Faith Cure, Psychic Cure and Mental Healing are synoni-mous terms. What is Faith Cure? According fo Rawcliffe, “It is the power of thought or the mind to exert an influence over natural conditions and supersede the accepted laws of nature."
What is the process of Faith Cure and how it works? The treatment of disease by psychological method may be traced back to the remote history of mankind. The story of mental healing begins with the ancient magical method of primitive men, who attributed everything to some supernatural agency. It has lately developed into psychotherapy. It is interesting to note that the same principles operate in both the methods, ancient and modern. Whereas the former understood nothing of the factors at work, and attributed them to some mysterious forces, the psychotherapist knows something of the process involved, and possesses knowledge of the psychological basis. However, an ordinary man looks upon psychotherapeutic method of healing, utilising the principle of suggestion, as a mystery.
Most of the cases of "Faith Cure" are due to the working of psychotherapy. What is psychotherapy? It is a branch of psychiatry, whose principal working method psychological sugges¬tion, with or without the use of hypnotism. Under this method of healing, we may include the cure of pain in organic diseases, and injuries, actual improvements in many organic diseases, and restoration of mental health to sufferers from neurasthenia, and psych oneurosis.
Psychotherapy may well be described as the art of the pri¬mitive man brought up-to-date and based on a rational foundation.
During the First World War, thousands of cases of "Shell-shock" were cured, it is recorded, by therapeutic suggestion Names of William Brown and William McDougall deserve to be mentioned here, in this connection. These two great British authorities made a significant contribution to the literature on the subject. It is due to their efforts, a common man may understand how cases of paralysis, blindness, aphonis and a number of other incapacitating disabilities of psychogenic origin are cured. The great Jewish mystic healed "issues of blood" or menovrhagia, made the dumb to speak and the blind to see, by the power of sugges¬tion.
Thus, it may be summed up, that the diseases and bodily diseases created mainly due to psychological factors are liable to be cured by psychological methods, which are known as Psychic Healing or Faith Cure.
In the present times, the term "Psychic Power" is often used by the adherents of the E. S. P. Movement.
What is the meaning of the term "E. S. P."?E. S. P. is the abridged name for Extra - Censory -Perception. It is a general term, which signifies telepathy, clairvoyance, 'precognition' etc.
Experiments of psychic research were carried out in various nations in the past by its followers to acquire the knowledge of the psychic phenomena. There is a vast literature produced about the subject. Such experiments were made by Chourin and Naum Kotil in Russia, by Abramowski in Poland, by Pagnestcher in Mexico, by Schnoll in France, by Wassiliewski and Tiscbner in Germany and by Sinclairs in America.
Moll, the auther of "Prophezeien and Hellsehen" has tried to explain the mystery of supernatural powers in his work. He has described therein the Supernatural Powers and tried to trace their causes, in details. According to his opinion, the powers of Telepathists mediums and clairvoyants are due to sensory hyper-acuity. Bsewald also agrees with him when he says that sensory hyperacuity and unconscious dissemination of cues play a vital role in physical research experiments.
Dr. Rhine of the University of Duke U. S. A. has made experiments for a number of years, and has written books like Extra - Sensory Perception, New Frontiers of Mind, after its deep study. Aldus Huxley, the great Scientist, has written an article, entitled "A Case for E. S. P. Pk. Psi", in the Weekly 'Life*. Dr. Sole, the Mathematician of the University of London, has made such experiments. The theme for the thesis for the Doc¬torate, written by Dr. Hetingar, which he submitted to the Uni¬versity of London was 'Psychometry'.
The Psychical Research has been given encouragement by different Universities of the world, viz, the Universities of Belgrade, Groninjen, Leaden, Straford, Junivar, Harward, Clerk, Duke and Columbia from U. S. A. In Germany, psychic research was recognised as official science, as early as 1937.
Topic: FAITH CURE By : Dr. S. N. Tipnis, M. A. Ph. D. (Read 9469 times)