I have been intrigued by the bad reputation that hypnosis has received since it was first practiced. From the beginning in the 19th century, when it was generally referred to as "Mesmerism", there was much suspicion about how some hypnotic events between doctor and patient were occurring. Franz Mesmer himself thought there was some effective magnetism that flowed from doctor to patient. This was in the lifetime of Benjamin Franklin. Franklin, as a then notable scientist, was summoned to Paris to evaluate Mesmer's work. Franklin and his colleagues declared that there was no magnetism or science involved.
The mesmeric phenomenon was off to a bad start. Then,two Scottish practitioners, Braide and Esdaile began using it in medical practice, and theorized that nobody was controlling anybody by magnetism or anything else: the good effect came from what state of consciousness the patient achieved, with the guidance of the doctor's words. James Esdaile, son of a Presbyterian minister, was a surgeon who practiced his craft in India around 1850. Without anesthetic ( which wasn't yet in use), he removed tumors and limbs from patients, who apparently experienced no pain when in a hypnotic state. This is amazing to me, and makes me think that the effectiveness of the trance probably depended on the cultural expectations of people in India at that time. Nowadays, our "belief" in the scientific method would not let most of us escape into a pain-free state of consciousness so easily. I am told that the best place to practice hypnosis for pain in Western cultures, is the emergency room, where people are really looking for ways to avoid the pain of physical trauma.
Soon, because of peoples interest in the unusual mental phenomenon seen in trances, it seemed everyone wanted to experience it or witness it. Charles Dickens used hypnosis as entertainment at large parties hosted at his home at the height of his career. Stage hypnosis was used as entertainment right into the twenty-first century, where it has aroused both peoples' suspicions and interest. "Cluck like a chicken" is the familiar phrase most of the general public think of when you ask if they want to be hypnotized even for for clinical purposes ( like, for example, irritable bowel syndrome).
I have been thinking that maybe we should call clinical hypnosis something else to avoid the negative associations of the name. I believe it is a powerful healing force, and have seen how it works. Maybe: "healing meditation" would be better.
