The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1900-04-01
HYPNoTISM IN PRACTICE
EXPERIMENTS BIZ DIR. aUACKENBos,
or COLUMBIA. UNIVERSITY.
Simple Method of Inducing the Hyp-
"a motto S1eep-Success I'm Bracing
the Moral Nature.
New York Evening Post.

new 1Ofk Evening EOSt.
DR.. John d. Quackenbos. of Columbia
University, has long been engaged in re-
searches and experiments in using hypnotic
suggestions for the correction of moral in
frmities and defects, DR.. Quackenbos is
pioneer in this kind of work, for while hyp-
notism has been much used in the treat
| ment of physical diseases, its value as a
| means of strengthening weak will and
| reinforcing the moral sense has been little
| considered. DR.. Quackenbos gives the fol-
lowing interesting account of his methods
and some OF the results he has obtained:
my instruments for inducing the hyp-
motto state" said DR.. Quackenbos, lin an
swer to a question, 'are very simple-as
simple as this" and with a smile he drew
| from his pocket heavy old-fashioned pen
| ell holder of pale gold bearing at one end
| a seal of red carnelian.
my method is this" continued the doc
| tor. 81 place my patient couch, and
| have him look steadily at this red carne-
| liam, 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,
| because the carnelian is so near; this cross
ing, and the effort of keeping the eyes
turned upward, brings severe strain on
| the adjusting muscles. The red color of
| the carnelian is also irritating to the re-
tina, and these two sources of fatigue,
| muscular and nervous, finally overcome the
patient; his eyelids gradually close, and he
drops into a lethargic state. like heavy
| sleep.
| along with this strain upon the eyes /
use gentle stroking of the patients limbs,
which is an almost indispensable aid to the
other influence. The stroking leads to the
unconscious state by soothing Of the per-
| ipheral nerves-just the opposite effect from
| that used on the eyes, where extreme irri-
| tation leads to overpowering fatigue. Late
| ly have partly discarded my carnelian for
| diamond" Here the doctor produced
| from his pocket a diamond ring, the band
| wound with black silk. ST hang this before
| the patients eyes, he continued, $50 that
! il moves slightly by the twist of the thread.
! 1t is very brilliant, besides having in it's
| flashes more vivid red than the carnelian,
| and it is much the harder thing to look at.
/ The time required to hypnotic patient
| varies from three to four minutes in chill
| dren to over an hour with some adults. OF
| course, all my work is with patients who
| wish to enter the hypnotic state, but some
/ temperamentS are very resistant. One of
my patients, man, looked at that diamond
| for an hour and quarter before he gave
| out.
| PATIENTS CONDITION.
when the patient is hypnotized the con-
| ditions are somewhat like this. He has no
memory in the first place. In fact when a
| patient awakes he usually thinks he has
| just tailed Of falling asleep. This was
| amusingly shown by the newsboys with
whom 1 experimental 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:
| Aw he didn't do nothin' to me. L wuz
| just fallin' asleep when he walked me up
| THE important part of the condition is
| that we have in this state cleared away the
patients objective mind. and by that L
| 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 charac-
| ter, his sense of his own likes and dislilSes,
| purposes and appetites. 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 character or
innate isposition-stripped of the modif-
| cations Of the conscious mind.
| when he is in this state the 'sublimi-
mar mind as it is called. can be affected
by suggestion; that is when the operator
| says 10 a patient in the hypnotic state.
Tomorrow you will smoke two pipes of
tobacco at noon and night, and If you try
| third 1t will make you sick the sublimi-
nal mind receives the statement uncon-
sciously and acquires strong tendency to
| do just as the operator directs. 1t is like
getting at the native impulses of mans
| disposition and adding a new impulse
| which his conscious mind after he awakes
cannot recognize as artificial, but accepts
as one accepts his liking for a particular
| kind of food. AS to this particular sugges-
ton about tobacco, 1 know it to be eff
| fective. One of my patients whom / had
limited TO two cigarettes a day was made
| sick on trying third
| suggestion is always I'm the form Of q
| positive assertion by the operator for the
subliminal mind is incapable of reasoning;
| logic, you know. is conscious. But while
suggestion employs no argument, its state
| ments have in one way the quality of argu-
| ment; and to explain that l must describe
my method with patients who are to be
treated for moral defects like kleptomania.
l the drink habit and in children habits of
| lying and petty thieving.
| HOW SUGGESTION WORKS.
Before treating patient L find out all
can about the exact extent of his weak
ness. especially in the drink habit the exact
amount of liquor he uses. 1 find out his
habits of life, his ambitions, all can about
his disposition Then. when come to sug-
| gestion, say in case of the drink habit I
| say to him: Tomorrow you will drink two
cocktails, at morning and noon. You know
that if you get unsteady you can't do your
engraving decently. You will lose your
position and bring disgrace on your wife
| and family
| "A little girl whom treated for a habit
| of petty lying told lies in order to attract
| attention, so that in her the desire for at
| tention and approval was the trait TO which
/ had to appeal. So, in my suggestion,
| told her that her lies caused people to
u nrndd eli hor t-l,o. L.