Hypnotism a natural endowment - Keeping appointments - Blind men telling time - Going to sleep is natural self-hypnotism - Self-iiypiiotisrii easily learned - How to practice sell-hypnotism - Prolonged seif-induced sleep of orientals - Death of lishop - Hypnotizes himself at church - Prolonged hypnosis undesirable - Disease and self-hypnotism - Contagious diseases - Heart disease - Controlling heart action - Harm through imagination - Imagining benefit from placebo--Fish stories - A bogus author - An imaginary inventor - Aids in restoring health - Lightens sorrow - Prompts fearlessness - Increases general happiness.

We all possess the power of self-hypnotization. It is a natural endowment that is capable of being developed for much good. To a certain extent we unconsciously take advantage of this power at many times without creating in ourselves or others the least cause for wonderment.

If you should retire at night with the intention of awakenincr at four o' clock in order to catch a five o'clock train, and should impress upon your mind most emphatically the necessity of your awakening at the desired time, you would be pretty sure to find yourself wide awake at four o'clock. Many persons cultivate this control over the mind and can easily awaken themselves at any moment they may decide upon before going to sleep. It is a very useful form of self-hypnotism.

By the same process it is possible to cultivate most exact habits of promptness in keeping appointments. Simply train yourself to fix in your mind where you have agreed to be at a certain time and when that time arrives you will be involuntarily prompted to keep the appointment. Some persons will even find themselves hurriedly walking in a certain direction and have no recollection when they start out what place they intended to go to, but before going far the full particulars come to them. These are instances where the time and direction weere impressed upon the mind and the idea transferred to the seat of physical action.

In the city of Cincinnati there formerly resided a blind man who sold papers upon the street corner. By some unaccountable method he had trained himself to fix in his mind the time of day. No matter what the hour might be, whenever he was asked for the time he would give it with the greatest exactness.