THE POWER OF HYPNOTISM.
By T.
THAT there is power of some kind in hypnotism no well-informed person will deny. But just what that power is neither the cultured scientist who experiments with it nor the quack who amuses the people with it for his personal gain, seems to understand. The notion is entertained that one mind can act upon another without any material means of communication. And with this belief firmly fixed, the individual surrenders his will, the one force by which the intellect is governed, to the hypnotist. But any one who will make such a surrender of the will does a most dangerous thing; for he absolutely gives up all personal control, and is entirely at the mercy of another. And this is true, no matter whether the hypnotist is a traveling quack, or a doctor, or purely a scientist. It may be suggested to you that hypnotism is a power in many respects like electricity, and791that the study of this hypnotic power is still in its infancy. But do not be deceived by any such talk. Hypnotism, tho not under that name, has been a favorite subject for study from the days of the most ancient magicians. Mankind seems strongly inclined toward the mysterious and marvelous. And the most cultured men, even of this intellectual age, are not without their superstitions, unless through the power and enlightenment of the Word of God these superstitions have been driven away. It is true that many look upon the actual believer in the literal Word of God as being highly superstitious; but such persons do not know that the Bible is the one thing that dispels all superstition by planting the truth in the mind. And he who pities the believer in the Word of God should not overlook the real superstitions that he himself possesses. He may claim that the mind that believes in the literal truth of the miracles of Jesus is superstitious; yet he would not think of launching a ship without breaking a bottle of wine over her bow. He looks upon the believer in the story of the Flood as a child of superstition; yet he would not begin a journey or commence a piece of work on Friday, and fears that the demons of evil have placed a magic charm that bodes disaster about the number 13. He thinks that the fairy tales of the nursery are about on a par with the Bible stories of angel visitors; and then he turns away to a spiritist seance, and positively recognizes the unseen presence that is there. Such are some of the inconsistencies of us poor mortals, when our anchorage is broken away from the Word of God. And it should be distinctly stated that no one is anchored to God's Word who merely has a nominal faith in it. The worst superstitions that the world has ever seen have been harbored by those who have professed faith in the Bible. But to profess faith in the divine Book does not make one a possessor of that faith. If we avail ourselves of the benefits of Bible truth, we must take the Bible as the literal words of the heavenly Father speaking to us direct. In every sentence and word of the inspired Book we must hear the voice of God speaking to our souls. We commune with God through His Word as a friend converses with friend. Anything short of this is not the fulness of faith in the Book of books. And he who possesses true and unqualified faith in God's holy Word is no toy to be tossed about by every superstition that evil angels through the medium of ignorance or a diseased imagination may impose upon the world. But hypnotism is more than a superstition; there is a real power manifested by the hypnotic agent. And if men would lay aside their curiosity and think soberly upon the subject, they would have nothing to do with it. For hypnotism is not, and, in the very nature of things, never can be a real science. And those who are studying it for a science are fooling themselves. They will find in a little time from now that they have done more than lose their time while experimenting with it; they will find that they have lost themselves. The man who exercises such a power as hypnotism upon others is under the same power himself, tho he is unconscious of it. And sometime when he seeks to break away from it he will be made to realize the presence of the chains that he had not before recognized. The evil of hypnotism acts in both ways; it is just as harmful to the operator as it is to the one who is operated upon. To be sure, it will be suggested that there have been those who have offered warnings and opposition to every advancing science. Superstition and ignorance are, of course, a barrier to light and progress. But this does not say that everything that claims to be light and progress is such in reality. And he who looks at hypnotism from the standpoint of truth—not having his eyes blinded by the hope of gain, nor his mind prejudiced by the bigotries of false science—will surely see the evil that is lurking behind this bewitching subject. But more on the question next week.