The history of hypnosis began with the healing practices of Franz Anton Mesmer and his student, Armand Marie Jacques de Chastnet, Marquis de Puységur in 1779.(Crabtree, 2013: 298 ) Mesmer discovered through a method he used to cause patients to become disconnected from reality, but permeable to influence. This method he called "animal magnetism" was the movement of slowly sliding his hand in front of his patient's body. According to Crabtree (1993), Mesmer's student, Puységur, would then apply this method to his patients and would discover that "many entered a state with these characteristics: 1) a sort of somnambulism of consciousness, 2) a "relation " or a special connection with the magnetizer, 3) suggestibility with heightened imagination, 4) amnesia in the waking state for events in the magnetized state, 5) ability to read i thoughts of the magnetizer and 6) a striking change in the personality of the magnetic subject." (p.38-45) These six have been referred to as Puységur's somnambulistic phenomena. These discoveries lead Puységur to the conclusion that the magnetic subject agreed to follow the magnetizer's suggestions. Mesmer's theory of animal magnetism included something he referred to as a magnetic fluid. He believed that magnetic fluid was a healing power spread throughout the world. However, this method of animal magnetism was not widely accepted and was often criticized and linked to scammers and quack doctors. The two theories of Puységur and Mesmer were in conflict and only Puységur's method proved triumphant in magnetic healing practices. (Crabtree, 2012: 299) Fifty years later, James Braid, a doctor from Manchester, attended a demonstration on animal magnetism and became interested in how it works. But... in the middle of the paper... tangible proof that hypnosis had an effect on the human body. This ultimately convinced anyone who doubted its practical use and widely expanded its popularity and usage. Works Cited Crabtree, A. (1993). From Mesmer to Freud: magnetic sleep and the roots of psychological healing. New Haven: Yale University Press, 38-45. Retrieved from Crabtree, A. (2012). Hypnosis reconsidered, relocated and redefined. Journal Of Scientific Exploration, 26(2), 297-327. Discover the history of hypnosis. (n.d.). History of hypnosis. Retrieved November 22, 2013, from http://www.historyofhypnosis.org/Alpert, N.M., Thompson, W.L., Costantini-Ferrando, M.F., Kosslyn, S.M., & Spiegel, D. (2000, August 1). Hypnotic visual illusion alters color processing in the brain. Psychiatry online. Retrieved November 23, 2013, from http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/article.aspx?articleID=174269