Let me now explain a technique which has worked admirably for many who have been frustrated because of their inability to achieve self-hypnosis. It involves _pretending you are hypnotized_ and going through the motions of the various tests _as though you were a perfect subject_. You will recall that one theory of hypnosis is that the subject behaves in a manner that he believes is in keeping with hypnotic behavior. This role playing is the basis for our unique approach. As the subject continues this procedure, he takes on the conditioned response mechanism necessary for self-hypnosis. Let us look at the following examples of role playing. During the war, many soldiers who wanted to leave the army would pretend something was wrong with them. They would convince the authorities of the authenticity of their "illness," and since nothing seemed to make them better, they eventually were separated from the service because of the incapacitating disorder. But what happened to many of these malingerers after they were released from the service? I'm sure you know the rest of the story. The constant malingering was transformed by this role playing into a conditioned response pattern, eventually bringing about the very undesirable condition responsible for their leaving the service. I saw some of these individuals and more than once they told me that they had unwittingly hypnotized themselves into having the ailment. They wanted me to dehypnotize them. They actually turned out to be very easy subjects as they had become highly suggestible. Unfortunately, their super-ego structure was weak, they had difficulty in identifying strongly with anyone, and the relationship in hypnosis was superficial and without depth. I am going to relate another example which I hope will help you understand the role-playing technique for self-hypnosis. I have had the following experience many times in giving hypnotic demonstrations before various organizations. For some reason, even though I carefully ask that only those who desire to be hypnotized volunteer as subjects for the hypnotic demonstrations, an individual who has no intention of cooperating comes up on the stage to poke fun at the hypnotist. In giving public demonstrations, I usually work with about ten subjects and simultaneously give them the same suggestions and posthypnotic suggestions. Once the subjects are hypnotized, I work with them with their eyes open. Using this technique, with each subject carrying out a posthypnotic suggestion, intensifies the responses of other subjects. There is also competitiveness to become the best subject.