A magic transformation

For Ray Thompson, hypnotism isn't just a gimmick, it's a way to change bad habits.

Thompson, of West Des Moines, Iowa will perform his hypnotism show at the Cheyenne County Fair grounds at 7 p.m. at the grandstands. He of course hopes to entertain the crowd, to make people laugh. But Thompson isn't just a sideshow, he has a clinical background in hypnotism.

"I started using it as a mental health therapist in 1974," Thompson reported.

He originally intended to become a clinical psychologist. But after beginning work toward his doctorate, he decided it was time to move on.

"My itchy feet got the better of me," Thompson admitted. "I'd spent eight years active duty before I went to college."

After his time in the military Thompson completed his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in just four years, and started getting antsy.

"It was time to move, time to go," Thompson said. "I took my new wife and we went off and didn't slow down for many, many years."

Thompson worked as a career counselor on off-duty programs for the military for many years, addressing the needs of those posted overseas.

In addition to his love of studying the human mind, Thompson is a fan of magic. He started on this hobby when he was 11 or 12 years old.

"Unfortunately, I got to spend the whole sixth grade in the hospital," Thompson said. "With a lot of time to practice."

He was a victim of terrible luck, but ended up perfecting all sorts of magic tricks his more able bodied friends didn't have the time or patience to learn.

"I got caught in the last polio epidemic to sweep the United States," Thompson said.

He caught polio 17 days before the vaccine came to his town.

"I went from being the star of the football team to not being able to walk," Thompson said. "Then magic became my compensation."

Magic was always a pretty serious hobby for Thompson, but he began to study it with a keener eye after having kids of his own. He and his wife finally decided to lay down some roots in Iowa because they wanted to raise their five children in the Midwest.

But tragedy struck again. Two decades ago, when his wife was preparing to go back to work after being a stay at home mom for years, she was involved in a car wreck that resulted in a traumatic brain injury. After that, Thompson needed to figure out what he would do if his wife never recovered.

"My friends suggested that I blend my knowledge of hypnosis and my magic hobby into a show," Thompson said.

He started out performing his act mostly for corporate audiences, at Christmas parties and the like. His wife recovered in a few years and told him he didn't need to keep doing shows, that she could go back to work, but he wouldn't hear it.

"I'm having way too much fun," Thompson said.

A few years later he was offered a buy out from his government job and decided to start doing the show full time.

"Why not?" Thompson said. "Going to work every day is interfering with me having fun."

He's done shows in New York and San Francisco and did his act for the U.S. embassy in Bangkok, Thailand.

"This has taken me all over the world," Thompson said.

Although Thompson originally learned hypnosis at school, he isn't totally certain how it works, and doubts that anyone really knows.

"There is no definitive explanation for it," Thompson said.

Thompson was schooled in clinical hypnosis at the University of Texas graduate school and learned the showmanship side of things at classes and conferences. He picked it up quickly because he was a natural entertainer and already knew quite a bit about hypnosis.

Hypnosis is a very relaxed, but focused state, Thompson continued. He believes firmly that hypnosis can bring about habit change, although he admits some people who tout hypnotism as a cure-all aren't being entirely honest.

"You will hear all kinds of claims for hypnosis and many of them are just not true," Thompson said.

He does think it can be very beneficial.

"The most powerful thing it's good for is habit change," Thompson said. "Because all habits, good and bad, are in our subconscious."

Thompson believes firmly in the influence the subconscious on daily life.

"We do so much, maybe more than we realize, based on habit," Thompson said. "But the subconscious is so powerful, you've got to access it, and you can do that in a trance."

Hypnosis can even help with some troublesome medical problems, Thompson claims. He'll soon be training a team to run a clinic that will treat persistent hot flashes in post-menopausal women. He claims that hypnosis is much more effective in decreasing hot flashes than other drugs. Hormone replacement therapy works, he said, but increases the risk of breast cancer. Also, none of the other available treatments help the women feel like they're in control. The best thing about hypnosis is that there are no side effects.

Some people are absolutely more easily hypnotized than others, Thompson said. "But it's exactly the opposite of what television and movies portray," he explained. "Television and movies usually portray it as someone who is weak willed and maybe not so smart. The absolute opposite is true. The more intelligent you are, the easier it is."

He explained this simply.

"Because it's about focus, concentration and following directions," Thompson said.

With his background in career counseling, Thompson sees parallels between his subjects' ability to be hypnotized, reactions under hypnosis and what careers the subject are employed in.

"We're beginning to realize that a lot of what we think and how we act is hard wired," Thompson said.

Thompson does not enjoy doing shows with participants who don' have much imagination. It makes the show quite a bit less lively, he said.

"Just for the stage, it doesn't work," Thompson said.

Industrial and civil engineers and architects are all great subjects, Thompson commented.

"Those people are wonderful on stage," Thompson said. "Because they've got motivation and intelligence, but they've got a creative side to their mind as well."

Because he started out in the corporate market and he was doing shows with people who would have to work together afterward, he didn't want to embarrass anyone too badly. He doesn't want anyone to feel bad after the show.

"I realized that just as important as it was for the people on stage to feel good about themselves afterwards, it was really important that the people in the audience feel good about having laughed at them," Thompson said.

He themes his show so that there's an excuse for the people who come on stage to act silly.

"When I've got a bunch of guys and gals up there doing the hula, it's because they're taking hula lessons," Thompson said. "So there's a rationale for it."

Thompson just wants everyone to enjoy themselves during the show.

"I tell people, we're gonna be foolish but we're not gonna act like fools," Thompson said. "This is the theater of the mind and I'm the stage director."

Originally it was the only way to put his kids through college, but now it's become more than that.

"It makes people laugh," Thompson said. "And people need a lot more laughter in their lives. It makes me laugh."

Thompson turned quite a few Sidney youths into hypnotism believers at a small show yesterday afternoon.

"It's so cool," said Peyton Lewis, 10. "It is super real."

Others who participated in the show agreed with Lewis.

"I always had questions about hypnotism," said Will Castner, 14. "Not after today."

Thompson admits that he has been accused of using his power for ulterior motives.

"I've been accused of using that to get my beautiful wife to marry me, not to mention to stay married all these years," Thompson said. "There may be some truth to that that I'm not even aware of."

He's also had some bosses who were suspicious of his talents in the past.

"In the guard, every time I appeared before a promotion board, always wondered if he'd really given a good interview or if he h