The Transparent Hypnotist

If you checked in yesterday and listened to the music, did it affect you? Were you moved? Did you fade away in a reverie?

So that’s where we are headed on this Sunday morning. Music.

Here is the question:

Do you use music during your hypnosis, self-hypnosis or meditation sessions? Do you think it helps or hinders you and why?

The above piece is by Dean Shostak. It is said that he was inspired by Mesmer to write this beautiful, hypnotic piece. The instrument is a glass armonica, which was invented by Ben Franklin.

Why are we featuring this on an Esoteric Saturday? Why, it is a Mesmer sort of thing (OF COURSE!). Not just a scientist or healer of his day, he was a musician and the glass armonica was his instrument. He was noted for play it during his animal magnetism sessions. After enjoying the piece above, one can see how it could only add to the overall results Mesmer received.

If you feel like playing around with it, but do not have access, never fear. There is a wonderful online version you can play with to your heart’s content. Visit it by clicking here.

Source:
The Bakken
Crystal Concert

Location: Oregon

1. Are you a full time hypnotist, part-time or hobbyist?

I guess you could consider me a hobbyist. I have been able to use my talent as a hypnotist since I was in my late teens. I purchased a couple of books on the subject, mostly by the famous hypnotist Harry Arons. The first time I attempted to hypnotize someone I was successful, and have been every time since.

2. Do you specialize in any type of hypnosis?

The only hypnosis I know is what I consider the standard relaxation method. I’ve not tried any quick hypnosis tricks, just simply relaxation style techniques. I couple the relaxation techniques with other simple concentration techniques, and I’m successful with them all.

3. Is there any type of hypnosis you do not do? Why?

I suppose there are hundreds of methods I don’t use. Not because I can’t, but because I have a very difficult time finding subjects to practice on. I live in a somewhat secluded location, and my travels don’t take me to places where I can discuss the topic of hypnosis without some kind of negative repercussion.

4. Do you use self-hypnosis regularly in your life? If so, how?

I’ve found self-hypnosis illusive. Trying it has proven that I have the ability to do it, but without the true feeling of being hypnotized. I guess I don’t know what hypnosis feels like, so I don’t know what to except. I do know this though; I can improve myself by simply repeating improvement instruction over and over again in my mind.

5. Describe your hypnosis office or work setting.

I don’t work in any type of hypnosis environment or setting. Talking about hypnosis at work has proven to be counter-productive. I am occasionally able to talk to others about it outside of work. All of my experience in hypnosis happened over 40 years ago, except one person I hypnotized in 1982.

6. Describe a typical day in your life.

I rise at 4:30 AM, eat breakfast and prepare for a one-hour drive to work in Portland. I work my 8-hour shift and return home by 5 o’clock in the evening. Every other week it’s my turn to fix dinner. When dinner is over and the dishes are put away, I get an opportunity to relax for and hour or two, go to bed and start it all over again the next day. Weekends are an exception, and I try to enjoy them to the fullest.

7. Where did you get your training in hypnosis and are you certified?

My training has come from a variety of sources. Each one I have had to seek out for the benefits it can afford me. When I was younger I studied the books I bought from Harry Arons. This proved to be my most memorable learning experience. I used to attend parties and I would hypnotize young people there. Later in life, much later, I read an advertisement on the Internet promising a certificate in hypnosis after completing a free course. How could I refuse? The course material at HMI proved to be more than I could have ever have hoped for. I received my certificate as a “Certified Hypnotist” on March 26, 2008.

8. Most fabulous hypnosis technique you use?

I am looking forward to using the finger spreading technique taught by the instructors at HMI. It appears to be a simple progressive relaxation technique coupled with a form of concentration. I’m sure it will be very effective.

9. Worse moment ever in a hypnosis setting that ended up being a valuable learning experience.

I hypnotized a guest at a party in 1963 who seemed a little reluctant to volunteer. I had seen him at several other parties, and I had offered him the chance to be hypnotized each time we met. I didn’t understand his reluctance until he finally agreed. I used a very simple relaxation method for induction, but as he began to go deeper into hypnosis, I lost all control over him. It was as if he couldn’t hear me, or possibly he didn’t want to. The other guests were getting worried. They could tell something was going wrong, and they wanted me to just wake him up and try someone else. Needless to say, because he couldn’t hear me, I had no chance of waking him up. I did of course attempt to, but with my very limited experience, coupled with the fact I wasn’t sure what was happening myself, I decided to rely on Harry Arons “works every time” technique for waking up a subject you have no control over. Let him sleep. He’ll wake up by himself in time. And, of course, he did.

He told us later that he had experienced a traumatic experience when he was just a boy, and he had been transported to that scene when he began to drop into hypnosis. He had been sent out into the cold snow late one night by his father to get some firewood. He had loaded it up into his arms and on the way back to the house when he stumbled and fell to his knees. What with the fire wood in his arms he wasn’t able to rise to his feet, and he didn’t want to set the wood down because his dad didn’t like wet wood with snow all over it, so he waited for someone to realize he wasn’t in the house. It took some time until someone finally came out to see what had happened to him, but by then he had experienced frost bite in both knees. It was then I realized why he didn’t want to be hypnotized.

10. Any words of advice to potential clients or other hypnotist.

Know your subject. I’ve had very few opportunities to hypnotize people, but I always talk to them for a while before I try. I’m usually been able to determine weather or not I’m not the right man for the job. After I completed the course from HMI, I had a woman ask me if I would hypnotize her to help her quit smoking. I felt this was a prime opportunity to gain some experience, and very possibly save her the heartache of future health problems. I met with her one time, and during our discussion she told me she didn’t want to quit. Needless to say, I sent her packing.

For those who grimaced at yesterday’s one-on-one description of a Mesmer Animal Magnetism Session, maybe you would have been more interested in a group environment. Yes, indeed, folks - step right up and be amazed. You ailments will be relieved and you will be entertained.

Enter Mesmer, gold slippered, robed in lilac, and maybe even a turban. Then take your place in front of the large vat or rather, if you must be proper, the baquet. This is a tub that was filled with liquid (presumably water) that has been charged with Mesmer’s Animal Magnetism. He had discovered his own Animal Magnetism became super-charged if he stood in a pail of water with an iron rod in it, so he used this concept for the group experience.

As part of the group, you would take your place at the baquet. You would press the afflicted area of your body onto one of the iron rods that protruded from the vessel and be tied to it by the ropes. When settled in, you would all link fingers and create a “circuit.” Mesmer would circulate amongst you, occasionally tapped in the baquet with a magnetized wand. Like in a private session you might find yourself laughing, convulsing, or doing any other type of odd body contortion.  Interestingly enough, if you got too out of line of experienced screaming pain, one of Mesmer’s assistants would escort you out of the room to a mattress lined recovery room.  Hmmm?  Abreaction or no upstaging allowed?

In thinking about this, it was probably a great stress reliever, acting crazy and free. It was a place where such things were warranted, much like a modern hypno show. Apparently, Mesmer had similar reactions with the group as today’s stage hypnotist do - the participants happily play their parts and get into it.

The is only one reported baquet that is available for public viewing currently. It is at the Musée d’Histoire de la médecine et de la Pharmacie, Lyon, France.

Source: Cabinet Magazine

I am just not done. I cannot get him out of my system. He lingers on the brain as I sip another cup of coffee. He speaks sweet nothings during tea time, and though I try to move on, I just can’t. One might say I am mesmerized.

Mesmer is on the brain and will not leave until I have dug away at all the paths, so I hope you will indulge me in my little look back into history.

Like a faithful student to the art of hypnosis, procedure in the various ways hypnosis is handled is always something to ponder. Mesmer’s Animal Magnetism is no different. So, let us look at what he did on a one-on-one session.

Let us put this in terms of you. That is so much more personal. You would sit, facing him, your legs between his knees. You would feel the press of his hands around your hands- thumbs, actually, and he would stare deeply into your eyes. Intense. Then he would begin sweeping the air downward along your limbs, very close but not quite touching. Then he might press his thumbs directly upon your abdomen.

At this point, you might find yourself entranced, laughing (hey, he counted it), or even convulsing. There were even cases of vomiting. This Mesmer believed, was your magnetic fluid purging the impurities and realigning in harmony with the universe.

Source: The Bakken Library

When you go grocery shopping, do you look at the tabloids, the scandals, and try to keep up with what those crazy Hollywood types are doing? Sometimes, its is a little more enthralling than watching the person in front of you (though I do find people’s habits interesting). But somehow I suspect Mesmer, Mr. Animal Magnetism himself, if he lived today, he would be one of the people gracing the pages of such publicaitons.

When one goes in search of the truth of the legends of the past, I think one does find the extent of tabloids of the time. History seems to be filled with vague murmurings that probably were the stuff of tabloid printing that becomes legend today.

So, I think I owe an apology to Mesmer. I think I might have been about to fan the flames of myth with my ending comments on Saturday’s post. I mentioned a scandal. Luckily, I did not carry that statement too forward. Many have said that Mesmer left Vienna because of the scandal caused by his relationship with a young pianist. Rather I believe it was as I put in my original Mesmer post, that he left for a more receptive audience in France. His views were being malingered in Vienna by his contemporaries. What was his choice? Give up something he believed in to go “along” with peer pressure or continue pursing that which drove him - the idea of healing through one’s animal magnetism?

What brought me to all this was the discussion page about Mesmer on wikipedia (don’t groan - if I ever site wikipedia, then I sight it, otherwise, I go with other sources). It was actually a good page. It mentions this idea about the Mesmer scandal, which made me double-check what I had written. Here is an interesting quote from wikipedia (but I cannot find a real source):

It should be noted that he left Vienna equipped with a letter of recommendation written by the Austrian Lord Chancellor, Kaunitz, directed to the Austrian Ambassador in France.

It would seem then that he left Vienna in good standing, or at least on his own ideas rather than fleeing.

The fire crackled in the growing night and there was something completely decadent about the French-pressed coffee, the slightly burned marshmallows being sandwiched between chocolate and graham crackers, and the laughter of children being allowed a few wild moments. The temperature was just cool enough to be refreshing and the heat of the fire, warming. My hiking boots sat beside me like an old friend as my feet also enjoyed the feeling of air and heat. All was well on this twilight time of day. It had been a moderate day hike; just challenging enough that it felt good to stretch out and just sit for a while. My group was all amenable to one another and our campfire showed the remains of a day well spent.

As the sun set on this little picture, just as it was getting dark, I noticed several of the wild children were settling down, chocolate smeared faces and all - only, they were beginning to settle down around me. Someone had told them I am a hypnotist. There were the choruses of “hypnotize me” and suddenly they were asking a thousand questions and trying desperately to get their parents to consent to letting me hypnotize them. They ranged from eight year-olds to prepubescent teens.

“Pleeeeaaaassseee, Ellie. PLEASE. I have wanted to be hypnotized for so long.”

And so, I tried to answer their questions and bow out of hypnotizing this little mass, opting instead to do a “good night story” (do you see where I was headed?). Nope. And the more I answered questions, the more a feeling of their disillusionment crept in upon me. Yes, I know, prime opportunity to dispel some myths, and try though I did, once again I found myself in the position of people wanting me to do parlor tricks. If you have been reading this blog long, you may remember that at some point, we had talked about actually using such moments to our advantage in adult parties. But I have never been in a position of dealing with children like this.

Finally, my partner got me out of it by telling the children this was my day off. You don’t see us asking their father to perform brain surgery here, do you?

So just when I had thought I could deal well with adults in this situation, it hits at a different angle. I had thought about showing them how it works by using a fellow hiker, but they were all too comfortable to consent. And many said it would egg on the children more.

So, hypnotists who are parents out there, surely I am not alone in such experiences. How have you dealt with this?

Maybe you are saying, “Oh dear, Ellie is back on a historical crusade of romancing yet another dead hypnotist.” And I have to say guilty. I even moved the movie, Mesmer, up on my mail-in video account. So, hopefully my writing is not old and stuffy history and you will continue to indulge me. Ah, Mesmer, Mesmer, Mesmer…

Maybe I will keep the Sunday Question easy, but keeping with my new intoxication. Mesmerism. Yes, yes, yes, we have talked about the historical context, but the word is now out there, often unhooked to Mesmer. If you look it up in Webster’s, it is defined as “spellbound.” I suspect Mesmer was spellbinding at some point, but it is not the same as the result of Mesmer’s practice.

Here’s the question:

When and what in your life has completely mesmerized you? Has it changed your life or was it a passing moment? For those with hypnosis experience, how does it differ for you?

Since forms of hypnosis has returned here, I could not help but talk more about Mesmer. I do get rather mesmerized by the lives of those who made my reality. Apparently, I am not alone. Mozart joins me in this

Cosi Fan Tutte, an interesting opera by Mozart, makes reference to Mesmerism. It occurs at the end of the first act. Not to go into the whole opera, basically the scene involves two make who fake taking Arsenic because two women have refused their advances. This is a completely manipulative ploy to win over the two women. These rouges are also in cohorts with the ladies’ maid. When the ladies become distressed over the fake-poison scene, they have the maid go to fetch a doctor. Unknown to the ladies, the maid returns disguised as a doctor. To “save” the men, she uses a Mesmer stone:

“This is the famous piece of magnet, the Mesmeric stone, which had its origin in Germany and then became celebrated in France.

The men then convulse and return to consciousness. Interesting. Basically, there is actually a personal history between Mozart and Mesmer. So there is more to this than the ear hears in the opera. Mesmer was actually a patron of Mozart, but things go a little bad when Mesmer works on curing a famous blind pianist. He actually has some luck at this, but her piano skills go down the drain as she begins to gain sight. And it ends in an awful scandal for poor Mesmer.

Source: MOZART, MESMER AND MEDICINE

Is it really a Friday without our 10 Questions? Hmmm. I suspose it must be. However, I am taking a day to transfer my old files and such onto my new Mac. Ha. Couldn’t stand not playing all the cool video games that are PC based. Now I can without giving up the Mac. Life is good. (by the way, after this week, I have fallen in love with the new Mac add, though Vista was not involved in my stress).

But, while you are here, I do have a question for you. Is it time to change the questions on the 10 Questions? If so, what questions would you want to ask the hypnotists?