to heal himself, or at least to hold himself in the proper mental attitude to make permanent the good effects of hypnotic treatment by others. Many of the pains and ills to which the average man is subject can be cured by this means, and it should be the first care of every hypnotist to instruct his patients in this branch of the science. In this respect the Christian scientists are far in advance of the hypnotists and mesmerists. They teach their patients how to help themselves. They organize them into classes, deliver lectures, and give minute instructions how to treat themselves, as well as how to treat others. Without knowing it, they in effect teach their patients the methods of auto-suggestion. Without having the remotest conception of the real principles which underlie their so-called "science," they have somehow stumbled upon the machinery of mental therapeutics. To do them full justice, it must be said that they employ the machinery to good purpose. They do much good and little harm, and the little harm they do, generally arises from over confidence in the universal efficacy of their methods. FOOTNOTES: [Footnote 29: Suggestive Therapeutics, p. 206.] [Illustration] CHAPTER XIII. A NEW SYSTEM OF MENTAL THERAPEUTICS. Telepathy the Normal Means of Communication between Subjective Minds.--Perfect Passivity required for Therapeutic Suggestions.--Natural Sleep the most Perfect State of Passivity.--Hypnotic Sleep and Natural Sleep identical.--Phenomena of Dreams.--Subjective Mind controllable by Suggestion during Natural Sleep.--Illustrative Incidents.--Passivity a Necessity on the Part of the Operator.--The Subjective Mind can be caused to convey Telepathic Messages during Sleep.--Illustrative Experiments. The science of psycho-therapeutics is yet in its infancy. Thus far just enough has been learned to stimulate research. It has been demonstrated that there is a psychic power inherent in man which can be employed for the amelioration of his own physical condition, as well as that of his fellows. When this is said, nearly all the ground covered by present knowledge has been embraced. It is true that many wonderful cures have been effected, many marvellous phenomena developed. Nevertheless, all are groping in the dark, with only an occasional glimmering of distant light shed upon the subject; and this light serves principally to show how little is now known, compared with what there is yet to learn.