For a while, Mesmer applied the new technology of magnetism in the treatment of patients. He experimented with using magnets to control the flow of energy in patient's ill bodies. He eventually moved away from using external magnets and began to propound the idea of "animal magnetism", an innate force that flows through humans and can be used to loosen blocked energy flows in other people for the purposes of healing.

Mesmer became very famous with many ardent followers. He opened centers throughout Europe which practiced his methods. But he was also very controversial. Some people thought that his treatments were merely outlets from the repressed societal customs of the time period. They supposedly involved sensual massages of patients who often happened to be pretty young society ladies (ie. the Paris Hiltons of 18th-century Europe).

Mesmer caught the attention of the King of France, who offered Mesmer a large sum of money if he would stay in Paris and prove the truth of his methods based on conditions set by the King. Mesmer made a bad political move; he was making so much money from his centers across Europe that he rejected the King's conditions. The King then decided to appoint a commission which included the famous chemist Antoine Lavoisier and Ben Franklin, in order to investigate Mesmer's claims of a mysterious fluid which flowed through the body. They concluded that the fluid did not exist, and any effects derived from Mesmer's treatments were in the patient's imagination. This was part of a gradual decline in the popularity and credibility of Mesmer, to the point today where his name is often seen next to the word quack or charlatan.

Mesmer is an interesting person because of the controversy surrounding him. Because of his political problems and the gossip that was spread about him, it's difficult to determine if he was a true believer, or someone who just wanted to party with (and massage) the rich and famous, or a demented person who may have been right after all. His ideas about interconnectedness and hidden energy fields are making a comeback among people interested in alternative healing.

It is also interesting that the commission that studied him did not find that his treatment was ineffective, just that the mysterious energy force could not be identified. This is similar to overly skeptical people nowadays who discount the effects of something, just because they can't identify an empirical causation. On the other hand, supporters of alternative healing often rely heavily on personal or anecdotal stories which are presented as

Mesmer caught the attention of the King of France, who offered Mesmer a large sum of money if he would stay in Paris and prove the truth of his methods based on conditions set by the King. Mesmer made a bad political move; he was making so much money from his centers across Europe that he rejected the King's conditions. The King then decided to appoint a commission which included the famous chemist Antoine Lavoisier and Ben Franklin, in order to investigate Mesmer's claims of a mysterious fluid which flowed through the body. They concluded that the fluid did not exist, and any effects derived from Mesmer's treatments were in the patient's imagination. This was part of a gradual decline in the popularity and credibility of Mesmer, to the point today where his name is often seen next to the word quack or charlatan.

Mesmer is an interesting person because of the controversy surrounding him. Because of his political problems and the gossip that was spread about him, it's difficult to determine if he was a true believer, or someone who just wanted to party with (and massage) the rich and famous, or a demented person who may have been right after all. His ideas about interconnectedness and hidden energy fields are making a comeback among people interested in alternative healing.

It is also interesting that the commission that studied him did not find that his treatment was ineffective, just that the mysterious energy force could not be identified. This is similar to overly skeptical people nowadays who discount the effects of something, just because they can't identify an empirical causation. On the other hand, supporters of alternative healing often rely heavily on personal or anecdotal stories which are presented as

Mesmer is an interesting person because of the controversy surrounding him. Because of his political problems and the gossip that was spread about him, it's difficult to determine if he was a true believer, or someone who just wanted to party with (and massage) the rich and famous, or a demented person who may have been right after all. His ideas about interconnectedness and hidden energy fields are making a comeback among people interested in alternative healing.

It is also interesting that the commission that studied him did not find that his treatment was ineffective, just that the mysterious energy force could not be identified. This is similar to overly skeptical people nowadays who discount the effects of something, just because they can't identify an empirical causation. On the other hand, supporters of alternative healing often rely heavily on personal or anecdotal stories which are presented as

It is also interesting that the commission that studied him did not find that his treatment was ineffective, just that the mysterious energy force could not be identified. This is similar to overly skeptical people nowadays who discount the effects of something, just because they can't identify an empirical causation. On the other hand, supporters of alternative healing often rely heavily on personal or anecdotal stories which are presented as "evidence".

Some other facts about Mesmer: - Being wealthy, he was a patron of the arts; his most famous beneficiary is probably the composer Mozart, who included a reference to Mesmer in one of his operas. - A couple of movies based on Mesmer include 1994's "Mesmer" starring Alan Rickman, and a 1999 Norwegian film "Magnetist's Fifth Winter", about a "magnetist/hypnotist/healer" who shows up in a small town in Norway. - The popular online computer game "Guild Wars" features an illusionist-type character class called Mesmer. Players who play this class can use spells such as Ether Feast, Mantra of Concentration, Conjure Phantasm, Guilt, Imagined Burden, and Shatter Delusions.