I'm Brian David Phillips, Ph.D., C.H. — an American-born Associate Professor at National Chengchi University in Taipei who has made Taiwan home for decades, alongside my wonderful wife, our daughter, and a menagerie of cats who graciously allow us to live with them. While my academic roots are in drama, literature, and communication, my true passion — and the work that defines me here — is trancework in its many forms.

I have been the Head Pastor of the Church of Universal Loving Tranceformation since 1989 but if that bit of information makes you think you know who I am and what I'm about, I suggest you slap a giant "Fnord" on that thought right now.

As a Certified Hypnotherapist, Board Certified Hypnotist, and hypnosis trainer, I’ve spent years exploring trance as both art and science. My specialties range from speed hypnosis to improvisational trancework, and from therapeutic approaches to the deeply playful and esoteric. I’ve developed methods for trancework that serve athletes, martial artists, dancers, and actors, helping them tap into vicarious experiential states that sharpen focus, unlock creativity, and push performance beyond ordinary limits. I also pioneer unique approaches such as Tarot Trance, metaphysical and occult trancework, and consenting adult erotic hypnosis — areas where imagination and transformation intersect in profound and sometimes delightfully surprising ways.

My stage hypnosis shows combine entertainment with education, blending laughter with genuine insight into the mind’s untapped potential. Offstage, I train others in advanced hypnotic techniques, passing along skills in speed inductions, deep trance facilitation, and experiential trancework. Whether working with performers, athletes, or curious seekers, I guide people into states where they can discover, play, and transform.

Beyond hypnosis, I’ve long championed interactive drama, founding the Interactive Dramas Archive in 1996 and later the Journal of Interactive Drama. My academic research and personal hobbies often circle back to the same fascination: how we create, inhabit, and reshape experience. That fascination also spills into my work designing Tarot decks, engaging with virtual reality, and exploring the evolving frontiers of human imagination in both scholarly and experiential contexts.

I have participated in numerous academic research projects in Artificial Intelligence and host numerous forums on virtual reality and AI in Taiwan.

At heart, whether on stage, in the classroom, or in the trance space, I am driven by a love of perception and transformation. Trancework is my craft, my laboratory, and my playground — and I invite others to step into that world with curiosity, courage, and a sense of wonder.