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HYPNOSIS
History, When and How did it all began?
Hypnosis has been described under various names,
and has been used as a therapeutic tool throughout the man
history. As
far as we are able to accurately trace back the history of man,
there are records of the use of hypnosis for healing. There
is no mystery surrounding one of
the greatest tools that man has used throughout the centuries.
The use of hypnosis for healing can be traced back to 3,000 BC
and the times of ancient Egypt were the earliest known
hypnotic sessions were recorded on a stone stele.
In 2,000 BC the father of Chinese medicine, Wond Tai,
wrote about the technique involving incantations and 'the passing
of hands'
Of course, both the old and new testament of the Bible refer us to
what could be deemed to be hypnosis and indeed suggestions to
people within a hypnotized state. It is just best to
say that use of hypnosis is recorded throughout the ages and across
many, many cultures.
The starting point for today's hypnotherapy is the 18th century and a Viennese
physician called Franz Anton Mesmer. It is in fact this
person that lent his name to mesmerism.
Franz Mesmer was born in 1734 in Austria. He grew up in a
world that was turning more to science, Mesmer
himself had an interest in astronomy, and in the works of
Maximillian Hell, a Jesuit priest, on the curative effects of
magnets. Because of this interest, Mesmer developed a theory that
'when the ebb and flow within an organism became out of balance
with the universal rhythm mental imbalance or nervous illnesses
could result.
Mesmer also believed that this imbalance could be corrected with
magnets. Mesmer spent 16 years at universities and was awarded two doctorates,
one in medicine and one in philosophy.
Mesmer, using a mixture of conventional medical methods and
the use of magnets, drew himself a lot of attention in Vienna.
Mesmer soon obtained a number of remarkable cures and listed in
his first published report, cures for epilepsy, hysteria,
melancholia and fitful fever.
These cures were effected by the application of horseshoe shaped
magnets on the chest and the soles of the patients feet.
But Mesmer also realized that the magnets were not too important
as almost anything would do in the place of magnets. Mesmer
also published a letter in which he asserted that magnets only
acted as a conductor for the force or 'fluid' that influenced the
patient
Mesmer believed that the hypnotic effect was caused by what he
called 'animal magnetism', and this magnetism he thought was an
invisible magnetic fluid that came from living bodies.
Mesmer also thought that this fluid could be transmitted to
certain inanimate objects, such as a large tub filled with water
and iron fillings, or even certain trees. Effectively
Mesmer saw 'animal magnetism' as something that could be
harnessed and stored in the same way that today we 'store'
electricity in a car battery.
Although Mesmer's technique may seem quite strange by today's
standards, yet, Mesmer did in fact have many spectacular cures using
his hypnotic techniques.
For unknown reasons Mesmer left Vienna, but it is believed that
the 'powers that be' were unhappy about the use of his 'animal
magnetism' and that also Mesmer was involved in a protracted
argument that involved unpleasant scenes, with the family of a
blind girl who disputed his claimed cure.
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