The New Master Course In Hypnotism E-Book

Harry Arons

• Herausgeber: Harry Arons
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2014

Beschreibung

This book is my course in essence. The induction techniques and other important material have been transcribed from recordings of actual class sessions. Lacking only the practice sessions, the visual demon­strations on student-subjects and the question and an­swer periods, the “New Master Course in Hypnotism” is one of the first attempts to present a comprehensive hypnosis course in book form. In this sense, it is a “Textbook of Hypnotism.”

Leseprobe

The New Master Course In Hypnotism

by HARRY ARONS

This book is dedicated to the real pioneers inthe field of hypnotism, THE LAYMENwho labored long and hard, braving age-oldprejudices, to gain acceptance ofhypnosis by the public and the medicaland dental professions . . . and whonow face an uncertain future.

Preface

I started teaching hypnosis in 1934 on a small scale; my first class was a mixed group of professional people. During the three years prior to that I had obtained my own training in hypnosis, mainly via the meager supply of available books on the subject, since schools of in­struction were unknown at that time. Indeed, I had heard of only four professional hypnotists active in this country during this period, three of them stage hypno­tists and one a “doctor” practicing hypnotherapy who was later exposed as a fraud; I was not aware of any physicians, dentists or psychologists openly employing hypnosis at that time, though it is probable that some unobtrusive application of hypnosis by professional (medical) operators was in progress.

In 1941 I published a 64-page booklet called “Mas­ter Course in Hypnotism.” It was intended mainly for use as a syllabus of my course. However, upon urging by some of my students, I revised the booklet in 1948, added photographic illustrations, and made it available to the public through normal distribution channels. It underwent another revision in 1955 and became the main “text book” that I included with my courses. Early in 1960 I took it off the market completely pend­ing the extensive revision that was badly needed and long overdue.

In more than a quarter of a century of teaching, my course of personal instruction was modified many times. I made a special point of familiarizing myself with other courses being offered, both to professionals and to laymen; I took special note of the inadequacies of these courses as well as of their good points. I in­corporated the important material and eliminated dis­cussions of theory and other unnecessary verbiage. Gradually, my course developed into a thoroughly or­ganized and complete course in scientific ethical hyp­nosis. Its superiority to other courses has been attested to by professional and lay students who have taken the best of the others and are therefore deemed qualified to judge.

This book is my course in essence. The induction techniques and other important material have been transcribed from tape recordings of actual class sessions. Lacking only the practice sessions, the visual demon­strations on student-subjects and the question and an­swer periods, the “New Master Course in Hypnotism” is one of the first attempts to present a comprehensive hypnosis course in book form. In this sense, it is a “Textbook of Hypnotism.”

Harry Arons

Irvington, N. J. January, 1961

Contents

Author's Preface

Foreword

Introduction

Historical Outline

LESSON

1. Preliminary Suggestibility Tests (What To Do Before Hypnotizing)

2. Preliminary Suggestibility Tests (A Screening Procedure)

3. Preliminary Suggestibility Tests

4. Recognition and Classification of Subjects

5. Favorable and Unfavorable Influences

6. Dangers of Hypnotism and How to

7. Psychology of Hypnotism

8. Induction Techniques

9. Induction Techniques

10. Induction Techniques

11. Stages of Hypnosis

12. Phenomena of Hypnosis

13. Advanced Methods

14. Instantaneous Methods, Indirect Methods, Waking Hypnosis

15. Eight Best Techniques for Deepening Hypnosis

16. Practical Uses of Hypnosis

17. Practical Uses of Hypnosis

ADDENDA

Foreword

Were the reader to have the privilege of comparing the various professional courses in hypnosis being of­fered today with the course for which Harry Arons has become known, he would find a number of significant differences. I have found only one of these to be on the negative side—the fact that Arons does not teach medi­cine, dentistry or psychology.

His reason for this lack is simple: he is not a physician, nor a dentist, nor a psychologist; moreover, he assumes that his professional “pupils” are already competent in their respective fields—and he therefore devotes himself to teaching hypnosis, induction tech­niques and important related material.

Dr. Charles F. Mayer of Dallas, Texas, sums it up succinctly in a letter to Arons when he says: ”. . . when a potential practitioner attends a seminar, he is pri­marily interested in learning techniques—and that is what you teach so effectively. I have attended several seminars given by other groups, but I can truly say that yours is the best and most practical course I know of today.”

There are many things in this book that the reader will appreciate. Outside of a brief historical outline, all the unessentials have been left out. There is barely a mention of theories—because none of them answers the question “What is hypnosis?” For controversial as­pects, the reader is referred to the more academic works on the subject,

On the plus side, the most outstanding thing about this book is the crystal-clear exposition of the induc­tion techniques. Arons' “3-step procedure” forms an excellent foundation for the performance of the induc­tion technique of one's choice in a logical manner, thus avoiding the subject's adverse reactions to ridiculous induction affirmations. For the standard methods, he selects the three he considers best in this category; his presentation of the advanced techniques, the permis­sive methods, the indirect (disguised) procedures with the appropriate variations that arise, leaves nothing to be desired. Each method is presented exactly as I saw it demonstrated in class, with the word-for-word, step-by-step detail that is so helpful to the student. I consider Arons' course the most methodical and thoroughly organized course available today.

This book is the main text of the Scientific Medical Hypnosis Seminars, which I direct. I am quite content to let Arons teach the techniques. This permits me to devote my energies more exclusively to the applications of hypnosis in medical and dental practice, and to the demonstrations of rapid induction which I consider so essential to making hypnosis a practical modality in the healing arts.

Maurice E. Bryant, M.D.

Clinical Associate in General Practice

School of Medicine, University of

Washington; Director, Scientific Medical

Hypnosis Seminars

Lawyers and judges deal daily with the psychology of human behavior. Should it be a matter of interro­gation, then those of the legal fraternity should interest themselves in the subject of hypnotism. In the modern day, when the ancient concept of immediate bodily punishment and deprivation of free association with others is tempered with the endeavor to first ascertain, if possible, the causative mental factors which may have led to the overt physical act, it is well-nigh imperative that the law-enforcement officials, the attorneys and the judges, possess some degree of understanding of the hu­man tendency to suggestive response. And this under­standing, to be of value, must not be confined to theory alone, but must embrace a practical knowledge of the complete hypnotic methodology and the correct sug­gestive techniques. My acquirement of a fair degree of that knowledge and understanding, under the tutelage of the author of this work, furnishes the justification for this foreword.

Forty years in the realm of the law has impressed upon me the virtue of brevity. Brevity, as the word is here employed, signifies the ability to state or demon­strate the subject matter in a concise and succinct man­ner without loss of the essentials. Consequently, it is natural for me, in perusing a publication, to seek brevity without loss of essentials.

I have found that quality in this volume. In this treatise the author, Harry Arons, has very thoroughly and effectively eliminated all padding and irrelevant matter, while, at the same time, preserving all the req­uisites for a complete mastery of the art of scientific hypnosis. In days gone by the mention of the word “hypnotism” immediately conjured up thoughts and associations of the occult and quackery. Today we know that hypnotism is a definitely established scien­tific topic with no residence in the realm of mysticism. The approach and presentation of the subject in the present work is definite and scientific.

Hypnotism—that is, the art of practical hypnotism —partakes of scientific rules and formulae, but hypno­sis—that is, the mental condition of the individual—is a thing natural to all normal persons, regardless of in­tellectual attainments or field of endeavor. It is as natural as the mind itself. Suggestibility is a normal characteristic of the mind. All about us, in every day life, the principles of hypnotism are evident, though for the most part, unnoticed. Our very surroundings, conversations, and activities constantly offer hypnotic suggestion. Frequently we hear of the “road hypnosis” of the auto operator. The daily sustained and repeated advertising on radio and TV subjects the listeners to many forms of hypnotic suggestions which, in many cases, are acted upon with no conscious realization by the listener. While not universally adopted, the fact of hypnosis is increasingly being employed in our schools to the end of molding and formulating human person­alities and instilling individual confidence. Thus it seems wholly unrealistic to say that hypnosis should be confined to the healing arts. The very nature of hyp­nosis, the fact that it is a natural phenomenon which may be induced in natural and imperceptible ways, and the fact of the limitless phases of its beneficial effects, renders ludicrous the thought that it is subject to cap­tivity by special interests or for a special purpose. A knowledge of hypnotism and self-hypnosis and how to use and apply it and, if need be, guard against it, is therefore, even more important to the layman than to the professional.

Here, in the pages of this book, will be found a practical “college education” in the art of scientific hypnotism. The curriculum is complete and thorough in every requisite detail. The author instructor gives forth that which is born of a lifetime devotion to the hypnotic skills and many years of rich and varied prac­tical and theoretical experience in the art of hypnotism, self-hypnosis, and hypnotic procedures. Emphasis is laid on the actual techniques of inducing the hypnotic state. The majority of the many volumes on hypnosis give little in the way of precise methodology, devoting only a few paragraphs to actual technique. The student of such books is understandably left in a bewildered state. He is sure to lose the essential factor of prestige because of his hesitancy and uncertainty brought about by a lack of full knowledge of the correct inductive proce­dure. The volume you have before you contains full, detailed, and complete techniques, with the actual wording successfully used by the author himself. For the first time, to my knowledge, it presents the three important steps requisite for sound, scientific, hypnotic induction. Many other innovations in inductive proce­dures and methods, waking hypnosis, speed hypnosis, and allied phases will be found herein.

The “credits” which are possible from a study of this admirable work depend entirely upon the attitude, the desire, the sincerity, the zeal, the honesty, and the persistence of the student. The success of any given technique depends largely upon the basic ability of the hypnotist to speak and act in the most effective manner at the most effective time. It will be found, as I have found, that the study and practice of the methods given in this book will be greatly enhanced by listening to the several phonograph records produced by the author. It is impossible to get the voice inflection, the timing of the routine, and the facility of delivery from the cold print on the page. The simultaneous visual and audi­tory approach afforded by this book and the records provides a remarkably effective combination.

Even if the student or investigator lacks any desire for actual, practical application of the extensive induc­tion procedures herein found, a deep enjoyment and great personal assurance will be the reward supplied by the knowledge derived from the reading and study of this instructive and intensely interesting master work.

Dewey Kelley

Judge, Indiana Appellate

Court

This is outstandingly the clearest, soundest, and most practical book which I have seen on how to hyp­notize. It is written in straight-forward, readily under­standable style. It uses admirable teaching techniques. It is remarkably free from the irrelevant, superficial, and dubious material which so often pads out books on this subject.

It has been my privilege to collaborate with Harry Arons in several seminars in which the materials in this book were used. I can testify to the extraordinary effectiveness of these techniques, to the enthusiasm which their demonstration aroused in the participants in the seminar, and to the great practical value of the methods of autohypnosis which Mr. Arons has de­veloped.

Hornell Hart, Ph.D.

Professor Emeritus of SociologyDuke University;

Author of “Autoconditioning:

The New Way to aSuccessful Life”

THIS IS NOT AN APOLOGY . . .

THIS BOOK is not intended to be a literary masterpiece —and this note is not an apology for its literary im­perfections.

The New Master Course in Hypnotism is intended to impart the hypnotic techniques in as effective a man­ner as possible. Judging from the way the author's personal instruction has been received, it has been con­sidered advisable to transfer his oral instructions to the printed page with a minimum of editing. The ma­jor portion of the instruction material has therefore been transcribed directly from tape recordings made at various of his seminars all over the country. These parts of the book “sound like Harry Arons talking,” in the words of one reviewer. This kind of “talking” may de­tract from proper literary construction. It is our hope, however, that the advantages of “listening” to “Harry Arons talking” before his classes will outweigh the literary defects of the book.

Introduction

To my knowledge, The Master Course in Hypnotism is the first organized text book on the subject. It differs from others in that it contains detailed instruction for inducing hypnosis as well as a large number of meth­ods. The course in its present form includes the best methods of the old masters, the results of the investi­gations of prominent European and American psychol­ogists, the fruits of the author's own active practice and experimentations and a number of important advances in methodology made in the past two decades. It is the main text of the course in Scientific Hypnosis of the Ethical Hypnosis Training Center.

This course differs in another respect. It is scientific and strictly true to fact. Hypnotism is presented stripped of its heritage of hokum and mysticism. Such things as animal magnetism, magnetic healing, and similar buga­boos are pointedly ignored. Most statements made rep­resent the consensus of opinion. In those cases where the author's opinion is given, this fact is clearly stated. The methods explained have been tried and proven and sensationalism and exaggeration have been studiously avoided. Hypnotism is presented truly as a science. The wheat, in short, is here separated from the chaff.

This course is for beginners as well as for advanced students. To the beginners especially, the author de­sires to address a few pertinent remarks. It is easy to learn to hypnotize, but only by dint of persistent prac­tice and application may one become an expert hypnot ist. The author suggests that these lessons be studied —not just read—in the order and sequence in which they appear. The Preliminary Tests which form a prac­tical screening procedure should be thoroughly mas­tered. The Psychology of Suggestion must be well understood. The student should, in particular, be quite familiar with the attendant conditions and possible dangers and have at his fingertips the means for meet­ing any emergencies which might arise. The course should be completed and begun a second time before any attempts at actual induction are to be made. Per­severance and assiduous practice will do the rest. The author earnestly hopes that once the student has mas­tered the hypnotic art, he be conscientious about its application and refrain from using it for the further­ance of questionable ends. Finally, hypnosis should be used for therapeutic purposes only by those who are qualified to do so by virtue of formal training in the healing arts, or under the supervision or direction of licensed physicians and dentists.

Historical outline

Modern Hypnotism begins with Friedrich (Franz) An­ton Mesmer (1734-1815). It was he who expounded the principles of Animal Magnetism, more commonly known as Mesmerism, a system of healing based on the belief that a disturbance of equilibrium of a “univer­sal fluid” causes disease in human beings, and that a magnetic readjustment of this “all-pervading, invisible fluid” serves to cure diseases. Although Mesmer pro­duced the hypnotic state innumerable times, he was quite unaware of the fact; it remained for his pupil, the Marquis Armand de Puysegur, to actually discover the hypnotic trance, which he called “artificial som­nambulism” by analogy with spontaneous somnambul­ism as occurring during natural sleep.

The followers of Mesmer and Puysegur adhered to the erroneous principles of Animal Magnetism for a long time. But in 1841, Dr. James Braid, a Manchester (England) physician, coined the word “Hypnosis” from the Greek of “hypnos,” meaning “sleep,” and the scien­tific era began. He put no stock in magnetism, believing rather in “fascination” (fixation) and verbal suggestion. Braid, Elliotson and Esdaile also instituted the use of hypnosis as anaesthesia for both minor and major operations.

In the 70's the famous dispute broke out between the two rival schools of thought in France, the Salpetriere or Paris School, headed by Dr. Jean Charcot, and the Nancy School, led by Professor Hypolyte Bernheim of the University of Nancy. Dr. Charcot believed “ma­jor hypnotism,” as he called it, to comprise three well-defined stages which could be produced only by physical or neurological stimulation. Professor Bernheim and his followers claimed that hypnosis was caused by, and consisted of, pure suggestion, thus making their inter­pretation somewhat too broad. Eventually Charcot's claims were proven to be based on false theories, and, strangely enough, indirect, inadvertent suggestion.

With suggestion firmly established, it but remained for Myers to introduce the hypothesis of the “sublim­inal self”—a sort of dual personality dwelling beneath the threshold of consciousness. This hypothesis was clarified and improved by several American psycholo­gists, including Professor William James and Dr. Boris Sidis, and became known as the theory of the “sub­conscious mind.” Its adherents are spoken of as follow­ing the New Nancy School. Such famous men as Charles Richer, Pierre Janet, Emile Coue, Paul Dubois, Ochorowicz, Mobius, Myers, Gurney, Stanley Hall, and Forel belonged to this school.

Although American hypnotists today do not gener­ally class themselves in any of these schools, they are with very few exceptions adherents to the principles of the New Nancy School.

Lesson OnePreliminary Suggestibility Tests

What to do before hypnotizing

ONE OF THE PRINCIPAL objections to the use of hypnosis, especially in the professions, is the belief that it is too time-consuming. This would be true if the operator tried to hypnotize every person who came to him. Some people can be hypnotized quickly, with some it takes a few minutes, and occasionally you find a person who is not suitable for hypnosis at all or who requires spe­cial conditions which do not prevail at the moment. In order to make the use of hypnosis practical, one must be able to evaluate his subjects and determine who should be hypnotized immediately and who should be left alone. For this purpose a screening procedure is absolutely necessary. The tests which follow comprise a practical screening procedure.

THREE PURPOSES

There are three purposes of the Preliminary Sug­gestibility Tests:

The first purpose is classification. Through these tests, the operator is able to determine whether a person is good, bad, or indifferent as a subject.

The second purpose involves a “warm-up” or “conditioning” of the subject. Through these tests, the subject is gradually readied to go into hypnosis. He is warmed up, he is conditioned to accept the hypnotic state. If you try to hypnotize a person “cold,” without taking him through any kind of a preparation period, the chances of success are greatly diminished.

The third purpose of the tests is possibly even more important than the first two. As you watch your subject's responses, you will get clues from his reactions as to which of the various methods of induc­tion are more likely to be effective. No one method, no matter how skillful one may be with it, is effec­tive with everyone. Therefore, your skill in deter­mining which method to use will go a long way to minimize the chances of failure.

CHEVREUL'S PENDULUM

I choose Chevreul's Pendulum as the first and one of the more important of these preliminaries because I have used it with good results in still another way—to help in the student's training. Although it was designed by M. Chevreul, a Frenchman, primarily for the purpose of testing a subject's susceptibility to hyp­nosis, I have used it besides as an aid in increasing the student's concentration power. It can be described as follows:

A strong thread or thin cord, or better still, a thin watch or key chain, between ten and fifteen inches long, is attached at one end to a heavy ring, key, or similar object, preferably something bright and shiny. Crystal or plastic balls, with chains attached, are avail­able from hypnotic supply houses. The other end of the cord or chain should be fastened or hung on the eraser end of a long pencil. This is the pendulum proper. Next a heavy circle between six and eight inches in diameter is drawn on a white background (white paper, unlined, may be used, but I have found a square of white cardboard to be more practical). Inside the circle are drawn two heavy lines crossing each other at the center. We may designate the horizontal line as A-B, the vertical line as C-D, and the center as X.

This chart is placed on a chair or low table, and the person holding the pendulum stands alongside the chair, looking down at the chart. The pendulum should be held by the pointed end of the pencil, with the thumbs and forefingers of both hands, so that the pen­cil is held horizontal and the weight on the end of the cord hangs free over the center of the chart, the point X.

You must stand upright, feet together, the body relaxed as much as possible. Your elbows must not touch your sides as your hands hold the end of the pencil, while the pendulum hangs straight down over the chart.

Now fix your eyes on the point X. The ring, key, ball or whatever you are using as a pendulum should be about on a straight line between your eyes and the point X. Now if you concentrate hard on point X, keep­ing your eyes fixed there steadily, the pendulum will hang still over it, perhaps rotating ever so slightly. Now move your eyes to point A of the horizontal line A-B; then move your gaze across to B, then back to A, and so on, continuing to move your eyes back and forth along the line and concentrating on it as you do so. Keep this up steadily and without interruption—back and forth, back and forth—and in a short while you will find the pendulum following the line of your thoughts and your gaze, gradually swinging further and further; the harder you concentrate the more steadily the pen­dulum will swing back and forth along the line.

After this has proceeded for several minutes, sud­denly change from the line A-B to the line C-D, con­tinuing as before, but this time making your gaze travel up and down along the line C-D. In a short while the course of the pendulum's swing will gradually change, until it is again obeying your thoughts and gaze, this time swinging up and down.

Now if you will start concentrating on the circle, with your eyes going around and around the circum­ference, the pendulum will again change its course and follow your mind's directions, swinging in a circle or an ellipse. If you suddenly stop and concentrate anew on the point X, the pendulum will soon come to a complete halt over the center.

This may not, of course, work with you at the first trial. But keep it up for a while, resting your mind occasionally if necessary, and making certain that the cord is long enough, the pendulum object of a sufficient weight, although not so heavy as to prevent its swing­ing freely, and especially that you are standing pro­perly, relaxed, not leaning against anything, your arms slightly away from your sides—and concentrating!— that is the chief requirement.

When testing a subject with Chevreul's Pendulum you follow the same general rules that I have outlined, making certain that you instruct him fully and cor­rectly. It is best, when telling him to gaze back and forth along the line, that you help him along at first with your finger, which you hold under the pendulum and move back and forth as desired, at about one-second intervals, at the same time repeating in monot­onous tones—“back and forth . . . along the line” . . . This should be repeated rhythmically, monotonously. The other formulae, of course, are similar:—“up and down . . . along the line . . . concentrate ... up and down”—etc. And—“around and ‘round . . . just keep it up ... ‘round and ‘round”—etc. These verbal sug­gestions go a long way to stimulate the pendulum's gyrations.

This exercise may be varied in a rather interesting and amusing manner, but in this you must be careful to choose the right type of subject. A person of per­spicacity is likely to feel insulted, or at best consider you a si [...]