By Mary Windsor, Staff Writer

Published in print Nov.5, 2014

This past Tuesday, Oct.28, UNCG and the Campus Activities Board hosted hypnotist Paul Ramsay as one of the main Homecoming events.

The EUC Auditorium was packed and there were even students standing by the sides of the room so they could watch Ramsay’s show.

Paul Ramsay has visited UNCG for the past three consecutive years, alternating between Homecoming events and Rawkin’ Welcome Week.

Ramsy said college students are his favorite hypnotic subjects. He loves watching them transform into characters on stage and bring their own imagination and personality into the things they do.

“I do about 90 shows a year, but each show is different because the students bring their own individual creativity to the stage.”

During Tuesday night’s show, students became ballerinas, famous masked wrestlers, witnessed a man “give birth” and even thought that Iggy Azalea, popular Australian rapper, had graced the stage.

Ramsay began the show by explaining hypnotism and the power of suggestibility before going through a few simple relaxing exercises that tied into hypnotizing. 

He did not take volunteers but instead gave the whole crowd a chance to become hypnotized if they were open to the idea.

After about 20 minutes, those who had been hypnotized were told that they would forget their first names and would not be able to recall them for about five minutes.

He then snapped them out of their trance and asked the crowd to introduce themselves to each other while he went to grab a drink of water.

Those who could not remember their names were asked to come on stage where he was able to determine who could be hypnotized for the duration of the night.

This let the audience witness and experience the process of hypnosis themselves.

“Mind Games” a wildly popular interactive show that Paul Ramsay created and performs himself where the audience has the chance to pick and choose what the contestants on stage will be told to do next.

Although Tuesday’s show was all fun and games, Ramsay is a board certified hypnotist with the National Guild of Hypnotists.

When he’s not touring campuses across the continental United States, he sees clients in his home in New Hampshire and helps many overcome serious problems such as smoking and procrastination.

Ramsay’s interest and career in hypnotism started while he worked at a university.

After teaching high school English, he was a residence hall director at the University of New Hampshire from 1999 to 2004 where he would hire a retired hypnotist to perform for his students each year.

After speaking to the hypnotist for a couple of years, he offered to teach Ramsay his talent. This soon sparked his passion for hypnotism and made it a viable career path.

He jumped head first into the world of hypnotism and after being certified, has been doing it full-time since 2004.

“The mind is so much more powerful that most of us understand. I am reminded of this again and again when I see how people are transformed on stage by hypnosis,” said Ramsay.

According to Ramsay, hypnotism is not about controlling people, even though that is a misconception that he tries to break down in the beginning of his show.

Some people cannot get over their nervousness or negative thoughts associated with losing control. These are the participants who cannot be hypnotized.

Ramsay also tries to show people how it can be helpful and improve their life when used correctly and for the right reasons.

When Ramsay was practicing and training to become a professional hypnotist, he was hypnotized many times by his classmates so that he would know and understand exactly what his clients were going through.

One of his favorite things about his job is that he gets to entertain people while simultaneous giving them a new understanding of hypnosis.

He hypnotizes about 1,500 people each year during tours and even personal meetings with people in his home office.