Telepathy and the Subliminal SelfMason, R. Osgood (Rufus Osgood)
Philosophy
Telepathy and the Subliminal Self
Mason, R. Osgood (Rufus Osgood)
Parapsychology -- Investigation; Telepathy
Hypnotized, she is at once changed into a bright, vivacious,
mischief-loving, rather noisy personality, who considers herself on
excellent terms with the doctor, and whom the professor names Léontine.
Later, by further hypnotization and a deeper trance, there appears a
sedate, sensible personality, intellectually much superior to Léonie, the
primary self, and much more dignified than the vivacious Léontine, and
this third personality Prof. Janet calls Léonore.
Léontine, the hypnotic or second self, knows Léonie, the original Mme. B.,
very well, and is very anxious not to be confounded with her. She always
calls her "the other one," and laughs at her stupidity. She says, "That
good woman is not I, she is too stupid." One day Prof. Janet hypnotized
Léonie, and as usual at once Léontine was present. Prof. Janet then
suggested to Léontine that when she awoke and Léonie had resumed the
command, she (Léontine) should take off the apron of Léonie, their common
apron, on their one physical personality, and then tie it on again. She
was then aroused from her hypnotic condition, and at once Léonie was
present without the slightest knowledge of Léontine, for she never knew of
this second personality, nor of hypnotic suggestion in any form. Léonie,
supposing the professor's experiment was over, was conducting him to the
door, talking indifferently in her slow, dull way, and at the same time
unconsciously her fingers were working at her apron-strings. The loosened
apron was falling off when the professor called her attention to it. She
exclaimed, "Why, my apron is falling off!" and then, fully conscious of
what she was doing, she replaced and tied it on again. She then continued
her talk. She only supposed that somehow accidentally the apron had come
untied and she had retied it, and that was all.
To the now submerged Léontine, however, this was not enough; her mission
had not been completed, and at her silent prompting Léonie again fumbled
at the apron-strings; unconsciously she untied and took off the apron, and
then put it on again without her attention having been drawn to what she
had now the second time done. The next day Prof. Janet again hypnotized
Léonie and Léontine made her appearance.
"Well," said she, "I did what you told me yesterday. How stupid 'the other
one' looked while I took her apron off? Why did you tell her that her
apron was falling off? Just for that, I had to do the job all over again."
Here the hypnotic or secondary self, as in my own reported case, appears
as a persistent entity, remembering and reasoning, while the primary self
was at the same time in command of their common body. Léontine not only
caused Léonie to untie and retie her apron, but she enjoyed the fun,
remembered it, and told it the next day.
Again Léonore was as much ashamed of Léontine's flippancy as Léontine was
of Léonie's stupidity.
"You see well enough," she said, "that I am not that prattler, that
madcap. We do not resemble each other in the least."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account