Bishop explaining a little about himself and about hypnosis. He does a few interactive tricks with the audience, then asks for volunteers. All volunteers must be age 13 or older.
When Bishop has enough volunteers, he tells them to close their eyes and take deep breaths, until they eventually go under hypnosis.
Once under, he leads them through some basic suggestions. He may tell them that they are extremely hot and need to fan themselves, or that they are cold and begin shivering. Bishop said these suggestions help him get a feel of what level of hypnosis each person is at.
People who are not under enough for the more advanced suggestions are brought back out of hypnosis. Those who are under enough, are brought to the front of the stage where Bishop begins to lead them through more advanced suggestions.
There is a wide variety of advanced suggestions Bishop can do. He said it all depends on the people who are volunteering.
One of the advanced suggestions Bishop can do is make someone unable to say their name.
Marcy Vanderpool was hypnotized by Bishop during his first show on Thursday evening. During the hypnosis, she was unable to say her name.
She said that it was an enjoyable experience but was also very surreal. She said it felt like she was present, but at the same time not.
Throughout the show, participants often rest their heads against the people next to them. These people may be complete strangers, but Vanderpool said she didn’t care and that she was completely comfortable.
“Just total relaxation, and not a care in the world about anything,” she said.
This relaxation doesn’t just help people feel more comfortable, it also helps them feel more rested. Bishop said it can feel like they just got four or five extra hours of sleep. After the show, Vanderpool said she felt more rested than she had when she arrived.
“I feel good,” Vanderpool said. “I feel rested. Because I was actually quite exhausted when I came in here.”
Bishop said that he often compares the feeling of being hypnotized to having a couple of drinks, but not being completely drunk. He said often people do things they wouldn’t normally do because they are more comfortable, but they don’t do anything too crazy.
“The difference here is when it’s done, it’s over,” he said. “You don’t walk away from it drunk, and you feel really good. It’s very positive and healing.”
The experience is positive for both the volunteers and for the audience.
Beth Hagen was an audience member during the show. She said she was very impressed with the whole experience, especially because she came into the show doubtful.
“It was a lot of fun, it was appropriate,” she said. “I thought that the people who were hypnotized enjoyed it and I learned some things.”
Even if people don’t want to be hypnotized, Hagen said they should still check out the show as it was funny and taught her new things about hypnosis.
“I really didn’t know anything about hypnosis beyond what you see in a movie or something like that. We just didn’t know too much about it. So I was very interested in learning more about it and seeing the folks respond,” she said. “It was an awesome show.”
The show will continue daily for the rest of the week at 5, 7 and 9 p.m.
“It’s a very fun part of the fair,” Hagen said. “I thought Mike Bishop was very good at what he does. Very professional.”
