University Missourian. [volume] (Columbia, Mo.) 1908-1916, 1913-05-19

Greatest Hypnotist," who visited all
the country towns a quarter Of a CEN
tury ago. was a mystical looking per-
son with flowing black hair and a
powerful hypnotic eye" Under the
spell of his mysterious words and ges-
lures. village youths went into frances.
and at his suggestion picked apples
from chandeliers, played baseball with
toothpicks and even proposed to the
homeliest old maids in the audience.
And everybody agreed that the pro-
fessor was a great magician.
Next came the spiritualists, mediums
and clairvoyants. OF course they did
not admit that they used hypnotism.
They did not tell their followers that
they hypnotized them into hearing
spirit rappings and receiving mes
sages from the dead. They did not
tell them either that the frances into
which they themselves went were only
self-induced 'ypnotic states. And ev-
erybody. according as they believed or
disbelieved, said this was the work
of the Lord or the devil.
And then came science, and with
this hypnotism lost all Of its mystery
and much of its charm. "Hypnotism,"
said science, lis only peculiar con-
dition of the nervous system produced
by artificial means. 1t is a state al
lied to sleep walking, in which the sub
conscious elements are uppermost.
Then science went about establishing
hypnotism on a practical basis and
making it of service in medicine, in
surgery and in detecting crime.
Anyone Can Hypnotixe.
But the greatest blow of science to
the old mythical hypnotism was to
shear Professor Fakirino and his kind
of their power. Anybody can hypno-
tize anybody else," says DR.. Hugo
Munsterberg of Harvard, "just as any
body can fall in love or be loved"
There is nothing to this so-called
hypnotic power" says DR.. Max Meyer
of the University. Anyone can be a
hypnotist All that is required is a
little skill. not any more though than
is needed to become a good shoe
maker. 1t is just way of talking and
it is above all self confidence. More
over anybody can hypnotize himself.
All he has to do is to look steadily
at some object long enough. He may
select a table leg or more striking
object as a bright crystal. This is
called 'auto-hypnosis.'
However, some persons are much
more easily hypnotized than others.
a cording to Doctor Meyer. "A per-
son who is hypnotized very easily,
must be abnormal" he says. HE is
hysterical in a high degree. Now, we
are all of us more or LESS hysterical
although we won't admit it. The per-
son who is least so is the most difficult
to hypnotic. After a person has been
hypnotized once he is more amenable
to it in the future"
Many of the strange things attribut-
ed to hypnotism do not belong to it,
Doctor Meyer believes. The idea that
il gives certain evil men power to
make women fall in love with them is
a mistake, he thinks. "Hypnotism is
too transitory an influence for that"
he says. Besides it does not make
anyone do anything opposed to his ma
ture. 1t would not have made Trilby
a wonderful singer. It usually makes
us do foolish things such as wearing
straw hats in December. However,
many of us do a great many foolish
things even when we are not hypno-
tized"
Methods Used Are Simple.
There are several methods Of hypno-
tizing persons. One is to arrest their
attention by a bright object. Another
is to make monotonous sleep sugges-
ions. Insboth. the subjects confidence
in the hypnotist must be established
first, for one cannot be hypnotized by
a new person for the first time
against ones will. The steps in the
process of hypnotism are relaxed eye
muscles, vacant stare, indolent atten-
ton, passive brain, blank mind. re-
verie. sleep.
A dangerous use of hypnotism, Doc
tor Meyer says. is that Of extorting
confessions from accused criminals.
If hypnotic sleep is imposed on per-
son of not over-strong mentality he
will say anything that is suggested to
him. Doctor Meyer referred to the
Ivens case of Chicago in this connec-
tion. Richard Ivens. a young man of
good character but low mentality, was
hypnotized by the Chicago police about
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