Cruise Ship Hypnosis Pt. 01 Ch. 01

Mathew and Kathleen Thatcher, Matt and Katie, pretty well have it made. They are relatively young, early 30's, good looking and healthy and with a job that is secure and very well paid. In addition, the working conditions hardly can be beat. They are in show business, a hypnosis act that is quite popular, in an almost perfect setting, and, even better, it comes with what is practically a captive audience. Their act, the stage part, at least, is put on no more than twice a week in normal conditions. How do they get such an ideal "gig"? They are a featured act on a cruise ship!

Katie is the on stage performer while Matt serves as manager and agent. They both are very good at what they do. They started out as a fill-in act, short term appearances as needed by the cruise line, but the popularity of their act gave Matt leverage to negotiate contracts, like their present one, that provides them with working conditions and control of their schedule that is the envy of other performers. Instead of living in I-95, the term used to designate the employee living and housing area, they get a suite and they are entitled to all passenger amenities such as pools, bars, food, shows, etc. In addition, when in port or between cruises, they have plenty of time to act as tourists and have seen much of Europe and the Caribbean.

So, during the late spring and summer, they cruise through the Mediterranean with occasional tours to Scandinavia, the British Isles, etc. At end of the season, they have a long "repositioning" cruise (18 or so days) back to the U.S. where the ships will spend the fall and winter travelling through the Caribbean area. However, before embarking for the Caribbean, they take a vacation for a month at their high rise condo in Miami which they had purchased cheaply at the bottom of the recession! In the spring, they take a repositioning cruise back to Europe or fly over and meet the ship there. A tough life!

Katie's role is the public one. She was a pre-med student in college and, after graduation, earned a master's degree in clinical therapy with an emphasis on hypnotherapy. It was there that she learned the theory and practice of hypnosis and found that she had a real talent in that area. Getting the client-patient-customer to relax is the core of hypnosis and she did it very well. It turned out that she was surprisingly successful in group settings as well as in one-to-one situations.

Katie is a physically attractive woman, standing about 5' 9", weighing around 130 pounds. Her breasts are proportional to her height and weight and, while not beautiful, she is good looking, actually quite pretty in non-professional settings. These physical qualities, however, are not the main assets that make her so successful on stage. What really sets her off from others is her stage presence by which she conveys a confidence and competency that causes audiences to be engrossed in her performance and for the volunteers on stage to fall under her influence quite easily. This aura carried over to group and private sessions in which she is also very successful.

It is these other sessions which, taken together with the stage show, makes Katie's services stand out and permits Matt to negotiate excellent contracts. She puts on a very good stage show as "just" a stage hypnotist, a term which sometimes is used condescendingly by critics who say that they are purely entertainers who put on comedy acts or, worse, are frauds. Katie's act is entertainment and, frequently comedic, but she is also a trained hypnotherapist who provides the same services practitioners provide in offices on land. Thus, for a good salary and "room and board", the cruise line is getting an excellent stage performer and a trained professional whose services are in great demand – plus her manager, of course.

Matt knows nothing about hypnosis except what he has gleaned from being with Katie, but, as shown by the contracts he has negotiated, he is excellent in running the non-stage elements of their act. He's about 6' 3", over 180 pounds, and played basketball in college while majoring in business and finance with a minor in sports management. This background turned out to be perfect training as a manager and negotiator and he has made the most of it.

Katie and Matt were going together during her therapy training and she assumed that her work would be in that field. She certainly had never thought of becoming a stage hypnotist. The career change began when she, while entertaining her friends at a party, demonstrated the process of hypnotizing. She was startled to find that almost everyone there succumbed when she tried the standard relaxation method. Both she and Matt had been in theatre productions in college so the idea of creating a show came naturally to them. They gradually worked up an act, went through the usual developmental stages and, ultimately, had a considerable level of success. They married, wanted to travel, submitted their resume to a cruise line and received a contract – without the current level of comforts and respect, of course!

So, as said before, they and their act were well regarded and remunerated. Their regular lives ran smoothly and their sex life was quite acceptable. They were happy with each other and had little need of or desire for external sexual stimulation or temptation. Doing something unprofessional or morally questionable with hypnotism arose in a teasing manner occasionally, but never was seriously considered.

It was about four years ago that things changed. Up until then, their on board life was routine – a show or two each cruise, depending on the cruise needs plus a series of scheduled meeting with groups and private sessions with individuals who had things they needed help on by the use of hypnosis. Actually, as said before, these sessions were as important as the shows because they had tremendous appeal as self-improvement for passengers. There was a wide range of behavioral problems from serious to insignificant – alcohol and drugs, language use, sexual desires, personal habits, etc., etc.

By far, however, the topic that came up most often was the desire to stop smoking and Katie had group and private sessions involving post-hypnotic suggestions to break the habit. That was the issue with one Janine Johnson. She and her husband, Sidney, both in their mid-twenties were very concerned about her fairly heavy smoking habit because they were planning to have children soon and smoking while pregnant and around a baby was a not acceptable.

The couple had been volunteers on stage during the show and had responded strongly to being hypnotized, so they had high hopes for success. However, Sidney privately requested an additional programming from Katie. Janine was a very pretty young woman, only about 5' 1", with a very nice figure, particularly her breasts, and had every logical reason to be self-confident in her appearance. Unfortunately, for some youthful family background reasons, that confidence was missing and she just couldn't go out unless her body was well covered. Katie agreed readily to try to help her with both problems, but they would have to do so in private sessions to maintain confidentiality about the issue. Sidney readily agreed to that and they arranged for the sessions to be in Katie and Matt's suite.

That wasn't unusual. They often held private sessions there, particularly when the client's problem was delicate. Katie came into the suite and said, "Hi, honey. I've arranged to have a session here this evening with Janine Johnson. She needs to stop smoking, but her husband wants me to work on raising her self-confidence, although she doesn't know that yet, so I'll do it here."

"Who's Janine Johnson? Should I know?"

Katie laughed, answering, "Oh, you'll remember her! She's the little blonde with the big tits you couldn't take your eyes off of when she was on the stage!"

"Oh, so that's Janine Johnson! What's her problem? Self-confidence? Doesn't make any sense with her figure."

"Yeah, I know. Apparently she's very shy about showing anything in public and the problem right now is that she can't get herself to wear a bikini out to the pool. Sidney got her to buy one, but she just cannot wear it in public. She always wears matronly suits that are much too old for her and are unattractive. She insists that her body is not good enough, but Sidney says it's something else, something more basic, like a phobia."

"I think that she needs a psychologist, not a hypnotist. I'll tell you what! You get her to show me her tits. I'll tell her how wonderful they are! That should pump her up!"

"I wouldn't mind seeing her half naked myself, but I have a feeling that telling her to take her clothes off so you can compliment her on her tits just might cause her to come out of her trance if I have her in one!"

"I know, but what a waste. We've talked about this before and I keep saying that there should be some way to take advantage of the situation – some way to make them want to show their tits! Remember what I suggested with that big-boobed brunette last cruise? I'll sit in the corner, not moving or saying a word. You tell her that she's all alone. Tell her that she can't see anyone but you. She'll believe anything you tell her when she's under!"

"Sure! Then something happens, she wakes up and sees you and – damn, I don't know what would happen, but it wouldn't be good! Now, aside from your fantasies, the real problem is, as I said, that she has a phobia against being seen in public unless she is well covered. In addition, she's very shy, particularly around men. Sidney said that after he urged her to do so, she bought a very pretty bikini that she really wants to wear, but every time she puts it on to go to the pool, she literally can't force herself to go out of the door. She thinks that people will stare at her, which they probably will, or laugh at her, which they won't.

"He's sure that it is largely caused by her very religious conservative family which drummed into her head that the body should always be hidden. As she grew up, she had to wear long skirts with nothing tight to show off curves as they developed, etc. Even bathing suits, which were rarely worn, were one-piece with skirts to hide the hips – like those things women wore in the 1930's! Apparently, she has moved on from her family, but the conditioning is still there. She now can wear reasonably fashionable clothes, but the phobia kicks in when she wears something revealing, even a regular two piece bathing suit, much less a bikini."

"It sounds as if I was right. She does need a psychologist, not a hypnotist!"

"You keep forgetting that I'm a hypnotherapist as well as a stage hypnotist. I'm not going to try and psychoanalyze her. I don't care about the roots of her phobia. All I'm going to try to do is get her to overcome it, whatever its cause. She wants to do it which is half the battle. Sidney said that he is going to sit down with her and tell her that he has arranged for me to try and help her and he's certain that she will accept my help. Anyway, I'm going to try and we'll see."

That afternoon, Janine came to their suite and agreed to have Katie work on both of her problems. Katie sent her into a trance with no trouble. The first time she hypnotized someone, she usually gave them a magic word, or trigger, that would put them under, making it very easy the next time. She often used the same word, "jasmine," because that way she didn't have to remember different triggers for each person. So, she said the word jasmine, Janine immediately went into a hypnotic state and Katie began her post-hypnotic instructions.

She spent some time working on Janine's smoking habit, making her extremely sensitive to the smell, something that usually worked with women more than men. She stressed how the odor clung to her hair and clothes and her breath. These things tended to be more effective with women than health warnings! After, repeating those points often enough to have them firmly impressed into her mind, she turned to Janine's other problem.

She started by repeating that Janine had a very nice body and that she should be proud of it. Then, she said, "There is a bathing suit in the bathroom. Go in and put it on and come back out knowing how good you look." Without hesitation, she did as she was told. Shortly afterwards, she returned, looking very sexy in a blue bikini which was really too small for her. Her breasts were barely hidden and the pants covered her pubic hair, but, again, barely.

Katie complimented her effusively and Janine preened at the praise, repeating Katie's words, "I look very good in it." Following directions, she walked around the room, stretching and bending over in that too small suit, as Katie continued to admire her. To her surprise, Katie found the sight to be arousing and some of her instructions had more to do with what Janine exposed than anything else. After what she felt was sufficient indoctrination, she said, without thinking of the way hypnotized people take direction literally, she said, "Ok, Janine take off the bathing suit and get dressed."

Usually, she would have been more precise in her instructions and said, "Go into the bathroom and take off your bathing suit," but not this time. She was careless, and Janine took off the suit right there in the room and walked naked into the bathroom and dressed. Katie sat there for a moment, stunned, before she picked up the suit as Janine came out. She gave her the normal post-hypnotic instruction – you won't remember what went on here, you'll wake up feeling very good, etc. Janine left the suite with a growing aversion to tobacco smoke and smell and Katie sat there trying to understand her reaction to Janine's nude body.

Later when she and Matt were alone she described the situation. "Heaven knows, I've seen naked women before and I have been interested in the various sizes and shapes, but this was different. When she came out barely covered by that old blue suit, she looked very sexy and, I'll admit, I was aroused by her. I actually had her do some bending over and other moves so I could see more. You would have been as hard as a rock! And then, gods, when she calmly took the suit off and walked to the bathroom naked, my pussy was tingling. I'm not a lesbian, but right then I would have loved to have been able to feel her. Her skin looked so smooth and her body so firm! I'm not sure how much of my reaction was sexual and how much it was just a desire to feel a beautiful thing – male, female or inanimate!"

"Damn, I wish I could have been there to see that!"

"Yeah, I'm sure!"

"Any way you can arrange that when you see her tomorrow?"

"Oh, I don't think so, honey. She doesn't know how much she's showing, but, even so, having you there just might be too much."

"What about what I suggested before – you tell her that you're all alone. If I don't do anything to attract her attention, she won't know I'm there!"

"Sure, but as I said then, if the three of us are there and I tell her that you've left or something and she didn't actually see you leave, that just might be too much to keep the trance working. She might believe me and not her eyes, but I wouldn't trust it."

"Ok, I have an idea. I'll be in the suite before you arrive. You put her under before you come in, tell her that you will be alone and, if I don't move or anything, she'll never be aware of me. If you walk in and somehow she sees me, you can say that you thought that I was out and I'll just leave. No problem!"

"I don't know...I suppose that that might work. Ok, we'll try it tomorrow. I would like you to see her. But, damn it, no movement, no talking and, obviously, no touching! There's something else I want to try, too."

The following afternoon, Matt was sitting in a chair as he heard Katie and Janine outside the door. Fortunately, unlike regular staterooms, their suite was large enough to have room for him to be out of the way. They came in and it was immediately apparent that Katie's post-hypnotic suggestion that they were alone had worked as his presence was completely ignored. Katie went through the process of strengthening her anti-smoking indoctrination which seemed to be working well since Janine was revolted by the smell after yesterday's session.

Finishing that, she took Janine into the bathroom and pointed to the counter where the blue bikini she had worn was laying. With considerable apprehension, she said. "There are two bathing suits there, exactly alike except that one is blue and the other red. Two bathing suits right there on the counter. Do you see them?"

"Yes, I see them."

"Pick up the blue one and feel it. It's the one you wore yesterday and you looked lovely in it. Do you like the feel of it? Would you like to wear it again?"

"Yes. It's nice and soft. "

"Pick up the red one. It's exactly like the blue one and would be lovely on you, too. Would you like to try it on?" Katie was calm on the outside, but very tense inside as she urged Janine to pick up and feel a non-existent bikini. To her great relief, Janine reached down to an empty spot on the counter and, seeing what Katie had described, picked up what her entranced mind told her was a brief red bathing suit. "Does it feel like the other one?"

"Yes, it's nice and soft too."

Katie was relieved since she was employing what hypnotists refer to as open and negative hallucinations at the same time – causing the deeply entranced individual to not see something or someone right in front of them (Matt) and to see something that isn't there (the bathing suit)! Without hesitation, she instructed Janine, "Put on the blue suit so we can see how nice you look in it. Tell me how you feel about going into the pool."

She went back into the room and said, "Get ready! This is quite a sight, but be quiet!" A few minutes later, Janine came out wearing that same too small suit and Katie saw Matt mouth the word "Wow!" As before, the bra barely contained her breasts and, this time, a little bit of hair appeared at the top of the bikini. As Janine moved around the room, Katie continually reinforced the belief that she was lovely and that she should have confidence in public.

Janine accepted the admiring comments, but repeated her fear that people wouldn't think the same way. "Oh, Katie, I think that you are right and I do like the way I look, but that's in here! I'm afraid that people will stare at me and I just know that, when I'm out there, I'll feel unattractive. My...my family always laughed at me – my suit never fit right, it showed too much, my body should be hidden – everything! I...I cringe when I'm in public because I just know that people feel that way."

For several more minutes, Katie reiterated her confidence building mantra, emphasizing how sexy she looked. She could have just taken Janine up to the pool area by hypnotically blinding her as to where they were going – maybe telling her that she was fully dressed and that they were going to the buffet for a snack – but she feared that she would snap out of her trance with very bad results when reality hit. Katie was certain that another session or two would build her confidence to the point that she would voluntarily give it a try. In the meantime, she wanted to see more of Janine for her own, and Matt's, pleasure.

"That blue suit looks very nice on you, dear, but I'll bet that the red would be good too. Why don't you try it on?" Katie was really...well, frightened is the wrong word, but something like that. Would Janine actually put on an illusionary suit and think that she was dressed? Or would finding herself in the bathroom searching for a nonexistent bikini disrupt the trance? She looked over at Matt and caught his eye. His tongue was, figuratively, at least, hanging out of his mouth as Janine went in to change. He mouthed the word "WOW" again and shook his head. She grinned and replied silently, "Just wait!"