Volume 6, Issue 6, page 2


OCTOBER, 1959 * * Vol. VI , No. 6
HYPNOSIS TRAPS Sometimes,
UNWARY IN ME we use pretty
'YUEN" SECTOR strong descriptive terms, but
in our more charitable moods --
and we do have them -- we call
it "The Racket Factory". That
is because, when it's in operation, no one can sleep, read,
converse, relax -- even think --
without the din of a dozen or
more "auctioneers" assailing
his ear drums.

Actually, some persons even
more generous than we are call
the grove-shadowed shack on
the next corner a "church" --
and we guess that's as good a
label as any. Other "churches"
may be more subtle in their
noise-making and auctioning
off of "salvation" than are
these"holy rollers", but the
aims are the same : Convince
the congregation that unless
they do certain things, such
as support the minister and
provide funds for missionary
work among those fortunate enough to have other ideas, the
God/ Jesus/ Lord they deify is
going to make it pretty hot
for all sons ( and daughters)
of a creation that ignored his
command to stay out of the apple orchard.

If you're not too busy some
night, let's drop in on one of
the "sessions" and see what
the "racket's" all about.

There are about two dozen
persons in the room -- men, women, and, of course, children.
Naked bulbs shine down on them
as they try to find comfortable positions on the stiff
wooden benches. The "minister"
-- a huge, over-fed specimen of
womanhood -- stands in her pulpit, signals for the pianist
to take her place at the instrument behind her, and booms
out a welcome . "Praise God!"
she screams, adding: "Everybody sing!" and gives them a
hymn number. If the audience
response is at first a bit muted, the minister, now acting
as song leader, yells louder
and louder, stamps her feet,
snaps her fingers like castanets. Gradually, others join
in until the bedlam is so complete that, no doubt, even God
can hear them -- no matter how
busy He may be taking care of
fallen sparrows. The hymn is
followed by a long and loud
supplication to His Majesty On
High -- who, but for this litany punctuated now and then
with doleful "Amen's", could
hardly be expected to know how
wonderful these people think
He is, how badly they need salvation , rain , and more money
for a new air conditioner -- and
what a privilege it is to be
among those who, alone, "just
love to tell the story of Jesus and His Glory".

We're not ridiculing a service; we're -merely pointing
out that every move, every action taken in this bastion of
religion , has but one aim -- to
hypnotize the audience into a
receptive mood for the minister's sermon. Then , when the
stage is all set, she gives
them Hell -- and Brother, we do
mean Hell ! You can hear her
two blocks away, loud and clear
above the moans and wails of
the completely mesmerized victims. Adults sway and nod.
Children stare in white-faced
terror and fascination. Often ,
the emotion of the audience
gets out of hand, and not even
the minister auctioning off
salvation can be heard crying
her wares above the "Hallelujahs!" and "Amens!".

Broken down into its sordid
descriptive details, it's not
a very pretty picture -- but except for a bit of tinseled dignity, this is the pattern followed by almost every church
in the world today. First, hypnotize the audience thru. fear
and/or emotion; then when they
are under the complete spell
of the "operator", reach for
their pocket books, or, better
yet, a fat "tax exempt" check .
No stage hypnotist, who intends
to send his victims climbing
poles like monkeys, or denuding themselves because of imagined ants in their pants, or
bridging a couple chairs so
stiffly they can be jumped on
by heavy men, is using a single
technique that is not part of
the repertoire of the successful priest or preacher -- and
more especially of those who
call themselves "evangelists" .

In the current issue of the
magazine HYNOSIS, Rev. E.I.
Crump writes lengthily on this
very subject.
"Religion is the greatest
hypnotizing agent or influence
in the world, " the minister
decl ares ."It always has been ,
is now, and ever shall be...
"As a minister I use the
principle in my prayers -- when
the listeners are turned to me
and listening with their eyes
closed. I do not have to tell
than to relax and get comfortable and close their eyes far
they have already learned to
assume this position. Thus
when they are listening to me
I can help them in their problems of physical, mental, and
spiritual health."
Mr. Crump then says that
aitho religion denies any relation with hypnosis, yet the
fact remains that the big
fight of the future seems to
be shaping up between the medical profession and the religious profession -- each seeking a
monopoly in dealing with man,
the unknown.
"When two persons or groups
of people that are earnestly
seeking the truth disagree,
then the truth that they're
seeking hasn't yet been found;'
Rev. Crump declares. "Both religion and medicine have always, are now, and always will
be dealing with the principles
of hypnosis whether they recognize it or not. Both of these
battle with each other because
they do not understand the
real truth with which they are
dealing."
And that "real truth" is
what? we might ask. Why must
any group -- dedicated or undedicated -- medical or religious --
feel that it has been singled
out to save "mankind" from
whatever it is man needs saving from? Why should a diploma
from a medical school or theological seminary give anyone
divine entrance into man's
mind, thoughts , emotions, and
actions?
As the editor of HYPNOSIS
wrote in the heading over Mr.
(PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 13)
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