History Of Hypnosis From 1000bc

Practiced directly or through various rites or cults, the Egyptians, Chaldeans, Sumerians and other ancient cultures used what is similar to what we now know as hypnosis. In many cases they used hypnosis for therapeutic purposes. The first recorded record of hypnosis as a field of study and scientific research is in the mid eighteenth century by Franz Anton Mesmer who wrote his "Theory of Animal Magnetism."

Mesmer believed hypnosis is produced by a fluid or interpenetrating etheric energy that everything is made of and could be transmitted from one body to another. Through this fluid one could induce the subject to a special state called magnetic sleep. A state that was achieved by placing magnets or several passes of his hands around the subjects body.

The therapeutic goal was primarily to produce miraculous healing. Such was the fame and excitement caused by this Austrian physician, that when he moved to Paris with his "miracles", Louis XVI himself asked the Academy of Sciences in Paris for a formal report on Animal Magnetism. The Academy of Sciences concluding that such fluid does not exist.

No wonder that this technique arose so much passion and contempt for his research. The followers of Mesmer and other researchers would then continue the study of the mysteries of hypnosis and therefore the human psyche. As an example, a patient of the Marquis of Puysegur, named Victor, who was a humble farmer and virtually illiterate. When put into the magnetic trance, he spoke with an ease that he never had before. He had knowledge of anatomy and medicine, even giving completely accurate diagnose of illness and disease and prescribing remedies for himself or others that were eventually proven effective. These findings have been repeated at different times throughout history.

In 1960 at the experimental center of Sofia, a group of students were subjected to a special class in which techniques in applied sophrology or "suggestopedia" where used. Dr. Lozanov states the key was to bring the minds of the students to a state of rest or "relaxation". They used classical background music with long beats (Vivaldi, Teleman, Handel) while the professor tempered his words to the rhythm and melody of the music. The students fell into a receptive state of mind, allowing them to use much more of their brain to absorb and recall what they were told. The results were striking: in one session a student learned thousands of words in English.

Milton Erickson is considered the best contemporary hypnotist. Many of his cures for patients and the terminally ill found no other solution with any other method. Ericksons reputation grew with interest in his methods. Erickson believed the patient and therapist are a single unit that establishes a partnership. In this partnership the patient and therapist must work together to break the resistance of the subconscious mind. They must also unlearn old habits that limit the individual and produce diseases and psychological problems. Once this is accomplished the door was open for learning new behaviors and achieving happiness in ones life. The students were taught that the resources needed to solve their problems lie in their history and life, with each problem, solutions are to be found within.

1000 years BC
Ancient Egyptian Ebers
The Egyptologist Bordeaux
A Ebers papyrus shows an Egyptian priest magnetized to a patient or adept. The hieroglyphics reflected in the murals of the Temple of Imotep (God of Healing) shows similar scenes.

500 years BC
Greece
Priests and Greeks Hierophants
In the Temples of Sleep, scenes show techniques similar to hypnotic indications for healing purposes. Some were Asclepius, god of medicine.

1776
Vienna (Austria)
Franz Anton Mesmer
He published his Ph.D. thesis "De influxu planetarum in corpus humanum", influenced by the theories of Paracelsus.

1779
Paris (France)
Franz Anton Mesmer
Publish the 27 propositions that support his "Theory of Animal Magnetism."

1784
Paris (France)
At the request of Louis XVI, a commission formed by the Academy of Sciences of Paris, issue a verdict on mesmers Animal Magnetism, concluding that it does not exist and is unrealistic.

1784
Buzancy (France)
Armand de Puysegur
The largest of the three so-called "brothers Pusegur" discovers hypnosis and clairvoyance. One of his patients (Victor Rase) speaks, moves and demonstrates superior knowledge in a trance, remembering nothing after awaking.

1819
Paris (France)
Father Faria
The priest Faria shows his method of fascination. He set his eyes on the subject and ordered them to sleep deeply. For him, the trance is a matter of imagination, not magnetism.

1841
Manchester (United Kingdom)
James Braid
This Scottish surgeon discovers that to produce the trance it is not necessary to use the intervention of a hypnotist or any magnetic fluid.

1866
Nancy (France)
Auguste Ambroise Liebeault
Liebeault publishes his work on sleep. Cures his patients with suggestions.

1886
Paris (France) Bernheim
Professor at the University of Nancy, published his book Hypnotism. German edition in 1888 was translated by Sigmund Freud.

1910
Paris (France)
Emile Coue
The pharmacist in the town of Troyes leaves the pharmacy and discloses their method of conscious autosuggestion.

1980
United States
Milton Erickson
Dr. Milton H. Erickson (1901-1980), considered one of the best therapists of the twentieth century, expanded the possibilities of hypnosis when considering the state of trance as a natural experience available to everyone. In the trance we can transcend our usual way of thinking, allowing us to explore new options for improving communication and relationships with others.