Hypnosis

When one person has power or authority—such as a policeman, teacher, or government official—he can make other people obey certain commands he gives. But he can’t make them think or feel any way he wishes. The amazing thing about hypnosis is that a person who is hypnotized can actually be made to feel and think as the hypnotist wishes.

For example, a person who is hypnotized can be made to shiver as if he feels cold, or perspire as if he feels hot or his face can be made to turn white as with fright. However, a person can rarely be hypnotized if he doesn’t wish to be and he can’t be made to do something illegal or immoral, if he wouldn’t do such things normally.This strange ability to influence the behavior and feelings of people is not a new discovery.

In fact. it is as ancient as sorcery, magic, and medicine, The power of hypnosis has been known to certain people since earliest times, even among very primitive peoples. Today, of course, hypnosis has been studied scientifically, and this scientific history of hypnosis goes back to the latter part of the eighteenth century.