Down through the ages men of all nations have somehow
instinctively believed that somewhere there resided a healing
power, which could restore to normal the functions and
sensations of man’s body. They believed that this strange
power could be invoked under certain conditions, and that the
alleviation of human suffering would follow. The history of all
nations presents testimony in support of this belief.
In the early history of the world the power of secretly
influencing men for good or evil, including the healing of
the sick, was said to be possessed by the priests and holy
men of all nations. Healing of the sick was supposed to
be a power derived directly by them from God, and the
procedures and processes of healing varied throughout the
world. The healing processes took the form of supplications
to God attended by various ceremonies, such as the laying on
of hands, incantations, the application of amulets, talismans,
rings, relics, and images.
For example, in the religions of antiquity priests in the
ancient temples gave drugs to the patient and practiced
hypnotic suggestions prior to the patient’s sleep, telling him
that the gods would visit him in his sleep and heal him. Many healings followed. Obviously, all this was the work of potent
suggestions to the subconscious mind.
After the performance of certain mysterious rites, the
devotees of Hecate would see the goddess during sleep.
provided that before going to sleep they had prayed to her
according to weird and fantastic instructions. They were told
to mix lizards with resin, frankincense, and myrrh, and pound
all this together in the open air under the crescent moon.
Healings were reported in many cases following this grotesque
procedure.
It is obvious that these strange procedures, as mentioned
in the illustrations given, favored suggestion and acceptance by
the subconscious mind of these people by making a powerful
appeal to their imagination. Actually, in all these healings, the
subconscious mind of the subject was the healer.
In all ages unofficial healers have obtained remarkable
results in cases where authorized medical skill has failed. This
gives cause for thought.. How do these healers in all parts of
the world effect their cures? The answer to all these healings is
due to the blind belief of the sick person, which released the
healing power resident in his subconscious mind.
Many of the remedies and methods employed were
rather strange and fantastic, which fared the imagination of
the patients, causing an aroused emotional state. This state of
mind facilitated the suggestion of health, and was accepted
both by the conscious and subconscious mind of the sick.
This will be elaborated on further in the next chapter.