Magic of Believing

The Healing Power of the Mind - Part 2

In 1952 Albert Mason was a young anesthetist based at the Queen Victoria Hospital in East Grinstead, England.  After World War II, the hospital had become a specialist hospital for plastic surgery and birth defects. One day Mason was working with a surgeon on a 15yr old boy who had a severe case of warts. The surgeon he was working with, Dr. Moore, had been upset when the skin graft that he had carried out on the boy had not worked.  The boy had been covered in warts with only a bit of clear skin on his chest and in an effort to help, the surgeon had tried to graft a bit of this clear skin onto the boy's hand.  The graft only made matters worse. 

Mason, whom had previously cured smaller cases of warts with hypnosis, suggested to the surgeon, "Why don't you treat him with hypnotism?"  The doctor looked at him pityingly, and said, "Why don't you."

Those 3 words, and this 15yr old boy would forever change Albert Mason's life. 

The very next day, Mason said to the boy while under hypnosis,

"The warts will fall off your right arm, and new skin will grow which will be soft and normal".  

As you can see in the photo, when the boy returned the next week, the hypnosis had worked.  In fact, the change was startling.   Mason simply smiled, because he knew the hypnosis was going to work, and maybe wanting to gloat a bit, decided to take the boy to see Dr. Moore who was at the time, performing surgery.  They stood behind the glass partition of the operating room, and held up the boys arms so Moore could have a look.  The doctor did look, and according to Mason, "His eyes became like saucers".  He handed his knife over to his assistant and came out to see the boy closer.  His only words were "Good God".  Not seeing what the big deal was, Mason told him, "See, I told you hypnosis can cure warts".

Dr. Moore replied, in shock, "Warts?  This isn't warts.  This boy has Congenital Ichthyosis.  He was born with it.  It's incurable!"

Mason had performed a miracle.  He cured an incurable disease that usually takes the life of it's victim while they are still children. By the way, the little boy he cured, was 67 yrs old and still going strong in 2002.  And he still had no trace of the disease.  

Mason went on to publish his success in the British Medical Journal of 1952.  Afterwards, every patient within a 1,000 mile radius who had the disease was calling Dr Mason for treatment.  But strangely enough, he never again had the success that he did with the 15 yr old little boy.  Why?   He believes it's all due to belief.

Before, he knew he could cure warts.  That belief was conveyed - possibly subconsciously - to his patient.  They both believed, beyond a shadow of a doubt.  And so the cure worked.   

Afterwards, he now 'knew' that this wasn't warts, it was a disease that was incurable.  He tried pretending, he tried convincing his patient, he tried everything, but in the end, he knew he was just acting.   And somehow that 'lie' was also conveyed to his patient.  And so there was no cure.   

Belief is a powerful force.  It can move mountains, and it can cure incurable diseases.    

Remember Henry Ford's famous quote:

Whether you think you can, or think you can't............................you're right.