Qass EEIl; Book.. ..ELZx. CopyrigWN . COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT CHARLES A. BALLOUGH. SIBYLLINE LEAVES BY CHAS. A. BALLOUGH SEABREEZE, FLA. DeLand, Fla. E. O. PAINTER & CO. 1902. THE LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, Two Copies Received 'UN. 4 1902 Copyright entry CLASS GUXXC. No. O33/0 COPY B. ^ Sb \\*\ %- Copyrighted 1902 by CHAS. A. BALLOUGH. "The thoughts we think are the seeds we sow, And the seeds we sow is the harvest we reap" SIBYLLINE LEAVES. Hypnotism is no longer shunned and feared by the masses as a mysterious and evil thing. It is coming rapidly to the front as a science, with its own special field of uses. One seldom picks up a magazine or a daily paper these days without being confronted with some art- icle on hypnotism. In fact it has come to be one of the topics of the day. No one can afford to remain in ignor- ance of hypnotism and its methods, when a knowledge of it endows us with so much power to advance, not only our own interests in life, but the interests of those about us. The man who knows nothing of hypnotism nowadays is at a 6 SIBYLLINE LEAVES. very great disadvantage with his fellow man, in both the business and the social world. But there is no necessity for his remaining at a disadvantage; there are splendid natural forces lying dormant within the mind of >every man that can be called into life and action at the bid- ding of his will — that can be used to ele- vate himself mentally, morally, socially and financially, and that, too, without wronging another. You do not need to wade through volumes of dull, dry read- ing to acquire this knowledge. If you read carefully and thoughtfully the fol- lowing pages they will furnish you the necessary start. The practical working knowledge can only be had through ex- perience. Ample instruction is here giv- en, but stripped of all superfluous mat- ter, (the superfluous matter can be found in other books on hypnotism.) As Mark SIBYLLINE LEAVES. 7 Twain said in one of his stories "if you want to know how the weather was. see Genesis, first chapter, 'and it rained forty days and forty nights/ " Hypnotism, Mesmerism, Weltmer- ism, Christian science, Divine science and Mental science are merely individual in- terpretations — differing with the point of view — of a simple natural law. All these sciences can be condensed into one statement, as expressed by Prof. Welt- mer, "What we believe is what controls us." The quickest — I might say the only way, for the student to acquire a know- ledge of hypnotism is to begin by assum- ing these statements to be true. Do not theorize about them, but begin at once to try them — put them to the test — they will prove themselves. Do not wait until you have finished this little book before 8 SIBYLLINE LEAVES. trying your powers, but experiment with each formula as you come to it, before the mind becomes tired and confused by taking in much that is new to it. With a very little knowledge and a great deal of confidence you will find that you can do as much as any other hypnotist. The chief essential is your ability to make your subject believe you can hypnotize him, and you can hypnotize as many at one time as you can make believe in your power to do so. But the method that produces a state of hypnosis (sleep) in one subject will not always do for an- other. A person desirous of being hyp- notized, and yet unable to yield himself to the influence exerted over him should not be discouraged, nor should the oper- ator give him up as a bad subject. You need secretly to study your subject; watch him closely until you are able to SIBYLLINE LEAVES. 9 do or say something that attracts his attention, then hold it ; I will give you a case in point further on. Always dis- play a cool, confident manner to your subject; lead him to believe you are per- fect master of the art and your work is then half done. I am now going to give you some formulas for hypnotizing; you may use any or all of them, and you may also invent new methods of your own whereby you can attract and hold the at- tention of your subject. Let me repeat that the power to hypnotize lies solely in your ability to hold the attention of your subject and make him believe that you can put him to sleep. Do> not try to put anyone to sleep who has no faith in you, or one who believes that hypnotizing is done by the power of a strong will to subdue a weaker one. You will fail if you undertake to hypnotize under these cir- 10 SIBYLLINE LEAVES. cumstances. No one likes to be thought lacking in will-power and there would be a strong, though perhaps unconscious resistance to your "dominating pow- er/' As a matter v of fact, the stronger the will the better the subject. No one ever did, or ever will, hypnotize an im- becile, for such an one has not the power to concentrate his thoughts. If a subject can hold one thought to the exclusion of all other thoughts you can hypnotize him. In trying to put a person under con* trol, bear in mind that it is absolutely es- sential that he be inspired with confi- dence in your ability. If you have faith in yourself you will without effort inspire faith in your subject. FORMULA NUMBER ONE. FOR ONE SUBJECT. Here is a very good formula for hypno- tizing a single subject. First place him in an easy position — make him perfectly comfortable — then tell him that you are going to put him to sleep, but will make an agreement with him that you will not harm him in any way — will not cause him to do or say anything that he would ob- ject to in his normal state. Ask him to assist you by relaxing the tension of his mind and body as much as possible — to hold himself passive while you talk to him. Seat yourself in front of him and take his hands in yours while you con- tinue to talk to him quietly, and if need be soothingly, that he may become free 12 SIBYLLINE LEAVES. from any unconscious nervous tension. Tell him that he will derive benefit from the sleep; that you will do only what is for his good. Continue to< hold his hands a few minutes, then ask him to look at some bright object which you have previously placed somewhere in front of him and slightly above the level of his eyes. If at night a lighted lamp or electric light will serve the purpose nice- ly ; in the day time almost anything will serve for a pioint of concentration. If the object is something that reflects light all the better as the eye will weary more quickly. Say to your subject, "Look steadily at the object and think only of sleep." Wihen he has maintained a steady gaze for a few moments tell him you can see that his eyes are getting heavy, and soon he will feel so drowsy that he can- not keep them open. Wait a few seconds SIBYLLINE LEAVES. 13 for your suggestion to take effect th^n say slowly and softly, "Drowsy — sleepy. I see you are going to sleep. Your eye- lids are getting heavy — heavy — you want to sleep — just sleep — sleep — and rest. You are resting now — your eyes are closing — closing — closing. You are sinking into a deep sleep — a quiet, rest- ful sleep. Sleep — sleep — your eyes are closing, you cannot hold them open. Closing — closing — closing — closed. Now your eyes are closed. I am going to count ten and by the time I am through you will find you eyes are closed so tightly that you cannot open them. You cannot even try to open them." Now com- mence to count in a slow, monotonous voice, "one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten." Wait a few sec- onds, then say, "You are asleep and when I count five you will find it impos- 14 SIBYLLINE LEAVES. sible to open your eyes; your lids are closed tight and fast. You are sound asleep. One, two, three, four, five. Now try to open your eyes. Try to open them. Try all you can but you cannot open them. Sleep, sleep. You are sound asleep — sound asleep/' If you have done your work well you have your subject by this time entirely under your control; the action of his conscious mind has been suspended ; he is now in a condition to take your sug- gestions. So* far there has been no harm done to the subject. You need now to 1 be careful; remember that any suggestion you give him at this time is real to him. If he is sick you can make him well by suggesting to him that his trouble is all gone ; that he is feeling bet- ter and is free from pain ; that when he awakes he will be conscious of new life, SIBYLLINE LEAVES. 15 new hope, new courage; that he will con- tinue to improve in health and strength from day to day until he is in perfect health ; that he is master of himself and always will be; that his body is an expres- sion of his mind, and that his mind pos- sesses all power for good. You may use your own language, but make the idea clear. Be careful that you do not give him any inharmonious suggestions, for he can be made sick just as easily as he can be made well. The longer you continue to use harmonious suggestion to him (if he remains comfortable) the more good you will do him. Just keep up a flow of suggestion ; health, strength, courage, etc., until you feel sure he has taken all he needs, then you can wake him. Do not be afraid that you will be unable to arouse him for this is easily done. Of course you wish to act justly 16 SIBYLLINE LEAVES. towards him — you wish to entirely re- lease him from any control, either yours or that of any one else. Say to him, "Now I am going to let you wake up, and when I do you will be all right, perfectly well in mind and body. From now on you will be perfectly positive — that is, able to resist temptation and all undesirable influences. You will realize your power of will as never before. While you have become positive to all that is harmful you have become passive and receptive to all that is good. Now I want you to begin to wake up; slowly and quietly wake up. When I count five you will be wide awake with all your mental and physical powers in perfect working order. One, two, three, four, five/' You will now find your subject wide awake. FORMULA NUMBER TWO. FOR ONE SUBJECT. Tell your subject that you are going to hypnotize him. Ask him if he is will- ing to do as you tell him ; if he will allow himself to become passive in your hands. Place him in a comfortable chair (if he can recline or partly recline it will be bet- ter) step up to him and rub his head in an off-hand manner, running your fingers lightly through his hair, now place your hands on either side of his head, putting considerable pressure into your touch. Slowly move the right hand to base of brain, the left to forehead and keep them in this position for a minute or two; tell him that he is a good subject; that he has a will of his own, but that he has it 18 SIBYLLINE LEAVES. well under control ; that you see in him a fine hypnotist. Assure him that any one who can concentrate his mind on any one subject can not only be hypnotized but will also make a hypnotizer. Make it plain to him that it is only through his ability to concentrate that he can be- come either subject or operator. Now remove your hands, step in front of him, place your face within about two* feet of his face, and considerably above it (it will come about right if you are standing and your subject sitting.) Tell him to look you straight in the eye and not take his eyes off you for a minute. Now look him steadily in the eye. (A hypnotizer must be able to gaze steadily into the eyes of a subject for almost any length of time without weariness.) Hold up your right hand with two fingers extended and make passes across and in front of his SIBYLLINE LEAVES. 19 face, but not so as to cut off the object of his view. By this time his eyes will be showing signs of weariness. Tell him to count the passes you are making and by the time he has counted fifteen he will find that his eyes are so heavy that he will be unable to hold them open. Make the passes slowly and uniformly; after you have made five or six, say to your subject, "Your eyes are getting heavy, the lids are closing, you can hard- ly keep them open, soon they will close en- tirely, and you will sleep — sleep — sleep. You are going to sleep — your eye-lids are closing — closing — sleepy — sleepy — - drowsy — sleepy — drowsy — sleepy — " etc. By the time you have made your fifteen passes your subject will probably be unable to- hold his eyes open any longer. Say to him, "Closing — closed — closed — you are sound asleep — sound 20 SIBYLLINE LEAVES. asleep." He is now entirely under your control. You can do with him as you see fit. You can make him see, hear, feel and even think as you suggest. Tell him to open his eyes but that he will still be under your control. You can now do with him anything you have seen other hypnotists do with their subjects. You are now a full fledged operator. From the time you meet with your first suc- cess — from the time you have succeeded in fully hypnotizing a subject, you will feel confidence in yourself and your work will be easy. But remember, you are re- sponsible for your subject's welfare while he is in this helpless condition. See that he receives no bad or inharmonious sug- gestion, or if he does that you remove all such before he is awakened, as great harm can be done through leaving bad suggestions lurking in his sub-conscious SIBYLLINE LEAVES. 21 mind. Sometimes in teaching classes and for the sake of demonstrating we will cause a subject (through sugges- tion) to take on sickness of various kinds. You can induce extreme nausea and vomiting, headache, toothache, blind- ness and lameness ; they will suffer from cold or become so over-heated as to break into a profuse perspiration at your suggestion ; they will be convulsed with mirth or reduced to- tears, or do any thing but violate the principles to which they are true when awake. Tell your subject before waking him that he will forget all bad feelings and be perfectly well and in good spirits when he comes out of his sleep. Do not have any fears as to your ability to awaken him, never allow yourself to become nervous or un- easy about it, for it is done with perfect ease. Just tell him quietly to wake up, 22 SIBYLLINE LEAVES. and he will do so. If he is slow to open his eyes say to him, "I am going to make a few passes over you and by the time I count five you will be fully awake and feeling splendidly. Say "One, two, three, four, five" and snap your fingers lightly ait the fifth count, your subject will be then fully awake. I want to call your attention to the fact that there is special power in "in- tention." Once make up your mind that you are going to do a thing, and you rally your forces and proceed to bring about what you desire. "Intention" simply means a concentration of your powers, bringing them to a focus on some special object. You succeed in hypnotizing a subject because you intend to, and you succeed in awakening him for the same reason, you simply intend to do so. He will obey every command SIBYLLINE LEAVES. 23 as long as you remain cool and master of yourself. But if you become nervous and lose control of yourself you cannot expect your subject to obey. If, as is sometimes the case, he is resting com- fortably and is inclined to be lazy he may not rouse up at the first trial, in which case wait a minute or two, then say in a voice of command, "Now, sir, when I count five you will be wide awake." Say this as if you meant it and it will reach him. You will take note that up to the pres- ent I have said nothing about selecting subjects, (some making better subjects than others) my reason is that so far we have been using this power for the pur- pose of healing only, and given plenty of time, we do not recognize the possibility of failure. That is, while it is claimed that all persons possessed of ordinary in- 24 SIBYLLINE LEAVES. telligence can be hypnotized, in some cases it may take hours or even clays to get a subject under full control, but re- peated effort must be crowned with suc- cess in the end. Only about twenty-five per cent of the American people are sus- ceptible to hypnotic influence at the first trial. FORMULA NUMBER THREE. FOR ONE SUBJECT. There are as many different formulas for hypnotizing a subject as there are subjects to hypnotize. I will here give you an instance where a pansy was used with perfect success when all other meth- ods had failed. I had tried many times to put this sub- ject to sleep, but had never succeeded in doing so, nor was I able in this case to plant the necessary suggestion without hypnotizing. This time having made my subject perfectly comfortable, in an easy chair, I selected a pansy from among others in a bowl on my table. This pansy had almost as many colors as Jacob's coat. Blue, red, yellow, white, purple, 26 SIBYLLINE LEAVES. etc., but it was a beauty. My patient was a lady of culture, and understood the art of dressing in perfect taste. Taking the pansy in my right hand I held it about two feet from her eyes, and a little above their level. (In this position it served a two-fold purpose; it was not only an object to< attract her attention, but its elevation induced a slight strain on the optic nerve and this favored sleep.) I said,"Is it not a beauty? Just look at it ; see what wonderfully fine taste these little flowers display; how beautifully these colors blend, and yet no lady would dare to put so many together. Just note the combination, the arrange- ment of color — red, blue, white, yellow and purple, yet not one of these colors infringes on the rights of another, all are harmonious. Really the little thing is a study. It is not only beautiful but it is SIBYLLINE LEAVES. 27 modest, it seems to droop its head as though it were conscious of our admira- tion, though perhaps it is only tired and wants to sleep. I think pansies sleep; why shouldn't they sleep, they look like little people. Sleep is our best friend; when sleep comes to our eyes we rest — rest quietly and happily ; we do not then think and worry uselessly about anything we simply rest ; and in this quiet sleep we gain health, strength and happiness. When the conscious mind sleeps, the sub- conscious mind is more awake — it is freer — and can the better take care of the body, which after all is only the temple of the soul." By this time I was speaking in a low monotonous voice just as though I my- self were tired and sleepy. The eyes of my patient gradually closed ; she seemed to be absolutely at rest and free from ten- 28 SIBYLLINE LEAVES. sion. I kept on talking to her in a low voice, and finally dropped the pansy and began to direct more definite suggestion to the patient. I told her we were all per- fect souls, that souls were sinless, disease- less and deathless ; that the soul had the power to control the body and to direct the life forces ; that from this time on she would be well and happy. I kept on talk- ing to her for some time, and finally said, "Now I am going to let you wake up, and when you do you will find that your trouble is all gone, and you will realize that you are going to* be entirely well from this time on." I said, "Now wake up. She slowly opened her -eyes, still look- ing in the direction where she last saw the pansy. I said to her, "You are all well now." She said, "Yes I am." "And you are going to remain so." She said, SIBYLLINE LEAVES. 29 "Yes." Now I had often before tried to get her to have faith that she would be well, but she would only say, "I hope so." Now she said, "Yes I will be well." I saw her six months later and she was looking the picture of health. So much for the little pansy, or rather for the friendly suggestion it helped me to plant in the sub-conscious mind of the patient. You will find by experiment that you can hypnotize a number at a time as eas- ily as you can one. The following is a very good method for hypnotizing a number at one time : FORMULA NUMBER FOUR. FOR MORE THAN ONE SUBJECT. First call for volunteers. If you are in a public hall, seat your volunteers in a half circle around the stage. Arrange to have among them one or two whom you have hypnotized before ; place these, one on either end of your half circle, and use them first. Do nothing with these to cause the others to feel in the least un- easy. Tell them all you will treat them as you would wish to be treated under similar circumstances. If you have eight or ten subjects (volunteers) you will probably be able to hypnotize most of them. The fact that they have offered themselves as sub- SIBYLLINE LEAVES. 31 jects may be taken as evidence that they desire to be hypnotized and are therefore susceptible. From five to -eight subjects are enough to make quite an entertain- ment, public or private. When you call for volunteers do not accept many boys as this would weaken the confidence of your audience. Call for young men and old men, able-bodied men and sick men. You may also call for ladies ; you will then be able to give greater variety to your entertainment. Assure your volunteers that if they come to you sick you will make them well. When you have as many on the stage as you want, start in to find out how many subjects you have. Tell them to sit up straight with their feet set squarely on the floor. Walk forward on the stage in front of subjects; tell them to look at you steadily — not to take their eyes 32 SIBYLLINE LEAVES. off you. Now say, "Lock your fingers together, everybody, firmly, squeeze them tight, tighter, tighter" (doing the same thing yourself.) "Now put your hands at the backs of your heads — tight, tighter. Now when I count five you will find that you cannot get your hands apart; try your best but they will stick the closer. One, two, three, four, five, now you cannot get your hands apart. Try, try harder, harder still." All those who fail to get their hands apart have been able to "take your suggestion," and will therefore most likely prove good subjects. Now try some of those who failed to take your suggestion. Select one and stand him in front of you with his back towards you and with his eyes closed. Make a few passes from top of head down the back; tell him that you are going to draw him backward, but as- SIBYLLINE LEAVES. 33 sure him that you will not let him, fall, he need not feel afraid for you will catch him. Put your whole power in this effort. After making the passes stretch your arms out in front of you, almost touch- ing the subject, and make the motion of drawing him backward toward you, but without touching him, and at the same time holding a strong "intention" that he fall backward. If you succeed in drawing him backward he will most like- ly prove a good hypnotic subject. When you find one over whom you seem to have little or no influence seat him back by himself and proceed with the others. Place these in a row sitting on the floor; walk out in front of them and indicate some bright object you wish them to look at — the electric light will do. Tell them to keep their gaze fixed upon it steadily ; that their eyes will soon 34 SIBYLLINE LEAVES. feel so heavy they will want to go to sleep. After they have looked at the light a few moments tell them to look straight at you. If you have music call for somthing soft and low. Begin to move your body and your extended hands gently from side to side and tell them they will find themselves swaying with the music. Keep this up a little while and then tell them they are getting so sleepy that they can hardly sit up ; that they will soon fall over sound asleep. Say, "Drowsy — sleepy — -drowsy — sleepy — going to sleep — going to sleep- — drowsy— sleepy — sleepy — falling over — sleepy — sleepy — sound asleep." When they are all asleep tell them that they are under your control and will obey your commands — will do and say whatever you direct. Now you can have them do all sorts of comical but innocent things ; SIBYLLINE LEAVES. 35 eat flour thinking it is ice cream, perform acrobatic feats, sing songs and play on imaginary instruments. Tell them the weather is very warm, and they will wipe the perspiration from their faces, in some cases the perspiration will be simply imaginary, w 7 ith the best subjects it will be real. In a word your subjects can be made to take on any condition you de- sire, simply through your suggestion. You will sometimes run across a volun- teer who comes on the stage for the sole purpose of trying to have a lark at your expense. He is not hypnotized, but pre- tends to be. You should always be on the look-out to detect these frauds. You may discover one some time in the act of winking at the audience, in which case do not be uneasy, you can turn even this to good account. Walk up to him and very quietly take him by the ear, or 36 SIBYLLINE LEAVES. the collar (but do not be rough— treat him gently.) Lead him to the rear of the stage and there seat him on the floor. Now return to your other sub- jects and tell them that there is a mon- key back there — the funniest they have ever seen. Point out Smarty and invite them to come near and study him close- ly; tell them that this monkey walks all day on two legs, and sits at a table and uses a knife and fork. Advise them to examine this curiosity, that you think he must be the missing link that Darwin speaks of; and make any other comical comparisons that suggest them- selves to you. By this time Smarty will be feeling rather uncomfortable, and will probably try to leave the stage. Now your fun begins in earnest. Have a small rope or a stout cord handy. Give this quickly to one of your subjects and SIBYLLINE LEAVES. 37 tell him to "rope it, to throw a noose over its head." "Don't let it get away — catch it by the foot. All try to catch it," When you have had all the fun you want out of Smarty, say to your subjects, "Why we have made a mistake, this is not a monkey. Don't you see he is dressed like a man." This is (call his name if you can.) At the same time snap your fingers and tell your sub- jects to> awaken. Invite Smarty to take a chair and witness the performance, but do not attempt to hypnotize him again, and do not explain anything about it to your other subjects. Put these to sleep again and go 1 on with your performance. Give them some small sticks and set them to fishing, or brooms for dancing partners. Tell them they are in a strawberry patch, and to pick and eat as fast as they can. Throw a 38 SIBYLLINE LEAVES. lot of potatoes on the floor and tell them that they are fruit and to gather and eat them. Snap them out and you will see some comical expressions on their faces. Put them to sleep again. After you have had all the fun you want and intend to close the entertainment, take a sack of flour and pour it in a straight line along the front of the stage. Tell your sub- jects it is a clear, cool stream of water, and to wash their dusty, heated faces in it; they will do so. Or, you can close by telling them it is a warm day and they all want to take a bath in that pond. Point to some imaginary pond and say, "I am going to count three, and whoever gets his clothes off first and gets in the water is best man." Count three and you will see some fun. At the same time hold yourself in readiness to awaken them at the proper time or they SIBYLLINE LEAVES. 39 will get all their clothes off. It is always well to have the curtain ready to drop should you fail to awaken some of them in time. We have now given methods sufficient to hypnotize almost any subject, and if you have understood and tried these for- mulas you can by this time do whatever any other hypnotist can do. New meth- ods suited to special cases may be tried as they suggest themselves to you. I feel the necessity of again impressing upon you the importance of removing all un- desirable suggestion before waking your subject. This is simply done by telling him he will forget it. As I have explained, when there is harm done it is not due to hypnotism but to bad or inharmonious suggestion. I will relate an incident il- lustrating the effect of bad or inharmoni- ous suggestion, which in some conditions 40 SIBYLLINE LEAVES. of mind is as readily accepted when awake as in a state of hypnosis. Some time ago, and before I really knew anything about hypnotism, or the power of suggestion, I went with a friend to a near-by saw mill to see about a bill of lumber. Sitting on a big mahogany log near the mill was a colored man, his foot tied up in bandages, so many of them that his foot looked as big as a grain sack. He was a darkey that we both liked and my friend feeling a kindly interest in him, and having at one time studied medicine and surgery, said, "What is the matter with your foot, Pompey?" "I cut my toe with an ax boss." "Did you cut it badly." "Pretty bad sir, it bleeds frightful." My friend said, "Let's have a look at it." Pompey slowly unwound the bandages, one after another until he got down to SIBYLLINE LEAVES. 41 the toe. We expected to see a bad cut, but it proved to be only a small and in- significant wound; hardly enough to stop a man from his work. We both felt like laughing. My friend, who saw the comical side of things said, 'That certainly is an awful looking cut, Pom- pey; why man you will have the lock- jaw and die in three days." The third day after this the poor darkey developed lock-jaw and died. Suggestion killed him. With the knowledge I now have of the power of suggestion I know that he died as the result of accepting my friend's suggestion of lock jaw. Had Pompey been told that the cut was not a bad one and that he would be all right in a day or two, I have not doubt he would have quickly recovered. I think it best here to touch briefly on "Suggestion:," but this subject has been 42 SIBYLLINE LEAVES. thoroughly treated in 'The Power That Heals." Any thought formulated in, and sent out from the mind is in itself a suggestion, and a suggestion once thrown out has started on a journey from which there is n'o recall; it keeps on going until it has made its circuit— until it returns to its starting place, until it comes home to its sender. The weight or force of a suggestion depends upon the earnestness of the sender and his ability to hold the sug- gestion in concentration. An idle threat sometimes does harm, but a well formulated statement — or suggestion — one sent with intention — is a thought with a purpose and it does its work, be it good or evil. In using the word "evil" I mean only the absence of good. Just as darkness is the absence of light, cold of heat, winter SIBYLLINE LEAVES. 43 of summer, slowness of speed, negative of positive, etc. As a suggestion is trav- eling — is making its circuit — it affects every human being who is attuned to it. Somebody is always receptive to it, and those who are receptive to it are those who get it; they take it up whether it was intended for them or not. And a suggestion will not reach a person for whom it is intended if that person is not attuned to it. We may send a suggestion in the form of a curse ; that is,, we may hold a strong desire topunish or injure someone. Those thoughts will go out from us but the per- son to whom they are directed may be in a positive staite, so that the sugges- tions are shut out, and in missing him they may strike our best friend who< is at the time in a negative state of mind. That which we sow we must reap. The 44 SIBYLLINE LEAVES. thought we send out must come back to us, There is no getting away from this fact. This is immutable law. If we were to start out from this place and continue in a straight line we would finally get back to the place where we started. Nature deals in circles and our thoughts as well as other forces and forms of nature, conform to this law. If we have in the past sent out thoughts of inharmony the best we can now do is to follow them with thoughts of harmony ; by so doing we are able to neutralize their effects, so that by the time the inharmonious thoughts have made their cycle we have deprived them of at least some of their harmful power. We have disarmed them. If we keep this up — if we neutralize all the old thoughts of inharmony and confine our- selves to sending out only harmonious SIBYLLINE LEAVES. 45 thoughts in the future, we will soon find ourselves in harmony with the ebb and flow of the universal current; we will come into harmony with all nature — with all there is, and we will have found out the secret of keeping in perfect health and of being perfectly happy. Do not say "I can't do this." Do not say "I wish I could/' or, "I hope to," but say "I can and I will," and then do it. We are rewarded according to our ef- forts. Before leaving this subject I feel the necessity of saying something about the effects upon the mind of doubt and fear. "Doubts and fears are the hell-born off- spring of ignorance." Any one who keeps his mind forever open to doubts and fears is doomed — doomed to alife of unhappiness and disease. We must en- courage ourselves to be fearless and 46 SIBYLLINE LEAVES. strong, and we can do this through a proper use of suggestion. Should some- thing arise to make you anxious or fear- ful, you need simply to say, "I do not fear these things, they can not harm me. I am perfectly calm and my nerves are steady and quiet ; I am in a condition to act wisely in this matter. I will not an- ticipate trouble; should it arise I know that I am at all times able to take care of myself. I am one with the universal law ; it created me and it can sustain me. I am sinless, diseaseless and deathless. By virtue of my desires I am a magnet, but a magnet to attract good only." Do not be afraid to repeat — the oftener you go over a suggestion the deeper the im- pression it will make. The following incident occurred with- in my own circle of friends : A certain gentleman who had been a SIBYLLINE LEAVES. 47 practicing physician, but who owing to ill health had been obliged to give up his practice, was one day suffering from a violent headache. His daughter, who was a student of mental science, and had been cured of an obstinate disease by the mental method, said to him. "Papa you don't have to suffer this way, just deny away the pain. You can cure your- self, try it." He had no faith at all in his ability to deny away the headache, but more to make the whole thing ridic- ulous than any thing else, he said, "I haven't any headache — my head doesn't ache. (He looked over at me with a knowing wink and went on.) "No sir, I haven't any headache, not a bit of it. I never did have a headache, (with another wink at me.) He kept this up so long that it began to annoy me, for I was trying to read. Over and over again he 48 SIBYLLINE LEAVES. said, "My head doesn't ache/' He was lying on a lounge, I was sitting in a chair near him. Suddenly he reached over and laid his hand on my knee and with a surprised expression on his face said, "Charley, by G — my head doesn't ache." I laughed, thinking he only wanted to attract my attention, but it was true that his headache was gone; nor did it return again. Now this served to impress upon me a very important les- son, the absolute reliability of which has been verified since. It proves that sug- gestion has the power to> heal even when we have little or no faith in it. But it is necessary to persist in the suggestion if we would meet with full success. Inhar- monious suggestion has equal power. It was that, and that only, that killed the darkey who hurt his toe. And while I am speaking of fear I will relate an old SIBYLLINE LEAVES. 49 Eastern legend which runs thus: Once upon a time a pilgrim chanced to meet the plague as he traveled a lonely road. Said the pilgrim to the plague, "Where are you going ?" Said the plague, "I am going down to< Bagdad to kill five thousand people." Some weeks later as the pilgrim was returning he again met the plague. Said the pilgrim. "You told me you were going down to Bagdad to kill five thousand people, in- stead you killed fifty thousand." "No," said the plague. "I killed five thousand, the other forty-five thousand died of fright." FORMULA NUMBER FIVE. TO PRODUCE CATALEPSY. Should you desire to produce the cata- leptic state you can do so by simply sug- gesting to your subject that he is becom- ing rigid. Say to him also that he will ex- perience no unpleasantness consequent upon going into this state ; that his heart action will be easy and natural; that he will breathe quietly and freely, but that he will become as rigid as iron from his shoulders to* his feet. Having told him this make some quick passes down his back, from his neck all the way down his spinal column. Make strong vigorous strokes, at the same time saying, "Rigid, rigid, rigid, rigid as a board, rigid as a board. Nothing can bend you, you are rigid as a board. Stiff, stiff, stiff." If SIBYLLINE LEAVES. 51 you have a good subject he will now be as tense as a bar of iron. You can place him, head and shoulders on one chair and feet on another. Six, eight, or ten peo- ple can now pile upon him but he will not bend under the weight. Before putting weight upon him, and after you have him in position, it would be well to repeat with a brisk stroke down his body, "rigid, rigid, rigid as a bar of iron." Now put on your weight. Should you de- sire, a large rock can be placed upon his chest, and with an eight or ten pound sledge you can shatter the rock at one blow. Do not be afraid — strike it as if you intend to smash it ; you can do so without hurting him. Should the rock be rough place a folded table-cover, or anything similar that may be handy, un- der it to prevent scratching the skin. Use no other padding. FORMULA NUMBER SIX. TO DEADEN THE NERVES. Hypnotists sometimes stick hat pins through the ears, nose or cheeks of a subject. This is done to prove to the audience that the subject is under control. But as this is pretty sure to shock the sensibilities of some at least in the audience, the operator should use judgment in making this ex- hibit. To make this demonstration simp- ly suggest to your subject that he will feel no pain. Rub the spot with your finger where you intend to stick the pin, at the same time assure him that it will next hurt him, that there is no feeling in that spot. Repeat the suggestion three or four times and then proceed with your demonstration. FORMULA NUMBER SEVEN. TO CAUSE PROTRACTED SLEEP. Should you desire to put your subject to sleep for twenty-four hours or longer, hypnotize him and put him down in the rigid condition, then say to him, "Now the rigid condition is passing from you; you are resting quietly ; there is no ten- tion about you anywhere; you are per- fectly comfortable and will remain so." Repeat this statement several times. Now say, "You are going to sleep for twenty-four hours; nothing will disturb you; you will simply rest and sleep for twenty-four hours." Should you intend to remove him at any time during the sleep tell him so before putting him to sleep ; tell him that he will be carried to a cer- tain place and left there; if you intend to bring him back to the 54 SIBYLLINE LEAVES. same place, tell him that also. In fact explain to him just what you are going to do with him. Assure him that no< harm will come to him and that he will quietly and comfortably sleep; that he will not be conscious of the people that may come to look at him, and that he will not waken until a certain hour unless you awaken him yourself. Tell him that you can awaken him at any time but that no one else can do so ; that, however, if you do not awaken him he will awaken him- self at a certain hour. In this way you secure him against accident to yourself. It would be well to set the time for his waking later than you intend to awaken him; then if for any reason your audi- ence is late he will not wake up before you want him to. There is not a particle of danger to your subject in putting him in- to a protracted sleep. And why should SIBYLLINE LEAVES. 55 there be? Subjects are some times put to sleep for a week. Many animals sleep the whole winter through and come out O. K. in the spring. What can be done through this power is practically limitless. Hypnotism embodies a power that is extremely valuable to us all. Any mis- use of it, or any breach of faith with a subject is most contemptible and dishon- orable, and is w r ell calculated to bring upon the perpetrator the misfortune he deserves . I have told you only a few of the things that can be done with it, but I cau- tion you again to be careful of the power in your hands — see that you do not abuse it. "For he that deceives one of these little ones that believe in me, it were better for him that a mill-stone were hanged about his neck and he were cast into the sea." FORMULA NUMBER EIGHT. TO PRODUCE CLAIRVOYANCE. Now a word about clairvoyance and I am through. I have made to some extent a study of this soul-seeing force. Let him who makes light of it do like- wise and he will cease to doubt that clairvoyance is a verity — is a fact. This sense can be liberated, or in other words, the state can be induced through hyp- notic suggestion. As to its reliability at all times, each must be his own judge. We do know that material things — things pertaining to this life have been accurately described by persons in a clairvoyant state, who could not possibly have known any thing previously about what they described. Space is annihilat- ed to the clairvoyant. He can see things SIBYLLINE LEAVES. 57 transpiring at a distance — at any dis- tance — without the loss of a moment in going there. In receiving reports of other planets and messages from departed spir- its we have to take them on trust — these are things that cannot be verified. How- ever, the investigator will find clairvoy- ance an extremely interesting study. "Most of the investigators of this sub- ject (hypnotism) agree that there are six different and distinct degrees or stages of the hypnotic sleep, while not one in a thousand of our best hypnotists know how to produce them. Note the direc- tions carefully: When you have pro- duced the first degree of sleep, you can by careful and persistent effort produce all of the stages. Sleep is the first stage. When your subject has reached that con- dition — is asleep — tell him to stop there a few minutes. At the expiration of two 58 SIBYLLINE LEAVES. or three minutes tell him firmly to go on deeper, and if he takes the suggestion he will take one or more deep inspirations and become quiet again, or breathe naturally. This is the second stage. Have him stop at this place again. Con- tinue to- do* this, watching his pulse care- fully, and the condition of his hands. If his hands assume a rigid condition and his body straightens out, he has reached the third degree. In this degree of sleep your subject has no power to* move — it is the cataleptic degree. Before you drive your subject deeper ask him if the light hurts his eyes, and if so, lay a hand- kerchief over his eyes, and if at night turn down the light. Now instruct him to go' deeper, and if he go go deeper into the earth. Presently she an- nounced that she had descended a mile. "Go on down," said her father, "perhaps you will find something interesting far- ther on." She proceeded but became frightened and said she was coming back. "No, go deeper," insisted her SIBYLLINE LEAVES. 69 father, "nothing will harm you." Present- ly she announced that it was becoming hot and smelled like gas. "Nothing can hurt you, go deeper/' he urged, "go fast- er, go clear through." She described cav- erns and abysses, smoky vapors and gases. Finally she exclaimed, "It is day- light, I am in the sunshine." (With us it was night.) We enquired what she saw near her. "A pond of water," was the answer. "Perhaps you are in China," suggested her father. "Look about you and see if you can discover men wearing queues." "No," came the answer, "but I see men with black hair cut off square at the neck and worn rather long." Neither the young girl's father nor I knew at what point on the globe she had emerged into the sunshine, until on in- vestigation the following day we found the country directly under us to be Thib- 70 SIBYLLINE LEAVES. et, and its people and customs coincided perfectly with her further description of them. She afterwards visited China and gave us a long and interesting account of what she saw there. She also visited Mars and other planets, but as there was no way of verifying her statements con- cerning these places, they could serve no purpose beyond that of furnishing us a very novel kind of entertainment. It has come within the scope of my chosen work to develop many people for clairvoyant work, and I have found that the quality, the degree of power, and the reliability of this newly developed sense depends solely upon the character of the individual. Honorable, refined and intelligent people will always make the best clair- voyants. There is enough, and more in this lit- SIBYLLINE LEAVES. 71 tie volume to make any student thor- oughly proficient in the arts it treats of. It requires practice to- attain confidence, but confidence will come with success. The End. CHAS. A. BALLOUGH, Teacher and Healer Through Harmonious Suggestions* A Universal Law Explained. A law that is tremendously creative; which is without limit in its power to establish sound, physical health, to build character, to restore mental balance and effect radical reform in morals. It also points the way to material successes. The man who has a practical working knowledge of the power of suggestion is a t-aved man. He is a happy man, a healthy man, a man of power and ability and success. "The Power that Heals and How to Use it," is the name given to a set of five lessons by Chas. A. Ballough, that thoroughly explain the philosophy of Harmonious Suggestion. Printed in large plain type, on fine paper and handsomely bound in cloth. Price $1.00. These lessons are so simply written as to be entirely within the comprehension of every one who can read. They mean new h|>pe, new life, a new world, to every individual who gives them a careful reading. They will prove the best paying investment of time and money that you will ever have the opportunity to make. Also practical, personal instruction given by mail, which will en- able the student to make the proper suggestion in any special case — his own or another's. All questions are carefully considered and plain- ly answered, and a conscientious effort made to render the student full value for the money received. Enclose $1.00 in each letter asking advice, and it will receive prompt attention. All orders for printed lessons or private instruction must be ad- dressed to Chas. A. Ballough. Seabreeze, Fla. SIBYLLINE LEAVES. Sibylline Leaves — a book that reveals the unsuspected forces latent in every mind, and shows how these forces may be developed and put to practical use in the acquirement of health, wealth and power. It gives brief but thorough instruction in the arts of hypnotizing and healing, and is pledged to make a successful operator of any student desiring it. By Chas. A. Ballough, author of The Power That Heals. Bound in cloth, price one dollar. CHAS. A. BALLOUGH, Publisher, Seabreeze, Fla. JUN4-1902 02 [COPY DEI TO-MT rMV ' JtJH, 4 1902 Deacidified using the Bookkeeper process. Neutralizing agent: Magnesium Oxide Treatment Date: Nov. 2004 PreservatsonTechnologies A WORLD LEADER IN PAPER PRESERVATION 1 1 1 Thomson Park Drive Cranberry Township, PA 16066 (724)779-2111