If you're going to break a record, you may as well do it spectacularly.
That's what Jesse Lewis, a Saskatchewan hypnotist, has planned as part of his performance at Northwest Territorial Days. He hopes to at least double the current Canadian record for mass hypnosis set in Montreal, which would require hypnotizing at least 844 people.
There is at least a bit of a Saskatchewan pride at play in Lewis's decision to base his record-breaking attempt in North Battleford. Lewis himself lives in Melfort, though, like so many Saskatchewanians, he is originally from a tiny community, Nut Mountain. While it will of course be a major victory for Lewis, Saskatchewan will share in the glory as well.
"It's time for these types of titles to come home to Saskatchewan. We're having a wonderful time with out economy and basically helping to run the country," he explained to me.
Attempting such a bold feat, one might think Lewis had been working as a hypnotist for his whole life. But he became interested in hypnosis only after studying it four and a half years ago, as part of curiosity about "weird stuff." He had been hypnotized at high school and at bars before, and thought that he was up to the task.
His first performance was at a bar with about 30 patrons. From this success, he has gone all around western Canada, performing for school divisions and corporate shows. For the last three years, it has functioned as his full-time job.
For those unclear about what hypnosis actually entails, Lewis gives his own explanation.
"There are a lot of misconceptions put out by books and so on. But basically what hypnosis is, is a state where you're fully aware, you just do not care about what is going on around you, and you have extreme focus and you're listening to the person who's hypnotizing you. Unless it's against your morals, chances are you're going to do what the hypnotist says."
He stresses that it is not a "zombie" state, just a state of heightened awareness and focus.
For his record attempt, Lewis will be putting the crowd into a light state of hypnosis, in a process known as the "heavy hands test." While not the full-fledged hypnosis of his stage show the same evening, it is considered a precursor to full-fledged hypnosis and has many of the same characteristics. The stage show, however, will involve full-fledged hypnosis.
Lewis's record attempt and show will take place Aug. 16. But the mass hypnosis record attempt will not be his last. He hopes to attempt to break the record for hypnotic sleep by having someone lie down in a bed and stay motionless for 24 hours.
For more information on Jesse Lewis, visit www.jesselewishypnosis.com.
