Austrian physician and inventor of a technique of Hypnosis known as mesmerism. Mesmer has often been dismissed as a fraud who manipulated credulous people for his own personal gain. He was intrigued by the physical phenomenon of magnetism, and he formulated a theory that animals and plants as well as inanimate objects give off magnetic fields. He believed that diseases, both physical and mental, could be treated by manipulating these fields. Although Mesmer used natural magnets and large quantities of iron in his experiments, most of his results came from hypnosis and massage techniques that have since been used successfully by physicians and psychotherapists. The theory of animal magnetism, on the other hand, has been discarded by modern medical workers.<\/p>\n
Mesmer popularized his ideas in the salons of prerevolutionary Paris, France. He paid great attention to details of atmosphere. His rooms in which the magnetism sessions were held were exotically equipped and decorated with stained glass, mirrors, incense, and Aeolian harps. Patients sat holding hands in a circle around a tub filled with iron shavings and rods, intended to pass the magnetism from person to person. At a certain point in the proceedings, Mesmer himself appeared, dressed in exotic robes. He \u201cmagnetized\u201d the patients by massaging them along the head, neck, and back and through hypnosis, staring directly into their eyes. Patients later testified that they could feel the magnetic force moving through their bodies, energizing and healing them.<\/p>\n
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Austrian physician and inventor of a technique of Hypnosis known as mesmerism. Mesmer has often been dismissed as a fraud who manipulated credulous people for his own personal gain. He was intrigued by the physical phenomenon of magnetism, and he formulated a theory that animals and plants as well as inanimate objects give off magnetic […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-211033","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-f"],"yoast_head":"\n