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We wish to thank David Reeves (Mindtech
Associates) for allowing us to reproduce the following article from his
website
www.mindtec.co.uk
The Roots of
Hypnosis
by
David Reeves |
Ever since the late 18th
century when Frans Anton Mesmer brought the use of hypnosis
(mesmerism) as a therapeutic tool to the attention of the public,
therapists have been using it as a powerful tool to help them with
suggestion therapy. If we look back into ancient history, we will
find that the trance like state that we call Hypnosis has been used
for thousands of years. In fact, from the study of primitive
peoples' religious and healing ceremonies there exists the elements
essential to place people into a hypnotic state. By rhythmic
chanting, monotonous drum beats, together with strained fixations of
the eyes, the village shaman or priest is able to induce catalepsy
of the body. This helps to give the shaman the appearance of having
magical and mystical powers given to them by the gods. Today we call
it suggestion therapy.
Sleep Temple or Dream Temple
Therapy
The use of suggestion therapy goes back much
further than Mesmer. If Mesmer were to be called the Father of
Hypnosis, then the great, great ---- grandfather of Hypnosis could
arguably be the ancient Egyptian priest, Imhotep. (I-em-hotep, he
comes in peace) Hypnosis, suggestion therapy can be traced back over
4000 years to ancient Egypt. The Egyptians used healing sanctuaries
to heal people with all sorts of problems, both physical and mental,
most of which today would be classed as psychological problems.
These healing sanctuaries were called "Sleep or Dream Temples." In
these temples, the sick person was put in to a trance like sleep;
priests and priestesses then interpreted the person's dreams to gain
knowledge about the illnesses and to find a cure for the illnesses.
The tradition of temple sleep dates from the
time of Imhotep. The ancient Egyptians worshiped the priest Imhotep
and dedicated Sleep Temples to him; he is the earliest known
physician. He was the physician vizier, architect and priest, to the
pharaoh Zoser (2650 - 2590 B.C.). Imhotep built the step pyramid,
which is the first pyramid. In recent times Imhotep has become a
Hollywood star; the name of Imhotep was used for the priest who
became the Mummy in the latest film "The Mummy".
Temple sleep was used as a psychotherapeutic
tool; the temples of Imhotep were well attended by people looking
for psychological help. Under the influence of incantation and the
performance of religious rituals, sick people were prepared
psychologically for suggestion therapy; they were put in to a
"hypnotic state." Before falling asleep they were influenced by
suggestions, in the hope of provoking dreams sent by the gods. Today
in some parts of the Middle East and Africa you can still encounter
shrine sleep. Sleep Temples were and are used for the mentally ill,
as a place where priests interpret the sick person's dreams. Thus,
by the use of suggestion, (and the help of the god) the priests
appear to cast out bad spirits from the mind and body of the sick.
In Greece, Sleep Temples were renowned as
places of great healing and were dedicated to the healing god
Ęsclepius. Ęsculapius took over the role of Imhotep. Sleep therapy
survived in the temples of Ęsculapius, which were constructed by the
Greeks in the 5th and 4th centuries BC.
Ęsclepius (also spelt: Asclepios, Ęsclepius,
Ęsculapius, Ęsclepius) was a healer, his mythical roots going back
in to the second millennium BC, he became a demi-god. Over time he
evolved into a temple god in his own right. The temples in his
honour were temples of healing dreams. His daughters were Hygea and
Panacea. A Klķnč was a sacred place or a sacred skin set out around
the temple, where the sick person reclined to enter the dream state.
From these names we have derived the words, Panacea, Hygiene and
Clinic. At the height of the cults power, there were 420 temples,
spread across the ancient Greek empire.
Healing would take place whilst the person
being cured was in a deep trance like sleep. The god Ęsculapius
could perform miraculous cures in the dreams. This sleep would come
about by the power of the priests, who used chanting and magical
spells to put the patient into a trance. This trance state was known
as incubation; incubation is derived from the Latin, In (on) cubare
(to lie down). A person could be kept in this state for up to three
days, during which time the priests using suggestions would help the
person, through their dreams, to make contact with the god, thus
helping them to obtain a cure for their illness. The temples were a
place of spirits, and mysterious powers, a place to find mental and
physical healing.
The people looking for a cure or an insight to
their problems were called Seekers. A Seeker had something on their
mind, an ailment, an issue, and an inner quest to discover
themselves. They came to seek an insight into their problems, to
contact the healing god, to get a new vision that would heal, guide,
or provide comfort. The path to the Temple was lined with huge the
steles made of marble, on which were carved inscriptions, describing
all the miracle cures, and the miraculous healing that had taken
place in the Temple. It was claimed that people were cured of
incurable diseases; the lame were able to walk again, people who
were blind could see again. They were cured by the sole supernatural
healing power of the divine dream.
This was a power that the priests knew from
ancient times. The priests, who used secret rituals, incantations
and traditions for therapeutic purposes, preserved this power; they
were part priest, part physician, and part shaman. They were skilled
in the interpretation of dreams; they were also skilled in the use
of medicinal herbs. There were also attendants/caretakers of the
temples, who had their own sacrifices and ritual activities to
perform. They would council new seekers, also see to it that they
were cleansed and purified. They were skilled practitioners and
offered advice on how to seek interpretations of dreams.
The Seeker did not just go in to the temple;
they had to wait for the right time to come. Before being allowed to
enter the temple, and before the healing dreams could occur, they
first had to learn the rituals and perform the rites of
purification; they had to cleanse the body, mind and soul. They
would meditate, fast, take hot baths, and make a sacrifice to the
god. They looked for signs in their dreams. When the signs and omens
looked right and they had cleansed the body, mind and soul, only
then were they allowed to enter the main part of the temple. The
main part of the temple had a large open floor area, with sacred
alcoves to the sides, where the seekers could unroll their sacred
skin, their Klķnč; they would then sleep and dream of god Ęsclepius
healing them.
A good dream would be one in which the god
would cure the wound by touching it. Once the person woke from their
sleep, the attendant would spend time with them, reviewing any
visitations from god, helping to explore the dream and secure the
insights appropriate to that seeker at their stage of development.
The dreams of the seeker contained the seeds of their own healing.
The attendant's job was simply to elicit the vision of the god and
aid the seeker in making sense of their personal dream story.
Through incubation, the seeker was to awaken to his real self and in
so doing regenerate himself physically, mentally and spiritually.
Today we recognise a lot of what went on in the Temples as
suggestion therapy.
Over time the priests developed a greater
understanding of herbs and their use. They started to move away from
the sole use of dream interpretation and suggestion therapy, using
their growing knowledge of herbs; they started to develop unguents,
tinctures and medicines. Whilst dreams in their early forms involved
a direct visit from the god, over time the dreams became more
metaphoric, the dream became symbolic of the person's problems. The
attendants became dream interpreters, from these interpretations the
priests would make up prescriptions for medicines. Over the past
4000 years, the Sleep Temple, the Priest and Dream Sleep, have
slowly evolved in to what has become modern Doctors, hospitals and
medicine.
The ancient Hebrews used meditation with
chanting, breathing exercises and fixation on the Hebrew letters of
the alphabet that spelled their name for God, to induce an ecstasy
state called Kavanah. (These ritualistic practices are very similar
to Auto-hypnosis). In the Talmud, Kavanah implies relaxation,
concentration, correct attention (motivation). People such as
fire-walkers, and priests who used the religious practices of laying
on of hands to make people faint on to the floor, are using
Auto-hypnosis to bring about an altered state of consciousness by
the use of suggestion and expectation.
The Romans also adopted the use of healing
sleep/Incubation Temples throughout their Empire. The Romans
dedicated their Sleep Temples to the god Apollo - Ęsclepius. Sleep
Temples even got as far as Britain. Even now in the UK, you can
visit a Roman archaeological site at Lydney Park, Lydney,
Gloucestershire, where you can see the remains of a Sleep Temple.
Sir Mortimer Wheeler excavated the Lydney Temple complex in 1928.
One of Sir Mortimer's assistants was the young Professor
J.R.R.Tolkein, who went on to write "Lord of the Rings"; it has been
suggested that he based Middle Earth on the landscape surrounding
the Temple.
Post-Script: Maybe today's Hypnotherapists
consulting rooms can be viewed as the modern equivalent of the Sleep
Temples, the couch a Klķnč? But remember, "leave the healing god
stuff, to a higher being."
David Reeves, works as a Hypnoanalyst and
Stress Management consultant in Swindon and Harley Street London,
and the USA. He has trained in Battle Field Stress Disorders, and is
a member of the International Stress Management Association (UK),
The International Association of Hypnoanalysts (UK), The National
Register of Advanced Hypnotherapists (UK), The International Society
for Professional Hypnosis (USA, Incorporated under the laws of State
of New York), The National Guild of Hypnotists, (USA) The European
Therapy Studies Institute, The Hypnothink Foundation, and The
Swindon Chamber of Commerce.
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