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No force besides God
When I was in high school some friends and I went out for dinner. Afterward we sat in a car, talking. One of the guys said he could hypnotize us. As he started up with his mental suggestions, I silently decided that I wasn’t going to allow myself to be hypnotized. And I wasn’t. But a friend fell under the spell and was soon talking and acting at the hypnotist’s commands. Later, when the spell was broken, this friend couldn’t remember anything that had happened.
Sometimes what we term hypnotism or mesmerism can be thought of as innocent fun or entertainment. Other times it can be thought of as a means by which problems can be solved; for instance, there are hypnotists who run ads claiming they can help you stop smoking. And hypnotism has been used maliciously to make people act contrary to their sense of what’s right.
About the author
Paul Sedan is a Christian Science practitioner who lives in San Francisco, California.

March 10, 2014 issue
View Issue-
Letters
Elizabeth Beall, Kevin Graunke, Jeanne Shultz
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Ready for takeoff
Wallace Wethe
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No force besides God
Paul Sedan
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Removing roadblocks to healing
Aaron Bingham
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A ‘note’ book for family harmony
Michele Newport
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Would you rather talk than write?
Rita Polatin
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"If any man is thirsty..."
Photograph by Jim Waltz
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A man of substance
Christian A. Harder
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My school was in lockdown: How I prayed
Brooke Engel
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‘Hand in hand’ with God
Heather Bauer
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Gratitude for 2 p.m. testimonies
Nita Murphy
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No more cancer
Rebecca Tripp
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Running with freedom
Susan Powers Thomas
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Warmth instead of coldness
Janet Dillingham
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Smoke signals
From the Editors