The Law Of Mental Medicine E-Book

Thomas Jay Hudson

• Herausgeber: Jazzybee Verlag
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2012

Seitenzahl: 356

Beschreibung

The object of this book is, primarily, to assist in placing mental therapeutics on a firmly scientific basis, and incidentally to place within the reach of the humblest intellect the most effective methods of healing the sick by mental processes. Part I. contains nothing new to the scientific world, except, perhaps, the method of treatment. It pertains solely to the psychological principles of mental medicine. In Part II. the fact is for the first time recognized that no hypothesis can possibly embrace a complete science of mental therapeutics that fails to take cognizance of those facts of physiology and histology which pertain to the subject-matter.

Leseprobe

The Law Of Mental Medicine

The Correlation Of The Facts Of Psychology And Histology In Their Relation To Mental Therapeutics

Thomson Jay Hudson

Contents:

The Law Of Mental Medicine

Preface

Part 1 -- The Psychological Principles Involved In Mental Healing

Chapter I Introductory

Chapter Ii First Principles

Chapter Iii The Various Systems Of Mental Healing

Chapter Iv The Duplex Mental Organism

Chapter V The Law Of Suggestion (Historical)

Chapter Vi Suggestion In Lower Animal Life

Chapter Vii Suggestions Adverse To Health

Chapter Viii "Puritanical" Diet And Medicine

Chapter Ix Auto-Suggestion

Part 2 -- The Correlation Of The Facts Of Psychology And Physiology In Connection With Mental Healing

Chapter I Introductory

Chapter Ii The Physical Mechanism Through Which Mental Healing Is Effected

Chapter Iii The Physical Mechanism Through Which Mental Healing Is Effected (Continued)

Chapter Iv The Mechanism Of Inhibition

Chapter V Inhibition And Sleep, Natural And Induced

Chapter Vi Animal Magnetism, Hypnotism, And Laying On Of Hands

Chapter Vii Thought-Transference By Ants And Bees By Means Of Physical Contact

Chapter Viii Thought-Transference By Man Under Conditions Of Physical Contact

Chapter Ix Conclusions Theoretical And Practical

The Law Of Mental Medicine,T. J. Hudson

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THE LAW OF MENTAL MEDICINE

PREFACE

THE object of this book is, primarily, to assist in placing mental therapeutics on a firmly scientific basis, and incidentally to place within the reach of the humblest intellect the most effective methods of healing the sick by mental processes.

Part I. contains nothing new to the scientific world, except, perhaps, the method of treatment. It pertains solely to the psychological principles of mental medicine. These were outlined in my first work, entitled " The Law of Psychic Phenomena," ten years ago, and they are now taught in every reputable school of suggestive therapeutics. The reader will find, however, that the subject is by no means exhausted, and that the law of suggestion is the most important factor in man's mental make-up.

In Part II. the fact is for the first time recognized that no hypothesis can possibly embrace a complete science of mental therapeutics that fails to take cognizance of those facts of physiology and histology which pertain to the subject-matter. Necessarily, the subjective mind, when it exercises its powers over the body, in health and disease, operates through instrumentalities ; that is to say, there must exist a physical mechanism through which the mind operates, and that mechanism must necessarily be adapted to its uses. Moreover, we might reasonably expect that the mechanism, when found, would be so obviously adapted to therapeutic uses as to leave no doubt in the mind of the investigator. Accordingly we find in man a physical structure so obviously adapted to the uses of mental healing that it leaves one in doubt whether or not all therapeutic agencies, in their ultimate analysis, may not be classed as mental. Be that as it may, it is obvious that a correlation of the facts of psychology and histology must lead to some very valuable discoveries, not alone in the field of mental therapeutics, but in all branches of inquiry where the control of the body by the mind is a factor. A few of these discoveries are outlined in the following pages. Without stopping to enumerate them in detail, I think I am justified in claiming to have thrown much light upon some very obscure problems ; for instance, the method of healing which in ancient times was known as "the laying on of hands," and in modern times has been designated as " animal magnetism," " mesmerism," etc. I have also incidentally touched upon the problem of natural sleep, and I have tentatively suggested a solution of the world-old problem, What are the physical changes that produce the phenomenon of unconsciousness during natural sleep? If my hypothesis is correct on this question, it simplifies the whole subject-matter, and throws a flood of light upon hypnotism and all other forms of artificial sleep.

In pursuing my investigations of the physical sciences bearing upon the question of mental healing, I have been careful to confine myself to authorities which are recognized by the modern scientists of the medical profession; and I here take occasion to acknowledge my indebtedness, fearing that in the hurry of writing I may have failed to give credit where credit is due. The principal works consulted are the following: Gray's Anatomy; Landois and Stirling's Text-book of Human Physiology; Bohm-Davidoff's Text-book of Histology; Green's Pathology and Morbid Anatomy; Dunham's Histology, Normal and Morbid; Stephens's Pluricellular Man; Hilton's Lectures on Rest and Pain ; Halleck's Education of the Central Nervous System; Robinson's The Abdominal Brain; Romanes' Mental Evolution in Animals; Romanes' Animal Intelligence; Avebury's (Sir John Lubbock) Ants, Bees, and Wasps; Binet's The Psychic Life of Micro-organisms; Haeckel's The Evolution of Man; Ochorowicz's Mental Suggestion.

T. J. H.

PART 1 -- THE PSYCHOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES INVOLVED IN MENTAL HEALING

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTORY

HISTORY informs us that in all the ages man has recognized the existence of an intelligent Power capable of creating diseases in the human body, and of healing them independently of material remedies or appliances. This Power, being invisible and intangible, was very naturally referred to mental or spiritual agencies, good or bad, beneficent or malevolent, as the symptoms in each particular case seemed to indicate. In the early days " spirits of health " and " goblins damned " seem to have peopled the circumambient air in vast numbers and in about equal proportions. One host revisited " the glimpses of the moon" with intents decidedly wicked; the other with those that were purely charitable. One brought blasts from hell; the other breathed airs from heaven. One sent forth plague and pestilence; the other shed healing from its wings. For untold ages these invisible agencies, good and bad, seem to have been practically the only ones held responsible for the existence of disease, or credited with the power of healing the sick.

Naturally, the greatest efforts of men so beset by the conflicting forces surrounding them were employed in devising ways and means for thwarting the efforts of the evil spirits and for conciliating those that were good. Hence the innumerable recipes for those purposes which history informs us were in common use among our remote ancestors. A volume would be required even to catalogue the various devices and formulas for invoking the aid of the health-purveying inhabitants of the spirit world, to say nothing of the "prophylactical receipts of wholesome caution " against evil spirits in general and witches in particular. Such a volume, compiled from all available sources, would be of incalculable value to science; for it would show that not only our ancestors savage, semi-civilized, and civilized were filled with such superstitions, but that all primitive peoples have had, and still have, the same generic ideas, and that they practise generically the same methods of healing the sick. What is of still greater importance, it would show that all the facts of spiritual or mental healing among primitive peoples of all the ages are easily correlated not only with each other, but with many of the methods now in vogue in the most highly civilized nations. That is to say, many of the modern theories of causation are mere survivals of ancient superstitions; and some of them differ from the latter only in the more accentuated and grotesque imbecility of the later theories of causation.

More important still is the fact that the records show that under all " systems," ancient and modern, many marvellous cures have been effected, some of them seemingly miraculous. This fact, to the inductive scientist, is pregnant with significance; for it is demonstrative that the whole subject-matter is under the dominion of some natural law. The scientist reasons thus: Here is a vast congeries of phenomena to be accounted for. They have been produced in every age and in every tribe and nation in the world, civilized and savage. Some of the phenomena, it is true, may be accounted for on the score of mal-observation ; some may be attributed to fraud and legerdemain, and much to defective memory or intentional falsehood. But after due allowance is made for these and other minor sources of error, the great bulk of the phenomena remains to challenge the attention of the scientist. It is true that science in years gone by has not deigned to meddle with the subject, choosing to relegate all the alleged phenomena indiscriminately to the domain of superstition and imposture. During the last decade, however, it has become evident to the most skeptical that cures of disease are being effected, in the midst of the highest civilization, by means obviously identical with those employed in the darkest ages of superstition. That is to say, the results are identical; and it is axiomatic that, in any series of cognate phenomena, identical results presuppose identical or cognate causes. Hence it is that when, as in mental healing, uniform results are reported from widely separated localities, from all races and conditions of mankind during all the ages, ancient and modern, the true scientist knows that there must be a basis of truth underlying the whole subject, and that all the phenomena are referable to some one generic cause. Nor does the multiplicity of theories of causation held by the various tribes of men, or sects of mental healers, militate in the least against the student's convictions; for if he has acquired the most superficial acquaintance with the elementary principles of logic, he is aware that there is no necessary connection between theories of causation an the results produced by those who hold them. In other words, the fact of healing the sick by any method whatever does not demonstrate the correctness of the theory of causation which happens to entertained by the healer in any given case.

This is a self-evident proposition; and to the average reader it will seem to be a work of supererogation to state it formally. But it must be remembered that there are vast numbers of mental healers, in this and other highly civilized countries, whose theories of causation are more fantastic, not to say idiotic, than those of any savage tribe of which history informs us, and that they firmly and fervently believe and proclaim that their theories are demonstrated to be true by the fact that they heal the sick. In fact, so insistent are they upon this point that they habitually employ the word " demonstrate," or some of its derivatives, as a synonym for the verb " to heal." Every act of healing, in other words, is a complete demonstration of the truth of the hypothesis which the healer happens to entertain.

It is, perhaps, superfluous to add that if this were true of one system of mental healing it would be true of all. Hence the North American Indian, whose theory of disease is that it is caused by the infernal machinations of evil spirits, and whose therapeutic agencies consist in frightening away said evil spirits by means of hideous noises and a diabolical " make up," has the same logical right to claim that successful healing by his system is demonstrative of the correctness of his theory of disease as well as of the scientific value of his methods of healing. What is true of the North American Indian's hypothesis is true of all theories of disease and all therapeutic agencies, in Christian or in heathen lands; for, as before remarked, the one salient fact that correlates all systems of mental medicine is that they all heal the sick.

It is this one fact that challenges the attention of science. It appeals to the anthropologist, because the beliefs of mankind, whether true or false, constitute an important branch of his curriculum of studies. It is of infinite interest and importance to the therapeutist, because it is demonstrative that in some way the state of the mind of the patient is an important factor in the diagnosis and treatment of disease. But its most direct and imperative appeal is to the psychologist; for it is primarily a purely psychological question, and upon the student of that science devolves the task of discovering the fundamental principles underlying the mental force behind the phenomena. When that is accomplished, it will be next in order to invoke the aid of physiology, and especially of microscopic anatomy, or histology, to the end that we may learn something of the machinery through which this potent energy performs its work.

It is obvious that if even the fundamentals of this knowledge can be successfully acquired, we may then know, proximately at least, something of the modus operandi by which the mind acts upon the body in health and in the cure of disease. It follows that such knowledge will enable us to direct the healing energy more intelligently, and presumably more effectively. Not that we can ever learn just how the mind performs its functions as a therapeutic agent. We do not even know how it causes the simplest movement of the limbs, although we may be conscious of imparting the primary mental stimulus necessary to produce that result in the voluntary muscles. Science has taught us something of the machinery through which the mind operates to produce consciously a voluntary movement of the body. We know by conscious experience that the mind is the motive power; and we have taken a few primary lessons in the art of directing and controlling that power and making it useful. But this is all that we really know of that conscious intelligence which, nevertheless, has elevated mankind from savagery to civilization.

How little man knows of his own mental powers and limitations is shown in the fact that it is only within the last decade that he has become aware of the existence, within himself and below the threshold of his normal consciousness, of a primary intelligence that is at once endowed with wonderful powers and circumscribed by equally wonderful limitations. It is well within the bounds of truth to say that it is to this discovery that the world is indebted for all the knowledge that it possesses of the real science of mental therapeutics; for it is to this primary intelligence that science has traced the source of the mental power that heals ; and it is to its limitations that is due all that is mysterious in its phenomenal manifestations, not only in the domain of mental therapeutics, but in all other classes of psychical phenomena.

In attempting an analysis of this wonderful subjective intelligence I shall confine myself to its aspects as a therapeutic agent, and not obtrude any theories or speculations as to its ultimate origin or its final destiny. I shall confine myself exclusively to the demonstrable facts of experimental psychology for my proofs of the existence of a subjective intelligence, to the well-authenticated experiences of mankind for proofs of its potency as a healing agent, and to the current standard literature of physiology and histology to show the rationale of the mental processes by which every fibre of the body is reached, and its conditions controlled. I do not expect to say the last word that can be said of the science of mental therapeutics; but my primary object will be accomplished if I can point out the lines of study and investigation which may lead to an intelligent solution of the problem of mental control over the body in health and disease. If in addition to that I can succeed in discovering the fundamental psychological law pertaining to the control of the healing power resident in every man's mental organism, and in pointing out the physical mechanism through which that power is exerted, I may hope to be able to indicate the most effective methods of practising the healing art without the use of material remedies.

Before proceeding to the discussion of the main subject, however, I desire to say a word in regard to doctors of medicine.

I have no quarrel with the medical profession, nor can I join in the indiscriminate clamor against material remedies for the cure of disease. I cannot forget that doctors of medicine were the first to discover the fundamental facts which lie at the basis of the science of mental medicine. Thus, Dr. Hack Tuke's great work contains a voluminous record of the observations of cases by medical men, of both ancient and modern times, demonstrating the control of the mind over the body in health and disease. Indeed the literature of medicine, within the memory of men now living, was full of illustrations of that important fact; and medical students were instructed by their professors in its practical application at the bedside. A cheerful, hopeful, and, above all, a confident demeanor was held to be only second in importance to the material remedies prescribed; and, to give the profession due credit, the effect of that instruction still survives, and is visibly manifested in the wise and preternaturally able expression of countenance which every physician knows so well how to assume when feeling the pulse, examining the tongue, and writing the prescription. The Law of Suggestion had not been formulated when such instructions became a part of the college curriculum, but its practical value was thus recognized by the medical profession many generations before Braid or Liébault saw the light; and the medical doctor who first prescribed a placebo, under the guise of a specific, and noted its wonderful curative powers, took the first great step in demonstrating the therapeutic value of a " larvated " (Pitzer) suggestion. It may be noted, in passing, that one of the most hopeful indications of advancement in medical science consists in the fact that the profession now very generally recognize the placebo as indicated when diagnosis fails. Manufacturing pharmacists consequently derive a large income from the sale of the readymade placebo. That many fatal mistakes have been avoided by its employment, and many cures effected, goes without saying.

It will thus be seen that to the medical profession the world is indebted for two discoveries, first, that the mind controls the bodily functions; second, that the mind can be controlled by suggestion. That physicians did not formulate the law, and builded better than they knew, does not detract from their merits as original discoverers. Columbus died in ignorance of the fact that he had discovered America.

Nor can I follow the extremists in holding that all material remedies, like the placebo, owe their efficacy wholly to suggestion. I recognize the fact which the medical profession has taught us that the human body is made up of an aggregation, or confederation, of cells; that each cell is an individual entity, a living creature, and that, as such, it performs all the functions of animal life, including those of nutrition, digestion, and excretion. Each cell, therefore, requires its appropriate food to enable it to perform its special functions. This food is, of course, supplied from the material taken into the stomach; and the blood-cells perform the double duty of conveying the food to each individual cell, and of removing the waste material excreted (metabolism). It follows that the useful food-material of all that is taken into the stomach, be it in ordinary food or in medicine, is carried to its appropriate groups of cells. That some medicines contain nutritive material adapted to the needs of special groups of cells cannot be seriously doubted. Nor can it be doubted that if the medical profession could know just what material is adapted to the necessities of each group of cells, medicine would assume the dignity of an inductive science. They have already laid the foundation for the study of medicine on those lines by their minute researches in the science of histology, or microscopic anatomy, which is the branch of biology that treats of the cell life and the structure of the tissues of organized bodies. They have also laid a broad foundation for the study of the true science of mental medicine, by revealing the machinery through which suggestion does its therapeutic work. It enables us not only to correlate all systems of mental healing, ancient and modern, but to harmonize the facts of suggestive therapeutics with the accepted principles of modern physiological science as laid down by the ablest medical authorities. It must also be remembered to the credit of the medical profession that one of its members formulated the Law of Suggestion, and thus laid the foundation of the science of mental healing. It is true that it was formulated with special reference to hypnotism; but at that time hypnotism was the only phase of psychic phenomena under scientific discussion. Later on, a broader generalization became necessary in connection with the theory of the dual mind, and the law was then found to pertain exclusively to the subjective mind, and to dominate that mysterious mental force under all its states and conditions. Nevertheless, the discovery of the Law of Suggestion in its relations to hypnotism was the first great step in the direction of a true explication, not only of mental therapeutics, but of all psychic phenomena.

It is true that the attitude of the medical profession toward all forms and theories of mental therapeutics has always been one of extreme conservatism, often savoring of unreasoning prejudice; but on the whole its influence has been salutary. If its denunciations have been bitter, it was because they have been directed chiefly against charlatanism and unscientific theories of causation; but, as I shall attempt to show, its inductions and discoveries have furnished the basis of a scientific system of mental therapeutics.

It will now be seen that I am not about to wage a warfare against the medical profession, nor upon drugs and medicines, nor upon any of the so-called " systems " of mental therapeutics, much less upon the well-ascertained facts of physiological science. It is a truism of science that, in the investigation of any subject, no fact can safely be ignored that pertains, directly or indirectly, to the subject-matter; for no fact in nature is inconsistent with any other fact. If, therefore, it is true that the mind controls the bodily functions in health and disease, the facts of physiological science will at least harmonize with the proposition, and perchance reveal approximately something of the methods and machinery by which this control is effected. In other words, psychology and physiology necessarily touch upon each other somewhere; and it is the object of this book to suggest tentatively a line of study by which the facts of both sciences, so far as they relate to mental therapeutics, may be correlated and reduced to something like scientific coherency. An exhaustive treatise is, of course, impossible within the limits prescribed; but if I can induce abler men to test the value of my suggestions, I am not without hope that a truly scientific system of psycho-therapeutics may eventually be evolved which will harmonize all the facts of human experience that pertain to the subject-matter.

I shall first treat of the psychological aspects of the question ; secondly, of the psycho-physiological ; and, thirdly, of the methods of practice which suggest themselves in view of all the facts developed.

CHAPTER II FIRST PRINCIPLES

BEFORE attempting to state what mental healing is, it may be well to have a clear understanding of what it is not. First, then, it is not a religion. There is no more religion in healing the sick by mental processes than there is in healing them by pills or clysters. Many good people think otherwise, and cite the example of the Master. But there is no evidence that he regarded the act of healing as a religious rite, except in so far as all benevolent acts belong to that scheme of universal altruism which was the essence of his religion. But he exacted no precedent conditions of religious belief from the beneficiaries of his power ; he prescribed for them no acts of religious worship, nor did he himself perform any ' in connection with the exercise of his healing power. The only thing that savored of religion, therefore, was in that which he refrained from doing, namely : he accepted no fees for his services, nor did he charge his apostles for " lessons."

Secondly, there is nothing supernatural or supermundane in the methods or agencies employed in healing the sick by mental processes ; and thirdly, no power or agency, mundane or supermundane, extraneous to the patient himself, has any part or lot in the process of mental healing. For proof of these two propositions we may again refer to the authority of the Master. And this brings us to the immediate consideration of the question what mental healing is.

Those who are acquainted with the history and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, as set forth in the New Testament, will recall the facts that he never claimed any credit for healing the sick; nor did he arrogate to himself the possession of any personal power to heal disease; much less did he ascribe the power to any other agency, human or divine, extraneous to the patient himself. In truth, the reticence of Jesus in regard to his attributes and powers was one of his most marked characteristics. But more remarkable still was the fact that what he did say was always pregnant with veritable scientific significance. No better illustration of this can be imagined than his constantly reiterated statement with regard to the real source of the healing power manifested in his patients. The words " Thy faith hath made thee whole " constitute a scientifically exact statement of the fundamental fact, of mental therapeutics. Their obvious meaning is, first, that the power which effects the healing is resident within the patient, and not in any extraneous force or agency. This is the primary meaning of the phrase, and no amount of sophistry can weaken its force or significance. Secondly, it means that this force or energy resident within the patient consists of, or is due to, a certain definite mental condition or attitude of mind with reference to the work to be done. It may be here remarked that the English word " faith " very inadequately describes the energy or force in question, as Jesus apparently understood it. That is to say, no definition of the word is found in any dictionary that conveys the slightest notion of that dynamic energy which enabled the leper to throw off his disease instantaneously, or the lame man to take up his bed and walk. Every dictionary definition embraces the implication of some form or degree of belief as its determinative feature. But the faith which Jesus proclaimed as the one prepotent agency in the healing of disease, the faith which sustained Peter in his walk upon the water until he momentarily lost it, the dynamic potentialities of which could only be adequately prefigured as being equal to the removal of mountains, such a faith is necessarily far more than the word " belief " or " confidence " would imply. It includes both, as modern experiments amply demonstrate; but it must also include all the spiritual energies of the human soul. To say the least, it must be the mental condition precedent to enable the soul to exercise any of its powers.

Be that as it may, it is sufficient for present purposes to know that faith, is the essential mental condition prerequisite to success in healing the sick by any process of mental healing; and when Jesus of Nazareth proclaimed that pregnant fact, he anticipated the inductions of modern science by nineteen hundred years. How he came into possession of such an exact knowledge of the fundamental law of mental healing, is not a pertinent subject of discussion in this connection. It is sufficient to note the fact that he possessed that knowledge. Science is concerned only with the question of verification. That it has been amply verified by scientific experimentation within the last quarter of a century is a matter of common knowledge among students of experimental psychology. The nature of the experiments and their evidential value will be shown hereinafter. In the meantime we must assume provisionally that a certain definite attitude of mind on the part of the patient is essential to success in mental healing, and that that attitude of mind is best defined by the word " faith." It is also in evidence that, when faith is perfect, methods of healing of comparatively little importance. That is to say, methods may vary within very wide limits without affecting the result, provided each patient is inspired by the requisite confidence in the particular method employed in his case. Hence the frequent successes attending each of the innumerable methods of mental healing that have prevailed in all the ages of mankind.

We have now definitely ascertained the one fundamental fact that correlates all forms, methods, and systems of mental healing. That is, we know the mental condition that must be induced in all cases, and under all systems, before mental healing becomes possible. We know that even the Master could not dispense with those conditions; for, we are told, he could not do many wonderful works among the people of his own village " because of their unbelief."

It follows that the essential thing for the healer to know is how to induce that condition in his patients. Indeed, it may be said that the whole art of mental healing consists in knowing how best to control the patient's mind in that direction. Of course there are as many ways of doing it as there are mental healers; and they are all more or less effective, as I have already stated.

This is not, however, the place to discuss the various methods in vogue. My present purpose is to point out the underlying psychological principles involved in all methods, and incidentally to show that when those principles are once comprehended, the law of mental medicine will be found to be, like all of nature's laws, simple to the last degree, and far removed from the realms of mysticism and superstition. That, for instance, which is of primary importance, namely, the induction of the essential condition of faith in the mind of the patient, will be found to be surprisingly easy of accomplishment.

At the outset I owe an apology to many of my readers for that I shall be compelled, in this chapter, to repeat the substance of much that has been already set forth more at length in my former works. This becomes necessary for the reason that the arguments in this book will be based upon the working hypothesis formulated in my first work; and although that hypothesis is now very generally accepted by scientists, it will doubtless be new to many lay readers of this treatise. In order, therefore, to make the argument comprehensible by all, its steps must be taken in orderly sequence, beginning with the fundamental psychological principles involved.

These may be stated in two propositions, namely :

1. Man is endowed with a dual mind, or two states of consciousness. For convenience of treatment, and to make distinctions clear and readily comprehensible, I prefer to assume that man is endowed with two minds. As a working hypothesis, I am logically justified in this assumption, for the reason that everything happens just as though it were true. This fact is easily demonstrable by the processes of experimental psychology, and it is now very generally recognized by all students of psychic science.

I have chosen to designate one of the two minds as the Objective Mind and the other as the Subjective Mind, and they will be so differentiated throughout this treatise. Others have adopted other terms of differentiation, such as the " conscious " and the " unconscious," the " conscious " and the " subconscious," minds, each of which is an obvious misnomer. The savants of the Society for Psychical Research generally designate the two states of consciousness as the " supraliminal " and the " subliminal," after the old psychologists. I have adopted the terms " objective " and " subjective " for the simple reason that the objective mind is the mind of ordinary waking consciousness, which takes cognizance of the objective world by means of the five objective senses; whereas the subjective mind is that intelligence which manifests itself in all subjective states and conditions, as in hypnotism, somnambulism, trance, dreams, etc., when the objective senses are asleep or are otherwise wholly or partially inhibited. 2. The second proposition is that the subjective mind is constantly amenable to control by the power of suggestion. The term "suggestion," as defined by hypnotists, signifies " the insinuation of a belief or impulse into the mind of a subject by any means, as by words or gestures, usually by emphatic declaration " (Century Dictionary). This definition is correct as far as it goes, but it is far from indicating the full scope and significance of the law of suggestion. It is not, as is indicated by the above definition, restricted to hypnotized subjects, nor to any other mental state or condition, normal or abnormal. It is a universal law of the subjective mind. The supposition that it is restricted to hypnotized subjects arose from the fact that its discoverers were studying the phenomena of hypnotism exclusively, and hence had no data for a broader generalization. It was, nevertheless, an immense stride in advance, for it threw a flood of light upon much that was mysterious in the phenomena of hypnotism. Its chief value, however, consisted in that it paved the way for the broader discovery that it is a universal law of the subjective mind. The latter discovery was the inevitable consequence of the formulation of the doctrine of mental duality; for, it was reasoned, if man is endowed with two minds, there must necessarily be some clear line of differentiation between them, both as to their powers and their limitations. It was at length seen that suggestion and its corollaries furnished the clue to the situation. Thus, one of the corollaries of the law of suggestion is that the subjective mind is incapable of inductive reasoning; that is to say, it is incapable of instituting and conducting independently a line of research, by collecting facts, classifying them, and estimating their relative evidential values. On the contrary, it is compelled, by the primary law of its being, to accept its premises from extraneous sources; that is to say, whatever suggestions are imparted to it constitute the premises from which it reasons. It follows that its method of reasoning is purely deductive; and it is here that one of its marvellous powers is made manifest, for its power of correct deduction is well-nigh perfect. And this is true whether the premise is true or false. That is to say, its deductions from a false premise are as logically correct as from a true one ; and, moreover, false and true suggestions are alike carried into active effect wherever it is possible. Thus, if it is suggested to a hypnotized subject that he is a dog, he will instantaneously assume the attitude and perform the acts of a dog, so far as it is physically possible to do so, firmly believing himself to be a dog. In a word, any character suggested, be it a fool or a philosopher, an angel or a devil, an orator or an auctioneer, will be personated with marvellous fidelity to the original, just so far as the subject's knowledge of the original extends. The wonderful histrionic ability displayed by hypnotized subjects in personating suggested characters has often been remarked. But it is not " acting a part " in the ordinary sense of the word. It is much more than acting, for the subject believes himself to be the actual personality suggested. It is not, therefore, a question of histrionic talent, in the ordinary sense; for subjects who are entirely destitute of that ability will personate to perfection any suggested character with which they are familiar. It is a common observation that excellence in the histrionic art is proportioned in each case to the actor's ability to forget his own personality and to identify himself with that of the character which he seeks to portray. It is, therefore, obvious that the whole secret of the so-called histrionic ability of the hypnotic subject is accounted for by the fact that his own personality is completely submerged under the influence of suggestion. His identification with the suggested personality is also complete, for he believes himself to be the actual person suggested. The essential prerequisite mental conditions of good acting are, therefore, present in perfection. It follows that in proportion to the subject's knowledge and intelligent appreciation of the salient characteristics of the suggested personality, will the rendition approach perfection.

It is scarcely necessary to remark that a stevedore cannot be suddenly transformed into a good actor, in the theatrical sense, by means of hypnotism. Knowledge of the salient characteristics of an individual is one thing, and knowledge of the requirements of the stage is quite another. The principle, however, is the same. It follows that an actor who has intelligently studied his part and knows its requirements, but is deficient in the power of rendition, could be trained to a high state of efficiency in the histrionic art by means of hypnotic suggestion. It would, of course, require a trainer of high character and exceptional intelligence to achieve the best results. 

I mention these hypnotic experiments for the purpose of showing how perfectly the subjective mind is dominated by the power of suggestion. Whether true or false, a suggestion wields a potent influence, although there are necessarily degrees of potency depending upon conditions, just as there are degrees of potency under varying conditions in every force in nature. And, like every other force in nature, suggestion acts most effectively on lines of least resistance. Thus, a suggestion that is contrary to the moral principles of the subject will be resisted with a strength and persistence proportioned to its moral obliquity. A suggestion the performance of which would render the subject an object of ridicule will be resisted by him with an emphasis proportioned to his pride and dignity. A suggestion that would imperil the life of the subject if carried into execution will be resisted with an energy proportioned to the degree and imminence of the peril involved.

These do not constitute exceptions to the law of suggestion. On the contrary, they serve to illustrate its universality. For, be it remembered, an autosuggestion is just as potent, other things being equal, as a suggestion from another person; and when the subjective mind is confronted by two opposing suggestions, the stronger one necessarily prevails. Thus, the settled moral principles of the subject's life will successfully resist the suggestions of crime or immorality; for moral principles constitute auto-suggestions, the strength of which is proportioned to that of his moral character. The subject's dignity of character, in like manner, constitutes an autosuggestion that may successfully resist a suggestion the active acceptance of which would place him in a ridiculous attitude; and the instinct of self-preservation will, on the same principle, cause him to refuse to imperil his life. 

There are, in fact, an infinite number of conditions which tend more or less strongly to modify or divert the force of the suggestions which find lodgment in the subjective mind of man. Thus, a suggestion that is known by the subject in his normal condition to be absolutely false will always excite at least a momentary opposition, and that, too, will be duly proportioned to the enormity of the falsehood.

In matters of indifference to him he may be induced, by persistence and iteration, to accept and act upon it; or where the performance of the act suggested promises to result in a decided advantage to himself, he may accept it with alacrity. In any event, when a suggestion is once accepted and followed by corresponding action, its falsity and its incongruities are soon lost sight of by the subject, and, to all its possible intents and purposes, it becomes a reality to his subjective mind; and it is followed by all its consequences, within the limits of physical possibility. Practical illustrations of this are often seen in certain systems of mental therapeutics, where the patient is told that if he will consent to believe certain things that he knows to be untrue and to the last degree absurd and impossible, his faith will be speedily followed by restored health. Resistance to such a suggestion is, of course, instantaneous; and it is prolonged in proportion to the patient's intelligence. Nevertheless, many marvellous cures have resulted under suggestions that to the alienist clearly reveal their origin in a pathological condition of the mind of their inventor.

It will now be seen that the effectiveness of suggestions is not dependent upon the induction of the hypnotic condition; for under the system to which allusion has been made that condition is never induced, that is, in the sense in which hypnosis is commonly understood. That is to say, the condition of hypnotic sleep is never induced. Passivity of mind and body is all that is required of the patients, which, as we shall see later on, is the equivalent of hypnosis for therapeutic purposes.;

The points to be observed and remembered in connection with the foregoing are the following :

1. The subjective mind is constantly amenable to control by suggestion without reference to the state or condition of the objective mind.

2. Suggestions operate most effectively on lines of least resistance.

3. Resistance to suggestions from extraneous sources arises from auto-suggestions having their origin in various emotions, such as the primordial instincts (as of self-preservation, love of offspring, etc.), settled moral principles, sensitiveness to ridicule, fixed habits of thought, or love of scientific truth. This includes resistance to suggestions which are in obvious contravention of reason, experience, or the evidence of the senses.

4. Resistance to the last-named suggestions is proportioned to the intelligence of the subject, and hence it is often overcome by persistence, especially when accompanied by promises of resultant benefits, as in certain methods of mental healing.

It follows that while the faith that is required to make therapeutic suggestions effective is primarily the faith of the subjective mind, nevertheless suggestions are most potent when they are not antagonized by any resistance whatever, either intellectual or emotional. Hence it is that suggestions which are based upon scientific truth, other things being equal, are necessarily the most potent in their influence and permanent in their effects. As in all the other relations of human life, truth is mightier than error or falsehood, and it is the condition precedent to all permanent good.