The eyes of Fraulein Paradis saw not for most of her youth. But, there was a man who believed that her sight could be restored. That she could share that wonderful sense with the rest of humanity. That with the hands of human kindness, much patience and work, and doses of magnetic power, her eyes might be reopened and her whole world expanded.

Anton Mesmer’s own eyes were different than those of his contemporaries. Certainly in a metaphorical sense. Maybe literally as well.

While Dr. Mesmer was an imposing being by most any estimates, many have suggested that it was his eyes that most drew attention to him. His eyes were said to be clear, penetrating and sympathetic.

Mesmer drew upon the subtlest light of nature following in the path of Paracelsus who left us the words: “The physician should be able to see that which is not visible to everybody.”

We all see from angles slightly askew to those of our friends and neighbors. But, Dr. Mesmer saw the whole world from a vastly different perspective than most everyone around him, and more especially the medical establishment of the day. He was one of the most practical of medical investigators of all times, reading between the lines, taking in a wider view, and absorbing deeper reality which stands in the midst of us all. “Research is of seeing what everyone else has seen and thinking what nobody has thought.” (Albert Szent-Gyorgi)

By the time Mesmer encountered Fraulein Paradis, he had gathered the benefits of orthodox medical training, review of the sciences of past and present generations, access to the gifts of Nature, and the lighted touch of his own soul. He had not perfected his animal magnetism, but had made sufficient discoveries to make his method practical and effective.


Most of all, Anton Mesmer was an Observer. At one point in the middle of his life, Mesmer took himself away from it all to the comfort and tutelage of Nature. He spent three months with her and just observed. That was surely one of the most valuable tutorials ever received by a human.

In the bosom of Nature he discovered his sixth sense, an encompassing faculty which allowed him to see and sense and do things that few mortals have emulated. The key to the lock fell upon the power and discipline of observation. Instead of relying on books written by men and medical ones in particular, Mesmer turned to the Book of Nature and was justly rewarded.


Anton Mesmer was a keen observer of the Natural world. Not just the world outside his doorstep, but also the inner world which dwells constantly within our midst but is well shaded by the outer forms of things. So well shaded as to be hidden from most human beings almost all of the time.

From his persistent courtship with Nature, Mesmer gained deep understanding and experience of the finer aspects of healing possibilities and processes. As well as their universality.


Mesmer discovered through his life and studies that knowing is much greater than knowledge. Too much of knowledge for centuries has been passed from book to book and mouth to ear based largely on the limited process of rote learning. Experience of the real world has gradually been ignored or forgotten. Yet, the best students in any field experiment, investigate, and discover the reality of the Natural World however long it takes.

Vast amounts of knowledge – mountains of print and petabytes of data – have been collected. A large portion has been created artificially. Much of it has been useful and valuable. Man-made society needs man-made information. Yet, the libraries and colleges of the world have become packed with relative trivia, divorced from Nature, Truth, and Reality.


Real beings need real teachers and leaders. So very few have the time or interest to Know Thyself that sages and guides are often needed to act at least for moments as mediators. Healing – to go beyond simple relief of symptoms – calls for contact, connection and cooperation with Natural principles. Not just palliatives and pacifiers.


It was a universal principle – the magnetic fluid – which Mesmer studied. He learned to sense it and work with it consciously and deliberately. That principle he put to tremendously practical use for the aid and relief of his fellow beings. And, he dared to utilize it early on with young Maria-Theresia Paradis. To bring sight back to long blind eyes is no small task. Dr. Mesmer was up to that challenge and many others in his most extraordinary life. One that placed him as a re-discoverer of ancient ideas and as a forerunner of even greater healing wonders yet to come.

Ah! If we could only see as Mesmer did. With the perspective of Paracelsus. With the eyes of the Buddha and the Christ. But, we can.