m «55 - . ■ ■ ■ - * ' ' .^^f' I I •22* UM^vfaY*S ■■"■■■ ■ • ■ ■ SSShb^bMSeksS BBS §§8S &53E ■■I * * -..•■• Class Book. GOEXRIGHT DEPOSED COPYRIGHTED 1901 BY E. H. ANDERSON SECOND EDITION . MM THF Li8RARY OF CONGRESS, Two Copies Received MAY. 13 1901 COPYWGHT ENTRY CLAS^jUxXc. No. COPY 3. ^Psychical Development cAND The Philosophy of the 3^> Thought IN TWO TARTS WRITTE8NI 'BY A MENTAL SCIENTIST Published by E. H. ANDERSON. Toledo, Ohio, • • • • • PART ONE. Psychical Development A Treatise on the Philosophy of the New) Thought, Teaching the Science of Self-cMastery, Thought- Transference, Telepathy, and Mental Healing. CONTENTS PART ONE ist Lesson, Introduction: — Scope and Aim of This Science. The Necessity of It. General Principles. 2nd Lesson, Mind : — Theories Past and Present. Universal Intelligence. Individual Mind. 3rd Lesson, Sub-Conscious Faculty of the Mind: — Proofs of its Activity. Characteristics. Definitions. 4th Lesson, The Will: — Theories. Conscious and Uncon- scious Will. Metaphysical Definition of the Will. Its Cultivation. Exercises. 5th Lesson, Intention: — What is it? Its use in Psychical De- velopment. Concentration. Cultivation of Power of Exercising Strong Intention. Exercises. 6th Lesson, Confidence : — In Self, In Others. Necessity of Confidence in Yourself — Others Confidence in You. How to Cultivate It. Exercises. 7th Lesson, Hypnotism: — Its Origin and Development. His- tory of its Development in the Race. History of Mod- ern Hypnotic Schools. Definition. 8th Lesson, Hypnotism: — Various Phenomena (stages) and How to Produce Them. Methods of Use as a Ther- apeutic Agent. Practical Suggestions. 9th Lesson, Suggestion : — Definition. Its Power. How to Give Them. How to Refuse Them. Self-Mastery Through Auto-Suggestion. 10th Lesson, Suggestive Therapeutics: — In the Ancient World. Middle Ages. Modern use of Suggestion as a Thera- peutic Agent. Hypnotic Suggestion. Suggestion in Waking State. Practical Application. nth Lesson, Magnetism: — Early Theories. Does Vital Mag- netism Really Exist? Metaphysics of the Theory of Magnetism. Its Application in the Cure of Diseases. 12th Lesson, Science of Healing: — Application of the General Principles, Confidence, Suggestion, etc. How to Treat Special Diseases. 13th Lesson, Personal Magnetism: — What it is and How to Cultivate it. Necessity of its Cultivation in Modern Life. 14th Lesson, Thought Transference : — Nature of Thought Vibrations. How to Direct a Thought. Exercises. Use in Therapeutics and Business. 15th Lesson, Telepathy: — Definition. Use. Exercise. PART TWO 1st Lesson, Brief History of Hypnotism as an Art. Universal Application of Principles. 2nd Lesson, Schools of Hypnotism with their Various Theories. 3rd Lesson, Phenomena of Hypnotism with Methods of Pro- ducing Them. 4th Lesson, Instantaneous Hypnotism. 5th Lesson, Hypnotism as a Therapeutic Agent. . 6th Lesson, Self-Hypnotism, Its Uses. 7th Lesson, Use of Hypnotism in Business and Society. 8th Lesson, Stage Hypnotism. 9th Lesson, Philosophy of Hypnotism. ioth Lesson, Stray Thoughts on the Subject. LESSON NUMBER ONE. INTRODUCTION. When there is a clearly defined plan of procedure in any new field of inquiry, the progress will be much more rapid and the results proportionately increased in satisfaction. In com- mencing a course of study on the mind and its phenomena or manifestations, it is well for the student to have made plain to him just what is the purpose and aim of his investigations. Otherwise he may waste much valuable time in useless and un- necessary conjecture, and be lead astray in the veritable laby- rinth of metaphysical speculation that will be presented to him at the very outset. The study of practical psychology, occult science, applied mental science, or whatever name may be used, has for its aim and purpose the betterment of the condition of \J the individual ; through the betterment of the individual, the betterment of those around him ; and thus the uplifting of the entire race. The phrase "betterment of condition" in this con- nection, is used in the broadest imaginable sense. The aim is not only to benefit the student in matters of health, but in every other way. Health is essential to happiness. So we will give special attention to the laws governing it. We will teach you how to attain your health, or in case you are diseased, we will teach you how to comply with certain laws by which health may be restored. Each and every one of us has within ourselves the power to regenerate ourselves. When you have learned the potency of this power within you for the cure of all your ail- ments, you will also know how to use it for the accomplishment of any other purpose. By cultivating it and by relying upon it you can attain self mastery. When you have that, nothing is wanting. You are complete. All these things come to you through your reliance on self; and self reliance is but reliance on the universal intelligence manifesting itself in you. So this science has a noble aim ; the uplifting of the individual and the betterment of the entire race. Practical psychology, or mental science endeavors to be log- ical in all its reasoning. It is friendly to all forms of investiga- tion; history, anthropology and metaphysics. Especially to these, because it is the cream of all the metaphysical and phil- osophical investigations of the past. From the time of So- crates to the present, nearly all the really great, philosophers have comprehended some of the truths that go to make up the science you are about to study. There are dangers in metaphysical speculation; there are many pitfalh covered over with what appears firm soil; there are many roads leading to the pitfalls, and some to enjoyment. It is well that the student has some general knowledge of the subject before he enters into any special investigation. He should confine himself to that phase of philosophy and meta- physics that can be submitted to a test in every day life. In pursuing this be sure to become familiar with the methods of reasoning, and gain a certain degree of self mastery in the realm of thought. There is a veritable labyrinth of metaphysical and phil- osophical theories ; to the student that has not been trained in the methods of correct reasoning, it is a world of confusion. He does not know what to believe or what to reject. The last theory appears most plausible. Finally he becomes desperate and determines that he must be some thing and decides he is of a certain school. Arguments are brought against him that he cannot refute. He perhaps becomes discouraged, gives up his investigations, and believes philosophy is all a myth. It is our purpose in this lecture to familiarize the student with some of these theories and point out a method by which he can become master of himself; and point out to him how it is possible for him to gain light on all forms of investigation, not simply philosophy ; and also give him guidance and council. We hope to teach him his position in the Cosmos. What he is, whence he came ; and also let him know that he is in a great measure the maker of his destiny. Psychology is that branch of metaphysics which has for its subjects the infinite variety of states and modifications of the mind, or the various phenomena of the soul. Mental facts are the ones that lie nearest to us, yet they are among the very last to be recognized and studied. Man thought for a long time before he became conscious of the fact that he was thinking. There was a decidedly unique advancement made in psychical development when he became conscious of his own existence. When at some time he recog- nized the force of an idea to which he had not given origin, he first comprehended that there was something outside of him- self. This was the birth of individualism, and the first recogni- tion of the egoism, or extreme individuality that we see mani- fested among us today. It is commonly said that at this time, man became conscious of himself. While this is only partially true, we will use the expression, reserving the privilege of ex- plaining our true position at some time later in these lessons. It was the attainment of this self-consciousness that raised prim- itive men above the beast. In the animal the self is not yet dis- covered to the self. The beast performs the ordinary acts necessary to its existence and well being, not because it pos- sesses a conscious knowledge that such acts are necessary or advisable, but simply because it is impelled by an immutable law of nature to do them, by what we commonly call instinct. When the wild beast experiences the sensation of hunger, it goes forth to seek food ; not because it knows the food will i/ appease its hunger, but because it is so constituted, subject to the laws of instinct, that it is driven forth to obtain the food necessary for its existence. But what is instinct? What is the nature of this irresist- able impulse? Whence its origin? We will give these ques- tions a careful consideration for reason that this force of in- stinct is in man, and we must understand it thoroughly before we can understand ourselves ; and without understanding our- selves we cannot hope to master ourselves. It has often been said, that we really never know what this unreasoning instinct of the animal is, because we can never enter the mind of the animal to see what operations are there taking place. But I maintain that we can know and can almost thoroughly under- stand the mental acts of the lower animals for reason that we are animals endowed with certain additional attributes that make us men. Man is an epitome of the race. He has all that the animal has, with the one especial faculty of watching himself by what we call introspection. Many of our sensations and passions are clearly the same with those of the lower animals, connected with precisely the same physical organisms, and capable of being studied and judged by the same methods and criteria. When, by the practice of introspection, we contem- plate the process of our thinking, reason, deliberation and also recognize the emotional and instinctive promptings, it is al- most impossible to consider man as a single conscious per- sonality. Tennyson's poem "The Two Voices" is no poetic exaggeration of the quality of which we are conscious when we attend to the mental operations of our complex nature. It is as if there were within us one being always receptive of sug- gestion, and always responding in the form of impulse (sub- conscious) and another being capable of passing these sugges- tions before it, and of allowing or disallowing the impulse to which they give rise. It requires no careful consideration to discern the difference between the lower animals in which onlv one of these voices speak, and man who by long ages of develop- ment has attained that position, where, as it were, he is able to distinguish the sound of both voices. In the beast the one voice speaks as impulsive instinct ; in man, one speaks as im- pulse, and one as conscious deliberation. There is no indi- cation in the lower animals of this double personality, while there is every indication that in harkening to the one voice every law of their being is fulfilled. For a long time in the early development of the race, man had no more psychical development than the beast. But when he became individually self-conscious he entered upon a new and grander career. It is this birth of this conscious person- ality that is indicated in the Bible, where it says that after forming man out of the dust of the earth, God "breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul." Since then, step by step, man has made his way. Advancing and then falling back, only to gain a new footing to advance again, and in the main, always making progress. He has advanced necessarily. There is a power within him urging him on. It is the soul seeking to assert* itself, al- ways trying to manifest itself in the objective world. All the beautiful paintings, statues, and poems, all the great monuments of architectural skill, all the wonderful inven- tions, the steamship, railroad, and telegraph, in fact all the beautiful and useful things that man has made are but the ex- pressions of the self, the results of the universal intelligence manifesting itself through the individual. It is only at a very recent date that this study of the mind has been granted a place among exact sciences. It has been studied from time immemorial, but the advance was very slow until the existence of both the sub-conscious and individually conscious minds were recognized. The theory now almost demonstrated as a fact, is that there are two parts of the mind of man, or as a matter of convenience, we may say, two minds, commonly called the conscious and sub-conscious. We however, prefer the terms sub-conscious and individ- ually conscious. By the term sub-conscious we do not mean unconscious ; for we believe all mind to be conscious. This term is used rather to indicate that phase of our life which is as yet below the pale of our individually conscious mind. The high development of the individually conscious mind, is the one attainment that raises man above the beast in the scale of psychical unfoldment. It is the one used in the con- scious superintendence of our bodily action, in all acts of inten- tion and in inductive reasoning. The sub-conscious mind is one with the universal mind. It is the immortal part of man, it is the soul. This phase of the universal mind that is functioning as the sub-conscious mind is amenable to the power of suggestion. It has direct control of all our bodily functions. It is upon its condition that our physical, social and financial welfare depends ; it being amen- able to control by the power of suggestion opens up to us a vast opportunity for investigation and development. It is said thai, "all power to create or destroy is in the mind." This is true. There is nothing in the universe that can control matter but mind. All one needs to do to attain any legitimate ambition is to learn how to control the forces acting within himself, learn how to direct the action of the sub-conscious faculty of the mind. It is the purpose of these lessons to teach this in a practical manner. Endeavor to grasp the one thought at the outset, that mind alone is capable of controlling matter, and that all power to create or to destroy is in the mind. LESSON NUMBER TWO. Mind. What is mind? What is matter? Are they one and the same substance, or are they substances at all? If they are, and different, how are they related? These questions have always been bugbears in the domain of metaphysical inquiry, and on the different answers given, have arisen various schools of Philosophy. These various schools may be classed under the three dis- tinctive titles ; Materialism, Idealism and Dualism. We take this opportunity to urge each student, after read- ing these lessons, to secure a good history of Philosophy, and familiarize himself with the principles of the various schools. It will be a very pleasant field of study and result in much good. It would be advisable to read the works of the writers them- selves, if one has the time, for one cannot well afford to be ignorant of the life and the works of such men. "Materialism is the doctrine, that the mental subject is nothing substantial, and that mental facts are produced by the physical organism." Mind is a function of power; atoms and forces beget ideas, which are material entities. What we recognize as consciousness is only a series of the results of the material actions. Briefly stated Matter has latent within itself the promise and potency of Mind. Thought is simply a lunc- tion of organism. Materialism is the mechanical theory of the universe. The first traces of materialism as a system of philosophy, are to be found in Greece in the time of Leucippus and Demo- critus. These two thinkers named being the chief exponents of the theory. Their philosophy was atomistic and sought to comprehend all phenomena as products of matter and motion. The next great thinker who accepted this great material- ise view was Epicurus. But the Epicurian school differed in some narticulars from that of Democritus. From this time a supernatural element is found in every philosophical theory advanced until the 17th century when Materialism was revived. In the beginning of the 17th century there was an attempt made to combine Materialism with Christianity. Gassendi and Priestley being among the best known advocates of this unique attempt to harmonize two directly opposed systems of belief. Among the advocates of Materialism in England may be named, Hobbs, Hartley, Spencer and Tindal. Among the French we find Holbeck and Comte. In Germany, where the doctrine of Materialism was readily accepted, a host of men came forward to champion the cause. Men distinguished for their advance in physical, especially biological research; such men as Herbert, Moleschott and Vogt. Opposed to Materialism is the great school of Idealism, which denotes the existence of object apart from subject, and both apart from God as the absolute. Ideas beget atoms and iorces. Material phenomena are only phases of conscious- ness. Mind has within itself the power and potency of matter. Idealism denies the existence of bodies, holding that their ap- pearances are merely ideas of the cogitative subject. In this system of Philosophy there are two hypothesis that are commonly considered to be in some degree antagonistic. They are the subjective and objective schools. The former, Subjective Idealism teaches that the perception of objects is simply an idea in the individual mind. The latter, Objective Idealism, teaches that God is the author of all things that all we recognize as perception, sensation, etc., i. e., everything exists only in the mind of God. Man, the stars, the universe, all, is but a thought in the infinite mind. All the phenomena that we recognize as action, may be said to be 'God thinking." Zeno of Elea in the ancient world, was the forerunner of modern Idealism. The theory of Zeno underwent many changes, and finally reappeared in a modified form in the ideal- ism of Plato. The Philosophical writings of Locke, Descartes, Spinoza and Leibnitz are all more or less directly along this line of Idealism. Berkeley, of a later date, revived the waning interest in these men's writings, and thus did much to revive Idealism. In Germany, Fichte, Schelling and Hegel are the founders of the three great schools of Idealism flourishing there, called respectively the Subjective, Objective and Absolute. For Fichte (subjective) the object does not exist apart trom the subject, in fact it has no real existence at all, it is en- tirely dependent upon the subjective ; the not-self, is but a pro- duct of the self. For Schelling (objective) the object and subject are equally real, equally manifestations of the self or absolute. Hegel (absolute) denies the reality of ego and non-ego, but recognizes them as the same and are real only in relation. Also being and non-being are the same. This he considers as giving two contraries, and judges there must be a relation to make them real. By uniting these two contraries we will have a unit. In these unique ideas of Hegel, there is a Being that is evolved, and a non-being from which it is evolved. Under these three hypothesis just considered, all the var- ious schools of Idealism may be classed. Opposed to both the Materialist and the Idealist is the Dualist, who teaches that Mind and Matter co-exist and are co- eternal. Mind being transcendent and ruling matter. Matter is a real, inert, passive, space-filling substance ; while again, Mind is the mysterious force that sways it and controls it. It is the power, mind, or law resident in the atoms, that produces the phenomena known as chemical affinity. All life and action everywhere are but manifestations of this Infinite Mind, the crystal, the dewdrop, the violet, the aemarba, the whole animal kingdom, including man, are but the material garments of this power or force we call Mind. Mind is everywhere making its habitance. It is of little practical importance what views we hold in regard to the reality of things. We all accept them as real, and in all our actions we are very much the same in spite of the tenet of our faith. There is a general acceptance of the reality of matter. All tribes of men in savagery, barbarism and civilization, with almost universal agreement, have recog- nized such a substance, and have so expressed it in their actions and recorded it in their language. If matter is but "concentrated mind," as some of our philosophical friends would have us believe, it is still real. I sometimes think that a thought is the most intensely real thing in the universe ; although I believe in the reality of matter as distinct from mind. It seems to me that there must be something besides mat- ter. I cannot agree with the ivlaterialist and believe that Mind is but a function of organism, ana to use a very old expression, that "the brain secretes thought in some such manner as the liver secretes bile." The Materialist makes his claim on the tact of the cellular combustion in the brain at time of thinking ; he maintains that thought is simply a result of this combustion, that it is simply transformation of energy. But I think and feel ; and I must have something, or there must be some- thing that is capable of performing this act. There can be no thought without a "thinker." What then is it that thinks and ieels ? The brain ? This organ might in some way produce the thought, but we cannot say it thinks the thought. In the 18th, and especially the latter part of the 19th century the doctrine Materialism was very wide spread. In France and Ger- many the belief in it was very general. In opposition to the extreme views of Materialism thus commonly taught, and as a reaction from them, arose the doctrine of pure uniism as it exists today. One phase of this reaction against Materialism may be found in the sect known as Christian Scientists. None of these views as taught in the regular schools, meets with my approval. I recognize the arguments that are ad- vanced by the Idealist, but sometimes I think they are too much given to unprofitable speculation. Rather than consider why I do not accept what others believe, I will now give my own theory. Mind is universal. It possesses the power of expressing itself through matter which is a passive, inert, space-filling sub- stance. Mind expressed itself in the beginning by changes in the star dust, or matter in the primeval state : atoms perhaps were formed ; the universal mind was simply expressing itself. That portion of mind, if I may use the expression, that is directlv functioning or expressing itself by control of the smallest portion of matter, we may call a monad. This monad pos- sesses within itself all the powers and possibilities of the Uni- versal Mind, of which it is a part. "Eternal progression is the law of life." The monads develop. By developing they are simply giving expression to the universal intelligence. For countless ages this development has gone on. As a result, we have the universe as it is at the present moment. With the beginning of their development, the circumstances surrounding the monads' field of operation were rendered more complex. No two monads were given precisely the same environment, consequently the expression would be different. So we have as a result of this very first step in evolution, all the various phenomena of nature. As the development goes on, the environment becomes still more and more complex and the phenomena more varied. (2) Man is all mind. He is one with the universal intelli- gence. He is expressing himself on the material plane. He builds his own dwelling place. Thought is the body builder. An infinite number of monads, in the beginning all acting in harmony. Peace being universal, the monads unfold. They unfold along the line of least resistance, in other words, they express themselves in the only way possible, in the way deter- mined by their environment. The development is for a time without any want of harmony; but as the differentiations be- come more and more varied, new avenues of expression are opened, soon a monad recognizes the force of an idea, to which it has not given origin ; there is a clash ; these monads cease to vibrate in harmony — there is discord. This discord is recog- nized in a hazy, indirect way; but as the monad develops, it comeb to think itself more and more distinct from the world of life around it. It has now commenced to function on the plane of individualism. It has ceased to vibrate in harmony with the universal nfind. It attempts to live for self, and antagonizes all else. It is attempting to isolate itself from the source of all its power. It is trying, as it were, to separate the conscious self from the real self. It cannot do so and exist. It is impossible for it to withdraw completely to itself. It is but an expression of the universal intelligence ; and to isolate itself from that in- telligence means annihilation. Man is a product of this psychical evolution. All evolution is psychical. He has evolved from the universal consciousness into what he considers this proud sphere of individual self- con- sciousness. He has come to look upon himself as something distinct. It was the attainment of this high stage of individual consciousness that raised him above the beast. We sometimes read about the "self-consciousness." The term is wrongly used To be self-conscious is to know your- self. You can know yourself only by knowing your relation to all else in the infinite universe. Then individual intelligence merges into universal intelligence. Man is one with the Infinite, he has within himself all the powers and attributes of the Infinite, limited only by his indi- viduality. For man to make any great and rapid advancement, he should be conscious of this power ; and remove all hindrance to his full and complete action. He should cast aside all fears and doubts, and getg; in tune with the Infinite. Allow the uni- versal mind to express itself through him, without any resis- tence from his conscious mind or from false suggestions. "Eternal progression is the law of life." All the forces of nature, of God, are helping him who puts himself in rapport with this Soul of the Race that is trying so strongly to express itself. Man has made his progress, not because he willed and in- tended it, but because he has been unconsciously giving ex- pression to the Soul of the Race. All the individual needs do is to keep in rapport with this force and direct it by his conscious mind, and he will accomplish all that he may desire. This thought is expressed most beautifully in Revelations, where Christ is quoted as saying, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock." This was the Christos of Jesus speaking. Jesus was in almost perfect tune with the Infinite Intelligence that is the father of us all. The Christos is the power in mind that tends to make us better. It is the power that sustains us in all our troubles and misfortunes. This wonderful power is always endeavoring to help us. It is ceaselessly knocking. All we need to do is to clear ourselves of false suggestions ; give the influence no con- scious resistence, and this Christos will become more perfectly manifested in us. Our trouble will vanish, and the smile will come back to the faded cheek. We will experience the blessing of peace with all mankind, and full of the consciousness of our true selves, each will look out over the vastness of mind and rec- ognizing it as the self, realize that, "I am that I am." "Be still and know that I am God." LESSON NUMBER THREE. Sub-conscious Faculties of the Mind* Primitive man could not at all understand himself, there were so many strange phenomena within his own body. I sometimes imagine I can almost see these thinkers of the an- cient world, sitting alone in the silence, trying to solve these knotty problems. "What is life? Whence this power that enables me to move and think ?" I can almost imagine that I can catch the tenor of their thoughts. Those old men were near to nature's heart ,and often would discern some of her choicest truths. They felt the power of many truths, of which they were not aware. They would sometimes write, and their writings would bear the marks of inspiration. Those old time men were inspired ; to be inspired means simply "to be close to Nature," so close as to feel her heart throb. They wrote much more profoundly than they knew. They were altogether uncon- scious of their inspiration. They were in harmony with the universe. But there were many phenomena that they could not un- derstand. These men were not schooled to consciously apply the abstract knowledge of nature that they unconsciously pos- sessed. It was a strange world ; the trees and flowers so beautiful and friendly ; the lightning and whirlwinds so awful and threat- ening; the winter so cruel; the spring time and- summer so kind. Life so enjoyable they could not say why; but oh, the pleasures of existence ! — and death so remorseless and sorrowful. Then they would sleep, mystery of mysteries so strange ; and in those bleeps they would see such wonderful things ; visit such beauti- ful lands ; sometimes enter the home of their god. So many strange things they could not understand. All the acts of the human body were inexplicable until a comparatively recent date. The only theory that offers any satisfactory explanation of these various phenomena, is the quality of mind theory. This has been so generally accepted among thinking men, and the tenets of this belief are so rational that it is hardlv longer considered a theory, but one of the facts in psychical investigations, We accept it as if it were a fact, and our work is based upon it ; but for the benefit of those who have not considered this subject carefully, we will give it the attention it merits under existing circumstances. There are two parts of the mind of man, the individually conscious and the sub-conscious. I believe it is all one mind, or rather the different modes of manifestations of the universal intelligence or infinite mind. The individually conscious mind may be very briefly considered in this connection. It is simply ihe conscious superintendent of our voluntary acts. It has the privileges of deciding on all suggestions that are given to the mind. It has been evolved out of the simply conscious. There are two statements that may be made concerning the sub-con- scious that will clearly indicate something of its attributes and functions. First. It has direct control of all the functions of the body. Kvery act of our body, no matter how simple or complex, is brought about through the action of this phase of ourself that as yet lies outside our individual consciousness. Second. It is amenable to control by the power of sugges- tion. It is com roiled entirely by suggestion. This is almost proved by various hypnotic phenomena. There are several other important attributes of this inner self that we will con- sider <=oon, but just now we will view the reasons for believing the statements just made. The first statement, that the sub- conscious mind controls the various functions of the body, such as the beating of the heart, flow of the secretions, the actions of the so-called involuntary muscles, is true, or else there is resi- dent in the various organs the power of decision ; the power to determine when and how to act. I feel safe in saying that none of my enlightened readers believe that when some object is suddenly thrust before the open eyes and the lids are instantly closed that the decision to close them is made in the lids them- selves in a "materialistic" way. You may say that the lids are controlled by a nerve center ; that the external stimulus acts on the sensory nerve, which conveys the im- pression to this controlling nerve center, which responds by sending a message along a motor nerve to close the lids. All very well, your explanation is all very good so far as it goes. All this can be learned in any work on physiology. But one question yet remains. What causes the nerve center to respond ? Is it simply reflex, and can it be explained on the old physiological basis alone? No, these phenomena, that so long baffled our attempts to investigate, can be explained only by recognizing the law of the unconscious. The closing of the lid^ are brought about by the action of the sub-conscious mind, act- ing through the nerves and nerve center. "There is nothing in the universe that controls matter but mind." We believe in the infinite mind. Every act that is performed in the universe is brought about by the action of this universal intelligence. It is simply expressing itself through our bodies. It acts in ac- cordance with the suggestions given it by the individually con- scious mind, and by those taken from environment and mem- ory. Nothing ever happens by chance. There is always an irresistable impulse back of every act ; and that act was per- formed in the manner it was, simply because there was no other way in which it could be done ; for all action must be the result of suggestion. (Not simply of one, but the resultant of many.) Take as an example of the subject we are considering, the beating of the heart. It beats without any attention from the conscious mind. Day and night it performs its duty without anv regard to the employment of the man. By intention, the rate of pulsation can be increased or diminished. There must De something more than reflex action here. If not, what is the nature of the reflex action ? By the experiments of vivisection some very conclusive data have been obtained, in agreement with the theory we are now advocating. Frogs that have been decapitated and placed near a pool of water make every effort to get to the water. They may be forced in an opposite direction, but they are no sooner at liberty than they turn again towards the place of refuge. Is this simply reflex action? It depends on our meaning of the term. Most of us are almost entirely ignorant of our true selves. We are too much inclined towards some materialistic idea of life, yet we would be severely shocked if one were to designate us a "materialist." People are in a measure loosening themselves from the clasp of the violent Materialism of a few years ago. Yet we find many survivals of the doctrine in the general belief, as for instance, in the view that "the mind influences the body, and in turn the body influences the mind," I do not deny the truth of this statement, but I consider its general acceptance as being the results of an attempt to harmonize Materialism with the belief that seems most natural to man, viz. : that the mind controls the body. I would not have the student think of himself as composed of two distinct parts, as the conscious and the sub-conscious minds. Neither do I want him to think of himself as one mind, and limit that mind to the conscious faculty and a definite amount of mind that goes to make up his conscious and sub- conscious self. What I want you to do is to grasp the force of the idea that you are an expression of the universal intelli- gence. A manifestation of the infinite life principle. The mind of a man cannot be circumscribed. It is infinite ; it is without bounds. I hope that this idea is impressed upon you so you will understand the metaphysics of such phenomena as are called reflex actions, involuntary motions, etc., and know that they are but the expressions of this infinite force, that is the life of the animal; and both the conscious and sub-conscious mind of man. This sub-conscious mind of man has a number of very important functions and attributes. We will give them some special attention. The greater part of these special characteris- tics could be given in one single sentence, such as, "It controls all the functions of the body;" but for convenience in what will follow, we make the division as will be set forth in this lesson. There could perhaps be other and more complex^ divisions offered, but for the practical use of the student, the most im- portant attributes are given in the following statements made concerning it: ist — 1$. is amenable to control by the power of suggestion. 2nd. — It controls all the muscles commonly called invol- untary. 3rd. — It controls all the various secretions of the body. 4th. — It has entire control of the circulation of the blood. 5th. — It asserts itself and controls the body whenever the. objective or individually conscious mind is asleep or otherwise engaged. 6th. — It is the store house of the mind, i. e., it has a per- fect memory. 7th. — It is capable of arriving at logical conclusions by deductions from any given premise, whether that premise is talse or true. It is incapable of reasoning by induction. An anthropomorphic God himself could not reason by this method. 8th. — It has absolute control of matter; that is, it has the power to move material objects without the agencies of a phys- ical body. 9th. — It is the seat of emotions. 4 loth. — It is the sub-conscious mind that expresses itself in all work of art, music, painting, statuary, etc. No work cf art is the result of cerebrial action alone. nth. — It has an intuitive perception of the laws of nature, and revolts at their violation, and endeavors to recall the one that is violating the law to his former condition of harmony. 1 2th. — It increases in power as the vigor of the body and conscious mind decreases. 13th. — It has the power of communicating with other minds otherwise than through the ordinary methods. This power of communication is called telepathy and thought trans- ference. 14th. — The sub-conscious faculty of the mind is one with rhe universal intelligence and is immortal. (1.) The first of these is demonstrated by the phenomena of hypnotism. It is not necessary to give it special attention here, as it will be treated in detail in another place in these lessons. This power of suggestion over the sub-conscious mind is most wonderful, and merits each student's careful in- vestigation. By its proper use in what is known as Suggestive Therapeutics, he is able to relieve his fellows of their ailments. And by what is called Auto-Suggestion, or suggestion to self, he can keep his body in perfect health and benefit himself in any other way. (2-3-4.) The second, third and fourth statements have been considered in general in another place in these lessons, and it is not necessary to dwell on them here. It is because of these functions of the sub-conscious, that suggestion is so potent for the cure of disease. (5.) The truth of the fifth statement is demonstrated in the phenomena of sleep and dreams. Dreams are creations of the sub-conscious. The nature of the dream depending upon the nature of the suggestion that calls it into being. (6.) No one ever forgets a single thing he has ever known. J All the thoughts we have ever thought, all the things we have ever heard others speak, all the things we have ever read, in fact, c'll the perceptions, sensations, etc., that we have ever exper- ienced, either consciously or unconsriously, are "written and stored away" in this sub-conscious mind. Memory is perfect ; but we are not always able to recall. It would be very interesting tor the student to give the meta- physics of memory a careful consideration. (7.) This statement requires no comment. Those ac- quainted with the two methods of reasoning, (Induction and Deduction) see at a glance now an infinite mind cannot use the inductive method. (8.) This brings us into the realm of controversy. People who believe in magnetism, spiritualism, or various other forms of belief, take exception to this assertion ; but we maintain that the table lifting in the sceance is performed by the power of mind over* matter. Remember, nothing in the universe has the power to control matter but mind. (9.) All the emotions have their origin in the unconscious part of us. No one ever loved with the cerebrum. The old question "What is love?" can be easily and scientifically ans- wered by those who study the philosophy of this phase of our mind of which we are almost unconscious. (10.) Just as the sub-conscious is the home of the emo- tions, so is it the home or origin of all artistic impulse and senti- ment. A musician does not give forth the enchanting music from the conscious mind. It is but an expression from the In- finite. The sub-conscious asserts itself and for the time con- trols the player. He is unconscious of the mechanical part of the playing or execution. The same is true of poets. In fact, all artists are temporarily insane while doing their greatest work. To be insane is simply to experience a condition in which the sub-conscious is allowed to control one without direc- tion from the conscious mind. (ii.) There is a force in mind that tends to cause us to become once more in rapport after we have in a measure be- come estranged or isolated. It is this force endeavoring to recall us, Nature endeavoring to heal a psychical wound which we call conscience. Conscience is no guide ; it is to the mind what pain is to the body ; and is just as friendly. It may be a guide if we think of its action after the committal of former evil acts. But then it is not the conscience that is guiding us. That would be but memory recalling the pangs of conscience, and not the conscience itself. (12.) The power of the sub-conscious is increased as the power of the conscious mind decreases. Stories are told of a little Tyrol girl, who very early in life was taken to a for- eign land and taught to speak a strange tongue. She lost all knowledge of her native dialect ; could not recall a word of the language of her youth. When she was very old, and dying, she spoke to her friends in that language she had not used for so manv years. She sang parts of little melodies that she used to sing in Tyrol so many years ago. As the conscious mind became weak, the sub-conscious was allowed to express itself, and having a perfect memory it sent forth those words and melodies the woman had so long been unable to express. (13.) Thought is vibration. The sub-conscious is one with the universal intelligence. Therefore, what I know, all others know. And sub-consciously I know all that is in the in- finite mind. Telepathy is that unconscious connection between different individualized "portions" of mind. When this power is directed by the intention of the conscious mind, it is called "thought transference." (14.) By the very first principles of our theory this last statement must be true. All mind is eternal. The sub-con- scious faculty of the mind of man is but an expression of the universal intelligence and must be immortal. LESSON NUMBER FOUR. The Will. There is a poverty of words with definite meaning in the language of Philosophy. A writer may coin new words, or adopt some old ones from the ordinary speech and give them a technical meaning. But all such words must conform to some standard common to the entire language. All such special words must be capable of being redeemed in language that can be understood by the common people. Words taken from ordinary language and adopted by philosophy often retain that popular meaning and prove to be inadequate to convey distinct ideas. This trouble might in some way be obviated, but the writers on philosophical subjects themselves use words too indiscriminately. Some of them using one word to convey two or more distinct ideas. Philosophy speaks the language of all nations in civilization ; and there are many errors in the translation, so there is great confusion. If one should use such a word as sense, concept, consciousness, force, purpose, intention or will, we would necessarily have to ask with what meaning he used the word before we could know whether or not to agree with him in the statement he had made. The Physical Sciences are very fortunate in having now an exact language. It is so much more exact than that of metaphysics that there is at least room for envy. Perhaps there is no word in all the categories of meta- physical terms that is more ambiguous than "will." Some authors have attempted to define the term, while others have considered it to be indefinable. In psychology it has been used in a very general sense to denote the whole character and nature of man, together with the expression of these in action. This term, will, lias been used to define the mental act called "hat" m setting in action certain forces, or effecting an impres- sion, muscular feeling or an impulse along the nerve. It is very interesting to study some of the various theories of the will that have been evolved by the philosophers of the ancient and modern world. Some are interesting because they are so very childish; bearing the impress of superstition, or of a particular system of religion. Some, however, are very tedious. It seems as if some writers have endeavored to see how wearisome they could make their work. For the student of practical mental science, I do not think it best to review the various theories of the will here. It might only serve to confuse him ; so we will only consider the com- monly accepted definition of the will and then endeavor to give an exact definition of it. We will quote from a little work called "Will Power," by J. Milner Fothergill, believing it will set forth the common idea of the will quite clearly : "What the will is, is a matter upon which metaphysicians have not been able to make up their minds, after all the attention bestowed upon it ; and after they have come to some conclusion, either of agreement or fixity of disagreement, the result will have no practical value. 'She has a will, she has !' the mother or nurse will say of some child then just as they have done and do now, and will continue to do after the learned word-weighers have arrived at their decision. Will is one of the "little men who stands behind us," mind, soul, spirit, will, in- tangible something, revealed to us, how? We say he has a "right mind" of a man, like the late Dean Stanley; we speak of an "ardent soul," like the late Lord Palmerston, or of "a man of resolute will," like Prince Bismark. But beyond this we speak of "a comprehensive intellect," as in the case of the late Count Cavour. We know these "little men" in a familiar way; but we can no more than find them than we can put them up in Canada balsam, and inspect them at our leisure under the lense of the microscope. Yet we never hesi- tate to use the word, nor is there any difficulty about their being comprehended by others. When each word falls on the ear, it has not either an unknown or a doubtful sound. A man may possess a sound mind, be a good soul, in both senses, be of a loving spirit, and yet not be remarkable for will power. Like Mr, Brook in "Middlemarch," he may be poured into any mould, and keep shape in none. A man may be possessed with much ability and yet be a practical failure, because he is irresolute, or lacking in will power. On the other hand, a man may have but moderate abil- ity, and yet attain great success because he possesses a strong will. George Elliot has brought out this contrast of character in bold outline, in a difference between Tom Tulliver and his sister Maggie in "The Mill on the Floss." Tom is certainly narrow, as destitute of imagination as ever a Dodson could be, but he is inflexible. Maggie has warm sympathies, an active imagination, intellectual capacity; but she lacks will. It may be impossible to define this will, but we understand what we mean by it when we speak of its presence or its absence. When it becomes excessive, we speak of "wilful ;" and no better illus- tration could be had than that of George III., of glorious mem- ory, of whom Landor said savagely, "he was the least mischiev- ous when he was the most incapable." Another of our mon- archs furnishes an illustration of an opposite condition : "Ethelred, the Unready," where the lack of will left him un- prepared for emergencies. In George III., we saw the same hard, unyielding obstinacy as was exhibited in the character of George I. Argument fell dead on these two men; they went their own way, yet neither were men of capacity; whether in combination with great talent or mediacre ability it is the pres- ence of what we call "will" which endows the individual with "character." "Character" by no means involves originality; though when that is also present we speak of the individual as eat "character," a matter quite different from a "character" on the stage, or the "character of a Scotch village crowd. It is scarcely possible for a man to be really a great man, pos- sessing influence over those around him (who are not in his power) without a large share of what we designate as will." It is commonly said that Napoleon and Bismark were men of "strong will." I say that their wills were no stronger than those of any other persons ; no matter how weak they may be. The truth of my statement will be plain to you after I have given to you my theory of the will. We sometimes speak of "exercising the will" as "by an ex- ercise of my will I control my body." This is not true. The will cannot be exercised. It has a very unique place in psychical life. Before giving our views of the will in particular, it will be necessarv to look into the sub-conscious mind of man, out of which the will must grow. This sub-conscious mind of man is a phase of the universal intelligence endeavoring to manifest itself through him. This sub-conscious mind has a perfect memory of all experiences, which are to it suggestions. It re- ceives all thought by telepathy. It is influenced by the environ- ment of the individual. All these things are suggestions ; and each gives rise to some particular impulse tending to cause the sub-conscious mind to express itself along a certain line. It would naturally respond to any one impulse if it were the only impulse ; but there are many suggestions, each arousing an impulse. It is this aggregate of suggestions that determines the actions of the individual. The sub-conscious mind cannot re- spond to any one, and give it full expression ; for it is influenced by the other forces to act differently. All these forces acting at once, a resultant is produced: The force of this resultant is the Human Will. -f This may be made plain by a comparison to the "resultant forces" in Physics. For example, two equal forces are acting so that the lines of their action meet at right angles ; when these forces meet, each is deflected, the two forces are combined; their action is now along a line equally distant from those they were formerly acting along. Each is deflected just 45 degrees ; change the intensity of these forces in any way so that they are not equal and you will change the direction of the resultant. So in the mind, when you change the relative strength of the suggestions, you change the resultant, or the Will. I hope you will be able to comprehend this idea of the Will, for by doing so you will be able to better understand many of the phenomena of occultism. You may ask, what is conscious deliberation? Surely, I am manifesting will and exercising it when I make a choice. I ask you how you come to deliberate ? I ask you how you come to make a choice, and further more, how did you happen to choose what you did? Please do me the favor to think along this line until you have become thor- oughly acquainted with the theory. You are to make a choice, you are to decide to go to the right or to the left ; you think you are at perfect liberty to choose ; finally you make a decision and you go to the right. What caused you to do so? Then what caused you to go that way more than the other? Evidently you did want to go that way more than you wanted to go the other way; or you would have gone to the left. Just as you were to make the decision a suggestion of some kind perhaps came to you, arousing a certain impulse. It in some measure deflected the resultant. The suggestion gave rise to an impulse tending to have you go to the right. That is embodied in the resultant. You decide. The decision is made along the line of the resultant, or in the only way possible. The resultant would necessarily have to be changed before you could go to the left, because you must ex- press vourself along the line of the resultant ; and it is not in that direction. Some one may cry "fatalism," and tell me that according to this theory man is a complete slave to circumstances. If this proves to be the logical conclusion I will accept it ; but I do not think this theory will appear at all fatalistic to those who continue this investigation further. At least not fatalistic in any practical sense in the end. However, some men are creatures of circumstance. Veritable slaves, weighed down with false suggestions that are clinging to them like heavy chains. They have to learn how to change the nature of the sub-conscious and thereby change the resultant. I do not in- tend to convey the idea that there can be but one resultant at a time. The action of the mind is not limited any way. The sub-conscious mind may be increasing the rate of pulsations of the heart, and at the same time be stimulating the conscious mind to do an act indicating hope, hate, envy, shame or malice, as the case may be. A great deal of controversy has been held over the freedom of the Will. We see from our definition of the Will, that it cannot be free. We do not mean to convey the thought that we believe that man has no freedom ; as before stated, most men are abject slaves of circumstance. But it is not necessary for him to remain in that condition. He cannot remain there. Some time he will come to know him- self. The will is a resultant, out of this resultant has grown in- tention. It is the cream of the Will. When man commences to recognize his true nature, to understand that he is one with the universal intelligence, and recognizes also that it is expressing itself through him, through the avenues that have been supplied by the suggestions that have come to him, he also learns that he can determine the resultant, and thereby his condition ; by marshalling the forces that are surging for expression, he is able to change the resultant, or Will. (3) This power of the mind that we recognize as the intention is a result of evolution, as is almost every other thing in the universe. There is often a mistaken use of terms in using Will instead ot Personal Magnetism. It is said that men, such men as Bismark. Napoleon and Webster, possessed strong wills ; it was not the will that was strong, it was simply a great power of asserting their individuality along the line of the resultant. If you are in poverty, you must change the forces that are behind you, and change the resultant before you can come to affluence. You cannot accomplish a purpose when there is no strong im- pulse in that direction to urge you on. These forces can be changed by suggestion from the conscious mind by the exercise of intention. But intention is not Will. It is simply a power of the conscious mind exercised along the line of the resultant of all our impulse, which is the Will. Can the will be strength- ened? Xo, but it can be directed. We will now give a few simple exercises for this purpose. If, sdrne day you should feel a little despondent, and the world does not seem just as bright as it should, you may know that you are experiencing the legitimate result of the sugges- tions that are with you. Then think to yourself that you are happy ; think this thought mentally "I am happy," "I am one with the Infinite Life ;" commence to act as if you were feeling in th-j very best of spirits. These thoughts and acts go to your inner-self as suggestions, and will awaken new impulses, tending to express themselves in happiness. Continue this and you will be able to more than counteract the suggestion of despondency and you will experience an exhilaration of spirits. Remember that the thoughts we think determine in a great measure what we shall be. Think a thought- tending to pro- duce an impulse opposite the ones that are being expressed, continue this and you will soon prove by your own experience the truth of the statement that V^we can attain whatever we may desire by intelligent exercise of intention." LESSON NUMBER FIVE. Intention* Intention has been defined by some one as an exercise of the will. By the definition that I have given of t U in another place, this could not be trv the will cannot be ed. We someti: eak of the conscious and uncon- scious wills : but in reality there can be no conscious will. Upon this point Yon Hart man in his Philosophy of the Uncon- scic :»1. II., Page i w as concerns the will its e have hitherto called it conscious, when it has a conscious : unconsciousness, when it an unc s content. It is, ho see that this is only a figurative -: nee it oni to the contents of the will : but the will itself can never become conscious because it can never contradict itself. There may ell be several do iriance with one another, but violation at any moment is in truth only the resultant of all the simultaneous de~ Dnsequently can always be only con- formable to itself H now consciousne :i accident which will bestow upon that of which it is compelled to recognize not :, but something foreign a :i short, what enters into opposition with it, the will can never impart con to itself, because here the thing to be compared, and the stand- ard of comparison are one and the same: th never be different or at al. -iance with one another. The will also to recognize something rather the appearance <: ontaneity is inc ince the final actuality, and all that lies behind it potential, that mreal. While displeasure, then, always become conscious, and pleasure can become so under certain circumstances, the will is said never to be able to become conscious. This latter result perhaps appears unexpected, yet experience fully con- firms it." The wild beast performs all of its actions on impulse. We have no reason to believe it has any conscious deliberation. It does rot possess the faculty of exercising intention ; it cannot attain this until it becomes highly self-conscious. It is con- trolled entirely by suggestions. All its acts are along the line of the resultant and it has not yet attained to that position in psychical development in which it would be able to direct the resultant or will. This power intention is developed as the individual, whether man or beast, becomes more and more con- scious of himself. The individual becomes more and more cap- able of exercising this power as he rises in the school of devel- opment; all the time becoming more and more capable of de- termining the resultant, until after a long series of develop- ments, he i§ entirely conscious of himself. Then intention mas- ters all suggestions, controls the will, in fact will and intention become one, and the man is free. Man is but a phase of the universal intelligence. When he becomes conscious of this, in all phases, he is self conscious, and knows the universe. This Will or Intention, is the Uni- versal Will. Now is this universal will free? Has man gained freedom by coming into this exalted condition of perfect self-consciousness in which he is no longer an individual? Many questions may be propounded along this line that require very elaborate and accurate reasoning to answer, and I wi 1 l not attempt to do so here. I simply wish to point out the length to which this study of mind may be carried if the student is de- sirous of continuing the investigation. But to return to the practical part of the subject of Inten- tion. We have accepted the statement that it is the function of intention to direct the resultant, and thus conrol the body. Now the functions of the body are controlled by the sub-con- us faculty of the mind; this same faculty of the mind is con- trolled by suggestion. In fact we are by reason of past sug- gestion and intention. And intention is but a form of sug- gestion. So it appears that by intention we are able to produce any desired condition in our body, if the suggestion is strong enough to determine the resultant so that it will be in the direc- tion of our desires. Exercising the intention is called concentration, and it will now be given some consideration, and exercises will be given for its cultivation. For this power is one of the prime factors in the practice of the Occult Sciences, and is most essential to the Healer in the cure of diseases, and also to all of us in the application of the truths of Occultism through the affairs of every day life. When you are first commencing the practice of concentration, you will find that your thoughts have a tendency to wander. The very thought you are attempting to think so vigorously is perhaps but a link in a chain of ideas, and by as- sociation you are induced to recognize another thought that is associated with it. This associative operation goes on for a time, perhaps altogether in the realm of the unconscious. You are holding the thought so tenaciously that you do not recog- nize the ones clustering around you and arising out of it. But after a little your conscious mind becomes just a little weary, you somewhat relax your mental tension, and one of the associative Thoughts rises into the plain of consciousness. Banish it at once. Retain your one thought, or rather think it in such a manner that it will really become your very self ; or, let it hold you. As soon as another thought surges in, ba nish i t. Do not make the practice of concentration hard work. Don't work at all, just concentrate. Do not contract your muscles Be as nearly relaved as the circumstance will allow. All contraction ^of muscles tend to attract you from the thought you are con- centrating upon. It is not advisable for the student to continue the effort to concentrate for a long time, not long enough to become weary- Concentration is just the same as any other exercise in this ; it mav be too long continued at the commencement, and may possibly result in some sort of injury. It is decidedly the best plan to have a regular time each day and use it for practice. This hour or half hour, or whatever time you use for prac- tice, is for your special exercise. You will of course concen- trate in all the things you do. This time you have set aside for special practice should come in such an hour in the day when you will be allowed to remain in almost perfect silence ; as silence is one great factor in all psychic work. It is impossible for one to do really good work at concentration with disturbing sounds all around him. You will, however, learn after some practice, how to withdraw into your own silence, although there is a noisy throng around you. But in all possibility you have not developed yourself to this yet. and therefore you will find it to be the best for you to do your practice at a time when you will be free from all noise. You should continue the practice until you can keep one thought before you as long as necessary, without any great fatigue. It is perhaps not necessary for me to tell you that you should have your mind free from worry and anxiety during your practice hour. You should be in a peaceful frame of mind. Cast all doubts and fears aside for a while and take an hour of freedom. There is perhaps no better way to practice concentration than by taking an auto-suggestion. Xow we know that the mind controls the body, also that the sub-conscious faculty of the mind has direct control of the circulation of the blood and that it is amenable to control by the power of sug- gestion. In view of these facts we know we are able to cau^ the blood to circulate in any manner we may desire by a proper exercise of intention. Now for practice you may experiment upon yourself, and by auto-suggestion run the blood into your ieet. Take a comfortable position "fix your mind" upon your feet and concentrate upon a thought like this : "I am sending the blood into my feet." You are now concentrating or exer- cising a strong intention. Hold this thought for a few minutes and your feet will commence to perspire, and you will be able to teel the blood surging and swelling the veins. Use the same exercise on the hand, you can make on cold and the other warm. Practice this and the attainment you make will give you confidence in yourself and enable you to understand and produce the more complex phenomena. All the strange things in nature can be reduced to very simple general principles. As another exercise very much resembling the ones just given is the producing of the condition of anaesthesia in your own body. You can easily learn this if you have already learned to concentrate sufficiently to master the preceding exercises ; in this you will be more particularly using your power upon the nerves. Extend the fingers of the left hand (if you are right handed) and make the hand rigid by contraction of the muscles all over it. Fix your gaze upon the back of the hand ; think a thought like this : "All sensation of pain is leaving my hand ;" with your right hand make passes over the left one, giving it an upward stroke, pressing on rather strongly, thinking, "the nerves are becoming quiet," "the molecular action is becoming slower," "all sensation of pain is leaving my hand ;"• exercise an intention like that expressed in these thoughts. Take a bteel pin or needle and prick the back of the hand ; you will be able to do so without experiencing any pain and there will be no soreness in the hand afterwards. After you have made ihe experiment, give the hand a downward stroke, with the in- tention of putting the hand in a normal condition. It was this power to produce a condition of anaesthesia in themselves that rendered the Stoics of Greece and Rome so famous. They believed that all pain and pleasure of the body were to be de- spised, for the pains and the pleasures of the intellect were alone worthy of the attention of man. They were almost ab- solute masters of their bodies so far as pain was concerned. It is said they thought it was effeminate to wince at the most excruciating pain. I do not believe this. I think they were such masters of themselves that they could suppress the feel- ing of pain. Even if in the beginning they did feel the pain but refused to recognize it ; by the very basic principles of sugges- tion they would soon cease to experience the pain. Lewis in his "History of Philosophy," says "The Stoics in their dread of becoming effeminate became marble. They despise pain, they despise death. To be above pain was thought to be manly. They did not see that in this respect in- stead of being above humanity they sank below it. You re- ceive a blow, and do not wince? So much heroism is dis- played by "a stone. You are face to face with death, and you have no regrets ? Then you are unworthy of life. Real hero- ism feels the pain it conquers, and loves the life it surrenders in a noble cause." It is impossible for me to agree with the learned Historian on many of the statements made in the passages I have just quoted. I believe the Stoics did feel the pain they conquered. They must have done so or they would not have known that they were experiencing a pain which they might conquer. They conquered so often the pains that they felt that they ceased after a while to feel. They had con- quered all pain. They had simply attained a position in which they were master of themselves. I cannot see why these followers of Zeno must necessarily have sunk below humanity because they ceased to murmur when they experience something that caused pain in others. I find the history of the Stoics very interesting, and think they were wonderful for their mastery of themselves. How- ever, we will not consider them longer here, jnst simply make the statement that they were adepts in the practice of con- centration. In healing others the power of concentration is essential. You must be able to send thoughts of health to the patient, v/ strong enough to impress the sub-conscious faculty of his mind and arouse in it the proper impulse. In healing others, as well as self, it is necessary to have in mind clearly what you intend to accomplish. You cannot exercise strong inten- tion, or concentrate without a definite purpose..- You should not do as many do ; attempt to commence to concentrate and then look about for the thought or purpose. So by way of gen- eral instruction I would say; first get a definite idea of what you intend to accomplish, then formulate a thought that expresses chat idea concisely. Hold this one thought to the exclusion of every other thought. . Ideas, concise thoughts, and meditation are the essentials of concentration ; and no great achievements can be attained without each of these being comparatively free irom flaws. <& LESSON NUMBER SIX, Confidence Have you not many times among your acquaintances, noted two men, both apparently endowed with the same amount of natural ability, both equally intelligent, and both really equally competent ; but one of them is constantly progressing, is constantly pressing forward; whatever he undertakes he suc- cessfully accomplishes ? People say of him "He is lucky." They have faith in him. They do not hesitate to employ him. They say he is just the one to do the work. He is a leader in his community. The other one, poor fellow, he having as great intelligence, and natural capabilities is continually making fail- ures. Anything that he may undertake is seldom carried to a successful issue. He is not a successful business man. He is said to be "unlucky." People seldom employ him as they do not have faith in him. Why this difference in the achievement of the two men? Why this difference in the public estimation? Chiefly because of the difference in the self estimation and the amount of self- reliance in the two men. Or in other words, a difference in the amount of faith, or belief in their own powers. The first one has confidence in himself; he believes in himself, in his power to accomplish; has self-reiiance. Doubts and fears are strangers to him. He never says nor thinks, "I can't." His very confidence in himself inspires the confidence of others in him. The second one lacks this confidence in himself; lacks self-reliance ; distrusts his own abilities. He is continually harrassed by doubts and fears of failure, afraid to try things; and when forced to an undertaking, carries before his mind the picture of failure rather than of success. His manners, acts and words, let the people into the secret of his weakness; and how can they be expected to have confidence in and rely upon one who is not strong enough to rely upon himself? This self-confidence is not to be confounded with egotism. It is not the "big I and little you" feeling; and is not expressed in bombast and braggadocio. It is begotten of a knowledge of ones own powers, founded on trial and proof. It assumes no powers it does not concede to others ; and does not concede to others any powers it does not claim for self. Lack of self- confidence is not a lack of powers and capabilities ; nor is it even a possession of them in less degree. It is simply a lack of belief in and knowledge of those powers ; a lack of belief in and knowledge of ones self. "Know thyself," and you will be self-confident, self-reliant and all powerful. Once come into possession of knowledge of your own powers, knowing that whatsoever you undertake you can accomplish ; then all barriers to your progress, development and success are swept away ,and there is no such thing for you as failure. This is the secret of the success of those who are styled "self-made" men. They are not different from other men, except that they beiieve and. have confidence in and rely upon themselves. No one ever did or ever will fully succeed in any undertaking ex- cept he has full confidence in his ability to succeed. This confidence in self is easily cultivated and developed. Do it this way : hereafter, in everything you undertake, think the thought, "This thing can be done. I can do it, and do it as well as any other person ;" and then leave this thought, this auto-suggestion, undisturbed in the mind. Think this thought as an absolute fact, as indeed it is, and then act upon it. You will note the success following the trial. A few trials honestly carried out will soon prove to you that the individualized por- tion of the great Universal Intelligence resident in you, is as great in quantity and as good in quality, as in any other person. People possessing self-confidence are positive. People lacking self-confidence are negative. People of a negative disposition are easily influenced by people of a positive disposi- tion, and look to them for support, guidance and direction. In the sick and diseased the negative predominates. In curing disease it is absolutely necessary that the operator becomes in rapport with the patient, or, in other words, that there be a tacit agreement between the operator and patient ; on the part of the operator, that he can and will cure the patient; on the part of the patient, that he can and will be cured by the oper- ator. This agreement can never be reached so long as there exists any doubts in the minds of either. You cannot cure your patient so long as any doubt of your ability to cure him remains injiis mind; and you cannot fully eliminate this doubt from his mind so long as you have doubts and fears in your own mind. Hence the absolute necessity of the operator being positive, and letting that positive-confidence shine forth in all his thoughts, words and actions. Confidence is con- tagious. Having it yourself, your patient soon becomes im- pregnated with it. Intention guides and directs your thought. Confidence gives it force and effect. Here then is a rule you must follow: Never doubt your ability to cure your patient; and gain the confidence of your patient in you that you can and will cure him, then success will be yours. True confidence is based upon a realization of the powers within you. By this we mean that you must not only recognize, but KNOW that you possess the power to accomplish your purpose, and have the ability to exercise such power. The saying of Jesus, that "if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you can move mountains," is pregnant with this truth. Once you realize your oneness with the Infinite Mind, you must recognize that you can draw from the source of the Infinite for the exercise of any power, force, or energy you may wish to utilize in the accomplishment of any desire. And once recog- nizing this truth you know there is nothing beyond your power of achievement. This is as true with reference to the de- velopment of any faculty of the human organism, or of the individual mind, as of any material fact. Hence, it follows, that to accomplish a change in the physical or psychological condition of a person it is necessary only to exercise the powers that you know you possess. To illustrate, every person is potentially able to solve a mathematical problem, and knows himself to be so. He also recognizes the fact, that in order to be actually able to solve mathematical problems, he must de- velop that potentiality, until he realizes that he can accom- plish the solution. After having thus developed his latent pow- ers, he is confident, or has faith in his ability to exercise those powers successfully. It is just as true, that every person possesses the power to heal disease, to strengthen the weak, to encourage the despair- ing, and to enrich the impoverished, as it is that they possess the power when developed, to solve the mathematical problem. Realizing this fact, it is evident that all that is necessary to the accomplishment of any of these results, is the development of the powers inherent within us to do so. Confidence simply consists in our recognition of our potentiality, and the develop- ment of the same. To cure disease, simply requires that we be able to accomplish a change in the psychological condition of our patient. We know, that having the universal Mind as our source of constructive operation, we have the power to create any condition we may choose. And, having confidence in our ability to exercise this power, and inspiring our patient with a like confidence, both in himself and in us as healer, the desired results are inevitably obtained. To bring about the desired change in the psychological condition of our patient, and to establish confidence, all that is necessary is to bring your patient to realize that he himself is able to exercise the powers of restoration. This can be done by implanting in his mind, both conscious and sub-conscious, a sug- gestion that calls into operation that exercise of his own fac- ulties, and so confirming him in this attitude of mind, that he will continue to act upon the suggestion thus given him. Once you have accomplished this, you have instilled info your patient a knowledge of himself. THIS IS CONFIDENCE. With it there is nothing beyond the achievement of man. Confidence in self is but a manner of expressing your un- conscious faith and trust in the universal intelligence. When you rely upon yourself, you are relying upon the. universal power that is expressing itself through you. When you ex- press a confidence in others, it indicates that you yourself are worthy of confidence ; but if you have no faith in your fellow men, perhaps you would find few people that would trust you. Confidence, should be universal, I should trust all my brothers and all my brothers should trust me. We are simply expres- sions of the same life principles, in reality we are all one. Men sometimes prate about another man who is so good that he never refuses to loan a wanderer money when he appeals to him for aid ; and they think it almost marvelous, that none of them have ever deceived him, the money has always been re- turned at the proper time. Do you know why the money was leturned to him? Do you know how he appealed to them so as to influence them to keep their word? I will tell you. He simply TRUSTED them, and let them KNOW they were trus ted. All men everyhere are to be trusted. No man on earth will deceive you if he knows you have confidence in him. The best way to collect a bill, is to let the one who owes you know that you EXPECT him to pay it. If, however, you have the slightest doubt about his honesty, he will perhaps not pay you ; you must have absolute confidence in him. There is a large banking establishment in this country, that loans money to any one who can convince them that they are engaged in some honorable employment, and have a repu- tation of being honest. They will loan him money without security of any kind other than his signature. Now this company has never lost a dollar. The people who borrowed the money felt that they themselves were trusted. It depended upon the character whether or not it was to be paid. A man's character will always stand a test, if it is tested in an honor- able way. Confidence begets confidence. If I have confidence in you, you will more likely have confidence in me. If I have confidence in you, understanding the forces on which I place my confidence, I will have more confidence in myself. If I have confidence in myself, I will necessarily have more confi- dence in you, for I know you can do the same things that I know that I can do. It would be impossible for one to isolate himself ; but if it were not, it would be impossible for man to have confidence in himself, because he would be cut off from all around him, from the infinite life principle that is the source of all his strength ; in fact it is the man himself. Man cannot thus isolate himself, and live. Isolation would be annihilation. I would say to my students have confidence in yourself and in others, it will make you strong; it will make you a strong man or woman who will look on the bright side of life. Confidence in self and in others will add much to the happiness of your existence. e^ LESSON NUMBER SEVEN. Hypnotism. Hypnotism had its origin in the earliest development of the monad. When the universal mind commenced to express itself by the differentiation in organism, and the mind thus in- dividualized came to leave its impress upon other individual- izations of mind, then came upon the field of action the power of suggestion. The suggestions at this early stage of psychical development were altogether unconscious, and it seems to me that the influence that one monad thus unconsciously has upon another do%s not merit the name of hypnotism, although I fully recognize the fact that it is out of this early form of suggestion that Modern Hypnotism has been evolved. I rather choose to designate as hypnotism that power that one monad CON- SCIOUSLY wields over another. From this point of view we cannot conceive of the origin of hypnotism until the monad has been developed to the plane of individual self-conscious- ness. This stage of development was not attained until at a comparative recent date in the history of Psychical Develop- ment. I give the word hypnotism this somewhat limited defini- tion, for the reason that I do not consider it advisable that words used in any science be granted too general a meaning, or there may be a scarcity of words with special meanings. So hereafter in these lessons we will use the word hypnotism to designate that influence that one mind consciously and in- tentionally exercises over another. Hypnotism, in this restricted sense, is very old, as old as the individual intelligence of the race. But we will consider hypnotism from a historical rather than from a philosophical • point of view. On the oldest monuments of Egypt, Assyria, and Babylon have been found figures in bas-relief engraven in such attil tides that they have been. interpreted by archaeologists to represent the hypnotic passes, and in the very oldest writings extant we have ?ccounts of the hypnotic sleep. In both India and China the study of hypnotism as an art is very old. So old that we could not even approximately give a date for the commence- ment of the study. It has been many years since the Chinese were adepts in the practice of this art. The Chinese are greatly deteriorated from what they were many centuries ago. Their religion is in some measure responsible for this deterioration; their knowledge of the power of mind was not sufficient to protect them from the evil effects of their conservativeness. As the race became degenerate physically, it gradually lost the hypnotic power. At the present day the study of hypnotism as an art is in a higher stage of development in India, than anywhere else in the world. The Mahatmas of India possess marvelous oc- cult power, they are Psychics and perhaps have better knowl- edge of psychic forces than any other people in the world. Some of the phenomena produced by them will be described at various places through these lessons. We find that hypnotism was practiced among nearly all nations ; among the Egyptians, Babylonions, Greeks, Romans, the savages of New Zealand, Australia, and North America. In fact it has been practiced among nearly all the races of people from the earliest time and in all the different stages of savagery, barbarism and civilization. It is old; it had its birth among dark and weird super- stitions of the past, for centuries it was clouded in mystery No (4) one could understand it, very few could use it; none but the priests and the medicine men could wield this terrible power. It was far beyond the attainment of ordinary men ; they stood afar off gazing at the strange phenomena produced by those who could use and perhaps in a measure understood something about this power. By a few mysterious passes and a glance of the eye the priest would put the subject to sleep, or per- haps he would voluntarily enter the sleep himself; surely it was a strange power. It appealed to man's natural love for the curious ; the priest took advantage of this awe, and used the power for self aggrandizement and as a means of enslaving the people. Thus the power was early abused, and out of this abuse arose an antipathy to the practice of the art, and as a survival of this antipathy exists the fear and skepticism of the science of hypnotism as taught today. Hypnotism has nearly always retained its garb of mystery, and it is at only a compara- tively recent date that it has been disrobed of this mystery and commenced to be studied as a science. Thus we see that the history of Hypnotism has its origin almost in fable. But at a more modern date when Hypnotism was at the zenith of its greatness as an art in India, it was in- troduced into Europe. This was at the time of the Crusades. When Richard Couer de Leon and his followers were contend- ing with the infidels for the possession of the Holy Sepulcher, the philosophers of the West came in contact with the theories and cosomogonies of the Orient. There on the plains of Acre Hypnotism was first taught to the Europeans. There was no strife between the philosophers of the East and those of the West in regard to the Sepulcher. Their strife was alto- gether in the domain of Philosophy. The Crusades were beneficial to Europe. And perhaps the West gained no greater benefit from those Holy Wars than the awakening of an interest into the deeper problems of life. At a later date when Frederick II., "the wonder of his own and all succeeding ages" was in Palestine, conducting another cru- sade, he delved deeply into the mysteries of the philosophical speculations of the far East. When he returned to Europe he endeavored to give to his people the benefits of what he had thus learned; but the people were not yet thus far advanced, and he had to contend with the dogmatism of the Church. During the following crusades, the West learned still more of the phenomena of Hypnotism that were produced by the men of the Orient. Hypnotism made little progress in Europe for many cen- turies after the close of the Crusades. There were some in- vestigations made by men here and there, perhaps the most original investigations were made by the philosophers in northern Italy. But their discoveries and theories were so infantile that it is not necessary for the general student of the Science of Hypnotism to dwell upon them. Rather let us pass over a large scope of history, pass over by simply naming such men as Pomponatius and Van Helmont, two of the greatest investigators of this period, and come down to the eighteenth century. Hypnotism was first brought to the notice of the scientific world in France by Anthony Mesmer. He produced manv wonderful phenomena and cured hundreds of people of their ailments by this superior power. At first he used the magnet in effecting these cures, but after further investigation he threw it aside and evolved his theory of Animal Magnetism. It is generally supposed that Mesmer believed there was an invisible fluid which filled the universe ; and this fluid he thought to be more active in the system of man, and any per- son charged with it was able to influence or control others. Perhaps no man has been more grossly misunderstood than Anton Mesmer, excepting perhaps, Charles Darwin. And it would please us to have time and space to give our aid towards vindicating to a certain degree the doctrines and theories of Friedrich Anton Mesmer, whom we consider as one of the greatest benefactors of the race that has been produced within the past two centuries. After Mesmer came many other investigators, among whom were De Puysegur, Elliotson, La Fontaine, James Braid, Liebault, Carpenter, Charcot and Bernheim. To enumerate all the students and investigators of Hypnotism would be a very lengthy task. We can only say all the countries, France, Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Russia, Italy, Switzer- land, Belgium, Spain, Austria, and the United States have all produced many patient and skilled investigators of this Science. Some of them have made valuable contributions to the study of the subject; but all of these cannot possibly be considered, even in a general way. All the various theories of Hypnotism may be embraced in the three great schools, viz.: that of Nancy, Paris and the Mesmer school, each of which will now be given a brief sketch. We will .consider the Mesmer school first, because it is the oldest. The Mesmer school takes its name from its founder, Anton Mesmer. He is considered to be the originator of this school of Hypnotism, while in fact (we believe) there are many prin- ciples in the modernized school that Mesmer would not accept. But, in general, we will say, the chief tenet of this school is the belief in Animal Magnetism. This theory of a uni- versal fluid in some respects resembles the modern theory of an ether that pervades all space. This theory of animal or vital magnetism is such an important question in the domain of philosophical inquiry, that it will be considered in detail in a lesson on "Magnetism." It must suffice for the present to say that it teaches that there is a fluid pervading the universe, that is particularly active in the nervous system of man and is cap- able of being directed. It may be caused to eminate from the operator by an exercise of intention, and impinge upon the subject in such a way as to control him and put him to sleep. Next in point ol time comes the Paris or Charcot school, which teaches that all Hypnotic phenomena are indications of a pathological condition of the subject. They accept to a lim- ited extent, the theory of suggestion, but assert that the genuine Hypnotic phenomena can be produced only in persons of a diseased nervous system. Some of the advocates of this school endeavor to account for all Hypnotic phenomena on a physio- logical basis alone, claiming that in all persons in whom Hyp- nosis can be induced, there is a pathological condition existing in the cerebrum. The Nancy or Bernheim school is the school of suggestion. It is by far the most scientific and philosophical of any of these three schools of Hypnotism. It asserts that the genuine hyp- notic phenomena can be produced only in persons of healthy physical organism and strong mentality. The theory as taught by Bernheim himself was, in some particulars, incomplete. But he laid the basis upon which others are now building. We will treat hereafter the Nancy method in its latest and fullest development. . It teaches that during hypnosis the mind of the subject is amenable to suggestion from the operator. The stronger the mentality of operator and subject, the more they are in rapport* the more perfect will be the phenomena produced. It is perhaps needless to say, in view of what has been as- serted in previous lessons, that we cast our lot with the "Nancy" school. We believe and assert that all hypnotic phenomena, as well as any other phenomena in the universe, is produced by suggestion. Remember, that a suggestion is any influence that is brought to bear upon a monad, that produces or tends to produce any change whatsoever in that monad's con- dition. So Hypnotism, being an induced change, can be ex- plained by nothing but suggestion. In fact, there is no other power by which it could be produced, for Suggestion rules the world. The Mesmer method is but a form of suggestion, The idea or thought of a magnetic fluid is but a suggestion from the mind of the operator and to that of the subject. It is the magnetizer's belief in the fluid that enables him to produce the phenomena. It is thought — the motive power of the uni- verse — that controls the subject. Magnetism — even if it is a material substance, and performs operations, must have something that impells it to act ; and that is mind ; and that power that produces or tends to produce any change in a monad's condition is a suggestion. We believe that this dissertation is sufficient to demonstrate to the student the truth of our statement that the hypnotic phenomena is, and necessarily must be, produced by the power of suggestion. Why speak of diseased organism? Why speak of weak mentality? What is disease? What is weak- ness? They are but phases of the manifestation of the universal intelligence expressing itself through the only ave- nues opan to it, through the ones that haev been opened to it by suggestion. From a philosophical point of view I cannot conceive of any process of reasoning by which the magnetist or advocates of the Paris school are able to sustain the leading tenets of their theories. They are based on what appears to me to be false premises. I cannot believe that magnetism, or a congestion in the cerebrum, in themselves possess the power within themselves alone, to produce sleep. They might perhaps, induce it, but only through the power of suggestion. So even if we were to admit the chief tenets on which they base their theory, we can prove their theory false. If the student has followed me carefully, and has com- menced to understand the immensity of the power of mind, commenced to recognize the fact that all power is produced by mind, then he will be convinced of the truth of my state- ment that all Hypnotic phenomena are produced by sugges- tion, and by suggestion alone. LESSON NUNBER EIGHT. Hypnotism. In the common literature devoted to Hypnotism, it is cus- tomary to divide the hypnotic sleep into degrees or stages. Perhaps no two writers have used the same divisions. This is inevitable, for no two operators produce precisely the same phenomena in their experiments. The divisions that are made, and the ones that are general in their applications are not iron clad, for all these divisions are simply made for convenience in designating a class of phenomena. A "stage" in Hypnotism is nothing more or less than one of the phenomena of the sleep : and there should be as many stages as there are phenomena. It would not be of any advantage to the student for me to enumerate and give a synopsis of the various classifications that have been made. I would rather give one generally accepted classification, and follow this with a special list of stages that the ordinary operator usually en- deavors to produce. In the general classification, there are three main divi- sions of the hypnotic phenomena. These may be designated as: (i) light Hypnosis; (2) deep Hypnosis, and (3) sus- pended animation. The first of these embraces phenomena that are almost entirely physical, and is the one used in the ordinary stage Hypnotism. The second, or deep Hypnosis, embraces all the more elaborate Psychic phenomena as clair- voyance, psychometry and clairaudience. The third degree or suspended animation, which is very rarely produced in America, is that very deep hypnotic sleep in which all the various organs of the body are at rest. We will now consider in detail the sub-divisions of these three general classifications, and give minute instructions for producing them. Although we are not forgetful of the fact that all the various stages are chosen arbitrarily. There are three classes of phenomena that may be pro- duced in light Hypnosis. As ociore stated, these .phenomena are almost entirely physical. They are known as the first, sec- ond and cataleptic stages. The first stage is a condition of very light sleep, in which the subject is amenable to very light sug- gestions of a physical nature. Ones that require no intense agitation of the sub-conscious condition to perform ; as closing the eyes so the subject cannot open them; the closing of the hand or producing the condition of rigidity in the arm. The second, is simply a deeper sleep, with the same phenomena as that of the. first, only the subject is more thoroughly in rapport with the operator. The third stage, or cataleptic, is the deep- est of the physical manifestations. In this stage, the muscles of the subject's body become intensely contracted, perfectly rigid, so that they are able to sustain heavy weights placed upon them, with the head and feet being supported. In the second general classification it is customary to make at least two or three sub-divisions. The first of these ; the fourth stage is that in which the subject commences to glean thoughts out of the unconscious. He is just commencing, as it were, to enter into conscious communication with his inner self. The second or fifth stage, is what we may call the mind reading stage, or the stage in wdiich some of the lighter phe- nomena of telepathy are produced. It is the stage of light clairvoyance. It is simply a continuation of what was com- menced in the fourth. In it the subject is simply more and more allowing the universal intelligence to manifest itself in him . In the third sub-division of the second general classi- fication arc produced the very wonderful psychic phenomena of clairvoyance, clairaudience and psychometry. It is perhaps unnecessary to state that these phenomena are but phases of the universal intelligence manifesting itself through the sub- ject. They demonstrate to us the wonders of Mind, and merit the rrudent's most careful investigation. The last general division might be divided into an almost infinite number of sub-divisions, but it is not necessary to make these divisions here. We will simply consider the sub- ject of suspended animation in general. As was stated in a preceding paragraph, this phenomena is very seldom produced in America ; but it is very common among the Mahatmas or adepts of the Orient. There are various ways of producing the first stage of the Hypnotic sleep. It may be induced by a gaze, a sudden word or command, by having the subject listen to a slow and mo- notonous tick ; by pressure upon the eyeballs ; by pressure upon certain arteries and nerve centers ; by wearying the optic nerve ; by gentle passes over the body, or simply by verbal suggestion. We will consider in detail what I deem the best for a beginner to use. HOW TO PRODUCE HYPNOTISM. It is well for a beginner to get some one for a subject who has been hypnotized as they are much more easily induced to become passive than persons who know nothing about what is to be done. The first thing required for the inducing of hypnosis, is the consent of the subject. It is time wasted for a beginner to attempt to hypnotize a person who will give him conscious resistance. After securing his consent to do as you desire, place the subject in as comfortable position as pos- sible, and have him relax his muscles as much as he is able. Place his hands upon his knees with feet and limbs close to- gether. Elevate the chin, letting his head drop slightly back. Be sure to see that the subject is in a comfortable position. Now take your position in front of him, with your hand ele- vated, with two first fingers extended (kept closely together) the rest of the hand closed. Tell him you are going to put him to sleep. Be positive in your assertion, but not so positive as to awaken in him any spirit of antagonism. Tell him he must keep all his muscles relaxed, rest perfectly easy, keep his eyes on the tips of your fingers and think of nothing but sleep. Have your hand about three, or three and one-half feet from the subject's eyes; hold it so that he can see the tips of your fingers without any inconvenience. Give him the sug- gestion that as you approach him he will become somewhat sleepy, and that when your fingers are within three or four inch- es of his eyes, he will feel an inclination to close his eyes and sleep. After preparing your way by making such remarks as those indicated, move your fingers towards the subject, speak- ing in a low monotone, such words as "sleep, sleep, you are thinking of nothing but sleep, resting perfectly easy, keeping your eyes steadily on the tips of my fingers, and thinking of nothing but sleep, sleep, sleep, sleep ; now your eyes are be- coming a little heavy, a little heavier, heavier, and becoming so sleepy, so sleepy, can hardly hold the e)^elids open, you are now feeling a disposition to close them, close them, close them, your eyes are closing, closing; thinking of nothing but sleep, sleep, going to sleep ; now your eyes are closing, closing, clos- ing, closed ; sleep." If, when you approach closely to the sub- ject and his eyes do not close, perhaps it is well for you to close them lightly with your fingers, giving at the same time the suggestion of sleep. Keep on talking in a low monotone for a little while after the subject's eyes are closed, all the time giving the subject the suggestion of sleep, "feeling per- fectly easy, not an ache or pain in your body anywhere, feeling perfectly easy all over, and thinking of nothing but sleep. You are not making the slightest effort to open your eyes, or to think. You are perfectly passive to my influence. Not giving the least resistance. Your eyes arc closed, and will re- main closed until I tell von to open them. You are perfectly -ive. Sleeping, resting perfectly easily, eyes are closed and vou cannot open them, try to open them. Perfectly passive. See ? you connot open them. Just keep them closed, and sleep." Repetition is nearly everything in suggestion. So do not be afraid to let your subject know what you expect of him. Do not be afraid to talk to him of sleep. By following the foregoing instructions, which are written out in detail, that they may serve as a model for the beginner, you will be able to hypnotize about one in five at the first trial; but if you are a beginner and fail to make any impression on your first sub- ject, keep on trying and soon you will develop confidence in yourself, and then you will be able to hypnotize as well as any one. But above all, do not be afraid to try. Remember that in the "lexicon of youth, which Fate reserves for a bright manhood, there is no such word as — fail." When you have the subject hypnotized so he cannot open his eyes, you can give him any other suggestion, and if he is a good subject, he will take them. It is a good plan to direct the subject's attention to a particular part of his body; as for instance, direct it to the arms, and give the suggestion, that in the arm he is commencing to experience a sensation of numb- ness. Stroke the arm gently with the hand, repeating the sug- gestion that you have given of numbness. Nearly every sub- ject will experience some peculiar sensation; and this will pave the way for his accepting the suggestions that are to fol- low. Remove this suggestion of numbness before you pro- ceed. In giving suggestions to your subject, be careful not to give him any that will harm him in any way. Remember that everything you tell him is real. Tell him he is cold, and he will shiver ; tell him he is warm, and he will perhaps com- mence to disrobe. His taking these suggestions prove the truth of the statement that the sub-conscious faculty of the mind has the power of arriving at logical conclusions, whether the premises given be true or false. After performing your experiments, carefully remove all suggestions that might have any evil effect on him. Then tell him that when you count five, he will wake up. Count, "one, commencing to wake up, take a deep inspiration ; two, breathe ; three, waking up, anoth- er deep inspiration ; four, now you will be wide awake ; five, wide awake." If your subject does not awaken at your first at- tempt, do not become frightened, but tell him you will awaken him "this time sure." Then repeat the counting process, giv- ing upward passes over the body, and stimulating by a light massage the circulation around the eyes and forehead. There is no danger about the awakening. He would come out of the sleep of his own accord in a little while. The hypnotic sleep would merge into natural sleep and then he would awaken in the usual way. After you have the subject in the first stage of the Hyp- notic sleep, and wish to put him on deeper, you can do so by giving him the proper suggestions. You might perhaps say to him, "now you are in the first stage of the hypnotic sleep, and T am going to pass you on into the second. You are rest- ing quietly, now sleep, sleep, sleep deeper." When giving the suggestion of deeper sleep, it is well to press with your hand on the subject's chest or forehead, as it heightens in a measure the suggestion. With a similar mode of operating you can pass the sub- ject on into the third, or cataleptic; telling him that in this stage the muscles will become rigid. It is bes.t to be careful with new subjects in experimenting on them in this degree of sleep, for instance, if you have someone in a cataleptic, with feet resting on one chair and head and shoulders on an- other, with a weight lying upon his body, if he should suddenly awaken, he might suffer some injury. It is advisable to train vour subject for this work, so you will have confidence in him and you will have confidence in yourself. If you should have a subject in the third stage, and wish to put him on deeper, that is have him pass from light into deep hypnosis, you can have him do so by giving the proper suggestion. You will first bring about a relaxed condition, you will quiet by sugges- tion the action of the nervous system. He will breathe slower and deeper; and the pulsation of his heart will become some- what slower. You will give him the suggestion that he is ceasing to recognize his body; that he is experiencing a peculiar sensation as if he were floating; periphrial sensation is becoming deadened. Give him the suggestion that his mind is becoming clear, very clear, and he is commencing to recognize his oneness and that he is coming in close touch with the universal mind that knows all things. By practicing upon your subject while in this stage of the sleep, you will be able to develop him to that point in which he will be able to tell you names of articles of which you may think, provided you send him the name by thought transference, that is, by concentrating upon the word of which you wish him to think. Thought is vibration, and by thinking of the article of which you wish him to think, some how his sub-conscious mind will get your thought, and while his conscious mind is passive, the thought sent him will rise into objectivity and he will name the article of which you thought. This will be treated more at length in a special les- son on thought transference. The fifth stage is produced in the same manner as the fourth, and the same suggestions of deeper sleep. In this stage the subjective mind is allowed more freedom than in the fourth. In other words the conscious mind is more passive. The sub- ject is becoming more and more conscious, as it were, of his oneness with the universal intelligence. It is in this stage that the subject is able to describe places and people that are far away. He simply enters into -f rapport with other minds, and by telepathy gleans their thoughts ; these thoughts rising into the plane of consciousness brings before him a mental view of the people or places. All these phenomena are explicable on the ground of telepathy. The sixth stage is produced in a manner similar to that used for producing the fourth and fifth, by simply giving the suggestion of going down into "deeper," "deeper" sleep. In this stage, the subject may be trained to produce most start- ling phenomena. It is in this stage that Psychometry is found. The mind of the subject is in almost perfect harmony with the universal intelligence. The infinite mind is simply using the subject as an avenue of expression. The seventh stage, or stage of suspended animation, is the last stage that it is possible to enter and the body yet remain alive. When it is produced, all the functions of the physical organism are nearly if not quite, at rest. By the most care- ful test it is sometimes impossible to get the least sign of life. To all appearances the subject is dead. It is in a light form of the seventh stage that the phenomena of materializa- tion is producd. It is not necessary to enter into any special directions for producing this last and deepest stage of the Hyp- notic sleep, for there will be so few who will ever attain the development by which it can be produced. We would not have the student think for an instant that to enter the fourth, fifth or sixth stages it is necessary for him to pass through the preceding three ; in fact it is not necessary to pass through any, so-called, stage, to produce any phenomena; but in developing a subject, these phenomena are generally pro- duced in some such order as herein named. To enter these deep sleeps, there is one thing necessary — the subject must have patience and practice. Of course the subject can himself go into these sleeps without the assistance of the operator; this by the power of auto-suggestion. it is said that when Demosthenes was asked the three essentials of eloquence, he replied, "The first is action, the second is action, and the third is action." So if we were asked for the three essentials of becoming a great hypnotist, or be- coming highly developed in any field of occultism, we would answer, "practice, practice, practice/' No one can hope to at- tain any great result in Hypnotism without careful investiga- tion and much work. e^?r LESSON NUMBER NINE. Suggestion Suggestion has been denned in one of the preceding les- sons as any influence that produces or tends to produce any change whatsoever in the condition of a monad. Some people ask the question "Is it possible to change the condition of a monad?" This is a purely metaphysical query, and like all others of this nature, its answer depends upon the interpreta- tion of terms. I will not stop to enter into any controversy on the matter but state that with the meaning I give words and expressions it is not only possible for them to be changed, out utterly impossible to keep them from changing. It is im- possible to shut out all suggestions. In truth it is impossible to shut out any. In every day life we are continually giving good and bad suggestions and all the time being influenced by the ones we ourselves receive. In this lesson we will consider in particular the suggestions acting upon men and women, rather than treat on suggestion in general. Somewhere in these lessons it says that "Suggestion rules the world." This is true in every sense. Suggestion is any influence of any nature whatsoever. If I wish you to do some act for me, I ask you. There is a suggestion sent out, it goes to you ; there is an impulse aroused in your sub-conscious mind to do as I ask. If that impulse is strong enough to determine the resultant, or will, your intention will be exercised along the line of that resultant, and perform the act. Then it could be said that you "took" my suggestion; but if the impulse aroused is not strong enough to determine the resultant, you will not do as I request. Then you are refusing my sugges- tion. One of the functions of the conscious mind is to pass before it the various suggestions, and of allowing or disallowing the impulse to which they $ive rise. Now this is true only in a limited degree, for if the impulse is strong enough it will deter- mine the action of the conscious mind. Thought is vibration. The entire universe is in vibration; all monads are functioning differently and hence their vibra- tions are different. You and I perhaps are vibrating differ- ently. If I wish to determine your actions so you will do as I ask you, I must in some way induce you to enter into har- monious vibration with me upon this particular line of thought. This condition is chen called "rapport." You then are said to be "passive" to my influence, while I am "positive." We have all met people whom we instinctively liked from the very first ; we could not have given any reason for our liking them ; we just felt drawn towards them. At other times we have met people who were repulsive to us, we seemed to want to repel them. In the first case there is "rapport," in the last, a want of it. Now- before I can give a suggestion for you to do some- thing for me and be successful, I must first become in rapport with you ; in other words, I must in some way induce you to become passive to my influence. If I have a knowledge of human nature, it will be of great service to me in accomplish- ing this. I must approach you in such a manner that I will in no way arouse in you a spirit of antagonism, for then you would be positive to me and I could not hope to have my de- sired influence over you. But if I am able to discern some of your characteristics, some of your beliefs and aspirations, then I may use them as stepning stones to your good will. Now if I doubt my ability to give you a suggestion in such a (5) manner that you will take it, the chances are strongly in fayor of me making a failure. Confidence begets confidence. If I have confidence in myself and in you, you will more likely have confidence in me and more readily become passive to the : noughts I send you. Man is an epitome of the race. Each member of the hu- man family has within himself all the impulses that have been aroused since the world began. Each of us has within our- self all the brutal passions of the savage, with all the most sublime emotions and tenderest sympathies that have ever stirred the human breast. Just think, how wonderful is the mind of man ! It has at its command the wealth of the uni- verse; it is at once love and hate, joy and sorrow, despondency and hope. All these sub-conscious memories are striving for lecognition, all endeavoring to express themselves. It is the duty of the conscious mind to control all these various impulses, to allow none to be expressed except those that meet with its approval. When the conscious mind is asleep, *he action of the sub-conscious becomes stronger ; it is free, and we have such strange dreams. Sometimes our char- acter in the dream is entirely different from which it is when we are awake. Little innocent girls have been known to dream of committing some terrible murder. Some sugges- tions, probably very old, in an associative dream, was brought into consciousness and the girl dreamed. An insane person is one in whom the conscious mind has lost the power of performing its proper function. It no longer exercises a supervision over the impulses that clamor for ex- pression. Men who are insane become so through suggestion. It is some false suggestion controlling them that makes them so. Consequently we believe that mental diseases are more readily relieved by suggestive therapeutics than by any other form of treatment. AUTO-SUGGESTION. From what has already been said, you have no doubt com- menced to comprehend something of the power of thought. Your knowledge of suggestion is of no benefit to you except you put it into practical use. Auto-suggestion, or self-suggestion, is simply the art of giving suggestions to the sub-conscious faculty of your mind trom your conscious mind. Remember, that this "inner self" has direct control of all the functions of your body. Now by thinking the proper kind of thoughts, you can produce any de- sired condition in your body. If, when you are retiring you decide you want to arise earlier than usual, by making the de- termination to awaken at a given hour, you will find that you are able to do so. This same power that caused you to awaken will do anything for you that you may desire if you will only trust it and have no doubts as to the result. Trust yourself. When you are trusting this sub-conscious part of you, you are relying upon the "Kingdom of Heaven within you." To trust yourself is to place confidence in the universal. To dare to hope, to aspire to happiness or great- ness, is to express your subjective faith in the Infinite Mind of which you are a part. Nothing is impossible to man. He is limited only by his beliefs of a doubting or of a fearful na- ture. If all men at a given moment were to strike out every fear, all doubt, every touch of envy ; in fact, free themselves from all forms of false suggestions, instantly this world would be changed to an Eden. Perhaps the reader does not yet fully comprehend the full force of suggestion as a factor in life. Some instances of the wonderful power of suggestion, taken from history, will per- haps not be out of place here : there were many strange phenom- ena produced. Often while kneeling, gazing steadfastly at and praying to the image of the Christ, the worshiper would be- come intensely aroused ; he would gaze so earnestly at the Christ, and from the place where he would be kneeling he would slowly pass up to the image above him and clasp it in his arms. History recalls many cases of such phenomena where the worshipper would, in an ecstacy, pass from the ground to the spire of a cathedral, and embrace the cross in his arms. Some- times again, while gazing fixedly upon a painting, or a statue of their Saviour the sub-conscious would become so highly stimulated, that there would be expressed upon their own bodies, the wounds of the Christ. After experiencing this con- dition of ecstacy, the worshipper would have upon his hands and feet the marks of the cruel nails, and in his side sometimes have a wound as if from the thrust of a spear. Now this is nothing but suggestion. The religious zeal was so great that it stimulated the sub-conscious to such a degree with the idea of drawing close to the image, or of sympathy for the wounds of the Christ, that the sub-conscious would express itself in its legitimate sphere of absolute con- trol of the body under such circumstances and produce the phenomena of which we have just told. Joan of Arc did her great work in bringing Liberty to France through the power of Suggestion. It was the belief of her mission that made her strong. She believed that she was called by God to lead the armies of France to victory. She had dreamed ,and in that dream she had received the message, as she thought, from the spirit, bidding her to go forth and up- hold the banner of her country. It was this hypnotic, perhaps clairvoyant "dream" that gave her such indominitable energy. However we may account for this direct ; we know that through her the universal intelligence was expressing itself, to further in a measure the advancement of the race. It was the Soul of the Race seeking to express itself. Through all her trials, the Maid of Orleans was supported by this power of which she was unconscious. All her career is but a vivid example of the wonderful power of Suggestion. In Biblical literature we would be able to find numerous examples of Suggestion. What the mysterious power that protected Daniel in the lion's den, or the three men who were placed in the firey furnace, heated seven times hotter than it had ever been before? It is evident to all students of thought that these are but other illustrations of the power of suggestion. When we read of anything startling in the He- brew Literature, or in any literature, we may know that if it was produced, the phenomena was brought about by sugges- tion ; and if suggestion did it then, it will do it now. Each and every one of us now can do it, if we only believe in ourselves, have confidence in ourselvos, rely upon our belief and try. Nothing is impossible to man. He is limited here on earth, because he has not the courage to trust himself. He permits himself to be blown about by every wind that blows ; and whether or not he makes a success or failure in life, depends not so much upon his determination, as upon the influences around him. When he submits to fear, he is condemning him- self, and casting a blight on development of all that follows. It is not only man's privilege, but man's duty, to be free. He must be free socially, intellectually, politically, — it is vain to enumerate, he must be FREE. And to be free is to cast off all the chains of false suggestions that are binding him down. To be free is to be one with God. It is man's duty to strive for freedom every day. He must endeavor to make himself better, and the world better. He must endeavor to bring to himself the good things of this earth, and he must see that all others get their share of the good things of this earth. He must strive to be happy and see that happiness becomes universal. He must bring to himself the blessings of peace, he must also see that others are peaceful ; in fact, he must bring to himself all the good things that he desires, and endeavor to see that each and every child of our race has all that he desires ; and then he will be living as he would rejoice to live, and as it is his duty to live. Earth could be made a paradise, if men only commence to think it so. This is no Eutopian dream. All these things are possible, and all may be realized by the united, harmonious, intelligent use of suggestion. If men would, but at one mo- ment commence to think right, the face of the world would be changed in the twinkling of an eye. Thought builds the worlds. These examples and these possibilities are placed before the student for the purpose of stimulating him. He must have confidence in self, he must trust himself, for if he should not, by the laws of nature he could not expect others to have con- fidence or trust in him. They are also given for the purpose of stimulating the student to experimenting along the line of sug- gestion. You must not be afraid to try. No matter how discouraged you may be, no matter how weak-hearted, smile, stand erect and tell the world you are feeling fine, and that you can and wijl accomplish the particular undertaking now at hand. You can succeed in all the affairs of this life if you desire it, and have the courage and the conviction to trust your desire. ea^r LESSON NUMBER TEN Suggestive Therapeutics There is a fable current in the Orient which tells of one who met a fearful phantom. In reply to his questions the grew- some one replied : "I am Plague. I am just now from yon- der city, where ten thousand people lie dead ; one thousand were slain by me, the rest by fear." I believe this fable does not fully indicate the relation that existed between fear and plague in the East at the time of one of the great epidemics that used to be so frequent there. The plague had become personified through fear, and was thought to be a demon, pos- sessed of such terrible power of inflicting death, that it was im- possible for man to ward off the blows ; he could only cringe and pray to his god. All savage and barbarous people believe that disease is caused by some jealous god, demon, or disembodied spirit, and they have ceremonies by which to propitiate the god, dancing, shoutings, and harsh grating noises to frighten away the un- welcome visiting demons and ghosts that they believed brought death to their people. Some savage tribes, as those of New South Wales, believe that all deaths are caused by sorcery, and hence all deaths must be avenged. For a great many centuries the Church taught that disease and death were introduced into the world by satan by inducing the first pair to eat the forbidden fruit. Perhaps if we knew the proper interpretation of this old Babalonian Myth, we should find it to contain much truth, but the explana- tion given by the Church was not only wrong and ignorant, but positively harmful. Even when the Hebrew Scriptures are assuming to be re- lating historical events, we find Jehovah inflicting suffering and death upon people who are not living in perfect accord with his capricious will, as in the affliction sent upon Pharioh and his people. Man has nearly always been taught to fear disease and death as something he could in no way avoid. These sug- gestions are with all of us today; yes, even the most civilized men and women look upon disease, misfortune and poverty as things to fear, and every precaution is taken to avoid them. This fear, as yon can readily see, is but a survival of the savage, barbar- ous and semi-civilized beliefs. Disease is simply the expression of a condition of discord between man and the world around. He is not in "tune with the Infinite." This condition of discord strives for and always obtains expressions. Disease, however, is but one form of the expression. It may be expressed in poverty, hate, envy, and lust. This discord is simply directed by the suggestions that are arousing impulses within us. I may be able to change the condition of the sufferers' sub-conscious, and thereby change the resultant and thus dispel the particular malady from which he suffers, but so long as the condition of discord exists, the patient is in danger. I may have changed the relative strength of the impulses within him by suggestion, so that the want of harmony will not be expressed again as a disease; but it may express itself in poverty, discouragement, or any of the various misfortunes or diseased mental conditions that we at once recognize as a result of this spirit of Individualism that is so highly developed in man that he antagonizes all else ; this is the discord. The mission of Suggestive Therapeutics does not stop when the patient is relieved of this particular trouble that we are called upon to cure. You will readily see why this is true, if you have comprehended what I have just told you. It is best for the student to commence the study and prac- tice of suggestion as a therapeutic agent by giving his atten- tion to both of these phases of the psychic culture from the very start. A great many of our healers are simply endeavor- ing to relieve the patient of his disease. They of course, are in the main successful, but oftentimes some new malady soon develops. In the instructions that follow, you will be told not only how to cure your patient of disease, but how to keep him well. The first thing for you to do in the study and practice of Suggestive Therapeutics, is to develop confidence in your self. When you first come into the presence of your patient, if there is the slightest hesitancy or doubt on your part, it will be in- stantly communicated to your patient; then you will have hard work, for, before you can hope to benefit him, you must secure his confidence. We will assume that you have secured the re- quired confidence, and will now proceed to tell you how to give the suggestions. See that the patient is in a comfortable position, if circum- stance will allow have him recline, relax all his muscles, close his eyes and rest. Have him assume a passive attitude toward you, just as if you were to hypnotize him. After you have done as I have just now instructed you, you may commence to give the suggestive treatment. You must pave your way to the giving of your main sug- gestion. What I mean is this ; do not at first tell the patient that all pain has left him and that he is perfectly well. You must commence by giving him suggestions of quiet, and of rest ; then tell him that you will now commence to relieve the pain, at the same time gently stroke the part afflicted and continue giving the suggestions of quiet, and that the pain is gradually growing less. Continue to give your suggestions in this way, gradually increasing them in strength, all the time watching the impression they have upon the subject. If at any time you see a frown upon his face, you may know that he, in a measure at least, has refused your suggestions. Now you must in some way, without attracting the notice of the patient, drop back in your suggestions, and again increase them gradually in strength, until you are at the suggestion at which he frowned. If he frowns again, let him rest for a little while, then go through the same process as before. You will ulti- mately have your efforts crowned with success. Never at any time doubt your ability. I will now give particular instructions for giving a Sug- gestive treatment for inflammation of the stomach, a very common and painful form of disease. First give the preliminary treatment of "quiet, resting perfectly easy," etc., as indicated above. Then proceed to specialize in some such manner as this : "In just a few minutes I will commence to relieve you of your pain; you may expect it to gradually grow less and less under the treatment I am about to give you, until it is entirely gone. Continue to rest quietly. I will now commence to stroke lightly the part afflict- ed, and with each stroke, I will bring about a more quiet condi- tion of the nerves, and at the same time I will equalize the circu- lation of your blood. The nerves are becoming more and more quiet, the circulation more and more equalized ; rest quietly and gain strength. Now that pain is commencing to go away, etc., etc." You may continue this treatment for as long a time as you think advisable, talking in a low monotone. At the last give him suggestions of hope, energy and of "life more abund- antly." Tell him of his oneness with the universal intelli- gence in some very simple way. Tell him the importance of self reliance, also, that all the forces of the universe are endeav- oring to make him well, all he needs to do is to make himself passive to the power of the Christos or power within himself, and his complete recovery is assured. Furthermore, explain to him that when he does as you advise him, he will not only become well physically, but his renewed energy and confidence in himself will be manifested in all his actions ; he will be hap- pier and better, he will be more able to obtain his portion of the good things of this world. For any other disease, give a similar preliminary and closing treatment. You must use your originality on the special treatment. Determine just what changes you want to bring about in the patient's psychical and physical condition, and give your suggestions accordingly. Be careful at all times about the manner in which you offer your suggestions ; give them in a firm, masterful way, let them be expressive of your self-confidence, and also of your confidence in the patient's ability to recover of his own accord if he should only make the proper decisions. The healer must develop himself, he cannot expect to im- press suggestions of health strongly upon the patient if he himself is nervous and weak. This is not always true, but it is a general rule. The healer should feel within himself the throb of joyous life. He should also feel the confidence that enables him to send out the suggestive words or thoughts, with the firm belief that they will effect the cure. No fear, no doubt, must enter the mind of the operator when in the pres- ence of his patient. Then in partcular he must live a life of hope and determination. Auto-suggestion is a most important factor in preparing the healer for the treatment or care of a dangerous case. While going to the one who is so dangerously ill, it would be well for the healer to repeatedly, almost continuously, give him- self suggestions of strength, self reliance and ability to cure the patient when he reaches him. He should quiet his nerves and instill into himself such determination to relieve the sufferer, that when he comes to his side, he is perfectly self-possessed, and feels that he knows that he can cure him. By the legiti- mate use of suggestion he will be able to have this confidence developed to such a point much quicker than he would if he had dispensed with the preparatory self-development. I would advise all students to practice this form of auto-sugges- tion, not only in the treatment of acute but all chronic cases, as it will aid them so much in the cure of disease. Remember the power of auto-suggestion is almost un- limited in its power for the betterment of the condition of the individual. Every time a man breathes a word of hope or of ' determination to succeed he is the better for it, by its intelli- gent use man can raise himself to any social position to which he may aspire. He can become great in the world of letters, of finance or of trade, in fact man can accomplish any ur all of ljis desires in this world if he only believes that he can and has the determination to do so. The great trouble wj'th the aA^erage student is that he is afraid to try; if he is not afraid, he may be negligent in his practice. He may simply read the lessons and make no effort to bring into his life the forces and beauties of the truth that he should have gleaned from them. He has simply read them ; he will perhaps con • demn them and say that he himself has tried the powers of mental science and knows it to be of no consequence. There are many such students in the world, and we find them es- pecially in America. The American people have never, as a race, been taught the virtues of patience. If we do not obtain startling results at the very beginning we are inclined to be- lieve that the means we are using is insufficient to bring about the result we desire. To all such nervous and impatient ones who should read these lessons I will say, kindly, that you must relieve yourself of this nervous condition (for which full instructions are given in these lessons) or you must give up your ambition of becoming great in the world of occultism. You must practice patience. When a new pupil is taken by the Indian Mahatmas, he is first sent out on the desert to think. There in the evening, with the stillness of death around him, he is supposed to look at the stars and think. It is then, in this silence, that he commences to recognize the immensity of the self. No tests are given him for some time ; he is simply instructed to let his soul go out and feel that he is one with all about him. His first lesson is patience. Now in conclusion, I wish to impress once more, upon the mind of the student, the fact that he is one with the universal mind around him, he is one with nature and nature's God. He has within himself the power to obtain all the things he may desire, and all potentialities that exist. He is infinite in his possibilities, limited only by his indivduality. All the forces in nature are endeavoring to make him better, better in every way. The Soul of the Race is striving to manifest itself through him. By placing himself in an attitude of passivity to this infinite force, he will unfold into a perfect man. All these things are attainable by the use of suggestion. Suggestion rules the world. e^ LESSO .M NUMBER ELEVEN Magnetism There has been so much written about Animal Magnetism in recent years, that I do not think it advisable to ignore the subject in these lessons. I believe it my duty to explain the phenomena to my readers so they may remain free from the nany erroneous ideas concerning it. History tells us that the. priests and therapeutists of the ancient world were firm believers in what they called "living fire," a "mysterious something" that they thought could be transmitted from one person to another. Perhaps they also believed that when this "fire" burned low in any one, that was weakness ; when it became extinguished, that was death. When it burned too fiercely, it caused what we would call an agitation of the nervous system. We find that this belief in what is commonly called Vital Magnetism, was very general in Egypt ; and there are good reasons to believe that there were schools in that country in which it was taught. It was undoubtedly those old beliefs, in which he was a iervid investigator, that determined the nature of the theory of Animal Magnetism that was evolved by Anton Mesmer. This power or influence that one person may have upon another by apparently causing the vibrations of his own nerv- ous system to be felt in the nervous system of the other, has been called by various names : Animal Magnetism, Vital Magnetism, Od Force, Ethereum, Electro-Biology and Elec- trical Psychology. An author, writing on this subject of Magnetism nearly forty years ago, says that as electrical forces develop and reg- ulate the processes of organic chemistry, the functions of vol- untary and involuntary motion and sensation, and the circu- lation of all the animal fluids, it will be no less apparent that all forms of vital and functional derangements originate, as to their organic incipiency, in electrical disturbances of the nerv- ous system. By a natural and necessary sequence, we there- fore conclude that any method or process, whereby the prac- titioner, in the healing art, is enabled to directly govern the electric forces or materially influence the distribution of this subtile agent, at once invests him with a masterly power over the various forms of diseases. This author whom we have been in some measure quoting and paraphrasing further says, that "every departure from the normal standard, indicates either an excess or a deficiency of the electro-vital motive power. The positive and negative states of the body, and of the particular organs, are invariably accompanied by a cor- respondingly increased or diminished electro-thermal, chem- ical, vascular and organic action. To accelerate or to retard these processes and functions, as the exigency of the case may demand, we must of course act on and through the very agent on which they severally and collectively depend. Vital elec- tricity being the operative agent in animal chemistry ; in the generation of the vital heat and organic force ; in the circula- tion of the fluids ; and in all the functions and sensation and voluntary motion, it follows of necessity that the power to control the circulation and action of this agent, qualifies its possessor to determine the physiological action and the path- ological states of the system, and hence to subdue all the curable forms of disease." The quoted paragraph above will give the student a fairly clear idea of one belief in the mysterious force ; others are much different ; some maintaining this "fluid" is universal, as it is taught by the adherents of the Mesmer school. Others call it a "blending of the nerve and thought force.' The author just quoted (Brittan, in "Man and his Relations.") is inclined to believe that it is simply the result of certain com- bustions in the body. If you take both hands of a person in yours, his left in your right and his right in your left, pressing your thumb on a small nerve between the fourth and fifth metacarple shafts of his left hand, holding his right hand in the same manner, by exercising a steady intention to do so, you can cause the person upon whom you are experimenting, to feel something similar to an electric current in his arm. in very sensitive people this cur- rent is sometimes so strong as to be felt through the entire body. Send the current from your right hand. Now the Vital Magnetists tell us that this is a "current" of some kind, that passes from the operator to the subject. I do not daubt that there is some agitation of the nerve cells, but I emphatically deny that this agitation is produced by a "fluid," "current," or anything of the kind passing from one to the other. I am not ignorant of the fact that there is aroused in all of us an electric force, that pervades our body and per- haps emanates from us to a certain extent, (something similar to the aura of the Hindoos) but I do not believe, in fact posi- tively deny, that it produces the phenomena considered above. Remember, there is nothing that controls matter but Mind. The agitation of the nerve cells referred to in the above paragraph is caused by suggestion, for a suggestion is any in- fluence whatsoever that produces or tends to produce, any change in a monad's condition. You may admit the power of suggestion, but maintain that the current is the suggestion in this case. That could be true, but there is no valid reasons to believe in the current's existence. Experiment upon some one by endeavoring to make him feel the current, let him be in ignorance of what you are en- deavoring to do, and the chances of your making him feel the sensations will be very few; if he docs feel it, you may know that the suggestion was given by thought transference. If you fail to make him notice the current, explain to him what you are endeavoring to do ; then the chances are that he will notice the current. If he does, tell him that you will send the current once more, much stronger this time. Now do not ex- ercise the intention of sending a current, in fact rather make an effort to retain an this "fluid," (if you believe in such a thing) in yourself. You will be surprised at the effect on him. He will tell you that the current is much stronger than before. Evidently suggestion has produced the phenomenon here. Continue making experiments along this line and you will ulti- mately come to know that magnetism is nothing real in itself, but simply suggestion. Now I would not have the so-called Magnetic Healers de- sist from their present methods of applying magnetism for the cure of disease ; it is a very good form of suggestion ; but I would have them know the basic principles of the phenomena they produce. They should understand that magnetism is suggestion. MAGNETIC HEALING is the science of curing diseases by the direction of these cur- rents, coupled with the massage treatment. I will now tell you how to cure a case of torpid liver by this method. First give a general treatment, by stroking down the spine vigorously, having your hands very hot ; give some gen- tle massage along either side of the spine over the various nerve centers, if circumstances will allow you may give a gen- tle massage treatment over the entire body; this however, is seldom convenient. After giving this general treatment, hav- (6) ing stimulated the circulation, you may proceed to give the local treatment. Now what the liver requires in order that it may resume the performance of its proper functions is stimulation. Some- times the veins in the organs are charged with stagnant blood, circulation is almost entirely stopped, the nerves are also al- most dead. The ones coming to the organ from the solar- plexus have a slow rate of vibration. There is often quite a good deal of congestion around the nerve center itself. Often times that region on the spine is sore to the touch. Here then we find the nerves highly sensitive. We must quiet them. We will do this by gentle strokes and by suggestion. We will also equalize the circulation about the solar-plexus. Now the main point in treating a disease of any kind is to have the nerves vibrate at a normal rate. When they are vibrating too fast there is produced a nervous and perhaps spasmodic action in the organ they control. When they are sluggish in their vibration and the rate very slow, then there is a torpid condition of the organ. Now in torpid liver we must send to the sub-conscious mind of the patient strong suggestions of increasing the neuro-molecular action of the organ. By placing one hand on the solar-plexus and the other in front of the organ afflicted, exercise the inten- tion of imparting the vibration from your own nervous sys- tem to this particular system of nerves in the patient. Con- tinue this for some few minutes, then treat the organ itself; by suggestion command each particular monad that goes to make up the organ to perform its proper function. It would perhaps be well to give a vigorous massage treatment around the liver and also give the suggestions of contracting the capillaries and veins and force out the dark venous blood. As soon as you succeed in getting the nerves of the patient quiet, the pain relieved, and the nerves that control the organ stimulated and this dark venous bloou forced out, good rich blood will come in and circulate through the organ, and the patient will be cured. In treating every form of disease, equalizing the circula- tion is a very important factor in effecting a cure; and nearly every malady the student win be called upon to relieve will be a disease of the circulatory system. Stomach trouble, liver trouble, rheumatism, catarrh are all diseases caused by a poor circulation of the blood. Sometimes th^re is a rush of blood to an organ, temporarily perhaps, as to the head when one has a slight cold. Perhaps the blood rushes there too virgor- ouslv, overcharges the veins and capinaries lining the nasal ca\lties. The walls of these veins and capillaries become so greatly distended or stretched that they are weakened and thei : power of contraction is lost. The blood within them is not forced to circulate and ^ecomes stagnant. Now the mucous membranes form from this stagnant, impure blood, the secretions to lubricate the nasal passages. Being made from such impure material the secretions themselves could not be otherwise than unhealthy. This con- dition of circumstances is what is commonly called catarrh. All the poison of the system has a tendancy to come to the parts thus affected, rendering them worse and worse. If this condition of affairs is allowed to continue, the case will become chronic. I\ow to cure a case of chronic catarrh, both general and local treatments are advisable. Give the general treat- ment to strengthen the liver, kidneys and Dowels. A great per cent, of all the catarrh becomes chronic simply because the liver is in a diseased condition. Stimulate the various or- gans so that they will throw off the poisons. The local treat- ment would be simply a stimulation of the forehead, temples and cheeks by massage and suggestions with the intention to con- tract the veins and capillaries on the inner surface of the walls, force out the impure blood, and let good, rich blood come in, out of which healthy secretions may be formed. The magnetic treatment is to place the positive or right hand on the fore- head ,and the negative hand on the bacK of the head and send the current through from right to left. Take the nose just be- low the bridge, between the thumb anu fore finger and by a like manipulation impart your "magnetism," directing it to fol- low the walls of the nasal cavities, harmonizing all action there and make the connection of the current with your positive hand at the back. This, with the general treatment, will cure the patient. Now the above instances of methods used by the Mag- netic Healers for the cure of disease, are supposed by them to I e based upon the existence of this invisible ether or vital magnetism that pervades all space, or it is supposed to be a blending of the nerve and thought force. For practical pur- poses it does not matter what the healer's belief in the cura- tive agent may be. It is always one and the same power that cures, it is always the power of suggestion. The belief in the theory of Vital Magnetism, Animal Magnetism, Electro Bi- ology, or whatever this imaginary fluid may be called, has its use ; it strengthens the confidence of the healer and of the patient. But I think the healer is stronger and the patient is stronger, when both know that the power that makes the cure is in the universal intelligence expressing itself and trying to relieve the diseased body of its abnormal condition. All the forces in the universe are but the action of the mind. A cur- rent from an electric battery, static electricity generated by friction and combustion in the Healer's body would have ef- fect on no one by itself. We may use it as a means of convey- ing a suggestion or of arousing a certain impulse, but it can never cure. The power to cure is in the mind alone. I hope the student will comprehend this idea of magetism, know that this phenomenon is simply a phase of suggestion. It has become almost a reproach to call one a Magnetic Healer, for so many of these healers have such strange and ignorant views concerning the methods they use. They try to argue it as being magnetism, and apparently have not the slightest conception of the orthodox doctrines of the school in which they claim membership. I wish all of the students who read these lectures to be free from this weakness. I would have them look upon magnetism from a scientific point of view; I would have them in the first ranks ; I would have them know that in all cases it is suggestion that effects the cure. Remember, nothing in the universe has power to control matter but mind, this is as true of a drop of blood, or a nerve cell, as of a star. The force that arouses the impulse, that makes it move (as the nervous action of the cell in melancholia) is the power of suggestion. As I have told you before, suggestion rules the world. e^ LESSON NUMBER TWELVE Science of Healing In medical Nomenclature, the Science of Healing is called Therapeutics. During the first century there arose a body of Egyptian Jews who were called "Therapeutae." They gave themselves up to the contemplation of the Deity. They lived in cells, coming out only on certain days to worship together ; returning immediately thereafter, each to his own individual cell, where they would remain till the next day for public wor- ship. The' term "Therapeutics" evidently has its origin from this body of priests. Priests were the first to practice the heal- ing art, which they did by incantations, prayers, etc. Even to this day in India, the priests mutter words over strings or amulets, and fasten them about the neck, waist or wrists of those complaining of disease or sickness. The results are quite as iavorable as are experienced from our more enlightened Med- ical Therapeutics of America. It is evident from the history of the Healing Art, that the science was one of pure sugges- tion. Although the priest or practitioner may have believed that he was calling into exercise the power of a divine being; so that the science as practiced by these early healers involved the fundamental principles of what is now recognized as "Sug- gestive Therapeutics." Erom strings and amulets, the transition to food and drugs was easy, and hence later the incantations and mutterings were made over something that the patient ate or drank ; and still later specialized preparations were made, over which incan- tations and mysterious words were uttered ; thus deepening the mystery and fastening the superstition upon the race. Later, roots, herbs, and concoctions were prepared for different afflic- tions, all the while they were preparing them enchantments were uttered or sung over them. This is true to this day among certain Indian tribes in this country. Nature always seeks expression in and through individual- ized characters, and the expression can be perfect only as the individualized character is perfect. The law of suggestion being purely the rule of the mind, was given expression through the incantations, etc., of priests, who were supposed to be nearest to the powers of the Deity. That the results were often successful there is little doubt ; but such results were attained by imparting to the conscious or sub-conscious mind of the patient, a suggestion that the Deity or some mys- terious power had instilled into him strength to throw off his trouble or sickness. It had not occurred to either the priest or the patient that the result was simply the calling into action of the powers inherent in the patient himself. As time passed and the number and variety of medicinal preparations in- creased, the faith seems to have been transferred from the enchanter to the drug or preparation itself, and the virtue is now supposed to reside in the medicine ; simply another phase of suggestion, the mystery of which is as certainly super- stitious as was the earlier belief in the incantations of the priests. \\ e are now coming to understand the power of sugges- tion, and to realize that the only reliable agency for the relief of all human ailments, is the power inherent in man himself, and that by awakening and developing the latent powers with- in us, we are able to rid ourselves of disease in all its forms. Thus has the science of Therapeutics evolved, and thus are we brought to a knowledge of the power and universality of Mind. As we gain knowledge of these truths we secure freedom from error. In a former lesson I have treated of the cause of disease. I wish here to add further that disease in any form is but the expression of suggestion, or the resultant of suggestions oper- ating upon the sub-conscious faculties and that the only thing essential to dispel disease is to implant a stronger counter- suggestion, a suggestion of strength instead of weakness, of health instead of sickness. The science of thus healing disease is called "Suggestive Therapeutics," and is based upon the assumption, or under- standing that Mind is a unit and universal; that the individ- ualized personal mind or consciousness is but the expression or manifestation of this universal Mind through material agency. As mind is universal its phases are infinite, and each in- dividualized expression is but a manifestation of universal Mind, has universal Mind as a source from which to draw, and can therefore through the power of thought and the exercise of will, shape the manifesting organism as he chooses. He can exercise thoughts of disease or health, weakness or strength. Hence disease or physical ailment is but the result of psychological disturbance due to suggestions that are in- harmonious. The province of the healer is to render his patient cognizant of his oneness with this universal Mind and have him realize that its forces are available to him by reason of the fact that they are inherent in him, as in every individual. The experienced healer will at once acquaint himself with, yea, will quickly discern the mental state, and will invar- iably find that fear plays an important part-. A man finds within himself some physical disturbance and at once the in- dividual mind localizes it. The first thing for the healer to do is, in a scientific manner, to dissipate the fear ; not by telling the patient that there is nothing the matter with him, for thus you arouse antagonism, but by agreeing with him in a measure, and thus gaining his confidence. Having gained his confidence you seek to supplant fear by suggestion of cour- age. This may be done by bringing the patient to see that though he has weakness, yet he has strength to overcome his weakness ; in other words : that health is dependent upon the development of powers inherent in himself, and that these powers may be brought into action by a proper exercise of the mind. "As a man thinks so is he," is an aphorism, the truth of which we are beginning to fully realize. If one can take unto himself a suggestion of health and strength and con- tinue to act upon such suggestion, health and strength will result. Thought is a building energy. Mind is a force from which we draw formative thought. All things first exist potentially in mind. They then form through thought. Hav- ing taken thought-form, they are expressed on the material plane. The expression is invariably in accord with the thought expressed, and can be modified to express any change in thought. Therefore if one becomes sick his disease is but the expression of a suggestion implanted consciously or sub-con- sciouslv, by thought entertained in or expressed upon the in- dividual mind. Thought is a formative, constructive force or energy. Individual thought or thinking is the application of this con- structive force or energy to the formation of specialized things ; and thus thoughts are, or become things. Thoughts may be changed or modified and thus change or modify these things. Character is but the expression of habit of thought or thinking. Character, therefore, may be changed by change of thoughts. You have often been walking along when sud- denly some thought flashed in your mind, and it had such force and effect upon you as to cause you to stop and reflect and give yourself time for readjustment. If this new thought be of evil tenor and you should con- tinue to dwell upon it, your character would express itself along the line of this thought and you would be known as a bad man. If, on the other hand, the thought should be noble and elevating, acting upon it, you would grow continually better. Am instance in history. Robespierre when a young man, was tender hearted as a girl ; could not be induced to harm anything. The events preceding and during the French Revolution instilled into his mind thoughts of revenge, acting upon which his character was so changed that his name is a synonym of cnuelty and ty • ranny. All this was the result of the exercise of formative thought, and suggestion. These principles and truths apply to all phases of physical conditions, and sickness or health result from the exercise of this formative and constructive energy upon our physical organism. WE CAN BE SICK OR WELL just as we think. By thoughts of disease we im- plant in our sub-conscious mind, a suggestion that will de- velop and express itself in our physical organism in some form of disease ; provided we permit such thoughts to abide with us. By thoughts of health and strength we implant a suggestion, which, if nourished and developed, will assure us immunity from disease. So that, if we have, in an unguarded moment, or ignorantly, received a suggestion that has ex- pressed itself in some form of physical disturbance, we must at once recognize the fact that we have omitted to exercise and develop the faculties potentially within us, to overcome and exclude every thought that tends to give us suggestions of inharmony, disturbance and consequent disease. Awak- ening to this truth, and recognizing our power to maintain thoughts of strength, to exercise and utilize constructive energy, we can build for ourselves other conditions ; condi- tions that harmonize only with health. So much for the philosophy of the science of Healing. Sciences also involve principles of ethics. Indeed ethics is the motive power of all true science. We have been taught throughout the ages gone by, and to this day that we must sacrifice our bodies to the elevation and salvation of the soul. The soul and its function, during all these ages, have been enshrined in mystery, a subject of spec- ulation, a fetish of mythology, divinely sacred to theology, incomprehensible in philology and unrecognized in biology. And yet this something claimed to be possessed by man, which no one has had the temerity to define or presume to understand, has held such dominion over the race during all the centuries of our evolution, that we have been falsely led to believe that it is more sacred than all the universes, and that its existence extends beyond the eternities. This thought and consequent false suggestion has taken such fast hold upon the race, that asceticism is a superlative virtue among many people, and especially in the Orient. An oriental ascetic, will punish himself, distort his body, begrime his coun- tenance and render his physical organism so monstrously hid- eous, that it seems more like the dwelling place of eternal tor- ment, than the temple of a living, immortal, divine soul. Through such an one are expressed the results of many false suggestions, all growing out of the supreme falsehood of the super-sacredness of the undefined souls. Soul, whatever it is, can manifest on the physical plane, only through the physical organism. Hence the more perfect the organism, the more perfect the manifestation. The body and its functions are, therefore, just as sacred as the soul and its functions, and it is just as essential that its energies be con- served as that the duration and condition of the soul be assured. The soul is SENSE. The great world of sense from which we must draw for our power to sense any truth. Truth can be discerned only by the soul. And the soul can sense on the physical plain, only by manifesting through a sentient ^""* organism. Therefore, the sacredness of the body. IT MUST EXPRESS THE SOUL. From what has been said, it is evident that it is our most sacred duty to maintain our body in the best possible condition, that the soul, or sense, can be most fully realized and ex- pressed. The salvation of the soul, consequently, depends upon the conservation and evolution of the body in the best possible condition ; it and its functions, quite as much as the body depends upon the right exercise of our formative thought. In all this I must not be understood as speaking lightly of the importance and sacredness of the soul, but to impress the truth of the equal sacredness of the body and its func- tions. Once we believe this truth our duty is plain, and the per- formance becomes both easy and pleasant. After we shall have developed our powers to utilize form- ative constructive energy through the direction of our thoughts, and thus to harbor only suggestions in harmony with the universal, infinite Sense, we will undertake any achievement, nothing daunted, KNOWING ourselves to be fully able to accomplish our undertaking. Fear, the torment of life, will disappear, and Courage, born of our knowledge of power and realization of effort, will abide with us the rescuer of the individual, the Saviour of the race. Ethics is the science of duty. Duty is a function of the soul, or sense. The soul, or sense enables us to perceive our duty. Thought directs our effort. Courage moves us to act and confidence achieves our purpose, LESSON NUMBER THIRTEEN Personal Magnetism The reader of history will readily agree with me when I say that Peter the Hermit was a man possessed of most won- derful power. He was one of the most decidedly unique char- acters of the Middle Ages. The power of the Holy See was becoming weakened. She still retained her spiritual power, but her influence was not so great with the barons, the princes and the monarchs. It was necessary that something be clone to regain this waning, temporal authority. It is said that this monk, (called Peter the Hermit, because of his very ascetic and recluse life) went to the Pontiff and proposed a crusade to regain the Holy Sepulchre from the "Infidels." The Pope adopted the plan and accepted the services of the monk which were tendered for the execution of the wondertul scheme. Peter the Hermit commenced to preach. Soon all Eu- rope was wrought into a blazing enthusiasm, in which there was not the slightest trace of rationality. Europe, in this eleventh century was wild ; she was wild with pseudo religious zeal ; no matter what betide, that Holy Resting Place of the Saviour must be reclaimed from the Mohammedan. The student is no doubt aware of the history that fol- lows. But what enabled this monk to persuade the peasants, princes and kings of Europe to undertake such "Stark, star- ing nonsense," a plan that could only result in disaster and ruin to all who entered upon it? I ask "whence the secret of this man's wonderful power''? Some say he was "filled with the love of Christ,' 'and was desirous of having His Sepulchre under control of the Christian. History tells me that this is not true, he, nor the Pope cared one "jot or tittle" for the resting place; the whole pro- ceeding was to increase the temporal power of the Holy See. Some again tell us that the preacher was controlled by a daemon, then this daemon must have been a veritable demon to be instrumental in sending millions of Europe's best peo- ple to untold misery and death. No such explanation will answer; the power that thus moved Europe was in Peter the Hermit himself. It was sim- ply the power of his own individuality, it was the man exert- ing himself. It was what is commonly known as Personal Magnetism. In some historical book it tells us how a priest speaking in the Latin, aroused the people to go on the crusade insti- tuted by feter the Hermit, although the people could not un- derstand a single word that the preacher said to them — they were simply influenced by his personality or Personal Mag- netism. It may, perhaps, be thought by some that the explanation of these phenomena, by asserting them to be the legitimate re- sults of an unconscious exercise of an occult power, is not to be admitted ; fearing that we may be wrong in assigning the recorded effects to the operation of such an unseen agent, which, until comparatively late years, at all events, was almost universally hooted at by scientists as the dream of charlatanic imposture. But we have so many vivid examples of the power of Peter the Hermit exhibited among us every day, that we cannot deny the immensity of its strength in the in- fluence and control of others. No doubt the student who is reading these lessons, has heard an address upon some topic in which you had very little interest, a theme which, had it been placed before you by some one who was weak, would have been treated with ridicule and contempt. But in listening to the speaker, you have become impressed by his looks, his gestures, the tone of his voice, and perhaps for the time being you were almost converted to his manner of thinking, and yet probably after- wards, when calm reason has commenced to assert herself; and the clamor has commenced to wear off, you cannot imag- ine what it was that impressed you so. There was not a statement made, that you are able to recall the truth of which you do not doubt. There was no chain of clean, concise reason- ing. All attempts at reasoning were weak, and in recalling the speech, you at once see the faults. It was not what the speaker said that convinced, it was not that his argument seemed irrefutable at the time, it was simply the power of his personality — it was his Personal Magnetism. Instances of the action of this power could be drawn from history to an almost unlimited extent. Innumerable examples of the phenomena could be mentioned in every day life, but the student will be left to do this work alone. What con- cerns us most here is, "what is Personal Magnetism, and how can I cultivate it in myself for the betterment of my own con- dition and the condition of those around me?" I will tell you. Personal Magnetism is the power of impinging your per- sonality upon another, so as to influence and perhaps control him. It is simply one of the phenomena of bold thinking. Still again it may be defined as the ability with which one gets in rapport with another. This is very definite, and can be readily understood by all. Some people are great social favorites, not because of their accomplishments or learning, but because people seem to be drawn towards them by some- thing irresistable. This is simply because the fortunate one is possessor of the faculty of getting in rapport or a condition of harmony with every one. People seem to like him and confide in him involuntarily. He perhaps does not know anything about the philosophy of his success. If you were to question him you would find that he did not have any fear of his fellows, no fear that he may antagonize some one by doing the things that he intends to do. You would find in the place of this fear strong confidence in self. In fact, you would find that he was popular because be BELIEVED IN POPU- LARITY. Some men make a success as traveling salesmen, they are able to secure enormous orders, and make much money for the company for which they are working, and for themselves ; others are complete failures, they seem to be able to do noth- ing in the way of selling goods. The first man causes his ^-fospective customer to want the article he has to sell ; he oftentimes persuades the merchant to give him an order when the tradesman really believes he should not. A mo- ment after the salesman has gone, he is surprised at himself for having' ordered such a supply of goods, goods that he does not need. He had been dealing with what the commercial world calls a good salesman. More particularly he has been in psychical contact with a superior, with a man of stronger Personal Magnetism. In selling goods, the salesman should think the thought he wishes his patron to think. By thought transference he should send him the message "I want those goods," then as- sume that they are wanted and do not express the least doubt about him placing an order. He should become in that con- dition of rapport with his customer in which he is able to in- fluence and control him. He is positive, while his customer is passive. He thinks strong and forcibly the thought he wishes his customer to think. He assumes that he will do as he re- quests him. He has confidence in his ability to secure the order and in the twinkling of an eye, the signature is ob- tained. We are often astonished at the almost unlimited success of others, and bemoan our own misfortune. We are forgetful of the fact that one man has no more powers and capabilities than another, the difference between men is in the exercise of these powers; some use them, develop them and become strong; others allow them to remain dormant, they are listless and weak. Over the portals of the ancient world was written "Know thyself." A fitting motto for all men who wish to succeed, men who wish to obtain a high development of Personal Mag- netism, is "Be thyself." It is said by some that this was the mission of Christ — simply to teach Individualism, to teach each man to be his simple, honest independent self. At one time he commanded one to follow him, but received a reply "Suffer me first to go and bury my lather." Christ told him, "let the dead bury the dead, you follow me." By this language Christ intended to impress upon the man that he must let nothing whatever affect his individuality; he must be free. To the student who wishes to succeed in Personal Mag- netism I would say, commence by being yourself, cast out all affectations, for that weakens you more than anything else ; be yourself, then assert yourself. There are a great many people whose character their most intimate friends do not know; perhaps they have none. They are of one belief, act in one way today and are so easily influenced to be different to- morrow. They seem to be so weak, have no determination, no ambition along any definite line, and it seems impossible sometimes to instill any ambition into them ; they are afraid to assert themselves ; they are ashamed of their real selves, and use a nctitious character. They are attempting to appear to be what they are not ; they are not strong enough to do this successfully, hence these many changes in the manifesta- tions of themselves. All they need to do in order to become successful, healthy and happy, is to cast off all convention- (7) ality, all pretentions and become themselves and assert their real character. Sometimes I think that a very great per cent, of the disease, poverty and misfortune of this world is brought upon us simply because people are not themselves ; they practice too much deception, too much deceit; they at- tempt to appear otherwise than they really are ; they endeavor to live a falsehood which is impossible. I believe again that if all people everywhere were to at once assert their individ- uality, each to maintain that he has as much power as any man in the universe and to concede that power to others, if all people were to recognize that all men are equal in their possibilities and endeavor to give their real selves legitimate expression un- trammeled by the conventionalities or by deception; then I say I believe the world would be almost wholly revolu- tionized. Man cannot become great as long as he is chained by fear; so long as he is chained by fear he cannot be himself; he is not* master of himself. If there is a passion struggling within him; if there are emotions there, I want him to express them, it doeL him no good to suppress them; I want him to be himself; I want him to give a legitimate expression to the divine life within him. If he cannot express himself and be good, let him be his simple, honest, independent self and be bad. We must not commence to reform a man by telling him not to express some passion. We must commence by teach- ing him how to control it. We must teach him self mas- tery, the other way would oe almost criminal, when the sub- conscious surges and demands expression, it must be ex- pressed or its power will become weak. The legitimate grati- fication will make it strong. No matter how much injury the passion may cause a .man, it should not be made weak, he should simply be taught how to control it. He must not be afraid to be himself. Let him assert his individuality, im- pinge that individuality upon those around him, influence them to do as he likes, then he will be practicing Personal Magnetism. Man can attain any position in life he may desire, if he only believes that he can attain it, and has the courage to fol- low that desire. He can make his way into the most exclusive circles, he can surround himself with men of great ability, he can obtain all of the good things of this world that he desires. These things are possible simply because man is all mind and the power of mind is unlimited. To the student, I would say that there are unlimited pos- sibilities before you ; if you will only free yourself from affec- tation and gain strength by being yourself, you can accom- plish anything that you may desire. The knowledge you now have of the laws of mind will enable you to do these things intelligently. Remember, man is one with the universal, his natural condition would be that of harmony with all nature. Now he is estranged, it is his duty to again become in rapport with the Soul of the Race, allow this power of the Christos to manifest itself through him, and it is this condition of internal peace that brings him into a condition of peace with all around him. The expression of this peace would show outwardly in a man's character as a grace. Remember, that thought is but a form of vibration. When I think, the waves of thought go in all directions, they never stop ; I can in a great measure direct these vibrations by exer- cising a strong intention to do so ; I can send them to the mind of the man or mass of men to whom I am speaking; I can direct the thought in some such way as a bull's eye lantern focuses the light. When you send the thought so forcibly that you induce the other person to vibrate harmoniously with you, you are practicing Personal Magnetism. If ihe student has not attained all the success that he has desired, I would hold out to him, hope ; no matter how despond- ent he may be, no matter how poor his health, how much op- pressed by poverty, if he will only commence to be himself, commence to assert his individuality, he can become great. As exercise for his development I would be unable to give any that would be better than those that have been already indi- cated. The first would be to discard all affectation, then assert yourself. Give expression to the universal intelligence within you, take suggestions of strength, suggestions of success, spurn all fear, recognize no such thing as defeat. Do not simply make an aim and forget to build; do not aim at greatness and forget to build the foundation of greatness. Aim high, build low. eJp LESSON NUMBER FOURTEEN Thought Transference Thought is vibration. It is not something one sends from his mind to the mind of another, as is commonly supposed. There is a great deal of ignorance and misunderstanding in re- gard to the nature of thought. Very few people you meet would be able to give you an intelligent answer were you to ask them the question "what is thought?" To simply say that thought is vibration, does not suffice, all the universe is vibrating. Evidently we must be more con- cise in our affirmation, for in thought-transference we talk of a thought being sent from the mind of one person to the mind of another, and we do not see the possibility of this, if thought is vibration and nothing more, and we believe that is all it is. Strike a bell, the air all around is set in motion. But it is not the wave that surrounds the bell that strikes the drum of the person's ear who hears the ringing; that wave does not travel any more than a wave on a lake of water, where, as we all know, the waves do not move a great deal, not nearly so much as they appear, it is simply the result of action of force, the water does not move. Place a number of billiard balls in a row, resting so they touch. Strike the first one lightly, the one at the opposite end will roll away, leaving the others in their position. Why is this? Evidently the force of the strike on the first one of the balls has passed through the entire line of balls and circum- stances have been right for the production of recognizable phenomena only in the last one. The rest were used simply as a means of communicating the force of the strike to this last one. When one thinks, he sets up a new condition all around him to harmonize with the idea he has just unfolded. It is be- cause of the wonderful power of our ideas, or thoughts, upon environments, that the subject of Mental Science deserves such careful study. When you think, you in some way set up a vibration in the ether all around you. It is not your thought or idea that caused the ether to vibrate, it was the force of your thought. Upon the nature of your thought depends the vigor of the vi- bration. Vibration is one of the laws of life. The force of a thought is unlimited, it is expressed everywhere. There is a mechan- ical contrivance that will demonstrate to you something about vibration! Back of a large concave mirror is a large trumpet, with the large opening towards the mirror. The mirror is so placed that rays of light from it will fall on a complementary mirror some distance away. Back of this mirror is another trumpet, or funnel, the large opening towards the mirror. At the small end is a very fine fiber through which runs an elec- tric current; this current is connected to a telephone disk. Now by speaking in the first trumpet, you can set up the proper vibration in the telephone disk and one could thus hear what you were saying. Think what takes place ; first there is a vibration of the brain cells for the accommodation of the thought ; by an unconscious exercise of intention this vibration is imparted to the proper nerve, nerve cell, again to the nerves and finally to the muscles — just the proper muscles are called upon to act, their action is in accord with the thought. Certain nerves and vocal cords are stimulated, the air in the throat and mouth is set in vibration, the external air vibrates ; this causes the mirror to vibrate, the mirror vibrating causes the rays of light to change to accord, these waves are reflected to the second mirror whose surface changes and vibrates to harmonize with the rays of light; back of the second mirror the atmosphere is set in motion, the trumpet directs the vi- bration of the air to the fiber and electric current, which now acts in accord with the thought. The vibration is conveyed to the telephone disks, again to the atmosphere, then to the drum of the ear, through the various little processes, finally to nerves, nerve center, brain and particular brain tract for the recep- tion of that thought ; the man hears. The force of the idea in this case has been felt in the human body, the atmosphere, glass, rays of light, electrical current, etc. The direction of this force to the mind of the "hearer" without these material agencies, but by simply directly controlling the thought waves would be called thought-transference. The mind of man is the mind of the universe, when it sets up new forces the universe must vibrate in harmony. An in- dividualized mind may think and by intention focus these thought waves, or direct them to the mind of another, and set up such intense vibration there, that the thought will rise in the plane of consciousness and the person recognize the thought as his own. Thought-transference is this sending of thoughts from the individually conscious mind of one to the sub-conscious mind of another as distinguished from telepathy, which is a communication from one sub-conscious mind to the sub-conscious mind of another. if you should see some one sitting in front of you at a meeting, and from his action you should be led to believe that he is in a very passive frame of mind, fix your gaze stead- ily on the lower back part of his head, just over the oblongata, and exercise a steady, strong intention to cause him to look around, you will in most cases succeed. To do this is simply to send the vibrations which are the results of your thinking, to the person experimented upon. You do not send the idea, you may say you send him your thought, then the thought is simply a vehicle for the transference of the force of your idea to the mind of another, which there arouses similar ideas. I think it would perhaps result in confusion were we to make any changes in the words used in treating this subject. But it must be evident to all that we do not transfer our ideas, we simply, in some way, change the environments of the other mind so it, of its own accord, unfolds the idea we want it to recognize. Perhaps it could be expressed in the same words. Thought is the vehicle by which the ideas of mind are trans- ferred. I trust the student will be able to get this idea of thought. It is the one that is recognized by the men highest in occult circles in the old world, and by the leading thinkers in America. I will continue to use the words thought, thought-trans ference, etc., very much as before, but I trust you will not lorget what the true definitions are. v. HOW TO DIRECT A THOUGHT Concentration is the most important factor in thought- transference, without it nothing can be done, by its high de- velopment thought-transference may be brought to a won- derful degree of usefulness. Confidence is another very im- portant factor in sending thoughts, if they are to accomplish their purpose they must be free from doubts. Have confi- dence in yourself, feel that the thought you send will accom- plish what you intend, do not think about it, just feel that you will succeed. You should not think about yourself, give your entire attention to the thought. Perhaps there is no better exercise for practice in thought- transference than the one given in this lesson, i. e. gazing at some one, and by the power of intention or thought-trans- fcrence cause him to look around. I would advise the stu- dent to use this as one of his regular exercises. It is so con- venient to experiment in this way. Thought-transference is a very important factor in the curing of disease ; it is very fortunate to be good at thought- transference so you can plant in the patient's mind the thought opposite the one causing the peculiar form of disease. Some- times it is possible to absolutely cure the patient just by this one method of changing his psychical condition. It does not matter what the malady is, you can always have some effect just by this power of thinking, but it is always best to intensify the mental suggestions by verbal suggestions and by mas- sage. One of the chief advantages in the use of mental sug- gestion is, that when the subject takes a suggestion of this kind it does more good, for he then recognizes the thought as his own. Thought-transference is one of the main factors of Per- sonal Magnetism. The power just named is simply the ability of one to impinge his personality upon another so as to influ- ence him to act in accord with the desires of the operator. This is sometimes best attained by thinking the thought you would have him think. Send the thought to him as has been prevouisly advised. In doing this, it will sometimes seem to you that you are directing your thoughts toward him just like a burning-glass will focus the rays of light and heat. You feel that you are stronger than he, and are confident of your ability to control him. Personal Magnetism plays an import- ant part in business and social life. One woman is a social success, another a failure ; one has more power with her thoughts than the other, she has dared to hope for more and has followed her desires. In all phases and classes of life, where you find a man who is making himself felt, you will find a man who thinks bold, decisive thoughts. Remember that our environment is changed by thinking. You, kind student, are what you are today by virtue of the thoughts you have been thinking. How Napoleon could think! He used to think his thoughts so strongly that they caused all Europe to tremble. He was the master mind of the Revolution, because he was more con- scious of his strength than others. All his greatness was due to the wonderful power of thought. He was almost complete master of himself up to the eve of the battle of Waterloo, when his confidence in himself became somewhat weakened. Every student who reads these lessons should familiar- ize himself with the life of that strange man and learn lessons from his greatness. He was one of the greatest Psychics of modern times. Psychic is here used in the sense of being versed in psychic powers ; such as Hypnotism, Clairvoyance and Personal Magnetism. In conclusion I would again urge the student to do much practice iri thought-transference, as it is one of the best means of developing yourself psychically. LESSON NUMBER FIFTEEN Telepathy- All the universe is conscious. Every monad is conscious, but it is not individually self-conscious, that is, it has not yet commenced to look upon itself as something distinct from the mind around it. Between all the monads there is a form of communica- tion: what one knows, all others know. Perhaps it would be better to consider the perceptions, sensations, etc., of one monad, as being the result of the act of the Universal Intelli- gence. It ueing the Infinite Mind that produced the phe- nomena, the phenomena may be expressed wherever the In- finite Mind acts. The mind of a man is simply an expression of the Uni- versal Intelligence. The monad that is so highly developed as to have attained individual self-consciousness, what we call the Ego, is simply a phase of the expression of this Universal Mind. It is not something of itself, it is one with the infinite. Now suppose this highly developed monad that we call the "real man," thinks a thought, that thought is everywhere, for it is a product of the Infinite Intelligence. Every monad in the universe knows unconsciously all the thoughts and ex- pressions of every other monad. I think a thought, I think in the manner I do because the universal mind is acting through me, and it acts through the avenues that are open to it. If I change the avenues, I can change the expression. Man, in every respect, is one with the universe, he is an expression of the infinite (the power he calls himself) and it is himself, for the self is the universal life torce. We say a man is infinite in his possibilities ; he is just as infinite as the Infinite Mind itself, for he is but an expres- sion of it. Man is the universe. Listen to an orchestra. If you make no special effort and are not trained you will hear all the different instruments, but the sounds will come to you en masse, you will not rec- ognize one instrument from another. By an effort you can listen to the first violin, second violin, cornet, cello or to the piccolo. A trained musician can hear all of them and each distinct. Stand on the beach. You will hear each wave, each breaker, you will hear the surf at your feet, but you will per- haps not distinguish these sounds. They will all come to you at once ; they will confuse you, and you will hear one mighty roar. By an effort you may give your attention to the "surf'' and hear nothing else, — forget for a time the breakers and the waves. You can single out any one sound and listen to it to the utter exclusion of all others. Go and view some very beautiful landscape ; stand on a cliff, trace with your eye the windings of a river shimmering in the sunshine, see the flowers and the trees. Look at it as one vast panorama, an ever changing scene, but whose changes are so slow that they are scarcely to be observed. Watch this beautiful landscape and perhaps there will come over you a feeling that you would call an artistic sentiment, but it seems to come to you from the landscape as a whole. It in fact comes to you from the almost infinite number of parts, from the flowers, from the leaves and the grasses ; each one has its peculiar message for you. It is the aggregate of all these messages that you recognize as the spirit of the land- scape. The voices from the various parts of nature have been so many a^nd so varied that when they came to you you were confused and only recognized them as all being one. Go alone into some very quiet place, some place where you can be alone with yourself and the great infinite world of mind around you. Rest quietly and listen, listen not with the ear but with the mind, with the soul; from every monad in the universe there will come to you thoughts, from every atom of dust that makes the worlds, from every flower, every leaf, and from the fowl of the air, from the fish of the sea and from everything that moves upon the earth, thoughts will come to you. They will come to you from men who are happy and from those who are sad. They will come to you from those who are fortunate and from those on whom Fortune has frowned. There will come to you thoughts of malice, thoughts of hate, thoughts of ambition, thoughts of patriotism and thoughts of love. These thoughts will surge around you and unconsciously you will know them all, but they will all strive for recognition and you will become confused. You will be unable to listen to them individually as you listen to the pic- colo, you will hear them as you heard the ocean, and you will perhaps speak of the grandeur of the thoughts in silence. You will not recognize that this grandeur is partly made of the gentle surfs so near you. Just as you are able to listen to the first violin, the sec- ond violin or the piccolo in the orchestra, just as you are able to listen to the break of one wave, so in the realm of thought are you able to catch the vibrations sent out by one monad to the exclusion of all others. You have within yourself all the thoughts of the universe. All that has ever been thought since the world began. You have within yourself the com- plete history of every monad in the universe, all you need to do is to look within yourself, look down deep, within the store house of mind and you will find all knowledge ; all the thoughts are there, but they are not arranged, they are not classined, they are as they have been brought to you from centuries of development; they are all in action, all produc- ing an impulse which is striving to assert itself. Suppose you have a friend far away, listen to him, become in rapport with him; every thought he thinks is but a thought in the universal mind and you have it. Give him your undivided attention, listen to him alone, cut out all confusing noises, you will be able to glean his thoughts ; you will be able to know just what he is doing, what he is thinking about, whether he is happy or sad. You can do this and all other things, only by being in touch with nature, you must be so close to her that you feel the life throb, you must be alone with her much, you must make her your boon companion. There are no limits to the powers of the human mind. Philosophy or metaphysics tell me of no limits to the powers of telepathy. It is the power of which we have been speaking. It is the force that unconsciously transmits thoughts from the great unconscious to the individualized conscious mind of man. It is sometimes said that telepathy is the sending of a thought from the sub-conscious mind of one man to the sub-conscious mind of another. Now I think the sub-conscious mind of one man is not only the same as that of another, but it is the same as that of all others of the universe. The sub-conscious mind of one is that of another. The sub-conscious mind of man is the same as that which is manifested in the life of a tree ; there is but one mind and that is the universal mind. It is infinite in its expression and some of the expressions are men, some of these expressions are the sub-conscious minds of men, but remember that is all one mind. Some of the most startling phenomena of life are pro- duced by this power of telepathy. These phenomena are some- times ascribed to spirits ; it is no doubt produced by a spirit, but whether or not it is produced by an individualized mind that has ceased to function on the material plane, in fact whether or not it is produced by what is commonly called a disembodied spirit, is a question. But that matters little ; whether s'piritualism be true or not, it is always telepathy that produces the phenomena. Even a spirit must have some means of communicating its ideas. That would be telepathy. We do not argue the question with the spiritualists ; there is no use in denying the phenomena they produce. We can only discuss with them the scientific aspect of the question. Nevertheless disembodied spirits (assuming them to exist) could not communicate with men otherwise than through the agency of telepathy. Perhaps you will ask for an example of tele- pathy ; here is what we assume to be an example, the truth of which the writer of these lessons asserts, for he is acquainted with the particulars. There is in Mt. Vernon, Ohio, an aged gentleman who had a son in the regular army who was with Custer at his last rally on the Little Big Horn. On one afternoon the old gentleman was sitting resting, when sud- denly there seemed to come from an adjoining room the voice of his son calling, "father." The old gentleman hastened into the room, but could find no one, he looked in the other rooms but could find no traces of his son whom he thought had re- turned and was hiding from him. Not being able to find him he returned to his comfortable chair, when he was again startled by the same voice calling "father;" he re-searched the house, but could not find him; even to the third time did he hear the call, but his son was not there. He at that time, on that day was helping Custer make his last fight; he of course died in the battle. From what meagre knowledge we have of this battle on the Little Big Horn, there is reason to believe that the voting soldier met his death near the time at which the father heard the voice ; perhaps when he received his death wound he thought of his father. That unconscious part of his mind continued to hold it and perhaps, if he did not die in- stantly, and he probably did not, he held the idea of "father, father." The force of that idea awakened vibrations in the universal intelligence that were expressed in the conscious mind of the father. He recognized the thought of his child so strongly that he seemed to hear the voice calling him. Although this instance cannot.be given scientific importance for the want of accuracy in regard to the date of the death of the son, yet it serves to show the force and power of telepathy by way of illustration. There is in a certain town in the state of Ohio, a house in which nearly all the ladies who have lived in it, have become aroused with a passion for art ; some of the tenents in this house have been very practical, but invariably there has been aroused in the lady of the house a passion for art, (it was always the lady of the house who experienced the influence). Some of these ladies had never studied art, had never expressed the slightest liking for it, yet on coming into this house after becoming adjusted to the surroundings they would feel the irresistable influence and commence painting. A few years ago one of the ladies who experienced this influence, being somewhat a believer in occult science, decided to investigate the matter. She looked up former tenants and found that they had invariably taken up the study of painting while dom- iciled there. She also discovered that just previous to the first tenant entering the house a man had died there, who was an artist. He had become insane. It appears from a metaphysical standpoint that he had thought so strongly and so vigorously about art that the vibrations all about him had been changed to harmonize with his thought of art. When he had died and the first tenant came, she, in a passive, mo- ment, became sensitive to her environment, and from all around there came into her the thoughts of art, the sub-conscious acted upon by the suggestions aroused within her the strong im- pulse she was unable to resist. Suppose some one is sick whom you wish to relieve and you do not wish them to know that you are helping them. When you lie down at night to sleep take an auto-suggestion that all the while during your sleep, your sub-conscious will be laboring under the suggestion that it must give her strength, that it must make her better. • That universal mind which is your mind and the mind of the patient is amenable to the power of suggestion. By exercising a strong intention to re- lieve the patient while you sleep, you will often be able to give great relief, for at that time the patient is also asleep and is passive to your influence. / Telepathy is a most important factor in every phase of life. If I wish to accomplish some great purpose that de- pends in a measure upon the will of other people, when I lie down to sleep I should take the strong suggestion that mv sub-conscious mind is to work for me all the night in pre- paring a way to my success on the morrow. It will do as it is commanded and that universal intelligence, which is my sub-conscious mind, will manifest itself in the minds of the men and influence them in my behalf. These things have often been clone and they are but examples of the power and potency of telepathy. It is difficult to eliminate thought-transference from telepathy. It is simply one of the phases of telepathy, which is a much broader term. There is but one mind and it is through this infinite universal mind that all thought is carried. Thought-transference is simply an action in which we, in the beginning, are conscious, the real mechanism of the act of thought transference is in the unconscious, the same as tele- pathy, there is simply a difference in the beginning. All thought-transference is telepathy, but all telepathy is not nec- essarily thought-transference. I would point out to the student that if he is to become good in telepathy he must practice a good deal in the silence, he must shut himself out from the external world and com municate with the inner self or with what Christ calls the "king- dom of heaven within us." Christ advised his followers and disciples to go into their chamber and close the door and prav. To pray is to communicate with the infinite intelligence ; to pray is to ask of the universal intelligence, to demand of itself. Then, is prayer ever answered? Genuine prayer is always ans- wered. Many of the verbal prayers, so called, that are ad- dressed to the anthropomorphic God are never answered ; such prayers do little good, they are false in their premises, they are not intelligent, they are not founded on understanding and cannot consistently expect to obtain great results. Prayer is simply a communication with the infinite of which we are a part. This great infinite mind to which we should prav, with which we should communicate and from which we shall gain strength is what men call God. I would urge the student to give particular attention to the study of the science of telepathy and to delve deep into its metaphysics. It is one of the most sublime problems that has (8) ever held the attention of a thinking man. I would have him practice it until he becomes proficient in it as an art. I would have him be able to enter into the passive state and out of this mysterious unconscious self, this infinite mind, I would have him draw the knowledge that would help him in all the affairs of life. I would have him draw information concerning the life and character of those around him ; I would have him practice these things until after a while he would become able to use this power at any time without hesitation. It is telepathy that enables the expert diagnostician to instantly locate and describe the disease. He simply gleans his information from the universal intelligence which knows all things. I would urge the student to practice this form ot diagnosing, especially if he is to follow healing as a profes- sion. He would do this by assuming the passive state and get the impressions from the universal of the nature of the malady afflicting his patient. He should analyze the case thoroughly, see how yividiy he can see the organs ; he should learn to trust his first impression as it is the first impression that is always correct in thought-transference and telepathy. The analysis of the case should not be made too often, as the disease is thus too thoroughly recognized; the effect of this recognition should in all cases be corrected by seeing, in imagination, the organs all in perfect health, this will act as a counter-sug- gestion. In conclusion, I will say that I wish the student to rec- ognize fully the fact that he is one with the infinite life, that he is infinite in his possibilities, limited only by his individual- ism. I would have him know that he is the expression of universal life and that by relying upon himself, upon the power of the Christos that is seeking to manifest itself he can attain all things. Man is all mind, he is one with- the universal life principle, he is that principle ; and I would point out again to the student with all his study along various lines of thought, with all his investigation, that "the proper study for mankind is man." PART TWO. THE PHILOSOPHY OF THE NEW THOUGHT A Treatise on the Science of Hypnotism, Explaining its Philosophy > and Teaching ho*w to put it into Practical Use, HYPNOTISM. LESSON NUMBER ONE. Brief History of Hypnotism as an Art. The science of hypnotism has been evolved from such a weird labyrinth of ignorance, speculation and superstition that even those most interested in the study of the development of the human mind and its attainments of knowledge, have re- frained from investigating it, although it appeared interesting, because ic seemed to present such an uninviting prospect of re- ward for their efforts. It is so hard to separate the truths of hypnotism from the errors and superstitions. Hypnotism has been for centuries studied as an art, and all through this long course of its history, it has been the prey of the charlatan and the unscientific investigator. It seemed to have a peculiar fascination for this class of men, and naturally so, for by being able to use a power that the greater part of mankind knew nothing about, they were in a position to draw to them selves much admiration and popularity. But a great many of these hypnotists were really in earnest in their desire to know something of the real nature and causes of the mysterious hyp- notic phenomena. Step by step the progress of the study of the induced sleep has made its way. The knowledge that we now possess has been obtained in spite of the charlatan, the dog- matist, and a great class of the so-called "scientific" men. We will say to the historical student of hypnotism, that the results so far obtained by the researches along the various lines, such as archaeology, anthropology, etc., are far from being all that is desired. Here is a wide field for investigation, and one could do much good by giving it a complete traversing. A study of the most ancient literature shows that the old beliefs and ideas were very childish and grotesque, yet it serves to show us that the hypnotic phenomena were produced and ob- served in the very earliest times. Thus the history of hypnot- ism begins with the history of the race, both have their origin in superstition and their earliest history is but a fable. More recent history tells us of a knowledge of the hypnotic art among the Egyptians, there is every reason to Relieve that the famous Egyptian astrologers were adepts in the use of hyp- notism. Moll, in his noted work on this subject, writes of the old manuscripts which give accounts of the medical therapeutics in Egypt in the sixteenth century B. C, and states that it men- tions the laying of hands on the head of the patient as part of the treatment. There is in the British Museum a bas-relief brought from the ruins of ancient Thebes, which is supposed by anthropologists to be a representation of the hypnotic passes, as the figures are in attitudes that are usual to the operator and subject. From these data, and much other that is at hand we are led to believe that hypnotism was known in Egypt at a very early date. We have also reasons to believe that there were schools in Egypt long before the Christian era, in which hyp- notism was taught. Some assert that Moses attained his won- derful psychic power in the hypnotic school at Alexandria. I have no reliable data on this very interesting question. In the history of the Greeks and Romans there are many in- stances of what appear to us to be hypnotic phenomena. The classic literature is rife with mentionings of the "induced sleep," etc. Among the multitude of writers may be mentioned Tacitus, Suetonius, Heroditus, Homer. Plato, St. Justin, Pliny, Porphyry, Plutarch, Plautus Lucretius, and even St. Augustine. If we are to take into consideration the accounts of sooth- sayers and oracles of Greece and Rome, there are ample evi- dences of the use of hypnotism, for there is no reason to doubt that the sooth-saver was an adept in telepathy and the priestess the oracle would go into the deep sleep and glean her mes- :s from the Universal Mind or from the mind of others. If we are to credit history, some of these ancient clairvoyants were very wonderful, as in the case of Caeser. There is also some- thing very strange about those Sibylline Books, if Livy tells the truth. Perhaps in the early centuries hypnotism attained a higher stage of development in China than any where else in the world. In both India and China the study of hypnotism as an art is very old, so very old that we could not even approximately give a date for the commencement of the study. It has been centur- ies since the Chinese were at the zenith of their greatness as adepts in the practice of this art. This peculiar race is now greatly deteriorated from what it was centuries ago. There is no nation of people in the history of the world that did or aoes not possess some knowledge of hypnotism. It was practiced among the Egyptians, Babylonians, Greeks, Romans, the Savages of New Zealand, Australia and North America. In fact it has been practiced among nearly all races of people from the earliest times, and in all the different stages of savagery, barbarism and civilization. In recent centuries, hypnotism has been more highly devel- oped in India than any where else in the world. We will often have occasion to refer to the practice of the art there, so it will not be considered now. It was from India and other coun- tries of the far East that hypnotism was introduced into Europe at the time of the crusades. When Richard of England and his followers were contending with the Mohammedans for the pos- session of the Holy Sepulcher, the philosophers of the West came in contact with the theories and Cosmogonies of the Orient. There on the plains of Acre, hypnotism as an art was probably taught to the Europeans. The art of hypnotism was of course known to men of the West in a practical way, but they knew nothing of the laws governing it, they were simply aware of cer- tain phenomena that they could not understand. The crusades were beneficial to Europe, and perhaps the West gained no greater benefit from these Holy Wars than the awakening of an interest in the deeper problems of life. In the thirteenth century when Frederick II. of the Hohenstaufens, "The wonder of his own and all succeeding ages," was in Pales- tine conducting another crusade, he delved deeply into the mys- teries of the philosophical speculations of the far East. When he returned to his realm, he endeavored to give to his people some of the benefits of what he had learned, but it was the cast- ing of pearl before swine ; they were not able to receive, his advances 'were rejected. He met with opposition from the dog- matism of the church and from other sources. Hypnotism made little progress in Europe for many cen- turies after the crusades, there were some investigations made by men here and there, but for years there was no common prin- ciples, or methods. Perhaps the most original investigations were made by the philosophers of northern Italy. , The first traces of what might be called a system in Euro- pean hypnotism may be found about the middle of the seven- teenth century. Some of the leading men of that time were in- terested in the subject and wrote rather extensively on it. Among others of this period who were interested in hypnotism and allied psychic phenomena, may be mentioned, Wier, Rod, Kircher, Van Helmont, Le Loyer, Georgius, Moore, Maxwell, Wirdig and Fludd. The great majority of these men believed in what is commonly called Animal or Vital Magnetism. They be- lieved in the existence of a universal magnetic force, by which the reciprocal action of planets, in fact all bodies and the phe- nomena of body and mind could be explained. The doctrines of these men were thus preparing the way for the great apostle of a doctrine that was to come. We refer to Frederick Anton Mesmer, a native of Suabia, who was born in 1734 in Stein. It is said that at first Mesmer used th^ metallic magnet in his work, i. e. in producing the hypnotic sleep and curing disease. However after meeting with a certain priest in Switzerland, from whom he learned a great deal about magnetism, he threw aside the magnets and evolved his theory of Animal Magnetism. In the year of 1779 Mesmer issued a book (Memoire sur la de- Couverte du Magnetism Animale) in which he makes proposi- tions or assertions concerning his theory. Some of the most important of his assertions are embodied in the following: 1. There is a reciprocal action between heavenly bodies, earth, and animated bodies, subject to mechanical, but as yet unknown laws. The agency of this action is a fluid that is uni- versally diffused. All the properties of matter and of organic substances depend on this action. Animal bodies are suscept- ible to the influence of this action and fluid, and they are affected by it on account of it disseminating itself through the substance of the nerves. 2. One of the leading characteristics of this action of the universal fluid, is its power of inducing sleep when sent from the organism of one person to that of another, with the intention of producing sleep. By directing this fluid, all diseases may be cured, for it is upon this action that all bodily conditions depend. Mesmer's assertions and methods have attracted much at- tention. As a result of the agitation produced by his phenom- ena, a commission was appointed to investigate the whole theory. Benjamin Franklin of our country, at that time a mem- ber of the Royal Society of Medicine, was a member of the com- mission. The report was made antagonistic. After Mesmer, there was wide spread interest manifested along all the various lines of psychical work. Among those most noted as investigators in these subjects may be mentioned De Puysegur, Petetin, Abbe Faria and Deleuze. All these men were essentially "magnetists." It is not until the time of Braid, a doctor of Manchester, that we find what is called hypnotism. He was very successful in producing the in- duced sleep. He asserted, (a) that the assumption of any force as a magnetic fluid, was not necessary for the induction of sleep, (b) That this induced sleep was a supernormal physiological state, brought about by some action on the nervous system. Braid was one of the first investigators to ascribe hyp- notism to physiological conditions. His experiment awakened the interest in the subject and much was written on it by Dr. Lie- bault, M. Dumont, Charcot and Bernheim. Charcot became the leader of the "Salpetriere school of Hypnotism," while Dr. Bernheim was the leading character in advocating the theory of the "Nancy school." Charcot ascribed hypnotism to a physiological condition. He asserted that the genuine hypnotic phenomena could be pro- duced only in persons of diseased organisms or of weak men- tality. Bernheim opposed him with the theory of suggestion, claiming that hypnotism was a purely psychical phenomena and that it could be produced best in persons of healthy organism and sound mentality. For" a time there was a fierce conflict be- tween these two schools. The power of suggestion became more and more recognized, and today there are few who accept the physiologocal theory of Charcot. b There is nothing new about hypnotism. The principle by which it is made possible is eternal, it is the power of suggestion. This state of induced sleep, whether called Magnetic, Mesmeric,. Hypnotic, or whatever else, is a purely psychical and sub-con- scious condition, and is invariably produced by the power of suggestion. The various schools of hypnotism are almost equally suc- sful in the producing of hypnosis. The very success of these diverse methods is but an irrefutable argument in favor of sug- gestion. All these various methods are but different forms of suggestion. These various schools of hypnotism with their different methods will be the subject of the next lesson. Here, in conclu- sion, we wish to state that the principle is ever the same; there is no diversity of principle; the application of the underlying one is universal. LESSON NUMBER TWO. Schools of Hypnotism and Their Various Theories. There may be said to be three distinct schools of hypnotism called the Mesmeric, the Physiological and the Suggestive. These three schools are antagonistic, one to another. Each considers the arguments in favor of its peculiar methods irre- futable. Each attempts to give a scientific explanation of the phenomena that are produced. As is true of all such metaphys- ical controversies, the powers and influences of these various hypnotic schools may be resolved to one general principle. In this and sebsequent lessons we will endeavor to make plain to the students the nature and underlying principles of all hypnotic phenomena. The Mesmer method had the honor of being the first that was brought to the notice of the scientific world. In fact at the time of Mesmer, there were few, if any, advocates of any theory other than that advanced by Mesmer himself and his followers. At any rate the great Physiological and Suggestive schools had not yet gained any recognition. It is generally accepted as a fact, by all persons writing on hypnotism, that Mesmer believed in the existence of an universal and invisible fluid, and it is further asserted that he believed this fluid to be especially active in the nervous organism of man and a person charged with it was able to control or influence others through this agency. Now we believe that Mesmer has been greatly wronged, that he has been grossly misrepresented, at any rate misunderstood. I believe that his theory of a universal fluid would almost correspond with the modern theory of thought and thought vibration if it were expressed in modern language. We believe in the universality of a fluid that we call ether, and recognize it as a medium for the transmission of thought. I firmly believe that if Mesmer was living today, he would condemn the theory of Vital Magnetism and accept the theory based on the universality of mind and the transmission of thought, but here we must consider Mesmerism as it is generally understood. If this were the proper place we would gladly en- deavor to rescue the name of Mesmer from the cloud of charlat- anism that some modern investigators are endeavoring to throw around it> We would gladly endeavor to let the people know that we believe that if Mesmer was now living he would reject many of the tenets of the theory that bears his name, as they are now understood ; but here we must consider Mesmerism as it is now taught. The chief tenet of this school is the existence of this universal fluid that is particularly active in the nervous sys- tem of man and is capable of being directed. It is asserted that it may be caused to emanate from the operator, by an exercise of intention, and to impinge upon the subject in s-uch a way as to control him and to put him to sleep. It is asserted by some that Mesmer would make the long stroke or pass over the subject, sending out from the hands the magnetic fluid that would induce sleep. Some deny that Mesmer was the originator of this meth- od : that be as it may, at the present day the term mesmerism is particularly applied to that method of inducing sleep in which the long stroke is one of the principal factors. THE PHYSIOLOGICAL METHOD or the method advanced by Charcot at Paris is sometimes known as ihe Paris Method, but it would be more proper to say the Paris Theory of Hypnoti m. It is asserted by Charcot and his followers, ihat all hypnotic phenomena are indications of a path- ological condition of the subject. They accept, to a limited ex- tent, the theory of suggestion, but assert that the genuine hyp- notic phenomena may be explained on a physiological basis alone, and claim that in all persons in whom the sleep may be in- duced there is a pathological condition of the cerebrum. We do not care to enter into an extended argument in regard to the Paris theory, but it is perhaps well to make plain to the student just what the reasons are for the belief in its teachings. It is based primarily upon the physiology of the brain and gen- eral nervous system. If by any artificial means one is able to produce an anaemic condition of the cerebrum, sleep will follow. Xow this fact is considered by the adherents of the Charcot school to be an irrefutable argument in favor of the physiolog- ical theory. A blow upon the head will sometimes render one unconscious and the person will sometimes sleep for a long time ; such facts as this are given as arguments in favor of this theory. In fact the whole theory of the Paris school is based upon the physiological conditions. They recognize the condi- tion of mental and physical action and decide that the nature of the mental act depends almost entirely upon the condition of the physical organism. They believe that the producing of hypnosis is a pathological indication. They assert that this surrendering, as it were, of one individual mental power to that of another is an indication of a weakness on the part of the subject. It is one of the tenets of this Paris school that persons of weak mentality make the best hypnotic subjects. We note the steady decline of this theory. It is rapidly giving away to the suggestive theory, and ere long there will be nothing but a memory of it left, — so rapidly are people ceasing to recognize it as a scientific and philosophical theory. The Nancy, or Bernheim school is a school of suggestion, it is by far the most scientific and philosophical of any of the var- ious schools of hypnotism. Bernheim was the founder of this school, but suggestion today has advanced much beyor.d the fundamental principles that were laid down at Nancy. When we speak of the Bernheim, or Nancy school, we are speaking of the school of suggestion as it is today in its most advanced form, and not as it was a decade ago. The theory as taught by Bernheim himself was in some particulars incomplete, but he laid the basis upon which others are now building. The Suggestive school of Hypnotism maintains that the genuine hypnotic phenomena can be produced only in persons of strong mentality and of healthy physical organism. At this point it is in complete contradiction to the Charcot school. It is in persons that are strong, with healthy circulation, and harmon- ious action of the nervous system ; persons who are able to con- centrate their attention upon one thought, almost wholly to the exclusion of any other thought, that hypnosis is best produced. The Suggestive school of hypnotism accepts the duality of mind theory. It teaches that there are two faculties of the hu- man mind, the individually conscious and the sub-conscious. The last-named faculty of the mind is called sub-conscious, not because it is below the plane of the consciousness, but simply because it is below the plane of the individually conscious mind. It would perhaps be better to speak of it as the Simply Con- scious, but the word sub-conscious is so extensively used and so generally understood that we do not deem it advisable to dis- continue its use, for the introduction of new words or the use of old words with new meanings, often result in confusion, so in these lessons we will continue to speak of the individually con- scious and sub-conscious faculties of the mind. The sub-con- scious faculty of the mind has direct control of all the various functions of the body, further than this it is amenable to control by the power of suggestion. It is by taking advantage of these basic principles that the hypnotist is able to produce the phe- nomena of sleep. There is but one mind, and that is the universal intelligence. This universal mind, when it has not yet been differentiated, or perhaps unfolded or developed, to the point of individual self- consciousness, is entirely amenable to control by the power of suggestion. It is this universal intelligence that we recognize as the sub-conscious faculty of the mind of man. It is simplv that part of man that is subservient to the conscious self, or to that monad of mind that has been so highly developed as to at- tain the position of individual self-consciousness. There is but one mind in the universe and that is what men have commonly called God. Man is but an expression, a manifestation of this universal creative force. Man as we recognize him, the lord of creation, the great self-conscious highly individualized factor in existence, is but a part of the great Infinite Life. He is simply an expression of the universal principle. Now man has attained a position of self-consciousness, all that lies beneath this realm of self-consciousness is amenable to control by the power of suggestion. The above statement will render plain to the student at least a possibility for the production of the hypnotic phenomena. Hypnotism is but a form of giving and receiving suggestions, the subject becomes passive, for the time being he is not using this individualized mind ; he is allowing it to rest, and is permit- ting that phase of the universal mind that we recognize as his sub-conscious mind, to be controlled by the highly developed mind of the operator. This condition of passivity on the part of the subject and this attitude of positiveness on the part of the J operator, produces the phenomena that we call hypnotism, There is no necessity of weakness on the part of the subject, in fact it requires a strong mind to be able to control itself so as to render itself passive to the intention exercised by the operator. There is not here any argument in favor of diseased organism or weak mentality, there is rather the indication of strength. We would refrain from making any harsh criticism on the magnetic theory, or on the theory advanced by Charcot. We could not expect the men who were leaders, rather the begin- ners, of this movement to comprehend the entire subject, they used suggestion, but did not understand its powers, they were materialistic and could not recognize the wonderful power and potency of mind itself. Mesmer formulated the best theory that he possibly could with the subject in the state that it was at the time. Charcot, not wishing to recognize the existence of the universal fluid as advocated by Mesmer, endeavored to prove that the psychical phenomena were simply the result of physi- ological Conditions. We must not censure them for not doing more. It is a sign of their greatness that they did so well under the circumstances. We have no adverse criticism for Mesmer or for Charcot, but we do criticise men of the present, for ac- cepting the theories of a by-gone day. The theory of the uni- versal fluid and of the physiological basis of hypnotism had a mission to perform ; but now the day of their usefulness is past and we have nothing but adverse criticism for those who at- tempt to sustain the theories of an earlier date in opposition to modern scientific investigation. Hypnotism is a misnomer. In the modern application of the word, the word itself is too narrow. We even now some- times speak of hypnosis in various stages, some of them being simply stages of passivity and not of sleep. In spite of the derivation of the word, we will continue to use the word hyp- notism in a liberal way and will not confine it simply in applica- tion to the induced sleep. The sub-conscious faculty of a man's mind is amenable to control of suggestion. This same sub-conscious faculty of the mind has direct control of all the functions of the body. It has control of all the muscles and blood vessels through the nerves and nerve centers. There is not an atom in the human body that is not under direct control of this faculty of the mind. There is nothing in the universe that controls matter but mind, and it is the sub-conscious mind that has direct control of the human body. To control the body, to cause it to act in any way the conscious mind desires, it is necessary to simply impress upon the sub-conscious the proper suggestion. If you are able to induce some one to become passive to your influence and then impress upon their sub-conscious the suggestion of sleep, they will sleep. Hypnotism is but an expression of agree- ment, the operator is positive, he asserts; the subject is passive, he accepts. The subject makes no effort to act; if he did, that would be positiveness ; there would be no condition of passiv- ity ; there would be no sleep. There is nothing mysterious about hypnotism if we once understand the action of the mind and the power and potency of suggestion. No one understands this thoroughly, so in spite of all our historical lore, of our metaphysics and philosophy, there is yet a strangeness about the hypnotic phenomena. In fact there is nothing in nature but which if we attempt to trace it back to its first cause, baffles us with its mysteriousness. The most simple things in nature, upon investigation, prove to have for us the deepest problems of metaphysics. There is nothing simple, and still if we only knew, if we could only see, there would be nothing at all complex. All nature, as we see it, as we recognize it through the senses, is but the personae of the universal intelligence. This universal intelligence is God. So every flower, every leaf, every particle of dust, is a "personal God." Each is a manifestation of the universal life principle, which is the creative force that men call the Deity. (9) So hereafter in these lessons I would have the student re- member at all times, that while performing his experiments in hypnotism he is using the greatest power in the world ; in fact it is the only force in the universe, the power of the infinite mind. There is something grand, there is something always mysterious about this strange induced sleep. Recognizing as we do that it is such a wonderful power, we always voice our opposition to its debasement. We do not like to see the hypnotic phenomena produced simply as a matter of amusement, but only when there is good derived from it. We trust the student will recognize the responsibility that is his. When he commences to turn the leaves in the book of occult knowledge, as he progresses in the study, as he becomes more and more adept in the use of this power that he is perhaps now just learning, he will become more and more aware of his responsibility, not only to himself, but to others. Hypnotism deals with the soul, it is rightly called psychic phenomena, it is simply manifestations of the universal intelligence, that are brought about by the magic touch of Suggestion. LESSON NUMBER THREE. Phenomena of Hypnotism With Methods of Producing Them, Hypnotism is almost infinite in its possibilities. There is an almost unlimited number of phenomena that may be produced by the aid of hypnotism. There are as many distinct classes of phenomena as there are minds that may be acted upon. Var- ious writers on the subject of Hypnotism have endeavored to form some classification of this infinite variety of phenomena ; but the observation of no two of them were the same, and con- sequently their classifications are different. It is almost impos- sible to make any accurately scientific classification of these phenomena if it is based upon individual observation alone. This is true because my observation may differ from yours. In fact it is an absolute impossibility for my observations to be the same as those of any one else, for I have different subjects and the environments at the time of producing hypnosis must be ntially different. Consequently, no two experimenters have produced precisely the same phenomena, and hence we need not express any surprise at the difference in their classification. Some writers have divided hypnosis into two simple stages, which they call the "alert" and the "deep" stages; others again have divided them into three, as light sleep, profound sleep, and somnambulism. Liebault has divided the hypnotic phenomena into six stages : 1st, drowsiness ; 2d, simply a continuation of the first, coupled with a possibility of catalepsy being induced by suggestion ; 3d, the condition of light sleep ; 4th, a condition of deep sleep in which the subject ceases to have conscious rela- tionship with the outer world ; 5th, a condition of the light in- duced somnambulism ; 6th, condition of deep somnambulism, entire loss of memory on awaking. This last is a condition in which post hypnotic suggestions may be given. It is impossible to make any scientific division of hypnotism in any manner whatever. There is such a vast number of phe- nomena, such infinite varieties, that it is absolutely impossible to classify them with any degree of accuracy in a definite num- ber of stages. The use of the stage in hypnotism should be used simply as a matter of convenience, and not in any sense arbitrarily ; but it is almost necessary in teaching the beginner to form some definite classification which should not be based on individual observation, but upon your knowledge of the science itself. We will attempt to give some such classification, but we trust the student will remember that it is simply a guide to his investigation and is not made with any claim to being the only classification possible. What we claim for our classifica- tion is that it is based upon our knowledge of hypnotism as a science, rather than on individual observation. First, we make general divisions, light hypnosis ; 2nd, catalepsy ; 3rd, deep hyp- nosis ; and 4th, suspended animation. These four stages may be divided into more definite sub-divisions, but we wish to state here that there is nothing iron clad about these divisions any more than there is about other divisions. We believe it is simply more definite and more nearly corresponds to the gen- eral result in the induction of hypnosis. We believe that the phenomena that is ordinarily produced by the hypnotist, more generally nearly conforms to this division than to any other. We would indicate the complete classification as we use it in our own experiments, as follows : 1st — Light hypnosis; two divisions: 1st — Elementary ; 2nd — Physio-mental. 2nd — Catalepsy; 3rd, (no divisions). 3rd — Deep hypnosis. 4th — Light clairvoyance. 5th — Clear clairvoyance. 6th — Psychometry. 4th — Suspended animation. 7th — Incomplete suspension. 8th — Complete suspension. We would call the student's attention to the fact that it is seldom possible to produce these eight stages, as we have given them, in the order we have given them, or to produce all of them in any one subject. We would also point out to the student that it is not necessary to have induced all the succeeding stages in order to produce any of the more advanced. Thus a subject may pass from the first into the third, or from the second to the fourth. Remember that the so-called stages in hypnotism are but manifestations of the universal intelligence expressing itself in the subject. It is the duty of the hypnotist to control, to a certain extent, these manifestations through the agency of sug- gestion ; but often-times the inherent characteristics of the sub- ject are much stronger than his suggestion. Wc will now consider some of the various methods of in- ducing the elementary and physio-mental stages of the sleep. Many methods have been used for the induction of these first stages of the hypnotic sleep, but the details of the method mat- ter little, so long as the general principles are knowingly or unknowingly considered. The success of many of the methods used, depended not upon the alleged cause, but upon these un- derlying principles, which though always in operation, were not regarded by the hypnotist as having anything to do with the success of the method. From a point of time in the modern history of hypnotism we will commence with the methods that were used by Anton Mesmer. He did not confine himself to the use of any one method, but availed himself of various con- trivances by which he was able to influence his patient or sub- ject. One of his most popular and successful methods was to seat himself in front of his subject, who was also seated, and pressing firmly the knees of the subject between his own knees, grasping the upturned thumbs of the patient with his hands and gazing steadfastly into the patient's eyes. This was one of the methods that has been called "fascination." Mesmer used every means to become en rapport with his subjects, and as a great majority of his patients were women, he became en rap- port with them through the stimulation of the sexual passions, employing the methods as given above ; the gazing into the eyes would also produce a condition of weariness, which would natur- ally be suggestive of sleep ; it is, however, supposed that Mesmer ascribed his success, not to the fascination, but the emanation of the subtle magnetic fluid. Dr. Braid, of Manchester, is supposed to have been one of the first to recognize the efficiency of gazing at some bright ob- ject continually, in the production of hypnosis. A modernized form of this method coupled with suggestion is to have the subject hold in his hands, resting one within the other lying upon his lap, some bright object as a coin, letting the subject gaze steadfastly at this object until there is weariness of the optic nerve and the brain tract to which it goes. The operator all the while giving the verbal suggestion of sleep. This is an especially good method to use when hypnotising several at once. Another modernized form of the Braid system, coupled with suggestion is this : Have the subject gaze steadfastly at a bright light, as a gas jet ; allow him to gaze at it for some time, then the hypnotist command him, "look at me," let him gaze in his eyes for a few seconds and then suddenly command him to "sleep." This is a very quick method, and is often used by the stage hypnotist. IvASEGUK'S method was to close the eyes and then give a continued moderate pressure upon the eyeballs, this was found to temporarily par- tially paralyze and partially numb the nerve of the eye and to be suggestive of sleep. It is sometimes advisable to use this method in connection with the others. MESMERIC PASSES. Some authorities assert that the genuine system of passes was unknown to Mesmer, but that it was first produced by the later hypnotists. However, most of the earlier magnetists placed great importance on these passes and they gave very minute directions for their use. The modern magnetist uses generally just two kinds of passes, called the downward and up- ward strokes. The downward stroke being used for the pur- pose of magnetizing or inducing sleep ; the upward pass to de- magnetize or to awaken the subject. We, ourselves, do not be- lieve that there is any potency in the pass itself, but we recog- nize that its use will often be of great benefit when coupled with proper suggestions. The author knows some American hypnotists who use the pass alone, with great success, in which cases the suggestions are either in the nature of aroused ex- pectancy, or implied, $ome use a method similar to this : Have the subject comfortably recline, lying upon the back, the arms at the side, perfectly relaxed. The operator will take a position at the side of the couch on which the subject is reclin- ing, and give long strokes from the head to the feet, continuing this for a long time, the subject's eyes all the time being closed. By continuing this method, sometimes stroking the subject with the hands and sometimes making the passes at a distance, sleep may often be induced ; this is an especially good method to use when the subject is very nervous, and is one of the best to use in case of severe insomnia. Of course the student will understand that the subject will, from the beginning, know what is the purpose of the passes ; the operator will perhaps have suggested to him that this is the infallible method of producing sleep ; without some such suggestions being given the subject would not know the purpose of the manipulations and would remain awake. It would perhaps not be out of place for me to men- tion here the Hindoo method of producing hypnotic phe- nomena, bv taking into consideration what is commonly known as the aura. The aura is commonly greatly misunderstood, it is sup- posed by some to be a sort of magnetic fluid emanating from the human body, and to be of certain dimensions, usually of an oval shape, extending from the crown of the head to the feet, and to be broader at the shoulders than anywhere else. It is supposed that by bringing a positive aura in contact with one that is rendered passive by intention, or one that is naturally weaker, a controlling influence may be exerted over the individual possessing the weaker aura. The Hindoo, in making his mysterious passes, is endeavoring to obtain control of the aura of the subject, and he does this by blending it with his own, his own being the stronger asserts mastery. It seems to him that he is simply blending himself psychically with the subject, and is all the while asserting control. Now we do not believe in the existence of the aura as a magnetic emanation, but we do recognize the power that is gained by using it as a suggestion; when both operator and subject believe in the existence of this aura, the power of its suggestion is doubly strong. We recognize the existence of this invisible protectorate that encloses us in this egg-shaped shell, but we do not recognize it as being in any sense material- istic or magnetic; we believe it is simply one of the differenti- ated functions of mind; we think the protectorate is purely psychical, and believe the influence within the so-called aura is greater than anywhere else, simply because it is in closer prox- imity to the directing monad of the physical organism. We be- lieve that the aura is simply a form of thought, a function of the individualized sub-conscious mind that is ever endeavoring to protect the body in which it is functioning. We believe it is oftentimes advisable to take into consideration this protectorate, or aura, in producing hypnosis. The study of this one subject in an exhaustive way would be very interesting to the student, and we would advise him to obtain thorough instruction in regard io it. UJYS' ''MIROIR ROTATIF' is an instrument used for the production of hypnosis, and it is very useful to use in subduing refractory subjects. It is made in a rather simple way, being composed of two mirrors, four, six, or eight inches in diameter, the four-inch being the best for ordinary purpose. One mirror revolves one way and the other in an opposite direction. They are run by clock works. Have the subject gaze at these mirrors, and ultimately the least sen- sitive patient will succumb to the influence . and sleep. We would not advise the use of the rotatif in nervous cases, but only with strong people. The cost of a machine of this kind is from fifteen to thirty dollars, depending on workmanship and upon the place from which it is obtained. faria's method was simply to fix the attention of the subject by having him gaze steadfastly in the eye, and suddenly give the command to "sleep." This command should be given in a sharp, quick, loud tone. This method is sometimes very successfully used with people who are hysterical. We will now give a modernized method of producing hyp- nosis ; one that embraces a number of the methods we have just considered, but is especially based upon the method that was used by Dr. Bernheim in his experiments at Nancy, which was the suggestive method. We will make the instructions ele- mentary so that those who have never studied hypnotism, will have no trouble in producing the phenomena. These instruc- tions will be made very plain, so that any one can comprehend. MODUS OPERANDI. It is advisable for a beginner to get some one for a subject who has been hypnotized, as he will be much more easily brought under the influence than one who has not. In attempt- ing to produce hypnotism, first secure the consent of the sub- ject. A beginner should not undertake to hypnotize anybody who will in any way resist him. Place your subject in a chair, with his feet flat on the floor, having his hands rest on the knees, have him relax all muscular tension and rest as comfortably as he is able. Elevate his chin, letting the head drop slightly back, be sure to see that the subject is in a comfortable con- dition. Now take your position in front of him, with your hand elevated with two fingers extended, the rest of the hand closed ; tell the subject that you will now proceed to put him to sleep; be positive in your assertion, but not so positive as to awaken in him any spirit of antagonism ; tell him he must keep all his muscles relaxed, rest perfectly easily, keep his eyes fixed on the tips of your fingers and think of nothing but sleep. Have your hand about three or three and one-half feet from the subject's eyes, holding it so that he can see the tips of your fingers (which are held closely together) without any inconven- ience ; tell him that as you approach him his eyes will become somewhat drowsy and will become sleepy, and when your fing- ers are within three or four inches of his eyes he will feel an inclination to close them, and he will sleep. After preparing the way by some such remarks as those just indicated, move your fingers slowly toward the subject, being careful that he at no time relaxes his gaze on your fingers ; move your hand slowly toward him, noting carefully the effect that the continued gaze has upon his eyes ; as soon as you notice any indications of weariness commence to give the suggestion in a low, firm mono- tone, "sleep, sleep, keeping your eyes steadily on the tips of my fingers, giving me no resistance, perfectly passive and thinking of nothing but sleep." The operator should be very careful to commence to give these suggestions just at the proper mo- ment. If ne gives them too soon, perhaps the subject has not commenced to experience sufficient fatigue ; if he waits too long, perhaps the subject, has gained control of himself. By practice and observation the student will learn just when to commence to give suggestions. When you see that you have commenced just at the proper time and the suggestions you have offered have been taken, you may continue giving sugges- tion in some such manner as this : "Now your eyes are becom- ing a little heavy, a little heavier, a feeling of drowsiness is creeping over you and you are feeling an inclination to sleep ; do not resist this influence, just remain perfectly passive, rest and sleep. You are now feeling a disposition to close your eyes, you are not resisting it, you are closing them, they are closing, closing, going to sleep ; now your eyes are closed, sleep." If when you approach closer to the subject and his eyes do not close, it is well for you to close them lightly with your fingers, giving at the same time the suggestion of sleep Keep on talking in a low monotone for a little while after the subject's eyes are closed, continue to give him the suggestion of sleep. Do not be afraid to talk to your subject, but do not talk- too much ; give him time to sleep, speak to him in a firm, yet gentle voice, and do not be afraid to repeat, repetition is nearlv everything in suggestion. By following the foregoing instructions, which are written out rather fully, that they may serve as a model for the begin- ner, you will be able to hypnotize about one in five at the first trial, but if you are a beginner and fail to make any impression upon your first subject, do not become discouraged, but keep right on trying and soon you will develop confidence in your- self, and then you will be able to hypnotize as well as any one. Another very good method for inducing the hypnotic sleep, is to have the patient recline and give him the "long stroke" at the same time giving him the suggestion, "quiet, rest and sleep." In using this method, some use the theory of the aura and make these passes some short distance from the body of the subject, all the while exercising the steady intention of produc- ing sleep. This would be a combination of the Suggestive, Mesmeric, and Hindoo methods. The student should not be forgetful of the fact, that after he has succeeded in producing the condition of hypnosis in the subject, he will take any further suggestions that may be given him. The second stage, or, physio-mental, is simply a contin- uation of the first ; for practical purposes we may consider them under the general term of light hypnosis. It is in these stages that the subject will accept and act upon suggestions of a phys- ical nature. After you have succeeded in producing hypnosis to such an extent that the subject is unable to open his eyes, you may give him any other suggestion and it will be taken. Give him the suggestion that his feet are stuck to the floor and that he cannot lift them, and you will find that he is unable to do so. Take his arm, straighten it out, give it a few strokes with your hand, at the same time suggesting that it will become rigid and that he is unable to bend it, and he will be unable to do so. Always be careful to remove one suggestion before pro- ceeding to give another. After experimenting with a subject simply say, "I will now remove the suggestion," then proceed with any others you may desire. By giving proper suggestions, you may induce the subjects to eat potatoes, believing it is some choice fruit, or inhale the fumes of ammonia, acting upon the suggestion that it is the essence of roses. Give him water to drink, telling him it is whisky, and if he is not strictly temperate during his waking hours he will drink it, and depending upon the nature of your suggestion, will either become sick, or mani- fest all the phenomena of intoxication. Tell him he is in the presence of angels and if he is religious, he will bow in rev- erence. Tell him that he is paralyzed temporarily, and he will be unable to move. In fact give him any suggestion and he will act upon it. Hypnotism is- wide-spread in its possibilities. By giving proper suggestions, you may change a person's identity ; tell the subject that he is some noted man, and he will act as he believes that man would act. Tell him he is a snake, and he will attempt to crawl ; tell him he is a hog and in a potato patch, and he will get down on all fours and attempt to root. The student may use his imagination for the giving of suggestions ; there is an infinite number; but he should always remember that whatever he tells the subject is real to him. The oper- ator should be careful never to give suggestions that might in any way be detrimental to the subject, thus if the subject is nervous and weak it should not be suggested to him that he is witnessing an Indian massacre and can hear distinctly the wail of the women and children. Such suggestions might have a harmful effect upon one whose nerves are weak. It is best to always give the suggestions of quiet, peace and increased vital- ity before awakening the subject. It is a very simple matter to bring one out of the hypnotic sleep. All that is necessary is to give the suggestion that when you tell him he must awaken that he will do so. Be very pos- itive in these assertions ; tell him that when you count five he will wake up feeling perfectly well, then count, "one, take a deep inspiration, commencing to awaken ; two, coming up out of the sleep; three, another deep inspiration, all the time awakening: four, another deep inspiration, now then you are going to be wide awake, all unpleasant suggestions are removed, you are feeling perfectly well ; five, wide awake." Do not become alarmed if the subject should not readily awaken, tell him that he will awaken this time "sure," then repeat the process that T have just given. If no attempts were made to awaken him, the subject would drift into a natural sleep and ultimately awake of his own accord. / LESSON NUMBER FOUR. Phenomena of Hypnotism and the Instantaneous Method. In the preceding lesson we simply considered the first two stages of the hypnotic sleep, the next that demands our atten- tion is the third, cataleptic ; it is very readily induced by giving the suggestions of rigidity, at the same time giving gentle strokes. This is one of the most wonderful of all the physical phenomena of hypnosis. After the patient has been thoroughly hypnotized, and has been placed in the first or second stages, give him the sugges- tion that you will now place him in the third or cataleptic degree ; then commence to give him gentle strokes over the body, rapid- ly, with a rather strong pressure on the muscles that you desire to become especially rigid. The subject should either be stand- ing or be lying on his back while entering this condition. If he is at all sensitive, he will commence to become rigid, his mus- cles will at once contract. After he has entered this condition, you place him upon chairs, laying his feet upon one and his head upon the other, and you will find that he is able to support heavy weights placed upon him. The author knows of a weak woman that is able to support over a thousand pounds placed upon her body while suspended in this condition; while out of hypnosis, she would be unable to support her own weight. We would ad- vise the student to be very careful in producing this phenomenon, for if he has not yet attained great confidence in himself, or con- fidence in his subject, there might be a relaxation of the sub- ject's muscles, and if the weight placed upon him was very heavy he might be injured. The student should always exercise care. FOURTH STAGE, LIGHT CLAIRVOYANCE. In this stage the subject is passing from physical manifesta- tions to those which are purely psychical; the subject is com- mencing to become more and more conscious of the things that are taking place in the inner self. It is in this stage that the in- dividually conscious mind is very passive, and allows the ex- pression of the universal intelligence, or sub-conscious mind. There is fn the mind of every one of us, all knowledge, for our mind is the universal mind. All one needs to do to glean any knowledge, is to look deeply within himself, look beneath the in- dividually conscious mind; this phase of introspection in which we are not only looking into ourselves, but through our individ- ual selves, into the universal self, is what we call clairvoyance. The light stage of clairvoyance is that in which the mind of the subject is not yet completely free from the trammels of mater- ialism. It yet recognizes such things as time and space ; while in this condition of the hypnotic sleep, the subject "goes" to the place he is directed to visit. Thus, if a subject placed in this hypnotic sleep is requested to visit friends at. a distance, he will experience the sensation of going there ; he will, however, do this most raipdly ; he will see the places indicated, and will give accu- rate descriptions of things that take place there. It is in this stage of light clairvoyance, that the phenomenon of mind reading is produced. This is based on thought trans- ference. As ail exercise in mind reading, the following is very good: Have the subject enter this very passive state; give him the suggestion that he will be able to get your thoughts, take a pack of playing cards, or others that are convenient, and select four of them, telling the subject the cards you have selected, as the ace, deuce, trey and four spot of diamonds ; now give the sub- ject the further suggestion that he will be able to name the cards that you take out of these four ; shuffle the four cards, suddenly draw one of the four, glance at it and recognize it ; just as you do this ask the subject, "what is this?" The mental act of your recognition will be flashed to the subject, and he being passive to your influence will recognize this mental transmission, and will give the first impression that he receives ; this will be correct. Practice with the subject a great deal along this line of work, and you will be able to produce some very startling phenomena. Ask him to visit the home of your friend, describe to you what he sees there ; if he has been thoroughly trained he will do so accurately. FIFTH STAGE, CLEAR CLAIRVOYANCE. This is simply a stage in which the subject is more passive than in the preceding one, his mind is more nearly free ; that is, the sub-conscious, or the universal intelligence is more nearly free from the trammel of the individualized mind. In this stage it has ceased to recognize time and space ; it does not have to travel, it is not necessary for it to "go ;" everything is "here." The subject is becoming more and more conscious of the uni- versality of himself ; he is availing himself more and more of the privileges afforded him by being one with the universal intelli- gence. Name the Colosseum, and he will describe it to you ; mention to him the assassination of Caesar and he will hear the exclamation "et tu, Brute !", uttered at the foot of Pompey's statue. It is not necessary for the act to be taking place at the time of hypnosis, for this universal intelligence that is expressing itself has a perfect memory of all the things that have happened since the foundation of the world. Do not forget that what the subject tells you is colored by his own individual education, and by the experiences he has had in his waking hours. Ask him concerning hell, and if he believes in the material hell of the Middle Ages, he will perhaps give you some such description as might be gleaned from the pages of Virgil or of Dante. He would, perhaps, describe to you his sorrow or pity for those whom he saw wailing and gnashing their teeth. If however, his views of hell are modernized, he would perhaps describe to you the pangs of an evil conscience, or the sorrows that come to him who looks over the desert of undeveloped opportunities in the past. It is in this stage of hypnotism that a great many of our leading psychic spiritualistic mediums perform their work; it is here that they glean knowledge from the universal intelli- gence and ascribe it to some disembodied spirit. No matter how much we may prove concerning telepathy or the universal- ity of mind, we cannot disprove the claims made by spiritualists, even if the*y cannot give us a scientific proof of the truth of their assertions. SIXTH STAGE, PSYCHOMBTRY. This is one of the most wonderful stages, or phenomena, that can be produced in all the realm of hypnotism. It obtains its power from the universality of mind. The psychometrist gleans his knowledge from the universal intelligence, he is able to enter into rapport with monads of mind that are yet low in the scale of development, or from another standpoint, he is able to allow almost perfect expression of the universal intelligence through his physical organism. While the subject is in this pas- sive condition, you may give him an old relic and he will trace for you its history; he will trace it back step by -step, back to its very beginning; if it is composed of wood he will trace it back to the forest. Give him a rock, and he will trace it back, and will give you its position at the time of the glacial period. He will trace it through all the various stages of geological forma- lion, he will trace it back until the time in which the elements that now compose it were brought together. Ask him concern- ing a man or a woman, and he is able to read to you their char- acter, he will recognize their present condition, he will recognize their environment, and by the acute understanding of the forces that are acting upon them, he will be able to tell you what will be the legitimate result of all those forces acting upon them. In fact he will be able to foretell to you the acts that they will per- form, because he is able to recognize their present condition in detail, and can see what will be the legitimate result. Psychometry is by far the most wonderful of all the phe- nomena of hypnotism, so far as psychical manifestations are con- cerned. There is nothing new about it, it is very old. Men of the ancient world were good psychometrists, but they knew nothing of the laws of mind. At the present day we find psy- chometry in its highest stage of development among the Mahat- mas of India, some of their psychometric readings are most wonderful, so we are told. We are inclined to look upon these psychical phenomena, as something mysterious, and there is a veil of mvstery thrown around them, that even our knowledge and scientific investigations are not able entirely to tear away. Psychometry is a comparatively new member of the family of sciences. It is yet in its infancy in America. There are but few that know r anything about it, and still fewer that know anything about the laws governing it. Here is a wide field of investiga- tion for the student. SEVENTH STAGE, INCOMPLETE SUSPENDED ANIMATION. This is a phase of psychical phenomena that has received but little attention from American investigators. By the use of proper suggestions, it is possible to force the subject into that state in which the bodily functions are nearly all at rest, there is a temporary suspension of a great many of the organs and functions of the body. The body is still the dwelling place of the soul, but it is ceasing to function highly on the physical plane. (it) The mind of the subject is reveling in the realms of the sub-con- scious ; it is allowing its habitation to be in almost absolute quiet; it is in this stage that the expert hypnotist is enabled to suspend in the air, without physical support of any kind, the body of his subject. By extending his hands over the body, rest- ing quietly, almost as quietly as in death, he makes mys- terious passes and bids the body to rise, and as mind controls matter and the sub-conscious mind of the subject is amenable to control by suggestion, the body of the subject slowly rises. This is considered one of the most startling phenomena that the professional hypnotist can produce. It is necessary in order to produce most of these phe- nomena that the subject be highly trained, he must be one that has been hypnotized a good many times, and the hypnotist must have absolute confidence in himself; it is want of confidence and a want of knowledge of the laws of the mind, that keep so many from making a success in the higher phases of occultism. EIGHTH STAGE, INCOMPLETE SUSPENDED ANIMATION. This is simply a continuation of the foregoing, it is simply the completing of what was commenced in the seventh. Place the subject in this hypnotic state, and to all appearances he is dead. Test him in various ways, and the result will be the same as if he were dead ; he does not breathe, he may be placed in the ground, buried deep and left there for days, even months, then disinterred and the command given to wake, he commences to breathe, open his eyes and is wide awake. The Mahatmas of India are adepts in producing such phenomena as these. Al- though we may understand the laws by which they are per- formed, and thoroughly understand the philosophy of mind bv which it is produced ; yet, if we see, we are startled in spite of our knewledge. These higher stages in the art of hypnotism are treated here, not with the expectation that all who read these lessons will produce them, but rather for the purpose ot letting the student know something of the immensity of the science he is studying, to let him know the possibilities that he may develop. When we witness such phenomena as these, we are compelled to ask the old question, "what is man ?" It is a question centuries old, yet we are no nearer the solution today than we were in the beginning, if we were to blot out the scientific investigation- of psychology in its more elaborate form. INSTANTANKUS HYPNOTISM. A representative of the London Society for Psychic Re- search was in India, making investigations in occultism. He was discussing with one of the adepts on the reality of things. The Hindoo was endeavoring to show the Englishman that appearance and reality are relative ; after some startling state- ment made by the Hindoo, the Britisher exclaimed, "what, you tell me that that mountain is not real!" Making a jesture with his hand in front of the eyes of the Englishman the Mahat- ma continued, "but now where is your mountain?" The Psychic Research man looked, and wonder of wonders, where the moun- tain had stood but a moment ago, now all was a level plain. This is an example of instantaneous hypnotism. It is considered by some to be very difficult to produce in- stantaneous hypnotism; as a matter of fact it is not. Nothing is ever attained in occultism but what at the moment it is accom- plished, it is done easily. Instantaneous hypnotism is simply made possible by previous development. All that is necessary is sufficient conscious and unconscious confidence in yourself. This is a result of development. There are some things that arc absolutely necessary for the operator to be able to produce the condition instantaneously. He must feel his ability, he must know that he can put the subject to sleep; by having t'/iis confl dence in himself, by thought transference and telepathy he arouses in the subject a high degree of confidence in the oper- ator ; that is all that is essential for producing any stage of hyp- notism. Hypnosis is often produced by a single word of com- mand, as "sleep," at the same time making a sudden pass in front of the subject. Hypnotism is nothing more or less than an agreement between the operator and the subject ; just as long as it takes to establish this agreement, just so long does it take to establish hypnosis. In this agreement the subject agrees to perform all acts requested by the operator, this is a condition of passivity; on the other hand, the operator agrees to assume all responsibilities, if every thing is left to his control ; he then as- serts, this is the condition of positiveness. If the operator is strong, or positive, he is able to suddenly place the subject in a passive state, then hypnotism may be made instantaneous. The sub-conscious faculty of the mind is controlled entirely by sug- gestion. If a suggestion is given so suddenly that the conscious mind has'not time for deliberation, we will have one of the phe- nomena of instantaneous control in the waking state. There is in Canada a class of people known as "grabbers," they are mostly found among the Canadian French ; they are very sensitive, and if any command is given them suddenly, they will act upon it. If, while in a restaurant, giving his orders to the waitress, some- one should cry, "grab her," one of these sensitive fellows would instantly clasp the waitress in his arms. It is from such inci- dents that this class of people have gained the name of "grab- bers." This would be an example of the instantaneous accept- ance of a suggestion in the waking state. To become an expert in the use of instantaneous hypnotism, it is essential that the student practice. By this practice and by the success he will attain, he will develop a confidence in him- self that will enable him to perform many startling feats The author of these lessons has often times approached some one who was sitting in a chair, and leaning forward and looking the person steadily in the eye for a moment, suddenly give the sug- gestion to the person that he could not move, could not get out of his chair; the suggestion has nearly always been taken. This is simply a phase of instantaneous hypnotism. To produce hypnosis instantaneously, it is necessary to sud- denly give the suggestion of sleep. We wish very much that there was some method that we could explain in a moment to the student that he could use for the producing of this particu- lar phenomena, but there is none, he must simply practice ; he must develop confidence in himself and learn how to secure the confidence of his subject. Hypnotism is often instantaneous, but it usually requires some little time to secure the agreement. Remember that all hypnotism is produced by a conscious or un- conscious compact between subject and operator, in which one is to be perfectly passive and the other is to be highly positive. This is the essence of hypnotism. LESSON NUMBER FIVE. Hypnotism as a Therapeutic Agent. The recognition that is being granted hypnotism as a factor in modern therapeutics is very gratifying to the friends of the science. The larger hospitals in France use the induced sleep extensively in the treatment of all their cases. There are some forms of disease that are found to be particularly suscepti- ble to the influence of the suggestive treatment, and especially the hypnotic suggestion. Among these might be mentioned any form of disease in which there is great pain, also diseases of the nervous system, as hysteria, the various forms of hallucina- tions, habits and of melancholia. We will again for a moment consider the fundamental principles of suggestion. Modern psychology teaches us that there are two faculties of the mind of man, that are called the conscious and the sub-conscious, the conscious is simply the conscious superintendent of the body; it is its duty to stand on guard during the waking hours, and to al- low or disallow the impulses to which any suggestion may give rise. Now the sub-conscious faculty of the mind has direct control of all the functions of the body, and is at th* same time amenable to the power of suggestion. Now if any one has a disease, and you are able to give a suggestion to the sub-conscious mind of the patient, strong enough to overcome the action of the disease, you will be able to cure the patient. These principles are the fundamentals of the therapeu- tical use of the hypnotic suggestion, and upon them the whole system of therapeutics depends. It is always suggestion that cures. In the ordinary treatment of disease it is almost impossible to wholly eliminate adverse suggestions from the individually conscious mind of the patient. He is continually harassed by doubts and fears, and all the while watching the trend of his dis- ease. The very attention he bestows upon it has a tendency to render it worse. It seems as if man is prone to be pessimistic, that he is continually looking for the things that are detrimental to his well being. He looks on the dark side of life, he seems to be seeking misfortune and disease instead of prosperity and health. Now it also seems to be one of the laws of mind that what a man looks for that he is most likely to find. Man is controlled by his beliefs, his doubts and fears tend to crush him, his hopes and self-confidence tend to bouy him up ; thoughts of disease tend to the manifestation of disease ; thoughts of strong, healthy organ- ism tend to the manifestation of health. It is the office of hypnotism, in the realms of therapeutics, to control the thoughts of the patient ; by planting in the sub- conscious mind the determination to become better, by stimulat- ing the conscious mind to a recognition of its oneness with the universal intelligence, it is able to cure the patient. The student should remember that it is the sub-conscious faculty of the mind that has direct control of all the functions of the body; it has control of the circulation of the blood, the formation and excretion of the secretions. It controls all the so-called involuntary muscles and reflex action ; it has direct control of the lymphatics. Now as this sub-conscious faculty of the mind has such intimate control of the functions of the body and at the same time is amenable to suggestion, there is opened up to the student a vast field of research. All he needs to do is to give the proper suggestion and he will be able to re- lieve his patient of any disease whatever. HABITS, POST-HYPNOTIC SUGGESTION. There is a phase of the hypnotic phenomena that has not yet been considered, and one that is of special importance in the use of hypnotic suggestion as a therapeutic agent. I refer to what is generally known as post-hypnotic suggestion, which is based upon certain attributes and characteristics of the sub-conscious mind. The first of these is the attribute of perfect memory. This sub-conscious mind is but the expression of the universal intelligence and it never forgets anything ; every suggestion that is given it remains in force and is ever tending to awaken an impulse. Another characteristic of this phase of our self, is a perfect knowledge of time or duration. Give a thoroughly hyp- notized person the suggestion that he will awaken at a certain time, he will do so ; this is because the shb-conscious mind has the faculty of intuitive perception of the duration of time. If I give a suggestion to a patient that is under my influence, telling him that he will execute it at some definite time in the future ; when he is freed from my influence, he will perform the act at the desired time, although he may have no conscious knowledge of the suggestion that I gave him. Examples : Tobacco habit. Post-hypnotic suggestion is particularly useful in freeing people from habits. Perhaps none are more easily relieved than those addicted to the tobacco habit. All that is necessary is to have the patient become willing to be relieved of the habit, then place him under hypnosis and impress upon him firmly the suggestion that it will be impos- sible for him ever again to use tobacco ; you might even go so far with your suggestion as to tell him if he should ever again use it he would become very sick. In treating a tobacco case, it is also well to stimulate the salivary glands with the intention of putting them in a healthy condition. In impressing sugges- tions during hypnosis, it is essential to repeat ; every time you give the suggestion tending to make him quit the use of tobacco, you are changing the condition of his sub-conscious, you are relieving it from the stress of suggestions that are detrimental to his well being. Just before awakening your patient, give a final suggestion that what you tell him is absolutely true, and it will be absolutely impossible for him to ever again use tobacco. Morphine and whisky habits. All other habits are treated in very much the same way as the tobacco habit. In those ad- dicted to the use of morphine, it is, however, not advisable to give the suggestion that they will discontinue the use of the drug suddenly, rather give the suggestion that they will only have the desire for a limited amount and keep decreasing the amount at each treatment until ultimately the patient is pre- pared to take the suggestion that it will be impossible for him to again use the drug. If you were to cause him to entirely quit the drug at once, he might possibly suffer in some way, be- tween the treatments. The whisky habit, however, may be shut off completely at the first treatment. All such. questions, how- ever, must be solved by the operator. He must use his own judgment in the matter. A great majority of diseases are caused by an abnormal, condition of the circulation. Now the sub-conscious faculty of the mind lias direct control of the circulation of the blood, so all you need to do is to impress upon the patient the suggestion of an equalization of the circulation, and call particular attention to the equalization that is to take place in those parts of the body afflicted. The neuro-molecular action is under direct control of the sub-conscious faculty of the mind. In cases of nervousness the molecular action of the nerves is too rapid. When the nerves are sluggish or deadened as in paralysis, the neuro-molecular action is too slow. Consequently, to relieve a case of nervous- ness, suggestions of quiet must be given ; and in paralysis the nerves must be stimulated. The application of the principle involved in what we are now considering may be made very general, for in every form of disease there is an abnormal condi- tion of the nerves. The operator should ascertain what this condition is and give suggestions of a nature that tend to re- lieve it. All forms of neurasthenia may be completely cured by hyp- notic suggestion, for they are simply diseases of the nervous system. As one of these we may consider the physio-mental trouble known as "melancholia hypochondriasis," this is simply a form of mental disease that is in the nature of melancholy, caused by morbid attention to some physical ailment, often as- sociated with some form of disease located in the upper zone. The patient often experiences a loss of ambition and a want of interest in, or of feeling for others. By proper suggestions the operator is able to remove the congestion in the hypochon- drium, and bv post-hypnotic suggestions to relieve the patient of the exercise of the morbid attention to the parts of his trouble. He is also able to instill into the subject ambition and hope, de- priving him of melancholy. This is one of the most peculiar forms of neurasthenia that the metaphysician or neurologist is ever called upon to treat. We give it attention here simply to call attention to the fact that the great majority of so-called insane persons may be permanently cured by the intelligent use of hypnotism. Perhaps there is no more common affliction than insomnia, or that condition of the circulation and of the nerves that de- prives the patient of sleep. It may be caused by a variety of physical or mental conditions. Anything that will tend to keep the cerebrum charged with blood, will prevent sleep, for in all stages of sleep, whether hypnotic or natural, there is an anaemic condition of the cerebrum. If the student is ever called upon to treat a case of chronic insomnia, the first thing for him to do is to determine the nature of the trouble. There are two phases of insomnia, which we commonly call acute and morbid. In the acute there is a great rush of blood to the brain, the arterial circulation is very strong, the blood in the brain is bright red ; the patient will feel well, his mind seem bright and active, and there is no disposition to sleep. In the morbid, there is a congestion in the brain, the blood is dark and stagnant, the patient feels drowsy but cannot sleep. He makes every effort, he tries all manner of processes that are commonly advised to induce sleep, but he is not successful. There is a dull, heavy feeling in his head. Now these two different phases of insomnia require different treatment ; in the acute there must be some- thing done to retard the rush of blood to the brain ; this can be done by exercising the intention of sending the blood into the lower extremities. In such cases the use of the so-called Mes- meric pass will be found very beneficial. As soon as possible place the subject under hypnosis, then by judicious suggestions, quiet the nerves and retard the arterial circulation ; also give the suggestion that will tend to produce an anaemic condition in the cerebrum, then the patient will be able to drift into a deep sleep. Of course in all cases of insomnia, the cause of the trouble should be determined, if possible, and removed, thus in- suring the patient a permanent cure. Tn fnorbid insomnia, the circulation should be first stimti- 1 with the intention of driving out the stagnant blood in the brum; then by giving the suggestion of equalization and of rest, the patient is easily induced to go into a natural sleep. ANAESTHESIA. This is one of the phenomena of hypnotism that is at pres- ent being given wide-spread attention. It is simply an induced condition of quietness of the neuro-molecular action. It may be induced in the waking state, but we will consider it here sim ply as a phenomenon of the sleep. It is commonly supposed that the cataleptic stage is the best in which to produce this loss of feeling, but the author has found by his own experience that the condition of rigidity is not necessary, and perhaps not even advisable. He has obtained the best results with the patient in a light hypnotic sleep with muscles perfectly relaxed. If you h to produce this condition of anaesthesia, first hypnotize the patient, then stroke gently with your hand the part in which you wish to quiet the nervous action, giving the sugges- tion that you are now taking away all sensation of feeling, that you are depriving that part of the body of all ability to feel pain. Continue this gentle stroking and suggestive treatment until you have become thoroughly in rapport with the patient, then allow the experiments to be made or operations, if any, to be performed. To the novice it seems wonderful, that by a few mysterious passes and a few gentle strokes a condition of sleep is induced in which any form of surgical operation may be per- formed without the patient experiencing any pain. There are still many who doubt the efficiency of hypnotism as a therapeutic agent, but for the most part they belong to that vast class who do not investigate. Hypnotic treatment is scientific, it is based upon the philosophy of mind ; there is no longer around it any veil of charlatanism; it has commenced to be recognized by the best thinkers as purely scientific. It is used extensively in some of our large hospitals, especially in cer- tain parts of Europe. We would advise the student to do much experimenting and investigate the subject in all its details. Hypnotic treatment will, in a few years, be considered by far the most rational of any of the methods now in vogue. LESSON NUMBER SIX. Self-Hypnotism; Its Uses. Those who have carefully studied the preceding lessons will understand the nature of hypnotism. They will know that it is simply a result of an agreement between the operator and the subject, in which the subject agrees to be perfectly passive to the will of the operator. This is the truth; hypnotism is simply a result of suggestion, but it is not necessary that the suggestion be given by another person. The subject may be his own operator, then the suggestions are given by the con- scious to the sub-conscious faculty of the mind. This is what is generally called auto or self-suggestion. Now if one under- stands how to be positive and also how to render himself pas- sive, he is almost complete master of himself, and by an exercise of intention in the conscious mind, he is able to plant in the sub-conscious the suggestion that will produce sleep. There have been many great men who had this power highly de- veloped. Napoleon was an adept in many phases of occult ism ; up to the time of Waterloo, he was almost complete maste r of himself, it has been told of him that in some fierce battle, after giving his orders and seeing that they were being executed, he would wrap his army cloak around him, lie down and go in- stantly to sleep ; he would do this with the roar of cannon and the rattle of musketry all around him. I firmly believe that if we knew all of his life, we would discover that Napoleon was one of the greatest psychics of modern times ; but we simply cite this incident here to illustrate the power of auto-suggestion and to let the student know that by its use hypnosis may be induced. Self-hypnotism is easily performed. If one knows how to hypnotize others and is capable of being hypnotized himself, he can easily put himself into any of the stages of hypnotism by the use of auto-suggestion, in fact for the production of the deeper stages, self-hypnotism is much better than being hypnotized by some one else. As a preparation for self induced hypnosis, it is perhaps well to practice some of the various forms of auto- suggestion as I will now give them. Take the suggestion that the sub-conscious faculty of your mind is perfectly passive, im- press upon it that any suggestion offered by the conscious mind must be readily accepted. Now close your hand, clinch the fist tightly and take the suggestion that it will be impossible for you to open your hand until you count three. If you have practiced making yourself passive, you will find that it is im- possible for you to open it ; the sub-conscious mind has simply taken the suggestion from the conscious, and until the sugges- tion is rendered void by a counter-suggestion, the hand will re- main closed. As another exercise, plant one of your feet firmly on the floor in front of the chair on which you are sitting, give the limb a few downward strokes and take the suggestion that it will be impossible for you to raise the foot until you take three deep inspirations. If you can make yourself passive, or in other words, if you have taken the suggestion, you will discover that you cannot exercise the intention to raise the foot until after you have taken the required inspirations. You may con- tinue these experiments almost indefinitely ; clinch your hands and by suggestion render yourself unable to relax them until you have complied with certain requirements that you have previously imposed upon yourself. Take a comfortable position in your chair, relax all of your muscles, render the real self perfectly passive to the conscious mind, then take the suggestion that you are going to sleep ; in the beginning of your experiments you will find it necessary to repeat the suggestion, "I am perfectly passive to the sug- gestion that I have given myself and now I am drifting to sleep." Endeavor to render yourself as free from all disturb - ing thoughts as possible ; try to make your mind a blank ; let no thoughts flit through it, except perhaps, the occasional sug- gestion, "I am going to sleep." Let yourself drift, you will ex- perience a sensation just as you might imagine one would if he were floating on a cloud; just let yourself glide and sail. This experience is very much similar to that of one who is placed under the influence of chloroform. You will drift, you will gradually cease to recognize your body, and will soon be sound asleep. There is very little difference between self-induced hypnot- ism and the ordinary form of hypnosis when induced by an oper- ator ; in one case the sub-conscious mind acts upon the sugges- tion of another person ; in self-hypnotism it is simply subservient to the complementary conscious mind. In one case the hyp- notized person is depending on something that apparently is outside of himself; in the other he is depending on himself. In this particular, appearances are not reliable, for in all cases of hypnotism it is auto-suggestion that produces the phenomena. The subject may apparently rely upon the operator, but in reality he hypnotizes himself. The suggestion that he accepts is as much his own in one case as it is in another. He accepts it from the operator and then it is auto-suggestion that is stim- ulated by the suggestion that he has accepted that really pro- duces the sleep. It perhaps seems strange to many, for me to make the statement that in all cases a person really hypnotizes himself, but scientific investigation will bear -me out in this statement. THE ESSENCE OF MENTAL SCIENCE. The fundamental principles of the philosophy that is known as Mental Science, is that man is one with the universal intelli- gence; one with God, and that each individual of the human e has within himself all the powers and potentialities that exist. Man is but an expression of the universal intelligence, he is not circumscribed, he is infinite, limited only by his indi- viduality : being but an expression of the creative force, we may truly say that the real man is that force, or in other words, that man is the universe. There is nothing outside of man ; we some- times speak of the self and the not-self, and in a materialistic way recognize the immensity, but in reality there is nothing out- side of man. He being an expression of the universal intelli- gence, being the infinite life in objectivity, embraces all things. ry flower, every tree, every particle of dust, in fact every monad throughout the infinite space is closely related to the in- dividualized mind, and it is a part of the sub-conscious faculty of the mind. Now this sub-conscious faculty of the mind of man is the universal intelligence, functioning on a plane that has not yet become individually self-conscious. It is this phase of mind that is amenable to control by the power of suggestion. Every- thing that man attain^, every act that he performs in ordinary life are results of suggestions that have directed this universal life principle, or what Christ calls "The kingdom of God with- in you." This infinite force, universal intelligence, or what- ever we may call it, is what the race has ever been endeavoring to worship ; it is God. From what has been said the student will readily comprehend that God is not something to worship, it is rather a force, a power that man should use. It is this "King- dom of Heaven," or the Fathei that is indicated when we speak of the sub-conscious mind of man. Every good thing that has come to any of us, has been ob- tained through the agency of the sub-conscious mind, through that power within us that is ever striving to help us, that is al- waps endeavoring to make us become wiser and better; it is the power of the Christos, seeking to manifest itself. There is a force in nature that is urging us on. It is a force that has brought man through savagery and barbarism to his exalted place in civilization. "Eternal progression is the law of life." If man keeps in harmony with nature, all the forces of the uni- verse will conspire to make him a success. All man needs to do to attain any desire or aspiration, is to put himself in rapport with the Soul of the Race. Do this and Christ says "Ask, and it shall be given you ; seek, and you shall find ; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." Auto-suggestion is a communication to this inner-self; by its intelligent use we are able to bring to ourselves all the good things that we may desire. We, however, should not make an aim to attain any particular thing, such as wealth or popularity ; we should simply endeavor to put ourselves in a condition of harmony with the universal life principle and all these things shall be added unto us; Christ has told us this. (Luke 12, 31). For the accomplishment of great things by the use of auto- suggestion, self hypnotism is a great aid. Put yourself to sleep with the suggestion that you will become more and more in harmony •with the universal life ; impress upon yourself before going into sleep that all the while you are resting, you will gain strength and courage fro mthis infinite life ; also that you are throwing down all barriers and admitting the power of the Christos that ever stands at the door and knocks. If you wish to obtain health, put yourself in a condition of harmony with all the world and lie down ; render yourself passive to the influences that are striving to make you better; "ask and you shall re- ceive." If there is anything that you desire to attain, anything that is essential to your well-being or to the well-being of those around you, take the suggestion that it can be obtained out of this infinite store-house that can supply all your, wants, trust the sub-conscious mind, eliminate all doubt, then sleep. These last suggestions that you have taken will awaken impulses that will tend to the realization of your desire; this is prayer. Genuine prayer is always answered. Self hypnotism is very useful in developing any of your latent powers. By its legitimate use you can develop any faculty such as memory, time, tune, or calculation. The auto- suggestion taken before hypnosis should depend upon the nature of the faculty to be developed. Hypnotic treatment, in- duced either by self or by others, is very useful in stimulating the artistic impulses along any of the lines of art such as music, painting or sculpturing. If one is discouraged, feels very despondent and is in- clined to look on the dark side of life, he may remedy all these evils, free himself from the false suggestions that are tending to oppress him, by the intelligent use of the auto-suggestion. To the student who desires to become an adept in the higher forms of occultism, as Clairvoyance and the stages of suspended animation, we would advise him to practice a great deal in de- veloping his powers of inducing these conditions in himself. When one is placed in the deep hypnotic sleep by another, he is influenced more or less by the conscious mind of the operator, he is also taught to depend upon another rather than upon him- self; so we would say to the student, practice entering these various stages alone, and by the use of proper suggestions you will be able to visit places or solve problems by yourself We also wish to tell the student that it is not necessary to enter into sleep in order to produce many of the phenomena of hypnotism. For instance, if you wish to diagnose a case bv the use of telepathy, it is not necessary to sleep. Simply render yourself passive to the thoughts that come to you, simply glean your knowledge from the universal mind. In the beginning it is perhaps necessary to use sleep in order to render yourself passive, but after some practice one is able to simply look with- in himself and get the first impressions which are always nec- essary. The habitual practice of auto-suggestion and self-hypno- tism will render one strong. It will bring him to a better knowl- (ii) edge of himself, and it will enable him to solve the problems of life. Jesus Christ laid special stress upon this form of develop- ment and called it prayer. He repeatedly advised His followers to pray to the Father, which is equivalent to saying "By auto- suggestion, control the action of the sub-conscious faculty of your mind." LESSON NUMBER SEVEN, Use of Hypnotism in Business and Society. It is customary, in the advanced modern literature on the subject, to treat hypnotism in a very broad manner. The auth- ors do not confine hypnotism in its application simply to those phenomena that are produced during the sleep. They extend it in its application so as to include all phenomena that are the results of the complementary conditions of positiveness and passivity. The term is used synonymously with the phrase, "Took the •suggestion." Thus if I were to ask some one to pass me a book and he should do so, this would be considered a phase of hypnosis, he was passive to my suggestion when he gave me the book. This application of the word is made in spite of its primary meaning. We recognize the want of scientific accuracy in such a usage, but there is no word to indicate the full force of suggestion in the sleeping and waking states ; so perhaps it is admissible to extenuate the one word so as to embrace the various phases of suggestion. We will do this, recognizing our violation of a law of scientific accuracy and at the same time feeling the want of a better word. In ordinary life we see men and women who are much more powerful than their fellows ; they are much more popular and attain a higher degree of success. Upon critical investiga- tion, we find that they have no better education than many of those less fortunate. They are no better in any sense of the word, but there is something about them that renders them pop- ular ; something that brings them success. To the student of practical psychology there is nothing peculiar about this great difference in the attainments of men, even if the less fortunate ones are really the best adapted for the performances of the duties assigned the others. He instantly recognizes it as due to a difference in their strength of character ; in the development of their individualism and in the power of asserting themselves. A thought is the most powerful thing in the world. Every thought that is formulated and sent out is a suggestion. The thoughts that a person thinks in a great measure determine the nature of his environment ; at any rate they determine the na- ture of the environment relative to himself. It is said that thought is the body-builder. This is true, but it also builds everything else ; it builds fortunes, reputations, homes, and mountains of misfortunes that fall back upon and crush him who superintended the building. It is quite common now-a-days to hear people speak of per- sonal magnetism. It is a great accomplishment, but it is noth- ing more nor less than the power of thought. If you desire to cultivate personal magnetism, all you need to do is to cultivate confidence in yourself, and devise ways of stimulating in others confidence in you. Before you can exert any great influence over another, you must learn how to impinge your personality upon him, so as to bring him to your way of thinking ; you must send him the thought by thought transference, that you would have him think and recognize as his own. This is a form of suggestion, but perhaps he will not recognize it as such ; he will think that the thought is his own, and he will believe that he has agreed with you of his own free will and not as the result of any influence brought to bear upon him. In business it is sometimes very essential to have a thor- ough understanding of the laws of mind and especially of the power of suggestion. If some one should be indebted to you and you wish to collect the bill, there are certain laws of the mind that must be complied with before you will be successful in obtaining what is due you. By some means or other, there must be aroused in the debtor a desire to pay you. His desire to pay you must be stronger than his desire to keep from pay ing you ; the suggestion tending to produce a result in your favor must be stronger than the one tending to produce an opposite result, otherwise you will not be able to collect. A man is always controlled by the suggestions that awaken the strongest impulse. If you are good at concentration and thought trans- ference, when you come in the presence of your debtor, first, ex- pect him to pay the bill, then send him the thought that will tend to produce in him a desire to pay it. Think the thought you would have him think and send it to him by thought trans- ference. Let all your words be suggestive of him paying the bill, do not for an instance express the slightest doubt of receiv- ing the money. Let him know you are really expecting it, let him know that you have confidence in him. If you do these things, yow will be able to awaken in him a desire to pay you. Be careful not to antagonize him, if you should, in all probabil- ity, you would not be able to collect. The author has often discussed the labor question and has advised the toilers to never go on strikes. The spirit of a labor strike is wrong, it is detrimental to the best interests of the strikers themselves ; it is not the method by which they will attain success. Every strike tends to increase the power of capital and decreases that of labor. One can easily see the truth of this statement, if he has the knowledge of the laws of mind. Every time a striker thinks a thought of discouragement, every time he in any way recognizes his own weakness, he is bringing upon himself the very things that he fears. Every time the striker recognizes any superiority in the operator, every time he grants to him powers and privileges that he himself does not possess, he is tending to make the operator stronger and he himself becomes weaker. The labor question will never be set- tied by a strike. It can only be settled by stimulating the powers of the laboring- man. He must become conscious that he has within himself all the powers and potentialities that exist ; he must claim for himself every power that he grants to another, and he must not claim for himself any power or privilege that he is not willing to concede to every one else. Let the laboring man commence to give himself suggestion of success, let him commence to make the determination to free himself from the chains of bondage that are dragging him down. As soon as he changes the tenor of his thoughts, just so soon will there com- mence to be changes in his environments and in his condition. Remember the power of the mind is omnipotent ; it is the only power in the universe. Every success that is attained is the result of the action of the mind ; so if one is not satisfied with his present condition, let him commence to think thoughts that will have a tendency to produce a different result ; continue this thought after thought, and just as the dripping water wears away the adamantine rock, so will suggestion after suggestion wear away the worst condition of discouragement or of mis- fortune. If one wishes to be a social success, let him launch forth in society and entertain no doubts as to the result. Let him be full of ambition, full of hope and full of determination to suc- ceed. When he has entered society it will perhaps become nec- essary for him to secure the friendship of some influential people. He must not doubt his ability, he must have perfect confidence in himself; let him rely on the sub-conscious faculty of the mind to obtain for him the desired social recognition. If he does these things and does them knowingly, with a perfect knowledge of the laws of the mind, he will be able to obtain for himself the most exalted social position. In endeavoring to obtain for one's self social or financial success, he must never for an instant be forgetful of others. He must never, in any way harm others that he himself may be mind that must be complied with before you will be successful in obtaining what is due you. By some means or other, there must be aroused in the debtor a desire to pay you. His desire to pay you must be stronger than his desire to keep from pay ing you ; the suggestion tending to produce a result in your favor must be stronger than the one tending to produce an opposite result, otherwise you will not be able to collect. A man is always controlled by the suggestions that awaken the strongest impulse. If you are good at concentration and thought trans- ference, when you come in the presence of your debtor, first, ex- pect him to pay the bill, then send him the thought that will tend to produce in him a desire to pay it. Think the thought you would have him think and send it to him by thought trans- ference. Let all your words be suggestive of him paying the bill, do not for an instance express the slightest doubt of receiv- ing the money. Let him know you are really expecting it, let him know that you have confidence in him. If you do these things, you will be able to awaken in him a desire to pay you. Be careful not to antagonize him, if you should, in all probabil- ity, you would not be able to collect. The author has often discussed the labor question and has advised the toilers to never go on strikes. The spirit of a labor strike is wrong, it is detrimental to the best interests of the strikers themselves ; it is not the method by which they will attain success. Every strike tends to increase the power of capital and decreases that of labor. One can easily see the truth of this statement, if he has the knowledge of the laws of mind. Every time a striker thinks a thought of discouragement, every time he in any way recognizes his own weakness, he is bringing upon himself the very things that he fears. Every time the striker recognizes any superiority in the operator, every time he grants to him powers and privileges that he himself does not possess, he is tending to make the operator stronger and he himself becomes weaker. The labor question will never be set- tied by a strike. It can only be settled by stimulating the powers of the laboring man. He must become conscious that he has within himself all the powers and potentialities that exist ; he must claim for himself every power that he grants to another, and he must not claim for himself any power or privilege that he is not willing to concede to every one else. Let the laboring man commence to give himself suggestion of success, let him commence to make the determination to free himself from the chains of bondage that are dragging him down. As soon as he changes the tenor of his thoughts, just so soon will there com- mence to be changes in his environments and in his condition. Remember the power of the mind is omnipotent ; it is the only- power in the universe. Every success that is attained is the result of the action of the mind ; so if one is not satisfied with his present condition, let him commence to think thoughts that will have a tendency to produce a different result; continue this thought after thought, and just as the dripping water wears away the adamantine rock, so will suggestion after suggestion wear away the worst condition of discouragement or of mis- fortune. If one wishes to be a social success, let him launch forth in society and entertain no doubts as to the result. Let him be full of ambition, full of hope and full of determination to suc- ceed. When he has entered society it will perhaps become nec- essary for him to secure the friendship of some influential people. He must not doubt his ability, he must have perfect confidence in himself; let him rely on the sub-conscious faculty of the mind to obtain for him the desired social recognition. If he does these things and does them knowingly, with a perfect knowledge of the laws of the mind, he will be able to obtain for himself the most exalted social position. In endeavoring to obtain for one's self social or financial success, he must never for an instant be forgetful of others. He must never, in any way harm others that he himself may be benefitted. One of the first principles of occultism is that a man can only do the greatest good to himself by doing good to others. If you attempt to attain success by trampling upon and perhaps crushing those who are weaker, you will bring upon yourself condemnation. You may perhaps obtain wealth by wringing it from those beneath you, but wealth oftentimes brings with it sorrows and misfortune. "Eternal progression is the law of life." Everything as it now exists is the result of countless ages of development. The principle of evolution is eternal. You are the result of everything that has gone before you. You use everything that is beneath you in the sphere of development for your advance- ment to a higher plane. Those above you are using you for the purpose of benefitting themselves. This is a privilege that is granted each one of us, we may use all that is beneath us to enable us to function on a higher plane, but this carries with it its own responsibilities and obli- gations. «If you use those beneath you for the betterment of your condition, you must use them not for the purpose of self aggrandizement. As you advance you must lend a helping hand to those beneath you that have served as a stepping stone for you in the attainment of your present position. Your de- velopment places you under obligation to help all others. By the law of attraction, you will tend to lift up those who are beneath you ; and those who are above you, and have been using you as a stepping stone to their exalted position, are now draw- ing you upward. Evolution is "the power that raises mortals up and not the power that drags angels down." The question is sometimes asked, whether we have the right to bring to yourselves wealth, happiness, and culture, by drawing from the strata of life beneath us ; whether we have the right to so arrange our circumstances that we may live a life of leisure, letting others toil for us. This is a question that belongs essen- tially to sociology, but sociology and metaphysics are closely related, so we will consider the question for a moment here. Whether or not one is justified in leading such a life, depends entirel) on how he devotes his time; if he uses it for self aggrandizement, for pleasure, without in any way benefitting those who support him, he is unjust to himself and detrimental to the race. But if he lives the life of leisure for the purpose of investigating the deeper problems of life and of obtaining knowledge on the questions that are of such vital importance to his fellows, then disseminates that knowledge, and aids those who are beneath him to better their condition, then his actions are to be commended and we would call him a public bene- factor. Such questions as these are often raised when we are dis- cussing the use of hypnotism in business and society. If by the knowledge of hvpnotism I am able to have men and women do my bidding, if I can impinge my personality upon them so strongly that I control their actions, I am responsible for the use I make of my power. If I prevail upon them to do for me the things that will benefit me, and I use the things I thus ob- tain to assist those whom I have prevailed upon to help me, then 1 am justified in expressing my powers and abilities as I have ; but if I influence them to assist me without in any way reward- ing them or any of my fellows, then I am prostituting a noble power ; I am taking and giving nothing in return, I am a thief. I trust the student will thoroughly understand the ethics of the problem that I have just been considering. It would be very pleasant to devote some time to the ethics of hypnotism and consider the matter in detail, but in a course of instruction that aims to be practical, with its principal purpose of imparting knowledge of the modus operandi, it would perhaps be con- sidered irrelevent, so we will refrain from discussing the subject further here. When the student wishes to influence an individual for the accomplishment of any purpose whatsoever, he must become thoroughly in rapport with his subject along the particular line upon which he wishes him to act. A knowledge of human nature is sometimes essential to the securing of this condition of rapport. However, if the student has thoroughly studied and comprehended the foregoing lessons, he will be able to ob- tain this condition of rapport under any circumstances. The student, of course, knows what I mean by rapport ; it is simply that condition of mind in which the subject and operator vibrate harmoniously, one with the other; there is not any discord be- tween them, they are at perfect peace. This condition of rap- port may be circumscribed, it may extend along only certain lines of thought. There are people who are thoroughly in rap- port while discussing politics, but as soon as they venture upon religion, a spirit of antagonism is aroused. Now the operator must use the one phase of rapport as a means of enabling him to secure perfect agreement along various other lines. The more lines of thought in which you can become in rapport with your subject, the more influence you will be able to exercise over him. For the intelligent use of hypnotism in business and society the operator must be perfectly positive, he must assert him- self; not necessarily by talking or by haughtiness of action, but by calmness, self-control and by the power of thought. He who endeavors to make his way in the world by the use of bom- bastic language and haughtiness in physical action ; he who en- deavors to make progress by pushing and shovmg those who are near him, is weak. Bombast is always a sign of weakness ; quietness and perfect repose is indicative of strength. Throughout the whole realm of occultism, the student must depend upon the power of thought per se, rather than upon its outward manifestations. If he is to be great he must think great thoughts and not think weak thoughts and simply act as if he were great. Let him think thoughts of success and he is successful ; let him think thoughts of health and his physical or- ganism is in perfect condition. Verily, Solomon spoke the truth when he said, "As a man thinkcth in his heart, so is he." LESSON NUMBER EIGHT. Stage Hypnotism. In the earliest history of hypnotism as an art, we find that it was used for the purpose of bringing honor to the operator. It was used as a means of enslaving the people by associating it with their religion. It was used almost entirely by the priests. In later times, after the researches of Mesmer, it became com- mon to use hypnotism as a means of entertaining. It was asso- ciated with the so-called Black Arts and was used for a time almost exclusively by charlatans. The use of the power was greatly abused, the genuine phenomena of hypnotism were inter- mingled with much imposture, the whole art consequently came into disrepute. The operators of those days claimed to have some mysterious power by which they could put people to sleep. It was supposed that very few could learn how to hyp- notize. Every effort was made to throw around the art a veil of mystery. Such was the condition of stage hypnotism until a few years ago. There is much opposition to the use of hypnotism for the purpose of entertaining. Those who oppose it claim that such powers should be used only for the purpose of doing good and not for entertaining. We believe this is true. If hypnotism was practiced generally, simply as a form of amusement, it would be very detrimental to the study of the subject as a science. I, however, believe that if the entertainments are given, not for-the purpose of amusing, but also for instructing, then the hypnotist is justified in giving his exhibition. If he strives to awaken an interest in the subject, producing phe- nomena of such a nature as will tend to awaken in the spectators a desire to know more about the power they possess, then he will be doing good. But if he gives an entertainment such as are sometimes given, simply for the purpose of creating laughter, I believe he should be censured. We will assume that the student who reads this lesson will be prompted by a noble purpose if he should ever use hypnotism for stage purposes. To be successful in giving a public entertainment by the use of hypnotism, some care should be exercised in having the stage properly arranged. If the entertainment should be given in a large hall or opera house, more care would perhaps be demand- ed in the arrangement of the scenery than if the entertainment were to be given in a less pretentious place. But under any cir- cumstance the more tastefully the stage is arranged the better for the operator. It is advised by some professional hypnotists to have the stage draped in an oriental manner so as to throw around the performance something of mystery. At any rate it should 15e arranged conveniently so that there will not be the slightest hesitancy in placing chairs and tables in proper posi- tions in the productions of the various phenomena. Special attention should be given to the arrangement of the lights in all experiments in hypnosis, whether public or private. Sometimes it is desirable to throw a strong light directly in the face of the subject and again it is necessary to protect his eyes from any vivid glare. The operator should arrange the stage so as to best meet the requirements of the phenomena that he expects to produce. He should be thor- oughly familiar with the arrangements made, so that he may be quick and decisive in all his actions. He should leave nothing to be planned and arranged at the time of the- entertainment. It is usual with most operators to have some subjects who are thoroughly trained, especially for the producing of the higher forms of the hypnotic sleep, such as catalepsy, clair- voyance and suspended animation. It is also advisable for the operator to have several persons placed throughout the audi- ence that he has previously hypnotized and who will readily come under his influence ; then when he calls for volunteers, and there is hesitancy as there usually is, these prepared sub- jects may respond. The people thinking that these trained subjects are new ones, and seeing them come readily under the influence of the hypnotist will have their confidence stimulated and will more readily be hypnotized themselves. Seeing some one else hypnotized is a very strong suggestion to one that he can be. This is the most important use of the prepared subject. In giving his performance the hypnotist should manifest great freedom of action. All his movements should be quick and decisive, he should walk with an elasticity of step. Every- thing about him should be such as would tend to arouse con- ridence in both subject and audience. At no time should he ex- press, in any way, the slightest want of confidence in his ability. He should be very positive, but not in such a way as to arouse the antagonism of the subject; but he should have such con- fidence in himself as will tend to increase the confidence of others in him. Gracefulness of carriage and genteel persona! appearance are important factors in his success. If he is dressed in such a manner as to attract adverse criticism from the fastidious, it would perhaps be detrimental to his influence with that class of people. In fact there should be nothing about his clothing that would be at all inductive to criticism ; he should be dressed plain and neat. Before attempting to give a stage entertainment, the oper- ator should have practiced the art sufficiently to have developed a high degree of confidence in himself so as to be successful in the instantaneous processes. He, of course, will be able to pro- duce hypnosis instantly in his trained subjects, and by producing the phenomena with them will greatly advance his prospects of success with others. It is in the early part of the performance that the entertainer must be particularly careful. If he should allow any mishaps, permit anything to go wrong, it would weaken the confidence of the audience in him and perhaps ren- der the entire entertainment a failure. If he has a successful beginning, the latter part of the performance will be easy. He will have an increased confidence in himself, and his former successes will cause the audience to have more confidence in him. In giving a stage performance a variety of phenomenas must be produced. The operator should endeavor to be orig- inal in the giving of his suggestions. He should endeavor to produce some phenomena that are entirely new; this will give an added interest to the entertainment. The student is of course familiar with a variety of suggestions. Many have already been mentioned in this course of instruction. He should formulate a schedule so that he will know just what phe- nomena he is to produce, and when. Nearly all hypnotic entertainers place several under the influence at once. This is usually done by employing Braid's system combined with suggestion. Have your subjects seated in a circle, have them fold their hands by placing the back of one in the palm of the other, then let them gaze steadily at some ob ject that you have placed in the upturned palms. Now give the suggestion of sleep, have them keep their eyes steadily on the object and soon some will be under your control. It is well to have some old subjects in the circle so as to avoid the possibility of making a complete failure. There is nothing especially at- tractive about this method, but it is one that is commonly used. In stage performances the pass may be used with great success. Many of our noted traveling hypnotists use it exten- sively, making the passes in a very mysterious manner, in imi- tation of those used by the Indian fakirs. Its use on the stage adds greatly to appearance and seems to be very pleasing to most audiences. We would advise the students to make fre- quent use of it. as it is sometimes the very best form of SUgg tion that eotild be used. The old hypnotists use the wand very extensively in their practice ; it adds materially to the mysteriousness of the per- formance. By moving the wand around the head and shoulders of the subject, gazing steadily in his eyes and at the same time giving the suggestion of sleep, you will find that it is often much easier to produce hypnosis than if you dispense with its use. History is particularly rife with accounts of the use of the rod. Even in the Bible accounts are given of its use, as in the case of Aaron and of the other adepts. If the rod is to be used at all it must be used gracefully and with judgment. Let it appear that the wand is an essential in producing the sleep, and not that it is used simply as a matter of appearance. We would recom- mend the use of the wand in making passes over the body of the subject that you are placing in a deep sleep. The stage is hardly the proper place for producing the higher stages of occultism, such as psychometry and suspended animation. Yet it is frequently done and such phenomena adds greatly to the interest in the entertainment. You will of course use an old subject, if you should ever attempt to produce these phenomena in public. Directions have already been given in another place for producing these various phenomena. Cata- lepsy is frequently used in stage hypnotism. The majority of people are pleased at seeing it produced. Sometimes the sub- ject is put into a very rigid condition and is suspended by al- lowing his head to rest upon one chair and his feet upon an- other. Large stones are placed upon him and he supports them and they are smashed with a sledge. To those who know nothing about hypnotism, nothing about the wonderful power of mind, it seems very mysterious. Before attempting to use it as a part of your entertainment, you should become thoroughly familiar with the habits of your subject. If he should awaken just as the blow was delivered, in all probability he would be severely injured. You, however, will have produced this phe- nomena many times in private, before you attempt it on the stage. Very frequently the hypnotist places a number of sub- jects in the cataleptic stage at once, and throws them about on the stage apparently indiscriminately. He will sometimes pile them in a heap and then, at a word of command, awaken them aii at once. The student will find, if he should attempt it, that it is much easier to hypnotize in public than in private. In front of an audience a great majority of people are generally more easily influenced than they would be in some quiet place where they were not observed. On the stage they are not so critical and there are a variety of circumstances that conspire to render your subject susceptible to your influence. The very fact that he has seen others hypnotized, is very suggestive that he him- self could not resist your influence. Then on the other hand, the operator is more sensible of his responsibility, and by meet- ing with success in the beginning, he seems to catch the "spirit of the thing," and developes that confidence in himself which causes him to feel as if no one could possibly resist him. The sub-conscious faculty of his own mind has been aroused and has been stimulated to a high degree of confidence in his suc- cess. The condition of this sub-conscious mind is very im- portant in the production of hypnosis. If it is strongly stimu- lated by previous suggestions of success, the operator will be correspondingly more powerful. The author, on various occa- sions just before commencing to give a hypnotic entertainment, has felt weary and has experienced a want of confidence in himself. He would retire to a private room and, reclining for a few minutes, would take an auto-suggestion of ability and of strength, arising he would take a few deep inspirations and perhaps stimulate his circulation by the use of Indian clubs, then he would find that he would be himself and would go upon the stage feeling in the best of spirits and full of confidence. It is an easy matter for one to be successful in giving a hyp- notic performance, if he is a good operator off the stage. Everything tends to assist him in the public performance. All he needs do is to have confidence in himself, proceed in the manner that we have advised and there will be no doubt of the results. His entertainment will be pronounced a success. LESSON NUMBER NINE. Philosophy of Hypnotism. Hypnotism, or the power of suggestion, had its origin long before any monads of mind became developed to the point of in- dividual self consciousness. Let us go back to a time when we find matter in its primal state ; there are no molecules, there are no atoms, there is naught but the finest conceivable "star dust." Matter is yet simply a passive, inert, space filling substance. Mind has not yet commenced to differentiate matter, all things are in their first state, there is nothing but force, or mind, mat- ter and space. Mind has within itself the power of develop- ment, it commences to function on the "star dust," the whole universe is conscious, but no part of it has been developed to the point of individual self consciousness. There is universal peace, universal harmony. Perhaps for a time after mind com- menced to function by the control of matter this condition of universal harmony continued. Now there are no two portions of the "star dust" that are precisely the same, no two of them afford the same avenues of expression to the universal intelli- gence, consequently there is a greatly diversified expression of life throughout the universe. The mind that functions in the smallest conceivable portion of matter is called a monad, then there are no two monads precisely the same. The monads com- mence to develop, to unfold, to realize something of their pos- sibilities, each develops in accordance with the avenue that is open to it. In this greatly diversified expression of the universal in- telligence, we must conceive of it as the development of an in- finite number of monads. We may consider the development of each one of the monads individually, and their mutual relations. To render it plain to us, we will view the development of a monad as increasing from the base broadening toward the top, as would an inverted pyramid. As these monads develop, the broadening tops commence to overlap, perhaps for a while this is done unconsciously, universal harmony prevails, but as development goes on, one monad may become conscious in a hazy way of the existence of something outside of itself ; this is inevitable, for as no two monads are functioning precisely alike there must be set up a condition of antagonism, a condition of difference. Now if we can conceive of this monad in which con- sciousness has commenced to develop, trying in some way to bring that which it recognizes as foreign to itself in harmonious relation with itself, then we will recognize the beginning of suggestion, which is synonymous with the origin of hypnotism. As the monads develop more and more, the forms of life become more varied, and after countless ages of development we find the universe as it is today, mind functioning in an infinite variety of ways, each monad exerting an influence over every other monad; the monads that are developed to individual self con- sciousness endeavoring to control one another and making themselves felt on the great unconscious world about them ; all these things are phases of suggestion. The student will glean from the foregoing the philosophy of the origin of hypnotism, it has been evolved from one monad unconsciously endeavoring to exert an influence over others. We will, now consider it after mind has become more highly dif- ferentiated, or after certain monads have been developed to the point of individual self consciousness. There is but one mind in the universe, the conscious and the sub-conscious minds of man are but different manifestations of it. The conscious mind is simply that monad that has passed through countless years of development and has finally arrived at that position in which it is conscious of itself; as it has devel- oped it has assumed new obligations and responsibilities. It has especially assumed the obligation of giving guidance to those other monads that are unconsciously functioning in the same organism, or expressed in another way, it is its duty to control the action of the sub-conscious mind and to allow or to disallow th« expression of the various impulses that are there aroused by the various suggestions that come to it. It simply must ex- ercise a general supervision over the body. We have already learned that the sub-conscious faculty of the mind is controlled entirely by suggestion ; if it were not for the conscious mind there would be nothing to control the actions of the inner self, it would be free to act in accordance with any suggestion that might be given it. Insane people are simply those in whom the conscious mind has permanently or temporarily been dethroned and the unconscious part of him, the infinite intelligence, is allowed to express itself through any avenues that the individual's environment may open to it. Perhaps there are very few people who have not been insane at some time in their life, even if but for a moment. The sub-conscious faculty of the mind being controlled by suggestion, the actions of another person may be such as we desire them to be, if we can only succeed in giving them sugges- tions strong enough to control the sub-conscious faculty of their minds. We may enter into a compact with them, as for instance, I may make an agreement with some one, by which he, for a time, is not to use his conscious mind, he is to render it perfectly passive, make no effort to think, allow his sub-con- scious mind to be perfectly passive to any suggestion that may be given it. I agree to assume control of his sub-conscious for (12) a time, as he relinquishes his authority over it I commence to assert mine ; as we proceed with the execution of our agreement, he becomes more and more under my control, he is not thinking, his sub-conscious accepts my thoughts, he accepts my sugges- tions ; I continue asserting my authority until I have him under complete control. I have simply assumed the responsibility that nature has assigned to his individually conscious mind; when I have done this, I say that I have hypnotized him. Hypnotism is nothing more or less than the relinquishing of responsibility by one mind and the assuming of it by another. So when a hypnotist places some one under his control, he is responsible for their actions. If by using diplomacy in giving his suggestion, he should prevail upon the hypnotized person to perform some act that would be detrimental to the interest of any one, then the hypnotist is responsible and not the subject. Just here we will make a digression for a moment and con- sider the possibility of producing certain phenomena in known characters by the use of hypnosis. It is impossible, generally .speaking, to prevail upon the subject to commit an act that his character would not permit him to do while in the waking state. For instance, if I should hypnotize some one and give him the suggestion that he was to steal, and I should provide an oppor- tunity for him, tell him to go and bring me an article without notifying the owner, letting him know that I do it with the purpose of committing theft, his character would manifest itself and if he committed the theft, I would know that he was at heart a thief, although he might never have committed the crime. The author once placed a number of young gentlemen under hypnosis and offered each of them a glass of water, tell- ing them it was the very best Kentucky whisky; all refused to drink but one, he took the glass and drank all the water and then manifested all the phenomena of intoxication. Upon in- vestigation the author learned that he was addicted to the use of whisky, while the others were strictly temperate in their habits. Perhaps if those who refused had been prevailed upon until the suggestion from the operator should have overcome the suggestion of temperance that were arousing such strong impulses there, then they would have taken the water and drank it ; but most generally when the operator attempts to thus influence the subject, instead of succeeding, he will arouse the antagonism of his subject and he will awaken. This would be invariably true if the suggestion given was one to which the subject would be strongly opposed, as to committing a crime. In recent years we have heard a great deal about people com- mitting crime, even murder while under the influence of hyp- nosis ; now we do not deny the possibility of a man or woman committing murder while under hypnosis, but we positively assert that if one can be prevailed upon to commit the crime under such circumstances, he would be at heart a murderer in the waking state. We believe that hypnotism is being used as a subterfuge in the committing of crime. It is true, that when the operator hypnotizes his subject, he assumes responsibilitv for that subject's action, but if the suggestion of crime is given and taken, the operator is not alone responsible, for the one is as much a criminal as the other. In some of the deeper sleeps such as clairvoyance and psychometry, we are almost baffled by the phenomena that are produced. If we wish to solve the problems thus presented to us, we must ever be mindful of the fact that man is but an ex- pression of the universal, that his sub-conscious mind is the infinite mind and that all things that the infinite mind knows or is able to accomplish are but results of a power that is within the sub-conscious mind of every one. Every man and woman knows just what is taking place in the farthest star, but the knowledge is below the plane of consciousness and the individ- ual is altogether in ignorance of the very knowledge he thus possesses. Hypnotism is but a method of lifting the veil that obscures the subject's vision of the things that are within him ; by its use the conscious mind is rendered passive and the uni- versal intelligence is allowed free expression. Suggestions from the conscious mind of the subject or from an operator are simply directions for the manifestation of this inner self. By thus lifting the veil and by suggestions directing the attention of the subject to the solution of some problem that is insoluble to him in the waking hours, he is able to obtain the desired knowledge, by what we may call induced introspection. As was pointed out in another lesson, it is not necessary for the subject to be asleep in order to obtain the knowledge de- sired. All he needs to do is to render his conscious mind pas- sive and to look within himself, look down below the plane of consciousness for the information he desires. The induced sleep is simply an aid in rendering the conscious mind passive. We trust that this brief sketch of the philosophy of hypnot- ism will suffice to thoroughly explain the phenomena to the student. We trust that it will serve to show him that the sub- ject is not one that must necessarily be surrounded by a veil of mystery and ignorance, but rather prove to him that it is capable of accurate, scientific and philosophical investigation. We hope that he will do his part in rendering the science of hyp- notism more thorough and more exact. There is great pro- gress being made along the various lines of research and we ex- pect great things of the science in the very near future. It might possibly be advisable for me to treat the phil- osophy of hypnotism from a historical standpoint, but I do not believe it would be. There are various books that the student can secure at small cost, that will treat this subject fully, so I will not undertake a task here that would necessarily have to be incomplete. I will simply advise those students who are in- terested in philosophical studies to secure such books and trace the history of the philosophy of the subject. They will find that there have been wonderful changes in the belief regarding hyp- notism in the last few years, and that it is now just commenc- ing to be rationally considered. Hypnotism is just commenc- ing to be robbed of its mystery, just commencing to be studied as a science that is exact. LESSON NUMBER TEN. Stray Thoughts on Hypnotism. POST-HYPNOTIC SUGGESTIONS. Suggestions given to a subject during hypnosis to be acted upon after coming out of the sleep are called post-hypnotic. It is a very valuable factor in therapeutics and is of special service in "breaking" habits ; it is also a very useful means of studying the mind, especially the powers of suggestion in general. A suggestion may be given during hypnosis that the sub- ject will perform a number of unique acts after awaking, without any memory of the suggestions that have been given him; for instance, the operator may suggest that the subject, immediately on awaking, will take his pencil and make a mem- orandum, in five minutes from making the first memoran- dum he will leave the room and remain out a definite length o* time and on returning will again take his note book and make the same memorandum. If the subject is at all sensitive to post-hypnotic suggestion, he will do these things and will be very accurate in the measure of time. An operator may sug- gest to the subject that he will return to the operator at a cer- tain time and he will do so, no matter how inconvenient it may be. While under hypnosis a suggestion may be given to the subject that after awaking he will still be under complete control of the hypnotist, he may be told to open his eyes, and apparently he is wide awake. The hypnotist may offer him any suggestion and it -will be acted upon the same as if the subject were asleep; make a pass in front of his face and tell him he cannot speak and he is unable to open his mouth ; tell him that he has forgotten his name and he cannot give it to you; tell him that his feet are stuck to the floor and he will be unable to move them ; tell him that he is unable to lift some small article and he will find it impossible to do so. There is an almost un- limited number of suggestions that the subject will take while in this condition. HYPNOTIC PERSONALITY. A subject that is habitually hypnotized, lives two distinct lives ; he has two distinct characters, one that is his ordinary self in the waking state, and the personality that is given him by hypnosis. In our waking state today, we have a perfect mem- ory of our experiences of yesterday, the night's sleep did not cause us to forget our old self, we awaken in the morning with the same personality as was ours when he went to sleep, re- gardless jDi the psychical experiences that may have been ours during the hours of slumber ; so with the hypnotic subject, if he was hypnotized yesterday. Let him be placed in the deep sleep day after day and he will always manifest the same per- sonality. While under hypnosis today, he will have a perfect memory of the experiences that were his yesterday, although he may have no knowledge of them while in the waking state. By repeatedly hypnotizing a subject and strengthening this second personality, it may become so highly developed that it can be hypnotized, in other words the hypnotized subject may be hypnotized. We have no reason to limit the number of per- sonalities that may thus be developed. Such phenomena as this will throw light on the subject of multiplex personality that has been so much talked about within the last few years. A person's ordinary character is the result of suggestions that have come to him from all his environment. If any influence is brought to bear to change the relative strength of these sug- gestions, the personality will be changed. Hypnotism is sim- ply the strongest agent that is used for the change of person- ality. A man's character often changes in a very short time without any hypnotic influences being brought to bear upon him ; a severe illness will often cause a man to become morally better or worse; the illness has simply rendered him passive to suggestions that he did not recognize in his normal state. HYPNOSIS IN ANIMALS. It is generally known that animals may be hypnotized, but the majority of people are ignorant of the extent to which this power may be used along this line. Some animals are very susceptible to the hypnotic influence ; the domestic cat mav readily be put to sleep, the majority of barn yard fowls may be placed under hypnosis without any difficulty, dogs, pigeons, frogs, snakes, toads, lizzards and a variety of the other lower animals have been successfully hypnotized. The animal trainer consciously or unconsciously uses the power of suggestion in his work ; he is simply a hypnotist de- voting himself to the control of animals, he develops within himself a peculiar power by which he becomes in rapport with the animal to be trained, and is thus able to control its action. Hagenbeck has developed this power to a great degree and he is able to render docile some of the wildest beasts. The Ma- hatmas of India have unconsciously trained their sub-conscious so that it protects them from the ferocious denizens of the jungle ; they will lie down and sleep in the midst of the forest and the wild animals and poisonous snakes will come around them, but do them no harm. The Mahatma is in a condition of harmony with his environment and no harm can come to him. Thought transference is a very important factor in the con- trol of beasts, a sensitive horse may be trained so that it will act in accordance with the thought sent out by its master; for instance, if you are driving over a road that you have never traveled, and you come to a place where the road forks, give the horse freedom of rein and send it the thought directing it to enter the road in which you wish to go. If you are good at thought transference you will be able to control the horse, and the more sensitive the horse the greater will be your ease in controlling it. Hypnotism can be used with much success by a number of professional jockeys, in executing certain tricks in the race course. SUSCEPTIBILITY TO HYPNOTISM, There are a variety of ways in which we may obtain in- formation in regard to a person's susceptibility to hypnotic in- fluence, some of them will be given. Have your subject stand squarely on his feet with his heels closely together; he should stand perfectly relaxed, no muscular tension along the limbs or along the back, he should simply balance himself on his feet • slightly elevate his chin and have him close his eyes; now take your position behind him, give him a few vigorous strokes down the spinal column, then place your hands firmly on his shoulders with your thumbs meeting slightly below the axis vertebra, hold your hands in that position for a little while and gently remove them and you will find that the subject will fall toward you if he is sensitive. You may have him assume the same position as above described, then give him a few vigorous strokes down the spine and the limbs and taking your position behind him point your finger steadily at the base of his brain, exercising a steady intention of drawing him toward you, in most cases you will succeed in doing so. When he responds readily to this test you may know that he is a very good sub- ject for hypnosis. It is commonly supposed that light haired people are more sensitive to hypnotic influences than dark haired ones. There is nothing in our experience that tends to make us believe that this is true. Very little depends upon the complexion or the color of the hair and eyes. One of the very best clairvoyants that the author has ever met lias hair and eyes that are notably black. It is commonly supposed also, that light haired people have not such strong wills as people with dark hair, we do not believe that there is any truth in this, and we positively know that the strength of what some people call "will" has little if anything to do with susceptibility to hypnosis. All things being equal, we would rather undertake to hypnotize a strong "willed"' man than one who has not been in the habit of asserting him- self. There is little difference in races in regard to susceptibility to hypnosis ; in this respect, common belief is erroneous. It is generally supposed that the fair skinned races are more sensi- tive to hypnosis than the dark ones, but in truth there is little difference. Negroes sometimes are very good subjects ; we find that whether or not a person is a good subject, depends not so much upon the race or upon the complexion, as upon the general intelligence of the individual. The secret of the whole matter is to get the subject to understand, either con- sciously or unconsciously, how to render himself passive, and there is no reason for believing that the complexion has a great deal to do with passivity. PHRENO-HYPNOTISM. The earlier hypnotist claims that by placing the hand upon one of the phrenological faculties of the hypnotized subject, with the intention of stimulating it, the phenomena produced would be in accordance with the nature of the faculty thus stimulated ; for instance, if one should hypnotize a subject and touch the organ of combativeness the subject might become very violent, perhaps even think that he was a prize fighter ; touch the organ of tune and he would perhaps sing; the organ of veneration and he would kneel as in prayer. The phenomena thus pro- duced were used as arguments in favor of phrenology. Now \ the author does not wish to in any way antagonize those who believe in phrenology, but phreno-hypnotism does not prove its truth. All these phenomena may be explained upon the basis of thought transference or mental suggestion. Thus if an operator has a person hypnotized and places a ringer on the faculty of tune with the expectation of the subject singing, he will perhaps be successful, for the thought of singing has gone to the sub-conscious mind of the subject who takes it as a sug- gestion to sing. One who should be mistaken in the location of the organ would be able to produce the phenomena equally as well ; and one who does not understand the science of phren- ology might touch any of the organs without producing anv special phenomena. The student will understand from what has been said that phreno-hypnotism, so-called, instead of proving phrenology, is simply the result of mental suggestion. CONCLUSION. Hypnotism is an art and science that should be understood by everyone. They not only should understand it, but they should be able to practice it. A general dissemination of an accurate knowledge of this science would be of inestimable benefit to the race. When every man becomes master of him- self there will be no opportunities for deception ; there will be no men in poverty while others are in affluence. A general dissemination of the truths of mental science would tend to make the whole world better; the widely awakened interest in the subject of hypnotism will ultimately result in much good. When man comes to recognize the fact that only by doing good to others can he do a lasting good to himself, the race will com- mence to be more happy and prosperous. Harmony will com- mence to prevail and we will begin to experience the blessings of universal peace. Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide Treatment Date: Nov. 2004 PreservationTechnologies A WORLD LEADER IK< PAPER PRESERVATION 1 1 1 Thomson Park Drive Cranberry Township, PA 1 6066 (724)779-2111 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 013 521 935 6