tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18902745.post6544623966684088714..comments2024-03-24T15:19:06.377-04:00Comments on The Continuum: Twenty-first Sunday after TrinityFr. Robert Harthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05892141425033196616noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18902745.post-56385687197716645502008-10-12T18:54:00.000-04:002008-10-12T18:54:00.000-04:00Father Hart,When my wife was dying of cancer and w...Father Hart,<BR/><BR/>When my wife was dying of cancer and we found her to be allergic to almost all pain killers while the others simply made her ill in another way, my eldest daughter took us up to a skilled hypnotherapist who taught us both auto hypnosis to combat the pain. As long as she was able to do it herself, it cleared the pain like nothing else available to her and when she could no longer do it for herself I was able to do it for her. The only unfortunate dark side was that it led the children to believe that she was not nearly as close to death as she was . One of them said when leaving, "we are going to be very busy and won't be able to get back for another six weeks." I had to tell her that she would be back much sooner than that. And she was.<BR/><BR/>The point I would make is that hypnosis is like any other tool. In the hands of a skillful and moral professional it can be used to medical and psychological wonders while in the hands of a scoundrel, there is very little end to the mischief and evil than could be worked. But that is true of almost every other real tool or real knowledge that we have. Everything depends upon the morals of the person or persons using it.<BR/><BR/>I know that it is treated like magic or sorcery, but it is not. And I am personally very grateful for the relief from great pain that it gave my wife while she was dying.<BR/><BR/>On the other hand, I have had more than a little experience of real demonic power and the use of exorcism by the power of Jesus' name and they are quite different things. The latter is not to be played with by any except those with great theoretical knowledge of same and a very strong prayer life. it is very much like juggling welding torches with no room for error. No amateur should approach it and the knowledgeable priest or exorcist does so only in absolute necessity.Canon Tallishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05182884929479435751noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18902745.post-21152488529077516262008-10-11T23:39:00.000-04:002008-10-11T23:39:00.000-04:00I wrote this three years ago, and had forgotten th...I wrote this three years ago, and had forgotten the mention of hypnosis. But, though this practice may have some good use with genuine doctors of medicine, I don't recommend it. Surrendering to anyone to such a degree- "submitting to" having been my phrase- requires caution.Fr. Robert Harthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05892141425033196616noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18902745.post-85499544400644008402008-10-11T14:19:00.000-04:002008-10-11T14:19:00.000-04:00Whew!Father Hart, It's been a long time since I he...Whew!<BR/>Father Hart, <BR/>It's been a long time since I heard anything as straightforward as this, and about time it is! In my Pentecostal days, while I did witness a great deal of hysteria and attribution of perfectly "natural" things to demonic power, and while I found that misaprehension repulsive, I also witnessed many events (even though a minority of those so attributed)that I am fully convinced were indeed demonic. I see no reason that phenomena of this sort would not be on the increase in a time when God is increasingly denied and occult phenomena increasingly sought after. "Be sober, be vigilant, for your adversary the devil goeth about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour; whom resist steadfast in the faith."<BR/><BR/>I suspect that ministry of this sort is going to be more and more needed as time goes by.<BR/><BR/>Albion, <BR/>Though I recognize that hypnosis is a scientifically grounded procedure and may indeed have therapeutic value, I share your hesitation. Anything that removes one's conscious volition and leaves one open to external direction risks opening the floodgates of demonic activity within oneself. Hypnotism certainly has that potential, but is not alone. "Talk therapy", though definitely the best choice for many conditions (and especially Freudian psychoanalysis) can easily be used to open one to receiving such influence. "Recreational" drugs and even wrongly used prescription drugs can do so also, as can any of several forms of "undirected" non-Christocentric meditation.<BR/><BR/>We do need to avoid the baby/bathwater syndrome. Some of these techniques may have genuine medical value, but they should never be approached without care. The identity and intent of the practitioner do matter, and the degrees on the wall are little help in that. Every such procedure should be appruached with prayer, perhaps with fasting, and certainly wuth the godly counsel of one's priest or sopiritual director.<BR/><BR/>Well, this is more than I intended to say.<BR/><BR/>edpoetreaderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11613032927883843078noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18902745.post-75677745263622629662008-10-11T09:25:00.000-04:002008-10-11T09:25:00.000-04:00Hypnosis?Hypnosis?Albion Landhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14423168351697120421noreply@blogger.com