Note: I must emphasize that Franz Hartmann was not at all a naive man
who was easy to coax, but instead he was a cautious and experienced
esotericist, but also he was a very reputable doctor, graduated from the
University of Munich and his medical services were much sought after in all the
places he traveled.
Nevertheless, he also experienced several fantastic healing methods that
greatly impressed him:
1. SPIRITUAL HEALING AT A DISTANCE
« When a child I was
vaccinated and the consequence was such that I would by far have preferred to
have the smallpox ten times. My blood was thus poisoned, and for thirty years I
suffered from an eczema which rendered life almost intolerable to me.
In vain I consulted the best
known physicians and specialists in Europe and America. I recklessly swallowed all
kinds of medicines which they prescribed, and submitted to all sorts of
treatment, hoping thereby rather that this would put an end to my life, than to
find any relief.
The matter grew finally so bad
that it was impossible for me to get an hour’s sleep without taking first large
doses of chloral and then inhaling the vapors of chloroform.
It was after the middle of
December, 1875, when I was at F. (Texas) in this condition and thinking of
suicide. By accident I heard of a Dr. Newton of New Orleans, who performed
wonderful cures by treating patients at a distance without giving medicine. I
wrote to him, but days passed without my receiving an answer and I thought no
more of it.
On the first day of January,
1876, I was called to a farm some forty miles from F. to perform a surgical
operation. After a sharp ride on horseback I arrived in the evening, and after attending
to the patient made up my mind to stay at that farm over night, as it was
already too late to return.
After supper I sat on the porch,
thinking of the sleepless night that would now be in store for me; when suddenly
I received something like an electric shock which thrilled through my body. I
immediately thought of Dr. Newton. I looked at my watch. It was 8.20 p.m.
That night was the first one in many
years that I slept soundly, and I have been perfectly well ever since. A few
days after this occurrence, I received a letter from Dr. Newton from San
Francisco, he having in the meantime moved to that place. In this letter he
said:
-
“I send you at this
moment an electric shock, which will cure you. No further treatment is
necessary.”
The letter was dated at a time
corresponding exactly with 8.20 p.m. when the difference of time between Texas
and California is taken into consideration.
I believe that in this case not
merely mental, but spiritual (“magical”) vibrations were acting and that a
person being in conscious possession of such a spiritual power might cure
himself and others by an effort of will, but I am also certain that persons possessing
such a power are very few and that all those who in their advertisements claim to
cure for a certain amount of money people at a distance have no such powers at
all, but that if perchance a cure follows such an imaginary treatment, it is merely
due to the auto-suggestion of the patient himself and his faith in the doctor.
This, however, was not the case
with me, as I thought no further of Dr. Newton and had no faith in getting cured
at all. »
(Occult Review, March 1907, vol.
5, p.138-140)
2. MENTAL CURE AND POSSESSION
« In the year 1888, I
was at W. (N.Y.), having received an invitation from Mrs. H. to visit the
headquarters of “Christian science” and mental cure, which was established there
and to study their methods.
Among the “healers” were two
young ladies with whom I soon became acquainted. I stated to them my belief
that their cures by mental action were due merely to the faith of the patient; for
even the Bible states that when Jesus performed a cure. He never said, “I cured
thee,” but “Thy faith made thee whole.”
To this those ladies objected and
said that they often cured people without the patient knowing that he was
treated, and as I was suffering from an aching tooth on that day, I thought I would
try the experiment and told them of it, saying that if they would treat me for
it they should do so later without telling me about it, and that I did not
believe in it anyhow.
Soon after that conversation I
went with Miss R. to a lecture, while Miss W. went away. Now it is essential
for my purpose to describe the appearance of Miss W. She was a very pretty
girl, slender and small with dark hair and ringlets. She was dressed in white
and had a red sash around her waist.
I thought no more of her but
listened attentively to the lecture, while Miss R. was sitting next to me.
Suddenly a strange feeling came
over me. I saw myself as being Miss W. I was a young, slender and delicate girl
with black hair and ringlets, in a white dress and with a red sash around my
waist. And not only did I see myself in that way, but I also had the feelings,
which such a pretty young lady would probably have; for I thought of my
appearance and whether my hair were in good order and whether I would be likely
to be admired, etc.
I must say that looking at myself
with my physical eyes, I saw that I had not changed, and in my innermost
consciousness I also knew who I was; but Miss W. had, so to say, taken possession
of my astral self; astrally I was Miss W. My toothache was gone.
After the lecture Miss W.
appeared and told me that during the lecture she had been in her room and
concentrated her thought upon me, and I may add that perhaps in consequence of
this intense amalgamation Miss W. and myself became very great friends.
An explanation of this case seems
to me unnecessary; it only goes to show that the physical body is only the
house in which the mind, constituting the inner man, resides, and that if the
inner man is drawn out of it by something which attracts his outward attention,
his place may be occupied by the spirit of another person and perhaps even by
the ghosts of the dead.
It seems to me that for the
purpose of investigating the mysteries of the inner life, we ought to seek the
solution of such riddles rather within our own inner life than in speculating
about external phenomena, and this was also the opinion of Miss W., for she
wrote in my notebook the following verses:
Why idly seek for
outward things?
The answer inner silence
brings.
Thus to the mind
disturbed by naught
The uttermost of
truth is taught.
»
(Occult Review, March 1907, vol.
5, p.140-141)
3. "MIRACULOUS" CURES
« I have chosen the
word “miraculous” because this term, being derived from “mirare,” does not signify to my mind anything supernatural or
contrary to the laws of nature, but merely something to be "admired” or
wondered at, because it is out of the common line of experience; and all
surprising effects, of which we do not know the causes, may therefore in a
certain sense be called “miraculous” or admirable.
Among my experiences in regard to
occult phenomena, none have been more surprising and incomprehensible to me
than certain cures which have been performed (not by my own volition) but apparently
by some unknown power acting through my organism.
I do not claim any occult powers;
but having observed in India that scorpion bites are cured by employing magical
signs, I tried for fun the same method for the cure of certain ailments, such
as toothache, ischias, local inflammations, etc., and I found to my surprise
that the relief was often instantaneous and permanent.
In this way I gained, without
desiring it, a reputation for being able to perform miraculous cures, and my
aid was asked even in serious cases, of which I may mention the following:
Fist case
One day, while I was staying at
R. on one of the Italian lakes, a friend of mine, Baron B., living at a
neighboring village, distant one hour’s walk, came to see me and asked me to
visit his sister-in-law to find out what was the matter with her.
He said that she had been ill for
several days, that all the doctors of the neighborhood had met and held a
consultation and that they declared the case to be past help.
I went to village and found the
lady in an unconscious state, apparently at the point of death.
Of course I could do nothing; but
merely for the sake of satisfying those present, I made the sign of the
Pentagon with the point of my finger over her neck, saying that if it would do no
good, it would do no harm.
I went home in the afternoon and
had no doubt that the lady would die. I thought of her the following night, and
on the next morning I expected every moment to receive the notice of her death.
No such notice came and growing impatient to know whether she was still living,
I walked to village at 10 a.m.
Turning around the comer I
expected to find crape at the door, according to the custom; but there was
none. The house door was open; I went upstairs and knocked. Somebody called in
a loud voice:
"Come in!"
I entered, and there stood the
lady perfectly well and dressed, trying on a hat before the mirror. On that
afternoon she walked on foot to R. in my company.
This could not have been a case
of hypnotism or suggestion, because the patient was unconscious when I saw her;
it was no “magnetism,” because I exerted no will; it was no faith-cure, for I
had no faith in it myself.
Second case
Mr. K.P. came to me all the way
from Sweden to Italy, for the purpose, as he said, of putting himself for two months
under my treatment for the cure of some spinal affection from which he had
suffered for years, and by which he was rendered powerless to bend his back.
I told him that I had abandoned practicing
medicine long ago, and that I could do nothing for him; but out of curiosity I
consented to examine his spine, to see what was the matter with it.
I did so and found an irritated
spot over which it then struck me to make the sign of the Pentagon. Immediately
the patient arose and, all the pain having left, he bent his back in every
direction, declaring himself perfectly well.
Instead of remaining two months,
he went next morning on his return journey to Sweden.
This was some even years ago, and
Mr. K.P. appears to be still in good health.
Thirst case
Four years ago I came to H. on a
lecturing tour, and not seeing my friend Mr. W., I inquired where he was.
I was then told that he was dying
at a hospital and not expected to survive the following night. A surgical
operation had been made on his thigh-bone and now it was impossible to stop the
bleeding, as he was of that peculiar constitution which physicians call "a
bleeder."
If they had known it before, they
would not have operated. Next morning
his wife came to see me, telling me that Mr. W. was still alive and she begged me
to go with her to see him.
I went with her to the hospital, but
the physician in charge refused to admit us, saying that it would be useless to
see the patient, as he would surely die within an hour or two, and that a visit
would only cause an excitement, which would be injurious to him.
Nevertheless his wife insisted
and the nun in charge of the patient admitted us after the doctor had left. I
found Mr. W., pale as a sheet, with blood still oozing through the bandages on
his leg. He thanked me for coming to see him, expressed himself prepared to die
and said that he knew there was no hope of recovery.
I told him that I would try some
"hocus pocus" with his leg,
adding that he need not believe in it, that I did not believe in it myself, but
that it could do no harm.
I then made the sign of the
Pentagon over the bandages. The bleeding stopped immediately, and in less than
a week’s time Mr. W. left the hospital to the great surprise of the physicians.
Fourth case
One day, while driving through a
narrow lane with the Princess R., the overhanging branch of a tree caught at
the lantern of the carriage and on becoming free, struck the Princess over the
face, producing a scarlet streak and swelling.
I passed my hand over it, making
a certain sign, when immediately the streak disappeared and all pain left.
~
* ~
I might continue the list of such
cases, but the above will be sufficient to show that the application of certain
magical signs appears to have an efficacy.
I may however add that the
performance of these cures does not depend upon my own will and pleasure; it
only succeeds when I feel an interior impulse to try these as a cure, and
unless this impulse arises I never attempt it.
My explanation is, that there
exists within my organism some power by which an impression may be made upon
the astral body of a patient and through that upon his physical form; but
whether there is an intelligence from which the impulse comes, or whether this
intelligence belongs to my inner self, I am not able to tell.
I am, however, quite sure that
such treatments can only be made gratuitously, and that if the power were
employed with any selfish motive, it would soon be lost. »
(Occult Review, June 1907, vol.
5, p.331-333)
REMARKS
Personally, I think these stories
must be true because my research has shown me that Franz Hartmann was a serious
man, so I see it very unlikely that he would invent those anecdotes just to
attract attention.
Unfortunately, Franz Hartmann did
not explain much on the magic signs used in India to cure scorpion stings,
since he only mentioned that with his finger he traced the sign of the Pentagon
on the patient. And I imagine that this method will work in a similar way to
the signs of Reiki.
However,
Why, sometimes, these amazing techniques work and sometimes not?
It is difficult to answer because
there are many factors involved, but mainly I suspect it is a question of
karma.
And that is why I recommend you a
lot if you suffer from some disease; and obviously apart from investigating how
to solve using the techniques that are available to you, including those
offered by science, but also considering those offered by alternative
medicines, and being very careful not to be duped by charlatans; but you must
also work to generate positive karma.
Because if that problem you have
is due to some negative karma (product of wrong actions that you made in this
life or in the previous ones), nothing will solve
it than to assume that bad karma so that it is consumed and disappearing.
But you, by also generating positive karma, you will accelerate the elimination
of this negative karma.
And if that problem is not due to
negative karma, it is still good to generate positive karma because you are pushing
more and more the divine beings so that they help you to solve your problem.
But it is also very important
that you know that karma (and also faith) sometimes are not enough to achieve
the miracle, and the reason for it, Master Pasteur explained it in this other
article:
