Ainslie Dixon Meares (3 March 1910 – 19 September 1986) was an Australian psychiatrist, scholar of hypnotism, psychotherapist, authority on stress and a prolific author who lived and practised in Melbourne."Obituary: Dr. Ainslie Meares, Cancer Victim's Guru",The Sydney Morning Herald, (Monday, 22 September 1986), p.8.
Early life
Ainslie Meares was born in Malvern, Victoria, on 3 March 1910, the eldest son of medical practitioner Albert George Meares, (1875–1928),Albert's father, George Meares (1825–1903) had been Lord Mayor of Melbourne from 1880 to 1881, and a Member of the Victorian Legislative Council (MLC) from 1882 to 1886.He died on 20 March 1928 ("Deaths", The Argus, (Wednesday, 21 March 1928), p.1)."Large Estate: Former Melbourne Doctor", The (Brisbane) Telegraph, (Saturday, 5 May 1928), p.9; "Personal", The Argus, (Saturday, 5 May 1928), p30. and Eva Gertrude Meares (1875–1926) (née Ham),Eva's father, Cornelius Job Ham (1837–1909), had been Lord Mayor of Melbourne from 1881 to 1882, and a Member of the Victorian Legislative Council (MLC) from 1882 to 1904.She died on 30 June 1926 ("Deaths", The Age, (Friday, 2 July 1926), p1). who were married on 14 July 1903."Weddings: Meares—Ham", The (Melbourne) Leader, (Saturday, 25 July 1903), p.38]. He married Bonnie Sylvia Byrne on 18 June 1934."Parchment and Ice-Blue: Meares—Byrne Wedding", The Argus, (Tuesday, 19 June 1934), p.10.
Meares was educated at Melbourne Grammar School, where he boxed and played tennis, at Trinity College,see The Fleur-de-Lys (1931–1934), passim. and at the University of Melbourne, from which he graduated with a Bachelor of Agricultural Science degree in 1934,"University of Melbourne: Supplementary Examinations: February, 1934: Fourth Year Bachelor of Agricultural Science", The Argus, (Wednesday, 21 March 1934), p.14. and a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery degree in 1940.
Meares received his Diploma in Psychological Medicine from the University of Melbourne in September 1947,"Conferring of Degrees: Diplomas", The Argus, (Tuesday, 2 September 1947), p.15. and, on the basis of his presentation of a collection of 17 published papers relating to medical hypnotism (with each paper being independent of the others), he was awarded the higher degree of Doctor of Medicine by the University of Melbourne in 1958.
Meares also served as a captain in the Royal Australian Army Medical Corps (1941–1945).Australian Army Service Record: Meares, Ainslie Dixon (VX64992).National Archives of Australia: Service Record: Meares, Ainslie Dixon (VX64992).
Meares was a founding fellow of the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists and, for a time, the president of the International Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis.
Hypnotism Meares was an internationally recognised expert in the medical uses of hypnotism,Hypnosis Made Tooth Extraction Painless, The Age, (Saturday, 1 June 1963), p.5.Westmore (2012). and wrote a number of books describing his approach. His work may be divided into three periods: the hypnosis period, relief without drugs period, and the stillness meditation period. These categories reflect the simplification and fine tuning of his method that occurred over time.Ainslie Meares on Meditation by Owen Bruhn. 2017
Death Meares died suddenly, of pneumonia, in a Melbourne hospital on 19 September 1986."Deaths", The Age, (Monday, 22 September 1986), p.18. He was cremated.Westmore (2012). His wife, Bonnie, died on 27 December 1978. He was survived by their three children, Russell Meares (also a psychiatrist), Garda Meares Langley and Sylvia Meares Black.
Publications Meares was a prolific author, mainly on psychiatry, hypnotism, the treatment of cancer, and meditation. Historian Mitch Horowitz has brought attention to the significance of Meares' work in demonstrating the therapeutic efficacy of "intensive meditation," i.e., multiple consecutive hours a day, on cancer patients who had discontinued chemotherapy as well as those who were still receiving it.
See also
Footnotes
References Doctor's Dislike of Going to Court, The Age, (Saturday, 20 May 1950), p.3. 'Truth Drug' Evidence at Murder Trial: Brewer's 'Abnormal Love for His Mother', The Argus, (Thursday, 21 September 1950), p.6. Westmore, A., "Meares, Ainslie Dixon (1910–1986)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Volume 18, Melbourne University Press, (Melbourne) 2012. The Fleur-de-Lys: A Magazine of Trinity College in the University of Melbourne, Vol.3, No.31, (October 1931). The Fleur-de-Lys: A Magazine of Trinity College in the University of Melbourne, Vol.3, No.32, (October 1932). The Fleur-de-Lys: A Magazine of Trinity College in the University of Melbourne, Vol.3, No.33, (October 1933). The Fleur-de-Lys: A Magazine of Trinity College in the University of Melbourne, Vol.3, No.34, (October 1934). Telling Tales: Diggers in the Garden State, Yallambi, 1 April 2015.
External links Description of the source material gathered for book on Ainslie Meares by Lily Brett (the book was never completed) Photograph of Meares in his Spring Street consulting rooms, with St Patrick's Cathedral in the background