In the context of the Adams worldview, hypnosis is not a stage act involving swinging pocket watches or making people bark like dogs. Instead, it is the foundational discipline for understanding human behavior. Adams, a trained hypnotist from the Berkeley Hypnosis Institute, views this skill as the primary tool for deconstructing reality. It serves as the bedrock for the persuasion-filter, moving away from the “Rationalist Model” of the world toward one where humans are “moist robots” programmed by language and associations.
The Foundation of Reality
To a hypnotist, the human mind is not a computer processing data via logic. As Adams frequently notes, “Brains are Association machines they are not logic machines.” Hypnosis is the study of how to trigger those associations to bypass the critical faculty of the mind.
When Adams analyzes political figures or corporate leaders, he is looking for linguistic patterns, “pacing and leading,” and the intentional use of cognitive dissonance. He operates from the premise that most people are walking around in a natural state of trance, governed by their internal biases and previous programming.
Key Concepts in Hypnotic Persuasion
The application of hypnosis to daily life and politics involves several core mechanics:
- Self-Persuasion: The most effective hypnotic technique is to lead the subject to a conclusion they believe is their own. Adams explains, “If you want people to have the most persuasive argument in their heads, let them make it themselves.”
- The Dissolution of Worldviews: Hypnosis allows an observer to see when a person’s reality is failing them. Adams often challenges his audience by saying, “I’m gonna make your world view that you think is solid and definite I’m gonna make it dissolve right in front of you.”
- Cognitive Blindness: When people encounter information that contradicts their deep-seated trance, they often experience a physical inability to process it. Adams observes that “in their minds they’re erasing the new information at the same rate that is coming in.” In extreme cases, he suggests “the hypothesis is that somebody who is very invested in that being true will not be physically able to read it out loud.”
Misconceptions and Hallucinations
A recurring theme in Adams’ work is the idea that “normal” people are often hallucinating their reality. This is most evident in his analysis of the media. He notes that institutions like “CNN is operating from the same false memory as the people they’re talking to that it’s not a lie it’s actually they think it happened.”
From this perspective, there is no objective “truth” in the public square—only competing hypnotic anchors. This leads to what he calls “the unparalleled pleasure that I call the simultaneous up dopamine,” where a well-crafted narrative hits the brain’s reward centers so effectively that logic becomes irrelevant.
Application
Understanding hypnosis is the first step in moving from “loser think” to a clearer understanding of the moist-robot concept. By recognizing that we are easily programmed, we can begin to program ourselves. Adams suggests using these techniques for personal productivity, such as “talk yourself into the smallest thing you can do that will get you a little bit pregnant” with a new habit.
Ultimately, hypnosis is the art of recognizing that “You’ll be surprised how good it is to the point where I’m not sure what to believe right now could go either way.” It is a tool for navigating a world where people are not capable of seeing the reality right in front of them.