AMUSEMENTS, MEETINGS, ETC

Wanganui Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 11635, 12 August 1905, Page 7

AMUSEMENTS, MEETINGS, ETC

HYPNOTISM AND SUGGESTION.

The lecture on the above subject, given by Mr J. Goodman in Willis's Hall last evening, proved very interesting and instructive to those who attended, and was much enjoyed. Mr Goodman, dealing first with the historical aspect of the question, passed on, to the researches of Burnheim, Hudson, Tucky, andiiebaulb, and showed how their investigations _had led to the discovery that there was one great law underlying all hypnotic phenomena, viz., the amenability of the subjective mind to the power of suggestion, which was the controlling factor, and not, as is commonly supposed, the will of the operator. Suggestion it is to be noted does not apply to hypnotised subjects alone, but is seen in evidence in a thousand ways in everyday life, besides being the underlying basis of all mental healing. Mr Goodman disclaimed all intention of hostility to the medical profession, and declared that he could not join in the indiscriminate babble indulged in by metaphysicians and mental scientists against the use of drugs. It should not be forgotten that it was members of the medical profession that had formulated the x law of suggestion, and discovered many* of the facts lying at the basis of mental healing. Mr Goodman then dealt at some length with man's dual mental organisation, and showed how the power called forth to heal resided within the patient himself, being in his own subjective personality, and.it was the calling into operation of this force by the healer that effected the marvellous cures attributable to hypnotism. The discovery of this fact had led to the rescue of hypnotism from the domain of the uncanny and the marvellous, and made it an experimental and inductive science, and of immense benefit in the cure of disease and the effecting of reforms, in spite of the prejudice which has surrounded it on account of the misuse that it has sometimes been put to. The conditions in the patient essential to the successful employment of hypnotism are faith, passivity, concentration, and suggestion. Referring to the miracles of Christ, Mr Goodman said that after 1900 years, the whole of his teachings and philosophy had been verified by science, and shown to be in accord with natural law, and it was a matter for thankfulness that the world was now beginning to recognise that the sacred attributes of the human soul should no longer he degraded for the wonder and amusement of the public by public exhibitions. Hypnotism, concluded Mr Goodman, is gradually but surely growing in favour, many active a_nd intelligent workers are being added to the number of its adherents, and through it the Gospel of Health is being spread far and wide.

We give a final reminder of the open air concert to be given by the Garrison Band at the Hospital to-morrow afternoon. An excellent programme of selections will be rendered, and a musical treat is assured for those who attend.