FRANZ MESMER 17341815

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WAYS THE SUBCONSCIOUS MIND IS VIEWED
BEHAVIORIST- atheistic,dont focus on mind,
you are controlled
by outside influences
COGNITIVE- subconscious vs. conscious,
question strength of will power
JUNGIAN- subconscious a gateway to the
superconscious, belief that soul can
exist outside of the body,
belief that we are
all connected
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The strange case of FRANZ MESMER
Is it a case of the POWER OF THE SUBCONSCIOUS
MIND?
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Or a gateway to the SUPERCONSCIOUS?
Both?
Or
Neither?
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In 1766 Franz Mesmer received a PhD. in medicine.

• He wrote his thesis paper on the influence of the
  Planets on our health and behavior.

• He believed there was
• some energetic force that
• could go into and through
• us, that effects us.

At the same time there was a man by the name of
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JOHANN JOSEPH GASSNER

• In the 1760s Gassner, a Catholic priest, was a
  noted EXORCIST.
• He gained a celebrity status by professing to
  "cast out devils" and to work cures on the sick
  by means simply of prayer.

Was his success a result of the power of
subconscious
or superconscious?
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• Mesmer
• didnt buy
• Gassners explanation
• of
• possesion
• by

DEMONS
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• Mesmer believed that in some way the metal
  crucifix held by the Father (Gassner) was perhaps
  responsible for magnetizing the patient..

• So he developed his theory of
• animal magnetisim

• Right or wrong, this criticism by Mesmer ended
  Gassners career.

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Mesmer later wrote a book explaining his theory.
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FRANZ MESMERS THEORY(1770S)

• 1) A TENUOUS FLUID FILLS THE UNIVERSE AND
  LINKS MAN TO EARTH AND EVEN TO OTHER MEN.

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2) ILLNESSES ARE CAUSED BY A NONHOMOGENOUS
DISTRIBUTION OF THIS FLUID WITHIN THE HUMAN BODY
THEYARE CURED BY RESTORING THE BALANCE

• 3) USING CERTAIN METHODS THE FLUID CAN BE
  CHANNELED, STORED AND TRANSMITTED TO OTHER
  PEOPLE.

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4) IN THIS WAY IT IS POSSIBLE TO PROVOKE
ATTACKS AND CURE DISEASE

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FRANZ MESMER

• In 1774 to produce an "artificial tide" in a
  patient, Mesmer had her swallow a preparation
  containing iron, and then attached magnets to
  various parts of her body.

• She reported feeling streams of a
• mysterious fluid running through her
• body and was relieved of her
• symptoms for several hours.

• Mesmer did not believe that the magnets had
• achieved the cure on their own. He felt that
  he
• had contributed animal magnetism, which had
• accumulated in his own body, to her. He soon
• stopped using magnets as a part of his
• treatment.

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Mesmers patients were placed in a tub full with
water and iron filings..

• Mesmer would suggest to them that as he touched
  them with his magnetic rod

• they would be magnetized and
• go into a state of crisis from
• which they would emerge cured.

• the power of suggestion?

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MAGNETIC BRACELETS
Go to our Magnetic Page  Go to our page on Books
about Magnets
Original Stress Bracelet                       
     
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Then there wasThe case of
MARIA THERESA PARADIS
In 1777 this blind child pianist and favorite of
the Empress recovered her sight after treatment
by Mesmer.
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Influenced by jealous doctors and possible
scandals Marias mother took her away from
Mesmers care before the cure was complete.

• Maria did not want to leave and in an emotional
  scene her mother slapped Maria and the hysterical
  blindness retuned.

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Dr. Mesmer still remained popular and moved to
Paris.

• Until in 1784 the French Government investigated
• Mesmer and pronounced him a fraud.

• Benjamin Franklin wrote the minority report
  stating that the phenomenon was worthy of further
  consideration.

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Dr. Mesmer lost his credibility, but continued
to travel through Europe until he died in 1815.
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Does one need to experience a crisis to change?

• The Marquis de Pursegur, a pupil of Mesmer put
  patients into a trance called artificial
  somnabulism, a state of quiet relaxation

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In 1845 James Esdaile a British surgeon working
in Calcutta India frustrated with the pain he saw
in his patients decided to attempt Mesmeric
analgesia.

• He had only read about the process,
• tried it AND was successful!!!

The process was as follows

• He would repeatedly pass his hands in the shape
  of claws, over the patients body,within one inch
  of their skin while they layed in a dark room
  with only a loin cloth

Was his success a result of the power of
subconscious or superconscious?
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Esdaile later wrote about his success

• Esdaile felt that his success ( and Mesmers) was
  a result of PASSIVE OBEDIENCE and patience.

• He also felt that the more one is in a state of
  nature the better.

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In the 1840s and 50s James Esdaile performed
hundreds of successful painless surgeries
without the use of chloroform.

• Still when he returned to Great Britain his
  techniques as results were questioned by the
  Medical Society

• It wasnt until the
• 1950s that the
• British Medical
• Society accepted
• hypnosis as a
• verifiable technique.

• Today the deepest level of hypnotic trance is
  called The Esdaile Effect.

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All three of these men were pioneers in their
field and experienced amazing success healing
others of mental, sprititual and physical problems
Johann Gassner
Franz Mesmer
James Esdaile
The question is how were they able to have
success?
Was his success a result of the power of
subconscious
or superconscious?