Евгений Шубралов – Suggestion at a distance: theory, practice and philosophy (страница 4)

Thus, the whole essence of hypnotic suggestions lies in the fact that the hypnotized person experiences a special state of passivity, which is why suggestions act on him in such an overwhelming way.

However, there is no doubt that the state of passivity is only one of the most favorable conditions for the introduction of suggestion into the unconscious sphere. It is only a suitable environment for suggestion, eliminating to a greater or lesser extent the interference of personal consciousness. Since, however, this state of passivity does not go hand in hand with the depth of sleep, but also depends to a large extent on individual conditions, it is obvious from here that the degree of susceptibility to suggestions is not in direct relation to the depth of hypnosis.

SUGGESTION IN THE WAKING STATE

Experience further shows that there are persons for whom the waking state of consciousness is almost as favorable a condition for suggestion as hypnosis. In such persons, any suggestion at all is possible even in a completely awake state, therefore, with the presence of will. In short, in these individuals, suggestions can be made in the waking state as easily and simply as in others in a state of hypnosis.

For the validity of suggestion, nothing is required from such a person except that he listens and does not resist. If he begins to counteract suggestion, it is enough to strengthen the latter, and if this is not enough, then it is only necessary to suggest that resistance is impossible, and the suggestion opens up full scope.

The whole peculiarity of these people boils down to the fact that they allow an extraneous idea to invade their consciousness passively, without interfering with their "I" in the essence and criticism of this idea, in other words, letting it into their consciousness without active attention, just as a person perceives something in distraction.

Everyone knows that, being distracted and inattentive, we can give answers to questions that are completely unsuitable for us; we can admit what we would undoubtedly reject if we treated the question with attention, often we do not even know that this question was asked to us, in other words, we have a real amnesia. On the other hand, when distracting attention, we often do not notice our feelings, we can even drown out sharp painful sensations. In other cases, we experience unaccountable longing or mental pain for no apparent reason, or one or another motive may be imposed on us, one or another idea may be instilled in us, etc

. In short, in a state of distraction, when our "I" is busy with something or distracted in a certain direction, we we get a state favorable to suggestion, as a result of which, being introduced into the psychic sphere, it penetrates into it in addition to the "I" or, at least, without its active participation and cannot be subjected to appropriate criticism and processing.

Thus, there is no doubt that a facilitated susceptibility to suggestions is sometimes observed in a normal mental state. But the bottom line is that in this case, the suggested persons in relation to the suggestions made, believing in their magical power, are unable to detect any mental resistance and obey them completely passively.

Due to this, suggestions easily enter their mental sphere in addition to their "I", more precisely, in addition to their personal consciousness, therefore they are grafted directly, so to speak, into the very depths of the mental sphere, in addition to any participation of the will and act as irresistibly on the subject as suggestions produced in hypnosis.

It goes without saying that in this kind of person, suggestion in the waking state can be used for treatment as easily as suggestions produced in hypnosis.

The following case may serve as an example of the validity of such suggestions produced in the waking state.

In the autumn of 1896, we admitted to the clinic a young man who suffered from severe convulsive hysterical attacks and complete paralysis of the lower extremities, which developed in one of the hysterical attacks.

This paralysis lasted for more than 1.5 months, not yielding to any therapeutic methods at all, and thus threatened to turn into those chronic paralysis that last for years, not yielding to cure.

But during the examination of this patient, together with the doctors of the clinic, his eyes were closed and then, by suggestion, he was immediately completely cured of paralysis and began to walk in hypnosis. When he was woken up, he was surprised to find that he was standing on his feet and could walk freely.

The patient was delighted to go to his room himself and amazed all those who had seen him in a wheelchair in a state of complete paralysis of the lower extremities a few minutes before.

Since then, the patient had only hysterical epileptic seizures, which happened to the patient quite often and often lasted for a very long time, if they were not stopped in time by appropriate suggestions.

Before demonstrating the patient at a lecture in front of students, I examined him again and made sure that suggestions can be freely made to him in a waking state. Immediately, he was impressed with the cessation of convulsive seizures and his recovery.

The suggestion had such an effect on the patient that he completely recovered and the seizures stopped.

The next day, at a lecture, a patient in a completely awake state could be inspired with a variety of convulsions, contractures, paralysis, illusions and hallucinations, in short, anything.

I asked the patient many times how he could explain to himself the effect of suggestion in reality, but he only expressed surprise along with other people present. Over time, however, this patient developed two or three more mild hysterical seizures under the influence of special occasions, but these were only isolated seizures, which then, after new suggestions, were no longer repeated.

In another case, the typesetter, who suffered from clear signs of lead poisoning, had, along with right-sided hemianesthesia and pain in the left side of the head, hemichorrhea on the right side of the body, especially pronounced in the right arm. The patient had to constantly hold this hand with his left hand, as it greatly disturbed him with constant convulsive movements, which were even more intensified with every agitation and examination. The patient, being an insolvent person, had been without any work for many months, being in the full sense a helpless person. But it was enough to convince him once, without resorting to hypnosis, that his convulsions had stopped and he could use his hand freely again, and it turned out that the convulsions immediately disappeared completely. Since then, the patient could at any time cause a convulsion at will, thanks to a simple suggestion, and also simply destroy it. It turned out to be possible to do the same with his pain and with hemianesthesia, which disappeared at a word of suggestion and could be recalled in a waking state any number of times. Upon recovery, this subject reproduced all his painful disorders under the influence of suggestion, among other things, both at a lecture to students and at the same lecture he was freed from them.

Needless to say, we had in the clinic and in its outpatient clinic many other patients who, in their waking state, also easily carry out various suggestions, such as illusions, hallucinations, etc., and who, with these suggestions in their waking state, were easily cured of various nervous seizures. Usually, every year in the lectures I give on hypnosis, I demonstrate a number of patients with excellent suggestibility in a waking state.

The above examples, the likes of which could be cited in many ways, leave no doubt that suggestions in the waking state in certain cases can be just as easily implemented and just as valid as suggestions in the state of hypnosis. But even in cases where there is no such suggestibility in the waking state, there is often no significant need for sleep to influence suggestion. All that is needed is faith in the power of the suggestion being made and complete concentration of thought on the content of this suggestion is possible, in other words, it is necessary for the subject to surrender to the action of this suggestion completely. When the doctor reaches these conditions in a waking state, then he can freely dispense with hypnotic sleep during suggestion treatment, which in some cases even interferes with suggestion, if, for example, the patient, believing in the magical power of only suggestions produced in hypnosis, does not fall asleep deeply enough.

Thus, for suggestion, in essence, no sleep is needed, even no subordination of the will of the person being suggested is needed, everything can remain as usual, and nevertheless suggestion, entering the psychic sphere in addition to personal consciousness, or the so-called "I", acts on the latter as if magically, subordinating him to the suggested idea.

To prove this truth, there is no need to even turn to one or another pathological example, since we can learn similar and no less vivid examples outside clinics. It is known what magical power the conspiracies of healers have in some cases, which immediately stop bleeding, and the healing value of the so-called sympathetic remedies, which were so readily resorted to, especially in the old days, with the strong spread of faith in these remedies, is no less well known. The well-known healing value of the royal hand, the magical effect of bread pills, the treatment with yellow and red electricity by Matthew, the once famous treatment of Baron V. in St. Petersburg with simple Neva water and other indifferent means, the magic word of Abbot Faria, who healed the sick with one command, the treatment of paralytic patients with one zouave, known in Paris, is based on this suggestion in the waking state., who used only imperative suggestion for this purpose , etc .