Clinical & Experimental Hypnosis: In Medicine, Dentistry, and Psychology, 2nd Edition

24.Religious Attitudes: Comparative Evaluation With Hypnosis

The only major religious groups objecting to hypnosis are the Christian Scientists and the Seventh-day Adventists. The former deny that their system of healing was or is associated with hypnosis, while the latter defend their opposition to it on ethical and moral principles. However, the Seventh-day Adventists admit that hypnosis has medical value if performed by qualified practitioners.³³ Their objection is that it deprives humans of freedom of the will. Without getting involved in an epistemologic discussion on free will, several writers question whether man can be deprived of his will.¹⁰,¹⁹,²⁹,³² P. W. Bridgman, a Nobel prize-winning physicist, asks if there is objective proof that we really are free.⁹ B.F. Skinner asks a similar question, arguing that our traditional concepts of freedom must be revised.³⁹ He feels that explanations should be sought in an individual's personal history. And has not the nervous system before birth been subjected to an elaborate preconditioning?

There are also unwarranted misconceptions about the ethical and moral use of hypnosis by uninformed lay Roman Catholics as well as clergy and physicians, who remark, “I always thought that the Catholic Church was against hypnosis.” Actually, there never has been a blanket condemnation of hypnosis by the Roman Catholic Church at any time. The historical attitude of the Church toward hypnosis will be summarized from a theological frame of reference.

ATTITUDE OF THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH TOWARD HYPNOSIS

The first proclamation of the Holy See on this subject was a decree of the Sacred Congregation of the Holy Office, July 28, 1847:

Having removed all misconceptions, foretelling of the future, explicit or implicit invocation of the devil, the use of animal magnetism [hypnosis] is indeed merely an act making use of physical media that are otherwise licit and hence it is not morally forbidden, provided that it does not tend toward an illicit end or toward anything depraved.¹¹

Aertnys-Damen,¹ Jone²¹ and Davis¹⁴ are in essential agreement and are favorably disposed toward the medical use of hypnosis. The chief objection to hypnosis, according to these theologians, is that, if hypnosis is not used in accordance with a person's wishes, it may deprive him of his free use of reason. However, St. Thomas Aquinas specifically says,

“The loss of the use of reason is not a sin in itself (secundem se) but only by reason of the act (secundem actum) by which one is deprived of his use of reason; thus, if the act is inordinate concupiscence by the use of wine, there will be a sin of intemperance pertaining to gluttony. But if the act that deprives one of his use of reason is licit in itself and is done for a just cause, there is no sin; if no just cause is present, it must be considered a venial sin.³⁵

Thus the use of hypnosis for a definitive reason is not a venial sin. In the light of the recent pronouncements of the Holy See given below and the opinions of other qualified moral theologians, a properly trained Roman Catholic physician can use hypnosis where it is indicated.

A Jesuit theologian, J. T. Mangan, investigated the subject of hypnosis with the intention of making a medicomoral evaluation.²⁸ He interviewed six leading Catholic and five non-Catholic psychiatrists. The author also participated in the preparation of the questionnaire material. Mangan noted that hypnosis is not a state induced by so-called “occult” practices and is not associated with witchcraft, black magic, spiritualistic séances or the like. Nor is it fakery, foolishness, a game, or a form of entertainment. After a careful review of the various authoritative directives issued by Catholic ecclesiastical authorities in Rome, Mangan concluded that they condemn the abuse but not the legitimate use of medical hypnosis.²⁹

Pope Pius XII made two statements about hypnosis, the first in his address to an audience for obstetricians and gynecologists, on January 8, 1956.²² The Pope referred to deep hypnosis in delivery and suggested that one danger might be “emotional indifference” of the mother toward her child. He was careful to add, however, that some doctors thought this indifference need not be attributed to the use of hypnosis. Moreover, the danger could be avoided. The manner in which the Holy Father spoke of hypnosis in this context showed that he considered this primarily a medical question and that the judgment of its morality would ultimately be based on sound medical opinion. The papal statements are in complete accord with the views of nonreligious leaders in the field of hypnosis.

The progressive attitude of the Roman Catholic Church has fostered considerable interest in hypnosis among Catholic physicians. Many prominent Catholic physicians and psychologists have made significant contributions to hypnosis in medicine, dentistry, and psychology.

COMPARATIVE EVALUATION OF OTHER RELIGIONS AND HYPNOTIC PHENOMENA

Buddhism

Buddhist meditation is another modification of autohypnosis. Siryananda, a psychiatrist who practices in Bangkok, points out that hundreds of Buddhist priests use a primitive form of psychotherapy that is similar to actual hypnosis. He states:

I believe that they obtain this method from Buddhist meditation. Most of them seem to believe this primitive method works through their supernatural powers or is a miracle cure.³⁸

Buddhist priests treat neurotic patients and are regarded as family doctors in many villages.

Zen Buddhists practice a personal meditation that is said to lead to insight and wisdom, to self-realization and lasting peace. In autohypnosis as in Zen, the meditation leads to increased concentration and increasing receptivity to healthy ideas. As a result, the corrective emotional processes are speeded up. Viewing the self with greater objectivity (insight) allows an appraisal of one's needs, and this leads to deeper understanding (self-realization).²⁵,³⁷

After meditation, a Zen Buddhist receives instruction wherein a series of paradoxical problems are presented to him. This series, called a koan, treats of difficult and universal questions. It sometimes takes years to master the 1,700 or more prepared questions. This approach contains the “misdirection of attention” which prevents Zen from being recognized as hypnosis. Ikemi, who uses hypnosis, has described the similarities between autogenic training and “instant Zen.”²⁰ These methods of psychoconcentration can be mastered in a short time, as against the 3 to 5 years it often takes to follow the older, classical Zen approach.

Yoga

The fundamental principles of Yoga are, in many respects, similar to those of hypnosis. It probably originated between 700 and 500 B.C. Yoga is a Sanskrit word meaning yoking or union. Yoga is not considered a religion, but rather a “science” to achieve mastery of the mind and cure physical and emotional sickness. It can work for the followers of a religious philosophy or for an atheist. There are many systems to Yoga, but the central aim—union with God—is common to all of them and is the method by which it achieves cure. There are four principal steps which one must master sequentially: (1) a cognitive approach (nirvanam) for the person who merely seeks intellectual fulfillment, (2) a dynamic active approach (pratyahara), (3) a metaphysical approach (samkhya), and (4) a reflective or meditative approach (samādhi). Their similarity to hypnosis and its associated phenomena will be discussed later. Das describes the nature of Yoga and its deep state of concentration—samādhi.¹³ He compares samādhi with hypnosis, and observes that although the two differ widely in ultimate objectives, they have many points of functional and methodological similarity. In samādhi and deep hypnosis, the subjects are alert. After studying the EEG patterns of Yoga and Zen disciples, Gastaut concluded that the observed alterations in awareness were autohypnotic states.¹⁷

The aims of Yoga appear to be similar to the goals achieved by Zen Buddhism. From an analysis of R.S. Mishra's authoritative book on Yoga,³⁰ his description of Yoga and its technics are compared with hypnosis. A comparison of his statements and my interpretations is given below, the latter based on my studies with Yogi masters in India.

After carefully studying Mishra's technics, I have concluded that the last three steps—fixation, suggestion, and sensation—are analogous to the ideosensory and ideomotor responses during autohypnosis. The first five steps involve the creation of a favorable mind-set or attitude. This creates the expectancy so necessary for the imagination to catalyze the entire process. The misdirection of attention is obtained through the various postural and breathing exercises, the rhythmicity of the breathing being conductive to complete relaxation. The goal of ultimate reality or nirvāna—the state of complete liberation—is strikingly similar to depersonalization and to other dissociated states characteristic of hypnosis. Naturally, I have respect for all religious systems, whether or not they are so classified—but belief compounds belief! The faith or religion that helps is the one that the individual has been taught to believe in.

After an exhaustive survey of the various types of Yoga, Arthur Koestler concludes, in his book The Lotus and the Robot, that it is “neither more nor less miraculous than the blisters and stigmata, the anesthesias, catatonias and hallucinations produced under hypnosis.…” It should not be surprising that there are various types of Yoga when one considers that we have many spiritual healing religions, many of which are mentioned in this chapter.

I have observed Yoga as practiced in India.²⁶ Yogis readily attain a deep stage of hypnosis comparable to somnambulism and the plenary state. Deeply religious persons, with experience in meditation, and introverts make the best subjects because of their self-objectivity. The Y-state is discussed in Chapter 50.

Variations of Yoga were also used by Jewish priests and, in the next section, the similarities of Jewish ritual and prayer, Yoga, and autohypnosis will be discussed.

Judaism

Bowers and Glasner, the latter a rabbi-psychologist, have compared the Jewish cabbalistic state of kavanah with autohypnosis.⁹ Glasner noted that the experiences during prayer were strikingly similar to the phenomena observed in his hypnotic subjects. The common element in all the successful Jewish worship experiences and other ritualistic practices seemed to be reminiscent of autohypnotic phenomena. Both are crystallized in the concept of kavanah.¹¹

The word kavanah contains the suggestion of empathy, rapport, righteousness, and steadfastness; its verb root is found in the context of “a heart properly attuned.”¹⁶ However, in the Talmud, kavanahimplies concentration—correct intention (motivation). In Jewish theology the efficacy of ritual or prayer is wholly dependent on achieving kavanah.⁸ Maimonides declared that a prayer without kavanah is no prayer at all. Kavanah was used to induce a state of religious ecstasy and also a state of deeper understanding and experiencing of God in inner reality.

In Major Trends in Jewish Mysticism,³⁶ which gives the impression of a Judaized treatise on Yoga, G. G. Scholem describes how Abulafia, a cabbalistic philosopher and mystic, developed a method of concentration upon the magical and mystical properties of the Hebrew letters, arranging and rearranging them, starting with the tetragrammaton and developing 99 further names of God. Bowers and Glasner were impressed with the autohypnotic nature of Abulafia's experiences; the various letter combinations produced hypnotic fantasies which accounted for the new truths and insight achieved.¹⁶

The development of a proper emotional state in preparation for devout prayer or ritual (kavanah) is similar to Yoga, Buddhist meditation, and autohypnosis. In all, posture and breathing play an important role. Centuries before, the Chinese used similar technics to conjure the spirits of the departed. Here, too, posture and prolonged eye fixation on the navel produced ecstatic states, which were autohypnotic in nature.

Prayer, particularly in the Jewish and the Christian religions, has many similarities to hypnotic induction. There is the regular cadence and intonation in the prayers (chanting), a relaxing environment, and the fixation of attention on the altar or religious leader. In Judaism, there is a rhythmic rocking of the body back and forth in time to the chanting which is hypnagogic. Finally, the contemplation, the meditation, and the self-absorption characteristic of prayer are almost identical with autohypnosis.

The Old Testament prophets probably utilized both autohypnotic and mass-hypnotic technics.¹⁸ Talmudic scholars note that kavanah was used to produce depersonalization so that the prophet could see himself elsewhere. At this early date, the hypnotically dissociated self was recognized as such and was not regarded as a miraculous revelation of God.⁷ Bowers and Glasner also point out that earlier generations had to describe and explain many experiences which would be regarded as autohypnotic in character by modern descriptive terms. This is what might be expected, as the concept of hypnosis is a very recent one. On the basis of their findings, they state that hypnotic research could possibly provide us with an operational understanding of prayer and its effects. On a nonreligious basis, Rund has described how prayer may be used as a method of induction for dental analgesia.³⁴

In studying the underlying tenets of all the major religions, the scholar oriented in the phenomenology of hypnosis as well as in theology cannot help being impressed by the observation that suggestion and/or hypnosis are being utilized at many different levels of awareness. One need not refer to the Bible, the Talmud, the Koran, or any other religious work to realize that hypnosis in one form or another is practiced in nearly all religions. Our daily newspapers carry announcements of religious worship conducted in churches of all the major faiths. There are literally hundreds of types of faithhealers—all use suggestion and/or hypnosis. The very fact that there are so many religions which cure emotional ailments indicates that they must have a common denominator. As proof, the religion that does the most good is the one in which sufficient evocation of prior belief and conviction has been established. A Buddhist is not going to be helped by Catholicism, and a Protestant is not going to be helped by Catholicism, and a Protestant is not going to be helped by Buddhist meditation.

The author is by no means trying to derogate religion, but wishes to illustrate that the raison d'être of all religions is positive, constructive conditioning. If one observes pilgrims expecting to be healed at a shrine, one is immediately impressed by the fact that the majority of these individuals, as they walk toward the shrine, are actually in a hypnotic state. Shrinehealing is extremely helpful in many cases; however, it is not the shrine that actually cures the individual with a psychogenic disorder but his belief, faith and conviction that the shrine will be effective. Therefore, such healing falls into the realm of conviction phenomena that are strikingly similar to those of hypnosis. There are about two thousand religions among the two billion people in this world, and the more one studies the various religions, from the most “primitive” to the most “civilized,” the more one realizes that there is an astonishing relationship, involving suggestion and/or hypnosis as well as conditioning, between religious phenomena and hypnosis.²

Bowers has observed:

The religionist can no longer hide his head in the sand and claim ignorance of the science and art of the hypnotic discipline.… Whether he approves or disapproves, every effective religionist, in the usages of ritual, preaching and worship, unavoidably makes use of hypnotic techniques, and is therefore subject to the same responsibilities as known and acknowledged by the scientifically trained hypnotist.²

In religious and medical healing relationships, the deeper understandings that we refer to as faith influence the body processes. The recognition of these age-old forces in the healing arts demands an explanation. It is obvious that both prayer and hypnosis are intrapsychic phenomena involving either dissociation or depersonalization while one is in communication with one's self or with God.

The rise of Christian Science and other metaphysical religious healing movements attest to this fact. A review of the past and the current attitudes of Christian Science and those of its principal founder, Mary Baker Eddy, indicates that the sect was indissolubly linked with the spiritualist movement which began in Europe, through the influence of the Chevalier de Barbarin. Without paraphernalia, he successfully “magnetized” people during the latter part of the eighteenth century. His influence spread to Scandinavia, where Emanuel Swedenborg, the Swedish scientist-mystic, embraced his method. Phineas Quimby, whose manuscripts were recently published, practiced comparable methods in America.¹⁵

Another famous disciple of Quimby, in addition to Mary Baker Eddy, was W.F. Evans, a Swedenborgian clergyman, who visited him in 1863. Evans became a noted and voluminous writer on mental healing, whose views were incorporated into the New Thought movement. The principles of New Thought are that the mind has an influence on the body, that good thoughts have a salutary effect, and that bad thoughts are injurious. Such views are similar to those currently held by advocates of transcendental meditation (T.M.).

MEDITATIVE TECHNICS

For centuries, Zen, Buddhist, Tibetan, and Yogic methods have used a system of meditation and an altered state of consciousness similar to hypnosis. All involve either a chanted mantra or the focus of attention on an object; incense, soft music, and a dark room facilitate changes in reality orientation. Although the followers of the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi claim to use a different approach, their T.M. practices are in no sense original. Deep relaxation, self-reflection, and contemplation are used in all methods to autohypnosis. In the ancient sleep temples, repetitive sensory input involving sight, sound, smell, and touch augmented the ceremony, resulting in almost complete sensory awareness, to produce a relaxed, receptive, aroused attention similar to autohypnosis. MacHovec states that these meditative states may indeed be one and the same.²⁷ The author would include practices in Hinduism, Sufism, Shintoism, and Taoism in this category.

Dalal and Barber disagree, contending that Yoga and hypnosis are not altered states of consciousness and that the Yogi's feats are readily explained.¹² It is true that fire walking, live burial, stoppage of the heart, and lying on nails without mishap are tricks which are explainable. However, this does not negate the validity of increased autonomic control. By presenting convincing arguments that Yogic feats are due to deception, these authors reason syllogistically that hypnotic phenomena are artifacts. Kim, on the other hand, illustrates the prominent role of hypnosis in shamanism, the major religion in Korea.²³

In recent years there has been more interest in scientific investigations into autonomic changes associated with meditation.⁴¹ Studies have shown that this state is different from sleeping, dreaming, wakefulness, and hypnosis. A recent study compared the autonomic effects of meditation and autohypnosis.⁴³ These researchers showed that meditation and hypnosis do not differ markedly from each other or from a control group given merely instructed relaxation. Other studies indicated decreased autonomic responses in Zen² and Yoga.³,⁴⁴ Similar effects were noted in T.M.⁴³ Later it was observed that relaxation per se with a “mental trick” similar to meditative methods resulted in a hypometabolic effect.⁴Benson and his co-workers contend that autosuggestion and hypnosis are different from the meditative state on the basis of only slight changes in central nervous system functioning.⁵,⁴² This finding needs to be confirmed because of failure to use proper control technics; it also is at variance with other observations.²⁷,⁴⁰ It is posited that autonomic response levels reflect hypnotic susceptibility.³¹ It may be that anxiety reduction is the crucial variable rather than the technic per se.

The author is amazed that “old medicine in new bottles” is accepted as a new prescription. Perhaps, assimilating the non-materialistic aims of Yoga and Zen with their inner-directed thought is difficult to accomplish in a Judeo-Christian culture which is directed more to outward events.

Benson admits that the relaxation response may well be induced by other technics, such as hypnotically suggested deep relaxation, autogenic training, progressive relaxation, and various religious prayers.⁶Transcendental meditation, therefore, is only one method of eliciting the “relaxation response.” In modern physiologic terms it is not clear just how this control takes place. We can speak of Yoga or transcendental meditation as practical disciplines, but efforts to translate them into terms of alpha waves, reciprocal inhibition, hypothalamic stimulation, biofeedback or other medical approaches are as yet far from successful. However, if the rituals can provide peace of mind and self-control, this is what is important.

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