Hypnosis is a topic discussed among people all over the world, presenting questions such as: Is hypnosis real? The students involved in STAR have taken part in this discussion, and decided to bring in a hypnotist. On Sept. 14, hypnotist Brian Powers performed his own hypnosis on 13 of Lafayette’s students.
Over the summer, three STAR members went to a leadership conference, Teen Institute from NCADA, and were able to see Powers perform live at this conference. When Associate Principal Renee Trotier spoke with the students upon their return, Brian Powers was memorable.
“He was funny. He made a guy do stupid stuff,” senior Ben Mullholland said. STAR decided to bring in Brian Powers and do a performance similar to the one at the conference: at the night meeting, the hypnosis show took place, and during the day meeting Brian Powers was the keynote speaker.
Junior Ryan Jones and Mullholland were both participants in Powers’ hypnosis performance on Sept. 14. “I remember falling asleep and going to a party,” Mullholland said.
Junior Ryan Jones added, “I remember a beach.”
Powers spoke of both in order to relax all participants, and give them the feeling of sleep. Of course, they didn’t really fall asleep.
After this relaxation, the participants did various things under the power of hypnosis, some were unable to count, had pet tiger-snakes, talked to their mom on their shoes, trained a penguin, talked to someone from the moon, killed an imaginary bug, and many other funny and remotely embarrassing things.
“The power of words carries power.” Powers said.
Hypnosis would not normally be something someone thought STAR would talk about, but Jones said, “It’s not just about drugs and alcohol.” STAR wants to empower students and discusses things such as communication, peer pressure, power of positive thinking versus negative thinking, among other things such as the topics of drugs and alcohol.
Powers hopes to inform students of all these things through one show.
“Initially, it’s seeing not believing, then curiosity comes in, and then the interest between one’s subconscious and conscious,” Jones said.
Powers travels around the world to graduations, corporate shows, cruise ships, and other shows spreading the power of positive thinking and the influence of words.
“I feel like I just woke up. I don’t think I would have enjoyed the show the first time if I had participated because I would feel like this,” Jones said. He believes this a topic that STAR needed to discuss.
