By Adriana James and Gina Mollicone-Long – Guest Writer
This article starts a three article series dedicated to our very successful and knowledgeable Hypnosis Master Trainers who graduated this year at the end of the Hypnosis Master Trainer Program through The Tad James Co. They are exceedingly capable and knowledgeable and we are extremely proud of them.
The average Person in the world is either fascinated with the concept of Hypnosis or fearful of it. I am taking out of the equation the institutions that reject and criticize hypnosis all together – but in the same breath are actively using it themselves.
Despite powerful evidence to the contrary, the conventional view in many circles is that the best way to protect yourself against “being hypnotized” is to be afraid of it. This flies in the face of the basic concept that whenever you are afraid of it, the way to conquer that subject is to learn about it. You don’t have to fall in love with it like it or even to like it, but the understanding of how it works keeps you safe. Mind darkness has never protected anybody from anything. To the contrary, only the light “in the head” and mind makes one aware of what’s going on, and so, it gives one the ability – through awareness – to protect and defend themselves from any unwanted suggestions.
Are we suggestible? Of course we are.
All of us? Absolutely.
Is it true that different people exhibit different degrees of suggestibility? Sure.
But once you understand how hypnosis works, you also understand that you can resist hypnosis easily. It can be done only through conscious or even unconscious participation of the person to be hypnotized. Note that I mentioned “conscious or unconscious” participation. And this is where knowledge comes in handy. If you don’t know what the person in front of you is doing, you can unconsciously participate. But once you understand the process, then you have a choice and only then you can really protect yourself and refuse to cooperate if you don’t feel safe. This is why we teach hypnosis in our trainings. Not for show, not for “power over”, not for fun. For knowledge and understanding! Knowledge is power!
Now that we’re done with the “evils” of hypnosis, let’s talk about the positive aspects. What if you could learn how to use this on your own and influence your own Unconscious Mind (who is in charge of your body) to respond differently, positively and the way you choose? What if you could learn hypnosis more as a self-help tool than anything else? What if this could enhance your personal capabilities to quit smoking, or to gain more energy, or to relieve stress to mention only three simple things? By the way, Vaping is seemingly a growing trend among people who want an alternative to the cigarette. You have to admit there is nothing wrong with that.
Below you can read a very comprehensive and well written description of Gina Mollicone Long’s “fascination” demonstration during the Master Hypnosis Trainer’s Training of “Count the Cagliostro’s” method of hypnosis. Enjoy her video too – it is short and fascinating!
Giuseppe Balsamo (2 June 1743 – 26 August 1795)- A Brief History and Summary
By Gina Mollicone- Long
THE INDUCTION (FASCINATION):
- 1. Have the subject look at the hypnotist above and between the eyes (the third eye) where there is no movement
- 2. The hypnotist must not blink
- 3. The hypnotist should move his/her body back and forth slightly and slowly so it will be easier for the eyes of the subject to get into a resting point of accommodation (called the “dark focus”)
- 4. The hypnotist should be centered and concentrating and think “close your eyes, sleep, close your eyes, sleep”
- 5. Optional – do one pass from the top of the head past the eyes to get eye closure
Giuseppe Balsamo was born and raised in Palermo in Sicily in one of Palermo’s most Arab quarters once called Al-Gadida (currently Albergheria). His was family was quite poor yet his grandfather and his uncles made sure that he received a solid education. During his period as a novice in the Catholic Order of St. John of God, he learned chemistry as well as a series of spiritual rites.2
He adopted the title “Count Alessandro di Cagliostro” in Messina when he escaped his first scandal in 1764. This alias was actually confirmed in the book, Italian Journey (1816-1817) by Johann Wolfgang van Goethe. There was much secrecy surrounding the true identity of the Count, who claimed to have been born of noble status but abandoned at birth. In the Italian Journey, Goethe ascertains that a lawyer from Palermo sent a file of the official documents of Balsamo’s genealogy. Goethe met with this lawyer in April 1787 and saw the actual documents. Giuseppe was the son of Felicita and Pietro Balsamo and was christened with the name of his great uncle, Giuseppe Cagliostro. Balsamo eventually adopted his great uncle’s surname as well3.
He was an avid traveler and found himself in Malta from 1765-1766. It is reported that he made his way to Medina and began working as a servant with the Knight Hospitallers of St. John (also known as the Knights of Malta). His family history brought him to this place, as it was known that a famous Balsamo ancestor had been a grand prior of the Knights in 1618. That explains his connection to the Knights as well as a lineage in such groups.
He landed a job in Rome in 1768 as a secretary for the Cardinal Domenico Orsini d’Aragona (1719-1789), nephew of Pope Benedict XIII.4 Apparently, he got bored of this job and began selling Egyptian amulets and forged paintings.5 It was at this time, he met fourteen-year-old Lorenza Seraphina Feliciani, whom he married.
He was first initiated into the Freemasons in 1776 at the Esperance Lodge in Soho, London thus beginning his allegiance to Masonry. He travelled to many countries for many years and was devoted to the craft. Finally, in 1784, he founded the first lodge of Egyptian Freemasonry in Lyon, France.
From all accounts his eyes were remarkable. “I cannot describe his physiognomy,” says the Marquise de Crequy, “for he had twelve or fifteen at his disposal. But no two eyes like his were ever seen; and his teeth were superb.”
Laborde speaks of “his eyes of fire which pierced to the bottom of the soul.” Another writer declares that “his glance was like a gimlet”. All the contemporary documents that speak of him “and they are hostile with very few exception” refer to the powerful fascination that he exercised on all who approached him. Madame Henriette Louise D’Oberkirch who met him in 1781 found herself utterly seized by the magician’s charisma. His eyes were “indescribable, with supernatural depth – all fire, yet all ice”.6
It is documented that Cagliostro was associated with Franz Anton Mesmer as well as the Compte St. Germain who were both freemasons. Certainly, Cagliostro learned the principles of Mesmer’s animal magnetism from Mesmer himself. It is reported that Cagliostro used these skills, amongst others to heal thousands of people in Strasbourg starting in 1780. Apparently, he refused all compensation for his services.
Over the years, he made many remarkable connections with famous people all over Europe. Some examples include7:
- Casanova was bitterly jealous of him
- Catherine the Great, empress of Russia wanted to strangle him
- Johann van Goethe, the most revered of Germany’s writers hated him
- King Louis XVI of France persecuted him as a dangerous revolutionary
- Queen Marie Antoinette wanted to lock him permanently in the Bastille for involving her in the necklace swindle
- Pope Pius VI accused him of threatening the survival of the Roman Catholic Church
His most famous scandal was called the “Diamond Necklace Affair”. The reputation of Queen Marie Antoinette was tarnished after she was implicated in a crime to defraud the crown jewelers of the cost of a very expensive diamond necklace. Cagliostro was imprisoned in the Bastille for nine months before he was acquitted on the basis that no evidence could be found against him. However, this scandal marked the beginning of his downfall.
Upon his acquittal, he was asked to leave France. He went to England only to be accused by a spy of being the notorious Giuseppe Balsamo. He wandered for years eventually ending up in Rome in 1789 where he tried to revive his Egyptian Rite. Unfortunately for him, his initiates were two men who were spies of the Inquisition and he was arrested and sentenced to death on the charge of being a Mason. His death sentence was changed to life imprisonment in the Castle of San Leo. He died in this dungeon prison in 1795 but not before he tormented the guards and the priests of the prison with his trickery, charisma and deceits. The only entrance into Cagliostro’s famous cell was through a trap door in the ceiling so that a warden could lower food into his cell without risking looking into Cagliostro’s famous evil eyes8.
Sources:
1 Iain McCalman, The Last Alchemist, 2004, Harper Collins, USA
2 Wikipedia
3 Wikipedia
4 Wikipedia and Miranda, Cardinals of the Holy Roman Church
5 Iain McCalman, The Last Alchemist, 2004, Harper Collins, USA
6 ibid
7 ibid
8 roughguides.com – link for San Leo, Italy