The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-11-27
HYpN0YISM IN PRACTICE,
a COLUMBIA PROFESSOR TELLS MS
EXPERIENCE and THEORY.

How to Induce sleep-Efect of Treat
ment on the Moral Nature what He
Hopes.
Dr. John d. Quackenbos of Column
bia University has long been engaged
in researches and experiments in using
hypnotic suggestion for the correction
of moral infirmities and defects. DR..
Quackenbos is a pioneer in this kind of
work, for while hypnotism has been
much used in the treatment of physl-
cal diseases, it's value as means OF
Strengthening weak will and rein
forcing the moral sense has been httie
considered DIR. Quackenbos gives the
following interesting account of his
methods, and some of the results he
has obtained:
my instruments for inducing the
hypnotic state" said DR.. Quackenbos,
in answer to a question, are very
simple--as simple as this" and with
smile he drew from his pocket heavy
oId-fashioned pencil-holder of pale
gold, bearing at one end a seal of red
carnelian.
MY method is this" continued the
doctor, II place my patient ON
couch, and have him look steadily at
the red carnelian, which is placed two
or three inches in front of his eye,
and enough above so that he has to
strain his eyes upward to see it. Now
these are the results The eyes have
TO be crossed as the saying IS, be-
cause the carnelian is so near; this
crossing, and the effort of keeling the
eyes turned upward, brings severe
strain on the adjusting muscles. The
red color of the carneian is also irritat-
ing to the retina and these two sources
of fatigue, muscular and nervous, final
ly overcome the patient; his eyelids
gradually close, and he drops into
tethargic state like heavy sleep.
Along with this strain upon the eyes
Z use a gentle strolSing of the patients
limbs, which is an almost indispensable
aid to the other influence. The strok-
ing leads to the unconscious state by a
soothing of the peripheral nerves-just
the opposite effect from that used on
the eyes, where extreme irritation leads
to overpowering fatigue Lately have
partly discarded my carnelian for
diamond Here the doctor produced
from his pocket a diamond ring, the
band wound with black silk. II hang
this before the patients eyes," he con-
finued, $50 that it moves slightly by
the twist of the thread. 1t is very brill
liant, besides having in it's flashes a
more vivid red than the carnelian, and
1t is much the harder thing to look at.
1.-THE time required to hypnotic pa
tient varies from three or four minutes
In children to over an hour with some
adults OF course all my work is with
patients who wish to enter the hyp
motto state, but some temperaments are
very resistent. One of my patients, a
man, looked at that diamond for an
hour and quarter before he gave out.
when the patient is hypnotized the
conditions are somewhat like this. He
has no memory, in the first place. In
fact, when a patient awaks, he
usually thinks he has just failed of
falling asleep. This was amusingly |
shown by the newsboys with whom
last spring. When each |
one Of them, after a sleep of fifteen or
twenty minutes, was walked, and went |
out to his companions he~always said, |
Jaw he didn't do nothin' to me. I wuz
just fallin' asleep when he walked me
up
1.-THE important part of the condition
Is that we have in this state cleared |
away the patients objective mind, and :
by that I mean that we have got rid of
the influence for the time being of his
conscious mind-the ideas which he has
Of his own character, his sense of his
own likes and dislikes, purposes and ap-
petites. In other words we have taken
away from his mind all the traits
which he and others see in him ordi-
narily, and have left his fundamental
mind-you may almost say his charac
ter, or innate spositon--stripped of
the notifications of the conscious mind.
when he is in this state, the sub
liminal mind, as it is called, can be
affected by suggestion; that is, when
the operator says to patient in the
hypnotic state. "To-morrow you will
smoke two pipes of tobacco, at noon
and night, and if you try third 1T will
make you sick the sublimina mind
receives the statement unconsciously,
md acquires a strong tendency to do
lust as the operator directs, it is like
getting at the native impulses of a
mans disposition and adding a new
impulse which his conscious mind after
ne awaks cannot recognize as artitf1-
,ial, but accepts as one accepts his lik-
ng for particular kind of food. AS
o this particular suggestion about to-
,acco, know it to be effective One of
ny patients who I had limited to two
cigarettes day was made sick on try
ng a third.
Suggestion is always in the form of
positive assertion by the operator, for
he subliminal mind is incapable of
easoning; logic, you know, is conscious.
3ut while suggestion employs no argu-
nent, it's statements have in one way ,
he quality Of argument; and to eX
lain that / must describe my meth
d with patients who are to be treated
or moral defects like kleptomania, the ,
rink habit, and in children habits of /
wing and petty thieving. i
Before treating patient. find out ,
II can about the exact extent of his 6
weakness; especially in the drink habit,
he exact amount of liquor he uses. I ,
nd out his habits of life his ambitions,
II I can about his disposition. Then, ,
vhen 1 come to suggestion, say in a 6
ase of the drink habit, I say to him: Z
you will drink two cock ,
nils al morning and noon. You know .