Mass Mesmerizm In Action
In November 1920, the “one to many” communication era began with the advent of the radio, ‘the wireless’ as my grandmother used to call it. You may imagine that it happened long before the twentieth century, following the invention of the printing press. You’d be correct. What I’m referring to is the mesmerism of the masses by “one to many” media. The influence has expanded significantly over the last century, the delivery becoming even more subtle. However, the simple fact remains, we are in a state of mesmerism. A state that disconnects us from our inner reality and, to some degree, our critical thinking. If you’d like to un-mesmerize your ‘self’, keep reading.
What Is Mesmerism?
Mesmerism is a system of therapeutics developed by German physician Franz Anton Mesmer (1734-1815). Essentially, he was the father of hypnosis and was unaware of his true discovery. Drawing from the work of the British physician Richard Mead, Mesmer obsessed over the idea of an invisible fluid coursing through every element of life on earth. Although now it is challenging to buy into the idea of such an invisible force of fluid, seemingly he was referring to waves of electromagnetic frequency. Mesmer referred to this fluid first as animal gravitation and later as animal magnetism.
According to Mesmer, animal magnetism could be activated by any magnetized object and manipulated by any trained person. Highly correlated with the oriental view of chi, ki or qi, he believed that disease resulted from obstacles in the fluid flow through the body. Mesmer suggested these obstacles could be broken through the induction of trance states, often ending in confusion, to restore the harmony of personal fluid flow. The German physician devised a host of treatments to achieve harmonious fluid flow, and many of these therapies involved him forcefully directing the client. This might involve staring at a client for a prolonged period without blinking.
Out of Favour Or Ahead Of His Time?
Mesmerism was controversial. After being accused of fraud by other doctors in Vienna, Mesmer re-settled in Paris and resumed his practice.
His treatments were popular and, he ran a highly lucrative medical practice for five or six years. However, again his theories fell under the scrutiny of other physicians. He built a close rapport with many of his female clients, which engendered suspicion among the community. Some accused him of sexual misconduct during therapy sessions. After a royal investigation in 1780, Mesmer and Mesmerism were declared unscientific, sealing the destruction of Mesmer’s reputation.
Reports suggest Mesmer did alleviate certain nervous disorders in his patients. Furthermore, after rigorous investigation of the trance state by his followers, legitimate applications of hypnotism we created.
How does mesmerism and hypnotism relate to media?
What Made The Radio Different?
Have you ever noticed, when you read a book, a newspaper or a document, you often hear your voice reading? This voice is called ‘auditory digital’ and indicates that your conscious mind is in operation. You’ll also notice that it’s challenging to complete many different tasks whilst reading.
In simple terms, when your conscious mind is in play, you are analysing the information delivered to your brain before accepting it. There’s a barrier or safety net that acts as a filter. In hypnosis, we refer to this barrier as the critical faculty or critical factor.
What happens to the critical faculty with a radio broadcast? It rolls right back. One of the wonderful things about listening to the radio is that you can do several other things simultaneously. In fact, in one of my early work environments, I can remember the radio being on in the office as background noise. The noise was always there, yet I wasn’t consciously aware of the specific content. When the conscious mind steps aside, the unconscious mind absorbs all information in the environment. It is accepted, without question or filter. In essence, anything can be delivered and accepted as a potential truth.
Our mind operates in a trance-like state and can process far more information. Moreover, if we’re relaxed, we may choose to perceive the data as facts. This situation presents no problem if the information we’re receiving creates positive feelings. However, if the information presented engenders unhelpful or negative emotions, it might be worth questioning whether it’s such a good idea.
The Hypnotic Power of Technology
A few decades later, the television arrived, delivering an exciting replacement for the fireplace in the family home. We hungrily gobbled up the opportunity to remote view sport, celebrity and the daily happenings, all from the comfort of our sofas. We could even watch a movie in our sitting room, free from any distractions or popcorn interruptions.
To be clear, I’m not suggesting the television is dangerous in any way. I’m merely pointing out that the information we receive from our television is often received while we are in a state of trance. There’s no denying, many use television as a relaxation tool and may spend two or three hours engaged in a hypnotic state every single evening. What’s more, we trust the message floating out of it implicitly.
Based on the family tradition, we have television rituals and agreed upon categorizations. We know which news channels deliver the facts. Moreover, we appreciate films take us into a world of myths or illusions. Specifically, a mini-break from reality. We can visit the opposite side of the world vicariously through travel presenters and, we have an insight into different cultures. Or do we?
Now we have a personal TV to hold in our hand or watch on our computer. It’s so close to us, highly visual and so individual. It’s almost impossible to imagine that it is anything other than reality.
To be clear, I write this beyond the realms of fact or not fact, right or wrong. Those concepts are irrelevant here. There are more useful questions to ask, such as how do we feel after consuming the messages presented to us?
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Extremes Are Irresistable
With more information available to us than ever before, the competition for our attention becomes greater.
The result is news headlines with more extreme titles, movies with extraordinary themes, dramas with draconian storylines and impactful visuals that lure us into these magical mystery worlds.
Is this the reality you want to live in? Ask yourself the following questions.
- After watching the news, how do I feel? Informed, fearful, angry, satisfied or something else?
- When I engage with media, do I feel connected to humanity or separated from it? Do I feel alone or connected and compassionate?
- After watching a movie recently, did I feel good about the future? Or something else? Did I worry this could become a reality?
- After engaging with any media, do I feel the need to decide what I think about it? Once I’ve decided do I feel the need to be right?
If we set news reporting and documentaries aside, let’s assume that all other media is there to entertain. So, are you entertained? Are your senses amused and positively stimulated? Or do you feel as if you’ve been through the wringer? Only you can know.
Write Your Own Scary Movie In Five Simple Steps
I’m interested in the potential connection to the stories we consume on our smart devices and the prevalence of feelings of fear in our experience.
Out of curiosity, I googled “how to write a horror movie script.” I found this link. It gives lots of tips and tricks to hook an audience into a horror movie. Here they are.
- “More action than dialogue: Show the audience, don’t tell them, what the characters are afraid of.
- Mounting suspense: Pacing the story and the action to take viewers by surprise.
- Jump scares: Sudden loud noises or unexpected images that make viewers jump.
- Gore: Gruesome death or torture scenes with blood and guts to further unsettle the audience.
- A villain or a monster: Anyone—or anything—that’s beyond control. The audience needs to know what drives the bad guy and what they’re capable of.”
The full article delivers a whole host of helpful tips if you’re interested. I am fascinated by the idea that the reality we’re presented with over the last couple of years appears to follow a similar pattern.
Unmesmerize Your Self - Choose Your Own Reality
Pattern or no pattern, it’s useful to understand how what we’re consuming feels for us.
Negative emotions such as fear and anger can create paralysis and a desire to act out respectively, in both body and mind. Conversely, love and compassion deliver feelings of patience and connection. I know which I’d rather enjoy on a daily basis.
Essentially, we can choose. We can decide what we want to consume or not consume based on the feeling reality we want to experience.
Which reality do you want to choose?
Find Out More About Working With Me
We live in a world of myth and story. They are inherent elements of every aspect of our lives. Sometimes, it’s useful to assess what we’re accepting without question in order to give ourselves more choice and freedom to experience the reality we WANT.
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