There is actually evidence linking directly to Imhotep, so basically hypnosis has roots over 5,000 years in the past. But who is this guy Imhotep? Well, Imhotep is the builder of the pyramids. He was actually a priest and had the reputation of a magician. Perceived as the go-to man when it came to science and magic (they were intertwined back then), the pharaoh gave Imhotep the task of building the largest pyramids in the world, and so he did. Imhotep knew what he was doing. Can’t argue with that, the guy had some leadership and knowledge in that elongated skull of his!

hypnosis and pyramids

The Egyptians used healing shrines to heal people, mental illnesses, what today we would classify as psychological problems. Those healing places were called “Dream Temples”. Imhotep owned multiple such dream temples, in which he performed hypnosis. They didn’t call it that then, but nevertheless it was. He will see, the subconscious mind has always existed, although we only recently discovered it and some would have you believe that it does not exist. In these temples the patient is induced into a sleep-like trance; The priests then tried to make sense of the person’s dreams to learn more about the diseases and find a possible cure for them.

It must be quite a sight to see “patients” enter these temples, these catacombs, and be introduced to what was perceived at the time, magic. That’s what normal people thought of hypnosis, that’s why only priests and priestesses knew the secrets.

These secrets of hypnosis were passed down and taught only to selected disciples, who had to undergo years of apprenticeship to become practitioners, or priests, as it were. These select few could then attend and help the head priest with the induction.

The Egyptians relied heavily on scents and perfumes for their induction techniques. They did these hypnotic inductions in isolated rooms, without windows, so that the odors would not escape from the room and the “patient” would have to sniff everything.

Once the person was ready, usually 3 to 5 minutes, the singing and humming began, creating a religious feeling inside the chamber, which mixed with the smell and the figure of authority (the priest) made the subject fell into a deep abyss. trance. With their eyes closed, people listened to the priest’s voice and followed his instructions, which were usually orders to narrate the dreams that particular person had.