The_Rambler_1989-02-14

              The Trance of a Lifetime
By Chris Burchsted
Rambler Staff Writer
On Tuesday, January 31 st, Hypnotist Gil
Eagles treated the Farmingdale College commu-nity
to an intriguing show on the incredible
capabilities of the human mind. This show was
divided into two sections. The first was devoted
to ESP (Extra Sensory Perception) while the sec-ond
involved hypnotism.
The first portion of the show used several
volunteers from the audience. Gil spent most of
this portion of the show blindfolded. He "guessed"
the time on a randomly set watch. He also
"guessed" words that his volunteers had written
on a plastic sheet. He was able to accurately
guess (without touching, of course) various ob-jects
his volunteers brought him from the audi-ence.
One of the objects was a dollar bill of which
he guessed the serial number.
The second part of the show was even
more captivating than the first part. Gil started
the session with a brief explanation of hypnosis:
"It is a technique used to channel our thought en-ergies
toward controlling and calming our anat-omy...
to control and calm in such a way as to
achieve relaxation of the nervous system. Once
in a state of relaxation, we can, through the power
of suggestion, cause the subconscious mind to do
some amazing and beneficial things."
After a number of volunteers ran up on
subjects also did something ceative by painting
an imaginary picture of anything they wanted.
They also went to an ice cream licking contest.
The highlight of the entire show occurred
when Gil delivered post-hypnotic suggestions.
He first suggested that his subjects were smelling
a terrible odor which was coming from the person
next to them. Next, he suggested that each person
play the role of a specific type of person. Gil
inspiredthe world's toughest Drill Sergeant, the
world's best ballerina, Tarzan, the world's best
traffic controller, the Queen of Nursery Rhyme
Rock 'N' Roll, and the world's quickest-drawing
Sheiff and deputy.
At the close of his show, Gil Eagles took
a little time out to talk to the Rambler.
Rambler: How did you first become in-terested
in the study of psychology?
Mr. Eagles: My study of psychology
began because of a personal development quest.
As a youngster I was a stutterer. In order to over-come
stuttering, I looked into various things. One
of the things that I discovered was the power of
the mind and being able to use that to picture
myself not stuttering.
Rambler: When did you first begin study-ing
psychology?
Mr. Eagles: I became interested in this
about 25 years ago and I have been performing
for about 20 years now.
Rambler: What is the extent of your
stage to be hypnodzed, Gil began with a five
minute induction (or relaxation) period during
which time his subjects open up to his sugges-tions.
Gil mentioned that there was no chance of
the volunteers being harmed if suddenly some-thing
were to happen to him.
Throughout this portion of the show, Gil
tells the participants that these activities were
going to make them feel relaxed and really good.
He took them on an imaginary journey all over
the world: to a tropical garden, a trip to Hawaii,
a fishing boat, and to the Kentucky Derby. The
abilities?
Eagles: 1 am a performer. My mission is
to entertain. I am here to make people have a
good time for a couple of hours. I like to have
people come to my show and scratch their heads
and say,' how the hell does he do that?'. If I was
to explain just how I do my show, people would
lose interest - just as adults usually lose interest
in magic shows. I consider myself a professional
entertainer.
Rambler: How far can you be from your
subject(s)?
Eagles: Usually I have to be in the room
with them. Sometimes I can do things over the
phone. However, to be psychic is beyond my
show; my show has boundaries. Many people do
get feelings and premonitions, but they (usually)
tune them out. Most of us don't become sensitive
and don't listen to them.
Rambler: Can you predict future events?
Eagles: No, no one can.
Rambler: Would you say that you have a
learned talent (as opposed to inborn)?
Eagles: (Mine is) absolutely a learned
talent. I don't have any more natural talent than
anyone else...everyone can do it.
Rambler: Do you do any type of therapy?
Eagles: Not on a one on one basis. I do
seminars where I may work therapeutically on a
problem someone may have, such as a phobia or
a habit. However, 1 do not have an office.
Rambler: Does a person remember hypno-sis?
Eagles: Sure. It is nothing more than the
power of suggestion. You hypnotized yourself to
come over and talk to me. How? By thinking'I
am going to ask him to see if I can do an interview
with him'. You had a picture about it. By you
Please See Hypnotist on Page 11