9" % - V 0^ ^ % -p V ^ >0o /? ■<$> . ,0o X - \ ■>*\ \ " - 4^ 0^ ' }4 "^ r> o '^ d' v ** v ^ => - O- ,0o. ^o o X ^0 ■^ A , „-■--, v -'tja ■<■■-■■■'. «po« - ^ -^ ,0 o. G v v\ "+> ^ A° THE LAW OF SUGGESTION A COMPENDIUM FOR THE PEOPLE BY REV- STANLEY LEFEVRE KREBS A. M., Psy. Dr. Member Society of Arts, London; Medico-Legal Society, New York; Society of Psychical Research, London; Laboratory of Psychology, 'Washington, D. C Etc., Etc.; author "Poverty's Factory", "Twin Demons", "The Mysteries Exposed", Etc. FIRST EDITION SCIENCE PRESS The Republic, Chicago 1906 t> TTlSRARYofCQNGRESS | Two Copies Received I DEC 19 1906 ■ / Copyright Entry . CLASS A XXc s , No. CO FY B. Copyright 1906 BY STANLEY LeFEVRE KREBS FOREWORD, My purpose is threefold: — i. To give a bird's eye view of the whole field, for busy people — all about Suggestion but not, of course, all of it. 2. To tear from the subject that veil of mystery, or "occultism," with which so many initiates delight to surround it before the eyes of the public. 3. To awaken, if possible, an earn- est and patient study of the matter on the part of parents, business men, pre- ceptors, preachers, and people general- ly, as it can be observed by them af- fecting the affairs not only of com- mon life, but the profoundest interests, also, of health, intellect and character — body, mind and soul. TABLE OF CONTENTS. CHAPTER ONE. History—In Eden; in Ceremonies of Egypt, India, and Babylon; Mesmer; Braid; Charcot; Liebault; Bernheim; various theories; deep sleep; modern status; sug- gestion vs. hypnotism. CHAPTER TWO. The Law — The law stated; force and mat- ter; lines in consciousness; suggestion in religion; in church worship; in creeds; in doctrine; in revivals; in conversion; vice and virtue; in advertisements; in sales- manship; recent experiments; environ- ment and heredity; how to apply the law. CHAPTER THREE. Speculative — How this law is supposed to act; physiological theory; psychological theory; the saving fact. CHAPTER FOUR. Methods of Hypnotizing and of Administer- ing Suggestion— iClasses of subjects; tests; Charcot's methods; Lieubeault's method; crystal gazing; metronome; the Braid method; the Flower method; meth- od for refractives; Dr. Parkyn's method; force methods; natural sleep; child train- ing; sexual perverts; a great force in na- ture. CHAPTER FIVE. Indirect Suggestion — Defined; great auxil- iary; in diplomacy and business; in relig- ion; in church life; in child training; ig- norance of parents and teachers; co-oper- ative suggestions; in schools; developing 4 CONTENTS. energy and industry; how to apply it for good. CHAPTER SIX. Positive vs. Negative — Folly of school teach- ers; rules for negatives; correcting bad habits; reforming inebriates; health. CHAPTER SEVEN. Auxiliary Conditions — On the part of the subjects; expectant attention; an experi- ment; patent medicines; a danger; soni- nambules; on the part of the operator; requisites; character; Jesus of Nazareth; miracles; power of faith; limit to the law; both together. CHAPTER EIGHT. Its Field — Wide as man; in the physical realm; healing diseases; two classes; what it cannot do; in dentistry and sur- gery; diseases which it can cure; best re- sults; place of power; severe cases; men- tal causes; Bright's disease; paralysis; cost; modern medicine; vital reservoirs, relation of matter and mind; in the men- tal and emotional realm; habits; fears; worries; insanities; incorrigible children; exaltation of mind over matter; inspira- tion; actresses; ministeis; musicians; gecius; business men; changing tone or tenor of life; exhorbitant ideas; wonders of Pentecost; Christ feeding the 5,000; co-operative suggestion; in the moral realm; a word of hope; great light; lines of power; reforms and conversions; sexual manias; dipsomania; remarkable case; a way of escape; law of attractiveness; law of God. CHAPTER NINE. Objections — Does it facilitate crime ?j can the immoral use it?; the answer; hyp- CONTENTS. notism and the courts; can it control people against their will?; does it weaken the Will? CHAPTER TEN. Dangers — Some imaginary ones; making- others; real dangers; in the hands of lay- man;" in stage exhibitions; "two days sleep"; the greatest of all dangers; cases and illustrations; what physicians and all should know. CHAPTER ELEVEN. Explains Many Popular Mysteries — Pow- wowing; extent of it; natural "healers"; charms and talismans; "Magnetized Wa- ter"; lifting a human being or "Levita- tion"; etc. CHAPTER TWELVE. Simple Rules for Self Help — Guarding per- sonality; "Influence"; the secret of it all; the rules for practice. CHAPTER THIRTEEN. Some Extraordinary Phenomena — Tele- pathy; cases; "traveling clairvoyance"; the sublimal mind; heredity; prenatal suggestions; control in sex; death con- trolled?; experiments with death; re- markable case; double and multiple per- sonality; cases; a recent triumph of psychology; insanity; vital questions; in- spiring vista; mastery of mind. CHAPTER ONE, HISTORY. ^"pHB most important development made by psychology in recent years is its progress from mere self- inspection to self-control. Its assump- tion of a practical character, its discov- ery of experimental, demonstrable contents moved it forward from chaos to cosmos, from disorder to law, so that the Scotchman's famous definition of this science will no longer hold when he described it as "Twa folk disputin' thegither; he that's listenin 5 dinna ken what he that's talkin' means, and he that's talkin' dinna ken himselY' There are traces of suggestion in the dawn of history, in the infancy of the race. It is as "old as Adam." Eve succumbed to suggestive influence, and 9 10 LAW; OF SUGGESTION. she immediately demonstrated its power upon man and is doing so still ! Suggestion is as old as mother-love. What reader is too old to recall how mother, in his childhood, used to pass her hand over the place of pain and say, as she kissed away the tears, ''There, dear, it doesn't hurt any more, the pain is all gone, it is all gome?" And it was so. Suggestion is no new thing under the sun. It is certain it was employed in Egyptian ceremonies and Hindu sa- cred rites long centuries since. In his lectures on the religious and sacred literature of Babylon Mr. W. St. Clad Boscawen described some very curious passages found among the cuneiform inscriptions which speak of a medicine man visiting a sick person and making passes over his body, and the fact is corroborated in a recently discovered sculpture where a god is seen making passes behind the neck of a kneeling figure. i. Fluid. The modern era, however, com- HISTORY. 11 mences with Mesmer (i733- l8l 5)- He promulgated the theory of fluidic ema- nation from the human hand and or- ganism, and the great question with him was how to make "passes" in the most effective manner in order to either distribute or concentrate this "fluid" upon the person of the subject. 2. Sleep. The remarkable experiments and in- dustry of James Braid proved the fluidic theory untrue or at least un- necessary, for he found he could dis- pense with the passes and could avoid personal contact altogether with the subject and yet produce the hypnotic sleep. Braid regarded the hypnotic or induced sleep as the active agent, the therapeutic force at work in the results which he attained. Braid, as I have said, combatted the hypothesis of animal magnetism and metallo-therapeutics taught by Mes- mer, and later the school of Nancy, following in Braid's footsteps, over- threw the old fallacy which Charcot 12 LAW OF SUGGESTION. had partially revived. So long ago as the International Congress of Psychol- ogy in 1892, all fluidic-emanation the- ories had ceased to attract scientific attention. It will not be edifying to the reader for me to rehearse the professional persecutions to which the pioneers in this science were subjected, such as Elliotson, Braid, Esdaile, and others. A full history can be read in J. Milne Bramwell's "Hypnotism," published in 1903, to which the interested reader is kindly referred and where the story is told in thrilling detail. 3. Suggestion in Sleep. But Liebault found that it was the suggestions given during the hypnotic sleep which wrought the effects desired. Bernheim was Liebault's most distin- guished pupil and practiced under Lie- bault's hypothesis, although he discov- ered that under exceptionally favorable circumstances analgesia could be in- duced by suggestion while the subject was not asleep. Bernheim never fully HISTORY. 13 realized the profound importance of this discovery of his, and so continued to put as many patients as he could asleep, in profound hypnosis, believing that this induced sleep was the condi- tion of "suggestibility." 4. Suggestion Without Sleep. It remained for American practition- ers, such as Parkyn, Fitzer, Quacken- bos, and others, to demonstrate by nu- merous experiments that sleep was not necessary for the production of the suggestible condition. The vital ques- tion today is, What is the best method for inducing suggestibility without pro- found hypnosis, and, How can the most effective suggestions be made to pa- tients under treatment for disease, phy- sical, mental and moral? Therefore, we no longer practice hypnotism, but suggestion. CHAPTER TWO. THE LAW. i. The Law Stated. HpHE law of suggestion is the law of iteration, i. e. repetition of a par- ticular suggestion to a subject when in the suggestible state. The force and effect of suggestion is elicited by this regular and persistent iteration of the causative idea in the mind of the pa- tient. The rationale of its action is this :— ITERATION PRODUCES A TRACT OR LINE OF LEAST RE- SISTANCE IN CONSCIOUSNESS WHICH FUNCTIONS, WHEN IT FUNCTIONS AT ALL, ALONG THIS VERY LINE. This line in consciousness is like a crease in a card made by folding it once, which tends to fold along the 14 THE LAW. 15 line of this very crease when it folds (or functions) at all. That forces act along the line of least resistance is one of the great fundamental laws of matter, a fact which I need not pause here to prove, inasmuch as any standard work on phy- sics contains the all-compelling demon- stration. The point here is that this great law is not only a law of matter but also a law of mind. By virtue of this law, which reigns in mind as well as in matter, these two discreet and apparently opposite en- tities are brought into harmony, and are found to be mutually and inex- tricably bound up in the same bundle of life — . in the realms of education, the arts, social customs, and in fact every- where where mind is at work. Dr. Alfred Binet especially emphasizes the necessity of studying this portion of THE LAW. 25 human nature on the part of the phi- losopher, lawyer, preacher, teacher and parent. "When we apply the lessons of this work of Binet," writes F. van Eeden, "to the great social, political and re- ligious movements of the masses, their significance becomes enormous, and the necessity of widespread study of them most evident." A teacher by dint of his "authority" (ex cathedra) w$ll stamp upon ,his young pupil any artificial belief or unnatural creed; a judge, lawyer or, sheriff, by a "sweating process/' sub- . tie and persuasive questioning, will entrap an innocent but suggestible person to his doom, &c. The following account of an exper- iment in Iteration was given me quite recently by the sheriff himself who made it, a gentleman whose name must, for good reasons, be withheld: "I held the office of sheriff here foi four consecutive years. One day I ar- rested a man by the name of H 1. I was convinced that he belonged to 26 LAW OF SUGGESTION. a gang of thieves. He was a good- natured sort of a fellow and one whom I imagined would be easily influ- enced by the people around him. At the time I speak of there were in my residence in the jail besides myself my wife, my son, aged twenty, and a detective. We all thought we could so work upon the imagination of H as to induce him to tell what- ever he really knew about certain thefts that had taken place. On the morning when we made the experi- ment I unlocked the doors and let the prisoners out into the corridor greeting each one with 'good morn- ing' as they came forth, and asking how they felt. When H — — came I greeted him as usual and said, 'How are you feeling this morning?' 'First rate/ he replied, 'never felt better in my life.' I looked amazed and step- ping back a little said, 'What! you do?' 'Yes, sir; never felt better in my life.' 'If you do, your looks belie your feelings,' said I, 'for you look as if you had been sick a month,' and I THE LAW. 27 turned to the other fellows and asked them if it was not so. They replied in the affirmative. I then told him if he was not sick he soon would be. He laughingly replied, 'I guess not.' I left, and in a few minutes the de- tective came to him and went through the same conversation I had with him. H replied, That's just what the sheriff said.' Soon my wife came to hand him his breakfast through an opening in the wall for that purpose; when he came for his she said, 'H — ■ — ; you are looking very badly. You must be careful or you will be sick; if you get to feeling worse let me know and I will send for a doctor.' Before noon we had two doctors, and before night, an old lady who used to come and pray with the prisoners was sent for. and also his wife. He was sick for several days; thought he was going to die; made confession of what he knew about the thefts, and arrange- ments for settlement of his property. When I first went into the jail the man did not look sick, and really was not sick/' 28 LAW OF SUGGESTION. Glance a moment in another direc- tion. The mysterious power of en- vironment upon us all is illumined by this law; for is not this force but iter- ■ ation of the same suggestions (scenes- people, ideas, &c) year after year commencing far back in the plastic pe- riod of infancy, yea, in the prenatal months of foetal life? The equally. or more mysterious power of heredity is similarly illumined if not fully and comprehensively explained. Do not throw this idea into your intellectual waste-paper basket by an impatient and imperious wave of the will before you carefully study it in this connec- tion, and by it measure all cases of so-called "striking heredity influence" direct as well as atavistic. I do not, of course, refer to disease ; but to pe- culiarities in other directions that are usually ascribed to so-called atavistic heredity. 3. The Law Applied. To apply this law in the art or prac- tice of suggestive therapeutics or men- THE LAW. 29 tal treatment, have your subject as passive as possible, i. e., in the suggestible state. (See chapter on "Miethods.") Select the right and needful suggestion, and then, with masterful earnestness and full confidence in the law on your part drive it home to consciousness by reg- ular treatments, using the same sug- gestion every time; and you will find, to your delight and the benefit of your subject, that the reaction intended is equal to the quality and quantity of the action administered. If the case is very peculiar, think out the suggestion beforehand very carefully, and when your subject is in the suggestible condition, request him to shut his eyes and then read it to him impressively, as M. de Rochas used to do and with such happy re- sults. CHAPTER THREE. SPECULATIVE. How This Law Is Supposed to Act /^NE of the most eminent neurolo- gists, Brown-Sequard, has demon- strated that two or more brain centers involved in mental functioning cannot be in an equally conscious state at the same time. Continuous stimulation of one center involves diminished activ- ity of others, entailing their tempo- rary inhibition. This seems to be proved by the or- dinary phenomena of attention. When reading an interesting book or listen- ing to an opera our faculties are great- ly exerted on that one particular thing so that other impressions, such noise in the street, are not regibLered or noticed. Even bodily pain may be forgotten or greatly minimized when the attention is thus absorbed. 30 SPECULATIVE. 31 Thus the one cortical center be- comes isolated from the rest; in othei words, the subject has been reduced from a state of "poly-i'deism" to a state of "mono-ideism." According to this theory, then, sug- gestion's power consists in the fact that the mind is centered on only one idea; all distractions are carefully ex- cluded or cut off, and much greater power is therefore manifested along the line of that one idea than when the mind is attending to many stimuli simultaneously or in rapid succession as it is doing in ordinary waking mo- ments. Inhibition of all ideas but one or two great intensifies the one or two. The other theory claims that the subliminal or secondary consciousness of the subject is reached by the sug- t$r ' ns given him; that this sublim- ing .unsciousness controls the vital processes of organic life, the action of the vital organs; that it believes all it hears and at once commences to do it; whether it be to re-establish the 32 LAW OF SUGGESTION". healthy rhythm of the vital organs, to eliminate errors from the intellect and understanding, to drive out obsessing fears from the emotional life, or to correct unhealthy and immoral habits. The author does not commit himself to either theory, one referring to the supraliminal mind and the other to the subliminal. The student is at liberty to form his own theory. But the great and saving fact re- mains that suggestion, when properly applied, is potent for good, and this not in a narrow and restricted but in a wide and unlimited field of human interests that are distinctly vital i'n their far-reaching importance. It acts because an idea has a tendency to generate its actuality; but how it acts is left for each one to reason out for himself, and there are almost as many theories of this "how" as there are demonstrators of the fact. CHAPTER FOUR, METHODS. QUBJECTS for treatment naturally fall into three classes, those who are hard to lead into the suggestible condition, those who are easy, and those who stand between the two ex- tremes. They have been called, re- spectively, "Non-Susceptibles," "Hyp- notic Somnambules" and "Physical Subjects." There are no objective criteria or external signs for discriminating be* tween these three classes at a glance. Delicacy of skin and fineness of hair were at one time supposed to mark the "sensitives." Experiment only however, will develop the differences existing in different persons in respect of suggestibility. 34 LAW OF SUGGESTION. A fairly good test of suggestibility; is the old "drawing pass." Stand in front of your subject as he stands be- fore you, fold your hands with palms together, and make a drawing pass to- wards yourself. If he leans forward or falls toward you, he is suggestible* There is nothing "occult" about this simple manoeuvre; for the idea that you wish him to follow the motion of your hands is very plain, and the eas- ily moved will yield to this idea or wish of yours, knowing what is ex- pected of them, whilst the independent and hard-to-move will not, although they may feel a tendency to yield. Ask them, and judge accordingly. The above is merely a test for sug- gestibility ; it is not a method for pro- ducing it. Suggestibility is a mental condition in which a suggestion (thought or idea) has an exaggerated effect. This definition is according to Bernheim, and we agree therewith. Dr. Parkyn says that this condition is present the ADMINISTERING SUGGESTION. 35 moment a subject's attention is gained. How, then, shall we wean his atten- tion from other things and rivet it upon the one desired? This is our present problem, and here we present a brief resume of the numerous meth- ods that have been employed: — ■ Charcot's method, which was used at the Saltpetriere in France, was sudden, startling, shocking, as where the sudden sound of a Chinese gong, or a bright light suddenly thrown into the eyes would throw many of the sub- jects and hystero-epileptics into a quasi-cataleptic state. Many persons, I presume, have been "thunderstruck/' i. e., startled, shocked, paralyzed, ren- dered incapable of movement by some sudden nervous shock that immobi- lizes the subject thereof. Valuable re- sults for psychology have been ob- tained' by Charcot's method ; but it. was too violent entirely for regular practice and created a sentiment against hyp- notism (and even against suggestion, since people confound the two which has not entirely died out today. 36 LAW OF SUGGESTION. Liebault's methods, depending upon mild measures and monotonous in- stead of massive stimulation, are the methods practiced by the School of Nancy and generally obtaining today. All these various methods will b<* clearly understood when the reader re- members that they all have but one end in view, and that is to TIRE THE SENSES of the subject, so that he naturally feels a desire to rest, to sleep, to submit, to acquiesce. All violent hypnogenetic processes act by nervous shock ; all mild hypnogenetic processes act by nervous fatigue. Such is the physiology of suggestion. It is very simple ; nothing occult about it what- ever. Here are some of the approved methods for gently tiring the senses : — The steady human gaze ; gazing into a clear crystal or glass ball, or clea? bottle of water with a candle or lamp on the opposite side of it; watching the hypno-metronome as it swings backward and forward with the gaze riveted upon the bright spot on the ball and the hearing upon the monot- ADMINISTERING SUGGESTION. 37 onous click-click-click of the. pen- dulum ; and a hundred and one other methods which can be found listed in Dr. Parkyn's larger work on the sub- ject. Any method, any device almost, will succeed with a susceptible subject who knows what is expected of him. Here follow four methods in detail: • The Braid Method, so-called from the fact that D(r. Braid invented and employed it. It produces the celebrated "upward and inward squint" by fixa- tion of the gaze upon a point held above and between the eyes, which causes a peculiar sense of fatigue by reason of the strain imposed upon the two internal recti muscles. Dr. Quackenbos employs the method thus: "I place my patient on a couch and make him look steadily at the red carnelian fastened on the end of this lead pencil. I hold the pencil two or three inches in front of his eyes and enough above so that he has to strain his eyes upward' to see it. Now, these are the results. — The eyes have to be crossed because the carnelian is so 38 LAW OP SUGGESTION. near; this crossing and the effort to keep the eyes turned up, brings a se« vere strain on the adjusting muscles. The red color of the carnelian is also irritating to the retina, and these two sources of fatigue, muscular and nerv- ous, finally overcome the patient; his eyelids gradually close, and he drops into a lethargic state, like a heavy sleep. Along with this strain upon the eyes I use a gentle stroking of the pa- tient's limbs. This stroking leads to the suggestible state by a soothing of the peripheral nerves — just the oppo- site effect from that used upon the eyes." The suggestions are given when the patient falls into this sleepy condition. The Flower Method, used and de- scribed by S. Flower, is as follows: "Make your patient comfortable upon a couch, and then give him the follow- ing directions: — "Do exactly as I tell you to do. I shall put you to sleep by counting certain numbers aloud and as I count you are to open your eyes and close them again. Now close ADMINISTERING SUGGESTION. 39 your eyes and keep them closed until I begin to count. Then when I count 'one' open them for a second and look at me and then close them again: When I count 'two' open them for a second and close them again, etc. Then proceed quietly to count from one to twenty, allowing a pause of five seconds between each count. After reaching twenty go back to one again and count again from one to twenty, allowing a pause of ten sec- onds between each count. After reach- ing twenty go back to one and this time allow a pause of fifteen seconds between each count. I have never found it necessary to continue this method longer than the third round." Then give the suggestions. Method for Refractives. — It would be a great mistake to suppose that be- cause one method will not apparently affect a patient therefore that patient cannot be affected by any other method. Disposition, temperament, temporary mood have something to dc with modifying the success of any 40 LAW OF SUGGESTION. method. Moreover, there is a class of individuals who pride themselves on the idea that no one on earth can hypnotize them. The following is a good method to impress a refractive or heady person such as this : — Say nothing to him of sleep or hypnosis but state that you wish to test the power of his own will and show him- self how strong his will is. Tell him to close his right hand into a tight fist. Place your hands around it pressing it still more tightly together. Assure him that if he is able to con- centrate his whole will power on the thought that he cannot open his own hand, that very fact will appear; but that if his will is weak, he will not be able to control his own hand. When you see he has taken hold of this idea (or the idea of him), say, "It is fast You cannot open it. Try/' This re- sult will actually be secured in pretty nearly fifty per cent of the cases of this type. If he struggles in his effort to get his hand open and finds it in the power of his own will, then ADMINISTERING SUGGESTION. 41 assure him he can do in other lines with that same power what he has accomplished in this, and so introduce the line of treatment or improvement you desire in his particular case. Dr. Parkyn's Method. — All things considered and for an all-around treat- ment I believe this method is one of the best, if not the best. "Place the patient in a recumbent position," says the doctor, "and see that he is per- fectly comfortable. Be sure that his clothing is not too tight and that his boots are not pinching. Many of us go around all day with something which is productive of discomfort without having our attention drawn directly to the cause of it. When try- ing to sleep, however, we are very apt to discover the source of the annoy- ance. To guard against such proba- bilities, then, I repeat — 'see that your patient is comfortable. This insures the inactivity of the sense of touch. If the patient is not eating anything and the air in the room is fresh, he is not conscious of the reception of 43 LAW OF SUGGESTION. impressions through the senses of taste and smell. Next close the pa- tient's eyes and let him rest in silence for a few moments. In this condition his expectant attention is aroused and he wonders what is going to happen next. Then begin stroking gently over the body with both hands, commenc- ing at the head and stroking down to the feet ; use a very light touch — just enough to let the patient know you are there. The circulation follows the attention, and by touching him firsl on the head very lightly, then on the shoulders, and so on down the body the tendency is for the circulation to be drawn from the head. Certain it is, that if this is kept up for a few moments the majority of patients ex- perience a sensation of drowsiness. Of course the relaxation of the mus- cles also favors the reduction of the blood supply to the brain. Having spent a few moments gently stroking the patient, begin the verbal sugges- tion, and keep repeating the ideas you desire to impress upon his mind. ADMINISTERING SUGGESTION. 43 The highest degree of suggestibility which it is possible to induce in any individual is present the instant his at- tention is concentrated on the sugges- tions he is receiving. The method is very simple; but is all that is neces- sary." There are no sensational or "occult" features about this whatever. It must not be imagined that because Dr. Parkyn and others stroke their pa- tients that they believe in the old' Mesmeric "fluid/" As said before, the theories of magnetic force, odylic force, fluidic effluence, or substantial emanations of any kind have been abandoned. There may be such forces in Nature and in the human body as a part of Nature; we are not by any means prepared to deny this ; indeed the experiments of Reichenbach, Den- ton, Buchanan, Istrate, Baraduc, de Rochas and others, and the discovery of radiant matter, the X-ray, the (dis- puted) N-ray, the invisible actinic range of the spectrum above the violet V 44 LAW OF SUGGESTION. ray, &c, combine to render a categor- ical denial a rash proceeding indeed; but these invisible radiations of matter are not needed for the production of suggestive phenomena. t There is no great difference be- tween the normal and the suggestible states, the only difference lying in the fact that in the suggestible state there is a temporary removal of motives or ideas tending to counteract the sug- gestion ; in other words, there is a state of mono-ideism, however brought about. All methods have one thing in common, namely, the diversion of at- tention from the insistency of external surroundings, as Dr. Walter Leaf puts it, and the concentration of it upon the thing immediately before con- sciousness. Natural sleep at night has frequent- ly been chosen as a favorable time to give treatment, especially to children for the correction of bad habits. The method to be pursued is this: — Before the child goes to bed the mother is ADMINISTERING SUGGESTION. 45 to say, "1 shall come and talk to you to-night while you are asleep, and you will answer me without waking. You will hear me and answer me and un- derstand what I say, but you will not wake up." At the appointed hour she comes and talks distinctly but in a low tone: — "This is mother talking to you. Sleep quietly. You can speak to me while you sleep. You are perfectly comfortable and quiet. Sleep sound. You hear me talking to you. You hear me. Say 'yes/ Now I touch your lips with my ringer, and you can speak. Say 'yes/ " Should the child stir uneasily and open her eyes, the mother must not relinquish her at- tempt, but close the eyelids with her fingers, and suggest, "Sleeping quiet- ly. Nothing will disturb you. You can hear me. You will remember what I say to you. You do not like to be untidy (or disobedient, or idle, untruthful, or whatever the fault may be). You will not wish to be untidy. It will make you so happy to be tidy. 46 LAW OF SUGGESTION. You will have lots of fun being tidy. You will be so happy to-morrow/' (See foot-note.) Force Methods— Dr. W. MfcDowell states that an overseer in Virginia used to wager he could hypnotize any- body. To do this he would have the man seized by assistants and thrown upon his back on the barn floor, where he was held,, while the operator, by a steady and gentle patting on the epi- gastric region (solar plexus) would put him to sleep. This parallels some of the measures of Dr. Esdaile in India. There are other force-methods con- sisting in certain artful or technical uses of morphia, ether, kelene, somno- forme, &c, which are employed upon cases of incorrigibility, simulation, ob- NOTE — To break a bad habit one must not seek to drive out the knowledge or memory of it. That cannot be done except with great danger to health, mind and even personality. But the attractiveness of the knowledge or memory may be destroyed, and with it goes the control it exercised over habit and life. Let the reader underscore this point, for it is very important. ADMINISTERING SUGGESTION. 47 stinate insomnias, sexual perverts and criminals, but inasmuch as this is a field open only to specialists and med- ical practitioners, the reader will read- ily pardon the omission of any fur- ther particulars from a popular treat- ise such as this. In concluding this chapter let me kindly but earnestly say that the vast majority of laymen, who hold that there is something uncanny in the practice and methods of suggestion whereby the operator gains a mysti- cal or occult influence over the sub- ject, should abandon that idea as an- tiquated and groundless. All intelli- gent people to-day should recognize that suggestion has been stripped of the supernatural and abnormal (and even diabolical — for some frightened people actually thought and taught it was "of the devil" !) and has found its permanent place and function as one pf Nature's therapeutic agencies anc beneficent forces when properly un- derstood and applied. CHAPTER FIVE. INDIRECT SUGGESTION. i. Defined. T NDIRECT suggestion is a method by which the same thought con- tained in the suggestion directly ad- ministered to a subject is driven home to his consciousness at an hour and from a source that is more or less un- expected by him. Indirect suggestion is a powerful auxiliary in augmenting the force of direct suggestion. It carries this effect with it simply because the sub- ject more readily accepts and more V hole-heartedly believes it ; in other words, it strikes him in a more sug- gestible condition, and so unexpected- ly that he cannot well gainsay or op- pose it. I have found Indirect Suggestion so 48 INDIRECT SUGGESTION. 49 potent for good when artfully and wisely used, and so powerful for evil when ignorantly employed, that I have often been tempted to dignify it with the title of "The Second Law of Suggestion." 2. Illustrated. Take a familiar example or two from the common experiences of life where we see this law embedded. When the Committee Chairman or friends come forward after your pub- lic address (or platform lecture) and congratulate you personally and di- rectly, you are always prone to dis- count their flattering remarks because you are harassed with doubts as tc their genuine earnestness and sincer- ity; you suspect they do it out of mere courtesy and the friendly ex- igencies of the occasion. But after- wards, when you mingle incognito with the people as they leave the hall or on the street and overhear them exchanging with each other such re- marks as "Wasn't that a fine effort " 50 LAW OF SUGGESTION. "strong/' "something new," &c, you find yourself more ready to accept and believe, you are really reached, and in the light of what you indi- rectly overhear, more ready to credit the direct congratulations of the chairman and his friends. Indirect suggestion has augmented the force of direct suggestion. In Diplomacy and Business. Men are as much influenced in busi- ness deals by indirect "tips" of outsid- ers, or persons whom they take to be outsiders, as by the direct arguments and appeals of official or recognized agents. Thousands of business men are looking into this and devising ways and means of applying the principle. > In Social Relations. All of us are as quickly reached and as deeply moved by what we read indi- rectly between the lines of a letter or hear between the words of a conversa- tion as by the lines and words them- selves. INDIRECT SUGGESTION. 51 In Religion. Why do not the earnest and re- peated efforts of the clergy, individual and carefully organized efforts, to "convert" men and young men meet with more success? Because the direct suggestions from the pulpit concerning the power of the Gospel and of faith and the joy of believers in Jesus Christ are not supplemented by the indirect suggestions of the people in the pews. If men and young men of the world are present at the services, as they leave the church they seldom overhear the people saying to one another "That sermon was so helpful," "so true," "what joy we have in Jesus," etc. ; but more commonly they over- hear such remarks as "Sermon too long," "dull," "nothing new," "same old song," etc., and even worse criti- cisms than these. The main cause of the non-effectiveness of the repeated suggestions from the pulpit today is the fact that they do not receive the augmentative force emanating from 52 LAW OF SUGGESTION. the corroborative remarks of the church members. In Child Training. Indirect Suggestion is a powerful in- strument in training children for good or bad. It is mostly used ignorantly and hence for bad today, as the follow- ing incidents will show: W. W. Atkinson describes a typical case when he tells how Mr. New- thought visited Mrs. Quiverfull, who exclaims, with Gladys in the next room overhearing it all: "Oh, where's our shy little baby girl ? Johnny, go and bring Gladys in to see Mr. Newthought. You mustn't mind Gladys, Mr. Newthought, she's so shy and bashful. I have tried in every way to break her of it, but she only gets worse and worse. It's too bad indeed, for she's a good child, but has been shy and bashful from babyhood. She don't like strangers and will never make up with them. Just see her now, she don't want to come near you. Oh, it's an awful thing INDIRECT SUGGESTION. 53 for a child to be so frightfully shy and bashful." And so on ad libitum, and ad infinitum, and, I may add, ad nau- seam! All this Gladys overhears! Every sentence of her mother's bris- tles with the words "shy and bashful." She believes that her mother is telling the truth. She sees that her mother really expects her to be "shy and bash- ful/' and so has developed from a somewhat sensitive child into a chron- ic case of "shy and bashful." . Take an extreme case. Belford Rus- sell Lawrence, the boy criminal, testi- fied at twelve years of age that, among other things, his mother had often said to neighbors, referring to him, 'That devil will hang yet." As a general rule children are what their elders expect them to be. As a general rule we adults are what our fellows expect us to be. If everybody, especially those to whom we look up, expects us to fail, it requires the puissance of a psycho- logical giant to withstand this killing psychic atmosphere. There is such a 54 LAW OF SUGGESTION. thing as unintentional mind-slaughter as well as man-slaughter. If, however, they expect us to do our best, that very co-operative expec- tation inspires and infires us to do it — and we succeed. There is such a thing as psychological life-giving — ■ resurrection. This "expectation" of our cotempo- raries and associates reaches us indi- rectly, i. e., we hear of it or overhear it, whereby it influences us all the more potently. YOU ARE NOT WHAT YOU THINK YOU ARE. BUT, WHAT YOU THINK, YOU ARE. This universal expectation of their fellows causes the weak-minded (the discouraged, the sick, the nervous) to form the same opinion of themselves. They think it ; thought tends to realize itself in actuality ; they become it. It is impossible to calculate the dam- age done to the little ones in this way by their ignorant elders. Dr. Crafts tells of a mother who entered the of- fice of a judge of probate and said: INDIRECT SUGGESTION 55 "Are you the judge of reprobates?" "I am the judge of Probate. Per- haps that is what you mean." "I spec' so. Mry husband died de- tested, and left me two little infidels and I want to be appointed their exe- cutioner." Alas! many parents perform this office upon their children "and know not what they do." Teachers, too, also friends when visiting the sick. 3. Applied. All that is required is plan and tact in arranging a time when the subject will overhear you (or some one ap- pointed and prepared by you) in con- versation with a third party express^ ing the same thought in reference to the subject that you have on other occasions expressed to him directly. If the subject be a slothful student at school whom you wish to reach and awaken, watch your chance, and when you see him approaching to pass near you when you are engaged in conver- sation with some one else, let him 56 LAW OF SUGGESTION. overhear you remark to this third party : "John is doing better lately. He has a strong will, and when he makes up his mind he'll surprise us all." If you are a professional healer, either drug or drugless, arrange with the attendants to whisper encouraging prognosis at the door of the sickroom apparently not intended for the patient to hear, but loud enough, nevertheless, to reach his ears. The ingenuity of parent, preacher, Sunday School teacher, college pro- fessor, business man and agent, will readily devise ways and means to thus reach any particular case in hand. The principle is plain ; its ethics fortified : — "Shrewd as serpents, harmless as doves." Follow it up, of course, with direct suggestion ; and then repeat the indi- rect, and, if possible, by a different set of people. I earnestly repeat: — There is re- markable power in Indirect Sugges- tion. Realize it. Count on it. Plan for it. Help the weak by it. CHAPTER VI. POSITIVE VERSUS NEGATIVE. A LWAYS use positive, affirmative suggestions. Studiously avoid nega- tive formularies, for they keep sug- gesting to the mind of the subject the very idea you wish him to ignore. A public school teacher said to a boy pupil whom she was punishing by "keeping in" after school hours^ "Johnny, I am going to- the store for a minute or two; don't put anything in the stove while I am gone, or you might burn the house down. 5 ' Result? Johnny had not thought of doing any- thing like this, but he takes the tip from the teacher and fires into the stove a hated geography and speller or two, some paper and a ruler. Thus this blundering suggestion of the teacher, (a) caused loss of property^ (b) trained the boy in disobedience 67 58 LAW OF SUGGESTION. by arousing his curiosity, (c) killed respect for the teacher's knowledge because the house did not burn down, (d) trained the boy in secrecy, to keep things from the teacher and feel he was "smart." What should she have done ? Given the boy something definite to do, such as writing lines, a sum in arithmetic, setting the room to rights, anything but the negative suggestion she did give. There are only two occasions in life when it is logical and right to say "don't." i. When the subject (child or adult) does wrong once. Then to say "don't" teaches nothing new. 2. When the subject is in immedi- ate danger of some kind. Then cry with excited vehemence, "Don't." The shock prevents the impending acci- dent. On all other occasions avoid the negative. Cultivate the habit of affirmative thought, and your express- ion will naturally also be affirmative. A crease in a card is really a habit, POSITIVE VS. NEGATIVE. 59 i. e. the card folds every time along that crease, and not elsewhere. To cure the card of this bad habit we do not cry to it, "Don't fold there! don't fold there"! but, "Fold here! fold here P' at the same time we make an- other crease across the first or at an- other place in the card, and b) repeated folding along the new line the time comes when it becomes the line of least resistance. Now, when the card acts, it does the easiest thing for it to do, and so folds at last of it- self, naturally, along the new crease. We need no longer worry about the- action of the card. In other words the old habit has been robbed of power not by scolding and cursing it, but by persistently forming a new habit which has sapped the old of potency and so destroyed it. If you want a child to keep away from the fire, avoid the command, "Don't go near the fire! Don't go near the fire!" Every time you say that, don't you see? you deepen the thought, "Near the fire! near the 60 LAW OF SUGGESTION. fire!" — you keep the fire constantly before the child's mind. But say "Come over here to Papa and let us read this story or play this game/' 01 anything to attract the child awa> from the fire without ever mentioning the word "fire." "Don't go in the saloon, John ! don' go in the saloon !" "In the saloon" is the refrain that rings in John's ears and the image that persistently comes up in his mind — the very thing his poor wife wanted him not to think about! What shall she do? Keep John employed or engaged elsewhere ; take him to other places ; have friends take him ; give him a Coffee and Cruller Club as they do in London, or /a tfliree-cent capsicum: soup with a place to drink it in and smoke, as they do in Chicago, and then say, "Go there, John ! go there !" An operator was treating a patient for indigestion and associated insom- nia. The patient went home and gave himself these negative auto-sugges- tions: — "TO not suffer from indiges- tion any more ! I'll not suffer from in- POSITIVE VS. NEGATIVE. 61 digestion! I'll not stay awake at night! I'll not stay awake!" There was no improvement in his case. Finally he learned the truth, and there- after w r ith almost every mouthful he chewed' and every swallow of liquid he drank he said to himself: 'Til digest this food, and it'll make me strong, well and happy. I'll sleep long and sound — long and sound." He kept repeating these happy, hopeful positive thoughts. Improvement set in the very first week after the affirma- tive treatment commenced. Once more, therefore, we insist that negative suggestions are wrong, illog- ical and confusing. You will never give Suggestive Therapeutics a fair test by using them. The fine points of the art must be carefully observed and persistently applied, with patience and confidence. Select the needful thought; cast it into the affirmative form of expression, and then, by itera- tion as well as Indirect Suggestion, plant it in the ego of your subject, whether that subject be child or adult, pupil or patient, saint or sinner. CHAPTER SEVEN. AUXILIARY CONDITIONS. i. On the Part of the Subject. I^XPECTANT attention must be aroused in the mind of the sub- ject, for he may gaze at an object for an indefinite length of time without developing hypnotic effects, unless he is expressly told that such and such results are to ensue. This shows the power of thought over function, of emotion over action, of one's own ideas over oneself, for the suggestions of the hypnotist must pass over and be transformed into auto-suggestions before the effect is forthcoming. Think of a lemon and the saliva will* begin to form, because that is what you expect. Think of a disgusting sight or of food that has once nau- seated you and you will be nauseated again. The writer can never think of 62 AUXILIARY CONDITIONS. 63 jelly cake without some unpleasant and threatening qualms in the epigas- tric region. When a boy he ate too much of this article — once — but once for all ! Think of a situation that has embarrassed you and you will feel the blush again. Similarly, thoughts ot good food will make you hungry, and bright, happy, cheerful, healthy thoughts will affect you correspond- ingly. Experiment. — Hold a watch sus- pended from a chain at arm's length. Hold it still. Then will intently that the watch shall swing slowly in a cer- tain direction. By and by you will see it so swing. The cause of the phe- nomenon is unconscious muscular con- traction along the line of your expec- tation. Expectant attention is the physical cause. James J. Walsh, M. D., adjunct pro- fessor of medicine at the New York Polyclinic School for Graduates in Medicine and professor of Nervous Diseases at Fordham University says: — >"A century ago, when Perkins' Tractors were so popular, it was ex- actly because of the number of the 64 LAW OF SUGGESTION. so-called cures they had effected that their inventor succeeded in making a fortune." One reported cure stimulated others to expect the same thing. "About the same time/' continues Dr. Walsh, "the famous John St. John Long was making a powerful series of cures of chronic rheumatism and pains and aches of many kinds by means of his wonderful liniment. This remedy was thought to be so effica- cious that the British Government finally bought the secret of it from him, paying many thousands of dollars for it, in order that it might be given to the public and enable them to free themselves from most of the chronic ills to which flesh is heir. The mysterious remedy proved to be only a combination of turpentine and white of egg with some other equally fa- miliar substances, and, of course, just as soon as it lost the power that its mystery had commanded for it, it ceased to be effective." That is to say, people ceased to expect of it what they did before ; the auto-suggestion was gone. AUXILIARY CONDITIONS. 65 "As a matter of fact," concludes Dr. Walsh, "most people who suffer from chronic ailments can be cured by al- most any means from which they con- fidently expect relief." This is high endorsement of psychic healing, of the tremendous power and extent of sug- gestive therapeutics. But the doctor is right; for "expectant attention" is but another name for "faith." (See last paragraph of this chapter.) A Danger. — Some people, however, are so anxious for (i) relief, or (2) miracle in their case, that they expect too much, and are self-deceived; they have no abiding reason for the "faith" that is in them. They are very easily influenced. They acquiesce too read- ily. They are psychological hair-trig- gers. We call them "somnambules." Dr. H. A. Parkyn has especially studied somnambules as a class, and I consider him authority on this phase of the question. One of them, he says would declare under treatment in the presence of the students at the clinic that her pain left the instant she sat down in the operating chair and would go away affirming that she was all 66 LAW OF SUGGESTION. right, but would come next day saying that the pain camie back when she reached the street. She had acute ar- ticular rheumatism. The sorrmambule will say that he was asleep and re- members nothing because the operator tells him so, although it is a fact that he really was not asleep and remem- bers all that was done and said. He simply wishes to acquiesce with the operator and please him. "We studied hundreds of these som- nambules," writes Dr. Parkyn, "fol- lowing them into their homes and studying their lives, and we find them to be a distinct and unmistakable type. They are always dependents and sel- dom, if ever, of any executive ability. They make good servants, but never successful masters. A study of this class gives the key to all apparently remarkable and mysterious effects pro- duced in stage hypnotism, as well as to the phenomena witnessed in instan- taneous cures, revival meetings, In- dian war dances, spirit control, etc." 2. On the Part of the Operator. Here I wish to quote from a recent AUXILIARY CONDITIONS. 67 work on "The Psychoneuroses and Their Moral Treatment" by Dr. Du- bois, professor of neurology in the University of Berne, and which was engrossed in the Literary Digest : "This psychotherapeutic treatment requires great intellectual and moral qualities in the physician who would successfully practice it. It will not respond to mediocrity; success de- pends on the worth of the practitioner. He need's the gifts of moral observa- tion and psychological analysis, au- thority to command confidence, per- suasive speech, convincing logic, a sense of fitness, much tact in telling the truth to patients without wound- ing their sensibilities, a calm and firm character, great gentleness, much pa- tience and perseverance, and an ardent faith in the effectiveness of moral treatment ,, Let us reverently place Jesus of Nazareth in the light of the above an- alysis. Hun over the points again with Him in mind; and then, I think when to His intellectual qualities we add His moral beauties, and then to 68 LAW OF SUGGESTION. that psychological sum His remark- able power to inspire great faith on the part of His subjects we will no longer wonder at the title which all creeds are willing to render Him "The Greatest Healer of the World's History." 6 "It is imperative/' writes Dr. Hen- rik G. Petersen of Paris, France, "that the subject's belief be established, and here the physician's own individuality in all its shades, is a factor for or against his success. Moreover it re- quires moral courage and force of character to withstand the temptation of appearing wonderfully apt before the gaze of ignorance and curiosity, and by dutiful patience to renounce rapid successes when they are not only incongruous but really dangerous." "No sign will be given them," ex- claimed Jesus, resisting the popular demand for a show of wonders. Jesus never was a thaumaturgist. But He was a therapist of physical, mental and moral diseases. 3. On the Part of Both Together. Mental healing, suggestive thera- AUXILIARY CONDITIONS. 69 peutics, depends for its success upon harmony or agreement between healer and patient, whoever that patient may be. A platform of mutual confidence and respect must be built before the best results can be obtained. The subject must receive the word which the guide speaks for him. "According to your faith, be it unto you," are the words of the Master Healer. And He ought to know, and knowing, name the real source of the healing force. He was not deceiving, flattering nor trifling but meant ex- actly what He said. (See foot note ) Note — The reader must not infer, from this that the author attributes all the "mir- acles" recorded of Jesus to the force of faith aroused in subjects by the presence of His wonderful personality. There are miracles of His that show another law at work, e.g., controlling winds and waves, walking on water, raising the dead, multi- plying loaves and fishes, withering vegeta- tion, etc. These show the limit of the law of suggestion, and strongly hint at some law of Mind by which it affects mind-less pon- derables, and of which law the writer be- lieves He was a revelation. CHAPTER EIGHT. Its Field. HpHAT the field of Suggestion is as broad as the race may sound start- ling, overdrawn and exaggerated to the layman in this science. Neverthe- less that statement is literally true. It is not tentative, simply because the benefits of suggestive treatment have already been incontestably dem- onstrated in the component realms of the kingdom of man's constitution, namely, the physical, the mental, emo- tional and moral. Its field, therefore, is coextensive with man's personal- ity. First. In the Physical Realm. Let us at once clear this region of all false expectations by frankly ad- mitting what suggestion can not do. It is not a panacea. It cannot as yet 70 ITS FIELD. 71 in its present stage of development, , cure organic lesions nor remove deep- seated hereditary taints. It cannot grow a finger on a crippled hand nor ' replace an arm lost in battle. It is not omnipotent — gross and popular , notions to the contrary notwithstand- ing. It cannot cure pnuemonia, pleu- risy, bronchitis, peritonitis, abcess (cancer!), tumors, small pox, astigma- tism, gravel, coma (epilepsy), and or- ganic diseases. No miraculous cure in such cases need be expected. It is a sin against the patient and against the truth to promise anything of the kind. One thing, however, Suggestion can accomplish even with these and other pathological giants; namely, it can cheer up the heart of the patient and , develop will power and action to re- sist the encroachments of the lesion ; it can control the nervous symptoms, establish the habit of sleep and in- crease the normal power of physical and mental endurance. It can put up a good fight and prolong life. 72 LAW OF SUGGESTION. But, we repeat, it cannot cure the lesion. Let this ever be remembered. What can? These diseases, it seems, must and will run their natural course, until the pathogenetic causes are removed or exhausted. But we all hope that when man discovers the still deeper laws and potencies of mind in its sovereignty over matter even these monsters of terror and torture will be put on the run. Again, in surgery where profound anasthesia is necessary for major op- erations, the main reliance should be placed on the recognized anaesthetics such as somnoform, chloroform, ether, and others on the list. Nevertheless profound hypnosis has frequently been used instead, especially in cases where the administration of ether compound's unfavorably affected the heart-action. It has been successfully used for major operations by the French and German hypnotists, and by Drs. Davis, Bieser, Parkyn and others in America. It has frequently ITS FIELD. 73 been used with most happy results in parturition by Drs. Pitzer, Matthay, Ritter, Paul Joire and many others both in Europe and America. The method for inducing profound or an- aesthetic hypnosis is scarcely needed in a popular treatise, and can be found in the more technical works on the subject. In dentistry and in minor surgical operations of all kinds Suggestion is fine and should be conscientiously studied by all practitioners of the sur- gical and healing art, for any meas- ure that is calculated to relieve the sufferings of mankind, without harm- ful reaction, is entitled to such study and attention as shall bring it within the foremost ranks of the grandest and noblest work in the whole terri- tory of physical therapeutics. When we come to functional dis- turbances as distinguished from or- ganic lesions we enter the field, par excellence, of Suggestive Therapeu- tics. Interferences in the rhythm and normal movement of the vital organs 74 LAW OF SUGGESTION. can all be cured. They are all beau- tifully amenable to Suggestion, their reduction exhibiting all the laws and features stated in previous chapters. Constipation, dysmenorrhea, amenor- rhea, diarrhoea, dyspepsia, incontin- ence of urine (in children), insomnia habit (not insomnia from severe pain or other acute causes), anaemic head- ache, neuralgia headache, congestive headache, exhaustive headache, con- striction of sphincter and St. Vitus' I>ance, and neurasthenia have all sur- rendered to Suggestion unconditional- ly, and while the following are hard to reach and require technical skill, nevertheless by stimulating nutrition and other processes they have been cured by suggestive treatment alone : catarrhal deafness, nasal catarrh, sick headache, rheumatism, locomoter ataxia, asthma (when unaccompanied with complications), and paralysis. For best results each and all re- quire special study and skill on the part of the operator. (See chapter on auxiliary conditions.) Take con- ITS FIELD. 75 stipation as an example of the knowl- edge and skill required for best re- sults. The operator must understand the physiology of defecation, the ef- fect of the various peristaltic stimuli and the etiology of the trouble, and realize that, in addition to hygienic measures, exercise and massage, elec- tricity and even drugs as aids, the essential factor in radical cure consists in re-establishing the disturbed rhyth- mic impulses by arousing the con- scious psychic control of his own functions by the patient himself, which is accomplished by the law of iteration deeply rooting some such thought as this: — "You are going to be entirely relieved of this distressing trouble of constipation. From this time on you will acquire a daily habit of going to stool at a certain time, which you will always faithfully heed. To-morrow morning, just so sure as you have eaten your breakfast, there will come a feeling that your bowels must move. You will never post- pone this call of nature. You will 76 LAW OF SUGGESTION. attend to its demands promptly, glad- ly, faithfully, and your bowels will then certainly move comfortably every morning." Mutatis mutandis this is the treat- ment for all functional irregularities. Of course, always attend to the life- essentials, water, food, air. Functional disturbances of a severe nature and chronic character are fre- quently traceable to nervous shock, severe fright, terror, etc. Many cases are vividly and accurately described by Leander Edmund Whipple in his "Mental Healing," in Dr. Wetter- strand's "Hypnotism," and the general scientific literature on the subject. (See also the author's book, "Twin De- mons," pp. 42-56, for recent cases in point.) Whipple cites a case of a pa- tient of his who came suffering from an aggravated form of chills and fever. Medical treatment had signally failed. (This fact, by the way, is sufficient demonstration that the cause is com- plex-mental, and that the case requires suggestive treatment.) Inquiry ITS FIELD. 77 brought out the interesting fact that, while out sailing, he had been driven by a storm onto a rock and worked for a long time in great fear. A safe landing was finally made. Then it was, i. e., when the danger was past, that the patient had his first chill. Many attacks followed. The condi- tion became chronic. The treatment consisted in erasing from his mind the terror caused by the original mental strain or shock. The memory was not destroyed, but the sting was taken out of it. Swellings are similarly caused, ca- tarrhs, muscular rheumatisms, alco- holism, Bright's Disease, and so forth. The failure of the regular schools of medical treatment in such cases con- stitutes a strong diagnostic in favor of the mental origin and an index to a favorable prognosis by suggestive treatment. This is especially the field for suggestive therapeutics, the arena where it has scored some of its most sensational victories. Dr. Pearsell (Billings, Mont.) and 78 LAW OF SUGGESTION. others have had success in treating Bright's Disease. Paralysis has succumbed to persis- tent treatment. Let me give a strik- ing and beautiful case, that of Dr. Washburne's son at Elkhart, Ind. The father thus describes it: "The little fellow, six years old, fell down stairs and struck the base of his skull. As a result, he became paralyzed on the left side, so that he could walk only a few steps without falling. One eye rolled in under his nose: his tongue and throat became so involved that his speech was almost unintelligible, and he could swallow but little food.. The pneumogastric nerve was evidently pressed upon by- some clot or tumor in the brain, for he coughed terribly, raising large amounts of blood. His sufferings, especially from strangulation, were pitiful to witness. His breathing was so difficult, owing to spasmodic con- tractions of the throat, that it could be heard all over the house. "At this point his mother and I ITS FIELD. 79 called in counsel. We had Billings, Patrick, Lyman, King of Lake Geneva, and other eminent brain and nerve specialists. They confirmed my di- agnosis of a tumor or a clot in the brain, caused by the fall, and press- ing in turn upon more and more im- portant brain centers. No relief was to be expected. An operation in that neighborhood meant almost certain death. We had to look forward to a greater involvement of the brain cen- ters, probably bringing blindness, deafness, dumbness, feeble-minded- ness and death. The one favorable thing was that the child could not, in all of our opinions, last more than a year in his terrible condition. "Then it was that, during my ab- sence from the city, the mother put into operation the treatment which finally resulted fin his complete re- covery." Let us listen to the mother's words as she takes up the story at this point: • "One night, in utter despair, after helping the poor boy to fight for his 80 LAW OF SUGGESTION. breath hour after hour, I just prayed the Lord that John might die; the torture was too terrible. I suppose the dear Lord knew what I meant, that I wanted relief for the child so intensely that I was willing to give him up that he might find rest; and so he answered what I meant instead of what I said. For immediately af- ter praying I fell into a deep sleep — even John must have slept — for I was not roused, and his slightest stir al- ways roused me. And when I awak- ened in the morning the whole plan of treatment was clear as crystal in my mind. The elements of the idea had been there all the time, because I had read with my husband, and had seen him do wonderful things with suggestion. But the notion of apply- ing it to a case of mechanical injury to the brain, like John's, had never oc- curred to either of us. Now, how- ever, T remember an article by Prof. Elmer Gates, who said that under sug- gestion he had known sound brain ITS FIELD. 81 and nerve cells to mlove oven and take the place of injured ones. "I began with John's breathing, be- cause that distressed him the most, and threatened many times a night to end his life by suffocation. So I made him look at a silver dollar, so held that it reflected the light of a candle straight into his eyes. Then I kept repeating: "Now you are go- ing to sleep ; but no matter how sound asleep you are, you will hear mam- ma and do as she tells you." This was when he went to sleep at night. During the day I had explained to him that he had two brains, an up- per and a lower 4 but the lower one was sick, but the upper one was all right, and that I was going to teach the upper one to take care of the lower one while he was asleep just as I took care of him while he slept. He agreed heartily and was eager for the new performance. "Well, he soon went to sleep, of course, and then I put my mouth to his ear and ordered him to breathe 82 LAW OP SUGGESTION. just as I breathed. When he got out of time with me, I roused him by tapping him sharply on the shoulder. " 'You are forgetting/ I said, stern- ly. 'You are to mind Mamma, no matter how sound asleep you are. Breathe now/ "He was not used to sharp speech, and sometimes he would murmur: " f Are you speaking cross to me. Mamma?' " 'No, dear/ I would answer, 'Not to you, just to your brain.' "Sometimes he would slip from my control and I have had to dash water in his face to rouse him, and then use my silver dollar and put him to sleep all over again. It seemed to be just natural sleep, sometimes very pro- found, just sleep, with fixed atten- tion. He was never cataleptic at these times, though once, in the day time, I induced this state. But I did not want it. My idea was to utilize nat- ural sleep, to keep everything as near the normal as possible. "From eight at night till two in the ITS FIELD. 83 morning — at which hour he always grew quieter — I regulated his breath- ing like this, kneeling beside him, my mouth at his ear. I kept this up for two months. At the end of that time he was so far cured as to be perfectly comfortable, though his left side was still weaker than his right, his eyes were a little crossed, and he still had spells of terrible headache, relieved by a nose-bleed. From that on we just built up his general health, with no more special treatments, and our moving here into the country finished up the cure." In reply to a recent letter of inquiry Mrs. Washburne writes me as fol- lows: — "Before treating my son with Suggestion he had been given hydrio- dic acid for many months. We think it may have had a mechanical effect in drying up the clot or whatever that pressed upon his nerve centers. But it was so far from curing him that I was actually praying that he might die. Then the thought of how to treat him came to me. After that he 84 LAW OF SUGGESTION. had no medicine, nothing but Sugges- tion. He is now not only well, but vigorous." Note, she stayed up from eight or nine at night until two in the morn- ing administering suggestive treat- ment ! Is not that giving life to save life ! If other cases were treated so lovingly, patiently and determinedly I wonder what happy results would ap- pear ! This whole matter appeals especial- ly to our physicians. "In short/' says Dubois, "there ought to be more place given in medical studies to psychol- ogy." 'T don't know whether you recognize it or not," said Dr. Sheldon Leavitt to the late President Harper of Chicago University, "but I do know that medicine is dreadfully pessimistic in spirit." "Ah, I do know it," he responded earnestly, "and that spirit has nearly destroyed what faith I have had in medicine." Let me here remark, in answer to this, that there are hopeful signs of an awakening in the medical ranks. ITS MELD. 85 I have a personal list of nearly one hundred practising physicians who employ Suggestion, direct as well as indirect, in their regular daily calls and individual treatment of patients. Progressive physicians simply cannot and dare not ignore it any longer. Concerning the philosophy of it all do not forget that the healing force resides within the patient himself, and all the operator does is to unlock the valves of the vital reservoirs. This healing force is generated by the di- gestion and assimilation of food and by fresh air in the lungs; digestion is assisted or retarded by states of mind ; mind is influenced by Suggestion; therefore, if one would understand this healing force he must have a thor- ough knowledge of the effects of Sug- gestion. Look once more into the deep things of mind and matter. Rev. Dr. S. D. McConnell says in his thought-provok- ing work on "The Evolution of Im- mortality/' "So far as the body is con- cerned, it has been created by God 80 LAW OF SUGGESTION. through the agency of secondary causes well nigh infinite. It is the last term in a course of evolution which reaches backward in time and downward in scale to the lowest cell of primordial life, if not beyond. And the same appears to be true of the mind, which begins to show its pres- ence in creatures far below man. The life of the body and the life of the spirit seem to have made their long journey together. And the relation of spirit and body is therefore so inti- mate that every thought, sensation, emotion, is connected with some spe- cific molecular movement of some por- tion of the cerebral or nervous sub- stance." This radical and profound connec- tion or union between mind and mat- ter is the great and fundamental basis for all mental healing or suggestive therapeutics. Simply put, it is as fol- lows: Suggestion influences Mind; and then Mind influences the Bodily Functions. ITS FIELD. 87 Second. In the Mental and Emotional Realm. Miental abberations, irregularities and abnormalities of greater or less degree are beautifully amenable to suggestive treatment, such as hypo- chondria, melancholia, habits, biting finger nails, winking or blinking of the eyes, scratching the head (as ■<.. habit), drumming with the fingers or swinging the feet, nervousness, irrita- bility, excitability, hysteria, hallucina- tions, morbid fears, manias, various stages and degrees of insanity, stage fright, worry habit, stammering, self- consciousness or bashfulness, domin- ant ideas, erratic or unmanageable children, etc. Besides removing or correcting these mental negatives or undesirable qualities Suggestion has been happily employed to develop the positive or desirable faculties of consciousness. One mental faculty may be so stimu- lated, heightened, flushed, that con- sciousness is drawn or drained away 88 LAW OF SUGGESTION. from other faculties, which are there- by inhibited, cut off, silenced. , Nature herself exhibits for us many cases of exaltation of mental faculty. The college boy in a competitive ex- amination forgets his toothache until the examination is over; the soldier in the thrill of military actfon is uncon- scious of the bullet wound until he faints from, loss of blooid ; geniuses have become so absorbed in creative mental work, writing, painting, sculpturing, composing, making scientific experi- ments, etc., that all sense of time or hunger has been lost. Science watches nature, learns from her, copies her, reproduces her activ- ities. What happens spontaneously can be reproduced experimentally. The stimulation of faculty, the exalta- tion of mind over matter is a demon- strated fact of Suggestion. All along the history of hypnotism, from the early experimentors to the modern practitioners of the art, subjects have been used to exemplify this great pos- sibility. Hyperesthesia of the senses ITS FIELD. 89 is reported by one and all — subjects will hear a whispered word at an al- most incredible distance ; they will find the owner of a glove among sixty other persons by the heightened sense of smell; they detect infinitesimal fla- vors in food, etc. To-day this principle is being ap- plied to and by artists in various lines. Actresses resort to suggestive treat- ment for increments of self-confidence and histrionic inspiration ; preachers employ it to gain freedom of expres- sion in the pulpit, to overcome the dread of Sunday, and acquire abandon- ment to spontaneous spiritual illum- ination; musicians and vocalists are looking into it as a check or cut-off for disturbing emotions and more per- fect monopolization of consciousness by the immediate ideal — all of which has led Dr. Davis to say, "The great motive power that is to-day lifting mankind from the shadows of the past up to the beautiful intellectual heights of the twentieth century, is Sugges- tion. Every beautiful thought, every 9* LAW OF SUGGESTION. flight of poetic fancy, every grand burst of melody, every column, peri- style and spire of architectural splen- dor that reflects the sunlight, all were born through Suggestion." All this is profoundly true if we extend Sug- gestion to embrace not simply the ideas we get from our fellowmen, but also the images, concepts and ideas that stream into consciousness from the manifold forms and forces of Na- ture, one or more of which so fill and flush the correlated mental faculty as to drain , consciousness from other channels, hush them up there in sym- pathetic silence, while the favored fac- ulty is perceiving, like a prophet or seer, new splendors in Nature, Soul or the Over-soul. Dissatisfaction may be transformed into satisfaction, indifference into in- terest and vital enthusiasm, by apply- ing suggestion to oneself. Suppose, for example, you are engaged in a business with which you are not at present wholly in love, and the cir- cumstances of your life absolutely ITS FIELD. 9i veto a change. What then ? Are you to mope, and whine, and pine away? Are you to merely exist in darkness and drudgery instead of living in light and life? Yes, you are, if you are ignorant of the great laws and pos- sibilities of mind with which we are here dealing. But if you know the law of suggestion you can change the whole tenor of your feelings towards your business and prospects. You can suggest yourself into a mental atti- tude of devotion and enthusiasm for your work. You can say to yourself, "This is the very best thing I can do now. The best deserves my best and shall have it. I will enthusiastically study my immediate situation and en- vironment and open up new lines of related interests. There is always something to learn everywhere, and learning is progress, and progress is joy and life. This thing I am in is capable of being made first class, and I am the chap to make it so." Mr. A. F. Sheldon, who has given this particular phase of suggestion 92 LAW OF SUGGESTION. . much study, bears public evidence over his own signature that he has personally known "many salesmen, compelled to change from one line of work to another, who suggested them- selves into a state of love and enthu- siasm for their new field, although they had been affectionately wedded to the old." Suggestion is a safe and' sure anti- toxin to the poison of discouragement and the paralysis of ennui. Do not, from what has been said thus far, leap to the conclusion that Suggestion is omnipotent in the men- tal realm. It is not here as it is not in the physical realm. You cannot put brains into a fool's head by any mere suggestion to "Be wise," "be wise," "be wise," no matter how often reiterated. Many people, I had almost said the public generally, hold surprisingly ex- aggerated notions of the power of hyp- notism, wonderfully, unconsciously exaggerated. Take a case at Harris- burg, Pa. A public lecturer with ITS FIELD. 93 wham I am well acquainted was lec- turing at the Board of Trade building and was exposing to the audience the imposing trick-methods of slate-writ- ing mediums. At the footlights he had requested a young man to thrust a card in between the pages of a book. The young man did not, of course, know which page he had struck, nor did the lecturer, nor did the audience, nor did any living soul on earth. Nevertheless, a sentence or two from this unknown page and the number of the very page were mysteriously writ- ten over a slate which had been washed in the presence of the audience and wrapped in an ordinary newspa- per. This trick the lecturer did not explain. As soon as a committee had read the slate message, a woman in the front of the audience excitedly leaped to her feet and declared to them that it could' all be explained by hypnotism, that the lecturer had hyp- notized the young man from the plat- form and had by silent hynotic sug- gestion guided his hand so that the 94 LAW OF SUGGESTION. card struck the exact page he himself mentally selected! Mirabile dictu ! ' If he had succeeded in an experiment like that, it would have been the hypnotic miracle of the ages and made the shades of the dead from Mesmer to Myers turn green with envy! It was all a trick, pure and simple ; but the woman thought it was an occult wonder! I received an earnest letter from a gentleman who desired me, at a dis- tance of 600 miles, to silently hyp- notize, by some occult power, his two brothers, the judge and the county court and thus compel them to change his father's will more to his liking! He offered me a thousand dollars cash for the job ! It is needless for me to say that such a thing is the wildest stretch of fancy. There are two men in the world, perhaps more, who think that the won- ders recorded in the bible concerning the day of Pentecost can be explained by hypnotism. Poloubet, in his notes on the International S. S. Lessons for ITS FIELD. 95 1901, p. 163, says, 'Trof. Stokes makes use of the scientific fact of hypnotism which shows that it is impossible to assign any limits to the influence of the mind over the body to prove that such an impartat'ion of the gift of speech, as the speaking with tongues by the Apostles, is certainly a fact." This is surely a new explanation for this historic wonder. The writer de- cidedly disagrees, however, and has reasons for believing that quite anoth- er law was at work and that hypno- tism had nothing to do with it. Some use hypnotism to explain the miracle of the breaking of bread ! The five thousand just thought, imag- ined', that Jesus broke it! In other words, that Jesus had hypnotized the entire crowd! Such an idea is simply ridiculous. Auto-suggestion can similarly be carried too far. A woman enthusiast, editor and author, offers the following as a good auto-suggestion for daily practice: — "Be still and know that I am. God and there is none else beside 90 LAW OF SUGGESTION. me. Know that I am you and that */ou are me. Know that body, 'soul' and 'God' are one, and you are that one, that altogether good one." To which Dr. Parkyn facetiously rejoins : "That settled it. We got a mighty move on us, and hastened to get under cover. We wrote her that we felt as- sured that she was, indeed, the whole thing; that she was us and we were she and we were us and us was she and she was IT. We freely acknowl- edged that she was the whole business from cellar to garret." Nay, nay; let us be sane and sound, and not turn a beautiful truth into an idol or fetish. Recognize the impor- tant point that suggestions or auto- suggestions to heighten mental faculty must be as sensible, believable and scientific as suggestions to regulate vital function. Co-operative suggestion is a power- ful mental stimulant of the right kind when applied to noble ends. A large hotel was on fire. The flames were roaring in the building and leaping ITS FIELD. 97 madly from the windows. High up stood a young woman at a window. The rescue ladder reached nearly but not quite to it. A fireman had climbed almost to the limit when the smoke and flames forced him to pause. The crowd, watching breathlessly be- low, recognized the situation and im- mediately sent up a tremendous cheer. It nerved him for the final effort and he succeeded in rescuing a human life. That cheer was a co-operative sug- gestion rousing to the utmost the fac- ulties of courage and determination. The writer is of the humble opinion that children might be transformed or developed into almost anything good, noble, splendid, into a genius if you please, by the co-operative suggestion of their elders, wisely, enthusiastical- ly, persistently applied. The experi- ment is well worth trying. Will any- one join the author in organizing one? From all the foregoing we may fair- ly, honorably and honestly assert that the nineteenth century has brought to light no agent or discovery more po- 98 LAW OF SUGGESTION. tent for usefulness than Suggestion. When we more thoroughly know how to apply this force (directly, indirectly and co-operatively), then will the education — >(e and duco, to "draw out") — of the young take a mighty stride forward and upward, then will man learn that he contains within himself whole continents of mental and emotional vigor waiting to be opened up. Hail the scientific Columbus who shall boldly enter ! Third. In the Moral Realm. In this realm Suggestion is well nigh omnipotent. Its incalculable value will some day be universally and gratefully recognized. Moral obliquities of all kinds and of all degrees have been reduced and cor- rected, permanently and absolutely, by suggestive treatment. Cigarette ad- diction, intemperate smoking and chewing of tobacco, opium eating, co- caine and chloral habits, kleptomania, swearing, gambling, disobedience, wil- fulness, habitual falsehood in children, ITS FIELD. 99 dishonesty, and other ugly negatives have been loosened up and eliminated from the soil of the soul root and branch, whilst the positives (such as the strengthening of the will, the awakening of courage, the develop- ment of self-confidence, the production of cheerfulness, hope and ambition, in short the building up of CHARAC- TER), have all been directly evoluted and established through the law and force of Suggestion. Sexual manias and perversions of otherwise intractable types have suc- cumbed to suggestive treatment. In cases where an appeal to self-respect, to conscience and to love, and where fear of physical or mental ruin proved unable to subdue, suggestive treat- ment was found to be a specific. Take one of many cases. In the Salpetriere, a young woman of a deplorable type was taken in hand bv M. Voisin. She was violent in demeanor and had a lifelong history of impurity and crime. Voisin kept his face close to hers and foHowed her roving eyes wherever tore. 100 LAW OF SUGGESTION. she moved them. In about ten minutes stertorous sleep ensued. The process was repeated many days — (behold the cost of salvation! Great reforms cannot be accomplished in a moment) — and gradually she became sane when under hypnosis, though she still raved when awake. In hypnosis she voluntarily expressed repentance for her past life, making confession of much evil. Gradually, however, she became able to obey in the waking state commands impressed upon her, when in the hypnotic sleep, and final- ly orders involving a marked change in her behavior. In short, she was completely restored, and, for a num- ber of years, has been a nurse in a Paris hospital, with conduct and char- acter irreproachable. If you wish to read of other terrible cases I refer you to the work-, of Kraft-Ebing, Havelock Ellis, Mosso and the schools of suggestion. There is "a way of escape" as the good book says. Let us all be grate- ful for it. ITS FIELD. 101 Dipsomania is reducible by Sugges- tion. Eighty per cent of the cases treated have been successful. The twenty per cent of failures may be ex- plained in various ways, as, for exam- ple, some refused or neglected to con- tinue treatment long enough, or they failed to return after a specified' time, whilst others were left unguarded and unguided by friends during the post-treatment critical period when certain types require the help of friends other than f he hypnotist. About ten years ago I had a pro- found and deplorable case of cocaine habit consigned to my care. The vic- tim was the son of a prominent gen- tleman in Washington, D. C, a gov- ernment official. This unfortunate young man, highly and classically ed- ucated, had sunk from alcoholism to morphine, and then from morphine to cocaine. His father had spent several thousands of dollars in vain efforts co save him. As a last resort Sugges- tion was tried. I was instructed to bring the young man home either 102 LAW OF SUGGESTION. dead or a man. His father was very- earnest in impressing me orally, and by a strong letter that his son's actual death would be really better than the living death in which he seemed inex- tricably caught. In the three weeks that I treated the case, giving myself wholly to it every hour of every day and of every night during that period of time, I sought to reach and shock the center of his consciousness, his real ego, with two stern truths, first, the utter hope- lessness and friendlessness of his pres- ent condition if left to himself or to his boon companions (and here his father's letter containing the stern in- structions to me just rehearsed, came in with telling effect), and secondly, that I was the only real friend he had left and that I possessed the secret of the cure from his terrible vice which I would gladly give him if he should freely and earnestly consent to take it. At first he stormed around, cursed and swore, swore at his father, his family and at me; but under iteration ITS FIELD. 103 of those two ideas and nothing more — reaction soon set in, and then realiza- tion — realization of the awful import of my words reflecting, as they did, the naked horror of his actual situa- tion. After three weeks' treatment he was committed to himself and to his self-made future, and I am' happy in- deed to relate the felicitous denou- ment, which sounds almost like the final chapter of the regulation novel, viz., he married, settled down to the practice of his chosen profession, and to-day is a useful and respected citizen in the home of his choice. The bible speaks of "a. way of es- cape." "Where sin abounds grace doth much more abound." Sugges- tion, being a law of mind not made by man, must be a law of God. As such I personally view it and accept it. In all moral reform suggestively induced the practitioner should ever hold before him what may be called the Law of Attractiveness, i. e., he should make the good attractive and the bad hateful in the mind of his sub- 104 LAW OF SUGGESTION. ject. This is important to remember, and is based on the fundamental prin- ciple that the human will, like all oth- er forces, moves along the line of least resistance. The reason and the feel- ings clear the track of obstacles to the will. Any line which reason says is right and which the feelings confirm as desirable, becomes, ipso facto, the line of least resistance and the will at once sets out and steps out along that very line. Reason and feeling run ahead, prepare the way, and the will comes trudging after. Help each other by this principle. What fullness of joy the cup of life would then con- tain! A little girl had formed the habit of telling lies in order to attract atten- tion. When this fact was learned it was made the key of her recovery. It was lodged in her mind that her lies caused people to avoid her, to dislike her; but that if she were truthful she would make people like her, would make many friends and attract a great deal more attention than in any other ITS FIELD. 105 way. Simple ! but successful. The truth was simply persisted in until it took root, grew and choked out the evil. "Where sin abounds grace doth much m'ore abound." Reformers, preachers, revivalists, evangelists, ethical culturists, and Christian scientists, should earnestly and patiently study Suggestion. It will richly repay them personally in their earnest efforts to improve character and ameliorate the race, and their carefully recorded results would prove valuable, on the other hand, to the cause of science and of Truth. Dr. Pitzer says: — In the treatment of habits, if we desire to speedily cor- rect a bad habit in anyone, we should, after our first statement to him of his actual condition, strenuously avoid all reference to his vices. From first to last we should point out a new and correct life for him to live. We should never berate a patient, nor accuse him of weakness of any kind ; on the con- trary, we should show him' his strong- points and good qualities. We should 106 LAW OF SUGGESTION. assure him that he wants to be good and do well, and that he can do what- ever he desires to do. It is always better to appeal to a patient's pride — to his higher nature — than to scold him and threaten him with some kind of punishment. By suggestion, we cannot cure drunkenness, kleptomania, nor any other moral perversion, upon the hell-fire-and-brimstone principle. We may frighten a thief away from our chicken roost with a shot-gun, but if we do not disable him too much he will steal some other man's chickens before he gets home. I conclude this long chapter with some earnest and ringing words from the writings of Arthur Frederick Shel- don. This particular quotation is taken from his pamphlet on "Sugges- tion in Salesmanship." He says: "I can see nothing in the law of Sugges- tion which is at all in conflict with any of the religions. It is simply one of Nature's laws — one of God's laws, if you please. It is simply a part of truth, and all truth is a part of the ITS FIELD. 107 eternal intelligence. It seems to me that it is just as much a scientific fact as is the law of gravitation. The Sci- entist and the Christian alike, whether the Scientist is a believer in religion or not, can accept the existence of the law of gravitation as one of Nature's laws. Why not so accept the law of Suggestion ? "1 am well aware of the fact that there are many who would like to sur- round this great scientific fact with a lot of so-called mystery — who would attribute to it mysterious powers and forces, and who seek to build upon it a superstructure of charlatanism. Such attempts are the result of either ignorance or superstition, or dishon- esty — but the trouble is not with the law. It is with those who seek to pervert it, or abuse it. There is noth- ing mysterious about it. For my own part, believing as I do, in the existence of an omnipotent, omniscient and an omnipresent Intelligence that doeth all things well, I can accept the law of Suggestion as one of God's laws, give 108 LAW OF SUGGESTION. Him the credit for its existence, and thank Him for His great gift in giving it to man. If there is any law, or truth which makes it possible for man to so build himself that he may ap- proach the image and likeness of his Creator, it is this very law of Sugges- tion. "I firmly believe, that, in the not far distant future, its general under- standing is to effect a universal awak- ening on the part of the long-time- slumbering human race, which will compel progress by leaps and bounds. It is making men and women realize the fact that they are bundles of won- derful possibilities, and it is giving them the implement with which to at- tain true and rapid self-development." CHAPTER NINE. OBJECTIONS. r PH ! REEl objections have been urged against the practice of hypnotism. i. That it facilitates crime. 2. That it controls people against their will. 3. That it slowly weakens the will of subjects. The Medico-Legal Society of New York has looked into nearly all the matter, cases, reports and judicial de- cisions, bearing on the first objection, and the conclusion reached is stated as follows by Roger Sherman, Esq. : — The hypnotized subject will never commit a crime in that state that he would not commit in his normal con- dition. (See foot-note.) Note — In case any reader wishes to look this point up more in detail, the following references are given: (1) The Prohibition of Hypnotic Exhibitions. By Prof. T. B. Mierzejewski 9, Medico-Legal Journal, 265. 109 110 LAW OF SUGGESTION. J. Milne Br^wnwell, speaking with the authority coming from his enor- mous experience, tells us that improp- er suggestions are invariably rejected, so far as he has seen, and calls atten- tion to the even stronger fact that, after all the years in which hypno- tism has been a matter of public mar- (2) Note in 11, Medico-Legal Journal, 227. (3) Hypnotism in Medico-Legal Jurispru- dence. By Judge Abram H. Dailey. 11, Med- ico-Legal Journal, 261. (4) Hypnotic Influ- ence in Criminal Cases. By H. M. Bannis- ter. 51, Albany Law Journal, 87. (5) Edit- orial in 51, Albany Law Journal, 241. (6) Hypnotism and the Law. By Clark Bell. 13, Medico-Legal -Journal, 47. (7) Editorial in 50, Albany Law Journal, 377. (8) Hyp- notism and Crime. By Xavier Sudduth. 13, Medico-Legal Journal, 239. (9) The Case of Czynski, By Moritz Ellinger, Esq. 14, Medico-Legal Journal, 150. (10) Editorial in 3, American Lawyer, 45. (11) Hypnotism and the Law 95, Law Times, 500. (12) Hypnotism and the Law. 6, Green Bag, 143. (13) The Case of Spurgeon Young, By Clark Bell. 14, Medico-Legal Journal 529. (14). The Forensic in Law, By Prof. John Reese. 9, Medico- Legal Journal,147.(16) The Hypnotic Power- What is it? By Abram H. Dailey. 13, Med- ico-Legal Journal, 274. (17) Hypnotism, in the Criminal Courts, By Clark Bell. 13, Med- ico-Legal Journal, 351. (18) Editorial, 52, Albany Law Journal, 227, (19) Hypnotism in the Criminal Courts, By Clark Bell, 18, Criminal Law Magazine, 1. (20) Article. 3, American Lawyer, 5. (21) Report on Hyp- OBJECTIONIS. Ill vel, there has not been found a single proved case of crime effected by means of it. "This conclusion," Dr. Walter Leaf is right in remarking, "is one of the most solid results of his book." Contrary to the current ideas on the subject, therefore, we must insist that the hypnotized subject is always re- sponsible for his actions simply be- cause his moral nature is not changed by the fact that he is in the sugges- notism, 11, Medico-Legal Journal, 73. (22) Hypnotism and Crime Note. 18, Criminal Law Magazine, 100. (23) Legal Aspects of Hypnotism, By J. W. Brodie-Innes. 8, Judri- dical Review, 51. (24) Hypnotism and Crime. 27, Chicago Legal News, 65. (25) Editorial in 50, Albany Law Journal, 217. (26) Hypnosis, By Henry Drayton. 12, Med- ico-Legal Journal, 70. (27) Hypnotism, By T. D. Crothers. 12, Medico-Legal Journal, 462, (28) Different Forms of Hypnotism. By Carl Sextus 15, Medico-Legal Journal, 250. (2D) Hysteric Accusations and Hypnotism. 15, Medico-Legal Journal, 266. (30) Hypno- tism, By Clark Bell. 7, Medico-Legal Jour- nal, 363, (31) Hypnotism, By Wm. H. Pal- mer, 7, Medico-Legal Journal. 233. (32) Hyp- notism and the Law, By Clark Bell. 8, Mea- ico-Legal, 331. (33) Extended Note 40, Lawyer's Reports Annotated, 269. (34) Kan- sas City Bar Monthly, 20, (35) Hamilton- Leg-Med., 23, 212, 541. (36) Cleringer Med. Juris, of Insane, 107. (37) 18, Criminal Law Magazine, 100. (38) 18, Arena, 548. 112 LAW OF SUGGESTION. tible state. He will not accept a sug- gestion under hypnosis which is in conflict with his moral convictions or settled principles. A subject of good moral character cannot be magically or immediately influenced by Sugges- tion to perform an act which, in his normal waking state, he would con- sider immoral or even undignified, whilst a subject of loose habits will readily exhibit the same characteris- tics in the hypnotic state. Remember that the assent of the subject is necessary to the carrying out of every Suggestion. If, there- fore (in answer to a question that is often asked), a pure minded woman should fall into the hands of an un- scrupulous operator and he should at- tempt to take advantage of her sup- posedly helpless condition, one of two things would instantly happen, either she would waken up immediately or else she would become ungovernably hysterical until the danger had passed. Dr. Halphide wisely remarks that it is very difficult to make satisfactory OBJECTIONS. 113 experiments in criminal suggestions simply because any real experiments would be crimes and then, too, for this very reason they would not be reported if successfully made. Of course by oft repeated and con- tinued suggestions of evil the good may be seduced. That's the way all "sin" grows. It is conceived in thought, gestated in heart, and then born in act. We call these "insinua- tions" and "gradual approaches." But this process requires time, whether in the waking or hypnotic condition. It can not be accomplished in one experi- ment or trial. (See p. 20.) The conclusion is that Suggestion in no way facilitates crime or makes "sin" easier or furnishes the unscrupu- lous with a royal road to the accom- plishment of base purposes. The idea that hypnotism facilitates crime rests, it seems to me, on the quite current idea that it is easier to do evil than to do good, easier to pros- titute goodness into badness than to elevate badness into goodness. Yet 114 LAW OF SUGGESTION. I submit that it is easier to make a thief into an honest man than to make an honest man into a thief. The cen- tury long history of religious "con- version" proves our contention, as well as the physical, mental and moral triumphs of Suggestion. This is a word of hope. "Where sin abounds grace doth much more abound." The tendency of the soul, of the subliminal consciousness, is to the good — to be- lieve and to love. Hence it is easier to make a good man out of a bad one than to make a bad man out of a good one. Suggestion corrects crime, re- bukes it, affords character "a way of escape," and so facilitates the estab- lishment of the good, beautiful, and true. The second objection to hypnotism is partly correct and partly incorrect, for in reply to the question, "Can one be hypnotized against his will," I must answer "yes" and "no"— "Yes," by force methods; "No," by gentle meth- ods, for all gentle methods require acquiescence, agreement, consent, de- OBJECTIONS. 115 sire and will. Can one have a boil lanced against his will?" Yes, by force methods, if he is held down while the surgeon applies the knife; no, by gentle methods, because they require his full and free assent. This illustration clearly and completely an- swers the second objection to the prac- tice of hypnotism. The belief and fear which some peo- ple entertain that salesmen and agents can be so deftly qualified in the so- called "subtle art" that they can hyp- notize the presidents of firms and oth- er business men whom they interview to the point of giving orders for goods or signing contracts against their will or in violation of better judgment, is simply ridiculous. Remember the rule, which is that no one can be hypno- tized without his own consent and desire, and does any reader for one moment suppose that business men would allow any salesman to apply the Braid method, or the Parkyn method, or any of the methods described? Would they sit still and be hypnotized 116 LAW OF SUGGGESTION. before entering into a business inter- view? The question itself involves its own quite clear and sufficient answer. No business college or commercial col- lege pretends even to fit its students to do such an absurd and impossible thing. Hypnotism is employed for quite other purposes. No salesman is trained nor can be trained to paralize the will, judgment and good sense of his cus- tomer; on the contrary he is instruct- ed to make his appeal to these very faculties so that the customer will be led to apprehend and fully realize the value of the goods which the salts- man is exploiting. Moreover, Suggestion or auto-sug- gestion is applied by the scientific talesman to himself (not to the custo- mer) in order to develop courage, loy- alty, earnestness, faith, and the posi- tive qualities generally. The third objection is well taken when the subject is used for mere ex- hibition purposes, on the public stage. I think it is the degradation and p r os- OBJECTIONIS. 117 titution of a sacred thing, or a divine blessing, to trot out suggestion as a mere show, a circus, a clown perform- ance for the entertainment of a won- der-swallowing public. Did you ever hear of these public "hypnotists" them- selves submitting to hypnotization thinking that by being frequently hyp- notized and exhibited they would grow strong and positive, wise, balanced, and better? You never heard of such a thing. Enough said. Again. The will of the subject may be weakened if sugestions to that ef- fect are given. But what devil incar- nate would think of treating a subject that way? Among the schools and reputable mental therapists the will of the sub- ject is always strengthened. Sugges- tions to that specific end are always given. Suggestion thus becomes a great aid, "A way of escape" for the weak, the suffering, the feeble-minded and feeble-moraled — a great, good, divine power — and should so be used, never for show but always for salva- 118 LAW OF SUGGESTION. tion. The subject becomes conscious of an uplift, of a new control of him- self, by himself and for himself. This is the truly blessed effect of sugges- tion rightly administered. It opens up a line of least resistance from a bad habit of body, mind, or morals, to a good habit. This new channel, by iteration, is dug deeper and deeper, until finally the new habit is not only fashioned but formed and fixed— con- sciousness, taste, reason and desire run along in it, and the man, thus re- constructed, can be safely left to him- self, for he will now react properly, wisely, and well. Consequently all objections fade away, and suggestion has a clear track to popular favor, scientific perfection, and universal usefulness. CHAPTER TEN. DANGERS. i st. Imaginary Dangers. r PHE popular fear that a subject when sunk in deep hypnotic sleep may sleep on and on and on without waking is utterly groundless. One of my subjects slept for eighteen hours, ten hours longer than I wished or ex- pected. Some of the attendants be- came alarmed. I simply closed the room and allowed him .to sleep until he wakened up spontaneously. He. doubtless really needed the sleep. He felt better afterwards. If, therefore, a subject does not waken when the op- erator expects him to x do not get ex- cited, simply close the room, keep all excitable people out, and allow the slumber to run its course. The sensational advertisements 119 120 LAW OF SUGGESTION. about the dangers of hypnotism must be classified here. For example, a sen- sational circular I hold in my hand is full of warnings to prospective stu- dents, that they must promise not to make people sign wills or give money or fall in love with them, etc., before the course will be sent. All of this nonsense is intended simply to inflame the minds and desires of the would- be hypnotist and stimulate him to part with his money in order to be- come initiated into these great mas- teries ! T recently saw the following adver- tisement, ''The most terrible dangers attend the use of this mysterious power. Have nothing to do with it, until you have read our warning. Sent postpaid on receipt of five cents." Others promise you startling methods for instantaneously hypnotizing every- body in sight and out of sight, with psychic means for leaving your body and traveling all over the globe with your soul without paying any fare, etc., etc., accompanied with warn- DANGERS. 121 ings, however, that you must promise to "be good" before this wonderful power is placed in your hands ! We will dismiss all such matter with but a word, viz; it is all arrant nonsense. Second. Real Dangers. ist. There is the real danger in- volved, when a medical layman, un- trained in diagnosis, attempts to prac- tice suggestive therapeutics in func- tional or organic diseases of a more or less serious degree. D|r. Albert H. Burr very truly says, "Deaths from appendicitis, diptheria, and typhoid fever, are in evidence frequently under Christian Science suggestion, where medical assistance was ignored. Under the practice of suggestive therapeu- tics, the same sort of catastrophe is possible. The onset of many danger- ous diseases is gradual ; it is here that the tinkering with symptoms by the laity is so perilous to the patient, in the loss of valuable time, or in masking of signs which should first be inter- preted by a competent physian." 122 LAW OF SUGGESTION. With these sentiments Drs. Halpide, Parkyn, Pitzer and the medical profes- sion generally all agree. Certainly, persons utterly incapable to diagnose diseases should not be permitted to treat them. This it seems to me is self evident. 2nd. We must here remark the danger of misleading and deceiving the public by the tricks of stage ex- hibitions. These shows awaken either false alarm or false hopes on the part of the public. Much of it is absolutely misleading. These public hypnotists as a rule, carry their own "horses" with them, which is a technical term for "subs" trained to do certain stunts. In ad- dition to this they always pay local boys and young men who for this reason, as well as the prominence it gives them, seek to please the hypno- tist, and do any fool thing he com- mands them. I have interviewed a number of these so-called subjects, and they invariably tell the same tale. "Never hypnotized a bit, knew what DANGERS. 123 we were doing all the time, did it to please the man, and get our pay, or a free ticket to the show, and we laughed in our sleeves at the wonder- ment of the audience." D?r. H. A. Parkyn, in his excellent ''Mail Course on Hypnotism," turns the light on many of these seeming wonders. For example the "two days sleep." This always proves a great advertising scheme. People by the hundreds will see the subject sleep- ing in a store window and will be filled with wonderment and awe; but the trick is not so wonderful after all. The subject is first treated to a dose of caster oil or rhubarb! The purpose of this is apparent! Some operators then give their subjects large doses of chloral just before "hyp- notising" them. Under this treatment much of the time will be sleep induced by exhaustion consequent upon the purgative and fortified by 'the nar- cotic. 3rd. The greatest danger of all is neither of the two just mentioned, but 124 LAW OF SUGGESTION. consists in ignorance of the law and force of Suggestion on the part of people generally, who influence each other unfavorably and unintentionally. In the preceding chapters, I have giv- en a number of instances where par- ents actually made criminals of their children or otherwise weakened them. I introduce one or two instances here. Dr. Halphide, records the follow- ing: "A few weeks ago a lady called upon me with gleaming eyes, and ex- cited manner asked, 'Am I insane ?' As quietly as possible, I replied, 'No, I don't think so, Why?' 'Oh !' she said, 'I have been seeing and doing strange things lately/ Then she explained that her husband had been telling her for months, morning, noon, and night, repeatedly, that she was crazy. And his diabolical plan came near succeeding in making her so." She has been saved, but others have been lost. Serious results come from improper suggestions. The fol- lowing case I give in full because of its educational value, to both phy- sicians and the laity. DANGERS. 125 A highly sensational report was pub- lished a few years ago in newspapers, In big headlines the announcement was made, that George Ziegler was under the mysterious spell of a hypno- tist, subject to terrible spasms, which 'the hypnotist had caused, but was powerless to check, and that a dozen doctors had failed to help him. These mysterious attacks occurred at exact* ly the same time every day. Such, in brief, was the newspaper account. Since the supposed subject of this dreadful ( !) psychological calamity was a fellow citizen of mine, in the city of Reading, Pa., where I then re- sided, I decided to look the matter up. I called on Mr. Ziegler's mother and gleaned the following narrative from her, all of which was subsequently con* firmed by the young man himself. He had enlisted in the volunteer troops during the Cuban war, and had con- tracted typhoid at camp. He was sent home not completely cured, and this, they think, was the start of the trouble 126 LAW OF SUGGESTION. which manifested itself a few weeks after his return. It consisted of severe cramps in the colon or bowels, that came on regularly after supper, and were very severe. Three physicians were called in successively to treat the case, but could do nothing with it, except to make it worse. They told him that if his bowels would knot during these attacks, it would kill him, and that he always should have good strong aid at hand to hold him when the attack came on. This be- came a terrible nightmare, fear and dread to him. So he always hurried away from the house after supper and hastened to a cigar store a square or two away, where the spasms came on, and where the men loafing there held and assisted him as he requested. His mother admitted, when I asked her, that she thought his fear of the thing was greater than the trouble itself. The doctors failing, he had resorted to a Mexican woman in town, of whom he accidently heard. He im- mediately began to mend after con- DANGERS. 127 suiting her, and in short, was com- pletely cured of his mysterious symp- toms. "He only had two attacks after he took her medicine, and those were light ones. Just exactly as the Mexi- can woman said would happen," said his mother to me, evidently with mys- tic faith in the occult powers of this Mexican woman. After examining the five kinds of medicine she had given him, I at once hunted up this aforesaid wonderful Mexican woman. Her name is Mrs. M. A. Snyder. She is a tall, healthy looking, florid cheeked, ignorant, but bright and energetic woman of Span- ish blood, and Mexican birth, who had married a man from Virginia and after his death settled here. She remem- bered the young man. Said his case was a simple one. That his nerves were "swollen and tight," and that she had given him medicine to "loosen them up!" That was all. Simple, wasn't it! But on further probing, I found that she had told him in positive and 128 LAW OF SUGGESTION. strong terms that he would have only two more attacks of his cramps — and these light ones, and after that he would have none. These are the facts. It is not diffi- cult for one familiar with the power and operation of ""suggestion" and "expectant attention" to see light in it all. So that whilst it is not a case of hypnotic influence, such as the papers reported it to be^ nevertheless, we see the power of suggestion coming in, in a marked manner, when the physi- cian gave him the idea he would die if his bowels would knot, and that they might knot if he did not have some one to hold him at the moment of spasm ! (How careful physicians should be regarding the suggestions they give to a weakened person. There is no question that a careful study of suggestion would be a marvelous aid to a practical doctor.) When he went to the Mexican, he went under the spell of "expectant attention," roused by thej remarkable stories of her powers received from neighbors and gossips. DANGERS. 129 She deepened this influence by claim- ing to see through and through his case, and then prescribing five differ- ent kinds of medicine ! One to rub on the head, one on the arms, one on the abdomen, and two 1 to take internally at stated intervals ! What an impres- sion that would make ! He would feel that something was being done for him, and feel it with a vengeance ! Then came that final suggestion — mys- terious to him in its prophetic char- acter—that he would have only two, just two and no more, no less, attacks after leaving her house. And lo! it came to pass even as the oracle had said! Such are the facts in the case. I might say that the Ziegler family is an ordinary workingman's family, ap- parently honest, and with the average intelligence usually belonging to that class. I append Dt. Parkyn's comment: — "This case is one of suggestion ver- sus suggestion. The suggestion given by the physician to the patient that his 130 L*AW OF SUGGESTION. boweis might knot and subsequently kill him, no doubt increased the trou- ble through the influence of fear. It is a very mistaken idea to give such suggestions under an3^ circumstances, for they only do harm as fear thoughts manifest themselves in physical de- rangements. "The five kinds of medicine ! given by Mrs. Snyder were five suggestions of a different type, and they, with the positive verbal suggestions did the work that the physicians might have done had they recognized the sugges- tibility of the patient. "This is remarkable, but not an un- usual case of the power of suggestion, and it furnishes an object lesson to physicians who do not use that won- derful agent in their practice. It is easy to cry 'charlatanism,' but the fact that even charlatans can use this power with good results, albeit they use it ignorantly and unconsciously, should be enough to induce the edu- cated physician to test it intelligently. Fuse it with the knowledge already DANGERS. 131 obtained from the superior education and broader culture of the true phy- sician, and use it as an added weapon to combat disease. CHAPTER ELEVEN. EXPLAINS MANY POPULAR MY- STERIES. Pow-wowing is still extant in many- sections of our country, and is free- ly practiced especially in eastern Pennsylvania where I have studied it attentively. Take an instance. Some children stop growing, for several months or more, at about ten or twelve years of age. This stand-still frightens some superstitious parents, and they fly to a pow-wow for relief. The child is taken to the woods and backed up against a sappling, a mark is made on it even with his stature, and the im- pression left upon his plastic and won- dering mind that as the sapling grows so will he. This whole ceremonious proceeding is not an idle or an empty form. It 132 EXPLAINS MYSTERIES, 133 contains for the child an impressive object-suggestion, iterated as often as the child thinks of the mysterious and silent walk to the woods, or goes there and looks at the growing sapling. Moreover the fact that his papa or mamma believed in it to such an ex- tent as to pay or offer gifts for hav- ing it done, directly reaches the child's faith-center, the hope-center, the in- terior dynamo of personality and power. I have letters from the most earnest, responsible and best of Christian peo- ple, honestly and unequivocably ad- mitting the help they or their children had received, from the mysterious practices of the paw-wow woman. I do not doubt the veracity of the nar- rators in the least. The secret of it all is simply, that a healing sugges- tion was given, in a striking, pictur- esque, and impressive manner, the pow-wower being entirely ignorant of the real law she was using, and ascrib- ing the favorable effects either to her mysterious mummery, or to "God," or 134 LAW OF SUGGESTION. the "Bible." It was not the measuring or rubbing or breathing (Insuflation) that cured the sick, but the suggestion thus administered to them. The heal- ing power that was set in motion re- sided, as it always does, in the sub- jects themselves; hope was revived, expectancy quickened, nerve centers stimulated, dormant reflexes re-estab- lished, and the cure accomplished. Natural healers so-called, such as the notorious Schlatter, Newell the Ver- mont "healer," and others of their type, springing up sporadically from time to time, unconciously employ the Law of Suggestion. They instinctive- ly succeed in arousing great expect- ancy and awed hope (Faith) on the part of their followers (Subjects). The more striking their personal appear- ance with their long hair and pecul- iar dress, the more mysterious their measures and methods, the more deeply the masses are impressed, moved and moulded by their own feel- ings thus aroused, and with their own superstitious faith and the intensity of EXPLAINS MYSTERIES. 135 this faith are the results commensur- ate. Anything, no matter how apparently foolish it may seem to an intelligent person, which reaches and rouses the faith or expectjant attention of the subject, is the real therapeutic stimu- lant for that subject. This explains the effect of Charms, Talismans, etc. I i It clears up the mystery, also, which the early experimenters unquestion- ably had with what they called "mag- 'natized water/" It was their practice to hold their hands near a glass of water, with fingers pointing towards lb. They believed the water thus be- came charged with their own agasa or "life fluid" which was able to heal the sick or put a subject to sleep. Berze- lius, the Great Stockholm chemist, be- lieved in all this, as did Dr. Gregory of Edinburgh University, Dr. Elliotson of London, Dlr. Lutze of Germany, Deleuze, Esd'aile, Chandos Leigh Hunt, Dr. Babbitt of San Jose, Dr. Buchanan, and many others. Dieleuze says, "The water is to be 136 LAW OF SUGGESTION. poured over the tips of the fingers, and the glass is then to be mesmer- ized by passing the hands down along its sides, and the water may also be breathed upon." We can see at a glance that a highly suggestible subject ob- serving all this preparation would have abounding faith in this myster- ious water, and thus again the Law of Suggestion is observed as the ac- tive principle producing the desired effect. Have you ever seen four people, all breathing rhythmically and synchron- ously, lift a fifth person by their mere finger tips? Many people think this a wonder- ful performance and they have a feel- ing that it reveals some occult power of nature, the reverse of gravitation. Townshend held, in explanation of it, that "Human bodies grow lighter if full of mesmerism. " B'ut what is the secret and rationale of it all? Every member of the lift- ing quartet expects the subject to feel light, and all of them, overlooking the EXPLAINS MYSTERIES. 137 fact for the moment that each is lift- ing only one-fourth of the weight and focusing attention upon the entire weight, are suprised when, moving simultaneously, the human body feels almost as light as air. Every time I have participated in this experiment, I have always been clearly concious of the fact that I was lifting one- fourth of the weight of the person, i. e. twenty-five to forty pounds. It is simply the auto-suggestion of light- ness and the fact that each lifts only one-fourth instead of the entire weight, that explains the phenomenon and solves the mystic puzzle. The experiment affords a "fair to good" illustration of the power of psy- chological co-operation plus physical co-operation, the psychological consist- ing in the cooperative suggestion of the four elevators and the physical in the exact simultaneity of the conjoint lift. So that there is not a scintilla of occultism, of the inexplicable, or of "levitation" in the whole performance, or in any part of it. CHAPTER TWELVE. SIMPLE RULES FOR SELF HELP. J President Webster Edgarly says, "Ninety-three to ninety-seven per cent of all people possess more or less of that hypnotizing power which while it rarely ever steals our faculties, never- theless deadens our full powers of self 1 assertion when in their presence !" I presume all have had the experi- ence of thinking of better things to say after an interview or an occasion has passed than what they did say at the time, and then bewailing their dullness and condemning their own short-sightedness and lack of tact. It is certainly true that the ability to defend one's self at will against the influences of others, personal or argu- mentative, and to exercise a helpful and inspiring control over others for 138 RULES FOR SELF HELP 139 mutual benefit and joy, is one of the most important, if not the most im- portant accomplishment of life. Ulyses said, "I am a part of all I ever met." "No man liveth unto him- self." We are constantly receiving suggestions from others, by which we are influenced to some extent and in some way, whether for good or bad depending upon our knowledge of the Law of Suggestion and our free choice in each case as it meets uis. A knowledge of the Law of Sug- gestion enables one to guard himself against any undue influence. The secret is simply this : As long as you are conscious of watching results, of^ perceiving the art, tact, or diplomacy of your associate or interviewer, you can never be taken unawares, for you never yield without willing to. The idea that you can yield unconciously or without a distinct act of your own will, is an utter fallacy and an unmiti- gated sophistry. The best help is self help, you can- not help others unless you first know 140 LAW OF SUGGESTION. how to help yourself. You cannot control others until you learn to con- trol yourself. Learn to help your- self, in order to be the best help to your needy brother. For example : the scholar who studies truth for truth's sake not only improves himself, but is the best one to teach truth to another; but without first helping and satisfy- ing himself, he could not help or sat- isfy another. This rule holds univers- ally. Practice in Self Control. In this hustling, galvanic age, the universal personal requisite is intelli- gent, voluntary placidity. Rules. SIT STILL TWO MINUTES No twisting of moustache; No nervous working of fan ; No swinging of feet; No drumming with fingers, etc. STAND: STILL. . ..TWO MINUTES No shuffling from one foot to an- other; No picking of clothes with fingers. LOOK STILL TWO MINUTES RULES FOR ELF HELP. 141 No roving of eyes ; No blinking of eyelids; No staring; Be at ease. BE STILL. . . TWO MINUTES. No talking, not even moving of the thousand-jointed tongue in the mouth ; give it a much needed rest. Follow the advice of Dr. Quiet, and you will seldom need to consult Dr. Diet. "In quietness and confidence, shall be thy strength." CHAPTER THIRTEEN. SOME EXTRAORDINARY PHE- NOMENA. i. Telepathy. Frank Podmore, in his book on "Ap- paritions and Thought-Transference/' calls attention to the rather curious fact that, "The personal influence of the operator in hypnotism may per- haps be regarded as a proof presump- tive of telepathy. When all the phe- nomena of mesmerism were attributed by the few who believed in them to the passage of a fluid from the mes- merist to his patient, it was easy to credit the successful operator with as large an endowment of available fluid as the facts might seem to require ; but from those who assert, that the results are not merely explicable, but are in practice to be explained, as due to 142 EXTRAORDINARY PHENOMENA. 143 suggestion alone, no entirely satisfac- tory explanation has ever been forth- coming, of the observed differences be- tween one operator and another. It is difficult to believe that Liebault, Bernheim, Schrenck-Notzing, Van Eeden, Lloyd Tuckey, Bramwell, etc., have succeeded, where so many others have failed, merely through the exer- cise of greater patience or the posses- sion of an established reputation, which after all is based on the suc- cesses which it is now invoked to ex- plain." The only explanation is, as Mr. Pod- more suggests, that the subject sensed, caught or absorbed something, (hope, confidence, determination) telepathically from similar vitalizers in the soul of the operator. They were en rapport — in psychic aimnity. Dr. Azam made experiments with his subjects in which the transference of tastes was made telepathically from his mouth to theirs; Edmond Gurney and Frank Podmore similarly made transference of pain by pinching dif- 144 LAW OF SUGGESTION. ferent parts of their own bodies, which were actually reflected in the corres- ponding parts of the bodies of sub- jects; Liebault, Sidgwick, Dr. Gibot- teau, transferred visual images; the Sidgwicks telepathically sent mental pictures; Gibert, Janet, DuFay, Heri- court, Dusart, and others, induced sleep in subjects at a distance by sil- ent willing or telepathy; Dr. Thaw similarly originated actions in hyp- notic subjects, etc. Nearly all of these experiments the author has success- fully repeated. Dr. Parkyn says, "An interesting experiment may be made by hypnotiz- ing a subject and telling him that he is gifted with second sight ; that it is possible for his mind to travel all over the country while he is hypnotized, and to bring bacft accurate informa- tion of incidents occurring in any part of the country, to which it may be directed. Some subjects perform this test better than others, and frequently + he information which they appear to secure is so nearly accurate that it EXTRAORDINARY PHENOMENA. 145 should make one hesitate to deny the existence of telepathy." I think that the phrases which he uses, "All over the country" and "Any part of the country" are too sweeping. At least I have not found this facility in sensitives with whom I have experimented. I have had some remarkable experiments, how- ever, in this line, which will be fully described in the book on "Telepathy." (See foot note.) 2. The Subliminal Mind. In addition to the immense amount of matter compiled by Mr. F. W. H. Note — Dr. Krebs is writing a series of works on important and practical psycho- logical subjects, as follows: (1) "Twin De- mons," or the practical psychology of fear and worry. This has been published and can be had of the Science Press. (2) "The Law of Suggestion," the present volume. (3) "Sleep— What It Is, How to Get It and How to Use It." (4) "Telepathy" — its facts and underlying laws. A complete mono- graph on the subject. (5) "Mind and Soul" — their difference, relation and destiny. (6) "Emotive Research," a searching in- quiry into the origin, relation and trans- formability of human emotions. (7) "The Psychology of Faith" — the final work, in which the foregoing culminate. 146 LAW OF SUGGESTION. Myers on this absorbing subject, pare of which can be found in his classical work, "Human Personality," I wish at this point to recall a sarriple exam- ple of Bramwell's remarkable experi* ments with subjects wherein orders were carried out by these subjects at the expiration of such periods as 20,- 290 minutes from the giving of the order. Think of that! Is the ordin- ary waking mind capable of such accu- racy? Here is either an extension of nor- mal faculty or else the revelation of a conscious sub-stratum, or subliminal consciousness, more capable than the outer or supraliminal. Such experiments as these confirm Mr. Myer's famous theory of dual con- sciousness. Bramwell admits the existence of this subliminal with caution. But he admits it — is almost forced to admit it, and this on the part of such a painstaking, thorough and careful in- vestigator carries great weight with scientific men. EXTRAORDINARY PHENOMENA. 147 3. Birth or Heredity. This sub-consciousness or sublim- inal mind exists, as the term itself sug- gests, below and perhaps far below ordinary consciousness. Prof. Shaler of Harvard, and others, think it exists in cell life down in the vegetable world. Then why not in foetal life? That sex can be determined by men- tal states and therefore by suggestion at the right moment if two agree, is the latest theory. It is boldly claimed by more than one scientist that in- clinations of unborn babes, propensi- ties, and genius itself, may be affect- ed by prenatal suggestion. The possibilities of physically, ra- tionally, and emotionally elevating the human race through this agency open up to an almost infinite degree. 4. Dleath Controlled. If applied to the birth-end of life, why may not Suggestion be applied to the other end, the death-end? Why may not death be defeated — at least for a time? It is a startling and ex- traordinary proposition. 148 LAW OF SUGGESTION. It is not all fancy, however. There are reasons for making it. Let me re- hearse here the interesting narrative given me orally and' afterwards sub- mitted in writing by a gentleman in the business world whose nam'e is known from one end of the country to the other. His father was dying of apoplexy. The attendant and consult- ing physicians had both declared that the end could no longer be averted. They solemnly asserted there was no hope. The busy son was telegraphed for. When he entered the room he gave a swift glance at his father, and then quietly, without disputing, ig- nored the killing psychic atmosphere of hopelessness in the room, and pro- ceeded as if driven by an instinctive though intelligent impulse, to intro- duce a life-giving atmosphere. Step- ping to the bedside, and placing his mouth to the ear of his parent, he cried with confidence, command and earn- estness, "Father ! father ! this is Fred ! Fred is here! We are all here. Come back to us — come back to us." There EXTRAORDINARY PHENOMENA. 149 was, a slight moving of the eye lids, whereupon the son reassured him again in almost the same language. The father rallied his forces, and is living today, working on his farm. Write to Dr. Duncan C. Quakenbos, of New York, for some of his expe- riences in this little worked field. For Jhis frankness and courage in calling attention to the subject, we wish to extend our congratulations. Mr. C. O. Boring of Evanston, 111., has experienced and observed some striking cases of similar experiments with death. Nothing risked', nothing won. Nothing dared, nothing done. During the sixteen years of my min- istry as pastor of large congregations in Reading and Greensburgh, Pa., when I attended the last hours of many sick and dying, I often felt tempted to try something of the same kind; but, let me confess, I always weakened for fear of wounding the re- ligious sensibilities of the sorrowing friends, rendered all the more sensi- 150 LAW OF SUGGESTION. tive and repugnant to experiment (as they would deem it), upon the souls of their departing loved ones. So I desisted. Was I right or wrong? The opportunity, I surmise, will not come to me now so frequently. What does Walt Whitman mean When he says: — "To anyone dying, thither I speed and twist the knob of the door, Turn the bed-clothes toward the foot of the bed, I seize the descending man and raise him with resistless will, despairer, here is my neck, By God, you shall not go down ! hang your whole weight upon me. 1 dilate with tremendous breath, I buoy you up, Every room of the house do I fill with an arm'd force, Lovers of me, bafflers of graves. Sleep — I and they keep guard all night, Not doubt, not decease shall dare to lay a finger upon you, EXTRAORDINARY PHENOMENA. 151 I have embraced you, and henceforth possess you myself, And when you rise in the morning you will find what I tell you is so." Why is death more sacred than birth? Can anyone tell? Or, why do people deem it so? Reader, what rea- sons have you, if any? I should like to hear from you on this point. If the effort to introduce a human life into this world is right and commendable why is it thought wrong or sacrelig- ious to strive to keep or prolong it here? Can anyone tell? Personally, therefore, I think we should all boldly make EXPERIMENTS WITH DEATH. I hope science will when it comes to mine. Truth, wisdom, pro- gress, mastery, are far more valuable than one or many lives. 5. Double Personality. From the numerous though still ex- traordinary cases of double and mul- tiple personality recorded and studied by the Society for Psychical Research, the French and German Societies, 152 LAW OF SUGGESTION. Prof. Wm. James, Prof. Janet, Dr. Azam, Prof. Sidgwick, Dr. Prince, Dr. Sidis, and others, we now know that human personality is vastly more of a complex affair than the Kantian pure ego metaphysics would have us be- lieve. Even Prof. Inge in his late work on "Christian Symbolism," ad- mits that the old doctrine of the im- perviousness or non-separability of the ego must be abandoned. Conscious- ness is complex. Mind is multiple, and like all composites it can be broken up into its component parts. Human personality can be shat- tered, shattered by shock or strain, in- ternal or external, psychological or sensory, as a pitcher may be broken into fragments by a blow, or by a strain increased gradually to the crit- ical point of collapse, where the force of molecular cohesion is overcome. Let me sight one case of pathologic double personality given by Dr. Azam which is a typical illustration of the class : — "Up to the age of fourteen, Felida EXTRAORDINARY PHENOMENA. 153 X. was quick, industrious, somewhat silent, remarkable chiefly for a varied assortment of pains and ailments of hysterical origin. One day, when en- gaged in her regular occupation of sewing, she suddenly dropped off to sleep for a few minutes, and awoke a new creature. Her hysterical aches and ailments had disappeared, she had changed from gloom to gaiety, from morose silence to cheerful loquacity. Presently, Felida slept again, and awoke to her usual taciturnity. Asked by a companion to repeat the song she had just been singing, she stared in amaze — she had sung no song. In brief, all the incidents of that short hour between sleep and sleep were as though they had never been. In a day or two the same sequence was repeated, and so on day by day, until her friends learned to look for and welcome the change, and her lover grew accustomed to court her in the second state. In due course of time she married ; and as time went on, the second state came to usurp more and 154 LAW OF SUGGESTION. more of her conscious life, with only short intervals of recurrence of her normal condition. In her first or nor- mal state she retained the remem- brance of those things only which had come to her knowledge when in the normal state, but the memory of the second, or abnormal, state embraced her whole conscious life." I have a friend, a clergyman of Philadelphia, who is a psychic, a sen- sitive, and passes easily and spontan- eously into the trance-sleep. I have often experimented with him, in pur- suance of certain lines of psychologi- cal research. The story is a long one, and contains important features which should be placed on permanent record. Suffice it to state here and now that, when he passes into the trance condition, a second personality shows itself which has, through the years of my experimentation, always proved consistent with itself, having a set of memories and emotions, in- terests and purposes, entirely distinct from his own, when in a normal state. EXTRAORDINARY PHENOMENA. 155 This case, moreover, slopes off into spontaneous mediumship, and this is the all absorbing realm in which Dr. Hodgson and Dr. Hyslop and the S. P. R. generally have been so profound- ly engaged and which involves those very problems a thorough study of which, Prof. Wm. James says, is of prime and imperative importance in understanding man and his wider cos- mic relations. The significance of these psychological signs and pointers, these psychic signals flashing up on the wider horizon of human personal- ity is simply tremendous. Oh ! that some man or men of money would adequately endow the research, place it in qualified scientific hands and send science forth free and untrammelled to enter into these great arcana of Consciousness for the incalculable good of humanity. Why so much money for the study of the mysteries of matter, and so little forthcoming for the investigation of the marvels of mind? To return to the broken pitcher: — These broken or split off fragments 156 LAW OF SUGGESTION. fit to each other. But the difficulty of properly uniting them again in- creases in exact proportion to the number of the fragments. Now enters Dr. Morton C. Prince, of Boston, into the psychological arena with a case of multiple person- ality in which he has actually suc- ceeded in putting these mental pieces together again ! Get his recent work on "The Dissociation of a Personal- ity." Read it; study it. It is epoch- making. This case, Sallie Beauchamp, developed four distinct personalities, with more or less clearly defined traces of six or seven more. These discreet or split-off personalities he has at last, after years of patient study and experimentation, succeeded in vi- tally welding together again into a conscious unity, through suggestion. It is an achievement of which psychol- ogy may well feel proud. Many vital questions arise. Just a few here. What light does it throw upon in- duced insanities, I mean insanities EXTRAORDINARY PHENOMENA. 157 caused after birth by shock or strain? And if they are once solved, may not phsychology plus surgery hopefully at- tack even the congenital types? And if that is accomplished can we place any limit to man's self mastery? I feel fully convinced that we are living in the dawn of the day when all these and other mysteries and marvels of mind will be fully understood and systematized, and their laws recog- nized and practiced, lifting man nearer the ideal of perfection and power over matter and mind than any other scien- tific discovery ever made — a day when man will walk, not simply the paragon of animals and the crown of physical creation, but also, as God A! mighty intended him, A MASTER OF MIND— A KING OF CONSCIOUS- NESS. A COMPANION BOOK FOR The Law of Suggestion Uniform in Style, Size and Price AUTO-SUGGESTION WHAT IT IS AND HOW TO USE IT for HEALTH, HAPPINESS AND SUCCESS By HERBERT A. PARKYN, M. D., C. M. Published by The SCIENCE PRESS, The Republic, Chicago Price 75*, postage paid For contents see other side AUTO-SUGGESTION 3& Dr. Herbert A. Parkyn, M. D. A book that tells how to do things; it tells how to break a bad habit; how to form at will desirable habits. It tells how to strengthen the mental powers, and how to gain and preserve health. Let the young man learn of the laws explained in this book, and he need not fear failure, or sickness, or the ills and woes of life. CONTENTS Chapter 1. Auto-Suggestion. What it is and how it operates. Chapter 2. Auto-Suggestion. Its effects and how to employ it to overcome physical troubles. Chapter 3. Auto-Suggestion. How to employ it to overcome mental troubles. Chapter 4. Influence of early auto-suggestions (or the forming of character. Chapter 5. Auto-Suggestion for the formation of habits. Chapter 6. Auto-Suggestion and personal magnetism. Chapter 7. The cultivation of optimism through auto-suggestion. Chapter 8. Auto-Suggestion for developing concentration. Chapter 9. The achievement of success through auto-suggestion. Chapter 10. Auto-Suggestion and success. Chapter 11. Auto-Suggestion and breathing exercises. Chapter 12. Auto-Suggestion. Its influence on health in the winter. Chapter 13. Auto-Suggestion. The diagnosis and treatment of a typical case of chronic physical suffering. Chapter 14. Auto-Suggestion the basis of healing. Chapter 15. How psychic pictures are made realities by auto- suggestion. 'Price 75*, postage paid Send all orders to The SCIENCE PRESS, The Republic, Chicago Vni T I ni/F THAT WHICH YOU BE- IvU LJkJ V JL UEVE TO BE TRUE. YOU ARE PROGRESSIVE. Otherwise what business would you have reading this book for thinkers? 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