Hypnotism (II)

Hypnotism Among the Arabs (cont'd)


III. Typical Procedures of Hypnotic Induction and

Therapy.

A first-hand account by an Oriental of a typical

procedure of a traditional nature may be of interest.

The operator (hypnotist) should possess certain

qualifications. He wears robes, carries a rosary,

may have a wand with which he touches his patients.

He is generally considered to have 'compelling

eyes'. He is, by virtue of his descent or by

constant dedication, possessed of baraka, (magnetic-power.)

 Up to this point, and in some of the

essentials which follow, the reader will not feel

presumptuous in detecting a possible origin of F.A.

Uesmer's procedure.

Certain hypnogenic conditions are always present:

(a) repetition of monotonous phrases, known as Dhikr.

These often take the form of the chanting of words

whose meaning is "cure, protection, health" etc.

They may take the form of an invocation to Allah.

(b) There is a background of music or a repeated

drum-beat. Popular as the musical background is the

air now known in the West as 'Ravel's Bolero',

which is said by musicologists to be derived from

a dervish chant used in North Africa, where the

remnants of the medieval Moorish culture linger.

(c) The patient gazes at a black spot, about 6"

square, on a white ground, inscribed upon cloth and

held about 2' in front of his eyes. The patient may

be given suggestions by the operator or his assistant

as to the esoteric meaning of the gazing-square.

Other hypnogenic considerations almost always

obtain: the subject may be wrapped in a woollen

cloak (warmth); he is instructed to breathe in time

to the drum or the repetitions (hyperventilation);

passes are made before his eyes, or he is touched with

a wand (suggestion aimed at creating expectancy).

Positive suggestions of cure or relief are

made, at a time chosen by the operator, who is

a physician (hakim) within the traditional meaning

of the term. The suggestions are often indirect,

and not addressed to the subject: "This person

will recover from his ailment by virtue of the

power (baraka) which has been passed down to me;

through the force of the secrets (khufiyyat) which I

possess; by the mysteries (asrar) which link all men

and flow even from my hands."

As the operator watches his subject, he motions

for the drum-beat to increase if the man is calm,

and to decrease if he is nervous. As soon as he sees

'a weariness' showing, he says: "It is happening now.

It will continue to happen. The power has manifested

itself in the revolving of the black disc" (suggestion

of hallucination).

In the case which has been summarized above, the

patient - who was sitting down within a circle of

disciples - with the sheikh in.the centre beside him,

swayed from side to side after about ten minutes.

Without suggestions of sleep, he seemed to enter a

state of great lethargy and then slumped forward.

Again using the method of indirect suggestion, the

operator intoned: "He is now asleep. When he awakes,

the paralysis will be gone. It will never return,

for it has been banished forever. Henceforth this man

will enjoy life; he will be as a man reborn. The

burden of living will be light upon him. The paralysis

which had attacked his left leg will be replaced

by a paralysis upon evil actions. Inasmuch

as he was formerly bad, he will now be a good man."

IV. Other Procedures of Arabian Hypnotism

The foregoing by no means exhausts the procedures

of Arabian hypnotism. Itinerant fakirs use a method

of eye-fixation which employs a string of beads,

especially one brought from Mecca. While the

subject's eyes are focussed upon this, healing

suggestions, are. given. Another method is based upon

massage or even pounding the patient for a considerable

period - up to four hours. In this the operator uses

assistants to apply the massage. It is believed that

stroking the head, the legs or the temples will

induce a cataleptic state. To what extent this belief

is a matter of prior suggestion is uncertain. Dietary

requirements are sometimes stressed as a prerequisite to

treatment, but they probably have no more than a prehypnotic

suggestive effect. The method of causing

hypnosis by simple command (introduced into France

by the Abbe Faria in 1813) is recommended with 'docile

or easily handled patients' and the writer has seen it

used with remarkable immediate effects. The patient is

made to lie down in a dark place for half an hour.

The operator then visits him and shouts into his right

ear the command to sleep and remain asleep. The effect

appears to depend upon the extent of the ascendancy

which the operator has been able to command through the

imposing nature of his appearance and probably his

reputation.

Recent research has indicated a possibility that

the techniques and procedures of the Arab hypnotists,

as manifested in current (and perhaps much older)

expressions are deviations from a system which once

had far greater implications.

Briefly, the art as now found among certain important

Sufi groups does not concentrate upon induction

and suggestion. The reason for this is the

belief - or perhaps the fact - that the personality

touched by hypnosis is only a superficial one. The

Sufi will not undertake or undergo hypnosis, it is

said, except at the instance of a Sufi master; and

then only for 'purposes of enlightenment'. The practice

of hypnosis for therapeutic ends, so runs this

assertion, is only a matter for first-aid, as a

general help for people who are not concerned with

the Sufi Way.

The reason for this, in turn., is that experiencing

hypnotic states may cause someone to imagine that

these are touching a really deep area of his consciousness.

A recent Western commentator upon this information

agrees, in great measure. His reason is that modern

practitioners believe that hypnotic states are

associated with role-playing: play-acting if you like.

To play a part is one thing: to play a part and to

imagine that this is something real or significant

is very much something else.

Unfortunately for the general stock of information

on this subject, Sufi practitioners, whether teachers

or not, do not share the general scholarly and

scientific attitude that information is there to be

shared, or that publication is important for the

dissemination or preservation of knowledge.

They believe that the Sufi experience and what they

call 'its reality

1 is one and indivisible, and that

anything that is parcelled out in penny packets

ceases to be a part of the lore. Having ceased to

be part of it, no Sufi will concern himself with it:

because the Sufi must adhere solely to the Sufic pattern.

'Spin-offs' are unknown to the genuine Sufi.

V. Conclusions and Summary

There seems to be little difference in the procedures

adopted by the Arabian schools from those

known in the West, although the operator himself

probably does not believe in the subjectivity of the

phenomena of hypnosis. Indeed, it is widely claimed

that hypnosis is objective and that its power can be

exercised from a distance, upon sleeping persons, can

produce telepathy, clairvoyance, etc. No efforts,

however, seem to have been made to study the subject

in a detached manner. There are reasons for believing

that Mesmer and 'magicians'of the middle ages were

inspired by Arab techniques, which are still taught

in the centres of esoteric training. While therapeutic

hypnosis among the Arabs is not by any means

divorced from seemingly irrelevant studies, hypnotic

treatment is well known and used very

widely indeed. Little experimental work is done

because of the highly traditional character of the

lore. The use of hypnosis among the Arabs is immune

from the ultra-superstitious connotations which

have caused it to be expained as diabolical elsewhere.

This is due to the lack of a well developed

theology in relation to demonic beliefs.



Octagon Press, 1982.