Book Report: Secret Mental Power: Miracle of Mind Magic by Frank Rudolph Young (c)1973

Secret Mental Power: Miracle of Mind Magic by Frank Rudolph Young (c)1973

Background Information: Frank Rudolph Young ("F.R.Y.") is a bit of a cult figure, an author who wrote a number of books on health practices, psychic powers and self-development. Many were published in hardcover by Parker Publishing. What distinguishes Young's books stylistically is the hyperbole. He must have been a naturally intense individual and he really tries to impart that, while presenting his material as mysterious and exotic. It makes the books a lot of fun to read!
Trying to find reliable biographical material is a bit difficult, partially since he seems to have presented several different stories about himself. The Legend is that he and his other family members traveled the world, ferreting out mystical secrets of longevity and occult powers.
According to some diligent researchers on the internet, he was born in Panama in 1911 and lived in Chicago (Chicago was a major center of the "New Thought" movement). He may have been a dentist, a chiropractor, and a body builder. From his published works it's safe to assume he was an avid yoga practitioner, at least.
You can find much more research here: https://history.stackexchange.com/questions/64281/what-biographical-information-do-we-know-about-author-frank-rudolph-young

The kind of "magic" the author discusses in this book are powerful, practical, mental habits of reasoning, decision making, projecting confidence, making friends, pain control, improving one's health, and so forth. Each skill gets at least a chapter of it's own, with a lively discussion, clearly defined how-to instructions and further hints and a few "testimonial" type stories. He writes with incredible enthusiasm and encouragement as you'd expect from a pop-psychology book of the 60s.

His approach to achieving success lies in combining logical methodologies with a powerful emotional intensity, and you'll find variations of this idea in all of his books, and he usually has a specific exercise to develop it and a specific bit of hyperbolic terminology. In this book he calls the practice of developing the required intensity the Miracle Mind Magic Stimulator, which consists of visualizing your goal with increasing detail to the point of being "savagely real." The subsequent exercises for decision making, confidence, making friends and so forth mostly all employ the Miracle Mind Magic Stimulator in some way. (in other books of his, you'll find the same or similar techniques with different names).

One of the interesting principles of this book are what he considers the use of the conscious mind to make the changes you want to, rather than the subconscious because he feels you're more resent and able to make needed decisions. I suppose this puts him more in the camp of the New Thoughtists who felt one could overcome all obstacles with will power.

Despite the over-the-top style, it's really a very practical book for improving emotional self control, achieving goals, dealing with others and more. Not all of it may be the best or most current approach, but he puts forth a workable approach. And I've noticed that somebody must be making good use of FRY's books. He seems to have a growing fan base on line, and while I used to be able to pick up his hardcovers for about 6 bucks, some of them are now going for ten times that.

Book Report: The Practice of Auto Suggestion by C. Harry Brooks (C) 1922

The Practice of Auto Suggestion by C. Harry Brooks (C) 1922

Background information: Taken from the foreword of the book written by Emil Coué:
"The materials for this little book were collected by Mr. Brooks during a visit he paid me in the summer of 1921. He was, I think, the first Englishman to come to Nancy with the express purpose of studying my method of conscious autosuggestion. In the course of daily visits extending over some weeks, by attending my consultations, and by private conversations with myself, he obtained a full mastery of the method, and we threshed out a good deal of the theory on which it rests.

The results of this study are contained in the following pages. Mr. Brooks has skilfully seized on the essentials and put them forward in a manner that seems to me both simple and clear. The instructions given are amply sufficient to enable anyone to practise autosuggestion for him or herself, without seeking the help of any other person." 

This book is a bigger, deeper dive into the famous methodology of Emil Coué's practice of autosuggestion. At the turn of the 20th century, Emil Coué, a medical practitioner and adherent of the Nancy school of hypnosis became famous for his use of affirmations to help his clients achieve the changes they wanted in their health. to his credit, Coué, had a very deep understanding of the psychology that motivates people, and developed a very workable method of using affirmations, that was claimed to have had great success with hundreds of people.
(See Coué's booklet here: https://successworkhypnosis.blogspot.com/2021/10/book-report-self-mastery-through.html)

Brooks seems to have had great faith in Coué's methods, and this book attempts to capture as much of the science of auto-suggestion as he could, even describing an average day at the clinic. He includes more techniques and applications including pain management, healing of physical issues, using affirmations with children and more. 

As with Coué's writings, there's a strong emphasis on NOT using will power, but instead, guiding the imagination to the desired goal. As brooks says, "Autosuggestion succeeds by avoiding conflict. 'Resist not evil, but overcome it with good.'" 

There are more psychological discussion about the ways suggestions, imagination, will power and the subconscious interact, and the techniques to best utilize them. 

Interestingly, Brooks compares Coué's approach to that of Charles Baudoin, a well known psychological researcher of the period who was also strongly interested in the curative powers of affirmations for his psychiatric patients, but had a different, more forceful approach. (I have not yet read anything by Baudoin, but apparently he had a lot of unique insights into psychology). 

For hypnotists, fans of affirmations and auto-suggestions and people interested in making persuasive suggestions, this will offer more great insights into making those suggestions work.

Interestingly, this books seems to be extensively available on the web in various downloadable forms on the web, possibly more than any of the other books I've reported on.

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 Report: The Science of Hypnotism by L.E. (Lou Ella) Young -- History and How-to

The Science of Hypnotism by L.E. (Lou Ella) Young, (c) 1899 to 1953 (at least)

Background Information: This book has been reprinted for over half a century! I haven't been able to find any biographical information on the author. 

This 300+ page tome is an extensive textbook of hypnosis and mesmerism as it was at the beginning of the 20th century. The first 10 or so chapters delve deeply into the history of hypnosis through the 19th century, He explores the various methods and theories of the old masters. It is the most in-depth discussion of their comparative approaches I've found in a general hypnosis test book, but at the time of writing, I imagine this was far more current than it is to us today. Indeed, the author seems to be greatly influenced by Bernheim, a major hypnotist of the 19th century. 

There's a lot of discussion of various treatments and suggestions, and also the psychology behind effective suggestion. 

While the greatest value of this book nowadays is the history, it was written to be as thorough an education to the practitioner as possible.

Book Report: 25 Lessons in Hypnotism by L.E. Young -- How-to, c.1935

25 Lessons in Hypnotism by L.E. Young -- How-to (c) 1935

How can you not want this little pamphlet? even before we open it, the cover is giving us everything a hypnotist could want! Lightning bolts from the eyes, sinister hand gestures, dominion over beautiful women! 

From what I've found on the internet, this booklet was sold for years, probably from the backs of comic books, for decades, and it went through various publishers, including the Johnson Smith Company, which was famous for novelties of every sort. 

The author, L.E. Young (Lou Ella Young), is also the author of the much more voluminous "The Science of Hypnotism". That book was first published in 1899, but has been reprinted for nearly a century by various publishers. I think much of this material is taken form that book, but some of it seems to be different, perhaps newer. I have not been able to find any biographical information for the author.

In a series of brief lessons, the author will give you direction for experiments in hypnotic induction, mesmerism, increasing trance depth, post hypnotic suggestions to cure problems, psychic influence, and how to protect from it, self-hypnosis, and more! That's a lot of stuff for a little book!

 For a beginner, the instruction isn't very thorough, but it's clear enough that if someone really found enough volunteers to work with, might become a competent hypnotist. It's fun to look at the techniques offered, which include both Mesmerism and James Braid-style hypnosis. and even offers suggestions form putting on a stage show and finding other ways to make money with hypnosis. It's a very earnestly written little booklet that offered it's buyers a lit for the money, and you may find some pearls of inspiration in it as well.

 

Book Report: Professional Stage Hypnotism by Ormond McGill -- Stage Hypnosis How-To c.1970s

Professional Stage Hypnotism by Ormond McGill, (c) 1977 Westwood Publishing

Background Information: Ormond McGill was a major figure in both hypnotism and stage magic. He was called "The Dean of American Hypnotists" and performed both magic and hypnosis under the name "Doctor Zomb." He wrote extensively about hypnosis and magic and he and his brother traveled the orient in the 1940s and 1950s in search of hypnosis and mysticism. He has written a number of books. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ormond_McGill

This is a no-nonsense how-to book on stage hypnosis, and because it's from an expert with an enormous amount of experience, it's chock full of little pearls of wisdom not only in going the technique, but how to do the technique more effectively. It's a real master-class that includes what to do, but also why and how. Moreover, he presents each of the various skills, from basic convincers, tests, inductions and suggestions, and finally how to put these things together into a complete show. 

Moreover, he also includes some of the induction methods of other well known practitioners, including Gil Boyne, John Kappas and Bill Barras. 

Rather than calling the things he does "tricks" or "effects," he refers to the as "experiments" which I think is a very powerful way of approaching it--his approach is always that the hypnotist and his subjects are working together to learn something new. for you fans of psychic phenomena, he includes experiments in ESP and Clairvoyance. Interestingly, these are practiced with mesmeric techniques more than hypnotic ones (ie: "magnetic passes").

Some of the material may seem a little old-fashioned. There are elements of mesmerism in his technique, and the effects and suggestions he recommends for the stage may seem a little tame by today's standards. Nevertheless, This fairly small book is a treasure trove of expert techniques. 

As an interesting aside, I read this book at the beginning of the COVID lockdown, and some his observations on mass-suggestion seemed to be playing out right in front of me on the evening news! 

While the book is written for the beginning stage performer, it is sophisticated enough that advanced hypnotists will get a lot out of it, and I'd even say that previous knowledge of hypnosis is strongly recommended. If you're a hypnotherapist with no interest on stage work, I think this book will still be very beneficial to improving your persuasive skills. I'll go out on a limb and say this book is highly recommended!

Book Report: Psycho-Kinesis by Adrian Clark -- Metaphsyical c.1973

 Psycho-Kinesis: Moving Matter with the Mind (C) 1973 by Adrian Clark, Parker Publishing

Background Information: The publisher of this book is Parker Publishing, a company that specialized in self help and metaphysical books in the 60s and 70s (they're still around and still selling the same titles: https://parker-publishing-company.myshopify.com/) I have to say that I'm an avid collector of these books! I used to find them for a few dollars in used book stores and on line, but recently they seem to have become much more popular (and expensive). They're a lot of fun to read, and most follow a standard format--an irresistible title, a series of inspiring anecdotes how various people made their dreams come true with whatever the book is teaching, and usually a nice recap at the end of each chapter.

This book is a bit of an oddity. The book is less about Psychokinesis than it is about the author's theory of psychic powers in general. So if you're passionate about moving things with your mind, you'll have to be patient with this book. Nevertheless, you'll still get some interesting and unusual thoughts and theories about psychic phenomena, and, of course, some pointers for your own experiments. 

The author is clearly very religious, and feels that faith is a cornerstone of all psychic abilities. It's vital that you have faith in your abilities, but also that asking for help from higher powers will greatly enhance your abilities. At the same time, he works in the aerospace sciences. He tries to reconcile psychic phenomena with physics by crediting psychic energy to photons, which, at the time of his writing, were known to be powerful, massless and spring in and out of being spontaneously, and for that reason, are worthy of scientific research. It also seems to reconcile with some biblical concepts about light. He has clearly done a lot of research and discusses various other theories on the subject, including Kundalini energy and something called "Vol" energy. 

Around about Chapter 6 he offers several exercises and discusses the necessary qualities to cultivate for success, including faith, confidence and concentration. If you're looking for the how-to section, this is it. 

I tended to get the feeling that this book was actually made up from various lectures of articles that the author had presented elsewhere and compiled for the book, since there's a bit of redundancy, and some terms that seem to apply to universal themes through the book occur only once. 

Interestingly, and I guess in an attempt to fuse his religious perspective with a scientific one, he regards many of the bible stories in terms of his photon theory and even views Jesus as an extraterrestrial. Of further interest is that he and his fellow experimenters were also NASA researchers!