My book is coming out at last! This has truly been one of the best weeks of my life! A few days ago, I received an invitation to serve on the Advisory Board of the American College of Sexologists (see previous blog) and I’m so thrilled about that! And today I got my first peek at the cover of my first book, Sex Squicks, published by Sizzler Editions in the Sexperience (nonfiction) section. I’m so delighted with the cover! It surpasses my expectations! Sex Squicks is volume one of a collection of my Carnal Nation columns. I adored writing a weekly column for Carnal Nation and was so sorry when they abruptly stopped publishing. The second and third volumes should be out later this year.
Sex Squicks will be available as an eBook and later in paperback. It should be up on Amazon, too!
I’m just so glad and delighted about this, today of all days! It was worth the wait! Many thanks to the amazing Jean Marie Stein, my publisher, and Frankie, the talented graphic designer, and all the rest of the amazing Sizzler Editions staff!
Erotic hypnosis workshops taught by Dr. Amy Marsh.
I predict that erotic hypnosis will be the hot new erotic trend of 2014. There are so many great things you can do with it, for yourself and with your lovers.
Consenting adults use personal erotic hypnosis to enhance and enrich their sexual relationships. Erotic hypnosis is so versatile you can adapt it to any scenario: romantic; tantric; edgy; and even kinky. Erotic hypnosis can help you increase (or decrease) all kinds of sensations, boost your fantasy life, and add multiple dimensions to any sexy role play. Use erotic hypnosis as foreplay or to intensify the hottest parts of your sexual encounters. Use it alone (erotic self-hypnosis), with a partner, or in a group. Like a trusty vibrator, erotic hypnosis can go just about anywhere…
Here are just five of the many great ways you can use erotic hypnosis:
1. Getting in the Mood. If you’re too stressed to even think about sex, ask your partner to indulge you with a long, soothing progressive relaxation induction that gradually shifts into sensual, arousing imagery. This is as simple as reading a script, though you can certainly ad lib as you learn more about basic hypnotic techniques.
2. Getting in the Groove. In order to become aroused and sustain that loving feeling, you need to stay on the right side of your parasympathetic nervous system (until you’re close to orgasm, which is when your sympathetic nervous system kicks into high gear). You can use hypnotic relaxation techniques to increase your sexual self-confidence and banish performance anxiety.
3. Getting in Touch. When you’re “entranced,” it’s easy to experience an increase in sensual awareness and sensation by simply listening to your lover’s suggestions and succumbing to the power of your imagination. Trust me, your body will respond. Hypnosis plus touch is also a potent combination.
4. Getting Hot! Deepen your sexual experiences on all levels – sensations, fantasies, variety, role play, and even hypnotic orgasms. Basic hypnotic skills can take you there.
5. Getting Kinky. You can create wild and elaborate fantasy scenarios without spending a dime on equipment and toys. Use hypnosis to imagine and rehearse something you might want to try in the future, or to provide an extra dimension for your present fun and games.
Erotic hypnosis also has a lot to offer people who have chronic illnesses and/or physical impairments that might make some sexual activities difficult. With erotic hypnosis, you can take your mind – and your sexual responses – where you body might not physically follow.
Of course, erotic hypnosis should only be used in a responsible way, with a lot of trust and a lot of talking beforehand – working out most of what you want to try and experience, in advance, and getting clear consent for every part of it. There’s much more to be said on this topic – and about the basic hypnosis skills you must acquire – but for now, this is a glimpse into the benefits and uses of recreational, erotic hypnosis.
The short answer is: it’s another part of my sexological “bag of tricks.” But I think this question also requires a longer explanation.
All sexologists, sex counselors, sex coaches, and sex therapists develop a menu of therapeutic strategems, tips, techniques, and recommended products, books, and media to share with our clients. Most of us give classes and workshops on everything from orgasms, oral sex, erotic massage, tantra, coping with pelvic pain, aging and sexuality, and so on. We’re always looking for new, effective ways to assist our clients and students with their sexual concerns.
We also often give our clients “homeplay” exercises to do between sessions. For couples, there may be a sensate focus series, non-demand touch exercises for building trust and somatic awareness, first used by sex therapy teams like Masters & Johnson and Hartman & Fithian, and still in wide use today. For a man with rapid ejaculation, there may be a program of mindful masturbation exercises designed to build his capacity for “lasting longer.”
As a sexologist, I often use hypnosis in my practice, and I teach self-hypnosis and other mind-body skills to my clients. And this is good. But there’s more that can be done!
For the last couple of years I’ve envisioned a well-designed mini-course in erotic hypnosis techniques which could be just as helpful as many of my other sex counseling staples. I’ve been working on the design of this course and have now refined it so that it is user friendly, based on wisdom culled from both the hypnotic world as well as the sexological one.
I am convinced of the value of this endeavor. Hypnosis is so versatile! For example, lovers could use hypnosis to:
• help each other relax before lovemaking (especially helpful in dropping the stresses of the work day or family life);
• restore and renew that new relationship sensation of being entranced with a lover; and
• to shower each other’s subconscious with ego-strengthening, affirmative, appreciative suggestions that promote confidence in each other and in the relationship. Can you imagine anything more nourishing than relaxing in a light trance state while being showered on a daily basis with words of love and appreciation, pouring right into your mind and heart?
I suggest that these are great additions to an expanded erotic hypnosis repertoire – which includes the ability to heighten sensation, enjoy “hypno-gasms,” create variety through hypnotic fantasy, explore power play, and so on. In other words, lovers can empower themselves and their relationships through the skillful, consensual use of erotic hypnosis.
Erotic hypnosis can also be a valuable tool for people who have some kind of physical impairment or disability, but who’d like to enjoy the fullest possible sex life. Think about it!
I believe too that erotic self-hypnosis is a powerful tool for understanding one’s own erotic nature and core themes. Too often people are as disconnected from this awareness as they are from their own, and their lover’s, bodies. Why not explore your own eroticism through a combination of self-hypnosis and self-pleasure, for example?
This is the potential I see – and I would like to alert my colleagues in the sexology field about this. I am launching my extended Erotic Hypnosis for Lovers courses (first one on August 17th), and am hopeful that people will realize their value. Yes, there are plenty of people exploring and enjoying erotic hypnosis and doing very well on their own – but I’d also like this modality, as a structured program, to make its way into the hands of sexologists, counselors, and therapists – as well as clients.
I see many people in my practice who want to have great sex with partners they don’t like. They may love them – a lot! – but they don’t like them. Hurt, resentment, lack of communication – many things prevent them from liking and enjoying their partners. So, it baffles me that they expect to have great sex with them. Some people do have tempestuous relationships where they argue all the time and then fuck and make up with gusto, however, such people have a pattern which works for them on some level, and so they aren’t the ones who typically arrive on my doorstep. Perhaps people in such relationships are less likely to seek counseling – I don’t know.
I made this video to convey a very simple message. And to commemorate the first day of 2012. Happy New Year!
This month I am offering two one-hour webinar classes, and one two-hour class, on unusual aspects of sexology, all through my wonderful, juicy new online campus courtesy of Creative Sexuality Education Corp. My oh my! Teaching is going to be easy and fun for all of us, and my creative energy is flowing. I can’t wait to offer more and more and more!
Go to the courses page and check it out! Plus, if you go to the library page, you’ll find a free, erotic hypnosis script waiting just for you! Take it, it’s yours!
If you’re really hot for this stuff, you can also register for the 6-part Sexology for Hypnotists course! Even if you’re not a hypnotist, you’ll enjoy this introduction to sexology.
Objectum Sexuality – What is It? A Clinician’s Guide: Objectum sexuality is an orientation toward the affectionate and erotic attraction to objects, landmarks, and transportation – often to the exclusion of erotic attraction to people. This class offers an overview of objectum sexuality by one of the world’s first sexological researchers into this topic. This class will broaden your understanding of human sexual and relational behavior, but the ultimate focus is on the OS client and how you can understand and effectively assist this person in his/her/hir goals. You’ll attend a 2-hour live webinar class, plus spend additional time studying materials and videos. $70 for the class.
Introduction to Clinical Ecosexology: Environmental health meets clinical sexology. This class discusses the effects of toxic consumer and industrial chemicals may have on human sexual health, behavior, and reproduction. How to do a preliminary assessment of potential toxic exposures in order to make referrals for further treatment. $35 for the class.
Sex and Sensory Dysfunction: Discover the link between some forms of sexual behavior and sensory integration dysfunction. A valuable course for any helping professional who assists clients with sexual problems. $35 for the class.
I hope to see you at some of my classes. Please, help spread the word!
