NOBODY knows for certain when the phenomena which can be produced by the science of hypnotism were first observed. There are those who believe quite sincerely and without irreverence that when the Lord caused Adam ‘to fall into a deep sleep’, this trance-like state was brought about by hypnotism in response to the Divine Will. Certain it is that the Bible abounds with instances of healing and prophecy which, in the light of our present knowledge, can be regarded as hypnotic. The Founder of Christianity Himself worked many miracles by the laying on of hands.*
*This is not to deny the miraculous powers of Christ in performing the greater miracles which no human being has ever duplicated.

‘After that he put his hands again upon his eyes, and made him look up: and he was restored, and saw every man clearly.’ (Mark viii, 25.)

There is nothing irreverent in suggesting that hypnotism was the method by which the Divine Will was executed. As we now know, this ability to be hypnotized is an inherent characteristic of man. Christ, of course, knew this, and warns us against false prophets who would take advantage of this fact.

‘And Jesus, answering them, began to say, Take heed lest any man deceive you: For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ, and shall deceive many.’ (Mark xiii, 5 and 6.)

Further proof that hypnotism was the instrument by which the Divine Will was carried out is revealed when Christ said:

‘For false Christs and false prophets shall rise, and shall shew signs and wonders, to seduce, if it were possible, even the elect.’ (Mark xiii, 22.)

It is inconceivable that false prophets should have Divine Power; but Christ knew that the instrument He was using to carry out His will was available to human beings. Were it not so, there would have been no need for the warning.

This strange force which lies latent within mankind has been evoked time and again by various means: sometimes by design, sometimes by accident, and has been responsible for countless ‘miracles’.

Under its influence martyrs have withstood terrible tortures and died for their faith feeling no pain; while even the history of a whole country has been changed, as in the French revolution.

Stretching back through the mists of time we find countless instances which tell us that the ancients were well aware of this power, although they often attributed it to fanciful or superstitious origins.

The priests in charge of the Egyptian ‘Sleep Temples’ no doubt used hypnosis when they gave curative suggestions to sufferers who sought their aid. A bas-relief taken from an ancient tomb in Thebes shows a priest obviously in the act of hypnotizing a patient.

In India and the East, Holy men and Fakirs have used it for centuries to induce trance-like states and develop apparently super-normal powers.

From Egypt the idea of ‘Sleep Temples’ spread to Greece; and as the Greeks associated medicine with magic, it is not surprising to find that their physicians made use of this force which we now know to be hypnotism.

Hippocrates, the father of medicine, said, ‘The affections suffered by the body the soul sees quite well with shut eyes.

Among the Romans, Esculapius often threw his patients into ‘deep sleep’ and allayed pain by stroking with his hand.

All through the ages great scientists, philosophers, physicians and religious leaders have recognized the existence of this mysterious power.

In the tenth century Avicenna, a great physician, expounded his view that the imagination of man could act not only on his own body, but even on other and very distant bodies. Further, that it could fascinate and modify them, either making them ill or restoring them to health.

Pomponatius of Mantua, in 1462, did not hesitate to express his opinion that the cures performed almost daily by the relics of the saints were due only to the imagination of the patient. He went even further, and states that the physicians and philosophers knew very well that they would obtain equally wonderful cures if the bones of an animal were substituted for those of the Saint.

In the sixteenth century Paracelsus, a medical man, was persecuted and driven from city to city because he dared to state that imagination and faith could cause and remove disease.

And so it has gone on through the centuries. Great men have recognized this power and often used it for religious purposes, but its true nature was seldom understood.

Edward the Confessor introduced the idea of the ‘Royal Touch’ to England, and thereafter it became the custom of the King to cure people by touching or stroking.

It was even recognized by the Church of England, and a proper procedure for the ceremony was laid down. A chaplain was always present and quoted a passage from the Bible concerning the ‘laying on of hands’ as the King touched the patient.

Gradually the idea spread until even the common people began to practise healing by the ‘laying on of hands’, a practice which has continued to this day.

In 1662 there arose a famous Irish healer by the name of Greatrakes, who claimed that God had given him this power. He considered that all disease was due to evil spirits; and certainly, by commanding them to depart in no uncertain terms, and making passes, he obtained many remarkable cures.

A hundred years later Father Gassner, an ex-monk, treated over 10,000 patients in Europe. His method was to drive out the ‘evil spirits’ which affected the sick by commanding them to depart in faultless Latin.