indirected
@indirected.bsky.social
Hypnokinkster by nature, academic by training. 42, 🏳️🌈, 🇨🇦
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indirected
@indirected.bsky.social
· Aug 26
Now and then my information-greedy self wishes it could put a question in front of mass eyes. Today I wonder: given a hypnotic suggestion like "feel your arm getting heavier" (in whatever grammatical tense, voice, person), what do people do? A few possibilities (more than one may apply):
"Strategies of Hypnotic Interrogation" [Field & Dworkin 1967] tackles "one of the most fascinating questions in research on hypnosis." Their lit review: some rejected skits for a B-movie about a charismatic & likely very sexy army doctor who hypnotises soldiers in the Pacific theatre [Watkins 1947],
![Pause for laughter. From [Watkins 1947].](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:e7o3gpx6vx6h7plykux7fkk6/bafkreifngcscnl7bk5k5nqnkz7ibjusdzixqu2fflkudygimkvc6kswmuq)
![(Continuation.) Those military men are putty in his hands. From [Watkins 1947].](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:e7o3gpx6vx6h7plykux7fkk6/bafkreibnqozgrbohwrw6zam6lctpy2upvywmya7fbzfkysfyxrywhvtesq)
September 12, 2026 at 4:47 AM
"Strategies of Hypnotic Interrogation" [Field & Dworkin 1967] tackles "one of the most fascinating questions in research on hypnosis." Their lit review: some rejected skits for a B-movie about a charismatic & likely very sexy army doctor who hypnotises soldiers in the Pacific theatre [Watkins 1947],
Absent influence by the executive/supervisory attention system (SAS), actions arise 'automatically' from competition among learned behavioural schemas in the brain, in the classic "contention scheduling" model of [Norman & Shallice 1986]. A schema has trigger conditions, and as those better match...
Hypnotic responses seem generally to require that executive control be either ineffective or aligned toward suggestions. Executive/supervisory attention is recruited for planning or decision-making [experienced as deliberation or judgement], addressing novel or difficult conditions [experienced...
September 4, 2026 at 10:46 PM
Absent influence by the executive/supervisory attention system (SAS), actions arise 'automatically' from competition among learned behavioural schemas in the brain, in the classic "contention scheduling" model of [Norman & Shallice 1986]. A schema has trigger conditions, and as those better match...
Reposted by indirected
Dr. Lucas Murnaghan (1975-2021) was a remarkable person by successfully combining two very different careers. He was a talented orthopedic surgeon and at the same time became an internationally known underwater fine-art photographer while never hiding his sexuality.
#GayPride #lgbtq #gay #nude #male
#GayPride #lgbtq #gay #nude #male
June 22, 2026 at 10:40 PM
Absorption remains a poorly understood phenomenon 50 years after its naming by [Tellegen & Atkinson 1974, "Openness to Absorbing and Self-Altering Experiences"]. As a state, it's an episode of being 'totally caught up in' something, entranced; of (near-)complete involvement in and attention toward
August 31, 2026 at 9:53 PM
Absorption remains a poorly understood phenomenon 50 years after its naming by [Tellegen & Atkinson 1974, "Openness to Absorbing and Self-Altering Experiences"]. As a state, it's an episode of being 'totally caught up in' something, entranced; of (near-)complete involvement in and attention toward
Now and then my information-greedy self wishes it could put a question in front of mass eyes. Today I wonder: given a hypnotic suggestion like "feel your arm getting heavier" (in whatever grammatical tense, voice, person), what do people do? A few possibilities (more than one may apply):
August 26, 2026 at 2:52 AM
Now and then my information-greedy self wishes it could put a question in front of mass eyes. Today I wonder: given a hypnotic suggestion like "feel your arm getting heavier" (in whatever grammatical tense, voice, person), what do people do? A few possibilities (more than one may apply):
Finally, and not to bury the lede, but are you aware that when you close one eye there's a gap in your vision? It's not small or on the extreme periphery. It corresponds to where the optic nerve bundle passes through the retina.
Here's how you can find it. With your left eye closed, say,
Here's how you can find it. With your left eye closed, say,
look patterned -- different than after scanning the text. They can't both be correct! It's clear that the 'wallpaper' effect comes from the visual cortex guessing at what's there. But really the 'ordinary' look of the text is only a prediction/expectation of the brain, too, just one using more data.
August 24, 2026 at 10:54 PM
Finally, and not to bury the lede, but are you aware that when you close one eye there's a gap in your vision? It's not small or on the extreme periphery. It corresponds to where the optic nerve bundle passes through the retina.
Here's how you can find it. With your left eye closed, say,
Here's how you can find it. With your left eye closed, say,
Reposted by indirected
Not only was PAUL CADMUS a masterful painter, as featured yesterday, but his drawings reveal the foundation of his art. Working in graphite and charcoal, he captured the male figure with remarkable precision, creating studies that are both classically beautiful and quietly sensual.
#gay #art #nude
#gay #art #nude
August 3, 2026 at 12:29 AM
[I neglected to say: head and eye micro-movements are part of the visual sensorimotor system too. So they contribute to the instability of "fixation" visual artifacts.] To connect back for a moment, it's often said that (quiescent) hypnosis comes with bodily feelings like buoyancy or floating.
but only when our eyes saccade to bring the fovea to the region do we actually perceive the object responsible in colour and detail. The quickness of the shift, together with special visual processing during the saccade, cloaks the trick.
[More later. Micro-blogging makes me feel/look so wordy!]
[More later. Micro-blogging makes me feel/look so wordy!]
August 23, 2026 at 12:57 AM
[I neglected to say: head and eye micro-movements are part of the visual sensorimotor system too. So they contribute to the instability of "fixation" visual artifacts.] To connect back for a moment, it's often said that (quiescent) hypnosis comes with bodily feelings like buoyancy or floating.
Knowing more about how our perception works, and doesn't work, can make hypnotic illusions seem more achievable.
Our ordinary experience of vision is of being embedded in a rich, detailed, colourful representation of a world around us. I attend to one bit at a time, in the centre of my vision,
Our ordinary experience of vision is of being embedded in a rich, detailed, colourful representation of a world around us. I attend to one bit at a time, in the centre of my vision,
August 21, 2026 at 12:14 AM
Knowing more about how our perception works, and doesn't work, can make hypnotic illusions seem more achievable.
Our ordinary experience of vision is of being embedded in a rich, detailed, colourful representation of a world around us. I attend to one bit at a time, in the centre of my vision,
Our ordinary experience of vision is of being embedded in a rich, detailed, colourful representation of a world around us. I attend to one bit at a time, in the centre of my vision,
Q. Why is it I read a paper from my list and end up with 13 new references to read?
A. Because the 14th is an unpublished manuscript.
Q. But how to arrest this trend?
A. Marcus Aurelius told himself: just admit that you're not going to read all those books you said you'd read when you got old, ok?
A. Because the 14th is an unpublished manuscript.
Q. But how to arrest this trend?
A. Marcus Aurelius told himself: just admit that you're not going to read all those books you said you'd read when you got old, ok?
August 16, 2026 at 2:14 AM
Q. Why is it I read a paper from my list and end up with 13 new references to read?
A. Because the 14th is an unpublished manuscript.
Q. But how to arrest this trend?
A. Marcus Aurelius told himself: just admit that you're not going to read all those books you said you'd read when you got old, ok?
A. Because the 14th is an unpublished manuscript.
Q. But how to arrest this trend?
A. Marcus Aurelius told himself: just admit that you're not going to read all those books you said you'd read when you got old, ok?
Reposted by indirected
XRISTO RODRIGUEZ is a Spanish painter whose male figurative works are among his most compelling, blending classical beauty with a quiet sensitivity. He works in many mediums but his mastery of watercolor is what sets his work apart.
#gay #lgbtq #art #watercolor #painting #nude #nudist #male #men
#gay #lgbtq #art #watercolor #painting #nude #nudist #male #men
July 1, 2026 at 10:38 PM
Resolving to not entertain thoughts about their behaviour during a future hypnosis experience led to increased suggestibility for low suggestible subjects in [Schweiger Gallo et al. 2012, "Furnishing hypnotic instructions with implementation intentions enhances hypnotic responsiveness"].
![Difference in pre- and post-test behavioural HGSHS [12 items] scores. The "hypnotic instruction" is a short informational tape based on [Gorassini 2002]'s very condensed version of CSTP. It contains "information designed to dispel common misconception about hypnosis" and instructions "to make each suggested response (not just wait for it to happen); and to simultaneously adopt each suggested depiction of reality." The control group was given word search puzzles to occupy their time.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:e7o3gpx6vx6h7plykux7fkk6/bafkreictq5e4hnqfl73elq4qgzqgoqbd7myvn4zv63ui6qw5e4yecshdou)
![Difference in pre- and post-test felt involuntariness HGSHS [12 items, rated 0 = "not at all involuntary" to 3 = "involuntary to a great degree"] scores. The "hypnotic instruction" is a short informational tape based on [Gorassini 2002]'s very condensed version of CSTP. It contains "information designed to dispel common misconception about hypnosis" and instructions "to make each suggested response (not just wait for it to happen); and to simultaneously adopt each suggested depiction of reality." The control group was given word search puzzles to occupy their time.](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:e7o3gpx6vx6h7plykux7fkk6/bafkreihpdkw4e2vujj46r6vbdjxjgxko54rrlqfmosee3s33zezbciz3qm)
August 11, 2026 at 2:54 AM
Resolving to not entertain thoughts about their behaviour during a future hypnosis experience led to increased suggestibility for low suggestible subjects in [Schweiger Gallo et al. 2012, "Furnishing hypnotic instructions with implementation intentions enhances hypnotic responsiveness"].
A question about the phenomenology of challenge-ideomotor suggestions I've long had is answered by-the-way in [Gelebart et al 2025, "Decoding hypnotic consciousness: neural and experiential insights into induced and ideomotor suggestions"], an EEG+interview study of the arm-rigidity item. I don't...
August 8, 2026 at 9:01 PM
A question about the phenomenology of challenge-ideomotor suggestions I've long had is answered by-the-way in [Gelebart et al 2025, "Decoding hypnotic consciousness: neural and experiential insights into induced and ideomotor suggestions"], an EEG+interview study of the arm-rigidity item. I don't...
Reposted by indirected
American artist GABRIEL GARBOW captures the beauty of gay life through radiant watercolor. Based in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, he doesn't simply paint the male nude, he paints the life surrounding it: men swimming, enjoying beach life, and sharing the simple pleasures of male companionship.
#gay #art
#gay #art
July 11, 2026 at 12:01 AM
The central metaphor of the Carleton Skills Training Package [Gorassini & Spanos 1986, "A socio-cognitive skills approach to the successful modification of hypnotic susceptibility"] is that hypnosis is like a game of make-believe. Snoopy sits on his doghouse, pretending he is a WWI flying ace after
![Pre- and post-training stats for the experimental groups. CURSS is a 7-item scale. Objective scores reflect behavioural response (e.g. the subject's arm rose a certain amount) [7 pts], subjective scores report experienced response to suggestion (e.g. the subject's arm felt light) [21 pts; each item is scored between 0 and 3, 'not at all' to 'to a great degree'], and objective-involuntariness scores report successful behavioural responses that felt involuntary to the subject [7 pts]. In the main treatment group, "Information + Model," pre- and post-training averages increased greatly: objective scores, from 2.3 to 5.3; subjective scores, from 6.2 to 11.1; involuntariness scores, from 0.9 to 3.2. The control group did filler tasks for the same duration (objective scores fell 2.2 to 1.5), and the 'Practice alone' group just practiced more hypnotic suggestions for the same duration (objective scores unchanged).](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:e7o3gpx6vx6h7plykux7fkk6/bafkreidj4ssyqdulcl2ngnbl664dxt24kx4lyldipt3jknumyw3alat6bi)
August 4, 2026 at 6:57 PM
The central metaphor of the Carleton Skills Training Package [Gorassini & Spanos 1986, "A socio-cognitive skills approach to the successful modification of hypnotic susceptibility"] is that hypnosis is like a game of make-believe. Snoopy sits on his doghouse, pretending he is a WWI flying ace after
Reposted by indirected
Working at a time when gay lives were still often hidden, CORNELIUS McCARTHY (1935-2009) portrayed male intimacy with warmth & humanity rather than explicitness. His figurative paintings have earned him a lasting place among Britain's most important gay artists of the 20th century.
#gay #art #gayart
#gay #art #gayart
July 13, 2026 at 8:14 PM
Hypnotic responses seem generally to require that executive control be either ineffective or aligned toward suggestions. Executive/supervisory attention is recruited for planning or decision-making [experienced as deliberation or judgement], addressing novel or difficult conditions [experienced...
July 30, 2026 at 9:19 PM
Hypnotic responses seem generally to require that executive control be either ineffective or aligned toward suggestions. Executive/supervisory attention is recruited for planning or decision-making [experienced as deliberation or judgement], addressing novel or difficult conditions [experienced...
"Spontaneous goal-directed imagery was significantly correlated with behavioral response, but intentional imagery was not" in [Comey & Kirsch 1999]. A goal-directed fantasy (GDF) is a story a subject imagines that explains a hypnotic response, e.g. pulleys or helium pumps for arm-raising.
July 28, 2026 at 3:36 AM
"Spontaneous goal-directed imagery was significantly correlated with behavioral response, but intentional imagery was not" in [Comey & Kirsch 1999]. A goal-directed fantasy (GDF) is a story a subject imagines that explains a hypnotic response, e.g. pulleys or helium pumps for arm-raising.
Telling subjects to "avoid thinking, don't question, don't analyse, just go with the flow" or to "focus only on the things I say, concentrate on nothing else, become utterly engrossed in this experience" increased hypnotic suggestibility compared to instructions for physical relaxation alone in...
July 22, 2026 at 8:12 PM
Telling subjects to "avoid thinking, don't question, don't analyse, just go with the flow" or to "focus only on the things I say, concentrate on nothing else, become utterly engrossed in this experience" increased hypnotic suggestibility compared to instructions for physical relaxation alone in...
"Deep, relaxing breaths" involve having air in your lungs for longer than normal, either by a slow exhale or with a hold before exhale. It works fine with a short, sharp inhale. A clinician demonstrates with a heart rate monitor, at 2:11 and 3:58, here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-nZ... (in my
2 breathing techniques that reduce anxiety in real time (doctor demo)
YouTube video by Medical Secrets
www.youtube.com
July 21, 2026 at 7:51 PM
"Deep, relaxing breaths" involve having air in your lungs for longer than normal, either by a slow exhale or with a hold before exhale. It works fine with a short, sharp inhale. A clinician demonstrates with a heart rate monitor, at 2:11 and 3:58, here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-nZ... (in my
What your brain expects to happen during hypnosis makes a difference to what happens! So note your successes even when they seem slight, and enjoy them, knowing that doing so will make you a little bit more suggestible going forward.
A study by Kirsch's student Wickless [1989, "Effects of Verbal...
A study by Kirsch's student Wickless [1989, "Effects of Verbal...
July 15, 2026 at 12:32 AM
What your brain expects to happen during hypnosis makes a difference to what happens! So note your successes even when they seem slight, and enjoy them, knowing that doing so will make you a little bit more suggestible going forward.
A study by Kirsch's student Wickless [1989, "Effects of Verbal...
A study by Kirsch's student Wickless [1989, "Effects of Verbal...
Bowers 1992 ('Imagination and Dissociation in Hyp. Resp.') reports a pilot study by Hargadon (later replicated) on methods for hypnotic analgesia. 14 high hyp suggestibles did separately imagistic ('your hand is made of wood' etc) and imageless ('if a thought or image comes to mind, just let it go')
July 12, 2026 at 2:11 AM
Bowers 1992 ('Imagination and Dissociation in Hyp. Resp.') reports a pilot study by Hargadon (later replicated) on methods for hypnotic analgesia. 14 high hyp suggestibles did separately imagistic ('your hand is made of wood' etc) and imageless ('if a thought or image comes to mind, just let it go')
"The experience of a hypnotic state begins with a relaxed condition of mental ease in combination with an absorbed and sustained focus on an object or objects of attention. Thus, initial suggestions for induction of those changes are commonly directed toward mental ease and absorption.
July 10, 2026 at 3:34 AM
"The experience of a hypnotic state begins with a relaxed condition of mental ease in combination with an absorbed and sustained focus on an object or objects of attention. Thus, initial suggestions for induction of those changes are commonly directed toward mental ease and absorption.