Animal Magnetism

Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: Symptoms Of The Hypnotic State. I. General facts concerning the Development of the Hypnotic Symptoms. On trying, according to Hansen's method, the susceptibility for hypnotism of a great number of persons, the most numerous cases are those in which the incapability of reopening the closed eyes constitutes...
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Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: Symptoms Of The Hypnotic State. I. General facts concerning the Development of the Hypnotic Symptoms. On trying, according to Hansen's method, the susceptibility for hypnotism of a great number of persons, the most numerous cases are those in which the incapability of reopening the closed eyes constitutes the sole unusual phenomenon. Next to these come a large number of peopl e who cannot, or only with great difficulty, open the closed mouth; consciousness may be at the same time complete. There is simply a spasmodic contraction of the muscles causing the closure of the eye and mouth, which cannot be, or is only after a series of futile attempts, overcome by the voluntary contraction of the muscles causing the opening of these organs. In other persons, the spasmodic condition spreads still further over the body. Order them to close their fist and bend their arm, and there is established (either at once, or after gentle stroking along thelimb) incapacity of changing the adopted position of the limb; exactly the same with the extended legs. With all these phenomena presented by the motor apparatus, consciousness may, as stated, be quite unaffected; still, often slight disturbances of the latter occur, which are scarcely noticed by the person experimented on. If questions be asked as to what has occurred, the answers given are generally right. But not seldom some links in the chain are wanting. Between these easily overlooked defects of memory and complete loss of it, every intermediate stage is met with. The forgotten facts can, however, in some, but not in all cases, be recalled when hints concerning them are given. In the Jyjes just described, the phenomena observed in the muscles form the chief, or, at least, the most prominent features of the pi...