The Backstory - Part 1

Flashback, two hours ago. It's just before two in the afternoon and I'm still in bed, enjoying the way my expensive-but-worth-it sheets are sliding over my naked body. I'm still in bed because I had a very late night, and normally I would be exhorting myself to get the hell out of bed already! But not today, and not for the last three weeks or so, because I have discovered that sometimes staying in bed is the very best use of my morning. I have been awake since noon, after being briefly awakened at nine and rolling right over and going back to sleep. It's a quirk that I want to think is unique to me, although I know it's not; when I am awakened unexpectedly like that the sleep I have after is always deeper and more restful than what came before. I've learned not to feel guilty about taking advantage of it. In many ways, sleep is my drug.

So, it's noon, the sun is high (probably, this is Oregon and I can't actually see the sun) in the sky and I am eager and excited to get on with what for the last three weeks has been the first action I take every day. The bed is cold; I have an electric mattress pad that I use every night but it cuts off automatically around eight. I have yet to shuck my pajamas so I'm not uncomfortable, but I keep my room cold and my bed warm so there's no contest about where I'm staying. I pull my handheld over (that's iPod for those of you with dirty minds, get yourself out of the gutter, we're on the edge, but we've yet to go over), plug in my headphones and prepare to relax.

Three weeks ago I decided to write a novel featuring hypnotism. Although I'd definitely zoned out while driving and had hours disappear while playing video poker I'd never officially been hypnotized. (Think video poker isn't mesmerizing? Ha!) Obviously I couldn't write about something I'd never experienced, so off to YouTube I went. I cleverly did a search for "hypnosis" and spent an hour looking through all the different choices that came up. It turns out that hypnosis is very popular on YouTube. There are videos ranging from simple relaxation to help with homework to help with sleep to help with pain to help with orgasms. We'll get to that last one later. I finally chose a video , based completely on the fact that the user pic was unthreatening. (It's a pretty pink and blue spiral.) I read a lot of comments on the videos, figured what the hell, and sat down to experience my first ever hypnosis video.

And then I had to go lie down on the bed. The hypnotist recommended that anyone watching the video do so while either lying back or down, and my desk chair is wobbly. So, handheld with headphones, and a short induction video. Fifteen minutes later, I feel fantastic, and do a longer induction video. Thirty-five minutes later and I feel so relaxed it's like every bone has been sucked out of my body. Well, shit, I, apparently, can be hypnotized. So I listen to a video called "can't stop laughing" and afterwards (surprise), I can't stop laughing. It's the weirdest thing, because the whole time I'm listening to the video I'm thinking to myself that there's no way this can possibly work, but that part of my mind is sitting off to the side observing my reactions to the hypnotist's words. And every single time he talks about laughing or smiling or giggling my body dutifully laughs or smiles or giggles. It's bizarre, and makes me feel fan-fucking-tastic. I'm officially sold; hypnotism is amazing and I want to experience it again and again and again.

Oh, yeah, I'm meant to be writing a book. But I have a new perspective on it now. Before experiencing hypnosis I had thought that my protagonist would be the person being hypnotized, but now I'm thinking the story should be told from the perspective of the hypnotist. And that means that I'm going to have to try every single one of these videos. And videos from other hypnotists as well, but as long as I'm on this page...

How does this lead to my being naked in bed at two in the afternoon, enjoying the feeling of my sheets as they slide across my skin? Don't you wish you knew!