Before we discuss the history of hypnosis we should agree on what hypnosis is. Dave Elman, a famous master hypnotist of the first half of the 20^th Century defined hypnosis as "a state of mind in which the critical faculty of the human is bypassed and selective thinking established.

A Consulting Psychologist and Hypnotist, Raphael Rhodes explained hypnosis as follows:

 "1. Every person has two minds, the objective and the subjective.

2. The objective mind is capable of both inductive and deductive reasoning, but the subjective is capable of deductive reasoning only.
3. These two minds are ever present in each individual, in a relative state of seesaw balance."

Many hypnotists use the terms "conscious" for the "objective mind" and "subconscious" for the subjective mind.

Another author related psychopathology, religion and hypnosis as products of the human capacity for disassociative thinking. In certain settings we are capable of accepting as reality ideas that we would normally consider implausible.

If you were ever distracted by other thoughts while driving, and drove past your exit, or arrived at some point with no memory of the last few minutes, you have experienced a state of hypnosis. The driver in this example is not asleep, but his/her subconscious mind has taken over the driving chore and is perfectly capable of reacting to any emergency. In fact we depend upon our subconscious to protect us in these circumstances anyway because there is no time to give the matter much conscious thought.

The ability to enter a hypnotic state is as old as the mind, human or animal. All animals posses both a conscious and a subconscious mind. That’s how we learn to perform essential tasks automatically, without conscious effort. The oldest reference to formal human hypnosis is widely accepted to be an instruction for preparing a lamp to be used in a ritual ceremony contained in an Egyptian papyrus known as "Demotic Magical Papyrus" from the 3^rd century CE.

Hypnosis, as practiced today can be traced back to the early 1770’s. A Catholic priest, who lived at Klosters, Switzerland, Father Gassner, performed "exorcisms" using what we can only describe as hypnotic techniques. He would have a patients come out where he would touch them with a gold crucifix causing them to fall to the floor. Father Gassner would then cast the demons out by saying certain words and moving his crucifix around until the person ceased to show any movement whatever. Then a doctor would examine the patient and pronounce him/her dead. Father Gassner would then revive the patient and bring him/her back to life with no demons. This procedure was done regularly in front of many doctors.

The performance of Father Gassner was witnessed by an Austrian doctor, Franz Anton Mesmer. Mesmer did not believe that Father Gassner's patients were possessed by demons because he had his own theory of "Animal Magnetism." He believed that the patients were "magnetized" by the metal crucifix.

Dr. Mesmer was an impressive and accomplished showman who wore long flowing robes and went from room to room holding his magnetic rod. The patients were placed in a tub filled with water and iron filings with large iron rods protruding from the tub. He then touched each patient with his magnetic rod suggesting that they would go into a state of crisis and emerge cured.

While Mesmer was extremely successful his refusal to allow government representatives to supervise his clinic, lead to the appointment of a commission to investigate Mesmerism by the King of France in 1784. The Commission headed by the ambassador from the United States, Benjamin Franklin concluded that Mesmer’s theories about "animal magnetism" were without merit and had nothing to do with the fact that a lot of people were cured. Mesmer’s business fell sharply following the commission’s report and the practice of mesmerizing was relegated to stage performers. Many stage performances were in poor taste with sexual overtones to make the performer look as if he possessed great power.

James Braid, a Scottish-born physician (1796 – 1860) became interested in mesmerizing when in 1841 he witnessed a performance by the Swiss magnetizer, Charles Lafontaine. He erroneously concluded that the phenomena was a form of sleep and named it after the Greek god of sleep and master of dreams "Hypnos".

Braid rejected the idea that hypnosis is related to some magical passage of energy or fluid from the operator to the subject. He concluded that hypnosis was a form of sleep that resulted from intense concentration. He induced hypnosis by having his patients stare at a light or bright object for long periods of time. His main interest was in the
therapeutic possibilities of hypnosis. He reported successful treatment of paralysis, speech disorders and rheumatism. He also thought hypnosis might be used be to alleviate the pain and anxiety of patients in surgery.

Starting in 1845 a young Scottish surgeon in India, Dr. James Esdaile was able to reduce the death rate from 50 per cent to 5 per cent by the use of mesmerism in performing several thousand minor and close to three hundred major operations.

The 1846 introduction of chemical anesthetics increased the survival rate of surgical patients. It was quick, reliable and did not require the skills needed to induce hypnotic anesthesia.

Sigmund Freud studied hypnosis and he used it to help patients recall traumatic episodes in their lives that were blocked from their conscious memory; however, he found it difficult to hypnotize some people. He abandoned the practice in favor of psychoanalysis by "Free Association"

Although hypnosis has been assigned a US Department of Labor occupational number (079.157.010, recognized and approved by The American Medical Association (1958), The British Medical Association (1955) and the Catholic Church (1956) apprehension lingers. Some would blame stage hypnotists who get people to perform outrageous acts; however, the power of the human mind is so awesome and the results of hypnotherapy can be so startling that it’s easy to see why many people view it as manifestation of some occult power. Compared to the human mind the most advanced microcomputer containing hundreds of millions of transistors is but a lump of sand. The human brain is infinitely more complex in construction and programming. With all the studies to date, we are only scratching the surface in our quest to understand how it works. When compared to the human brain our most "advanced technology" is indeed primitive.

The frequently encountered emotional fear response to hypnosis should not be blamed on the antics of stage performers or any sector of the hypnosis profession but understood in terms of Clarke’s Law: