Sunday 5 December 2010

Going back "Down South" for a week of Magic!

Well, it's come to the time of year that we are busy with Christmas Parties, and more importantly for us in the office, planning our trip down to Bournemouth in January for the Southern England Magic Convention where Harrizon will be assisting his mentor, and hypnotic teacher Dr Jonathan Royle. Jonathan will be appearing in the SEMC Gala Show, and also has a stand at the event, selling the same top quality Hypnosis Training Products that Harrizon used to learn his amazing skills.

Now it's not often that Harrizon gets to travel so far from home, as his schedule sees him working in the North-West so regularly, however he has asked us to start the research and promotion in the South-West to look for suitable venues for performances whilst he is enjoying his Busman's Holiday.

The good news is that as his Travel and Accommodation have already been covered, he has agreed to keep his show fees as low as possible... which could mean a saving of about £500 compared to a one-off booking in the same region.

So if you are looking for an alternative entertainer for your Pub or Club for the last week in January, and are based in Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Dorset or the surrounding areas, pop over to www.harrizon.co.uk or email harrizon directly via mail@harrizon.co.uk and if he still has space in his rapidly filling diary, you could be hosting one of the campest hypnotists in the world, at an amazing price!

We look forward to hearing from you soon!

Marcus Fielding
(Harrizon's Booking Manager)

Sunday 21 November 2010

Harrizon's New Website

Just a quick post to tell you that it's been a busy few weeks here in the office, but at last we can reveal Harrizon the Homosexual Hypnotist's New Website. We have avoided (most of) the stereotypical graphics, backgrounds etc which normally appear in other Comedy Stage Hypnotists' sites and in a moment of madness opted for a clean, white, simple layout that concentrates on the content of the show. There is no dark, black or swirly backgrounds, funny close-ups of eyes or cliched swinging watches (OK there IS one swinging watch graphic at the moment, but that is likely to be changed very soon!). So if you are looking for a camp and outrageous hypnotist for your venue or party, pop over to www.harrizon.co.uk take a look around and then make the right decision to book Harrizon to entertain your guests!

Monday 15 November 2010

Past Life Regression - an opinion...

Recently I explained how an experience of PLR (Past Life Regression) helped answer a difficult question and, possibly more importantly, took me on my first steps towards becoming a Comedy Stage Hypnotist.

Since then I have been particularly interested in PLR on a personal level, although since that first session, I haven't had the opportunity to take part in another session. However, it would be very interesting to see if a second regression would take me to the same place and time, or if I was to end up somewhere completely different, and as a different person.

Now I'm no scientist; Chemistry and Physics at school were both very difficult subjects for me, so getting into the theory of the memory of atoms etc would be far beyond my knowledge base... but I understand from all those years ago that atoms are essentially undestructable in the natural world. (No doubt someone will correct me if I am wrong on this point!). So when a person dies and the body decays, those atoms must go somewhere. Perhaps into the soil or air, to be absorbed into another living being in the future. In which case, it seems perfectly reasonable that some of the atoms in your body once were in the body of someone else - perhaps even someone famous such as Queen Victoria, Nelson or Jack the Ripper... it's quite a disgusting thought really! So could it be that those who have memories of a past life could be recalling the experiences of some atoms in their body?

Another possibility is that we are not actually recalling a true past event of a real person, but instead that under hypnosis, the subconcious mind is doing as is suggested... to go back to a time before the subject is born, and with nothing to refer to, the brain relies on an imaginary scenario, partially based on historical films & books etc, but uses the opportunity to allow the subject to experience a setting that is close to their current state of mind. This could mean that those who are troubled by something in the present day would imagine a darker, more terrifying event, and those who are happy and content might see a happier, brighter place or time. In this case, memories of a past life would also depend on an individual's own personality. This might explain why in my PLR session I found myself in, what I can only assume was, a dark, seedy and quite threatening bar in Dickensian London!

Other options that might explain the effectiveness of PLR Sessions could be:
-That the soul, or Life-force, of a person truely does exist after the physical body decays, and in some primeval way the subject can pick up on this energy.
-Memories of a past life are embedded in the DNA of a human being. Quite an interesting theory, and quite plausable in some cases.
-Past Life Regression does not exist at all, and any thoughts or recalled memories are simply put there by the hypnotist in a very manner and by using some extremely leading questions to illicit a response. Or in some cases the subject feels the need to please the hypnotist / therapist / audience / themselves, and so will conjure up a completely ficticious personalty and location. This could be quite true in a small number of cases, depending on the skills and integrity of the person leading the session, and the personality of the subject. I can assure you though, from my own personal experience this was not the case, and others who were present in the room, some of whom were sceptical of PLR (and hypnosis as a whole), and others who too were trained in hypnosis, NLP etc, confirmed afterwards that there were not any such suggestions or leading questions... just the induction and regression followed by such questions as "where are you", and "what can you see, smell, taste etc...". Unfortunately not all people are as scrupulous and it is very important that if you are considering PLR that you choose the right person to take you back in time.

There seem to be countless books available on the subject. Recently I picked up a copy of "Reincarnation" by Paul Rowland from my local discount bookshop. Although it currently sits in my office waiting in a large pile of other books to be read, I have had a brief flick through and read a few excerpts. Full of case studies from around the World, it seems to be quite a comprehensive book for it's size (approx 200 pages), although I was put off it slightly by the author's lack of research and validating quoted figures - on the very first page of the introduction he writes:

"It is estimated that as many as fifty million people (sixty percent of the world's population believe in reincarnation (source: Dr. J. Chiappalone, author of Keys to Reality) and though the vast majority are of Eastern origin and do so because it is a central part of their religion. an increasing number of Westerners are beginning to accept this idea."

Really? Sixty Percent of the world's population is fifty million people? That means that the total number of people living on planet earth is approximately 83 Million. According to the International Programs Center, U.S. Census Bureau the total population of the World, projected to 11/15/10 at 19:23 UTC (EST+5) is 6,881,743,366 - a staggering difference of over 6.7 Billion!

Perhaps though there has been a sudden increase in the population since these figures were calculated? A quick Google Search led me to Wikipedia's World Population page where it is estimated that the last time the world's inhabitants totalled 83 Million was sometime between 1000BC and 500BC! Now I realise that the author has only quoted another souce, but surely he, or the publisher's proofreaders should have realised that the figures given must have been an error.

That aside, the rest of the book looks well researched, and nicely presented with plenty of photos, diagrams and information. If you are interested in purchasing the book, it is currently available from Amazon although I am not sure I would be as happy paying the full price of the book (currently £8.99).

Another book that has been recently recommended to me is Many Lives, Many Masters by Dr Brian Weiss subtitled "The True Story of a Prominent Psychiatrist, His Young Patient and the Past-life Therapy That Changed Both Their Lives" Dr Weiss seems to be quite a prolific author in this field, and all the reviews I have read so far are very complementary. The only reason I have not purchased this book yet is that I was lucky enough to get an Amazon Kindle recently, and am hoping that the publishers will be releasing an ebook version soon.

When I finally read both of the above books, I will let you know my true thoughts here.

Until next time!

Wednesday 3 November 2010

More work on the website, and thoughts on Past Life Regression!

Those of you reading this might notice that it is approaching 5am here in the UK... and I have been up most of the night working on the website again. With a very busy weekend ahead of me (including my birthday!) hosting the very talented Valentino King at Twist Club, Rochdale amongst other things, I doubt if I will have much more time to work on the website before next week... but who knows?

I am also hoping to recieve my final qualifications as a hypnotherapist within the next week or so... the culmination of plenty of studying for my Certificate in Complete Mind Therapy (CMT). This fantastic method of treatment, developed by my mentor Dr Jonathan Royle, is ideal for weight loss, treatment of phobias and smoking cessation etc, and will be used along side the other methods of treatment already under my belt and being used successfully time and time again.

So, the website is almost complete (bar the tidying up by a pro who actually knows what they are doing!), the CMT Paperwork is due in very soon and it's my birthday on Friday (and I'm working!). Looking at all these achievements (and when you reach my age, another birthday is starting to feel like an achievement!) I am reminded of a very strange night a few years ago where I first experienced the joys of Hypnosis, and more importantly - Past Life Regression (PLR).

We had been to a friend's house for a mini party / soiree / p!ss-up and I had a problem playing on my mind. Nothing earth-shattering, but one of those moral dilemmas that had been bugging me for some time. I mentioned the vague details to those present, and none of them were really in a position to advise me... and then came the offer that was to change my life - How did I feel about being Hypnotised and taken back to a Past Life? The theory being that any repressed memories / experiences uncovered during the trance might serve to guide me towards the right answer I was seeking in the present day. Now over the years I had worked with Stage Hypnotists as a Stage Techie, and I had a very keen interest in magic, but I had never had the opportunity to "Go Under"... So I jumped at the chance.

Within minutes I felt a deep calm sensation through my whole body and mind, and following my PLR Guide's instructions, very soon I was "waking up" in a Victorian "Pub"... There is a lot more to the experience than this - let's just say that it was a very dark place that I had chosen to go to, and had I not been taken on my journey by a true professional and good friend I could have found it quite disturbing! However, I was able see, hear, smell and taste the surroundings and the atmosphere. It was, given the nature of the place I had arrived, quite fantastic, and so realistic. Before long I was being brought back on my return journey to the present day, and on waking discovered that deep within me I knew three things for certain -
1- I knew what the answer to my issue was... and had always known it in reality but was too scared to admit it to myself.
2- Hypnosis is real - it's not a parlour game, or a case of the hypnotist secretly offering stooges £50 to "play along" - and neither is it a desire to play along for the benefit of the ego, or some misheld belief that the hypnotist and or subject will look daft if nothing happens... this is really powerful stuff!
3- I had to know how to perform hypnosis, so that I could help others with their issues, and also to use those same powers for the slightly different purpose of presenting Comedy Stage Shows.

And that is how a evening with friends, and a moral dilemma, made me start studying the power of the mind.

(As for the moral dilemma... well... PLR definately gave me the correct answers - as I was to discover a year or so later when I decided to try my luck ignoring the message from my vist to Victorian Times and ended up hurting several people inadvertantly!)

In my next post I will look at the various theories behind PLR, and how it really works...

Wednesday 21 April 2010

New Showreel Video

Hi Guys, sorry I've been neglecting the blog for a while, but life has been extremely busy!!!

We now have the first showreel editted, containing clips from some of my first ever shows... with lots more to follow soon, as time allows.

I am also pleased to confirm that the new website will be going live very shortly, we just have a few small technical issues to deal with... but watch this space!

In the meantime, have a look at the following, and let me know what you think...



With thanks to Sin With Sebastian for the use of their track as the soundtrack!

Tuesday 26 January 2010

Stubborn, Tight or Clever?

As I slowly continue to build the new website, and upload certain elements online, I have begun to wonder... "What the HELL am I doing???!!!"

This website could have been completed a couple of weeks ago by a professional designer, and in relation to the amount of time I have spent working on it, that could have been doing someting more constructive, and the cost of the software purchased to create the site etc, I have no doubt that I could have spent about the same amount of money, whilst either earning money from other sources, and / or had a more relaxing time with family and friends (and had a flashier site to boot).

So why did I choose to design my own site? I'm not particularly tight with money, but I am always looking for a new challenge... and something new to get my teeth into, even if it means learning something from scratch.

Over the years, we have all seen individuals that are happy to pay an experienced professional to do a job, such as web design. Often thay are not happy with the outcome... "It's not what they visualised" and then moan because their money has been wasted. But 99% of the time, that is not the professional's fault - it is the client's responsibility to clearly define exactly what they expect from the very start. Or is it? Perhaps in reality, it is the professional's fault (the party with the supposed experience) for not asking the right questions to extract the right answers before they start?

By designing my own site, I am feeling a great sense of achievement (and more than a little frustration) but I am slowly seeing the site come together as I want it. Changes can be made as I want them, rather than reviewing several hours of someone else's work, and during this process I am learning the basic skills of webdesign.

However, I am not conceited enough to believe that my finished product will be good enough to compete against some of my rivals' colleagues' sales pages. After all, I am not a professional webdesigner... just a trained Master of the Mind and of Communication. So, once I have the layout, colours, and content close to how I want it, the whole project will be shipped to a professional web design team for a final overhaul.

So, what has this got to do with hypnosis? Or is it just another rambling blog posting from another wierdo in cyberspace? Well, this attitude to getting what I want to see as a final product, is reflected in my view of how a working performer should treat his client and audience; I want to ensure that every one of my clients get what THEY want - not just the same old show that many other performers in my industry might be able to perform automatically, and almost, ironically - with themselves in a trance!

That is why before every show, I sit down with a client, either face to face, or on the phone, and discuss their needs, and ensure that even before a show starts, we both know exactly what each other expects of a show... then during the performance I challenge myself to the highest level, reading body language, using audience feedback, the reaction of the volunteers on stage, along with information gathered from the client during the pre-show consultation, to choose the best, and most suitable routines for each show, so that everyone leaves every performance content.

Don't get me wrong... there are other hypnotists out there who do the same, but unfortunately they are few and far between... (but I am always happy to recommend these to potential clients when I am unable to take the booking due to other commitments). Others, in my view, are not much better than renting a video of a ten year old show and projecting it on a large screen where the stage should be.

But you wouldn't dream of booking an act like that for your venue, would you? After all, your reputation, guests and customers are worth more than that... aren't they?

Monday 25 January 2010

Now is the time to act!

Following on from being recently interviewed in the media regarding the need for good quality, regular, live entertainment in town centre venues, I have decided to give venue owners an added incentive to book my brand new act... but you have to be quick!

By booking, and confirming a performance before April, for ANY available date within 2010, venues will automatically save a minimum of £50-00 on my show fee! Added to this, for every standard show performed within the Greater Manchester Area during 2010, I promise to donate a further £50-00 to Springhill Hospice, my chosen charity for this year!

I have spent the winter redesigning the act, including some brilliantly funny new routines, music and props, making Harrizon the Hypnotist even more memorable... so what are you waiting for? Get in touch (the new website will be launched very soon too, making booking even easier!) for a no obligation quote.