Your subconscious will automatically disregard a hypnotic suggestion that it feels is dangerous or that it doesn’t want to do.
A hypnotic suggestion is fundamentally a suggestion. A suggestion to the subconscious. “Hey, subconscious, would you like to do this?”
Thus, some people say that you can’t be hypnotized without your consent.
Your subconscious said “yes”, so you consented.
That’s convenient for the careless and the abusive. Maybe you were hypnotized into doing something you didn’t want, but they get to claim that’s not their fault… your subconscious went along with it.
However, that’s not what “consent” means.
Your subconscious isn’t analytical. It doesn’t think things through. That’s the job of your conscious mind. Your subconscious relies on feelings, on habits, on similarities with past experience.
It’s absolutely possible for your subconscious to be tricked. To do things which feel good, but which you, in your conscious mind, in the cold light day, would say, “No. Not a good idea.”
Consent is you, your conscious mind, saying “yes” to something. When you’re sober. Not under pressure or duress. Not in subspace or hypnotized.
Letting something happen without saying “no” is acquiescence, not consent.
Having your subconscious fall into hypnosis or following a hypnotic suggestion is not consent.
Thus it’s important to practice hypnosis with someone you trust. Or, if you’re using online materials, to use a trusted source. Someone who cares about your conscious, informed consent.
For more information, I recommend Mind Play by Mark Wiseman.
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