The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1906-05-17
"Psycological Phenomena OF the Subliminal MIND"
Psner Read BY Dr. G. Coggesha Before the Contemporary Club
of Henderson, Monday Night, April Both, l9O6r

visited the town ana examiner the case
on the spot. Sheets full Of her rawlings
were taken down from her own mouth.
and were found to consist OF sentences
coherent and ineligible each Tor itself.
but with little or no connection with
each other.
IF the Hebrew, Il small portion only
could be traced to the Bible: the remain
der seemed to be in the Rabbinical dialect
All trick or conspiracy was out Of the
question: Not only had the Young wO-
man been ever "a harmless, simple crea-
turc. but she was evidently labOring I'M
der nervous fever On tracing care
fully the young girls past life. the young
physician found that when she was nine
wears old she had been charitably taken
bv an old pastor and had remained with
him some years till the old man death.
On inquiry into the pastors habits. 1t
appeared that ii had been the old man ;
custom for years, to walk up and down
Il passage Of his house into which the
kitchen door opened and to read to him
self with IL loud voice, out Of his lavOrlte
books Among these books were found
II collection Of Rabbinical writings to-
gcthcr with several Of the Greek and
Latin fathers: and the physician succeed
ed in identifying 20 many passages with
those taken down at the young woman
bedside that no doubt could remain in
any rational mind concerning the true
origin Of the impression on her nervous
system
The IMPRESSION Oh the girl sconscious
mind In.i~t have been superficial and
ncetimg 10 the last degree, but the result
demonstrated that the record upon the
tablet OF the suhconsciOus mind was in
effaceablc
In this connection we are reminded too
that il is II common assertion OF those
who have come near drowning. that Just
previous to uncOneciOuSnesS all the acts
oi their lives flashed in memory before
them
The conscious mind. is the materialis-
tie mind. it accepts no conclusions or
suggestions which are not based on rea-
son. positive knowledge. o. the evidence
afforded by the five senses.
Tn" subliminal mind on the contrary
is unqualiiedly and constantly amenable
to the power OF suggestion; and this, at
Il very early period, long before the con
scious mind becomes intelIigently active
There is in fact little question that
even prenatal influences are indelbly
stamped upon the sublminaI mind,
the mental and bodily makeup OF the
human being to he ushed into the world.
Character, i'll fact. is largely due to the
thousands of suggestive influences OF
family and environment acting on the
subIimnal mind through all stages of
man development. How important.
therefore. that this fact should be real
lied and recognized in the training of
children from earliest infancy upward.
Especially in sleep and under hypnotic
Influences is the power Of suggestion ac
tive and the subconsciOus mind ready to
accept without question or doubt what
ever sta tcmcnt is made to it, no matter
how absurd, or homogeneous, or contrary
to the ordinary experience of the indiyid
uaI. II in hypnotic sleep II subject is told
that there are butterflies in the room
and that he must catch them, he will see
the suggested butterflies and make all
the motions of striving to catch them
ii handed Il broomstick. and told that
the brOOmstick is Il lovely young lady. it
will he To him the young lady and he
will he as polite and devoted to it as ii
it We're the young lady suggested; he may
be thrown into II state Of intOXicati0n
by being caused to drink glass OF water
under the impression that it is n glass Of
ETY. by the administration OF brandy I'M
der the guisc Of an antid0te to drunken
ness. He may be made to see hear. feel
smell and taste anything in obedience to
suggestion.
Apart from hypnotism the subcon-
scious mind is particularly susceptible to
suggestion during natural Shrp.
These suggestions are manifested i'll
dreams. Much significance has in all
times been attributed to dreams and the
more primitive and savage the state OF
the people, the more are their lives i'll
iluenced by dreams. Dream life to the
savage, is Il real life. In it the soul is
supposed to leave the body and t. wan
der at will.
The New Zealanders. says Tyler in his
Primitive Culture. considered the dream
ing soul to leave the body and hold con
verse with its friends.
The Tagals OF Luzon. =. H. object to
waking II sleeper on account of the alb
sence OF his soul The North American
Indians allowed themselves the alterna-
tive OF supposing a dream to be IL visit
| from the sonl oi the person or object
| dreamt OF, or a sight seen by the ration
: al gone out for an excursion, while the
sensitive soul remains in the body
To the Greeks of old, the dream-soul
was what to the modern savage. if still
/ is: Sleep, loosing cares of mind fell on
| Achilles as he lay by the bounding sea
! and there stood over him the soul of Pa
! trucUlus. like to him altogether in
! stature, and the beauteous eyes and the
| voice. and the garments that wrapped
| his skin-he spake, and Achilles stretch
| ed out to grasp him with loving hands
! but caught him not: and like a smoke the
soul sped twittcring below the earth
rs time went on and the nature and
! causes ol dreams became better known
they lost much Of the old time signiti
cance. Dream exciting influences may
| be intra-organic or extra organic. But
there are instances in which dreams can
not be referred to either of these methods
Of causation. and which point to IL
! causation that is supcr-normal Such
an one is the following incident taken
from the journal Of the Society for
Psychical Research, The reporter is a
Mrs. HowiesGn. the experience being her
| own, and involving a distance OF 200
| miles between the percipient and the sup
| posed agent
| The incident occurred in June. 1883.
! She narrates as follows: My eldest
daughter Kathleen then a child nearly
five years old, was absent from home on
visit to my mother, who lived in New
! port, Monmouthshire. England
For some months previous 70 her
leaving home she had been in a weak.
nervous state Of health, but an absence
, nt three months in that charming coun-
| ~ wrought wonders for her Aiy mother
wrote me from time to time saving how
well she could climb tie hills. and how
her nervousness had given place to 10y
GUS glee. as she watched from n HILTON
the ships sailing in sunlight up and
down the Bristol Channel or the wonder
ful fascinating sunset over kit Barlum.
which now she even dreams of.
"All my anxiety about her had vanish
ed. as. with my little baby. three weeks
old beside me. | was quietly sleeping.
when suddenly | awaked, hearing hath
leen c',ll me in Il sharp. terrified voice.
Mama. oh Mama. Forgetting that the
child was away. | sat up in bed and call,
ed To my nurse, Do see nurse. what ais