Psychic
Healing
CHAPTER XIII. PRACTICE OF
SUGGESTIVE HEALING.
In
our
last
chapter
we
showed
how
the Body might be affected by Mental States
and how the Mind affected the
physical being, through
the medium of the Instinctive Mind. And, we
have called your attention to the fact that
just as the physical
condition might be, adversely affected by
mental conditions, so might it be favorably
affected in the same
way. Health is contagious as well as Disease,
and "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he,
" applies as well to
Right-thinking as to Wrong-thinking. And upon
this theory or fact, is based the practice of
Suggestive Therapeutics.
The task before the
practitioner of Suggestive Therapeutics is
that of restoring normal mental conditions to
those who have dropped
into the habit of abnormal thinking about
their bodies ; and also to bring about normal
conditions by means of
the influence of the mind over the cells and
parts composing the body. As we have stated, the principal difference
between the practice of Mental Healing, and
Suggestive Therapeutics consists in the manner of applying the
treatment. In Mental Healing, there is little
or no verbal suggestions, the healing work if I being done along the lines
of Thought-transference or Telepathy. But in
Suggestive Therapeutics, the
treatment is given to
the mind of the patient by means of verbal
suggestions or words of the healer. Of course,
even in Suggestive
treatment the Thought of the healer operates
directly upon the mind of the patient, along
the lines of Mental
Healing, as well as by means of the verbal
suggestion.
The average Suggestionist will not admit this fact, but it is true
nevertheless, and in fact it has very much to
do with the cure. The verbal suggestion is often necessary
in order to make the deep impression upon the
minds of some patients, but the healing mental force goes along
with the suggestions, whether or not the
healer is conscious of it. The fact that there is a great difference in
the work of several suggestionists, in spite
of the fact that they are all following the same method and
even using the same words, will go toward
proving this idea.
Now, right here at the
beginning, in order that there may be no
misunderstanding, let us say that Suggestive
Therapeutics, pure and
simple, has no connection with Hypnotic
Suggestion or Hypnotism. Of course, there are
suggestionists who
combine the two, but there is no use in it,
and much to be urged against it. Hypnotism
plays
no real part in the
practice of Suggestive Therapeutics.
Hypnotists have found that when they obtained
the
hypnotic condition, they
could suggest Health to their patients with
effect, and they naturally supposed that
hypnosis was a necessary
precedent to the treatment and cure. But
investigators have proven that the suggestions
are
just as effective when given to the patient
when he is wide awake and conscious, and when
there is no attemptto produce a condition of
hypnosis. We urge upon our readers to divorce
the idea of Hypnosis from that of Suggestive Therapeutics, in
their minds. There is no real connection
between them, and there are many, reasons why they should not be
confounded with each other.
And, now that we have
formed an idea of what Suggestive Therapeutics
may do, and what it is, let us turn our
attention to the methods
of applying the treatment.
Receptivity of the
Patient. The best results in giving Suggestive
treatments, are obtained when the patient is
Induced to manifest a
receptive attitude of condition of mind. Just
as when one wishes to talk earnestly to
another about some
matter of importance, he seeks to have his
hearer in a quiet, thoughtful mood, rather
than
in the midst of worries
perplexities, business cares, etc., when his
attention is diverted away from the subject
under discussion just so
should the healer endeavor to have his patient
maintain a calm, relaxed, peaceful frame
of mind during the
treatment.
Attention. The patient
should be induced to give the healer his
entire attention, as the measure of the effect
of the treatment depends
largely upon the degree of attention given,
and obtained. Consequently, it is well to
get the patient quieted
down, before beginning the actual treatment.
The healer may talk to him in a quiet low
tone of voice, bidding
the patient relax every muscle and take the
tension from every nerve. He should adapt the
conversation
to the individual requirements of the patient,
speaking only of those things calculated to
promote quietness and calmness of mind,
and to carefully avoid subjects likely to
arouse antagonism and argument. Remember, you are not there to
convert the patient to any particular belief
of yours - you are to cure him. Let your manner and conversation be
Soothing and Quieting.
Voice. The Healer should
pay much attention to cultivating a good "
Suggestive Voice."
It is difficult to
describe just what is meant by this term, but
a few words of explanation may be of value. We
do not mean. that the
Healer should endeavor to become a skilled
elocutionist, but we do mean that he should be
able
to throw feeling and earnestness into his
tone. He should endeavor to have his Thought
and Desire so
permeate his tone that
the vibrations may be felt by the patient. His
tone should be Vibrant and Strong not
necessarily loud, but
possessed of that peculiar quality that we
call Strength. The words should fairly
vibrate,
and penetrate into the
mind of the patient. A mental state of
forgetting one's self, and concentrating the
whole
mind on the meaning of
the words used will produce the result
practice, of course, improving the gift and
faculty. The tone should
be "Intense."
The following exercises
will aid the Suggestor:
Imagine yourself as
treating a patient by Suggestion. Imagine the
patient as sitting in a chair in front of you,
or else, reclining on a
couch with you standing or sitting by his
side. Then give him the suggestions applicable
to his case, telling him
just what result to expect to accomplish, and
telling him firmly and positively that the
result "WILL be
accomplished. Pick out the key-words of the
suggestion that is the strong, vibrant words
that you wish to stand out in his mind
during and after the treatment, and practice
repeating them until you feel that
they are vibrant and
intense, with the real meaning and intent.
Take the word "STRONG,"
for instance for it is a word that should be
used frequently in suggestive treatment.
Repeat the word several
times, increasing the intensity and
earnestness at each repetition, thus :
"Strong;
Strong; STRONG; STRONG.
Practice until yon can fairly feel the
vibration of the word throughout your entire
being until the word
actually objectifies the Thought behind it.
Then take the word "WELL," and practice upon
it in the same way. You must not
repeat the words like a phonograph, or parrot,
but must endeavor to FEEL what you are saying.
Practice this
frequently, and you will begin to find that
you will acquire -a Vibrant Suggestive tone,
that will
make your words ring
with intensity, and cause them to be felt by
the patient. Let the two words, Earnestness
and Intensity be ever
before you in acquiring the Suggestive Voice.
The Eye. The
Suggestionist should cultivate a firm, earnest
gaze of the eye. Not a stare, but a firm
powerful
gaze. This may be
acquired by gradual practice and thought. A
person always gazes earnestly at a thing that
holds his attention, so if you will
train yourself to look with interest and
attention, you will find that the proper
gaze will come to you
without any further special attention. We
advise the cultivation of this gaze, not with
the idea of any hypnotic
influence, or anything of that source, but
with the idea of concentrating the thought,
and holding the
attention of the patient. Besides this, it is
calculated to create confidence in the mind of
the
patient who feels more
or less uncertain and who lacks confidence.
And without confidence on the part of the
patient, healing by any
method or system is rendered more difficult,
for in such cases the patient pulls
against the healer
instead of with him.
The Mental Attitude of
the Healer. The Suggestive Healer should
cultivate a Mental Attitude of Earnestness. He
should
not be a trifler. He should have the best
interests of the patient at heart, and in so
doing his own best
interests will be
served.
He should act with a
purpose, and not scatter his efforts and life
in petty non-essentials. We do not mean to
indicate that the healer
should follow a life of all work and no play
quite the contrary, for we believe that
Work, Play and Best, are
equal necessities to the normal man. We do
mean, however, that he should see his
purpose, and move
accordingly.
He should be
Concentrated in his work. A wandering
attention and lack of concentration is fatal
to good
suggestive work. Not
only do the suggestions fail to have the
proper effect, but the patient subtly feels
that
something is lacking,
and he does not receive the proper vibrations.
Use the Will and hold the Mind down to its
work.
He should have
confidence in himself, and if this be lacking
he should build up that confidence by a
practice of
Auto-suggestion or
affirmation. For unless one have confidence in
himself, he cannot expect others to have it.
Confidence is
contagious, and so is lack of it. Remember
that.
Position of the Patient.
The patient should be placed in an easy,
comfortable position. A reclining, or Morris
chair, or a couch, is
the best thing to use in bringing about the
easy condition of physical comfort. The
patient
should be taught to
relax his muscles, the best way to teach same
being to ask the patient to allow his hand to
be "limp," and then
raising it, the healer should allow it to drop
of its own weight to the chair, telling the
patient to allow an
equally relaxed condition to prevail all over
the body. Use the suggestion: "Now make
yourself perfectly
comfortable easy, easy, easy easy and
comfortable easy and comfortable, "the
suggestion actingnot only to cause the physical
ease and relaxation, but also the mental
relaxation and withdrawal of tension from the nerves. The healer should either sit
beside the patient on a low stool, or else
stand by his side, or back of him. Use your own intuition in these
matters, as there are no invariable rules
necessary to be observed.
Repetition. One of the
axioms of Suggestive Therapeutics is that
"Suggestions gain increased force by
repetition." A constant
repetition of the suggestions fastens it
firmly upon the mind of the patient, therefore
the healer should repeat
the key-word of the suggestion again and again
not so as to become monotonous but in
a different arrangement
of words, remembering to bring the key-word,
or principal suggestion into each new
arrangement. Remember
that planting a suggestion is like attacking a
fort. It must be attacked from all sides,
and so a repetition of
the suggestion in different forms is
important. In repeating the suggestion, let
the
key-word ring out strong
and vibrant.
Surroundings. The
treatment should be given, so far as is
possible, amidst surroundings that do not tend
to
distract the patients
attention from the suggestions. Endeavor to
shut out all outside noises and sights, so
that
the sense of hearing of
the patient may be focussed and concentrated
upon: the suggestions that are being given
him or her. Pull down
the blinds of the room, so as to produce a
state of semi-darkness or dusk. These things
have a great
psychological importance.
Picturing the Expected
Condition. In giving the suggestions, it is
important to picture in the mind of the
patient, the desired
condition that is the condition that you wish
to bring about. Lead him up to it by degrees,
picturing each, process
of the expected cure, and winding up with a
mental picture of Mm restored to health.
In the General Treatment
given a little later on, you will see just
what we mean. We mention it here that you may
understand
why the picture is given. Thought takes form
in action, and the mind of the patient closely
following the picture, in treatment after
treatment, unconsciously causes the physical
to manifest the suggested
thought-picture.
General Remarks. There
is no special magic in the words uttered by
the suggestionist, and the whole virtue of the
suggestive
treatment lies in the Thought behind the
words. To the degree that this thought is
taken and absorbed by the patient, is the degree
of the success of the treatment. Therefore it
follows that the degree of success lies in the degree of Energy
and Earnestness that the healer puts into his
thought, and the degree of Earnestness and Energy whereby the thought
is conveyed by the words and otherwise from
healer to patient. Of course there is a constant mental or telepathic
transmission of the Thought, but the effect is
heightened by the strong suggestive words of the healer,
and the combination of the two is a powerful
one.
The patient's mind
should be constantly directed to the
conditions expected and hoped to be realized,
and
therefore this IMPORTANT RULE.
Never make any reference
to the diseased condition during your
suggestions, but always speak of the condition
as you wish it to be. Lead the
mind away from the present condition, and
place it upon the expected condition. You thereby place an ideal in the
mind of the patient, which he will,
unconsciously, endeavor to live up to.
Do not neglect to
observe the above rule, for it is most
important. Make no negative suggestions or "
denials,"
but always make positive
suggestions or "affirmations." For instance,
do not suggest: "You are not weak, etc.",
but on the contrary
suggest, repeatedly, "You are Strong." Do you
see the difference? The reason lies in the
fact that by repeating
the word of the thing you would deny, you
really affirm its existence, and direct the
mind
of the patient to it.
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Human
Spirit
