The Donfather: Hipster Hypno-Don

From Urban Dictionary:

Hipsters are a subculture of men and women typically in their 20's and 30's that value independent thinking, counter-culture, progressive politics, an appreciation of art and indie-rock, creativity, intelligence, and witty banter. 

The greatest concentrations of hipsters can be found living in the Williamsburg, Wicker Park, and Mission District neighborhoods of major cosmopolitan centers such as New York, Chicago, and San Francisco respectively.

Although "hipsterism" is really a state of mind,it is also often intertwined with distinct fashion sensibilities. Hipsters reject the culturally-ignorant attitudes of mainstream consumers, and are often be seen wearing vintage and thrift store inspired fashions, tight-fitting jeans, old-school sneakers, and sometimes thick rimmed glasses.

Both hipster men and women sport similar androgynous hair styles that include combinations of messy shag cuts and asymmetric side-swept bangs. Such styles are often associated with the work of creative stylists at urban salons, and are usually too "edgy" for the culturally-sheltered mainstream consumer. The "effortless cool" urban bohemian look of a hipster is exemplified in Urban Outfitters and American Apparel ads which cater towards the hipster demographic.

Despite misconceptions based on their aesthetic tastes, hipsters tend to be well educated and often have liberal arts degrees, or degrees in maths and sciences, which also require certain creative analytical thinking abilities. Consequently many hipsters tend to have jobs in the music, art, and fashion industries. It is a myth that most hipsters are unemployed and live off of their parent's trust funds.

Hipsters shun mainstream societal conventions that apply to dating preferences and traditional "rules" of physical attraction. It is part of the hipster central dogma not to be influenced by mainsream advertising and media, which tends to only promote ethnocentric ideals of beauty. The concepts of androgyny and feminism have influenced hipster culture, where hipster men are often as thin as the women they date.

The muscular and athletic all-American male ideal is not seen as attractive by confident and culturally-empowered hipster women who instead view them as symbols of male oppression, sexism, and misogyny. 

Likewise, culturally-vapid sorority-type girls with fake blond hair, overly tanned skin, and "Britney Spears tube-tops" are not seen as attractive by cultured hipster males who instead see them as symbols of female insecurity, low self-esteem, and lack of cultural intelligence and independent thinking. 

Hipsters are also very racially open-minded, and the greatest number of interracial couples in any urban environment are typically found within the hipster subculture.

Although hipsters are technically conformists within their own subculture, in comparison to the much larger mainstream mass, they are pioneers and leaders of the latest cultural trends and ideals. 

For example, the surge of jeans made to look old and worn (i.e. "distressed"), that have become prevalent at stores such as The Gap, American Eagle, Abercrombie and Fitch, and Hollister, were originally paraded by hipsters who shopped in thrift stores years before such clothing items were mass produced and sold to the mainstream consumer.

The true irony here is that many of the detractors of hipster culture are in fact unknowingly following a path that hipsters have carved out years before them. 

This phenomena also applies to music as well, as many bands have become successful and known to mainstream audiences only because hipsters first found and listened to them as early-adopters of new culture. Once certain concepts of fashion and music have reached mainstream audiences, hipsters move on to something new and improved.

Because of the rise of various online photo-blog and social networking sites, insights into urban hipster culture is reaching sheltered suburban audiences at an exponential rate. Cultural "norms" have been deconstructed by hipster culture as a whole. 

Hipsterism is often dismissed as just an image thing by some, but the culture as a whole is effecting changes in society, leading to feelings of insecurity and resentment in people who are no longer a part of the cultural ruling class.

For example, a lot of anti-hipster sentiment evidently comes from culturally-clueless suburban frat boy types who feel that the more sensitive, intelligent, and culturally aware hipster ideal threatens their insecure sense of masculinity.

Anti-hipster sentiment often comes from people who simply can't keep up with social change and are envious of those who can.

Hypno-Don: Cognitive Dissonance



The Fox and the Grapes by Aesop. When the fox fails to reach the grapes, he decides he does not want them after all. Rationalization (making excuses) is often involved in reducing anxiety about conflicting cognitions, according to cognitive dissonance theory.


From ye Wiki:

In modern psychology, cognitive dissonance is the discomfort experienced when simultaneously holding two or more conflicting cognitions: ideas, beliefs, values or emotional reactions. In a state of dissonance, people may sometimes feel "disequilibrium": frustration, hunger, dread, guilt, anger, embarrassment, anxiety, etc.

The phrase was coined by Leon Festinger in his 1956 book When Prophecy Fails, which chronicled the followers of a UFO cult as reality clashed with their fervent belief in an impending apocalypse.

Festinger subsequently (1957) published a book called A Theory of Cognitive Dissonance in which he outlines the theory.

Cognitive dissonance is one of the most influential and extensively studied theories in social psychology.

The theory of cognitive dissonance in social psychology proposes that people have a motivational drive to reduce dissonance by altering existing cognitions, adding new ones to create a consistent belief system, or alternatively by reducing the importance of any one of the dissonant elements. It is the distressing mental state that people feel when they "find themselves doing things that don't fit with what they know, or having opinions that do not fit with other opinions they hold."

A key assumption is that people want their expectations to meet reality, creating a sense of equilibrium. Likewise, another assumption is that a person will avoid situations or information sources that give rise to feelings of uneasiness, or dissonance.

Cognitive dissonance theory explains human behavior by positing that people have a bias to seek consonance between their expectations and reality.

According to Festinger, people engage in a process he termed "dissonance reduction", which can be achieved in one of three ways: lowering the importance of one of the discordant factors, adding consonant elements, or changing one of the dissonant factors.

This bias sheds light on otherwise puzzling, irrational, and even destructive behavior.

It would be most irrational not to believe Hypno-Don.

Hypno-Don Suggests...

You will follow my blog... relax... and learn...

The Return of Hypno-Don

A Hypno-Don Anxiety Release Session

Hello there -- just take a single deep breath -- and let every muscle in your body just let go -- as you breath out -- that's good. Now, I'd like you to imagine that you can see yourself -- relaxing in a chair -- or maybe just pretend that you can see yourself -- your breathing -- already so easy -- and steady -- and becoming steadier still -- even as you think about it -- as though you were sound asleep -- or pretending to be sound asleep -- pretending so well -- that you are sound asleep -- that you would convince anybody who could see you -- that you were pleasantly sleeping. zzzzzzzzzzzzz.

And while you pretend to be absolutely sound asleep -- you can imagine that you have a dream -- a dream where you are more relaxed than you have ever been at any time in your entire life -- more relaxed than you ever thought it was possible to be -- a dream -- where you're just like a rag doll laying lazily on a beach somewhere -- your head comfortably shaded by the soft shadows from fronds of palm trees -- fronds of palm trees that are moving, just slightly in the gentlest of breezes -- with your body beautifully warmed by the rays of the sun --- and you just drifting deeper and deeper -- your body becoming even more relaxed with each breath you take -- each word that you read. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Already even more relaxed than that rag doll on the beach -- every ounce of tension just drifting away from you -- so that your arms and legs begin to feel wonderfully devoid of all tensions -- your entire body beautifully free from all your cares and all your anxieties -- so that you can just simply relax -- floating deeper now -- so that you might even begin to lose touch with your hands -- and feet -- with your arms and legs -- and sometimes, people can become so relaxed that they can lose touch with their whole body -- so that they become, just for a while -- just their thoughts -- a lazy, easy, calm sort of feeling -- where nobody wants anything -- and nobody expects anything -- and there's absolutely nothing whatsoever for you to do -- except to simply relax. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

It might be as if you've been able to temporarily switch off all those muscles -- while you relax there -- just like that rag doll on that warm beach -- thinking about your left arm now -- if you can be bothered to find it -- and just letting the last tiny traces of tension float away -- and your right arm, too -- just letting every muscle, every nerve, every fiber let go -- and allowing that same beautifully easy feeling flow across your shoulders -- and down into your body into your legs -- just vaguely aware of your thigh muscles -- just letting go -- and your calves, too -- and it's as if even your bones are relaxing now -- a wonderful sensation of the deepest relaxation you have ever experienced -- just gently sweeping over and through your whole body -- into every fiber, every cell -- every pore -- so that you can experience that very special sort of relaxation -- that some people manage to find with hypnosis. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

And you can always find this feeling for yourself -- whenever you want to this exact same feeling -- of the most profound sense of relaxation -- where nothing matters -- where there is just this sense of calm -- a quiet sort of feeling -- where you have to think of nobody -- but you you can always find this feeling -- simply by remembering that rag doll -- warming herself in the sun -- with her head shaded by those fronds of beautifully elegant palm trees -- and whenever you think of that rag doll -- you'll be able to instantly find this very same deep relaxation -- that you have at this very moment -- and whenever you enter this special state of deep relaxation -- your body's self-healing processes can work more efficiently -- and much faster than usual -- faster even than during the deepest sleep -- these processes work more powerfully, re-energizing your entire body -- helping to create a sense of real inner comfort and calm. zzzzzzzzzzz.

And this sense of inner comfort steadily creates an inner strength -- an inner strength that helps you to be fitter and healthier -- in every way -- during this special relaxation -- your whole body system works more steadily and easily than at any other time -- allowing your body's natural rejuvenating processes to work more effectively than ever -- each fiber -- each tiny cell -- being checked repaired replaced where necessary -- in each and every organ in your body -- so you can start to feel good about yourself -- start to feel really good within yourself -- developing an inner strength -- that helps you to achieve your hopes and desires -- to fulfill your ambitions and goals and so -- feelings of an inner strength and resolve -- of a complete determination to succeed -- whatever success means to you -- become deeper and more profound every time you experience hypnosis -- and you can be aware that -- within their channels in the body -- your nerves are just resting -- and relaxing too -- resting and relaxing -- and becoming stronger and steadier -- with each and every passing day. zzzzzzzzzzz,

And now you're so beautifully relaxed -- nobody wanting anything -- nobody expecting anything, -- and absolutely nothing whatsoever for you to do -- except to relax -- I want you just to let your mind -- and your imagination -- drift -- feeling lazy, easy, and comfortable -- and I want you to imagine that you're standing on the terrace of a lovely old house -- a house like a stately home or country mansion -- you can feel the sun on your head and shoulders -- not too hot, just comfortable -- and there's a gentle breeze playing against your skin -- as you look around you, you notice an elegant marble flight of steps -- ten broad steps leading down into a beautiful sunken garden -- a garden where you sense peace, well-being and comfort -- Make it really vivid in your mind -- In a moment -- I'm going to count down from ten down to zero -- and as I count all the way down from ten, down to zero -- I want you to imagine that each number is a step down on this beautiful staircase -- a step down towards this beautiful garden -- and each step you take -- is another step down into deeper and even deeper levels of relaxation -- so that by the time I get to zero -- you will be as deeply relaxed as you can ever imagine -- while still being able to read and respond to the inner sounds of these typed words. zzzzzzzzzzz.

10 -- take the first step down now -- relaxing and letting go --
9 -- feeling more and more relaxed -- no need to hurry -- plenty of time --
8 -- moving down easily now --
7 -- deeper and deeper -- zzzzzzzzzz --
6 -- deeper still -- your breathing becoming slower -- and steadier --
5 -- really relaxing now -- just -- let go -- zzzzzzzzzz --
4 -- becoming calmer -- and calmer --
3 -- calmer still now --
2 -- more and more relaxed --
1 -- all the way down now to --
0 -- zzzzzzzzzzzz --

And now -- you find yourself in this wonderful garden -- you can feel the softness of the newly cut grass beneath your feet -- as the scent of masses upon masses of brightly colored flowers seems to envelope you -- and there's the gentle sound of birds singing -- echoing faintly in the stillness of the air -- it's almost a magical place, stretching into the distance as far as the eye can see in all directions, with beautiful shrubs, tall elegant trees -- and an ornamental fountain which seems to feed in to a gently trickling stream -- this fascinates you and you wander to the edge of the stream and gently lower yourself down onto the soft, grassy bank -- and just sit for a while, gazing into the cool clear water -- marveling at the sense of tranquillity that sweeps over you -- and listening to the faint sound of the fountain splashing into the pool that feeds this gentle stream -- after a little while you lay back on the grass and gaze up at the clearest of blue skies -- and as you relax more and more, your eyes begin to close and you just drift off into a deep and relaxing sleep -- and as you sleep, you have a dream -- zzzzzzzzzzzz.

-- You dream that your whole body is becoming lighter --lighter and lighter -- so light that you feel you must surely begin to float on air at any moment -- and then you feel yourself just floating and drifting -- gently borne aloft -- and supported by the softest of warm breezes -- and you can somehow see, through your closed eyelids that you're floating in a sea of color -- a warm sea of color that relaxes and comforts you as you just drift -- suspended in warmth and color that seems somehow unreal and yet, at the same time, has a comfortingly familiar feel to it -- you're aware of misty reds and orange -- soft, muted yellow tones, gentle greens and blues that seem somehow like clouds -- and the deepest, softest indigos and violets that you could ever have imagined -- and it begins to dawn on you that you're floating in a rainbow, a magical rainbow -- because in this rainbow, time and space doesn't exist in the same way that we usually know it -- you might have floated there for just a moment -- or for a hundred years -- maybe for a lifetime -- or just perhaps for the blinking of an eye -- you could have floated forwards in time, to a time that could be far beyond our future -- or maybe back in time, back before your own lifetime -- it gradually begins to seem to you that you might even be able to float here for just as long as you wish -- with this wonderful relaxed feeling -- just floating and drifting through this magical sea of gentle flowing colors where time seems to be suddenly of so little importance -- zzzzzzzzzz.

You are still pondering on these thoughts, when you feel yourself beginning to float gently downwards -- lower and lower, softly sinking down, down through this beautiful rainbow -- becoming even more relaxed, even more lazy -- until, eventually, you realize that you've stopped floating downwards -- and you find yourself on the shore of a tranquil lake -- a large tranquil lake, surrounded by softly rolling hills that are shrouded in a gentle, silver mist -- there are trees and sweetly scented flowering shrubs, and grasses growing at the water's edge -- and everything is bathed in a beautiful golden light -- a golden light that seems to bathe everything in its warmth -- and you find yourself marveling at the sense of deep calmness and comfort that seems to fill your entire being, as you stroll lazily along the sandy shore of this wonderful lake -- noticing with a sort of lazy curiosity that it seems to be constantly changing colour... subtle changes blending so smoothly -- that it's difficult for you to know exactly when limpid blue has become a deep, soft violet -- or when that deep violet became a relaxing, translucent green -- the changes of color fascinate you, and you settle yourself down onto a small smooth rock and just gaze out across the crystal clear waters. zzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Every so often, something, a fish maybe -- just something -- just breaks the surface, creating ripples that seem to flow gently and endlessly in all directions -- ripples that eventually lap against the edges of the rock that you're sitting on -- you smile and lean forward to dabble your hand amongst them -- and as you do so, you create yet more ripples, ripples that shimmer in a kaleidoscope of different colors across the lake -- interacting with the others and making new, ever changing patterns -- you realize that this tranquil place is the pool of all knowledge -- that while you are here, you are part of everything and everything a part of you -- and you find it easy, so very easy to open your mind -- to let go of any barriers to memory or learning. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

While you're relaxing there, so easy and calm inside yourself -- I wonder if you can imagine how wonderful it would be to be this relaxed whenever you want to be? I wonder if you can create an image of you right at this very moment, perhaps doing something that used to worry you, but looking so calm and so easy -- looking as if you are just enjoying the whole process of simply being alive? Just knowing that whatever causes those feelings of worry are just a passing thing -- just a passing thing that soon will seem to be of no importance at all -- because it belongs to yesterday -- or last week -- or perhaps last year. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

And a lot of the time you can recognise that there never was a need for any worry at all -- and you might not even be able to remember most of what you were worrying about a while ago -- and if you can, it's probably because what you are worrying about hasn't happened yet -- and I want you to think about something that is worrying you now -- creating stress in your mind -- and while you're thinking of that thing I want you to see how good you are at remembering something that hasn't happened yet -- remembering what it felt like when that thing you were worrying about had actually happened, even though it hasn't happened yet -- but remembering that it felt good when you remembered that it had happened and you didn't need to worry about it any more -- but you're probably thinking now about something that has happened, something that you were worried about until it happened -- and now it has happened, you can find no need to worry about it all. zzzzzzzzzz.

Worrying about things is simply a way of thinking about things -- something that your subconscious learnt how to do a long time ago -- it learnt how to automatically think about the awful things that might happen -- to think about the things we really hope will not happen -- so we start thinking about what we would do if those awful things did happen -- and worrying even more when we think that we won't know what to do if those awful things happen -- and yet all those things are based simply upon fear -- rather than a belief that it will happen -- because if we truly believe that something will happen, we can always decide what action we will take -- we will always make a decision -- but when it's only a fear that something will happen, it means that we're not at all sure it will -- so it's not a surprise that we worry about what we will do -- because in order to think what we would do, we have to think about the very thing that we do not want to happen -- and we really do not want to think about that -- so we worry, in case it happens -- and that powerful subconscious of yours can do that automatically. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

But now you are going to learn a very clever and very special trick -- you are going to learn how to teach your subconscious mind to think in a different way -- and to start with I want you to think of that thing you thought of a few moments ago -- a thing that you are worrying about, maybe feeling stressed about -- and notice how it feels as you think about it.zzzzzzzzzzzz.

And now I want you to vividly imagine -- just as vividly as you can -- what you actually want to happen -- and, of course, I can't know what it is you're thinking about but I do know that whatever it is you can think of it in two ways -- the worst way and the best way -- and when you think of it in the worst way, all you can do is worry or stress about it... but if you think of it in the best way, you are thinking of what you actually want to happen -- you are thinking of a positive solution -- and then you can think about how you might be able to move towards that positive solution -- how to make that thing turn out exactly that way you want it to. zzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

And notice how different that thing feels this time, as you think about what you actually want to happen -- so that you've actually changed the way you feel just by thinking a thought -- and it's an interesting thing that as you teach your subconscious mind how to think about things in that best way, you are more likely to find a way of making a positive change to the things you worry about -- if you think about what you actually want to happen, rather than what you fear will happen -- you can teach your subconscious mind to look for answers -- so that it's completely true that if you think about what you actually want to happen the thing that you fear will be less likely to happen. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Of course, it's true that sometimes, we have no control over a thing that's going to happen -- but even then, we can think of it in two ways -- the worst way and the best way -- and the best way is to just know that whatever happens, it is simply a part of life that you will find the best way to deal with -- a part of life that will before long become a thing of the past -- as everything does -- and it is a fact that whether we worry about a thing or whether we do not worry about a thing -- when that thing happens it immediately become a thing of the past -- just as you arriving here today is now a thing of the past -- and it might even be that you worried about that -- yet all is well -- and all remains well -- and from now on you're going to discover that it becomes easier and easier for you to think about what you actually want to happen instead of what you fear might happen -- and as you teach that subconscious mind to think of what you want to happen, it will begin to find solutions to problems, turning a setback to an advantage, more often than not. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

At the beginning of this blog I asked you to imagine how wonderful it would be to be this relaxed whenever you want to be --and as you imagine that now -- a special part of you, in the depths of your subconscious mind -- the special part of you that knows just what to do and just how to do it -- is even now beginning to stir -- and become more active -- and that activity will steadily increase -- with each and every passing day -- until you automatically choose the best way of thinking -- every time -- automatically find the answers to problems -- every time. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

And now it's time for me to bring this Hypno-Don post to an end --

Hypno-Don

I would like you to make yourself comfortable... put your feet on the floor, rest your hands on your thighs... and half-close your eyes.

I would like you to be aware of your breathing... notice the shallow and uneven way you are breathing. I wonder if you can consciously make your breathing slower, and deeper?

So take a deep breath in, and let it out... you will notice that with each breath you take, your body is relaxing... inhale... exhale... take a deep breath, in and out. Let your body relax... and while you are breathing, you may notice that all the tension is going out of your body, and you are feeling more and more relaxed, comfortable, and at ease.

And as you continue to pay attention to your breathing... I would like you to imagine that you are hovering over an ocean. I would like you look down at the beautiful water... to look down at this vast boundless ocean... notice its color... pay attention to the emotions you feel when you look at it.

And as you continue to look at this ocean of stillness... allow your awareness to expand indefinitely... until it too becomes like a vast, deep ocean of calmness.

And I wonder if you can consciously allow this boundless ocean of calmness to expand even further. Knowing that every feeling thought and body sensation will allow you to go even deeper into a boundless and unlimited calmness. Knowing that every noise outside of this room, and inside of this room, will help you to relax even further.

Knowing that every noise is just a signal for you to relax.

Imagine that you at the very bottom of this vast, infinite ocean... and your every thought, feeling and body sensation drift on the surface... passing by unaware of your presence underneath.

And as you stay deep down, relaxed, you may become aware of how your body is comfortable and mind calm... how all the tension has gone... how your breathing becomes slower.

And in a few seconds time, I'm going to post another blog... but before I do, I'd like you to remember that you can bring back this feeling of relaxation any time you want. I would like you to know that these feelings of calmness and peace and love will stay with you for the rest of the day... and for all the days and nights that follow.

Every day, you will become more focused on whatever you are doing... consequently your memory will improve... allowing you to remember all the information you need to remember... so every day you will feel more confident... more confident about your knowledge... more confident about your ability to cope..........