THE SUBCONSCIOUS MIND.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXV, Issue 2210, 14 October 1907, Page 4

THE SUBCONSCIOUS MIND.

AX INTERESTING LECTURE

On October 7th, in St. Thomas’s Hall, Newtown, Wellington, tlio concluding lecture of tlio winter series arranged b.v the library Committee was given by l>r. l’aterson. There was a large attendance. Mr. It. C. Harding presided, and introduced the. lecturer, whose subject was "The Subconscious Mind.” Or. Paterson said that the subject of his lecture was one which hail only recently como into tho domain of systematic scientific research; it was still an obscuro though promising field of investigation, and still lay under a disadvantage from the fact that it had long been exploited almost exclusively by ill-informed theorists, and had been associated in the popular mind with charlatanism and imposturo. In tho first placo ho defined what was intended by tho term. All thinkers recognised a trinity m aiun, uouviaui uy uio puiubv, "uuuy, soui, and spirit," auu im duan'iy 01 uio uuuiaii mind was non an eovaonsnvvi agicuonc rad. xuv conswanns mnnl was cuncerneu cnienj w'ilu mu external worm, ana Wax go,oriieu ov reason; it came ill contact witn tne material uuiveiso uy means oi tno senses, and was governed uy tne reasoning lacuity; it posseded no dynamic lorco. lne suocouscions mind dealt witu tilings outside tno range oi tno senses, it dill not reason, out depenueil on.perj cepuon, suggestion, and intuition. it controlled tne entire physical oi- ! ganism—ns functions, its sensations, 1 us growth, development, and repair, jlt possessed dynamic power; it Kept tno indelible registers of memory, it ! penetrated beyond the reason in its perception of qualities, it never slopt; i it never died. The conscious mind belonged to the body, and shared its I dissolution; the subconscious mind lias ! immortal, like the soui to which it ! belonged. During life its place was strictly subordinate to that of the conscious mind; obedient to its sugj gestions, and under tho dominion of reason, During sleep it was specially active; when it took control, the result was insanity, temporary or permanent. All so-called phenomena somnambulism, mesmerism, clairvoyance, telepathy, foresight of events — belonged to tho subconscious region. In the second part of his address tho lecturer proceeded to consider tlio practical value of tho study in regard to tho healing powers of subconsciousness, especially under tho influence of suggestion. The field of enquiry was now generally recognised by tlio medicol profession, was was known as pshycho-thera politics. Curative mesmerism, faitli-licalmg . in its liianj forms, tlio supposed miraculous cures at sacred shrines—all these were operations of the subconscious mind influcnced by suggestion. So completo was the power of tho sub-con-sciousness in tho physical region that disease, or even death, might bo induced by unfavorable suggestkm ; and its power in the direction of lioaling and restoration was equally great. Experiments and research in this field needed to he pursued with tho utmost care and caution, as grave evils resulted from ignorant and ill-advised experiments. But ho believed that enormous advance in this direction might bo looked for during tho present century, and that psycho-thora-peutics—which had already liad its triumphs in diseases such as cancer and tuberculosis —would bo found tho most potent agency in tho treatment of disease.