Cody Horton, the self-pro- claimed World's Most Spellbind- ing Hypnotist, reads the flyer handed to me at a table set up in the lobby of the Elvis Cinemas in Littleton. This, I thought, should be interesting. Horton, a certified clinical hypnotherapist, bills her show as the "best high you'll ever have." While I'm not sure I can vouch for that (my high school years were eventful, to say the least), I can say that I had a good time watching and laughing. The show is an hour and a half of hypnotism at its funniest.

I have to admit I wasn't sure what to expect when I entered the movie theater. As I walked down the aisle I found a strobe light hitting my eyes and the sound of soft pop standards over the speaker system. (I later found out that the songs and the strobe light were employed as hypnotic elements). Once the show got started, 1 found myself watching 10 volunteers from the audience concentrating on the sound of her voice and falling into what appeared to be a deep sleep.

These people began to follow the assignments given to them as a group. The assignments varied from' becoming Martians conducting conversations in their native tongue to a ballet recital in which the plies and spins became second nature to them. As the show progressed, Horton began to give out more individual assignments, such as, two men dancing among the audience as female exotic dancers, and one guy imitating Michael Jackson dancing to "Beat It" (and you thought Stir of Echoes was scary).

When the show was over, I had the chance to ask a couple of the participants if they were actually hypnotized. One of them swore up and down that they couldn't remember a thing. While the other admitted to just going along with the show, he still contended that he was in a light trance. This piqued my curiosity and skepticism. I've never been one for the metaphysi- cal cultures in life. Sure, I've read my share of Carlos Castenada books, but I never put much stock in their mysticism. I don't read my horoscope (except for the Onion), never played with Tarot cards, or seen - much less talked to - a psychic. This is why I just wasn't sure what to think of Horton and her show. So in the name of objec- tive journalism, I took a big step and decided to be hypnotized.

At first I fell into all the cliches of hypnotism. Was I going to be crawling around barking like a dog and peeing on the first fire hydrant I saw, or would I forever cuckoo like the bird of the same name every time someone said the word clock?

One thing I did know was that she wasn't going to come out with a scarf on her head and a thick Eastern European accent telling me to "Follow the pendulum ... yes ... yes ... you are feeling verrry sleepy." So I asked her to give me a little background information on the subject. She told me that advertisers use hypnosis all the time. They get you to fix on objects, add music to soothe the mind and colors that people identi- fy with, and they end up telling the subconscious mind that "this is' me, this is what I want to do."

Horton defines hypnosis as "a heightened stale of awareness, concentrated state of mind, and fixation of the mind on one idea only with exclusion of all else. People keep thinking that it will be an unconscious or weird feeling. Everybody experiences it in a dif- ferent fashion." She claims that it can be used to aid in various things from smoking cessation to painless childbirth (great! no more Lamaze classes). Cody likened it to watching a football game, and focusing on the game to the extent that you shout at the TV screen, even though the players can't hear you. In other words, you're just zoning out.

This helped relieve my appre- hension, and as it turned out, delving into my subconscious mind was more relaxing than mesmeriz- ing. Even though I wouldn't say I was completely hypnotized, I did find myself completely relaxed with my body numb and my mind clear. If you're a skeptic like me, I would recommend giving hypnosis a shot.

And whether you're a believer or not, Horton's comedy show is hilarious and entertaining. It's worth the money for the entertainment.

If you're a brave soul, you just might try volunteering to be hypnotized.