General directions - Objective method - Fascination - The candle method - Moutin's method - The Nancy method - Mesmeric method - Exercise of will power - The rotary mirror of Dr. Luy's method - The Hindoo sleep - Theory of the Od and influence of magnets and currents.

Various methods of producing hypnosis have been described and explained throughout this book. Some of them are extremely simple, and can be adopted by beginners with every chance of success, while others are more difficult and are employed by experts in overcoming refractory subjects. It is always best for a student commencing the study and practice of hypnotism to decide upon one of the various methods that seems most natural and least embarrassing to him, and practice upon that method until a degree of perfection is reached. It is a good plan to carry out all alone the movements to be employed, as though practicing upon a real subject This will give a familiarity with the method of procedure which Will be of great advantage when attempting to work upon an actual subject. Nothing is more beneficial to a beginner in hypnotism than to succeed upon his first attempt, and nothing is better calculated to make him succeed than self-confidence and familiarity with the methods of procedure.

Method First - Objective Method

Secure some unusual or bright object, several of which are described elsewhere, such as a disk with a bright or unusual center. Have the subject seated in a comfortable manner, his back to the light or window, the feet on the floor, the knees slightly separated, and the palms of the hands flat on the knees. Place yourself in such a position directly in front of him that your one knee will be between his and the other will be to his right. Have him hold the object in his right hand for five or ten minutes, and instruct him to stare steadily at it and to think of absolutely nothing but sleep. Impress upon him that he will soon become drowsy. Repeatedly assure him that he is becoming sleepy; that he looks sleepy, and that his eyes are getting heavy. Make these statements in a drawling and monotonous tone, with an expression of positive-ness that admits of no doubt on his part. In five or ten minutes tell him he is too tired to hold the disk any longer; take it from him and hold it before his gaze for a minute or two, and then tell him,to shut his eyes and go to sleep. Make a few passes over his head from the back forward, barely touching the head; tell him emphatically to go to sleep.

Make a few passages from the back of the head to the knees, press the one, hand, and at the same time with the other hand press your thumb between his eyes over the bridge of the nose. He will be asleep by this time if you have with confidence carried out the method.

Method Second - Fascination

Stand directly in front of the subject, about five feet from him; have him stare at you blankly while you assume a fierce expression of determination; raise your hands and separate the fingers; gradually move your hands toward him, and then suddenly seize him by the shoulders and give him a slight but quick shove backward; rivet your eyes upon his in the greatest earnestness and intensity. If this method succeeds the subject will assume a peculiar and unmistakable expression of submission.

This same method may be carried out with the operator and subject in the sitting posture, as mentioned in method one, your hands resting upon his instead of being uplifted. This is the old Puyse-gurian method, and is still employed by many expert hypnotists.

Method Three - The Candle Method

Have the subject stand erect, with the shoulders drawn well backward, the mouth slightly open, and the head inclined backward. Hold a lighted candle about four feet from him and high enough above his head to make it somewhat of a strain for him to look at it, and instruct him to gaze fixedly at the candle for five minutes or more. When you notice that his eyes are becoming weary, make a few passes from the back of his head downward over the spine, emphatically tell him to close his eyes and that he is becoming sleepy; continue the passes until sleep is produced.

Method Four - Moutin's Method

Apply the hand between the subject's shoulder blades, with considerable pressure, for four or five minutes. If the subject realizes a sense of heat or cold, or experiences a tingling sensation, place the palms of the hands against his shoulder blades and press heavily for three or more minutes; then slowly relieve the pressure and withdraw the hand backward, when the subject will follow backward as if drawn by a magnet. Should the hands be again pressed against the should blades, the subject will display considerable discomfort. This method does not produce the profound stages of hypnosis. It may be used to secure the first degree, and passes then employed for the deepr stages.

Method Five - The Nancy Method

Have the subject seated as in method one. Take a position about three feet from his left side, hold up two fingers of your right hand directly in front of his eyes, about ten inches from them. When signs of weariness appear, suggest in monotonous tones that he is going to sleep, and repeat such suggestions until hypnosis is produced.

Method Six - Mesmeric Method

Place the subject restfully in a chair and assume a position directly in front of him, either standing or sitting. Commence to make a series of passes with outstretched hands, the palms toward him. Let the passes be long from the top of his head to the abdomen, and always, before ascending to the head, separate the arms widely and rub the fingers as though throwing off some adherent substance; then let the hands ascend to the subject's head, always without actually touching his body. Continue this with tiresome and monotonous movements for some length of time, till the subject is evidently affected. If hypnosis has been produced, his arms may be lifted, and your command that they shall stay in position will be obeyed.

Method Seven - Exercise Of Will Power

Seat yourself beside the subject and hold both his hands firmly but easily in your own; make a gentle pressure now and then, as though you were transmitting a flow of "nerve force" into him. Have him close his eyes and incline the head in an easy and languid position, and then commence the suggestions of drowsiness and sleep. Tell him he is getting more and more drowsy, that he is sleepy, that he is nodding, and finally command him to "Sleep." Ask him if he is asleep, and he will say "Yes." Make various suggestion to his mind, and he will be impressed by them as though they were realities. Tell him he is warm, and he will wipe the imaginary perspiration from his face; tell him he is cold, and he will perceptibly shiver. He is absotutely under your mental control. Subjects hypnotized by this method lose all their personality during the hypnosis, and are completely subject to the slightest suggestions.

Method Eight - The Rotary Mirror

This method of producing hypnosis is frequently spoken of as Dr. Luy's method. It consists in tiring the optic nerve by gazing at a rotating series of small mirrors, set in a manner to make them appear like a mass of brilliant gems in motion. By this method a number of persons may be quickly hypnotized at one time by causing them to stand about the table upon which is placed the mirrors, rapidly revolving by clockwork. As they gaze at the mirrors, hypnosis is produced. It is surprising to notice how quickly a large number of persons may be hypnotized by this method. In social gatherings the employment of this method will prove most entertaining. Many who believe that it cannot possibly affect them will be the first to succumb.

Method Nine - The Hindoo Sleep

This method is employed extensively by the Fakirs of India to hypnotize their audiences, so as to cause them to firmly believe they actually see what is in reality simply suggested to them. By this process the Fakirs have secured a wonderful reputation for performing marvelous sleight-of-hand wonders which are in reality not performed at all, but simply hypnotic imaginations.

It is best to dress in East India fashion, so as to produce the air of mystery which is such an aid in this method. Sit tailor-fashion on the floor before your subject or audience, and then commence to slowly sway the upper part of our body in a rotary manner, without moving the body below the hips. Keep up this motion with monotonous regularity and gaze fixedly upon the persons you wish to hypnotize; utter no sound of any kind, although some soft and monotonous music may be played by another at a distance. The effect will be apparent in a short time, and in an audience many are sure to succumb. When they are hypnotized you may arise and proceed to exercise control over them in various ways.

Method Ten - Theory Of The Od

From very early times the magnet or loadstone has been employed as a curative agent in disease. Mesmer used it to a great extent, and other eminent investigators have made various experiments with its effects upon human beings. To Baron von Reichenbach, of Austria, belongs the credit of formulating the laws of what is now known as the "Od." By this term is designated the supposed peculiar force which, like the electric fluid, possesses various properties, and is given out by bodies under certain circumstances. One side of the body gives out a fluid different from that given out by the other side, and the balance of the two kinds of od in the body maintains natural conditions. When the balance is disturbed, great sensitiveness or even disease results. Od from another person or from some immaterial substance may affect a subject and produce hypnosis, somnambulism, catalepsy, etc. It is possible by passing a current of electricity through a subject to bring him into a state of rapport, so that he can realize the presence of only the one person who is traversed by a current in the same direction.

Hypnotize a subject by one of the methods given and set him back to back with a person suffering from some disease not organic, and place a magnet between them. The symptoms of the sick person will be manifested by the hypnotized subject. When a magnet is placed against the stomach of a hypnotized subject, the breathing will be visibly affected, and various other manifestations may be observed by using the magnet or the electric current during hypnosis.

In all experiments with the magnet, the greatest success will be obtained by employing the many precautions and aids elsewhere given for the production of hypnosis.