The Mysteries Of Hypnotism
A Compend of the General Claims Made by Professional Hypnotists.
Animal magnetism is the nerve-force of all human and animal bodies, and
is common to every person in a greater or less degree. It may be
transmitted from one person to another. The transmitting force is the
concentrated effort of will-power, which sends the magnetic current
through the nerves of the operator to the different parts of the body of
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his subject. It may be transmitted by and through the eyes, as well as
the finger tips, and the application of the whole open hands, to
different regions of the body of the subject, as well as to the mind.
The effect of this force upon the subject will depend very much upon the
health, mental capacity and general character of the operator. Its
action in general should be soothing and quieting upon the nervous
system; stimulating to the circulation of the blood, the brain and other
vital organs of the body of the subject. It is the use and application
of this power or force that constitutes hypnotism.
Magnetism is a quality that inheres in every human being, and it may be
cultivated like any other physical or mental force of which men and
women are constituted. From the intelligent operator using it to
overcome disease, a patient experiences a soothing influence that causes
a relaxation of the muscles, followed by a pleasant, drowsy feeling
which soon terminates in refreshing sleep. On waking, the patient feels
rested; all his troubles have vanished from consciousness and he is as
if he had a new lease of life.
In the true hypnotic condition, when a patient voluntarily submits to
the operator, any attempt to make suggestions against the interests of
the patient can invariably be frustrated by the patient.
Self-preservation is the first law of nature, and some of the best known
operators who have recorded their experiments assert that suggestions
not in accord with the best interest of the patient could not be carried
out. No one was ever induced to commit any crime under hypnosis, that
could not have been induced to do the same thing much easier without
hypnosis.
The hypnotic state is a condition of mind that extends from a
comparatively wakeful state, with slight drowsiness, to complete
somnambulism, no two subjects, as a rule, ever presenting the same
characteristics.
The operator, to be successful, must have control of his own mind, be in
perfect health and have the ability to keep his mind concentrated upon
the object he desires to accomplish with his subject.