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Erskine, Professor Alexander - The Power of the Sub-conscious Mind – The curing of Gertrude Yates, a nine year old blind girl
Identifier
027269
Type of Spiritual Experience
Background
A description of the experience
The Power of the Sub-conscious Mind – Professor Alexander Erskine
Since the publication of the first edition of this book I have effected many surprisingly successful cures through the medium of suggestion, and have thereby added much irrefutable testimony as to the healing powers and possibilities of psycho-suggestion.
The most remarkable case of a series is that of Gertrude Yates, a nine year old little girl living at 47 Barset Road, Nunhead.
She was born blind and had attended a L.C.C. school for the blind, during which time she learned to read Braille books.
She was brought to me in the middle of last year by a patient whom I had saved from a nervous breakdown-Miss B. Gardner, who held a public position at Camberwell. This case of Gertrude Yates at first appeared hopeless for she had been turned away at hospitals - St. Thomas's among them – as " incurable."
I induced a hypnotic sleep in her and suggested to her sub-conscious mind that she could see. To my great surprise she said she could, and when she was normal she described various objects, and demonstrated that her sight had been brought to her.
This cure aroused the greatest attention throughout the press of Great Britain and the United States. Numerous important London papers devoted space to it, and since then I have given many lectures before learned societies-such as the International Club for Pyschical Research and the Cosmos Society--on this case. I wish most earnestly to emphasise the fact that in the case of Gertrude Yates there was nothing supernatural.
The delicate machinery of the eye was intact and ready to transmit to the brain objects reflected on the retina so that they might be interpreted by the sub-conscious intelligence as actual objects. What was lacking was the volition to transmit those objects from the retina to the brain, and this was made possible through suggestion to the sub-conscious mind.
Mr. Yates, the father of the child, told a "Daily Express " representative that there was not the slightest doubt as to the " cure " and he also had published in the " Sunday Times " a letter certifying to that effect.
This remarkable success has naturally brought me letters from the ends of the earth, and many have marvelled at it.