Rats and mice: mesmeric-hypnotic suggestion is real, and not imagination

[inavalan]

There are many people who deny the possibility that suggestion exists or that there is such a thing as genuine mesmerism or hypnosis. The slogan of this school of thought has long been, "It is only the subject's imagination at work."

A recent series of tests at Duke University did much to put this negative school of thought out of the running. Rats and mice, who, we suppose, lack characteristic human imagination which might make them wish to imitate the hypnotic state and the hypnotic responses, were the subjects of experiments. They were caged so that they would have to use either of two exits to escape. An experimenter was hidden from their sight some 8 to 15 feet away, but was able to look through a small hole in a screen to see the rodents, select one, and to try to influence it to leave by whichever exit hole was determined upon.

In the May, 1957 issue of "Fate" magazine, an experimenter, Dorothy Les Tina, explained in a short article the nature of the tests and her own experience with several tame mice purchased from a pet shop. The mice were placed in a partitioned box so that when a string was pulled from a distance, one mouse at a time would be released into a larger box in which two exit holes had been cut. As each mouse was released, she concentrated her gaze on it and tried to "will" it to leave by a selected exit. At first she got little more than the results which could be attributed to chance. Then her score began to rise, and in time she was able to make scores of 10, 12, 14 and even 15 hits out of 15 tries. This experiment, carried out under the direction of Dr. Gardner Murphy, was classified as a test of the power of "mind over matter" or the power of mind to move matter—"psychokinesis". Tests had already shown that some people could influence the fall of dice, supposedly with only the power of their minds. In this case the influence was supposed to exert itself on the movements of living creatures.

The writer of the article was left, she said, with some unanswered questions. Apparently she could not determine whether she had established a form of rapport with the mice and was able to influence them with telepathically transmitted suggestion, or was in some way able to influence directly their muscular movements to cause the mice to walk to the selected exit hole.

In any case, we can be quite certain that the mice did not realize that attempts to influence them by suggestion were being made, and, because of a fondness for the operator, used their imagination to try to pretend a response which would match the suggestion given.

We may safely say that suggestion of the mesmeric-hypnotic sort is something real and valid. It is not imagination. It produces predictable results.

[dougdi]

I wish that worked on my cats. Actually, it's likely the opposite - they hypnotize me 

[inavalan]

[inavalan]

Dr. Emile Coué rose into the limelight and faded out of it with his version of self-suggestion and his formula, "Every day in every way, I am growing better and better." True, everyone tried the formula and hoped to get results similar to those produced by Dr. Coué. But they had not been taught how to construct a powerful suggestion or to relax physically in order to administer it.

[inavalan]

In concluding this short summary of conditions surrounding self-suggestion, it may be said that the system is so simple that all of the methods of use which have been advocated outside of professional circles are effective and practical. It is in understanding what one is doing and why, that a lack may be felt. Almost anyone can learn to write his name by patient practice, but if he can first learn to recognize the letters and learn the sounds for which they stand, the setting down of the signature will have vastly more meaning and significance.

Coming to know Huna, is like coming to know the alphabet of psychology and learning to read the sounds of the letters. We do anything better after we have learned why each step is to be taken.