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Experiments in mental suggestion – Professor L L Vasiliev

The sender must know who is the percipient in a particular experiment, otherwise mental suggestion remains without effect. Out of a considerable total number of experiments substantiating this point we will here cite the following two:

Experiment of 14/4/1934. The subject, Ivanova, came to the laboratory at 9 p.m. She went into the round room B (see plan of the laboratory and legend) and made herself comfortable in the armchair by the fire. At 9:30 P.M. the second experimental subject, Fedorova, arrived at the laboratory and she was asked to lie down on the couch in the small room A.

Tomashevsky was with her in the role of observer.

At 10:30 the sender, Dubrovsky, entered the Faraday chamber which was in the round room, where the first subject, Ivanova, was.

At 10:35 the sender began mental suggestion to go to sleep, directing it towards Fedorova.

At 11:00 Fedorova went into hypnosis. Between these times, i.e. 10:35 and 11:00, Ivanova three times gave indications of being sleepy, but this did not result in hypnosis and instantly disappeared when she was questioned.

At 11:30 Ivanova was transferred into the small room and put in the armchair, separated by a screen from Fedorova who remained in the hypnotic state.

Tomashevsky, the observer, stayed with both subjects.

At 11:33 the sender, Dubrovsky, who was in the round room in the Faraday chamber, began mentally to suggest to Ivanova to go to sleep.

At 11:39 the suggestion took effect-Ivanova went into hypnosis.

Fedorova continued to sleep.

At 12:12 the sender, while remaining in the Faraday chamber, begins to wake up Fedorova by mental suggestion.

At 12:25 Fedorova declares: "He is trying to wake me up but nothing happens. Arseny Vassilievich (Christian names of sender) is trying hard." However, the sender did not succeed in waking up the subject. The remainder of the experiment is here omitted.

The following experiment was still more impressive and was kymographically recorded.

Experiment of 19/4/1934.The subjects, Ivanova and Fedorova, were in different rooms of the laboratory, Fedorova being placed in the Faraday chamber.

Neither knew of the other one's presence. Fedorova’s state was recorded kymographically, Dr. Dubrovsky carried out the observations on Ivanova. The sender, Tomashevsky, was in the round room, i.e. in the same room as Fedorova.

At 19:19 mental suggestion started, aimed at putting Fedorova to sleep. Sleep set in at 9:20. At 10:35 the sender joined Fedorova in the Faraday chamber. At 10:37 mental suggestion was started to put Ivanova to sleep. She fell asleep at 10:41.

At 10:58 mental awakening of Ivanova was begun and at 11:00 she woke up. Meanwhile the subject Fedorova, despite the direct proximity of the sender (Tomashevsky), continued in her sleep state without showing any response to the suggestion to wake up that was directed, not towards her but towards Ivanova.

Similar experiments were carried out on two subjects in three sessions and gave the same results. A response to mental suggestion was elicited in the very subject towards whom the suggestion was directed.