Book Report: The Human Dynamo by Hans Holzer (c)1975

The Human Dynamo by Hans Holzer (c)1975

Background Information: Hans Holzer, a tireless researcher of the paranormal, is the author of over 100 books on various aspects of the paranormal, and has been the inspiration for a number of TV shows about the paranormal. He often worked with well known spirit mediums, including Sybil Leek, who was quite popular in the 1960s. Most recently, his work with various mediums and haunted houses, has been revisited by the 2019 TV show, The Holzer Files (fittingly, 13 years after his death).
You can read more about Holzer on the web and here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Holzer

Another of Holzer's many books on metaphysical subjects. As a professional researcher of the paranormal, Holzer was exposed to all kinds of metaphysical phenomena, including religions, and in this book he synthesizes what he'd learned from various religious practices. 

The title, "Human Dynamo" refers to connecting to a higher power to achieve one's goals. He explains that every religion attempts to put it's followers in touch with Higher Power, either directly or thought the intermediary of a priest of some sort. He compares different perspectives, how some religions embody that Higher Power in some kind of anthropomorphized deity, how some pursue a direct connection and others not, etc. For people interested in comparative religions, this alone will make the book an interesting discussion. He analyses both religion and prayer separately, and feels that prayer can be effective if it follows certain guidelines, and even that there are certain natural laws governing the effectiveness of it.

This book was written in the 1970s, before Law Of Attraction was a big thing, but there was a great deal of interest in both old religion and New Age spirituality, and this book attempts to satisfy those interests. So he deconstructs prayer into a basic system he feels will be effective based on the "natural laws of prayer." He ferrets out the ten elements for a successful ritual, and finally, posits a modern religion for the new age, including practical prayers, designed to connect with a kind of universal power, although he feels it's perfectly fine to imagine that power as a god or looking like anything that appeals to you, if it helps you to connect. 

I found it interesting to not that while he discusses prayer in depth, so far as Asking for assistance, he doesn't really cover the idea of connecting with the Universal Power for it's own sake, as in meditation. 

It's an interesting read. Coming from the 21 century, where my email inbox is continually bombarded with people preaching various spins on Law Of Attraction and Various New Age practices, it's interesting to go back to a time where very few people claimed to know anything, and it was an open and uncluttered field.

 

Book Report: Self Mastery through Conscious Autosuggestion by Emile Coué (c)1922

Self Mastery through Conscious Autosuggestion by Emile Coué (c)1922

 "Day by day, in every way, I am getting better and better."
                            --Coué's famous, all-purpose affirmation

Background Information: Emil Coué was the pioneer of positive affirmations, a practice that his been very popular with self-help folks for ages. He was an avid student of psychology and human nature and a pharmacist in the days when pharmacists not only dispensed drugs, but treated patients as well. He was a follower of the Nancy school of hypnosis in the 19th. century, and his practice became extremely popular and claimed many successes. His practice of autosuggestion did not require hypnosis or trance and was very flexible.
Despite his international popularity, he never charged for his services.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89mile_Cou%C3%A9

This is a small booklet, but dense with information. If you're interested in using affirmations for your own benefit, or you're a practitioner who wants to add autosuggestion to your box of tricks, this booklet will give you the basics, both for the practice and of the logic and psychology behind it. 

Before describing his practice, he explains the psychology behind his practice, and the importance of the imagination in affecting a person. His favorite example is how a person can fearlessly imagine walking along a 30 foot long plank on the ground, but when they imagine walking along the same plank placed between the tops of two tall buildings, they often experience fear and even vertigo. For Coué, there is no greater power than the imagination, and his method seeks to harness that power.

When he was practicing, "rational thought" was a hallmark of the modern age, and in the pop-psychology of the day, it was believed you could simply will yourself to change the things you don't do. Can't sleep? You must will yourself to sleep. Drink too much? You lack will-power! Will power was the solution to all man's problems.
Coué observed that will power was no match for the imagination, and that you couldn't will yourself to sleep or to drink less, but if you could imagine it, you could make it happen. He discusses this the psychology behind this in sensible and employable ways, and includes his famous "Four Laws" of how "In the battle between the will and the imagination, the imagination will always win." 

He includes ways that his principles can be applied covertly, and apparently he often did do that as a pharmacist, including positive suggestions and note with the medicines. 

The booklet also includes a few case-histories, testimonial letters from happy customers, and essays about his practice from experts of the day. 

Nowadays, people who follow the Law-of-Attraction, who believe that they can actually influence changes in their environment, like to use affirmations to reinforce their beliefs. Coué did not discuss anything of that nature, but for those people who do use affirmations in their LOA practice, I imagine that Coué's principles would be a powerful tool. 

Book Reports!

Science library of Upper Lusatia in Görlitz, Germany. Photo by: Ralf Roletschek

Hypnotists love to read material that we can apply to our practices, right? I'm no exception. 

Now, there seem to be two types of material we love to read: one is the latest scientific research and material, the other is historical material and pop-psychology. I like both, but I have to say the second category is my guilty pleasure. Sure, some of them are downright silly and unworkable, but they are extremely positive and often have really useful metaphors and perspectives that I can use with my clients.

I often find these selling inexpensively in used book stores, and how can you resist a book that promises to grant all your wishes?

As time permits, I wanted to share some "book reports" on some of my favorite titles.

Positivity and negative feelings--video

Do you ever find something dragging when you try to focus on your goals? Maybe when you should feel fantastic you have some sort of unhappy feeling occuring, but you can't put your finger on it. I offered a class on Meditation for Prosperity and Abundance on Aug. 18, 2010. We covered the whys and hows of feeling great about the things you want, why it's important to feel great if you want great results (or sometimes any results at all), and how to find that great feeling. We also discussed what to do when you feel some sort of negativity when you should be feeling terrific. I'll have more videos from this info-packed class soon, but I thought this one clip was important enough to post right now. If you have any questions, please ask!