Chapter 14 - A Natural Reaction

Hypnotism is a manner of nervous reaction under a given set of excitations and it is nothing mysterious or supernatural. Not any more so, than eating, tasting, living, seeing, thinking, reasoning, and just being a human being. Come to think of those things, they are all mysterious and supernatural. Just because we witness them every day, they appear commonplace to us. Hypnotism will not appear any more supernatural to us once we understand it, than do those other things we witness every day. It is something which comes about in obedience to laws of the mind just as those other things come about through laws which govern our bodies. We call these laws, nature's laws.

Depth Of Hypnosis Is Governed By Mental Reaction Of Subject

Now, you have noted that when a subject is put 99 under hypnosis, he is told to relax and to think only of what the hypnotist says. As I have said before, his mind is centered on the idea of sleep and its sensations. This idea of sleep is so completely riveted in the mind of the subject that a chain reaction is set up in the brain cells and nerves connecting them, resulting in the ultimate reaction of hypnotic sleep. Now, just what happens when you wish to go to sleep? Sleep becomes the predominant idea and as a result thereof, the chain reaction is set into motion to produce sleep. When sleep comes, the conscious mind is severed from the subconscious mind by interruption of the flow of stimuli through the interlocking nerve channels, but the severance is not the same as in hypnosis. It is only a matter of degree of severance. The chain reaction in the brain cells and connecting nerves is the same to a certain point and serves to illustrate my contention that hypnotism is the natural result of a chain reaction under a predominating ideation or stimulus. This is done through severance of nerve connections called synapses.

When I use the term "severance of nerve connection," I do not mean that such connections are necessarily cut apart, or drawn apart. This may be actually the case or it may not. The statement is really a matter of art in handling this theory of mine. There are several theories about the blocking of nerve impulses between the nerve and brain centers under such circumstances. My theory is consistent with any theory as to the lack of positive reaction between the axon and the neuron at the synapses. It makes no difference if it is caused by an actual separation of the nerves at the synapses, as some contend, or by the effect of certain chemical property changes, or by direct inhibition caused by electrical impulses, as some contend. For explanation of these different theories, I refer you to modern books on the nerve and brain structure. These different theories are not too important to you if you just accept my theory. It makes no difference how the reaction is effectuated; that is, as far as my theory is concerned. That the severance is a fact can be demonstrated by any good hypnotist in a few minutes, with the slightest knowledge of the nervous structure. It is my contention that by whatever means the nerve impulses of the axon are prevented from activating the neuron, such constitutes a severance for all practical purposes of this book and should be so regarded by the reader. There are certain slowed nerve reactions which might become important later in a more involved study of some of the phenomena of hypnotism, but they are not important at this point. In fact, the ordinary student of the subject could not understand the involved reactions. No matter what theory you hold as to the slowing and blocking process at the synapses, the ultimate results are the same. Your pet theory will not change it any more than my pet theory will. Anyway, neither one of us can disprove the other's theory, but must admit that certain nervous reactions are blocked by some means and that others are instigated by other means which are not the product of the conscious mind and which it may resent executing.

Apparently, the suggestions of the hypnotist are substituted by the brain cells and nerves for and instead of the ideations which ordinarily come from the conscious mind in the cerebral cortex. The cortex is cut out insofar as ideation and inductive reasoning centers are concerned. Any idea suggested by the hypnotist and reaching the seat of the subconscious mind through hearing or other senses is translated by the brain cells and coordinating nerves and acted upon according to the interpretation placed upon such suggestions by the correlated coordinating centers of the brain, without interference by the cerebral cortex insofar as the conscious mind is concerned, it being eliminated through the reaction heretofore set forth and explained later on in this volume.

Usually, whenever a person is hypnotized, he or she has voluntarily submitted for some purpose— experimental, curiosity, cooperative willingness, or to be healed, or otherwise benefited. Each person has been told just what to expect and gladly enters the hypnotic state, but I have hypnotized persons who did not know from experience or previous advice, what would take place when hypnotized. They went into hypnosis without such instruction. Some went into a light stage and some entered a deep stage. There was no attempt on my part to tell them to limit the depth of the hypnotic state. I even attempted to deepen the state on some, but did not succeed in deepening it beyond a certain stage. I, THEREFORE, CONCLUDE THAT THE DEPTH OF HYPNOSIS REACHED BY ANY PERSON IS GOVERNED BY THE BRAIN AND NERVE REACTION OF SUCH SUBJECT; that is, the extent of severance by the synapses controls the depth of the trance. Some go into a deeper hypnotic state than others. Therefore, depth of hypnosis is governed by the reaction of the subject to the stimuli applied. It may be light, deep or not at all, depending upon the degree of reaction of the individual and to the strength and character of the stimuli applied by the hypnotist, be this by words, acts, or by both, combined with the unknown quality or force surrounding the hypnotist. We may call this prestige, personality, personal magnetism or whatever name we may choose to give it. The degree of reaction may be determined by many other things as well as the thoroughness and ability of the hypnotist, even as depth of natural sleep is determined by many things, other than the desire to sleep. So an operator need not be discouraged because some persons fail to be hypnotized or fail to reach a deep state under his guidance, for it all depends upon the mental reactions of the subject.

Group hypnosis, where two or more persons are hypnotized by the hand-clasping method.

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