Comedy Hypnosis Show at High School
Amazed Audience

May 10, 2008 - Oxford, NY
The Oxford Youth Center (OYC) sponsored a fantastic evening of family entertainment on May 9th, with comedy stage hypnotist, Rich Wilson, at the Oxford Academy High School. The HypnoRich show was filled with a wide variety of routines that were designed to entertain everyone. Mood setting music and sound effects added excitement and reality. Wilson got a stage full of willing volunteers, and although not all went fully under hypnosis, those who did performed remarkably.
Hypnosis, the ultimate state of relaxation, along with imagination, turned suggestions into very funny “perceived realities”. Under the direction of Wilson, the local volunteers -the stars of the show- shivered from extreme cold; felt high heat; and cruised in “low riders”, feeling the wind blow in their hair, waving at the local cop as they drove by –-all imagined experiences. They made faces as third graders at a substitute teacher; felt electric zaps in their chairs; were screaming on a scary roller coaster ride; strutted like models on the catwalk; and watched a movie that went from hysterical laughter to extreme sadness, then happy again. A couple of female volunteers became pop singers, Shania Twain and Britney Spears, dancing and (mock) singing with microphones.
It was astonishing to watch as one volunteer was made to forget the number five, counting eleven fingers on her two hands. Similarly she was made to forget her first name. After a short struggle trying to remember, HypnoRich would give the command, “…close your eyes and SLEEP…going deeper and deeper!”

“Sleeping” volunteers (not actually asleep but fully aware in a restful state) would become limp as ragdolls, often dropping into Wilson’s arms. One volunteer, who was “asleep” on the stage floor, was awakened with Rich’s command, “one, two, three…” and with a snap of his fingers he was awake, but he was instructed that his butt was glued to the floor. Try as he might, he was unable to pull his hips up. HypnoRich allowed him to rise, but then suggested that his left foot was glued to the floor. It was an amazing display of the sub-conscious mind over matter!

There were a few other routines that were very funny, but this hypnotist was not just in it for laughs. At the end of the stage performance some of the successfully hypnotized people stayed behind and asked for specific personal help. Rich was able to put them back under hypnosis (individually), almost instantly, and give them relaxing techniques or anti-smoking images, or whatever the person asked for help with. Rich said that it was important for them to want the change and not be doing it because someone else wanted it for them. With the desire and proper suggestion, Rich explained that people have been able endure dental procedures, surgeries, and even have been able to manage chronic pain with out any medication, simply using the power of suggestion.

If you were unable to attend the HypnoRich performance, ask the Oxford Youth Center to bring Rich Wilson back to Oxford. It was a fascinating example of the workings of the human mind…and great laughs too!
Jeanie Petersen, Community Relations