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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/29339-8.txt b/29339-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..1df30ce --- /dev/null +++ b/29339-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,3512 @@ +Project Gutenberg's The Practice of Autosuggestion, by C. Harry Brooks + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Practice of Autosuggestion + +Author: C. Harry Brooks + +Release Date: July 7, 2009 [EBook #29339] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PRACTICE OF AUTOSUGGESTION *** + + + + +Produced by Al Haines + + + + + + + + + + +THE PRACTICE OF AUTOSUGGESTION + + +BY THE METHOD _of_ EMILE COUÉ + +_Revised Edition_ + + +BY + +C. HARRY BROOKS + + + +WITH A FOREWORD BY + +EMILE COUÉ + + + + "For what man knoweth the things of a man save the + spirit of the man which is in him?" + + 1 CORINTHIANS ii. 11. + + + + +NEW YORK + +DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY + +1922 + + + + +COPYRIGHT 1922 + +BY DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY, INC. + + + First Printing, May, 1922 + Second Printing, June, 1922 + Third Printing, June, 1922 + Fourth Printing, July, 1922 + Fifth Printing, July, 1922 + Sixth Printing, Aug., 1922 + Seventh Printing, Aug., 1922 + Eighth Printing, Aug., 1922 + Ninth Printing, Sept., 1922 + Tenth Printing, Sept., 1922 + Eleventh Printing, Nov., 1922 + Twelfth Printing, Nov., 1922 + Thirteenth Printing, Dec., 1922 + Fourteenth Printing, Jan., 1923 + + + PRINTED IN THE U. S. A. BY + The Quinn & Boden Company + BOOK MANUFACTURERS + RAHWAY NEW JERSEY + + + + +TO + +ALL IN CONFLICT WITH + +THEIR OWN IMPERFECTIONS + +THIS LITTLE BOOK + +IS DEDICATED + + + + +PREFACE TO THE AMERICAN EDITION + +To my American readers a special word of gratitude is due for their +generosity to this little book. I hope that it has given them as much +encouragement and help as they have given me. + +In America, the home of so many systems of mental healing, it is +perhaps even more necessary than in Europe to insist on the distinctive +features of M. Coué's teaching. It is based, not on transcendental or +mystical postulates, but on the simple and acknowledged facts of +psychology. This does not mean that it has no relation to religion. +On the contrary it has a very close one. Indeed I hope in a future +volume to point out its deep significance for the Christian churches. +But that relationship remains in M. Coué's teaching unexpressed. The +powers he has revealed are part of the natural endowment of the human +mind. Therefore they are available to all men, independently of +adherence or non-adherence to any sect or creed. + +The method of M. Coué is in no sense opposed to the ordinary practice +of medicine. It is not intended to supplant it but to supplement it. +It is a new ally, bringing valuable reinforcements to the common +crusade against disease and unhappiness. + +Induced Autosuggestion does not involve, as several hasty critics have +assumed, an attack upon the Will. It simply teaches that during the +actual formulation of suggestions, that is for a few minutes daily, the +Will should be quiescent. At other times the exercise of the Will is +encouraged; indeed we are shown how to use it properly, that is without +friction or waste of energy. + +C. H. B. + +19 _October_, 1922. + + + + +AUTHOR'S PREFACE + +The discoveries of Emile Coué are of such moment for the happiness and +efficiency of the individual life that it is the duty of anyone +acquainted with them to pass them on to his fellows. + +The lives of many men and women are robbed of their true value by +twists and flaws of character and temperament, which, while defying the +efforts of the will, would yield rapidly to the influence of +autosuggestion. Unfortunately, the knowledge of this method has +hitherto been available in England only in the somewhat detailed and +technical work of Professor Charles Baudouin, and in a small pamphlet, +printed privately by M. Coué, which has not been publicly exposed for +sale. To fill this gap is the aim of the following pages. They are +designed to present to the layman in non-technical form the information +necessary to enable him to practise autosuggestion for himself. + +All readers who wish to obtain a deeper insight into the theoretical +basis of autosuggestion are recommended to study Professor Baudouin's +fascinating work, _Suggestion and Autosuggestion_. Although in these +pages there are occasional divergences from Professor Baudouin's views, +his book remains beyond question the authoritative statement on the +subject; indeed it is hardly possible without it to form an adequate +idea of the scope of autosuggestion. My own indebtedness to it in +writing this little volume is very great. + +My thanks are due for innumerable kindnesses to M. Coué himself. That +he is the embodiment of patience everyone knows who has been in contact +with him. I am also indebted to the Rev. Ernest Charles, of Malvern +Link, who, though disclaiming responsibility for some of the views +expressed here, has made many extremely valuable suggestions. + +C. H. B. + +MALVERN LINK, + 21 _February_, 1922. + + + + +FOREWORD + +The materials for this little book were collected by Mr. Brooks during +a visit he paid me in the summer of 1921. He was, I think, the first +Englishman to come to Nancy with the express purpose of studying my +method of conscious autosuggestion. In the course of daily visits +extending over some weeks, by attending my consultations, and by +private conversations with myself, he obtained a full mastery of the +method, and we threshed out a good deal of the theory on which it rests. + +The results of this study are contained in the following pages. Mr. +Brooks has skilfully seized on the essentials and put them forward in a +manner that seems to me both simple and clear. The instructions given +are amply sufficient to enable anyone to practise autosuggestion for +him or herself, without seeking the help of any other person. + +It is a method which everyone should follow--the sick to obtain +healing, the healthy to prevent the coming of disease in the future. +By its practice we can insure for ourselves, all our lives long, an +excellent state of health, both of the mind and the body. + +E. COUÉ. + +NANCY. + + + + +CONTENTS + + +PREFACE + +FOREWORD + + +I + +COUÉ'S NANCY PRACTICE + +CHAPTER + + I THE CLINIC OF EMILE COUÉ + II A FEW OF COUÉ'S CURES + III THE CHILDREN'S CLINIC + + +II + +THE NATURE OF AUTOSUGGESTION + + IV THOUGHT IS A FORCE + V THOUGHT AND THE WILL + + +III + +THE PRACTICE OF AUTOSUGGESTION + + VI GENERAL RULES + VII THE GENERAL FORMULA + VIII PARTICULAR SUGGESTIONS + IX HOW TO DEAL WITH PAIN + X AUTOSUGGESTION AND THE CHILD + XI CONCLUSION + + + + +I + +COUÉ'S NANCY PRACTICE + + + +CHAPTER I + +THE CLINIC OF EMILE COUÉ + +The clinic of Emile Coué, where Induced Autosuggestion is applied to +the treatment of disease, is situated in a pleasant garden attached to +his house at the quiet end of the rue Jeanne d'Arc in Nancy. It was +here that I visited him in the early summer of 1921, and had the +pleasure for the first time of witnessing one of his consultations. + +We entered the garden from his house a little before nine o'clock. In +one corner was a brick building of two stories, with its windows thrown +wide to let in the air and sunshine--this was the clinic; a few yards +away was a smaller one-storied construction which served as a +waiting-room. Under the plum and cherry trees, now laden with fruit, +little groups of patients were sitting on the garden seats, chatting +amicably together and enjoying the morning sunshine while others +wandered in twos and threes among the flowers and strawberry beds. The +room reserved for the treatments was already crowded, but in spite of +that eager newcomers constantly tried to gain entrance. The +window-sills on the ground floor were beset, and a dense knot had +formed in the doorway. Inside, the patients had first occupied the +seats which surrounded the walls, and then covered the available +floor-space, sitting on camp-stools and folding-chairs. Coué with some +difficulty found me a seat, and the treatment immediately began. + +The first patient he addressed was a frail, middle-aged man who, +accompanied by his daughter, had just arrived from Paris to consult +him. The man was a bad case of nervous trouble. He walked with +difficulty, and his head, arms and legs were afflicted with a continual +tremor. He explained that if he encountered a stranger when walking in +the street the idea that the latter would remark his infirmity +completely paralysed him, and he had to cling to whatever support was +at hand to save himself from falling. At Coué's invitation he rose +from his seat and took a few steps across the floor. He walked slowly, +leaning on a stick; his knees were half bent, and his feet dragged +heavily along the ground. + +Coué encouraged him with the promise of improvement. "You have been +sowing bad seed in your Unconscious; now you will sow good seed. The +power by which you have produced these ill effects will in future +produce equally good ones." + +The next patient was an excitable, over-worked woman of the artisan +class. When Coué inquired the nature of her trouble, she broke into a +flood of complaint, describing each symptom with a voluble minuteness. +"Madame," he interrupted, "you think too much about your ailments, and +in thinking of them you create fresh ones." + +Next came a girl with headaches, a youth with inflamed eyes, and a +farm-labourer incapacitated by varicose veins. In each case Coué +stated that autosuggestion should bring complete relief. Then it was +the turn of a business man who complained of nervousness, lack of +self-confidence and haunting fears. + +"When you know the method," said Coué, "you will not allow yourself to +harbour such ideas." + +"I work terribly hard to get rid of them," the patient answered. + +"You fatigue yourself. The greater the efforts you make, the more the +ideas return. You will change all that easily, simply, and above all, +without effort." + +"I want to," the man interjected. + +"That's just where you're wrong," Coué told him. "If you say 'I want +to do something,' your imagination replies 'Oh, but you can't.' You +must say 'I am going to do it,' and if it is in the region of the +possible you will succeed." + +A little further on was another neurasthenic--a girl. This was her +third visit to the clinic, and for ten days she had been practising the +method at home. With a happy smile, and a little pardonable +self-importance, she declared that she already felt a considerable +improvement. She had more energy, was beginning to enjoy life, ate +heartily and slept more soundly. Her sincerity and naïve delight +helped to strengthen the faith of her fellow-patients. They looked on +her as a living proof of the healing which should come to themselves. + +Coué continued his questions. Those who were unable, whether through +rheumatism or some paralytic affection, to make use of a limb were +called on, as a criterion of future progress, to put out their maximum +efforts. + +In addition to the visitor from Paris there were present a man and a +woman who could not walk without support, and a burly peasant, formerly +a blacksmith, who for nearly ten years had not succeeded in lifting his +right arm above the level of his shoulder. In each case Coué predicted +a complete cure. + +During this preliminary stage of the treatment, the words he spoke were +not in the nature of suggestions. They were sober expressions of +opinion, based on years of experience. Not once did he reject the +possibility of cure, though with several patients suffering from +organic disease in an advanced stage, he admitted its unlikelihood. To +these he promised, however, a cessation of pain, an improvement of +morale, and at least a retardment of the progress of the disease. +"Meanwhile," he added, "the limits of the power of autosuggestion are +not yet known; final recovery is possible." In all cases of functional +and nervous disorders, as well as the less serious ones of an organic +nature, he stated that autosuggestion, conscientiously applied, was +capable of removing the trouble completely. + +It took Coué nearly forty minutes to complete his interrogation. Other +patients bore witness to the benefits the treatment had already +conferred on them. A woman with a painful swelling in her breast, +which a doctor had diagnosed (in Coué's opinion wrongly), as of a +cancerous nature, had found complete relief after less than three +weeks' treatment. Another woman had enriched her impoverished blood, +and increased her weight by over nine pounds. A man had been cured of +a varicose ulcer, another in a single sitting had rid himself of a +lifelong habit of stammering. Only one of the former patients failed +to report an improvement. "Monsieur," said Coué, "you have been making +efforts. You must put your trust in the imagination, not in the will. +Think you are better and you will become so." + +Coué now proceeded to outline the theory given in the pages which +follow. It is sufficient here to state his main conclusions, which +were these: (1) Every idea which exclusively occupies the mind is +transformed into an actual physical or mental state. (2) The efforts +we make to conquer an idea by exerting the will only serve to make that +idea more powerful. To demonstrate these truths he requested one of +his patients, a young anaemic-looking woman, to carry out a small +experiment. She extended her arms in front of her, and clasped the +hands firmly together with the fingers interlaced, increasing the force +of her grip until a slight tremor set in. "Look at your hands," said +Coué, "and think you would like to open them but you cannot. Now try +and pull them apart. Pull hard. You find that the more you try the +more tightly they become clasped together." + +The girl made little convulsive movements of her wrists, really doing +her best by physical force to separate her hands, but the harder she +tried the more her grip increased in strength, until the knuckles +turned white with the pressure. Her hands seemed locked together by a +force outside her own control. + +"Now think," said Cone, "'I can open my hands.'" + +Slowly her grasp relaxed and, in response to a little pull, the cramped +fingers came apart. She smiled shyly at the attention she had +attracted, and sat down. + +Coué pointed out that the two main points of his theory were thus +demonstrated simultaneously: when the patient's mind was filled with +the thought "I cannot," she could not in very fact unclasp her hands. +Further, the efforts she made to wrench them apart by exerting her will +only fixed them more firmly together. + +Each patient was now called on in turn to perform the same experiment. +The more imaginative among them--notably the women--were at once +successful. One old lady was so absorbed in the thought "I cannot" as +not to heed the request to think "I can." With her face ruefully +puckered up she sat staring fixedly at her interlocked fingers, as +though contemplating an act of fate. "Voilà," said Coué, smiling, "if +Madame persists in her present idea, she will never open her hands +again as long as she lives." + +Several of the men, however, were not at once successful. The whilom +blacksmith with the disabled arm, when told to think "I should like to +open my hands but I cannot," proceeded without difficulty to open them. + +"You see," said Coué, with a smile, "it depends not on what I say but +on what you think. What were you thinking then?" + +He hesitated. "I thought perhaps I could open them after all." + +"Exactly. And therefore you could. Now clasp your hands again. Press +them together." + +When the right degree of pressure had been reached, Coué told him to +repeat the words "I cannot, I cannot...." + +As he repeated this phrase the contracture increased, and all his +efforts failed to release his grip. + +"Voilà," said Coué. "Now listen. For ten years you have been thinking +you could not lift your arm above your shoulder, consequently you have +not been able to do so, for whatever we think becomes true for us. Now +think 'I can lift it.'" + +The patient looked at him doubtfully. + +"Quick!" Coué said in a tone of authority. "Think 'I can, I can!'" + +"I can," said the man. He made a half-hearted attempt and complained +of a pain in his shoulder. + +"Bon," said Coué. "Don't lower your arm. Close your eyes and repeat +with me as fast as you can, 'Ca passe, ça passe.'" + +For half a minute they repeated this phrase together, speaking so fast +as to produce a sound like the whirr of a rapidly revolving machine. +Meanwhile Coué quickly stroked the man's shoulder. At the end of that +time the patient admitted that his pain had left him. + +"Now think well that you can lift your arm," Coué said. + +The departure of the pain had given the patient faith. His face, which +before had been perplexed and incredulous, brightened as the thought of +power took possession of him. "I can," he said in a tone of finality, +and without effort he calmly lifted his arm to its full height above +his head. He held it there triumphantly for a moment while the whole +company applauded and encouraged him. + +Coué reached for his hand and shook it. + +"My friend, you are cured." + +"C'est merveilleux," the man answered. "I believe I am." + +"Prove it," said Coué. "Hit me on the shoulder." + +The patient laughed, and dealt him a gentle rap. + +"Harder," Coué encouraged him. "Hit me harder--as hard as you can." + +His arm began to rise and fall in regular blows, increasing in force +until Coué was compelled to call on him to stop. + +"Voilà, mon ami, you can go back to your anvil." + +The man resumed his seat, still hardly able to comprehend what had +occurred. Now and then he lifted his arm as if to reassure himself, +whispering to himself in an awed voice, "I can, I can." + +A little further on was seated a woman who had complained of violent +neuralgia. Under the influence of the repeated phrase "ça passe" (it's +going) the pain was dispelled in less than thirty seconds. Then it was +the turn of the visitor from Paris. What he had seen had inspired him +with confidence; he was sitting more erect, there was a little patch of +colour in his cheeks, and his trembling seemed less violent. + +He performed the experiment with immediate success. + +"Now," said Coué, "you are cultivated ground. I can throw out the seed +in handfuls." + +He caused the sufferer first to stand erect with his back and knees +straightened. Then he asked him, constantly thinking "I can," to place +his entire weight on each foot in turn, slowly performing the exercise +known as "marking time." A space was then cleared of chairs, and +having discarded his stick, the man was made to walk to and fro. When +his gait became slovenly Coué stopped him, pointed out his fault, and, +renewing the thought "I can," caused him to correct it. Progressive +improvement kindled the man's imagination. He took himself in his own +hands. His bearing became more and more confident, he walked more +easily, more quickly. His little daughter, all smiles and happy +self-forgetfulness, stood beside him uttering expressions of delight, +admiration and encouragement. The whole company laughed and clapped +their hands. + +"After the sitting," said Coué, "you shall come for a run in my garden." + +Thus Coué continued his round of the clinic. Each patient suffering +from pain was given complete or partial relief; those with useless +limbs had a varying measure of use restored to them. Coué's manner was +always quietly inspiring. There was no formality, no attitude of the +superior person; he treated everyone, whether rich or poor, with the +same friendly solicitude. But within these limits he varied his tone +to suit the temperament of the patient. Sometimes he was firm, +sometimes gently bantering. He seized every opportunity for a little +humorous by-play. One might almost say that he tactfully teased some +of his patients, giving them an idea that their ailment was absurd, and +a little unworthy; that to be ill was a quaint but reprehensible +weakness, which they should quickly get rid of. Indeed, this denial of +the dignity of disease is one of the characteristics of the place. No +homage is paid to it as a Dread Monarch. It is gently ridiculed, its +terrors are made to appear second-rate, and its victims end by laughing +at it. + +Coué now passed on to the formulation of specific suggestions. The +patients closed their eyes, and he proceeded in a low, monotonous +voice, to evoke before their minds the states of health, mental and +physical, they were seeking. As they listened to him their alertness +ebbed away, they were lulled into a drowsy state, peopled only by the +vivid images he called up before the eyes of the mind. The faint +rustle of the trees, the songs of the birds, the low voices of those +waiting in the garden, merged into a pleasant background, on which his +words stood out powerfully. + +This is what he said: + +"Say to yourself that all the words I am about to utter will be fixed, +imprinted and engraven in your minds; that they will remain fixed, +imprinted and engraven there, so that without your will and knowledge, +without your being in any way aware of what is taking place, you +yourself and your whole organism will obey them. I tell you first that +every day, three times a day, morning, noon and evening, at mealtimes, +you will be hungry; that is to say you will feel that pleasant +sensation which makes us think and say: 'How I should like something to +eat!' You will then eat with excellent appetite, enjoying your food, +but you will never eat too much. You will eat the right amount, +neither too much nor too little, and you will know intuitively when you +have had sufficient. You will masticate your food thoroughly, +transforming it into a smooth paste before swallowing it. In these +conditions you will digest it well, and so feel no discomfort of any +kind either in the stomach or the intestines. Assimilation will be +perfectly performed, and your organism will make the best possible use +of the food to create blood, muscle, strength, energy, in a word--Life. + +"Since you have digested your food properly, the excretory functions +will be normally performed. This will take place every morning +immediately on rising, and without your having recourse to any laxative +medicine or artificial means of any kind. + +"Every night you will fall asleep at the hour you wish, and will +continue to sleep until the hour at which you desire to wake next +morning. Your sleep will be calm, peaceful and profound, untroubled by +bad dreams or undesirable states of body. You may dream, but your +dreams will be pleasant ones. On waking you will feel well, bright, +alert, eager for the day's tasks. + +"If in the past you have been subject to depression, gloom and +melancholy forebodings, you will henceforward be free from such +troubles. Instead of being moody, anxious and depressed, you will be +cheerful and happy. You will be happy even if you have no particular +reason for being so, just as in the past you were, without good reason, +unhappy. I tell you even that if you have serious cause to be worried +or depressed, you will not be so. + +"If you have been impatient or ill-tempered, you will no longer be +anything of the kind; on the contrary, you will always be patient and +self-controlled. The happenings which used to irritate you will leave +you entirely calm and unmoved. + +"If you have sometimes been haunted by evil and unwholesome ideas, by +fears or phobias, these ideas will gradually cease to occupy your mind. +They will melt away like a cloud. As a dream vanishes when we wake, so +will these vain images disappear. + +"I add that all your organs do their work perfectly. Your heart beats +normally and the circulation of the blood takes place as it should. +The lungs do their work well. The stomach, the intestines, the liver, +the biliary duct, the kidneys and the bladder, all carry out their +functions correctly. If at present any of the organs named is out of +order, the disturbance will grow less day by day, so that within a +short space of time it will have entirely disappeared, and the organ +will have resumed its normal function. + +"Further, if in any organ there is a structural lesion, it will from +this day be gradually repaired, and in a short period will be +completely restored. This will be so even if you are unaware that the +trouble exists. + +"I must also add--and it is extremely important--that if in the past +you have lacked confidence in yourself, this self-distrust will +gradually disappear. You will have confidence in yourself; I repeat, +_you will have confidence_. Your confidence will be based on the +knowledge of the immense power which is within you, by which you can +accomplish any task of which your reason approves. With this +confidence you will be able to do anything you wish to do, provided it +is reasonable, and anything it is your duty to do. + +"When you have any task to perform you will always think that it is +easy. Such words as 'difficult,' 'impossible,' 'I cannot' will +disappear from your vocabulary. Their place will be taken by this +phrase: 'It is easy and I can.' So, considering your work easy, even +if it is difficult to others, it will become easy to you. You will do +it easily, without effort and without fatigue." + +These general suggestions were succeeded by particular suggestions +referring to the special ailments from which Coué's patients were +suffering. Taking each case in turn, he allowed his hand to rest +lightly on the heads of the sufferers, while picturing to their minds +the health and vigour with which they would soon be endowed. Thus to a +woman with an ulcerated leg he spoke as follows: "Henceforth your +organism will do all that is necessary to restore your leg to perfect +health. It will rapidly heal; the tissues will regain their tone; the +skin will be soft and healthy. In a short space of time your leg will +be vigorous and strong and will in future always remain so." Each +special complaint was thus treated with a few appropriate phrases. +When he had finished, and the patients were called on to open their +eyes, a faint sigh went round the room, as if they were awaking +reluctantly from a delicious dream. + +Coué now explained to his patients that he possessed no healing powers, +and had never healed a person in his life. They carried in themselves +the instrument of their own well-being. The results they had seen were +due to the realisation of each patient's own thought. He had been +merely an agent calling the ideas of health into their minds. +Henceforth they could, and must, be the pilots of their own destiny. +He then requested them to repeat, under conditions which will be later +defined, the phrase with which his name is associated: "Day by day, in +every way, I'm getting better and better."[1] + +The sitting was at an end. The patients rose and crowded round Coué, +asking questions, thanking him, shaking him by the hand. Some declared +they were already cured, some that they were much better, others that +they were confident of cure in the future. It was as if a burden of +depression had fallen from their minds. Those who had entered with +minds crushed and oppressed went out with hope and optimism shining in +their faces. + +But Coué waved aside these too insistent admirers, and, beckoning to +the three patients who could not walk, led them to a corner of the +garden where there was a stretch of gravel path running beneath the +boughs of fruit trees. Once more impressing on their minds the thought +of strength and power, he induced each one to walk without support down +this path. He now invited them to run. They hesitated, but he +insisted, telling them that they could run, that they ought to run, +that they had but to believe in their own power, and their thought +would be manifested in action. + +They started rather uncertainly, but Coué followed them with persistent +encouragements. They began to raise their heads, to lift their feet +from the ground and run with greater freedom and confidence. Turning +at the end of the path they came back at a fair pace. Their movements +were not elegant, but people on the further side of fifty are rarely +elegant runners. It was a surprising sight to see these three +sufferers who had hobbled to the clinic on sticks now covering the +ground at a full five miles an hour, and laughing heartily at +themselves as they ran. The crowd of patients who had collected broke +into a spontaneous cheer, and Coué, slipping modestly away, returned to +the fresh company of sufferers who awaited him within. + + + +[1] The translation given here of Coué's formula differs slightly from +that popularised in England during his visit of November, 1921. The +above, however, is the English version which he considers most suitable. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +A FEW OF COUÉ'S CURES + +To give the reader a better idea of the results which Induced +Autosuggestion is yielding, I shall here describe a few further cases +of which I was myself in some part a witness, and thereafter let some +of Coué's patients speak for themselves through the medium of their +letters. + +At one of the morning consultations which I subsequently attended was a +woman who had suffered for five years with dyspepsia. The trouble had +recently become so acute that even the milk diet to which she was now +reduced caused her extreme discomfort. Consequently she had become +extremely thin and anaemic, was listless, easily tired, and suffered +from depression. Early in the proceedings the accounts given by +several patients of the relief they had obtained seemed to appeal to +her imagination. She followed Coué's remarks with keen interest, +answered his questions vivaciously, and laughed very heartily at the +amusing incidents with which the proceedings were interspersed. About +five o'clock on the same afternoon I happened to be sitting with Coué +when this woman asked to see him. Beaming with satisfaction, she was +shown into the room. She reported that on leaving the clinic she had +gone to a restaurant in the town and ordered a table d'hôte luncheon. +Conscientiously she had partaken of every course from the hors +d'oeuvres to the café noir. The meal had been concluded at 1.30, and +she had so far experienced no trace of discomfort. A few days later +this woman returned to the clinic to report that the dyspepsia had +shown no signs of reappearing; that her health and spirits were +improving, and that she looked upon herself as cured. + +On another occasion one of the patients complained of asthma. The +paroxysms destroyed his sleep at night and prevented him from +performing any task which entailed exertion. Walking upstairs was a +slow process attended by considerable distress. The experiment with +the hands was so successfully performed that Coué assured him of +immediate relief. + +"Before you go," he said, "you will run up and down those stairs +without suffering any inconvenience." + +At the close of the consultation, under the influence of the suggestion +"I can," the patient did this without difficulty. That night the +trouble recurred in a mild form, but he continued to attend the clinic +and to practise the exercises at home, and within a fortnight the +asthma had finally left him. + +Among other patients with whom I conversed was a young man suffering +from curvature of the spine. He had been attending the clinic for four +months and practising the method at home. His doctor assured him that +the spine was gradually resuming its normal position. A girl of +twenty-two had suffered from childhood with epileptic fits, recurring +at intervals of a few weeks. Since her first visit to the clinic six +months previously the fits had ceased. + +But the soundest testimony to the power of Induced Autosuggestion is +that borne by the patients themselves. Here are a few extracts from +letters received by Coué: + +"At the age of sixty-three, attacked for more than thirty years by +asthma and all the complications attendant upon it, I spent +three-quarters of the night sitting on my bed inhaling the smoke of +anti-asthma powders. Afflicted with almost daily attacks, especially +during the cold and damp seasons, I was unable to walk--I could not +even _go down hill_. + +Nowadays I have splendid nights, and have put the powders in a drawer. +Without the slightest hesitation I can go upstairs to the first floor." + + D. (Mont de Marsan.) + 15 _December_, 1921. + + +"Yesterday I felt really better, that is to say, of my fever, so I +decided to go back to my doctor, whom I had not seen since the summer. +The examination showed a normal appendix. On the other hand, the +bladder is still painful, but is better. At any rate, there is at +present no question of the operation which had worried me so much. I +am convinced that I shall cure myself completely." + + M. D. (Mulhouse.) + 24 _September_, 1921. + + +"I have very good news to give you of your dipsomaniac--she is cured, +and asserts it herself to all who will listen. She told me yesterday +that for fourteen years she had not been so long without drink as she +has been lately, and what surprises her so much is that she has not had +to struggle against a desire; she has simply not felt the need of +drink. Further, her sleep continues to be splendid. She is getting +more and more calm, in spite of the fact that on several occasions her +sang-froid has been severely tested. To put the matter in a nutshell, +she is a changed woman. But what impresses me most is the fact that +when she took to your method she thought herself at the end of her +tether, and in the event of its doing her no good had decided to kill +herself (she had already attempted it once)." + + P. (a Paris doctor.) + 1 _February_, 1922. + + +"For eight years I suffered with prolapse of the uterus. I have used +your method of Autosuggestion for the last five months, and am now +completely cured, for which I do not know how to thank you enough." + + S. (Toul).[1] + + +"I have a son who came back from Germany very anaemic and suffering +from terrible depression. He went to see you for a short time, and now +is as well as possible. Please accept my best thanks. I have also a +little cousin whom you have cured. He had a nervous illness, and had +become, so to speak, unconscious of what was going on around him. He +is now completely cured." + + S. E. (Circourt, Vosges.) + 19 _October_, 1921. + + +"My wife and I have waited nearly a year to thank you for the +marvellous cure which your method has accomplished. The very violent +attacks of asthma from which my wife suffered have completely +disappeared since the visit you paid us last spring. The first few +weeks my wife experienced temporary oppression and even the beginnings +of an attack, which, however, she was able to ward off within a few +minutes by practising Autosuggestion. + +In spite of her great desire to thank you sooner my wife wished to add +more weight to her testimony by waiting for nearly a year. But the bad +time for asthma has not brought the slightest hint of the terrible +attacks from which you saved her." + + J. H. (Saarbruck.) + 23 _December_, 1921. + + +"All the morbid symptoms from which I used to suffer have disappeared. +I used to feel as though I had a band of iron across my brain which +seemed to be red-hot; added to this I had heartburn and bad nights with +fearful dreams; further, I was subject to severe nervous attacks which +went on for months. I felt as though pegs were being driven into the +sides of my head and nape of my neck, and when I felt I could not +endure these agonies any longer a feeling would come as if my brain +were being smothered in a blanket. All these pains came and went. I +had sometimes one, sometimes others. There were occasions when I +wanted to die--my sufferings were so acute, and I had to struggle +against the idea with great firmness. + +At last, having spent five weeks at Nancy attending your kindly +sittings, I have profited so well as to be able to return home in a +state of normal health." + + N. (Pithiviviers le Vieil.) + 16 _August_, 1921. + + +"After having undergone four operations on the left leg for local +tuberculosis I fell a victim once more to the same trouble on 1 +September, 1920. Several doctors whom I consulted declared a new +operation necessary. My leg was to be opened from the knee to the +ankle, and if the operation failed nothing remained but an amputation. + +Having heard of your cures, I came to see you for the first time on 6 +November, 1920. After the sitting I felt at once a little better. I +followed your instructions exactly, visiting you three times. At the +third time I was able to tell you that I was completely cured." + + L. (Herny, Lorraine.) + + +"I am happy to tell you that a bunion that I had on my foot, which grew +to a considerable size and gave me the most acute pain for over fifteen +years, has gone." + + L. G. (Caudéran, Gironde.) + + +"I cannot leave France without letting you know how grateful I feel for +the immense service you have rendered me and mine. I only wish I had +met you years ago. Practically throughout my career my curse has been +a lack of continuous self-control. + +I have been accused of being almost brilliant at times, only to be +followed by periodic relapses into a condition of semi-imbecility and +self-indulgence. + +I have done my best to ruin a magnificent constitution, and have wasted +the abilities bestowed upon me. In a few short days you have made +me--and I feel permanently--master of myself. How can I thank you +sufficiently? + +The rapidity of my complete cure may have been due to what at the time +I regarded as an unfortunate accident. Slipping on the snow-covered +steps of the train when alighting, I sprained my right knee badly. At +the breakfast table, before paying you my first visit, a fellow-guest +said to me: 'Tell Monsieur Coué about it. He will put it all right.' + +I laughed and said 'Umph!' to myself, and more for the fun of the thing +than anything else did tell you. I remember you remarking 'That's +nothing,' and passing on to the more serious part of our conversation, +preliminary to commencing your lecture to the assembled patients. + +I became more than interested, and when at the conclusion you suddenly +turned round and asked me: 'How's your knee?' (not having alluded to +knees in particular), and I discovered there _wasn't_ a knee, I laughed +again, as did those who saw me hobble into your room; but I laughed +this time from a sense of bewildered surprise and dawning belief. This +belief you very soon firmly implanted in me." + + G. H. (London.) + 11 _January_, 1922. + + + +[1] This letter, together with the two quoted on page 34, is reprinted +from the _Bulletin de la Société Lorraine de Psychologie Appliquée_ of +April, 1921. They were received by Coué during the preceding three +months. The other letters were communicated to me privately by Coué +and bear their original dates. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +THE CHILDREN'S CLINIC + +In different parts of France a little band of workers, recruited almost +exclusively from the ranks of former patients, is propagating the ideas +of Emile Coué with a success which almost rivals that of their master. +Among these helpers none is more devoted or more eminently successful +than Mlle. Kauffmant. She it is who, at the time of my visit, was +managing the children's department of the Nancy clinic.[1] + +While Coué was holding his consultations on the ground floor, young +mothers in twos and threes, with their babies in their arms, could be +seen ascending to the upper story, where a little drama was performed +of a very different nature from that going on below. + +In a large room, decorated with bright pictures and equipped with toys, +a number of silent young women were seated in a wide circle. Their +sick children lay in their arms or played at their feet. Here was a +child whose life was choked at the source by hereditary disease--a +small bundle of skin and bone with limbs like bamboo canes. Another +lay motionless with closed eyes and a deathly face, as if pining to +return to the world it came from. A little cripple dragged behind it a +deformed leg as it tried to crawl, and near by a child of five was +beating the air with its thin arms in an exhausting nervous storm. +Older children were also present, suffering from eye and ear trouble, +epilepsy, rickets, any one of the ailments, grave or slight, to which +growing life is subjected. + +In the centre of this circle sat a young woman with dark hair and a +kindly keen face. On her lap was a little boy of four years with a +club foot. As she gently caressed the foot, from which the clumsy boot +had been removed, she told in a crooning tone, mingled with endearing +phrases, of the rapid improvement which had already begun and would +soon be complete. The foot was getting better; the joints were more +supple and bent with greater ease; the muscles were developing, the +tendons were drawing the foot into the right shape and making it +straight and strong. Soon it would be perfectly normal; the little one +would walk and run, play with other children, skip and bowl hoops. He +would go to school and learn his lessons, would be intelligent and +receptive. She told him too that he was growing obedient, cheerful, +kind to others, truthful and courageous. The little boy had put one +arm round her neck and was listening with a placid smile. His face was +quite contented; he was enjoying himself. + +While Mlle. Kauffmant was thus engaged, the women sat silent watching +her intently, each perhaps mentally seeing her own little one endowed +with the qualities depicted. The children were quiet, some dreamily +listening, some tranquilly playing with a toy. Except for an +occasional word of advice Mademoiselle was quite indifferent to them. +Her whole attention was given to the child on her knee; her thought +went out to him in a continual stream, borne along by a current of love +and compassion, for she has devoted her life to the children and loves +them as if they were her own. The atmosphere of the room was more like +that of a church than a hospital. The mothers seemed to have left +their sorrows outside. Their faces showed in varying degrees an +expression of quiet confidence. + +When this treatment had continued for about ten minutes, Mlle. +Kauffmant returned the child to its mother and, after giving her a few +words of advice, turned to her next patient. This was an infant of +less than twelve months. While suffering from no specific disease it +was continually ailing. It was below normal weight, various foods had +been tried unsuccessfully, and medical advice had failed to bring about +an improvement. Mademoiselle resumed her seat with the child on her +lap. For some time the caresses, which were applied to the child's +head and body, continued in silence. Then she began to talk to it. +Her talk did not consist of connected sentences, as with the elder +child who had learned to speak, but of murmured assurances, as if her +thoughts were taking unconsciously the form of words. These +suggestions were more general than in the previous case, bearing on +appetite, digestion, assimilation, and on desirable mental and moral +qualities. The caress continued for about ten minutes, the speech was +intermittent, then the infant was returned to its mother and +Mademoiselle turned her attention to another little sufferer. + +With patients who are not yet old enough to speak Mlle. Kauffmant +sometimes trusts to the caress alone. It seems to transmit the +thoughts of health quite strongly enough to turn the balance in the +child's mind on the side of health. But all mothers talk to their +children long before the words they use are understood, and Mlle. +Kauffmant, whose attitude is essentially maternal, reserves to herself +the same right. She adheres to no rigid rule; if she wishes to speak +aloud she does so, even when the child cannot grasp the meaning of her +words. + +This is perhaps the secret of her success: her method is plastic like +the minds she works on. Coué's material--the adult mind--is more +stable. It demands a clear-cut, distinct method, and leaves less room +for adaptation; but the aim of Mlle. Kauffmant is to fill the child +within and enwrap it without with the creative thoughts of health and +joy. To this end she enlists any and every means within her power. +The child itself, as soon as it is old enough to speak, is required to +say, morning and night, the general formula: "Day by day, in every way, +I'm getting better and better." If it is confined to its bed, it is +encouraged to repeat this at any time and to make suggestions of health +similar to those formulated in the sittings. No special directions are +given as to how this should be done. Elaborate instructions would only +introduce hindersome complications. Imagination, the power to pretend, +is naturally strong and active in all children, and intuitively they +make use of it in their autosuggestions. Moreover, they unconsciously +imitate the tone and manner of their instructress. + +But the centre of the child's universe is the mother. Any system which +did not utilise her influence would be losing its most powerful ally. +The mother is encouraged during the day to set an example of +cheerfulness and confidence, to allude to the malady only in terms of +encouragement--so renewing in the child's mind the prospect of +recovery--and to exclude as far as possible all depressing influences +from its vicinity. At night she is required to enter the child's +bedchamber without waking the little one and to whisper good +suggestions into its sleeping ear. Thus Mlle. Kauffmant concentrates a +multiplicity of means to bring about the same result. In this she is +aided by the extreme acceptivity of the child's mind, and by the +absence of that mass of pernicious spontaneous suggestions which in the +adult mind have to be neutralised and transformed. It is in children, +then, that the most encouraging results may be expected. I will quote +three cases which I myself investigated to show the kind of results +Mlle. Kauffmant obtains: + +A little girl was born without the power of sight. The visual organs +were intact, but she was incapable of lifting her eye-lids and so +remained blind to all intents and purposes up to her seventh year. She +was then brought by the mother to Mlle. Kauffmant. After a fortnight's +treatment the child began to blink; gradually this action became more +frequent, and a month after the treatment began she could see well +enough to find her way unaided about the streets. When I saw her she +had learnt to distinguish colours--as my own experiments proved--and +was actually playing ball. The details supplied by Mlle. Kauffmant +were confirmed by the mother. + +A child was born whose tuberculous father had died during the mother's +pregnancy. Of five brothers and sisters none had survived the first +year. The doctors to whom the child was taken held out no hope for its +life. It survived, however, to the age of two, but was crippled and +nearly blind, in addition to internal weaknesses. It was then brought +to Mlle. Kauffmant. Three months later, when I saw it, nothing +remained of its troubles but a slight squint and a stiffness in one of +its knee-joints. These conditions, too, were rapidly diminishing. + +Another child, about nine years of age, also of tuberculous parents, +was placed under her treatment. One leg was an inch and a half shorter +than the other. After a few months' treatment this disparity had +almost disappeared. The same child had a wound, also of tuberculous +origin, on the small of the back, which healed over in a few weeks and +had completely disappeared when I saw her. + +In each of the above cases the general state of health showed a great +improvement. The child put on weight, was cheerful and bright even +under the trying conditions of convalescence in a poverty-stricken +home, and in character and disposition fully realised the suggestions +formulated to it. + +Since the suggestions of Mlle. Kauffmant are applied individually, the +mothers were permitted to enter and leave the clinic at any time they +wished. Mademoiselle was present on certain days every week, but this +was not the sum of her labours. The greater part of her spare time was +spent in visiting the little ones in their own homes. She penetrated +into the dingiest tenements, the poorest slums, on this errand of +mercy. I was able to accompany her on several of these visits, and saw +her everywhere received not only with welcome, but with a respect akin +to awe. She was regarded, almost as much as Coué himself, as a worker +of miracles. But the reputation of both Coué and Mlle. Kauffmant rests +on a broader basis even than autosuggestion, namely on their great +goodness of heart. + +They have placed not only their private means, but their whole life at +the service of others. Neither ever accepts a penny-piece for the +treatments they give, and I have never seen Coué refuse to give a +treatment at however awkward an hour the subject may have asked it. +The fame of the school has now spread to all parts not only of France, +but of Europe and America. Coué's work has assumed such proportions +that his time is taken up often to the extent of fifteen or sixteen +hours a day. He is now nearing his seventieth year, but thanks to the +health-giving powers of his own method he is able to keep abreast of +his work without any sign of fatigue and without the clouding of his +habitual cheerfulness by even the shadow of a complaint. In fact, he +is a living monument to the efficacy of Induced Autosuggestion. + +It will be seen that Induced Autosuggestion is a method by which the +mind can act directly upon itself and upon the body to produce whatever +improvements, in reason, we desire. That it is efficient and +successful should be manifest from what has gone before. Of all the +questions which arise, the most urgent from the viewpoint of the +average man seems to be this--Is a suggester necessary? Must one +submit oneself to the influence of some other person, or can one in the +privacy of one's own chamber exercise with equal success this potent +instrument of health? + +Coué's own opinion has already been quoted. Induced Autosuggestion is +_not_ dependent upon the mediation of another person. We can practise +it for ourselves without others being even aware of what we are doing, +and without devoting to it more than a few minutes of each day. + +Here are a few quotations from letters written by those who have thus +practised it for themselves. + + +"For a good many years now a rheumatic right shoulder has made it +impossible for me to sleep on my right side and it seriously affected, +and increasingly so, the use of my right arm. A masseuse told me she +could effect no permanent improvement as there was granulation of the +joints and a lesion. I suddenly realised two days ago that this +shoulder no longer troubled me and that I was sleeping on that side +without any pain. I have now lost any sensation of rheumatism in this +shoulder and can get my right arm back as far as the other without the +slightest twinge or discomfort. I have not applied any remedy or done +anything that could possibly have worked these results except my +practise of Coué." + + L. S. (Sidmouth, Devon). + 1 _January_, 1922. + + +"At my suggestion a lady friend of mine who had been ill for a good ten +years read _La Maîtrise de soi-meme_. I encouraged her as well as I +could, and in a month she was transformed. Her husband, returning from +a long journey, could not believe his eyes. This woman who never got +up till midday, who never left the fire-side, whom the doctors had +given up, now goes out at 10 a.m. even in the greatest cold. Other +friends are anxiously waiting to read your pamphlet. + + L. C. (Paris). + 17 _December_, 1921. + + +"I am very much interested in your method, and since your lecture I +have, every night and morning, repeated your little phrase. I used to +have to take a pill every night, but now my constipation is cured and +the pills are no longer necessary. My wife is also much better in +every way. We've both got the bit of string with twenty knots." + + H. (a London doctor). + 7 _January_, 1922. + + +"Your method is doing me more good every day. I don't know how to +thank you for the happiness I now experience. I shall never give up +repeating the little phrase." + + E. B. Guiévain (Belgium). + 23 _November_, 1921. + + +"I have followed your principles for several months and freed myself +from a terrible state of neurasthenia which was the despair of my three +doctors." + + G. (Angoulême). + 23 _January_, 1922. + + +"My friend Miss C. completely cured herself of a rheumatic shoulder and +knee in a very short time, and then proceeded to turn her attention to +her eyesight. + +She had worn spectacles for 30 years and her left eye was much more +short-sighted than her right. When she began she could only read +(without her glasses and with her left eye) when the book was almost +touching her face. In six weeks she had extended the limit of vision +so that she saw as far with the left as formerly with the right. +Meanwhile the right had improved equally. She measured the distances +every week, and when she was here a few days ago she told me she had in +three days gained 4 centimetres with her left and 6 centimetres with +her right eye. She had done this on her own." + + G. (London). + 5 _January_, 1922. + + + +[1] Since this time (July, 1921), the clinic has been in some respects +reorganized and Mlle. Kauffmant is now pursuing her work independently. + + + + +II + +THE NATURE OF AUTOSUGGESTION + + + +CHAPTER IV + +THOUGHT IS A FORCE + +Autosuggestion is not a pseudo-religion like Christian Science or "New +Thought." It is a scientific method based on the discoveries of +psychology. The traditional psychology was regarded by the layman, not +without some cause, as a dull and seemingly useless classification of +our conscious faculties. But within the past twenty-five years the +science has undergone a great change. A revolution has taken place in +it which seems likely to provoke a revolution equally profound in the +wider limits of our common life. From a preoccupation with the +conscious it has turned to the Unconscious (or subconscious), to the +vast area of mental activity which exists outside the circle of our +awareness. In doing so it has grasped at the very roots of life +itself, has groped down to the depths where the "life-force," the élan +vital, touches our individual being. What this may entail in the +future we can only dimly guess. Just as the discovery of America +altered the balance of the Old World, shifting it westward to the +shores of the Atlantic, so the discovery and investigation of the +Unconscious seems destined to shift the balance of human life. + +Obviously, this is no place to embark on the discussion of a subject of +such extreme complexity. The investigation of the Unconscious is a +science in itself, in which different schools of thought are seeking to +disengage a basis of fact from conflicting and daily changing theories. +But there is a certain body of fact, experimentally proven, on which +the authorities agree, and of this we quote a few features which +directly interest us as students of autosuggestion. + +The Unconscious is the storehouse of memory, where every impression we +receive from earliest infancy to the last hour of life is recorded with +the minutest accuracy. These memories, however, are not inert and +quiescent, like the marks on the vulcanite records of a gramophone; +they are vitally active, each one forming a thread in the texture of +our personality. The sum of all these impressions is the man himself, +the ego, the form through which the general life is individualised. +The outer man is but a mask; the real self dwells behind the veil of +the Unconscious. + +The Unconscious is also a power-house. It is dominated by feeling, and +feeling is the force which impels our lives. It provides the energy +for conscious thought and action, and for the performance of the vital +processes of the body. + +Finally the Unconscious plays the part of supervisor over our physical +processes. Digestion, assimilation, the circulation of the blood, the +action of the lungs, the kidneys and all the vital organs are +controlled by its agency. Our organism is not a clockwork machine +which once wound up will run of itself. Its processes in all their +complexity are supervised by mind. It is not the intellect, however, +which does this work, but the Unconscious. The intellect still stands +aghast before the problem of the human body, lost like Pascal in the +profundities of analysis, each discovery only revealing new depths of +mystery. But the Unconscious seems to be familiar with it in every +detail. + +It may be added that the Unconscious never sleeps; during the sleep of +the conscious it seems to be more vigilant than during our waking hours. + +In comparison with these, the powers of the conscious mind seem almost +insignificant. Derived from the Unconscious during the process of +evolution, the conscious is, as it were, the antechamber where the +crude energies of the Unconscious are selected and adapted for action +on the world outside us. In the past we have unduly exaggerated the +importance of the conscious intellect. To claim for it the discoveries +of civilisation is to confuse the instrument with the agent, to +attribute sight to the field-glass instead of to the eye behind it. +The value of the conscious mind must not be underrated, however. It is +a machine of the greatest value, the seat of reason, the social +instincts and moral concepts. But it _is_ a machine and not the +engine, nor yet the engineer. It provides neither material nor power. +These are furnished by the Unconscious. + +These two strata of mental life are in perpetual interaction one with +the other. Just as everything conscious has its preliminary step in +the Unconscious, so every conscious thought passes down into the lower +stratum and there becomes an element in our being, partaking of the +Unconscious energy, and playing its part in supervising and determining +our mental and bodily states. If it is a healthful thought we are so +much the better; if it is a diseased one we are so much the worse. It +is this transformation of a thought into an element of our life that we +call Autosuggestion. Since this is a normal part of the mind's action +we shall have no difficulty in finding evidence of it in our daily +experiences. + +Walking down the street in a gloomy frame of mind you meet a buoyant, +cheery acquaintance. The mere sight of his genial smile acts on you +like a tonic, and when you have chatted with him for a few minutes your +gloom has disappeared, giving place to cheerfulness and confidence. +What has effected this change?--Nothing other than the idea in your own +mind. As you watched his face, listened to his good-natured voice, +noticed the play of his smile, your conscious mind was occupied by the +idea of cheerfulness. This idea on being transferred to the +Unconscious became a reality, so that without any logical grounds you +became cheerful. + +Few people, especially young people, are unacquainted with the effects +produced by hearing or reading ghost-stories. You have spent the +evening, let us say, at a friend's house, listening to terrifying tales +of apparitions. At a late hour you leave the fireside circle to make +your way home. The states of fear imaged before your mind have +realised themselves in your Unconscious. You tread gingerly in the +dark places, hurry past the churchyard and feel a distinct relief when +the lights of home come into view. It is the old road you have so +often traversed with perfect equanimity, but its cheerful associations +are overlooked and the commonest objects tinged with the colour of your +subjective states. Autosuggestion cannot change a post into a spectre, +but if you are very impressionable it will so distort your sensory +impressions that common sounds seem charged with supernatural +significance and every-day objects take on terrifying shapes. + +In each of the above examples the idea of a mental state--cheerfulness +or fear--was presented to the mind. The idea on reaching the +Unconscious became a reality; that is to say, you actually became +cheerful or frightened. + +The same process is much easier to recognise where the resultant is not +a mental but a bodily state. + +One often meets people who take a delight in describing with a wealth +of detail the disorders with which they or their friends are afflicted. +A sensitive person is condemned by social usage to listen to a +harrowing account of some grave malady. As detail succeeds detail the +listener feels a chilly discomfort stealing over him. He turns pale, +breaks into a cold perspiration, and is aware of an unpleasant +sensation at the pit of the stomach. Sometimes, generally where the +listener is a child, actual vomiting or a fainting fit may ensue. +These effects are undeniably physical; to produce them the organic +processes must have been sensibly disturbed. Yet their cause lies +entirely in the idea of illness, which, ruthlessly impressed upon the +mind, realises itself in the Unconscious. + +This effect may be so precise as to reproduce the actual symptoms of +the disease described. Medical students engaged in the study of some +particular malady frequently develop its characteristic symptoms. + +Everyone is acquainted with the experience known as "stage fright." +The victim may be a normal person, healthy both in mind and body. He +may possess in private life a good voice, a mind fertile in ideas and a +gift of fluent expression. He may know quite surely that his audience +is friendly and sympathetic to the ideas he wishes to unfold. But let +him mount the steps of a platform. Immediately his knees begin to +tremble and his heart to palpitate; his mind becomes a blank or a +chaos, his tongue and lips refuse to frame coherent sounds, and after a +few stammerings he is forced to make a ludicrous withdrawal. The cause +of this baffling experience lay in the thoughts which occupied the +subject's mind before his public appearance. He was afraid of making +himself ridiculous. He expected to feel uncomfortable, feared that he +would forget his speech or be unable to express himself. These +negative ideas, penetrating to the Unconscious, realised themselves and +precisely what he feared took place. + +If you live in a town you have probably seen people who, in carelessly +crossing the street, find themselves in danger of being run down by a +vehicle. In this position they sometimes stand for an appreciable time +"rooted," as we say, "to the spot." This is because the danger seems +so close that they imagine themselves powerless to elude it. As soon +as this idea gives place to that of escape they get out of the way as +fast as they can. If their first idea persisted, however, the actual +powerlessness resulting from it would likewise persist, and unless the +vehicle stopped or turned aside they would infallibly be run over. + +One occasionally meets people suffering from a nervous complaint known +as St. Vitus' Dance. They have a disconcerting habit of contorting +their faces, screwing round their necks or twitching their shoulders. +It is a well known fact that those who come into close contact with +them, living in the same house or working in the same office, are +liable to contract the same habit, often performing the action without +themselves being aware of it. This is due to the operation of the same +law. The idea of the habit, being repeatedly presented to their minds, +realises itself, and they begin to perform a similar movement in their +own persons. + +Examples of this law present themselves at every turn. Have you ever +asked yourself why some people faint at the sight of blood, or why most +of us turn giddy when we look down from a great height? + +If we turn to the sufferers from neurosis we find some who have lost +their powers of speech or of vision; some, like the blacksmith we saw +in Coué's clinic, who have lost the use of their limbs; others +suffering from a functional disturbance of one of the vital organs. +The cause in each case is nothing more tangible than an idea which has +become realised in the Unconscious mind. + +These instances show clearly enough that the thoughts we think do +actually become realities in the Unconscious. But is this a universal +law, operating in every life, or merely something contingent and +occasional? Sometimes irrelevant cheerfulness seems only to make +despondency more deep. Certain types of individual are only irritated +by the performance of a stage comedy. Physicians listen to the +circumstantial accounts of their patients' ailments without being in +the least upset. These facts seem at first sight at variance with the +rule. But they are only apparent exceptions which serve to test and +verify it. The physical or mental effect invariably corresponds with +the idea present in the mind, but this need not be identical with the +thought communicated from without. Sometimes a judgment interposes +itself, or it may be that the idea calls up an associated idea which +possesses greater vitality and therefore dislodges it. A gloomy person +who meets a cheerful acquaintance may mentally contrast himself with +the latter, setting his own troubles beside the other's good fortune, +his own grounds for sadness beside the other's grounds for +satisfaction. Thus the idea of his own unhappiness is strengthened and +sinking into the Unconscious makes still deeper the despondency he +experienced before. In the same way the doctor, listening to the +symptoms of a patient, does not allow these distressful ideas to dwell +in his conscious mind. His thought passes on immediately to the +remedy, to the idea of the help he must give. Not only does he +manifest this helpfulness in reasoned action, but also, by Unconscious +realisation, in his very bearing and manner. Or his mind may be +concentrated on the scientific bearings of the case, so that he will +involuntarily treat the patient as a specimen on which to pursue his +researches. The steeplejack experiences no giddiness or fear in +scaling a church spire because the thought of danger is immediately +replaced by the knowledge of his own clear head and sure foot. + +This brings us to a point which is of great practical importance in the +performance of curative autosuggestion. No idea presented to the mind +can realise itself unless the mind accepts it. + +Most of the errors made hitherto in this field have been due to the +neglect of this fundamental fact. If a patient is suffering from +severe toothache it is not of the slightest use to say to him: "You +have no pain." The statement is so grossly opposed to the fact that +"acceptation" is impossible. The patient will reject the suggestion, +affirm the fact of his suffering, and so, by allowing his conscious +mind to dwell on it, probably make it more intense. + +We are now in a position to formulate the basic law of autosuggestion +as follows:-- + +_Every idea which enters the conscious mind, if it is accepted by the +Unconscious, is transformed by it into a reality and forms henceforth a +permanent element in our life_. + +This is the process called "Spontaneous Autosuggestion." It is a law +by which the mind of man has always worked, and by which all our minds +are working daily. + +The reader will see from the examples cited and from others which he +will constantly meet that the thoughts we think determine not only our +mental states, our sentiments and emotions, but the delicate actions +and adjustments of our physical bodies. Trembling, palpitation, +stammering, blushing--not to speak of the pathological states which +occur in neurosis--are due to modifications and changes in the +blood-flow, in muscular action and in the working of the vital organs. +These changes are not voluntary and conscious ones, they are determined +by the Unconscious and come to us often with a shock of surprise. + +It must be evident that if we fill our conscious minds with ideas of +health, joy, goodness, efficiency, and can ensure their acceptation by +the Unconscious, these ideas too will become realities, capable of +lifting us on to a new plane of being. The difficulty which has +hitherto so frequently brought these hopes to naught is that of +ensuring acceptation. This will be treated in the next chapter. + +To sum up, the whole process of Autosuggestion consists of two steps: +(1) The acceptation of an idea. (2) Its transformation into a reality. +Both these operations are performed by the Unconscious. Whether the +idea is originated in the mind of the subject or is presented from +without by the agency of another person is a matter of indifference. +In both cases it undergoes the same process: it is submitted to the +Unconscious, accepted or rejected, and so either realised or ignored. +Thus the distinction between Autosuggestion and Heterosuggestion is +seen to be both arbitrary and superficial. In essentials all +suggestion is Autosuggestion. The only distinction we need make is +between Spontaneous Autosuggestion, which takes place independently of +our will and choice, and Induced Autosuggestion, in which we +consciously select the ideas we wish to realise and purposely convey +them to the Unconscious. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +THOUGHT AND THE WILL + +If we can get the Unconscious to accept an idea, realisation follows +automatically. The only difficulty which confronts us in the practice +of Induced Autosuggestion is to ensure acceptation, and that is a +difficulty which no method prior to that of Emile Coué has +satisfactorily surmounted. + +Every idea which enters the mind is charged, to a greater or less +extent, with emotion. This emotional charge may be imperceptible, as +with ideas to which we are indifferent, or it may be very great, as +when the idea is closely related to our personal interests. All the +ideas we are likely to make the subjects of Induced Autosuggestion are +of the latter class, since they refer to health, energy, success or +some goal equally dear to our hearts. The greater the degree of +emotion accompanying an idea, the more potent is the autosuggestion +resulting from it. Thus a moment of violent fright may give rise to +effects which last a lifetime. This emotional factor also plays a +large part in securing acceptation. + +So far as one can see, the acceptation or rejection of an idea by the +Unconscious depends on the associations with which it is connected. +Thus, an idea is accepted when it evokes similar ideas charged with +emotion of the same quality. It is rejected when it is associated with +contrary ideas, which are, therefore, contrary in their emotional +charge. In the latter case, the original idea is neutralised by its +associations, somewhat in the same way as an acid is neutralised by an +alkali. An example will serve to make this clearer. + +You are on a cross-channel boat on a roughish passage. You go up to a +sailor and say to him in a sympathetic tone: "My dear fellow, you're +looking very ill. Aren't you going to be sea-sick?" According to his +temperament he either laughs at your "joke" or expresses a pardonable +irritation. But he does not become sick because the associations +called up are contrary ones. Sea-sickness is associated in his mind +with his own immunity from it, and therefore evokes not fear but +self-confidence. Pursuing your somewhat inhumane experiment you +approach a timid-looking passenger. "My dear sir, how ill you look! I +feel sure you are going to be sea-sick. Let me help you down below." +He turns pale. The word "sea-sickness" associates itself with his own +fears and forebodings. He accepts your aid down to his berth and there +the pernicious autosuggestion is realised. In the first case the idea +was refused, because it was overwhelmed by a contrary association; in +the second the Unconscious accepted it, since it was reinforced by +similar ideas from within. + +But supposing to a sick mind, permeated with thoughts of disease, a +thought of health is presented. How can we avoid the malassociation +which tends to neutralise it? + +We can think of the Unconscious as a tide which ebbs and flows. In +sleep it seems to submerge the conscious altogether, while at our +moments of full wakefulness, when the attention and will are both at +work, the tide is at its lowest ebb. Between these two extremes are +any number of intermediary levels. When we are drowsy, dreamy, lulled +into a gentle reverie by music or by a picture or a poem, the +Unconscious tide is high; the more wakeful and alert we become the +lower it sinks. This submersion of the conscious mind is called by +Baudouin the "Outcropping of the Subconscious." The highest degree of +outcropping, compatible with the conscious direction of our thoughts, +occurs just before we fall asleep and just after we wake. + +It is fairly obvious that the greater the outcropping the more +accessible these dynamic strata of the mind become, and the easier it +is to implant there any idea we wish to realise. + +As the Unconscious tide rises the active levels of the mind are +overflowed; thought is released from its task of serving our conscious +aims in the real world of matter, and moves among the more primal +wishes and desires which people the Unconscious, like a diver walking +the strange world beneath the sea. But the laws by which thought is +governed on this sub-surface level are not those of our ordinary waking +consciousness. During outcropping association by contraries does not +seem readily to take place. Thus the mal-association, which +neutralised the desired idea and so prevented acceptation, no longer +presents itself. We all know what happens during a "day-dream" or +"brown-study," when the Unconscious tide is high. A succession of +bright images glides smoothly through the mind. The original thought +spins itself on and on; no obstacles seem to stop it, no questions of +probability arise; we are cut off from the actual conditions of life +and live in a world where all things are possible. These day-dreams +cause very potent autosuggestions, and one should take care that they +are wholesome and innocent; but the important point is that on this +level of consciousness association seems to operate by similarity, and +emotion is comparatively intense. These conditions are highly +favourable to acceptation. + +If, on getting into bed at night, we assume a comfortable posture, +relax our muscles and close our eyes, we fall naturally into a stage of +semi-consciousness akin to that of day-dreaming. If now we introduce +into the mind any desired idea, it is freed from the inhibiting +associations of daily life, associates itself by similarity, and +attracts emotion of the same quality as its own charge. The +Unconscious is thus caused to accept it, and inevitably it is turned +into an autosuggestion. Every time we repeat this process the +associative power of the idea is increased, its emotional value grows +greater, and the autosuggestion resulting from it is more powerful. By +this means we can induce the Unconscious to accept an idea, the normal +associations of which are contrary and unfavourable. The person with a +disease-soaked mind can gradually implant ideas of health, filling his +Unconscious daily with healing thoughts. The instrument we use is +Thought, and the condition essential to success is that the conscious +mind shall be lulled to rest. + +Systems which hitherto have tried to make use of autosuggestion have +failed to secure reliable results because they did not place their +reliance on Thought, but tried to compel the Unconscious to accept an +idea by exercising the Will. Obviously, such attempts are doomed to +failure. By using the will we automatically wake ourselves up, +suppress the encroaching tide of the Unconscious, and thereby destroy +the condition by which alone we can succeed. + +It is worth our while to note more closely how this happens. A +sufferer, whose mind is filled with thoughts of ill-health, sits down +to compel himself to accept a good suggestion. He calls up a thought +of health and makes an effort of the will to impress it on the +Unconscious. This effort restores him to full wakefulness and so +evokes the customary association--disease. Consequently, he finds +himself contemplating the exact opposite of what he desired. He +summons his will again and recalls the healthful thought, but since he +is now wider awake than ever, association is even more rapid and +powerful than before. The disease-thought is now in full possession of +his mind and all the efforts of his will fail to dislodge it. Indeed +the harder he struggles the more fully the evil thought possesses him. + +This gives us a glimpse of the new and startling discovery to which +Coué's uniform success is due; namely, that when the will is in +conflict with an idea, the idea invariably gains the day. This is +true, of course, not only of Induced Autosuggestion, but also of the +spontaneous suggestions which occur in daily life. A few examples will +make this clear. + +Most of us know how, when we have some difficult duty to perform, a +chance word of discouragement will dwell in the mind, eating away our +self-confidence and attuning our minds to failure. All the efforts of +our will fail to throw it off; indeed, the more we struggle against it +the more we become obsessed with it. + +Very similar to this is the state of mind of the person suffering from +stage-fright. He is obsessed with ideas of failure and all the efforts +of his will are powerless to overcome them. Indeed, it is the state of +effort and tension which makes his discomfiture so complete. + +Sport offers many examples of the working of this law. + +A tennis-player is engaged to play in an important match. He wishes, +of course, to win, but fears that he will lose. Even before the day of +the game his fears begin to realise themselves. He is nervy and "out +of sorts." In fact, the Unconscious is creating the conditions best +suited to realise the thought in his mind--failure. When the game +begins his skill seems to have deserted him. He summons the resources +of his will and tries to compel himself to play well, straining every +nerve to recapture the old dexterity. But all his efforts only make +him play worse and worse. The harder he tries the more signally he +fails. The energy he calls up obeys not his will but the idea in his +mind, not the desire to win but the dominant thought of failure. + +The fatal attraction of the bunker for the nervous golfer is due to the +same cause. With his mind's eye he sees his ball alighting in the most +unfavourable spot. He may use any club he likes, he may make a long +drive or a short; as long as the thought of the bunker dominates his +mind, the ball will inevitably find its way into it. The more he calls +on his will to help him, the worse his plight is likely to be. Success +is not gained by effort but by right thinking. The champion golfer or +tennis-player is not a person of herculean frame and immense +will-power. His whole life has been dominated by the thought of +success in the game at which he excels. + +Young persons sitting for an examination sometimes undergo this painful +experience. On reading through their papers they find that all their +knowledge has suddenly deserted them. Their mind is an appalling blank +and not one relevant thought can they recall. The more they grit their +teeth and summon the powers of the will, the further the desired ideas +flee. But when they have left the examination-room and the tension +relaxes, the ideas they were seeking flow tantalisingly back into the +mind. Their forgetfulness was due to thoughts of failure previously +nourished in the mind. The application of the will only made the +disaster more complete. + +This explains the baffling experience of the drug-taker, the drunkard, +the victim of some vicious craving. His mind is obsessed by the desire +for satisfaction. The efforts of the will to restrain it only make it +more overmastering. Repeated failures convince him at length that he +is powerless to control himself, and this idea, operating as an +autosuggestion, increases his impotence. So in despair, he abandons +himself to his obsession, and his life ends in wreckage. + +We can now see, not only that the Will is incapable of vanquishing a +thought, but that as fast as the Will brings up its big guns, Thought +captures them and turns them against it. + +This truth, which Baudouin calls the Law of Reversed Effort, is thus +stated by Coué: + +"_When the Imagination and the Will are in conflict the Imagination +invariably gains the day._" + +"_In the conflict between the Will and the Imagination, the force of +the Imagination is in direct ratio to the square of the Will._" + +The mathematical terms are used, of course, only metaphorically. + +Thus the Will turns out to be, not the commanding monarch of life, as +many people would have it, but a blind Samson, capable either of +turning the mill or of pulling down the pillars. + +Autosuggestion succeeds by avoiding conflict. It replaces wrong +thought by right, literally applying in the sphere of science the +principle enunciated in the New Testament: "Resist not evil, but +overcome evil with good." + +This doctrine is in no sense a negation of the will. It simply puts it +in its right place, subordinates it to a higher power. A moment's +reflection will suffice to show that the will cannot be more than the +servant of thought. We are incapable of exercising the will unless the +imagination has first furnished it with a goal. We cannot simply will, +we must will _something_, and that something exists in our minds as an +idea. The will acts rightly when it is in harmony with the idea in the +mind. + +But what happens when, in the smooth execution of our idea, we are +confronted with an obstacle? This obstacle may exist outside us, as +did the golfer's bunker, but it must also exist as an idea in our minds +or we should not be aware of it. + +As long as we allow this mental image to stay there, the efforts of our +will to overcome it only make it more irresistible. We run our heads +against it like a goat butting a brick wall. Indeed, in this way we +can magnify the smallest difficulty until it becomes insurmountable--we +can make mole-hills into mountains. This is precisely what the +neurasthenic does. The idea of a difficulty dwells unchanged in his +mind, and all his efforts to overcome it only increase its dimensions, +until it overpowers him and he faints in the effort to cross a street. + +But as soon as we change the idea our troubles vanish. By means of the +intellect we can substitute for the blank idea of the obstacle that of +the means to overcome it. Immediately, the will is brought into +harmony again with thought, and we go forward to the triumphant +attainment of our end. It may be that the means adopted consist of a +frontal attack, the overcoming of an obstacle by force. But before we +bring this force into play, the mind must have approved it--must have +entertained the idea of its probable success. We must, in fact, have +thought of the obstacle as already smashed down and flattened out by +our attack. Otherwise, we should involve ourselves in the conflict +depicted above, and our force would be exhausted in a futile internal +battle. In a frontal attack against an obstacle we use effort, and +effort, to be effective, must be approved by the reason and preceded, +to some extent, by the idea of success. + +Thus, even in our dealings with the outside world, Thought is always +master of the will. How much more so when our action is turned inward! +When practising autosuggestion we are living in the mind, where +thoughts are the only realities. We can meet with no obstacle other +than that of Thought itself. Obviously then, the frontal attack, the +exertion of effort, can never be admissible, for it sets the will and +the thought at once in opposition. The turning of our thoughts from +the mere recognition of an obstacle to the idea of the means to +overcome it, is no longer a preliminary, as in the case of outward +action. In itself it clears away the obstacle. By procuring the right +idea our end is already attained. + +In applying effort during the practice of Induced Autosuggestion, we +use in the world of mind an instrument fashioned for use in the world +of matter. It is as if we tried to solve a mathematical problem by +mauling the book with a tin-opener. + +For two reasons then, effort must never be allowed to intrude during +the practice of autosuggestion: first because it wakes us up and so +suppresses the tide of the Unconscious, secondly because it causes +conflict between Thought and the will. + +One other interesting fact emerges from an examination of the foregoing +examples. In each case we find that the idea which occupied the mind +was of a final state, an accomplished fact. The golfer was thinking of +his ball dropping into the bunker, the tennis-player of his defeat, the +examinee of his failure. In each case the Unconscious realised the +thought in its own way, chose inevitably the means best suited to +arrive at its end--the realisation of the idea. In the case of the +golfer the most delicate physical adjustments were necessary. Stance, +grip and swing all contributed their quota, but these physical +adjustments were performed unconsciously, the conscious mind being +unaware of them. From this we see that we need not suggest the way in +which our aim is to be accomplished. If we fill our minds with the +thought of the desired end, provided that end is possible, the +Unconscious will lead us to it by the easiest, most direct path. + +Here we catch a glimpse of the truth behind what is called "luck." We +are told that everything comes to him who waits, and this is literally +true, provided he waits in the right frame of mind. Some men are +notoriously lucky in business; whatever they touch seems to "turn to +gold." The secret of their success lies in the fact that they +confidently expect to succeed. There is no need to go so far as the +writers of the school of "New Thought," and claim that suggestion can +set in motion transcendental laws outside man's own nature. It is +quite clear that the man who expects success, of whatever kind it may +be, will unconsciously take up the right attitude to his environment; +will involuntarily close with fleeting opportunity, and by his inner +fitness command the circumstances without. + +Man has often been likened to a ship navigating the seas of life. Of +that ship the engine is the will and Thought is the helm. If we are +being directed out of our true course it is worse than useless to call +for full steam ahead; our only hope lies in changing the direction of +the helm. + + + + +III + +THE PRACTICE OF AUTOSUGGESTION + + + +CHAPTER VI + +GENERAL RULES + +With our knowledge of the powerful effect which an idea produces, we +shall see the importance of exercising a more careful censorship over +the thoughts which enter our minds. Thought is the legislative power +in our lives, just as the will is the executive. We should not think +it wise to permit the inmates of prisons and asylums to occupy the +legislative posts in the state, yet when we harbour ideas of passion +and disease, we allow the criminals and lunatics of thought to usurp +the governing power in the commonwealth of our being. + +In future, then, we shall seek ideas of health, success, and goodness; +we shall treat warily all depressing subjects of conversation, the +daily list of crimes and disasters which fill the newspapers, and those +novels, plays and films which harrow our feelings, without transmuting +by the magic of art the sadness into beauty. + +This does not mean that we should be always self-consciously studying +ourselves, ready to nip the pernicious idea in the bud; nor yet that we +should adopt the ostrich's policy of sticking our heads in the sand and +declaring that disease and evil have no real existence. The one leads +to egotism and the other to callousness. Duty sometimes requires us to +give our attention to things in themselves evil and depressing. The +demands of friendship and human sympathy are imperious, and we cannot +ignore them without moral loss. But there is a positive and a negative +way of approaching such subjects. + +Sympathy is too often regarded as a passive process by which we allow +ourselves to be infected by the gloom, the weakness, the mental +ill-health of other people. This is sympathy perverted. If a friend +is suffering from small-pox or scarlet fever you do not seek to prove +your sympathy by infecting yourself with his disease. You would +recognize this to be a crime against the community. Yet many people +submit themselves to infection by unhealthy ideas as if it were an act +of charity--part of their duty towards their neighbours. In the same +way people deliver their minds to harrowing stories of famine and +pestilence, as if the mental depression thus produced were of some +value to the far-away victims. This is obviously false--the only +result is to cause gloom and ill-health in the reader and so make him a +burden to his family. That such disasters should be known is beyond +question, but we should react to them in the manner indicated in the +last chapter. We should replace the blank recognition of the evil by +the quest of the means best suited to overcome it; then we can look +forward to an inspiring end and place the powers of our will in the +service of its attainment. + + Oh, human soul, as long as thou canst so, + Set up a mark of everlasting light + Above the heaving senses' ebb and flow ... + Not with lost toil thou labourest through the night, + Thou mak'st the heaven thou hop'st indeed thy home. + + +Autosuggestion, far from producing callousness, dictates the method and +supplies the means by which the truest sympathy can be practised. In +every case our aim must be to remove the suffering as soon as possible, +and this is facilitated by refusing acceptation to the bad ideas and +maintaining our own mental and moral balance. + +Whenever gloomy thoughts come to us, whether from without or within, we +should quietly transfer our attention to something brighter. Even if +we are afflicted by some actual malady, we should keep our thought from +resting on it as far as we have the power to do so. An organic disease +may be increased a hundredfold by allowing the mind to brood on it, for +in so doing we place at its disposal all the resources of our organism, +and direct our life-force to our own destruction. On the other hand, +by denying it our attention and opposing it with curative +autosuggestions, we reduce its power to the minimum and should succeed +in overcoming it entirely. Even in the most serious organic diseases +the element contributed by wrong thought is infinitely greater than +that which is purely physical. + +There are times when temperamental failings, or the gravity of our +affliction, places our imagination beyond our ordinary control. The +suggestion operates in spite of us; we do not seem to possess the power +to rid our minds of the adverse thought. Under these conditions we +should never struggle to throw off the obsessing idea by force. Our +exertions only bring into play the law of reversed effort, and we +flounder deeper into the slough. Coué's technique, however, which will +be outlined in succeeding chapters, will give us the means of mastering +ourselves, even under the most trying conditions. + +Of all the destructive suggestions we must learn to shun, none is more +dangerous than fear. In fearing something the mind is not only +dwelling on a negative idea, but it is establishing the closest +personal connection between the idea and ourselves. Moreover, the idea +is surrounded by an aura of emotion, which considerably intensifies its +effect. Fear combines every element necessary to give to an +autosuggestion its maximum power. But happily fear, too, is +susceptible to the controlling power of autosuggestion. It is one of +the first things which a person cognisant of the means to be applied +should seek to eradicate from his mind. + +For our own sakes, too, we should avoid dwelling on the faults and +frailties of our neighbours. If ideas of selfishness, greed, vanity, +are continually before our minds there is great danger that we shall +subconsciously accept them, and so realise them in our own character. +The petty gossip and backbiting, so common in a small town, produce the +very faults they seem to condemn. But by allowing our minds to rest +upon the virtues of our neighbours, we reproduce the same virtues in +ourselves. + +But if we should avoid negative ideas for our own sakes, much more +should we do so for the sake of other people. Gloomy and despondent +men and women are centres of mental contagion, damaging all with whom +they come in contact. Sometimes such people seem involuntarily to +exert themselves to quench the cheerfulness of brighter natures, as if +their Unconscious strove to reduce all others to its own low level. +But even healthy, well-intentioned people scatter evil suggestions +broadcast, without the least suspicion of the harm they do. Every time +we remark to an acquaintance that he is looking ill, we actually damage +his health; the effect may be extremely slight, but by repetition it +grows powerful. A man who accepts in the course of a day fifteen or +twenty suggestions that he is ill, has gone a considerable part of the +way towards actual illness. Similarly, when we thoughtlessly +commiserate with a friend on the difficulty of his daily work, or +represent it as irksome and uncongenial, we make it a little harder for +him to accomplish, and thereby slightly diminish his chances of success. + +If we must supervise our speech in contact with adults, with children +we should exercise still greater foresight. The child's Unconscious is +far more accessible than that of the adult; the selective power +exercised by the conscious mind is much feebler, and consequently the +impressions received realise themselves with greater power. These +impressions are the material from which the child's growing life is +constructed, and if we supply faulty material the resultant structure +will be unstable. Yet the most attentive and well-meaning mothers are +engaged daily in sowing the seeds of weakness in their children's +minds. The little ones are constantly told they will take cold, will +be sick, will fall down, or will suffer some other misfortune. The +more delicate the child's health, the more likely it is to be subjected +to adverse suggestions. It is too often saturated with the idea of bad +health, and comes to look on disease as the normal state of existence +and health as exceptional. The same is equally true of the child's +mental and moral upbringing. How often do foolish parents tell their +children that they are naughty, disobedient, stupid, idle or vicious? +If these suggestions were accepted, which, thank Heaven, is not always +the case, the little ones would in very fact develop just these +qualities. But even when no word is spoken, a look or a gesture can +initiate an undesirable autosuggestion. The same child, visited by two +strangers, will immediately make friends with the one and avoid the +other. Why is this?--Because the one carries with him a healthful +atmosphere, while the other sends out waves of irritability or gloom. + +"Men imagine," says Emerson, "that they communicate their virtue or +vice only by overt actions, and do not see that virtue and vice emit a +breath every moment." + +With children, above all, it is not sufficient to refrain from the +expression of negative ideas; we must avoid harbouring them altogether. +Unless we possess a bright positive mind the suggestions derived from +us will be of little value. + +The idea is gaining ground that a great deal of what is called +hereditary disease is transmitted from parent to child, not physically +but mentally--that is to say, by means of adverse suggestions +continually renewed in the child's mind. Thus if one of the parents +has a tendency to tuberculosis, the child often lives in an atmosphere +laden with tuberculous thoughts. The little one is continually advised +to take care of its lungs, to keep its chest warm, to beware of colds, +etc., etc. In other words, the idea is repeatedly presented to its +mind that it possesses second-rate lungs. The realisation of these +ideas, the actual production of pulmonary tuberculosis is thus almost +assured. + +But all this is no more than crystallised common-sense. Everyone knows +that a cheerful mind suffuses health, while a gloomy one produces +conditions favourable to disease. "A merry heart doeth good like a +medicine," says the writer of the Book of Proverbs, "but a broken +spirit drieth the bones." But this knowledge, since it lacked a +scientific basis, has never been systematically applied. We have +regarded our feelings far too much as _effects_ and not sufficiently as +_causes_. We are happy because we are well; we do not recognise that +the process will work equally well in the reverse direction--that we +shall be well because we are happy. Happiness is not only the result +of our conditions of life; it is also the creator of those conditions. +Autosuggestion lays weight upon this latter view. Happiness must come +first. It is only when the mind is ordered, balanced, filled with the +light of sweet and joyous thought, that it can work with its maximum +efficiency. When we are habitually happy our powers and capabilities +come to their full blossom, and we are able to work with the utmost +effect on the shaping of what lies without. + +Happiness, you say, cannot be ordered like a chop in a restaurant. +Like love, its very essence is freedom. This is true; but like love, +it can be wooed and won. It is a condition which everyone experiences +at some time in life. It is native to the mind. By the systematic +practice of Induced Autosuggestion we can make it, not a fleeting +visitant, but a regular tenant of the mind, which storms and stresses +from without cannot dislodge. This idea of the indwelling happiness, +inwardly conditioned, is as ancient as thought. By autosuggestion we +can realise it in our own lives. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +THE GENERAL FORMULA + +We saw that an unskilled golfer, who imagines his ball is going to +alight in a bunker, unconsciously performs just those physical +movements needful to realise his idea in the actual. In realising this +idea his Unconscious displays ingenuity and skill none the less +admirable because opposed to his desire. From this and other examples +we concluded that if the mind dwells on the idea of an accomplished +fact, a realised state, the Unconscious will produce this state. If +this is true of our spontaneous autosuggestions it is equally true of +the self-induced ones. + +It follows that if we consistently think of happiness we become happy; +if we think of health we become healthy; if we think of goodness we +become good. Whatever thought we continually think, provided it is +reasonable, tends to become an actual condition of our life. + +Traditionally we rely too much on the conscious mind. If a man suffers +from headaches he searches out, with the help of his physician, their +cause; discovers whether they come from his eyes, his digestion or his +nerves, and purchases the drugs best suited to repair the fault. If he +wishes to improve a bad memory he practises one of the various methods +of memory-training. If he is the victim of a pernicious habit he is +left to counter it by efforts of the will, which too often exhaust his +strength, undermine his self-respect, and only lead him deeper into the +mire. How simple in comparison is the method of Induced +Autosuggestion! He need merely think the end--a head free from pain, a +good memory, a mode of life in which his bad habit has no part, and +these states are gradually evolved without his being aware of the +operation performed by the Unconscious. + +But even so, if each individual difficulty required a fresh +treatment--one for the headache, one for the memory, one for the bad +habit and so on--then the time needful to practise autosuggestion would +form a considerable part of our waking life. Happily the researches of +the Nancy School have revealed a further simplification. This is +obtained by the use of a general formula which sets before the mind the +idea of a daily improvement in every respect, mental, physical and +moral. + +In the original French this formula runs as follows: "Tous les jours, à +tous points de vue, je vais de mieux en mieux." The English version +which Coué considers most satisfactory is this: "_Day by day, in every +way, I'm getting better and better_." This is very easy to say, the +youngest child can understand it, and it possesses a rudimentary +rhythm, which exerts a lulling effect on the mind and so aids in +calling up the Unconscious. But if you are accustomed to any other +version, such as that recommended by the translators of Baudouin, it +would be better to continue to use it. Religious minds who wish to +associate the formula with God's care and protection might do so after +this fashion: "Day by day, in every way, by the help of God, I'm +getting better and better." It is possible that the attention of the +Unconscious will thus be turned to moral and spiritual improvements to +a greater extent than by the ordinary formula. + +But this general formula possesses definite advantages other than mere +terseness and convenience. The Unconscious, in its character of +surveyor over our mental and physical functions, knows far better than +the conscious the precise failings and weaknesses which have the +greatest need of attention. The general formula supplies it with a +fund of healing, strengthening power, and leaves it to apply this at +the points where the need is most urgent. + +It is a matter of common experience that people's ideals of manhood and +womanhood vary considerably. The hardened materialist pictures +perfection solely in terms of wealth, the butterfly-woman wants little +but physical beauty, charm, and the qualities that attract. The +sensitive man is apt to depreciate the powers he possesses and +exaggerate those he lacks; while his self-satisfied neighbour can see +no good in any virtues but his own. It is quite conceivable that a +person left free to determine the nature of his autosuggestions by the +light of his conscious desire might use this power to realise a quality +not in itself admirable, or even one which, judged by higher standards, +appeared pernicious. Even supposing that his choice was good he would +be in danger of over-developing a few characteristics to the detriment +of others and so destroying the balance of his personality. The use of +the general formula guards against this. It saves a man in spite of +himself. It avoids the pitfalls into which the conscious mind may lead +us by appealing to a more competent authority. Just as we leave the +distribution of our bodily food to the choice of the Unconscious, so we +may safely leave that of our mental food, our Induced Autosuggestions. + +The fear that the universal use of this formula would have a +standardising effect, modifying its users to a uniform pattern, is +unfounded. A rigid system of particular suggestions might tend towards +such a result, but the general formula leaves every mind free to unfold +and develop in the manner most natural to itself. The eternal +diversity of men's minds can only be increased by the free impulse thus +administered. + +We have previously seen that the Unconscious tide rises to its highest +point compatible with conscious thought just before sleep and just +after awaking, and that the suggestions formulated then are almost +assured acceptation. It is these moments that we select for the +repetition of the formula. + +But before we pass on to the precise method, a word of warning is +necessary. Even the most superficial attempt to analyse intellectually +a living act is bound to make it appear complex and difficult. So our +consideration of the processes of outcropping and acceptation has +inevitably invested them with a false appearance of difficulty. +Autosuggestion is above all things easy. Its greatest enemy is effort. +The more simple and unforced the manner of its performance the more +potently and profoundly it works. This is shown by the fact that its +most remarkable results have been secured by children and by simple +French peasants. + +It is here that Coué's directions for the practice differ considerably +from those of Baudouin. Coué insists upon its easiness, Baudouin +complicates it. The four chapters devoted by the latter to +"relaxation," "collection," "contention," and "concentration," produce +in the reader an adverse suggestion of no mean power. They leave the +impression that autosuggestion is a perplexing business which only the +greatest foresight and supervision can render successful. Nothing +could be more calculated to throw the beginner off the track. + +We have seen that Autosuggestion is a function of the mind which we +spontaneously perform every day of our lives. The more our induced +autosuggestions approximate to this spontaneous prototype the more +potent they are likely to be. Baudouin warns us against the danger of +setting the intellect to do the work of intuition, yet this is +precisely what he himself does. A patient trying by his rules to +attain outcropping and implant therein an autosuggestion is so +vigilantly attentive to what he is doing that outcropping is rendered +almost impossible. These artificial aids are, in Coué's opinion, not +only unnecessary but hindersome. Autosuggestion succeeds when +Conscious and Unconscious co-operate in the acceptance of an idea. +Coué's long practice has shown that we must leave the Unconscious, as +senior partner in the concern, to bring about the right conditions in +its own way. The fussy attempts of the intellect to dictate the method +of processes which lie outside its sphere will only produce conflict, +and so condemn our attempt to failure. The directions given here are +amply sufficient, if conscientiously applied, to secure the fullest +benefits of which the method is capable. + +Take a piece of string and tie in it twenty knots. By this means you +can count with a minimum expenditure of attention, as a devout Catholic +counts his prayers on a rosary. The number twenty has no intrinsic +virtue; it is merely adopted as a suitable round number. + +On getting into bed close your eyes, relax your muscles and take up a +comfortable posture. These are no more than the ordinary preliminaries +of slumber. Now repeat twenty times, counting by means of the knots, +the general formula: "Day by day, in every way, I'm getting better and +better." + +The words should be uttered aloud; that is, loud enough to be audible +to your own ears. In this way the idea is reinforced by the movements +of lips and tongue and by the auditory impressions conveyed through the +ear. Say it simply, without effort, like a child absently murmuring a +nursery rhyme. Thus you avoid an appeal to the critical faculties of +the conscious which would lessen the outcropping. When you have got +used to this exercise and can say it quite "unself-consciously," begin +to let your voice rise or fall--it does not matter which--on the phrase +"in every way." This is perhaps the most important part of the +formula, and is thus given a gentle emphasis. But at first do not +attempt this accentuation; it will only needlessly complicate and, by +requiring more conscious attention, may introduce effort. Do not try +to think of what you are saying. On the contrary, let the mind wander +whither it will; if it rests on the formula all the better, if it +strays elsewhere do not recall it. As long as your repetition does not +come to a full-stop your mind-wandering will be less disturbing than +would be the effort to recall your thoughts. + +Baudouin differs from Coué as to the manner in which the formula should +be repeated. His advice is to say it "piously," with all the words +separately stressed. No doubt it has its value when thus spoken, but +the attitude of mind to which the word "pious" can be applied is +unfortunately not habitual with everyone. The average man in trying to +be "pious" might end by being merely artificial. But the child still +exists in the most mature of men. The "infantile" mode of repeating +the formula puts one in touch with deep levels of the Unconscious where +the child-mind still survives. Coué's remarkable successes have been +obtained by this means, and Baudouin advances no cogent reason for +changing it. + +These instructions no doubt fall somewhat short of our ideal of a +thought entirely occupying the mind. But they are sufficient for a +beginning. The sovereign rule is to make no effort, and if this is +observed you will intuitively fall into the right attitude. This +process of Unconscious adaptation may be hastened by a simple +suggestion before beginning. Say to yourself, "I shall repeat the +formula in such a manner as to secure its maximum effect." This will +bring about the required conditions much more effectively than any +conscious exercise of thought. + +On waking in the morning, before you rise, repeat the formula in +exactly the same manner. + +Its regular repetition is the foundation stone of the Nancy method and +should never be neglected. In times of health it may be regarded as an +envoy going before to clear the path of whatever evils may lurk in the +future. But we must look on it chiefly as an educator, as a means of +leavening the mass of adverse spontaneous suggestions which clog the +Unconscious and rob our lives of their true significance. + +Say it with faith. When you have said it your conscious part of the +process is completed. Leave the Unconscious to do its work +undisturbed. Do not be anxious about it, continually scanning yourself +for signs of improvement. The farmer does not turn over the clods +every morning to see if his seed is sprouting. Once sown it is left +till the green blade appears. So it should be with suggestion. Sow +the seed, and be sure the Unconscious powers of the mind will bring it +to fruition, and all the sooner if your conscious ego is content to let +it rest. + +_Say it with faith_! You can only rob Induced Autosuggestion of its +power in one way--by believing that it is powerless. If you believe +this it becomes ipso facto powerless for you. The greater your faith +the more radical and the more rapid will be your results; though if you +have only sufficient faith to repeat the formula twenty times night and +morning the results will soon give you in your own person the proof you +desire, and facts and faith will go on mutually augmenting each other. + +Faith reposes on reason and must have its grounds. What grounds can we +adduce for faith in Induced Autosuggestion? The examples of cures +already cited are outside your experience and you may be tempted to +pooh-pooh them. The experiment of Chevreul's pendulum, however, will +show in a simple manner the power possessed by a thought to transform +itself into an action. + +Take a piece of white paper and draw on it a circle of about five +inches' radius. Draw two diameters _AB_ and _CD_ at right angles to +each other and intersecting at _O_. The more distinctly the lines +stand out the better--they should be thickly drawn in black ink. Now +take a lead pencil or a light ruler and tie to one end a piece of +cotton about eight inches long; to the lower end of the cotton fasten a +heavy metal button, of the sort used on a soldier's tunic. Place the +paper on a table so that the diameter _AB_ seems to be horizontal and +_CD_ to be vertical, thus: + +[Illustration: Autosuggestion diagram] + +Stand upright before the table with your miniature fishing-rod held +firmly in both hands and the button suspended above the point _O_. +Take care not to press the elbows nervously against the sides. + +Look at the line _AB_, think of it, follow it with your eyes from side +to side. Presently the button will begin to swing along the line you +are thinking of. The more your mind dwells easily upon the idea of the +line the greater this swing becomes. Your efforts to _try_ to hold the +pendulum still, by bringing into action the law of reversed effort, +only make its oscillations more pronounced. + +Now fix your eyes on the line _CD_. The button will gradually change +the direction of its movement, taking up that of _CD_. When you have +allowed it to swing thus for a few moments transfer your attention to +the circle, follow the circumference round and round with your eyes. +Once more the swinging button will follow you, adopting either a +clock-wise or a counter clock-wise direction according to your thought. +After a little practice you should produce a circular swing with a +diameter of at least eight inches; but your success will be directly +proportional to the exclusiveness of your thought and to your efforts +to hold the pencil still. + +Lastly think of the point _O_. Gradually the radius of the swing will +diminish until the button comes to rest. + +Is it necessary to point out how these movements are caused? Your +thought of the line, passing into the Unconscious, is there realised, +so that _without knowing it_ you execute with your hands the +imperceptible movements which set the button in motion. The +Unconscious automatically realises your thought through the nerves and +muscles of your arms and hands. What is this but Induced +Autosuggestion? + +The first time you perform this little experiment it is best to be +alone. This enables you to approach it quite objectively. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +PARTICULAR SUGGESTIONS + +The use of particular suggestions outlined in this chapter is of minor +importance compared with that of the general formula--"Day by day, in +every way, I'm getting better and better." The more deeply Coué +pursues his investigations, the more fully he becomes convinced that +all else is secondary to this. It is not difficult to make a guess as +to why this should be. In the general formula the attention is fully +absorbed by the idea of betterment. The mind is directed away from all +that hinders and impedes and fixed on a positive goal. In formulating +particular suggestions, however, we are always skating on the thin ice +round our faults and ailments, always touching on subjects which have +the most painful associations. So that our ideas have not the same +creative positiveness. However that may be, it is a matter of +experience that the general formula is the basis of the whole method, +and that all else is merely an adjuvant, an auxiliary--useful, but +inessential to the main object. + +We have seen that a partial outcropping of the Unconscious takes place +whenever we relax our mental and physical control, and let the mind +wander; in popular language, when we fall into a "brown study" or a +"day-dream." This outcropping should be sought before the special +suggestions are formulated. + +But again we must beware of making simple things seem hard. Baudouin +would have us perform a number of elaborate preparatives, which, +however valuable to the student of psychology, serve with the layman +only to distract the mind, and by fixing the attention on the mechanism +impair the power of the creative idea. Moreover, they cause the +subject to exert efforts to attain a state the very essence of which is +effortlessness, like the victim of insomnia who "tries his hardest" to +fall asleep. + +In order to formulate particular suggestions, go to a room where you +will be free from interruption, sit down in a comfortable chair, close +your eyes, and let your muscles relax. In other words, act precisely +as if you were going to take a siesta. In doing so you allow the +Unconscious tide to rise to a sufficient height to make your particular +suggestions effective. Now call up the desired ideas through the +medium of speech. Tell yourself that such and such ameliorations are +going to occur. + +But here we must give a few hints as to the _form_ these suggestions +should take. + +We should never set our faith a greater task than it can accomplish. A +patient suffering from deafness would be ill-advised to make the +suggestion: "I can hear perfectly." In the partial state of +outcropping association is not entirely cut off, and such an idea would +certainly call up its contrary. Thus we should initiate a suggestion +antagonistic to the one we desired. In this way we only court +disappointment and by losing faith in our instrument rob it of its +efficacy. + +Further, we should avoid as far as possible all mention of the ailment +or difficulty against which the suggestion is aimed. Indeed, our own +attention should be directed not so much to getting rid of wrong +conditions as to cultivating the opposite right ones in their place. +If you are inclined to be neurasthenic your mind is frequently occupied +with fear. This fear haunts you because some thwarted element in your +personality, surviving in the Unconscious, gains through it a perverse +satisfaction. In other words, your Unconscious enjoys the morbid +emotional condition which fear brings with it. Should you succeed in +banishing your fears you would probably feel dissatisfied, life would +seem empty. The old ideas would beckon you with promises, not of +happiness truly, but of emotion and excitement. But if your +suggestions take a positive form, if you fill your mind with thoughts +of self-confidence, courage, outward activity, and interest in the +glowing and vital things of life, the morbid ideas will be turned out +of doors and there will be no vacant spot to which they can return. + +Whatever the disorder may be, we should refer to it as little as +possible, letting the whole attention go out to the contrary state of +health. We must dwell on the "Yes-idea," affirming with faith the +realisation of our hopes, seeing ourselves endowed with the triumphant +qualities we lack. For a similar reason we should never employ a form +of words which connotes doubt. The phrases, "I should like to," "I am +going to try," if realised by the Unconscious, can only produce a state +of longing or desire, very different from the actual physical and +mental modifications we are seeking. + +Finally, we should not speak of the desired improvement entirely as a +thing of the future. We should affirm that the change has already +begun, and will continue to operate more and more rapidly until our end +is fully attained. + +Here are a few examples of special suggestions which may prove useful. + +For deafness: Having closed the eyes and relaxed body and mind, say to +yourself something of this nature: "From this day forth my hearing will +gradually improve. Each day I shall hear a little better. Gradually +this improvement will become more and more rapid until, in a +comparatively short space of time, I shall hear quite well and I shall +continue to do so until the end of my life." + +A person suffering from unfounded fears and forebodings might proceed +as follows: "From to-day onward I shall become more and more conscious +of all that is happy, positive and cheerful. The thoughts which enter +my mind will be strong and healthful ones. I shall gain daily in +self-confidence, shall believe in my own powers, which indeed at the +same time will manifest themselves in greater strength. My life is +growing smoother, easier, brighter. These changes become from day to +day more profound; in a short space of time I shall have risen to a new +plane of life, and all the troubles which used to perplex me will have +vanished and will never return." + +A bad memory might be treated in some such terms as these: "My memory +from to-day on will improve in every department. The impressions +received will be clearer and more definite; I shall retain them +automatically and without any effort on my part, and when I wish to +recall them they will immediately present themselves in their correct +form to my mind. This improvement will be accomplished rapidly, and +very soon my memory will be better than it has ever been before." + +Irritability and bad temper are very susceptible to autosuggestion and +might be thus treated: "Henceforth I shall daily grow more +good-humoured. Equanimity and cheerfulness will become my normal +states of mind, and in a short time all the little happenings of life +will be received in this spirit. I shall be a centre of cheer and +helpfulness to those about me, infecting them with my own good humour, +and this cheerful mood will become so habitual that nothing can rob me +of it." + +Asthma is a disease which has always baffled and still baffles the +ordinary methods of medicine. It has shown itself, however, in Coué's +experience, pre-eminently susceptible to autosuggestive treatment. +Particular suggestions for its removal might take this form: "From this +day forward my breathing will become rapidly easier. Quite without my +knowledge, and without any effort on my part, my organism will do all +that is necessary to restore perfect health to my lungs and bronchial +passages. I shall be able to undergo any exertion without +inconvenience. My breathing will be free, deep, delightful. I shall +draw in all the pure health-giving air I need, and thus my whole system +will be invigorated and strengthened. Moreover, I shall sleep calmly +and peacefully, with the maximum of refreshment and repose, so that I +awake cheerful and looking forward with pleasure to the day's tasks. +This process has this day begun and in a short time I shall be wholly +and permanently restored to health." + +It will be noticed that each of these suggestions comprises three +stages: (1) Immediate commencement of the amelioration. (2) Rapid +progress. (3) Complete and permanent cure. While this scheme is not +essential, it is a convenient one and should be utilised whenever +applicable. The examples are framed as the first autosuggestions of +persons new to the method. On succeeding occasions the phrase "from +this day forth," or its variants, should be replaced by a statement +that the amelioration has already begun. Thus, in the case of the +asthmatic, "My breathing is already becoming easier," etc. + +Particular suggestions, though subsidiary in value to the general +formula, are at times of very great service. The general formula looks +after the foundations of our life, building in the depths where eye +cannot see or ear hear. Particular suggestions are useful on the +surface. By their means we can deal with individual difficulties as +they arise. The two methods are complementary. + +Particular suggestions prove very valuable in reinforcing and rendering +permanent the effects obtained by the technique for overcoming pain, +which will be outlined in the next chapter. Before commencing the +attack we should sit down, close our eyes and say calmly and +confidently to ourselves: "I am now going to rid myself of this pain." +When the desired result has been obtained, we should suggest that the +state of ease and painlessness now re-established will be permanent, +that the affected part will rapidly be toned up into a condition of +normal health, and will remain always in that desirable state. Should +we have obtained only a lessening of the trouble without its complete +removal our suggestion should take this form: "I have obtained a +considerable degree of relief, and in the next few minutes it will +become complete. I shall be restored to my normal condition of health +and shall continue so for the future." Thus our assault upon the pain +is made under the best conditions, and should in every case prove +successful. + +We should employ particular suggestions also for overcoming the +difficulties which confront us from time to time in our daily lives, +and for securing the full success of any task we take in hand. The use +of the general suggestion will gradually strengthen our +self-confidence, until we shall expect success in any enterprise of +which the reason approves. But until this consummation is reached, +until our balance of self-confidence is adequate for all our needs, we +can obtain an overdraft for immediate use by means of particular +suggestion. + +We have already seen that the dimensions of any obstacle depend at +least as much upon our mental attitude towards it as upon its intrinsic +difficulty. The neurasthenic, who imagines he cannot rise from his +bed, cannot do so because this simple operation is endowed by his mind +with immense difficulty. The great mass of normal people commit the +same fault in a less degree. Their energy is expended partly in doing +their daily work, and partly in overcoming the resistance in their own +minds. By the action of the law of reversed effort the negative idea +they foster frequently brings their efforts to naught, and the very +exertions they make condemn their activities to failure. + +For this reason it is necessary, before undertaking any task which +seems to us difficult, to suggest that it is in fact easy. We close +our eyes and say quietly to ourselves, "The work I have to do is easy, +quite easy. Since it is easy I can do it, and I shall do it +efficiently and successfully. Moreover, I shall enjoy doing it; it +will give me pleasure, my whole personality will apply itself +harmoniously to the task, and the results will be even beyond my +expectation." We should dwell on these ideas, repeating them +tranquilly and effortlessly. Soon our mind will become serene, full of +hope and confidence. Then we can begin to think out our method of +procedure, to let the mind dwell on the means best suited to attain our +object. Since the impediments created by fear and anxiety are now +removed our ideas will flow freely, our plans will construct themselves +in the quiet of the mind, and we shall come to the actual work with a +creative vigour and singleness of purpose. + +By a similar procedure the problems of conduct which defy solution by +conscious thought will frequently yield to autosuggestion. When we are +"at our wits' ends," as the saying goes, to discover the best path out +of a dilemma, when choice between conflicting possibilities seems +impossible, it is worse than useless to continue the struggle. The law +of reversed effort is at work paralysing our mental faculties. We +should put it aside, let the waves of effort subside, and suggest to +ourselves that at a particular point of time the solution will come to +us of its own accord. If we can conveniently do so, it is well to let +a period of sleep intervene, to suggest that the solution will come to +us on the morrow; for during sleep the Unconscious is left undisturbed +to realise in its own way the end we have consciously set before it. + +This operation often takes place spontaneously, as when a problem left +unsolved the night before yields its solution apparently by an +inspiration when we arise in the morning. "Sleep on it" still remains +the best counsel for those in perplexity, but they should preface their +slumbers by the positive autosuggestion that on waking they will find +the difficulty resolved. In this connection it is interesting to note +that autosuggestion is already widely made use of as a means of waking +at a particular hour. A person who falls asleep with the idea in his +mind of the time at which he wishes to wake, will wake at that time. +It may be added that wherever sleep is utilised for the realisation of +particular suggestions, these suggestions should be made in addition to +the general formula, either immediately before or immediately after; +they should never be substituted for it. + +With some afflictions, such as fits, the attack is often so sudden and +unexpected that the patient is smitten down before he has a chance to +defend himself. Particular suggestions should be aimed first of all at +securing due warning of the approaching attack. We should employ such +terms as these: "In future I shall always know well in advance when a +fit is coming on. I shall be amply warned of its approach. When these +warnings occur I shall feel no fear or anxiety. I shall be quite +confident of my power to avert it." As soon as the warning comes--as +it will come, quite unmistakably--the sufferer should isolate himself +and use a particular suggestion to prevent the fit from developing. He +should first suggest calm and self-control, then affirm repeatedly, but +of course without effort, that the normal state of health is +reasserting itself, that the mind is fully under control, and that +nothing can disturb its balance. All sudden paroxysms, liable to take +us unexpectedly, should be treated by the same method, which in Coué's +experience has amply justified itself. + +Nervous troubles and violent emotions, such as fear and anger, often +express themselves by physical movements. Fear may cause trembling, +palpitation, chattering of the teeth; anger a violent clenching of the +fists. Baudouin advises that particular suggestions in these cases +should be directed rather against the motor expression than against the +psychic cause, that our aim should be to cultivate a state of physical +impassibility. But since a positive suggestion possesses greater force +than a negative, it would seem better to attack simultaneously both the +cause and the effect. Instead of anger, suggest that you will feel +sympathy, patience, good-humour, and consequently that your bodily +state will be easy and unconstrained. + +A form of particular suggestion which possesses distinct advantages of +its own is the quiet repetition of a single word. If your mind is +distracted and confused, sit down, close your eyes, and murmur slowly +and reflectively the single word "Calm." Say it reverently, drawing it +out to its full length and pausing after each repetition. Gradually +your mind will be stilled and quietened, and you will be filled with a +sense of harmony and peace. This method seems most applicable to the +attainment of moral qualities. An evil passion can be quelled by the +use of the word denoting the contrary virtue. The power of the word +depends largely upon its aesthetic and moral associations. Words like +joy, strength, love, purity, denoting the highest ideals of the human +mind, possess great potency and are capable, thus used, of dispelling +mental states in which their opposites predominate. The name +Reflective Suggestion, which Baudouin applies indifferently to all +autosuggestions induced by the subject's own choice, might well be +reserved for this specific form of particular suggestion. + +The field for the exercise of particular suggestions is practically +limitless. Whenever you feel a need for betterment, of whatever nature +it may be, a particular suggestion will help you. But it must once +more be repeated that these particular suggestions are merely aids and +auxiliaries, which may, if leisure is scant, be neglected. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +HOW TO DEAL WITH PAIN + +Pain, whether of mind or body, introduces a new element for which we +have hitherto made no provision. By monopolising the attention it +keeps the conscious mind fully alert and so prevents one from attaining +the measure of outcropping needful to initiate successfully an +autosuggestion. Thus if we introduce the "no-pain" idea into the +conscious, it is overwhelmed by its contrary--pain, and the patient's +condition becomes, if anything, worse. + +To overcome this difficulty quite a new method is required. If we +speak a thought, that thought, while we speak it, must occupy our +minds. We could not speak it unless we thought it. By continually +repeating "I have no pain" the sufferer constantly renews that thought +in his mind. Unfortunately, after each repetition the pain-thought +insinuates itself, so that the mind oscillates between "I have no pain" +and "I have some pain," or "I have a bad pain." But if we repeat our +phrase so rapidly that the contrary association has no time to insert +itself, we compel the mind willy-nilly to dwell on it. Thus by a fresh +path we reach the same goal as that attained by induced outcropping; we +cause an idea to remain in occupation of the mind without calling up a +contrary association. This we found to be the prime condition of +acceptation, and in fact by this means we can compel the Unconscious to +realise the "no-pain" thought and so put an end to the pain. + +But the sentence "I have no pain" does not lend itself to rapid +repetition. The physical difficulties are too great; the tongue and +lips become entangled in the syllables and we have to stop to restore +order. Even if we were dexterous enough to articulate the words +successfully, we should only meet with a new difficulty. The most +emphatic word in the phrase is "pain"; involuntarily we should find +ourself stressing this word with particular force, so strengthening in +our minds the very idea we are trying to dislodge. + +We shall do best to copy as closely as we can Coué's own procedure. +The phrase he uses, "ça passe," makes no mention of the hurt; it is +extremely easy to say, and it produces an unbroken stream of sound, +like the whirr of a machine or the magnified buzz of an insect, which, +as it were, carries the mind off its feet. The phrase recommended by +Baudouin, "It is passing off," produces no such effect, and in fact +defies all our attempts to repeat it quickly. On the whole, the most +suitable English version seems to be "It's going." Only the word +"going" should be repeated, and the treatment should conclude with the +emphatic statement "gone!" The word "going," rapidly gabbled, gives +the impression of a mechanical drill, biting its way irresistibly into +some hard substance. We can think of it as drilling the desired +thought into the mind. + +If you are suffering from any severe pain, such as toothache or +headache, sit down, close your eyes and assure yourself calmly that you +are going to get rid of it. Now gently stroke with your hand the +affected part and repeat at the same time as fast as you can, producing +a continuous stream of sound, the words: "It's going, going, going ... +gone!" Keep it up for about a minute, pausing only to take a deep +breath when necessary, and using the word "gone" only at the conclusion +of the whole proceeding. At the end of this time the pain will either +have entirely ceased or at least sensibly abated. In either case apply +the particular suggestions recommended in the previous chapter. If the +pain has ceased suggest that it will not return; if it has only +diminished suggest that it will shortly pass away altogether. Now +return to whatever employment you were engaged in when the pain began. +Let other interests occupy your attention. If in a reasonable space, +say half an hour, the pain still troubles you, isolate yourself again; +suggest once more that you are going to master it, and repeat the +procedure. + +It is no exaggeration to say that by this process any pain can be +conquered. It may be, in extreme cases, that you will have to return +several times to the attack. This will generally occur when you have +been foolish enough to supply the pain with a cause--a decayed tooth, a +draught of cold air, etc.--and so justify it to your reason, and give +it, so to speak, an intellectual sanction. Or it may be that it will +cease only to return again. But do not be discouraged; attack it +firmly and you are bound to succeed. + +The same procedure is equally effective with distressing states of +mind, worry, fear, despondency. In such cases the stroking movement of +the hand should be applied to the forehead. + +Even in this exercise no more effort should be used than is necessary. +Simply repeat rapidly the word which informs you that the trouble is +going, and let this, with the stroking movement of the hand, which, as +it were, fixes the attention to that particular spot, be the sum and +substance of your effort. With practice it will become easier, you +will "drop into it"; that is to say, the Unconscious will perform the +adaptations necessary to make it more effective. After a time you +should be able to obtain relief in twenty to twenty-five seconds. But +the effect is still more far-reaching; you will be delivered from the +fear of pain. Regarding yourself as its master, you will be able with +the mere threat of treatment to prevent it from developing. You will +hang up a card, "No admittance," on the doors of your conscious mind. + +It may be that the pain attacks you in the street or in a workshop; in +some public place where the audible repetition of the phrase would +attract attention. In that case it is best to close the eyes for a +moment and formulate this particular suggestion: "I shall not add to +this trouble by thinking about it; my mind will be occupied by other +things; but on the first opportunity I shall make it pass away," Then +as soon as you can conveniently do so make use of the phrase "It's +going." When you have become expert in the use of this form of +suggestion you will be able to exorcise the trouble by repeating the +phrase mentally--at any rate if the words are outlined with the lips +and tongue. But the beginner should rely for a time entirely on +audible treatment. By dropping it too soon he will only court +disappointment. + +It sometimes happens that a patient is so prostrated by pain or misery +that he has not the energy to undertake even the repetition of the word +"going." The pain-thought so obsesses the mind that the state of +painlessness seems too remote even to contemplate. Under these +circumstances it seems best to employ this strategy. Lie down on a +bed, sofa, or arm-chair and relax both mind and body. Cease from all +effort--which can only make things worse--and let the pain-thought have +its way. After a time your energies will begin to collect themselves, +your mind to reassert its control. Now make a firm suggestion of +success and apply the method. Get another person to help you, as Coué +helps his patients, by performing the passes with the hand and +repeating the phrase with you. By this means you can make quite sure +of success. This seemingly contradictory proceeding is analogous to +that of the angler "playing" a fish. He waits till it has run its +course before bringing his positive resources into play. + +Baudouin recommends an analogous proceeding as a weapon against +insomnia. The patient, he says, should rapidly repeat the phrase, "I +am going to sleep," letting his mind be swept away by a torrent of +words. Once more the objection arises that the phrase "I am going to +sleep" is not such as we can rapidly repeat. But even if we substitute +for it some simple phrase which can be easily articulated it is +doubtful whether it will succeed in more than a small percentage of +cases. Success is more likely to attend us if we avail ourselves of +the method of reflective repetition mentioned in the last chapter. We +should take up the position most favourable to slumber and then repeat +slowly and contemplatively the word "Sleep." The more impersonal our +attitude towards the idea the more rapidly it will be realised in our +own slumbers. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +AUTOSUGGESTION AND THE CHILD + +In treating children it should be remembered that autosuggestion is +primarily not a remedy but a means of insuring healthy growth. It +should not be reserved for times when the child is sick, but provided +daily, with the same regularity as meals. + +Children grow up weakly not from lack of energy, but because of a waste +and misapplication of it. The inner conflict, necessitated by the +continual process of adaptation which we call growth, is often of quite +unnecessary violence, not only making a great temporary demand on the +child's vital energy, but even locking it up in the Unconscious in the +form of "complexes," so that its future life is deprived of a portion +of its due vitality. A wise use of autosuggestion will preclude these +disasters. Growth will be ordered and controlled. The necessary +conflicts will be brought to a successful issue, the unnecessary ones +avoided. + +Autosuggestion may very well begin before the child is born. It is a +matter of common knowledge that a mother must be shielded during +pregnancy from any experience involving shock or fright, since these +exert a harmful effect on the developing embryo, and may in extreme +cases result in abortion, or in physical deformity or mental weakness +in the child. Instances of this ill-effect are comparatively common, +and the link between cause and effect is often unmistakable. There is +no need to point out that these cases are nothing more than spontaneous +autosuggestions operating in the maternal Unconscious; since during +pregnancy the mother moulds her little one not only by the food she +eats but also by the thoughts she thinks. The heightened emotionality +characteristic of this state bespeaks an increased tendency to +outcropping, and so an increased suggestibility. Thus spontaneous +autosuggestions are far more potent than in the normal course of life. +But, happily, induced autosuggestions are aided by the same conditions, +so that the mother awake to her powers and duties can do as much good +as the ignorant may do harm. + +Without going into debatable questions, such as the possibility of +predetermining the sex of the child to be born, one can find many +helpful ways of aiding and benefiting the growing life by +autosuggestive means. The mother should avoid with more than ordinary +care all subjects, whether in reading or conversation, which bear on +evil in any form, and she should seek whatever uplifts the mind and +furnishes it with beautiful and joyous thought. But the technical +methods of autosuggestion can also be brought into action. + +The mother should suggest to herself that her organism is furnishing +the growing life with all it needs, and that the child will be strong +and healthy in mind, in body, and in character. + +These suggestions should be in general terms bearing on qualities of +undoubted good, for obviously it is not desirable to define an +independent life too narrowly. They need consist only of a few +sentences, and should be formulated night and morning immediately +before or after the general formula. Furthermore, when the mother's +thoughts during the day stray to the subject of her child, she can take +this opportunity to repeat the whole or some part of the particular +suggestion she has chosen. These few simple measures will amply +suffice. Any undue tendency of the mind to dwell on the thought of the +child, even in the form of good suggestions, should not be encouraged. +A normal mental life is in itself the best of conditions for the +welfare of both mother and child. For her own sake however the mother +might well suggest that the delivery will be painless and easy. + +The only direct means of autosuggestion applicable to the child for +some months after birth is that of the caress, though it must be +remembered that the mental states of mother and nurse are already +stamping themselves on the little mind, forming it inevitably for +better or worse. Should any specific trouble arise, the method of +Mlle. Kauffmant should be applied by the mother. Taking the child on +her knee she should gently caress the affected part, thinking the while +of its reinstatement in perfect health. It seems generally advisable +to express these thoughts in words. Obviously, the words themselves +will mean nothing to an infant of two or three months, but they will +hold the mother's thought in the right channel, and this thought, by +the tone of her voice, the touch of her hand, will be communicated to +the child. Whether telepathy plays any part in this process we need +not inquire, but the baby is psychically as well as physically so +dependent on the mother that her mental states are communicated by +means quite ineffective with adults. Love in itself exerts a +suggestive power of the highest order. + +When the child shows signs of understanding what is said to it, before +it begins itself to speak, the following method should be applied. +After the little one has fallen asleep at night the mother enters the +room, taking care not to awaken it, and stands about a yard from the +head of the cot. She proceeds then to formulate in a whisper such +suggestions as seem necessary. If the child is ailing the suggestion +might take the form of the phrase "You are getting better" repeated +twenty times. If it is in health the general formula will suffice. +Particular suggestions may also be formulated bearing on the child's +health, character, intellectual development, etc. These of course +should be in accordance with the instructions given in the chapter +devoted to particular suggestions. On withdrawing, the mother should +again be careful not to awaken the little one. Should it show signs of +waking, the whispered command "sleep," repeated several times, will +lull it again to rest. Baudouin recommends that during these +suggestions the mother should lay her hand on the child's forehead. +The above, however, is the method preferred by Coué. + +This nightly practice is the most effective means of conveying +autosuggestions to the child-mind. It should be made a regular habit +which nothing is allowed to interrupt. If for any reason the mother is +unable to perform it, her place may be taken by the father, the nurse, +or some relative. But for obvious reasons the duty belongs by right to +the mother, and, when a few weeks' practice has revealed its beneficent +power, few mothers will be willing to delegate it to a less suitable +agent. + +This practice, as stated above, may well begin before the child has +actually learned to speak, for its Unconscious will already be forming +a scheme more or less distinct of the significance of the sounds that +reach it, and will not fail to gather the general tenor of the words +spoken. The date at which it should be discontinued is less easy to +specify. Growth, to be healthy, must carry with it a gradual increase +in independence and self-sufficiency. There seems to be some slight +danger that the practice of nightly suggestions, if continued too long, +might prolong unduly the state of dependence upon parental support. +Reliable indications on this point are furnished, however, by the child +itself. As soon as it is able to face its daily problems for itself, +when it no longer runs to the parent for help and advice in every +little difficulty, the time will have arrived for the parental +suggestions to cease. + +As soon as a child is able to speak it should be taught to repeat the +general formula night and morning in the same way as an adult. Thus +when the time comes to discontinue the parent's suggestions their +effect will be carried on by those the child formulates itself. There +is one thing more to add: in the case of boys it would seem better at +the age of seven or eight for the father to replace the mother in the +rôle of suggester, while the mother, of course, performs the office +throughout for her girls. Should any signs appear that the period of +puberty is bringing with it undue difficulties or perils, the nightly +practice might be resumed in the form of particular suggestions bearing +on the specific difficulties. It must be remembered, however, that the +child's sexual problem is essentially different from that of the adult, +and the suggestions must therefore be in the most general terms. Here +as elsewhere the end alone should be suggested, the Unconscious being +left free to choose its own means. + +As soon as the child has learnt to speak it should not be allowed to +suffer pain. The best method to adopt is that practised by Coué in his +consultations. Let the child close its eyes and repeat with the +parent, "It's going, going ... gone!" while the latter gently strokes +the affected part. But as soon as possible the child should be +encouraged to overcome smaller difficulties for itself, until the +parent's help is eventually almost dispensed with. This is a powerful +means of developing self-reliance and fostering the sense of +superiority to difficulties which will be invaluable in later life. + +That children readily take to the practice is shown by these examples, +which are again quoted from letters received by Coué. + +"Your youngest disciple is our little David. The poor little chap had +an accident to-day. Going up in the lift with his father, when quite +four feet up, he fell out on his head and on to a hard stone floor. He +was badly bruised and shocked, and when put to bed lay still and kept +saying: 'ça passe, ça passe,' over and over again, and then looked up +and said, 'no, not gone away.' To-night he said again 'ça passe' and +then added, 'nearly gone.' So he is better." + + B. K. (London). + 8 _January_, 1922. + + +Another lady writes: + +"Our cook's little niece, aged 23 months--the one we cured of +bronchitis--gave herself a horrid blow on the head yesterday. Instead +of crying she began to smile, passed her hand over the place and said +sweetly, 'ça passe.' Hasn't she been well brought up?" + +All these methods are extremely simple and involve little expenditure +of time and none of money. They have proved their efficacy over and +over again in Nancy, and there is no reason why a mother of average +intelligence and conscientiousness should not obtain equally good +results. Naturally, first attempts will be a little awkward, but there +is no need for discouragement on that account. Even supposing that +through the introduction of effort some slight harm were done--and the +chance is comparatively remote--this need cause no alarm. The right +autosuggestion will soon counteract it and produce positive good in its +place. But any mother who has practised autosuggestion for herself +will be able correctly to apply it to her child. + +At first glance the procedure may seem revolutionary, but think it over +for a moment and you will see that it is as old as the hills. It is +merely a systematisation on a scientific basis of the method mothers +have intuitively practised since the world began. "Sleep, baby, sleep. +Angels are watching o'er thee,"--what is this but a particular +suggestion? How does a wise mother proceed when her little one falls +and grazes its hand? She says something of this kind: "Let me kiss it +and then it will be well." She kisses it, and with her assurance that +the pain has gone the child runs happily back to its play. This is +only a charming variation of the method of the caress. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +CONCLUSION + +Induced Autosuggestion is not a substitute for medical practice. It +will not make us live for ever, neither will it free us completely from +the common ills of life. What it may do in the future, when all its +implications have been realised, all its resources exploited, we cannot +say. There is no doubt that a generation brought up by its canons +would differ profoundly from the disease-ridden population of to-day. +But our immediate interest is with the present. + +The adult of to-day carries in his Unconscious a memory clogged with a +mass of adverse suggestions which have been accumulating since +childhood. The first task of Induced Autosuggestion will be to clear +away this mass of mental lumber. Not until this has been accomplished +can the real man appear and the creative powers of autosuggestion begin +to manifest themselves. + +By the use of this method each one of us should be able to look forward +to a life in which disease is a diminishing factor. But how great a +part it will play depends upon the conditions we start from and the +regularity and correctness of our practice. Should disease befall us +we possess within a potent means of expelling it, but this does not +invalidate the complementary method of destroying it from without. +Autosuggestion and the usual medical practice should go hand in hand, +each supplementing the other. If you are ill, call in your doctor as +before, but enlist the resources of Induced Autosuggestion to reinforce +and extend his treatment. + +In this connection it must be insisted on that autosuggestion should be +utilised for every ailment, whatever its nature, and whether its +inroads be grave or slight. Every disease is either strengthened or +weakened by the action of the mind. We cannot take up an attitude of +neutrality. Either we must aid the disease to destroy us by allowing +our minds to dwell on it, or we must oppose it and destroy it by a +stream of healthful dynamic thought. Too frequently we spontaneously +adopt the former course. + +The general opinion that functional and nervous diseases alone are +susceptible to suggestive treatment is at variance with the facts. +During Coué's thirty years of practice, in which many thousands of +cases have been treated, he has found that organic troubles yield as +easily as functional, that bodily derangements are even easier to cure +than nervous and mental. He makes no such distinctions; an illness is +an illness whatever its nature. As such Coué attacks it, and in 98 per +cent. of cases he attains in greater or less degree a positive result. + +Apart from the permanently insane, in whose minds the machinery of +autosuggestion is itself deranged, there are only two classes of +patient with whom Induced Autosuggestion seems to fail. One consists +of persons whose intelligence is so low that the directions given are +never comprehended; the other of those who lack the power of voluntary +attention and cannot devote their minds to an idea even for a few +consecutive seconds. These two classes, however, are numerically +insignificant, together making up not much more than 2 per cent. of the +population. + +Autosuggestion is equally valuable as an aid to surgical practice. A +broken bone--the sceptic's last resource--cannot of course be treated +by autosuggestion alone. A surgeon must be called in to mend it. But +when the limb has been rightly set and the necessary mechanical +precautions have been taken, autosuggestion will provide the best +possible conditions for recovery. It can prevent lameness, stiffness, +unsightly deformity and the other evils which a broken limb is apt to +entail, and it will shorten considerably the normal period of +convalescence. + +It is sometimes stated that the results obtained by autosuggestion are +not permanent. This objection is really artificial, arising from the +fact that we ignore the true nature of autosuggestion and regard it +merely as a remedy. When we employ autosuggestion to heal a malady our +aim is so to leaven the Unconscious with healthful thoughts, that not +only will that specific malady be excluded, but all others with it. +Autosuggestion should not only remove a particular form of disease, but +the tendency to all disease. + +If after an ailment has been removed we allow our mind to revert to +unhealthy thoughts, they will tend to realise themselves in the same +way as any others, and we may again fall a victim to ill-health. Our +sickness may take the same form as on the preceding occasion, or it may +not. That will depend on the nature of our thought. But by the +regular employment of the general formula we can prevent any such +recurrence. Instead of reverting to unhealthy states of mind we shall +progressively strengthen the healthy and creative thought that has +already given us health, so that with each succeeding day our defence +will be more impenetrable. Not only do we thus avoid a relapse into +former ailments but we clear out of our path those which lie in wait +for us in the future. + +We saw that in the Nancy clinic some of the cures effected are almost +instantaneous. It would be a mistake, however, to embark on the +practice of Induced Autosuggestion with the impression that we are +going to be miraculously healed in the space of a few days. Granted +sufficient faith, such a result would undoubtedly ensue; nay, more, we +have records of quite a number of such cases, even where the help of a +second person has not been called in. Here is an example. A friend of +mine, M. Albert P., of Bordeaux, had suffered for more than ten years +with neuralgia of the face. Hearing of Coué, he wrote to him, and +received instructions to repeat the general formula. He did so, and on +the second day the neuralgia had vanished and has never since returned. +But such faith is not common. Immediate cures are the exception, and +it will be safer for us to look forward to a gradual and progressive +improvement. In this way we shall guard against disappointment. It +may be added that Coué prefers the gradual cure, finding it more stable +and less likely to be disturbed by adverse conditions. + +We should approach autosuggestion in the same reasonable manner as we +approach any other scientific discovery. There is no hocus-pocus about +it, nor are any statements made here which experience cannot verify. +But the attitude we should beware most of is that of the intellectual +amateur, who makes the vital things of life small coin to exchange with +his neighbour of the dinner-table. Like religion, autosuggestion is a +thing to practise. A man may be conversant with all the creeds in +Christendom and be none the better for it; while some simple soul, +loving God and his fellows, may combine the high principles of +Christianity in his life without any acquaintance with theology. So it +is with autosuggestion. + +Autosuggestion is just as effective in the treatment of moral +delinquencies as in that of physical ills. Drunkenness, kleptomania, +the drug habit, uncontrolled or perverted sexual desires, as well as +minor failings of character, are all susceptible to its action. It is +as powerful in small things as in great. By particular suggestions we +can modify our tastes. We can acquire a relish for the dishes we +naturally dislike, and make disagreeable medicine taste pleasant. So +encouraging has been its application to the field of morals that Coué +is trying to gain admittance to the French state reformatories. So +far, the official dislike for innovations has proved a barrier, but +there is good reason to hope that in the near future the application of +this method to the treatment of the criminal will be greatly extended. + +By way of anticipating an objection it may be stated that the Coué +method of Induced Autosuggestion is in no sense inferior to hypnotic +suggestion. Coué himself began his career as a hypnotist, but being +dissatisfied with the results, set out in quest of a method more simple +and universal. Conscious autosuggestion, apart from its convenience, +can boast one great advantage over its rival. The effects of hypnotic +suggestion are often lost within a few hours of the treatment. Whereas +by the use of the general formula the results of Induced Autosuggestion +go on progressively augmenting. + +Here we touch again the question of the suggester. We have already +seen that a suggester is not needed, that autosuggestion can yield its +fullest fruits to those who practise it unaided. But some persons +cannot be prevailed on to accept this fact. They feel a sense of +insufficiency; the mass of old wrong suggestions has risen so +mountain-high that they imagine themselves incapable of removing it. +With such the presence of a suggester is an undoubted help. They have +nothing to do but lie passive and receive the ideas he evokes. Even +so, however, they will get little good unless they consent to repeat +the general formula. + +But as long as we look on autosuggestion as a remedy we miss its true +significance. Primarily it is a means of self-culture, and one far +more potent than any we have hitherto possessed. It enables us to +develop the mental qualities we lack: efficiency, judgment, creative +imagination, all that will help us to bring our life's enterprise to a +successful end. Most of us are aware of thwarted abilities, powers +undeveloped, impulses checked in their growth. These are present in +our Unconscious like trees in a forest, which, overshadowed by their +neighbours, are stunted for lack of air and sunshine. By means of +autosuggestion we can supply them with the power needed for growth and +bring them to fruition in our conscious lives. However old, however +infirm, however selfish, weak or vicious we may be, autosuggestion will +do something for us. It gives us a new means of culture and discipline +by which the "accents immature," the "purposes unsure" can be nursed +into strength, and the evil impulses attacked at the root. It is +essentially an individual practice, an individual attitude of mind. +Only a narrow view would split it up into categories, debating its +application to this thing or to that. It touches our being in its +wholeness. Below the fussy perturbed little ego, with its local +habitation, its name, its habits and views and oddities is an ocean of +power, as serene as the depths below the troubled surface of the sea. +Whatever is of you comes eventually thence, however perverted by the +prism of self-consciousness. Autosuggestion is a channel by which the +tranquil powers of this ultimate being are raised to the level of our +life here and now. + +What prospects does autosuggestion open to us in the future? + +It teaches us that the burdens of life are, at least in large measure, +of our own creating. We reproduce in ourselves and in our +circumstances the thoughts of our minds. It goes further. It offers +us a means by which we can change these thoughts when they are evil and +foster them when they are good, so producing a corresponding betterment +in our individual life. But the process does not end with the +individual. The thoughts of society are realised in social conditions, +the thoughts of humanity in world conditions. What would be the +attitude towards our social and international problems of a generation +nurtured from infancy in the knowledge and practice of autosuggestion? +If fear and disease were banned from the individual life, could they +persist in the life of the nation? If each person found happiness in +his own heart would the illusory greed for possession survive? The +acceptance of autosuggestion entails a change of attitude, a +revaluation of life. If we stand with our faces westward we see +nothing but clouds and darkness, yet by a simple turn of the head we +bring the wide panorama of the sunrise into view. + +That Coué's discoveries may profoundly affect our educational methods +is beyond question. Hitherto we have been dealing directly only with +the conscious mind, feeding it with information, grafting on to it +useful accomplishments. What has been done for the development of +character has been incidental and secondary. This was inevitable so +long as the Unconscious remained undiscovered, but now we have the +means of reaching profounder depths, of endowing the child not only +with reading and arithmetic, but with health, character and personality. + +But perhaps it is in our treatment of the criminal that the greatest +revolution may be expected. The acts for which he is immured result +from nothing more than twists and tangles of the threads of thought in +the Unconscious mind. This is the view of eminent authorities. But +autosuggestion takes us a long step further. It shows how these +discords of character may be resolved. Since Coué has succeeded in +restoring to moral health a youth of homicidal tendencies, why should +not the same method succeed with many of the outcasts who fill our +prisons? At least the younger delinquents should prove susceptible. +But the idea underlying this attitude entails a revolution in our penal +procedure. It means little less than this: that crime is a disease and +should be treated as such; that the idea of punishment must give place +to that of cure; the vindictive attitude to one of pity. This brings +us near to the ideals of the New Testament, and indeed, autosuggestion, +as a force making for goodness, is bound to touch closely on religion. + +It teaches the doctrine of the inner life which saints and sages have +proclaimed through all ages. It asserts that within are the sources of +calm, of power and of courage, and that the man who has once attained +mastery of this inner sphere is secure in the face of all that may +befall him. This truth is apparent in the lives of great men. Martyrs +could sing at the stake because their eyes were turned within on the +vision of glory which filled their hearts. Great achievements have +been wrought by men who had the fortitude to follow the directions of +an inner voice, even in contradiction to the massed voices they heard +without. + +Suppose we find that the power Christ gave to his disciples to work +miracles of healing was not a gift conferred on a few selected +individuals, but was the heritage of all men; that the kingdom of +heaven within us to which He alluded was available in a simple way for +the purging and elevation of our common life, for procuring sounder +health and sweeter minds. Is not the affirmation contained in Coué's +formula a kind of prayer? Does it not appeal to something beyond the +self-life, to the infinite power lying behind us? + +Autosuggestion is no substitute for religion; it is rather a new weapon +added to the religious armoury. If as a mere scientific technique it +can yield such results, what might it not do as the expression of those +high yearnings for perfection which religion incorporates? + + + + + + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Practice of Autosuggestion, by C. 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Harry Brooks + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Practice of Autosuggestion + +Author: C. Harry Brooks + +Release Date: July 7, 2009 [EBook #29339] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PRACTICE OF AUTOSUGGESTION *** + + + + +Produced by Al Haines + + + + + +</pre> + + +<BR><BR> + +<H1 ALIGN="center"> +THE PRACTICE OF AUTOSUGGESTION +</H1> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +BY THE METHOD <I>of</I> EMILE COUÉ +</H2> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +<I>Revised Edition</I> +</H3> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +BY +</H3> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +C. HARRY BROOKS +</H2> + +<BR><BR> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +WITH A FOREWORD BY +</H4> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +EMILE COUÉ +</H3> + +<BR><BR> + +<P CLASS="poem"> +"For what man knoweth the things of a man save the<BR> +spirit of the man which is in him?"<BR> +<BR> +1 CORINTHIANS ii. 11.<BR> +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +NEW YORK +<BR> +DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY +<BR> +1922 +</H3> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H5 ALIGN="center"> +COPYRIGHT 1922 +<BR> +BY DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY, INC. +</H5> + +<H5 STYLE="margin-left: 20%"> +First Printing, May, 1922<BR> +Second Printing, June, 1922<BR> +Third Printing, June, 1922<BR> +Fourth Printing, July, 1922<BR> +Fifth Printing, July, 1922<BR> +Sixth Printing, Aug., 1922<BR> +Seventh Printing, Aug., 1922<BR> +Eighth Printing, Aug., 1922<BR> +Ninth Printing, Sept., 1922<BR> +Tenth Printing, Sept., 1922<BR> +Eleventh Printing, Nov., 1922<BR> +Twelfth Printing, Nov., 1922<BR> +Thirteenth Printing, Dec., 1922<BR> +Fourteenth Printing, Jan., 1923<BR> +<BR> +PRINTED IN THE U. S. A. BY<BR> +The Quinn & Boden Company<BR> +BOOK MANUFACTURERS<BR> +RAHWAY NEW JERSEY<BR> +</H5> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +TO +<BR> +ALL IN CONFLICT WITH +<BR> +THEIR OWN IMPERFECTIONS +<BR> +THIS LITTLE BOOK +<BR> +IS DEDICATED +</H3> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +PREFACE TO THE AMERICAN EDITION +</H3> + +<P> +To my American readers a special word of gratitude is due for their +generosity to this little book. I hope that it has given them as much +encouragement and help as they have given me. +</P> + +<P> +In America, the home of so many systems of mental healing, it is +perhaps even more necessary than in Europe to insist on the distinctive +features of M. Coué's teaching. It is based, not on transcendental or +mystical postulates, but on the simple and acknowledged facts of +psychology. This does not mean that it has no relation to religion. +On the contrary it has a very close one. Indeed I hope in a future +volume to point out its deep significance for the Christian churches. +But that relationship remains in M. Coué's teaching unexpressed. The +powers he has revealed are part of the natural endowment of the human +mind. Therefore they are available to all men, independently of +adherence or non-adherence to any sect or creed. +</P> + +<P> +The method of M. Coué is in no sense opposed to the ordinary practice +of medicine. It is not intended to supplant it but to supplement it. +It is a new ally, bringing valuable reinforcements to the common +crusade against disease and unhappiness. +</P> + +<P> +Induced Autosuggestion does not involve, as several hasty critics have +assumed, an attack upon the Will. It simply teaches that during the +actual formulation of suggestions, that is for a few minutes daily, the +Will should be quiescent. At other times the exercise of the Will is +encouraged; indeed we are shown how to use it properly, that is without +friction or waste of energy. +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +C. H. B. +<BR> +19 <I>October</I>, 1922. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="preface"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +AUTHOR'S PREFACE +</H3> + +<P> +The discoveries of Emile Coué are of such moment for the happiness and +efficiency of the individual life that it is the duty of anyone +acquainted with them to pass them on to his fellows. +</P> + +<P> +The lives of many men and women are robbed of their true value by +twists and flaws of character and temperament, which, while defying the +efforts of the will, would yield rapidly to the influence of +autosuggestion. Unfortunately, the knowledge of this method has +hitherto been available in England only in the somewhat detailed and +technical work of Professor Charles Baudouin, and in a small pamphlet, +printed privately by M. Coué, which has not been publicly exposed for +sale. To fill this gap is the aim of the following pages. They are +designed to present to the layman in non-technical form the information +necessary to enable him to practise autosuggestion for himself. +</P> + +<P> +All readers who wish to obtain a deeper insight into the theoretical +basis of autosuggestion are recommended to study Professor Baudouin's +fascinating work, <I>Suggestion and Autosuggestion</I>. Although in these +pages there are occasional divergences from Professor Baudouin's views, +his book remains beyond question the authoritative statement on the +subject; indeed it is hardly possible without it to form an adequate +idea of the scope of autosuggestion. My own indebtedness to it in +writing this little volume is very great. +</P> + +<P> +My thanks are due for innumerable kindnesses to M. Coué himself. That +he is the embodiment of patience everyone knows who has been in contact +with him. I am also indebted to the Rev. Ernest Charles, of Malvern +Link, who, though disclaiming responsibility for some of the views +expressed here, has made many extremely valuable suggestions. +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +C. H. B. +<BR><BR> +MALVERN LINK,<BR> +21 <I>February</I>, 1922.<BR> +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="foreword"></A> +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +FOREWORD +</H3> + +<P> +The materials for this little book were collected by Mr. Brooks during +a visit he paid me in the summer of 1921. He was, I think, the first +Englishman to come to Nancy with the express purpose of studying my +method of conscious autosuggestion. In the course of daily visits +extending over some weeks, by attending my consultations, and by +private conversations with myself, he obtained a full mastery of the +method, and we threshed out a good deal of the theory on which it rests. +</P> + +<P> +The results of this study are contained in the following pages. Mr. +Brooks has skilfully seized on the essentials and put them forward in a +manner that seems to me both simple and clear. The instructions given +are amply sufficient to enable anyone to practise autosuggestion for +him or herself, without seeking the help of any other person. +</P> + +<P> +It is a method which everyone should follow—the sick to obtain +healing, the healthy to prevent the coming of disease in the future. +By its practice we can insure for ourselves, all our lives long, an +excellent state of health, both of the mind and the body. +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +E. COUÉ. +<BR> +NANCY. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +CONTENTS +</H2> + +<TABLE ALIGN="center" WIDTH="80%"> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="15%"> </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="85%"> +<A HREF="#preface">PREFACE</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top"> </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#foreword">FOREWORD</A></TD> +</TR> + +</TABLE> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +I +<BR> +COUÉ'S NANCY PRACTICE +</H3> + +<TABLE ALIGN="center" WIDTH="80%"> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="15%">CHAPTER</TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="85%"> </TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">I </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap01">THE CLINIC OF EMILE COUÉ</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">II </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap02">A FEW OF COUÉ'S CURES</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">III </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap03">THE CHILDREN'S CLINIC</A></TD> +</TR> + +</TABLE> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +II +<BR> +THE NATURE OF AUTOSUGGESTION +</H3> + +<TABLE ALIGN="center" WIDTH="80%"> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="15%">IV </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="85%"> +<A HREF="#chap04">THOUGHT IS A FORCE</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">V </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap05">THOUGHT AND THE WILL</A></TD> +</TR> + +</TABLE> + +<BR> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +III +<BR> +THE PRACTICE OF AUTOSUGGESTION +</H3> + +<TABLE ALIGN="center" WIDTH="80%"> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="15%">VI </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top" WIDTH="85%"> +<A HREF="#chap06">GENERAL RULES</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">VII </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap07">THE GENERAL FORMULA</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">VIII </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap08">PARTICULAR SUGGESTIONS</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">IX </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap09">HOW TO DEAL WITH PAIN</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">X </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap10">AUTOSUGGESTION AND THE CHILD</A></TD> +</TR> + +<TR> +<TD ALIGN="right" VALIGN="top">XI </TD> +<TD ALIGN="left" VALIGN="top"> +<A HREF="#chap11">CONCLUSION</A></TD> +</TR> + +</TABLE> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap01"></A> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +I +</H2> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +COUÉ'S NANCY PRACTICE +</H2> + +<BR><BR> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER I +</H4> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE CLINIC OF EMILE COUÉ +</H3> + +<P> +The clinic of Emile Coué, where Induced Autosuggestion is applied to +the treatment of disease, is situated in a pleasant garden attached to +his house at the quiet end of the rue Jeanne d'Arc in Nancy. It was +here that I visited him in the early summer of 1921, and had the +pleasure for the first time of witnessing one of his consultations. +</P> + +<P> +We entered the garden from his house a little before nine o'clock. In +one corner was a brick building of two stories, with its windows thrown +wide to let in the air and sunshine—this was the clinic; a few yards +away was a smaller one-storied construction which served as a +waiting-room. Under the plum and cherry trees, now laden with fruit, +little groups of patients were sitting on the garden seats, chatting +amicably together and enjoying the morning sunshine while others +wandered in twos and threes among the flowers and strawberry beds. The +room reserved for the treatments was already crowded, but in spite of +that eager newcomers constantly tried to gain entrance. The +window-sills on the ground floor were beset, and a dense knot had +formed in the doorway. Inside, the patients had first occupied the +seats which surrounded the walls, and then covered the available +floor-space, sitting on camp-stools and folding-chairs. Coué with some +difficulty found me a seat, and the treatment immediately began. +</P> + +<P> +The first patient he addressed was a frail, middle-aged man who, +accompanied by his daughter, had just arrived from Paris to consult +him. The man was a bad case of nervous trouble. He walked with +difficulty, and his head, arms and legs were afflicted with a continual +tremor. He explained that if he encountered a stranger when walking in +the street the idea that the latter would remark his infirmity +completely paralysed him, and he had to cling to whatever support was +at hand to save himself from falling. At Coué's invitation he rose +from his seat and took a few steps across the floor. He walked slowly, +leaning on a stick; his knees were half bent, and his feet dragged +heavily along the ground. +</P> + +<P> +Coué encouraged him with the promise of improvement. "You have been +sowing bad seed in your Unconscious; now you will sow good seed. The +power by which you have produced these ill effects will in future +produce equally good ones." +</P> + +<P> +The next patient was an excitable, over-worked woman of the artisan +class. When Coué inquired the nature of her trouble, she broke into a +flood of complaint, describing each symptom with a voluble minuteness. +"Madame," he interrupted, "you think too much about your ailments, and +in thinking of them you create fresh ones." +</P> + +<P> +Next came a girl with headaches, a youth with inflamed eyes, and a +farm-labourer incapacitated by varicose veins. In each case Coué +stated that autosuggestion should bring complete relief. Then it was +the turn of a business man who complained of nervousness, lack of +self-confidence and haunting fears. +</P> + +<P> +"When you know the method," said Coué, "you will not allow yourself to +harbour such ideas." +</P> + +<P> +"I work terribly hard to get rid of them," the patient answered. +</P> + +<P> +"You fatigue yourself. The greater the efforts you make, the more the +ideas return. You will change all that easily, simply, and above all, +without effort." +</P> + +<P> +"I want to," the man interjected. +</P> + +<P> +"That's just where you're wrong," Coué told him. "If you say 'I want +to do something,' your imagination replies 'Oh, but you can't.' You +must say 'I am going to do it,' and if it is in the region of the +possible you will succeed." +</P> + +<P> +A little further on was another neurasthenic—a girl. This was her +third visit to the clinic, and for ten days she had been practising the +method at home. With a happy smile, and a little pardonable +self-importance, she declared that she already felt a considerable +improvement. She had more energy, was beginning to enjoy life, ate +heartily and slept more soundly. Her sincerity and naïve delight +helped to strengthen the faith of her fellow-patients. They looked on +her as a living proof of the healing which should come to themselves. +</P> + +<P> +Coué continued his questions. Those who were unable, whether through +rheumatism or some paralytic affection, to make use of a limb were +called on, as a criterion of future progress, to put out their maximum +efforts. +</P> + +<P> +In addition to the visitor from Paris there were present a man and a +woman who could not walk without support, and a burly peasant, formerly +a blacksmith, who for nearly ten years had not succeeded in lifting his +right arm above the level of his shoulder. In each case Coué predicted +a complete cure. +</P> + +<P> +During this preliminary stage of the treatment, the words he spoke were +not in the nature of suggestions. They were sober expressions of +opinion, based on years of experience. Not once did he reject the +possibility of cure, though with several patients suffering from +organic disease in an advanced stage, he admitted its unlikelihood. To +these he promised, however, a cessation of pain, an improvement of +morale, and at least a retardment of the progress of the disease. +"Meanwhile," he added, "the limits of the power of autosuggestion are +not yet known; final recovery is possible." In all cases of functional +and nervous disorders, as well as the less serious ones of an organic +nature, he stated that autosuggestion, conscientiously applied, was +capable of removing the trouble completely. +</P> + +<P> +It took Coué nearly forty minutes to complete his interrogation. Other +patients bore witness to the benefits the treatment had already +conferred on them. A woman with a painful swelling in her breast, +which a doctor had diagnosed (in Coué's opinion wrongly), as of a +cancerous nature, had found complete relief after less than three +weeks' treatment. Another woman had enriched her impoverished blood, +and increased her weight by over nine pounds. A man had been cured of +a varicose ulcer, another in a single sitting had rid himself of a +lifelong habit of stammering. Only one of the former patients failed +to report an improvement. "Monsieur," said Coué, "you have been making +efforts. You must put your trust in the imagination, not in the will. +Think you are better and you will become so." +</P> + +<P> +Coué now proceeded to outline the theory given in the pages which +follow. It is sufficient here to state his main conclusions, which +were these: (1) Every idea which exclusively occupies the mind is +transformed into an actual physical or mental state. (2) The efforts +we make to conquer an idea by exerting the will only serve to make that +idea more powerful. To demonstrate these truths he requested one of +his patients, a young anaemic-looking woman, to carry out a small +experiment. She extended her arms in front of her, and clasped the +hands firmly together with the fingers interlaced, increasing the force +of her grip until a slight tremor set in. "Look at your hands," said +Coué, "and think you would like to open them but you cannot. Now try +and pull them apart. Pull hard. You find that the more you try the +more tightly they become clasped together." +</P> + +<P> +The girl made little convulsive movements of her wrists, really doing +her best by physical force to separate her hands, but the harder she +tried the more her grip increased in strength, until the knuckles +turned white with the pressure. Her hands seemed locked together by a +force outside her own control. +</P> + +<P> +"Now think," said Cone, "'I can open my hands.'" +</P> + +<P> +Slowly her grasp relaxed and, in response to a little pull, the cramped +fingers came apart. She smiled shyly at the attention she had +attracted, and sat down. +</P> + +<P> +Coué pointed out that the two main points of his theory were thus +demonstrated simultaneously: when the patient's mind was filled with +the thought "I cannot," she could not in very fact unclasp her hands. +Further, the efforts she made to wrench them apart by exerting her will +only fixed them more firmly together. +</P> + +<P> +Each patient was now called on in turn to perform the same experiment. +The more imaginative among them—notably the women—were at once +successful. One old lady was so absorbed in the thought "I cannot" as +not to heed the request to think "I can." With her face ruefully +puckered up she sat staring fixedly at her interlocked fingers, as +though contemplating an act of fate. "Voilà," said Coué, smiling, "if +Madame persists in her present idea, she will never open her hands +again as long as she lives." +</P> + +<P> +Several of the men, however, were not at once successful. The whilom +blacksmith with the disabled arm, when told to think "I should like to +open my hands but I cannot," proceeded without difficulty to open them. +</P> + +<P> +"You see," said Coué, with a smile, "it depends not on what I say but +on what you think. What were you thinking then?" +</P> + +<P> +He hesitated. "I thought perhaps I could open them after all." +</P> + +<P> +"Exactly. And therefore you could. Now clasp your hands again. Press +them together." +</P> + +<P> +When the right degree of pressure had been reached, Coué told him to +repeat the words "I cannot, I cannot...." +</P> + +<P> +As he repeated this phrase the contracture increased, and all his +efforts failed to release his grip. +</P> + +<P> +"Voilà," said Coué. "Now listen. For ten years you have been thinking +you could not lift your arm above your shoulder, consequently you have +not been able to do so, for whatever we think becomes true for us. Now +think 'I can lift it.'" +</P> + +<P> +The patient looked at him doubtfully. +</P> + +<P> +"Quick!" Coué said in a tone of authority. "Think 'I can, I can!'" +</P> + +<P> +"I can," said the man. He made a half-hearted attempt and complained +of a pain in his shoulder. +</P> + +<P> +"Bon," said Coué. "Don't lower your arm. Close your eyes and repeat +with me as fast as you can, 'Ca passe, ça passe.'" +</P> + +<P> +For half a minute they repeated this phrase together, speaking so fast +as to produce a sound like the whirr of a rapidly revolving machine. +Meanwhile Coué quickly stroked the man's shoulder. At the end of that +time the patient admitted that his pain had left him. +</P> + +<P> +"Now think well that you can lift your arm," Coué said. +</P> + +<P> +The departure of the pain had given the patient faith. His face, which +before had been perplexed and incredulous, brightened as the thought of +power took possession of him. "I can," he said in a tone of finality, +and without effort he calmly lifted his arm to its full height above +his head. He held it there triumphantly for a moment while the whole +company applauded and encouraged him. +</P> + +<P> +Coué reached for his hand and shook it. +</P> + +<P> +"My friend, you are cured." +</P> + +<P> +"C'est merveilleux," the man answered. "I believe I am." +</P> + +<P> +"Prove it," said Coué. "Hit me on the shoulder." +</P> + +<P> +The patient laughed, and dealt him a gentle rap. +</P> + +<P> +"Harder," Coué encouraged him. "Hit me harder—as hard as you can." +</P> + +<P> +His arm began to rise and fall in regular blows, increasing in force +until Coué was compelled to call on him to stop. +</P> + +<P> +"Voilà, mon ami, you can go back to your anvil." +</P> + +<P> +The man resumed his seat, still hardly able to comprehend what had +occurred. Now and then he lifted his arm as if to reassure himself, +whispering to himself in an awed voice, "I can, I can." +</P> + +<P> +A little further on was seated a woman who had complained of violent +neuralgia. Under the influence of the repeated phrase "ça passe" (it's +going) the pain was dispelled in less than thirty seconds. Then it was +the turn of the visitor from Paris. What he had seen had inspired him +with confidence; he was sitting more erect, there was a little patch of +colour in his cheeks, and his trembling seemed less violent. +</P> + +<P> +He performed the experiment with immediate success. +</P> + +<P> +"Now," said Coué, "you are cultivated ground. I can throw out the seed +in handfuls." +</P> + +<P> +He caused the sufferer first to stand erect with his back and knees +straightened. Then he asked him, constantly thinking "I can," to place +his entire weight on each foot in turn, slowly performing the exercise +known as "marking time." A space was then cleared of chairs, and +having discarded his stick, the man was made to walk to and fro. When +his gait became slovenly Coué stopped him, pointed out his fault, and, +renewing the thought "I can," caused him to correct it. Progressive +improvement kindled the man's imagination. He took himself in his own +hands. His bearing became more and more confident, he walked more +easily, more quickly. His little daughter, all smiles and happy +self-forgetfulness, stood beside him uttering expressions of delight, +admiration and encouragement. The whole company laughed and clapped +their hands. +</P> + +<P> +"After the sitting," said Coué, "you shall come for a run in my garden." +</P> + +<P> +Thus Coué continued his round of the clinic. Each patient suffering +from pain was given complete or partial relief; those with useless +limbs had a varying measure of use restored to them. Coué's manner was +always quietly inspiring. There was no formality, no attitude of the +superior person; he treated everyone, whether rich or poor, with the +same friendly solicitude. But within these limits he varied his tone +to suit the temperament of the patient. Sometimes he was firm, +sometimes gently bantering. He seized every opportunity for a little +humorous by-play. One might almost say that he tactfully teased some +of his patients, giving them an idea that their ailment was absurd, and +a little unworthy; that to be ill was a quaint but reprehensible +weakness, which they should quickly get rid of. Indeed, this denial of +the dignity of disease is one of the characteristics of the place. No +homage is paid to it as a Dread Monarch. It is gently ridiculed, its +terrors are made to appear second-rate, and its victims end by laughing +at it. +</P> + +<P> +Coué now passed on to the formulation of specific suggestions. The +patients closed their eyes, and he proceeded in a low, monotonous +voice, to evoke before their minds the states of health, mental and +physical, they were seeking. As they listened to him their alertness +ebbed away, they were lulled into a drowsy state, peopled only by the +vivid images he called up before the eyes of the mind. The faint +rustle of the trees, the songs of the birds, the low voices of those +waiting in the garden, merged into a pleasant background, on which his +words stood out powerfully. +</P> + +<P> +This is what he said: +</P> + +<P> +"Say to yourself that all the words I am about to utter will be fixed, +imprinted and engraven in your minds; that they will remain fixed, +imprinted and engraven there, so that without your will and knowledge, +without your being in any way aware of what is taking place, you +yourself and your whole organism will obey them. I tell you first that +every day, three times a day, morning, noon and evening, at mealtimes, +you will be hungry; that is to say you will feel that pleasant +sensation which makes us think and say: 'How I should like something to +eat!' You will then eat with excellent appetite, enjoying your food, +but you will never eat too much. You will eat the right amount, +neither too much nor too little, and you will know intuitively when you +have had sufficient. You will masticate your food thoroughly, +transforming it into a smooth paste before swallowing it. In these +conditions you will digest it well, and so feel no discomfort of any +kind either in the stomach or the intestines. Assimilation will be +perfectly performed, and your organism will make the best possible use +of the food to create blood, muscle, strength, energy, in a word—Life. +</P> + +<P> +"Since you have digested your food properly, the excretory functions +will be normally performed. This will take place every morning +immediately on rising, and without your having recourse to any laxative +medicine or artificial means of any kind. +</P> + +<P> +"Every night you will fall asleep at the hour you wish, and will +continue to sleep until the hour at which you desire to wake next +morning. Your sleep will be calm, peaceful and profound, untroubled by +bad dreams or undesirable states of body. You may dream, but your +dreams will be pleasant ones. On waking you will feel well, bright, +alert, eager for the day's tasks. +</P> + +<P> +"If in the past you have been subject to depression, gloom and +melancholy forebodings, you will henceforward be free from such +troubles. Instead of being moody, anxious and depressed, you will be +cheerful and happy. You will be happy even if you have no particular +reason for being so, just as in the past you were, without good reason, +unhappy. I tell you even that if you have serious cause to be worried +or depressed, you will not be so. +</P> + +<P> +"If you have been impatient or ill-tempered, you will no longer be +anything of the kind; on the contrary, you will always be patient and +self-controlled. The happenings which used to irritate you will leave +you entirely calm and unmoved. +</P> + +<P> +"If you have sometimes been haunted by evil and unwholesome ideas, by +fears or phobias, these ideas will gradually cease to occupy your mind. +They will melt away like a cloud. As a dream vanishes when we wake, so +will these vain images disappear. +</P> + +<P> +"I add that all your organs do their work perfectly. Your heart beats +normally and the circulation of the blood takes place as it should. +The lungs do their work well. The stomach, the intestines, the liver, +the biliary duct, the kidneys and the bladder, all carry out their +functions correctly. If at present any of the organs named is out of +order, the disturbance will grow less day by day, so that within a +short space of time it will have entirely disappeared, and the organ +will have resumed its normal function. +</P> + +<P> +"Further, if in any organ there is a structural lesion, it will from +this day be gradually repaired, and in a short period will be +completely restored. This will be so even if you are unaware that the +trouble exists. +</P> + +<P> +"I must also add—and it is extremely important—that if in the past +you have lacked confidence in yourself, this self-distrust will +gradually disappear. You will have confidence in yourself; I repeat, +<I>you will have confidence</I>. Your confidence will be based on the +knowledge of the immense power which is within you, by which you can +accomplish any task of which your reason approves. With this +confidence you will be able to do anything you wish to do, provided it +is reasonable, and anything it is your duty to do. +</P> + +<P> +"When you have any task to perform you will always think that it is +easy. Such words as 'difficult,' 'impossible,' 'I cannot' will +disappear from your vocabulary. Their place will be taken by this +phrase: 'It is easy and I can.' So, considering your work easy, even +if it is difficult to others, it will become easy to you. You will do +it easily, without effort and without fatigue." +</P> + +<P> +These general suggestions were succeeded by particular suggestions +referring to the special ailments from which Coué's patients were +suffering. Taking each case in turn, he allowed his hand to rest +lightly on the heads of the sufferers, while picturing to their minds +the health and vigour with which they would soon be endowed. Thus to a +woman with an ulcerated leg he spoke as follows: "Henceforth your +organism will do all that is necessary to restore your leg to perfect +health. It will rapidly heal; the tissues will regain their tone; the +skin will be soft and healthy. In a short space of time your leg will +be vigorous and strong and will in future always remain so." Each +special complaint was thus treated with a few appropriate phrases. +When he had finished, and the patients were called on to open their +eyes, a faint sigh went round the room, as if they were awaking +reluctantly from a delicious dream. +</P> + +<P> +Coué now explained to his patients that he possessed no healing powers, +and had never healed a person in his life. They carried in themselves +the instrument of their own well-being. The results they had seen were +due to the realisation of each patient's own thought. He had been +merely an agent calling the ideas of health into their minds. +Henceforth they could, and must, be the pilots of their own destiny. +He then requested them to repeat, under conditions which will be later +defined, the phrase with which his name is associated: "Day by day, in +every way, I'm getting better and better."[<A NAME="chap01fn1text"></A><A HREF="#chap01fn1">1</A>] +</P> + +<P> +The sitting was at an end. The patients rose and crowded round Coué, +asking questions, thanking him, shaking him by the hand. Some declared +they were already cured, some that they were much better, others that +they were confident of cure in the future. It was as if a burden of +depression had fallen from their minds. Those who had entered with +minds crushed and oppressed went out with hope and optimism shining in +their faces. +</P> + +<P> +But Coué waved aside these too insistent admirers, and, beckoning to +the three patients who could not walk, led them to a corner of the +garden where there was a stretch of gravel path running beneath the +boughs of fruit trees. Once more impressing on their minds the thought +of strength and power, he induced each one to walk without support down +this path. He now invited them to run. They hesitated, but he +insisted, telling them that they could run, that they ought to run, +that they had but to believe in their own power, and their thought +would be manifested in action. +</P> + +<P> +They started rather uncertainly, but Coué followed them with persistent +encouragements. They began to raise their heads, to lift their feet +from the ground and run with greater freedom and confidence. Turning +at the end of the path they came back at a fair pace. Their movements +were not elegant, but people on the further side of fifty are rarely +elegant runners. It was a surprising sight to see these three +sufferers who had hobbled to the clinic on sticks now covering the +ground at a full five miles an hour, and laughing heartily at +themselves as they ran. The crowd of patients who had collected broke +into a spontaneous cheer, and Coué, slipping modestly away, returned to +the fresh company of sufferers who awaited him within. +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap01fn1"></A> +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[<A HREF="#chap01fn1text">1</A>] The translation given here of Coué's formula differs slightly from +that popularised in England during his visit of November, 1921. The +above, however, is the English version which he considers most suitable. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap02"></A> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER II +</H4> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +A FEW OF COUÉ'S CURES +</H3> + +<P> +To give the reader a better idea of the results which Induced +Autosuggestion is yielding, I shall here describe a few further cases +of which I was myself in some part a witness, and thereafter let some +of Coué's patients speak for themselves through the medium of their +letters. +</P> + +<P> +At one of the morning consultations which I subsequently attended was a +woman who had suffered for five years with dyspepsia. The trouble had +recently become so acute that even the milk diet to which she was now +reduced caused her extreme discomfort. Consequently she had become +extremely thin and anaemic, was listless, easily tired, and suffered +from depression. Early in the proceedings the accounts given by +several patients of the relief they had obtained seemed to appeal to +her imagination. She followed Coué's remarks with keen interest, +answered his questions vivaciously, and laughed very heartily at the +amusing incidents with which the proceedings were interspersed. About +five o'clock on the same afternoon I happened to be sitting with Coué +when this woman asked to see him. Beaming with satisfaction, she was +shown into the room. She reported that on leaving the clinic she had +gone to a restaurant in the town and ordered a table d'hôte luncheon. +Conscientiously she had partaken of every course from the hors +d'oeuvres to the café noir. The meal had been concluded at 1.30, and +she had so far experienced no trace of discomfort. A few days later +this woman returned to the clinic to report that the dyspepsia had +shown no signs of reappearing; that her health and spirits were +improving, and that she looked upon herself as cured. +</P> + +<P> +On another occasion one of the patients complained of asthma. The +paroxysms destroyed his sleep at night and prevented him from +performing any task which entailed exertion. Walking upstairs was a +slow process attended by considerable distress. The experiment with +the hands was so successfully performed that Coué assured him of +immediate relief. +</P> + +<P> +"Before you go," he said, "you will run up and down those stairs +without suffering any inconvenience." +</P> + +<P> +At the close of the consultation, under the influence of the suggestion +"I can," the patient did this without difficulty. That night the +trouble recurred in a mild form, but he continued to attend the clinic +and to practise the exercises at home, and within a fortnight the +asthma had finally left him. +</P> + +<P> +Among other patients with whom I conversed was a young man suffering +from curvature of the spine. He had been attending the clinic for four +months and practising the method at home. His doctor assured him that +the spine was gradually resuming its normal position. A girl of +twenty-two had suffered from childhood with epileptic fits, recurring +at intervals of a few weeks. Since her first visit to the clinic six +months previously the fits had ceased. +</P> + +<P> +But the soundest testimony to the power of Induced Autosuggestion is +that borne by the patients themselves. Here are a few extracts from +letters received by Coué: +</P> + +<P> +"At the age of sixty-three, attacked for more than thirty years by +asthma and all the complications attendant upon it, I spent +three-quarters of the night sitting on my bed inhaling the smoke of +anti-asthma powders. Afflicted with almost daily attacks, especially +during the cold and damp seasons, I was unable to walk—I could not +even <I>go down hill</I>. +</P> + +<P> +Nowadays I have splendid nights, and have put the powders in a drawer. +Without the slightest hesitation I can go upstairs to the first floor." +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +D. (Mont de Marsan.)<BR> +15 <I>December</I>, 1921.<BR> +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +"Yesterday I felt really better, that is to say, of my fever, so I +decided to go back to my doctor, whom I had not seen since the summer. +The examination showed a normal appendix. On the other hand, the +bladder is still painful, but is better. At any rate, there is at +present no question of the operation which had worried me so much. I +am convinced that I shall cure myself completely." +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +M. D. (Mulhouse.)<BR> +24 <I>September</I>, 1921.<BR> +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +"I have very good news to give you of your dipsomaniac—she is cured, +and asserts it herself to all who will listen. She told me yesterday +that for fourteen years she had not been so long without drink as she +has been lately, and what surprises her so much is that she has not had +to struggle against a desire; she has simply not felt the need of +drink. Further, her sleep continues to be splendid. She is getting +more and more calm, in spite of the fact that on several occasions her +sang-froid has been severely tested. To put the matter in a nutshell, +she is a changed woman. But what impresses me most is the fact that +when she took to your method she thought herself at the end of her +tether, and in the event of its doing her no good had decided to kill +herself (she had already attempted it once)." +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +P. (a Paris doctor.)<BR> +1 <I>February</I>, 1922.<BR> +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +"For eight years I suffered with prolapse of the uterus. I have used +your method of Autosuggestion for the last five months, and am now +completely cured, for which I do not know how to thank you enough." +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +S. (Toul).[<A NAME="chap02fn1text"></A><A HREF="#chap02fn1">1</A>]<BR> +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +"I have a son who came back from Germany very anaemic and suffering +from terrible depression. He went to see you for a short time, and now +is as well as possible. Please accept my best thanks. I have also a +little cousin whom you have cured. He had a nervous illness, and had +become, so to speak, unconscious of what was going on around him. He +is now completely cured." +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +S. E. (Circourt, Vosges.)<BR> +19 <I>October</I>, 1921.<BR> +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +"My wife and I have waited nearly a year to thank you for the +marvellous cure which your method has accomplished. The very violent +attacks of asthma from which my wife suffered have completely +disappeared since the visit you paid us last spring. The first few +weeks my wife experienced temporary oppression and even the beginnings +of an attack, which, however, she was able to ward off within a few +minutes by practising Autosuggestion. +</P> + +<P> +In spite of her great desire to thank you sooner my wife wished to add +more weight to her testimony by waiting for nearly a year. But the bad +time for asthma has not brought the slightest hint of the terrible +attacks from which you saved her." +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +J. H. (Saarbruck.)<BR> +23 <I>December</I>, 1921.<BR> +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +"All the morbid symptoms from which I used to suffer have disappeared. +I used to feel as though I had a band of iron across my brain which +seemed to be red-hot; added to this I had heartburn and bad nights with +fearful dreams; further, I was subject to severe nervous attacks which +went on for months. I felt as though pegs were being driven into the +sides of my head and nape of my neck, and when I felt I could not +endure these agonies any longer a feeling would come as if my brain +were being smothered in a blanket. All these pains came and went. I +had sometimes one, sometimes others. There were occasions when I +wanted to die—my sufferings were so acute, and I had to struggle +against the idea with great firmness. +</P> + +<P> +At last, having spent five weeks at Nancy attending your kindly +sittings, I have profited so well as to be able to return home in a +state of normal health." +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +N. (Pithiviviers le Vieil.)<BR> +16 <I>August</I>, 1921.<BR> +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +"After having undergone four operations on the left leg for local +tuberculosis I fell a victim once more to the same trouble on 1 +September, 1920. Several doctors whom I consulted declared a new +operation necessary. My leg was to be opened from the knee to the +ankle, and if the operation failed nothing remained but an amputation. +</P> + +<P> +Having heard of your cures, I came to see you for the first time on 6 +November, 1920. After the sitting I felt at once a little better. I +followed your instructions exactly, visiting you three times. At the +third time I was able to tell you that I was completely cured." +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +L. (Herny, Lorraine.)<BR> +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +"I am happy to tell you that a bunion that I had on my foot, which grew +to a considerable size and gave me the most acute pain for over fifteen +years, has gone." +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +L. G. (Caudéran, Gironde.)<BR> +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +"I cannot leave France without letting you know how grateful I feel for +the immense service you have rendered me and mine. I only wish I had +met you years ago. Practically throughout my career my curse has been +a lack of continuous self-control. +</P> + +<P> +I have been accused of being almost brilliant at times, only to be +followed by periodic relapses into a condition of semi-imbecility and +self-indulgence. +</P> + +<P> +I have done my best to ruin a magnificent constitution, and have wasted +the abilities bestowed upon me. In a few short days you have made +me—and I feel permanently—master of myself. How can I thank you +sufficiently? +</P> + +<P> +The rapidity of my complete cure may have been due to what at the time +I regarded as an unfortunate accident. Slipping on the snow-covered +steps of the train when alighting, I sprained my right knee badly. At +the breakfast table, before paying you my first visit, a fellow-guest +said to me: 'Tell Monsieur Coué about it. He will put it all right.' +</P> + +<P> +I laughed and said 'Umph!' to myself, and more for the fun of the thing +than anything else did tell you. I remember you remarking 'That's +nothing,' and passing on to the more serious part of our conversation, +preliminary to commencing your lecture to the assembled patients. +</P> + +<P> +I became more than interested, and when at the conclusion you suddenly +turned round and asked me: 'How's your knee?' (not having alluded to +knees in particular), and I discovered there <I>wasn't</I> a knee, I laughed +again, as did those who saw me hobble into your room; but I laughed +this time from a sense of bewildered surprise and dawning belief. This +belief you very soon firmly implanted in me." +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +G. H. (London.)<BR> +11 <I>January</I>, 1922.<BR> +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap02fn1"></A> +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[<A HREF="#chap02fn1text">1</A>] This letter, together with the two quoted on page 34, is reprinted +from the <I>Bulletin de la Société Lorraine de Psychologie Appliquée</I> of +April, 1921. They were received by Coué during the preceding three +months. The other letters were communicated to me privately by Coué +and bear their original dates. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap03"></A> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER III +</H4> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE CHILDREN'S CLINIC +</H3> + +<P> +In different parts of France a little band of workers, recruited almost +exclusively from the ranks of former patients, is propagating the ideas +of Emile Coué with a success which almost rivals that of their master. +Among these helpers none is more devoted or more eminently successful +than Mlle. Kauffmant. She it is who, at the time of my visit, was +managing the children's department of the Nancy clinic.[<A NAME="chap03fn1text"></A><A HREF="#chap03fn1">1</A>] +</P> + +<P> +While Coué was holding his consultations on the ground floor, young +mothers in twos and threes, with their babies in their arms, could be +seen ascending to the upper story, where a little drama was performed +of a very different nature from that going on below. +</P> + +<P> +In a large room, decorated with bright pictures and equipped with toys, +a number of silent young women were seated in a wide circle. Their +sick children lay in their arms or played at their feet. Here was a +child whose life was choked at the source by hereditary disease—a +small bundle of skin and bone with limbs like bamboo canes. Another +lay motionless with closed eyes and a deathly face, as if pining to +return to the world it came from. A little cripple dragged behind it a +deformed leg as it tried to crawl, and near by a child of five was +beating the air with its thin arms in an exhausting nervous storm. +Older children were also present, suffering from eye and ear trouble, +epilepsy, rickets, any one of the ailments, grave or slight, to which +growing life is subjected. +</P> + +<P> +In the centre of this circle sat a young woman with dark hair and a +kindly keen face. On her lap was a little boy of four years with a +club foot. As she gently caressed the foot, from which the clumsy boot +had been removed, she told in a crooning tone, mingled with endearing +phrases, of the rapid improvement which had already begun and would +soon be complete. The foot was getting better; the joints were more +supple and bent with greater ease; the muscles were developing, the +tendons were drawing the foot into the right shape and making it +straight and strong. Soon it would be perfectly normal; the little one +would walk and run, play with other children, skip and bowl hoops. He +would go to school and learn his lessons, would be intelligent and +receptive. She told him too that he was growing obedient, cheerful, +kind to others, truthful and courageous. The little boy had put one +arm round her neck and was listening with a placid smile. His face was +quite contented; he was enjoying himself. +</P> + +<P> +While Mlle. Kauffmant was thus engaged, the women sat silent watching +her intently, each perhaps mentally seeing her own little one endowed +with the qualities depicted. The children were quiet, some dreamily +listening, some tranquilly playing with a toy. Except for an +occasional word of advice Mademoiselle was quite indifferent to them. +Her whole attention was given to the child on her knee; her thought +went out to him in a continual stream, borne along by a current of love +and compassion, for she has devoted her life to the children and loves +them as if they were her own. The atmosphere of the room was more like +that of a church than a hospital. The mothers seemed to have left +their sorrows outside. Their faces showed in varying degrees an +expression of quiet confidence. +</P> + +<P> +When this treatment had continued for about ten minutes, Mlle. +Kauffmant returned the child to its mother and, after giving her a few +words of advice, turned to her next patient. This was an infant of +less than twelve months. While suffering from no specific disease it +was continually ailing. It was below normal weight, various foods had +been tried unsuccessfully, and medical advice had failed to bring about +an improvement. Mademoiselle resumed her seat with the child on her +lap. For some time the caresses, which were applied to the child's +head and body, continued in silence. Then she began to talk to it. +Her talk did not consist of connected sentences, as with the elder +child who had learned to speak, but of murmured assurances, as if her +thoughts were taking unconsciously the form of words. These +suggestions were more general than in the previous case, bearing on +appetite, digestion, assimilation, and on desirable mental and moral +qualities. The caress continued for about ten minutes, the speech was +intermittent, then the infant was returned to its mother and +Mademoiselle turned her attention to another little sufferer. +</P> + +<P> +With patients who are not yet old enough to speak Mlle. Kauffmant +sometimes trusts to the caress alone. It seems to transmit the +thoughts of health quite strongly enough to turn the balance in the +child's mind on the side of health. But all mothers talk to their +children long before the words they use are understood, and Mlle. +Kauffmant, whose attitude is essentially maternal, reserves to herself +the same right. She adheres to no rigid rule; if she wishes to speak +aloud she does so, even when the child cannot grasp the meaning of her +words. +</P> + +<P> +This is perhaps the secret of her success: her method is plastic like +the minds she works on. Coué's material—the adult mind—is more +stable. It demands a clear-cut, distinct method, and leaves less room +for adaptation; but the aim of Mlle. Kauffmant is to fill the child +within and enwrap it without with the creative thoughts of health and +joy. To this end she enlists any and every means within her power. +The child itself, as soon as it is old enough to speak, is required to +say, morning and night, the general formula: "Day by day, in every way, +I'm getting better and better." If it is confined to its bed, it is +encouraged to repeat this at any time and to make suggestions of health +similar to those formulated in the sittings. No special directions are +given as to how this should be done. Elaborate instructions would only +introduce hindersome complications. Imagination, the power to pretend, +is naturally strong and active in all children, and intuitively they +make use of it in their autosuggestions. Moreover, they unconsciously +imitate the tone and manner of their instructress. +</P> + +<P> +But the centre of the child's universe is the mother. Any system which +did not utilise her influence would be losing its most powerful ally. +The mother is encouraged during the day to set an example of +cheerfulness and confidence, to allude to the malady only in terms of +encouragement—so renewing in the child's mind the prospect of +recovery—and to exclude as far as possible all depressing influences +from its vicinity. At night she is required to enter the child's +bedchamber without waking the little one and to whisper good +suggestions into its sleeping ear. Thus Mlle. Kauffmant concentrates a +multiplicity of means to bring about the same result. In this she is +aided by the extreme acceptivity of the child's mind, and by the +absence of that mass of pernicious spontaneous suggestions which in the +adult mind have to be neutralised and transformed. It is in children, +then, that the most encouraging results may be expected. I will quote +three cases which I myself investigated to show the kind of results +Mlle. Kauffmant obtains: +</P> + +<P> +A little girl was born without the power of sight. The visual organs +were intact, but she was incapable of lifting her eye-lids and so +remained blind to all intents and purposes up to her seventh year. She +was then brought by the mother to Mlle. Kauffmant. After a fortnight's +treatment the child began to blink; gradually this action became more +frequent, and a month after the treatment began she could see well +enough to find her way unaided about the streets. When I saw her she +had learnt to distinguish colours—as my own experiments proved—and +was actually playing ball. The details supplied by Mlle. Kauffmant +were confirmed by the mother. +</P> + +<P> +A child was born whose tuberculous father had died during the mother's +pregnancy. Of five brothers and sisters none had survived the first +year. The doctors to whom the child was taken held out no hope for its +life. It survived, however, to the age of two, but was crippled and +nearly blind, in addition to internal weaknesses. It was then brought +to Mlle. Kauffmant. Three months later, when I saw it, nothing +remained of its troubles but a slight squint and a stiffness in one of +its knee-joints. These conditions, too, were rapidly diminishing. +</P> + +<P> +Another child, about nine years of age, also of tuberculous parents, +was placed under her treatment. One leg was an inch and a half shorter +than the other. After a few months' treatment this disparity had +almost disappeared. The same child had a wound, also of tuberculous +origin, on the small of the back, which healed over in a few weeks and +had completely disappeared when I saw her. +</P> + +<P> +In each of the above cases the general state of health showed a great +improvement. The child put on weight, was cheerful and bright even +under the trying conditions of convalescence in a poverty-stricken +home, and in character and disposition fully realised the suggestions +formulated to it. +</P> + +<P> +Since the suggestions of Mlle. Kauffmant are applied individually, the +mothers were permitted to enter and leave the clinic at any time they +wished. Mademoiselle was present on certain days every week, but this +was not the sum of her labours. The greater part of her spare time was +spent in visiting the little ones in their own homes. She penetrated +into the dingiest tenements, the poorest slums, on this errand of +mercy. I was able to accompany her on several of these visits, and saw +her everywhere received not only with welcome, but with a respect akin +to awe. She was regarded, almost as much as Coué himself, as a worker +of miracles. But the reputation of both Coué and Mlle. Kauffmant rests +on a broader basis even than autosuggestion, namely on their great +goodness of heart. +</P> + +<P> +They have placed not only their private means, but their whole life at +the service of others. Neither ever accepts a penny-piece for the +treatments they give, and I have never seen Coué refuse to give a +treatment at however awkward an hour the subject may have asked it. +The fame of the school has now spread to all parts not only of France, +but of Europe and America. Coué's work has assumed such proportions +that his time is taken up often to the extent of fifteen or sixteen +hours a day. He is now nearing his seventieth year, but thanks to the +health-giving powers of his own method he is able to keep abreast of +his work without any sign of fatigue and without the clouding of his +habitual cheerfulness by even the shadow of a complaint. In fact, he +is a living monument to the efficacy of Induced Autosuggestion. +</P> + +<P> +It will be seen that Induced Autosuggestion is a method by which the +mind can act directly upon itself and upon the body to produce whatever +improvements, in reason, we desire. That it is efficient and +successful should be manifest from what has gone before. Of all the +questions which arise, the most urgent from the viewpoint of the +average man seems to be this—Is a suggester necessary? Must one +submit oneself to the influence of some other person, or can one in the +privacy of one's own chamber exercise with equal success this potent +instrument of health? +</P> + +<P> +Coué's own opinion has already been quoted. Induced Autosuggestion is +<I>not</I> dependent upon the mediation of another person. We can practise +it for ourselves without others being even aware of what we are doing, +and without devoting to it more than a few minutes of each day. +</P> + +<P> +Here are a few quotations from letters written by those who have thus +practised it for themselves. +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +"For a good many years now a rheumatic right shoulder has made it +impossible for me to sleep on my right side and it seriously affected, +and increasingly so, the use of my right arm. A masseuse told me she +could effect no permanent improvement as there was granulation of the +joints and a lesion. I suddenly realised two days ago that this +shoulder no longer troubled me and that I was sleeping on that side +without any pain. I have now lost any sensation of rheumatism in this +shoulder and can get my right arm back as far as the other without the +slightest twinge or discomfort. I have not applied any remedy or done +anything that could possibly have worked these results except my +practise of Coué." +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +L. S. (Sidmouth, Devon).<BR> +1 <I>January</I>, 1922.<BR> +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +"At my suggestion a lady friend of mine who had been ill for a good ten +years read <I>La Maîtrise de soi-meme</I>. I encouraged her as well as I +could, and in a month she was transformed. Her husband, returning from +a long journey, could not believe his eyes. This woman who never got +up till midday, who never left the fire-side, whom the doctors had +given up, now goes out at 10 a.m. even in the greatest cold. Other +friends are anxiously waiting to read your pamphlet. +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +L. C. (Paris).<BR> +17 <I>December</I>, 1921.<BR> +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +"I am very much interested in your method, and since your lecture I +have, every night and morning, repeated your little phrase. I used to +have to take a pill every night, but now my constipation is cured and +the pills are no longer necessary. My wife is also much better in +every way. We've both got the bit of string with twenty knots." +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +H. (a London doctor).<BR> +7 <I>January</I>, 1922.<BR> +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +"Your method is doing me more good every day. I don't know how to +thank you for the happiness I now experience. I shall never give up +repeating the little phrase." +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +E. B. Guiévain (Belgium).<BR> +23 <I>November</I>, 1921.<BR> +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +"I have followed your principles for several months and freed myself +from a terrible state of neurasthenia which was the despair of my three +doctors." +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +G. (Angoulême).<BR> +23 <I>January</I>, 1922.<BR> +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +"My friend Miss C. completely cured herself of a rheumatic shoulder and +knee in a very short time, and then proceeded to turn her attention to +her eyesight. +</P> + +<P> +She had worn spectacles for 30 years and her left eye was much more +short-sighted than her right. When she began she could only read +(without her glasses and with her left eye) when the book was almost +touching her face. In six weeks she had extended the limit of vision +so that she saw as far with the left as formerly with the right. +Meanwhile the right had improved equally. She measured the distances +every week, and when she was here a few days ago she told me she had in +three days gained 4 centimetres with her left and 6 centimetres with +her right eye. She had done this on her own." +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +G. (London).<BR> +5 <I>January</I>, 1922.<BR> +</P> + +<BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap03fn1"></A> +<P CLASS="footnote"> +[<A HREF="#chap03fn1text">1</A>] Since this time (July, 1921), the clinic has been in some respects +reorganized and Mlle. Kauffmant is now pursuing her work independently. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap04"></A> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +II +</H2> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +THE NATURE OF AUTOSUGGESTION +</H2> + +<BR><BR> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER IV +</H4> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THOUGHT IS A FORCE +</H3> + +<P> +Autosuggestion is not a pseudo-religion like Christian Science or "New +Thought." It is a scientific method based on the discoveries of +psychology. The traditional psychology was regarded by the layman, not +without some cause, as a dull and seemingly useless classification of +our conscious faculties. But within the past twenty-five years the +science has undergone a great change. A revolution has taken place in +it which seems likely to provoke a revolution equally profound in the +wider limits of our common life. From a preoccupation with the +conscious it has turned to the Unconscious (or subconscious), to the +vast area of mental activity which exists outside the circle of our +awareness. In doing so it has grasped at the very roots of life +itself, has groped down to the depths where the "life-force," the élan +vital, touches our individual being. What this may entail in the +future we can only dimly guess. Just as the discovery of America +altered the balance of the Old World, shifting it westward to the +shores of the Atlantic, so the discovery and investigation of the +Unconscious seems destined to shift the balance of human life. +</P> + +<P> +Obviously, this is no place to embark on the discussion of a subject of +such extreme complexity. The investigation of the Unconscious is a +science in itself, in which different schools of thought are seeking to +disengage a basis of fact from conflicting and daily changing theories. +But there is a certain body of fact, experimentally proven, on which +the authorities agree, and of this we quote a few features which +directly interest us as students of autosuggestion. +</P> + +<P> +The Unconscious is the storehouse of memory, where every impression we +receive from earliest infancy to the last hour of life is recorded with +the minutest accuracy. These memories, however, are not inert and +quiescent, like the marks on the vulcanite records of a gramophone; +they are vitally active, each one forming a thread in the texture of +our personality. The sum of all these impressions is the man himself, +the ego, the form through which the general life is individualised. +The outer man is but a mask; the real self dwells behind the veil of +the Unconscious. +</P> + +<P> +The Unconscious is also a power-house. It is dominated by feeling, and +feeling is the force which impels our lives. It provides the energy +for conscious thought and action, and for the performance of the vital +processes of the body. +</P> + +<P> +Finally the Unconscious plays the part of supervisor over our physical +processes. Digestion, assimilation, the circulation of the blood, the +action of the lungs, the kidneys and all the vital organs are +controlled by its agency. Our organism is not a clockwork machine +which once wound up will run of itself. Its processes in all their +complexity are supervised by mind. It is not the intellect, however, +which does this work, but the Unconscious. The intellect still stands +aghast before the problem of the human body, lost like Pascal in the +profundities of analysis, each discovery only revealing new depths of +mystery. But the Unconscious seems to be familiar with it in every +detail. +</P> + +<P> +It may be added that the Unconscious never sleeps; during the sleep of +the conscious it seems to be more vigilant than during our waking hours. +</P> + +<P> +In comparison with these, the powers of the conscious mind seem almost +insignificant. Derived from the Unconscious during the process of +evolution, the conscious is, as it were, the antechamber where the +crude energies of the Unconscious are selected and adapted for action +on the world outside us. In the past we have unduly exaggerated the +importance of the conscious intellect. To claim for it the discoveries +of civilisation is to confuse the instrument with the agent, to +attribute sight to the field-glass instead of to the eye behind it. +The value of the conscious mind must not be underrated, however. It is +a machine of the greatest value, the seat of reason, the social +instincts and moral concepts. But it <I>is</I> a machine and not the +engine, nor yet the engineer. It provides neither material nor power. +These are furnished by the Unconscious. +</P> + +<P> +These two strata of mental life are in perpetual interaction one with +the other. Just as everything conscious has its preliminary step in +the Unconscious, so every conscious thought passes down into the lower +stratum and there becomes an element in our being, partaking of the +Unconscious energy, and playing its part in supervising and determining +our mental and bodily states. If it is a healthful thought we are so +much the better; if it is a diseased one we are so much the worse. It +is this transformation of a thought into an element of our life that we +call Autosuggestion. Since this is a normal part of the mind's action +we shall have no difficulty in finding evidence of it in our daily +experiences. +</P> + +<P> +Walking down the street in a gloomy frame of mind you meet a buoyant, +cheery acquaintance. The mere sight of his genial smile acts on you +like a tonic, and when you have chatted with him for a few minutes your +gloom has disappeared, giving place to cheerfulness and confidence. +What has effected this change?—Nothing other than the idea in your own +mind. As you watched his face, listened to his good-natured voice, +noticed the play of his smile, your conscious mind was occupied by the +idea of cheerfulness. This idea on being transferred to the +Unconscious became a reality, so that without any logical grounds you +became cheerful. +</P> + +<P> +Few people, especially young people, are unacquainted with the effects +produced by hearing or reading ghost-stories. You have spent the +evening, let us say, at a friend's house, listening to terrifying tales +of apparitions. At a late hour you leave the fireside circle to make +your way home. The states of fear imaged before your mind have +realised themselves in your Unconscious. You tread gingerly in the +dark places, hurry past the churchyard and feel a distinct relief when +the lights of home come into view. It is the old road you have so +often traversed with perfect equanimity, but its cheerful associations +are overlooked and the commonest objects tinged with the colour of your +subjective states. Autosuggestion cannot change a post into a spectre, +but if you are very impressionable it will so distort your sensory +impressions that common sounds seem charged with supernatural +significance and every-day objects take on terrifying shapes. +</P> + +<P> +In each of the above examples the idea of a mental state—cheerfulness +or fear—was presented to the mind. The idea on reaching the +Unconscious became a reality; that is to say, you actually became +cheerful or frightened. +</P> + +<P> +The same process is much easier to recognise where the resultant is not +a mental but a bodily state. +</P> + +<P> +One often meets people who take a delight in describing with a wealth +of detail the disorders with which they or their friends are afflicted. +A sensitive person is condemned by social usage to listen to a +harrowing account of some grave malady. As detail succeeds detail the +listener feels a chilly discomfort stealing over him. He turns pale, +breaks into a cold perspiration, and is aware of an unpleasant +sensation at the pit of the stomach. Sometimes, generally where the +listener is a child, actual vomiting or a fainting fit may ensue. +These effects are undeniably physical; to produce them the organic +processes must have been sensibly disturbed. Yet their cause lies +entirely in the idea of illness, which, ruthlessly impressed upon the +mind, realises itself in the Unconscious. +</P> + +<P> +This effect may be so precise as to reproduce the actual symptoms of +the disease described. Medical students engaged in the study of some +particular malady frequently develop its characteristic symptoms. +</P> + +<P> +Everyone is acquainted with the experience known as "stage fright." +The victim may be a normal person, healthy both in mind and body. He +may possess in private life a good voice, a mind fertile in ideas and a +gift of fluent expression. He may know quite surely that his audience +is friendly and sympathetic to the ideas he wishes to unfold. But let +him mount the steps of a platform. Immediately his knees begin to +tremble and his heart to palpitate; his mind becomes a blank or a +chaos, his tongue and lips refuse to frame coherent sounds, and after a +few stammerings he is forced to make a ludicrous withdrawal. The cause +of this baffling experience lay in the thoughts which occupied the +subject's mind before his public appearance. He was afraid of making +himself ridiculous. He expected to feel uncomfortable, feared that he +would forget his speech or be unable to express himself. These +negative ideas, penetrating to the Unconscious, realised themselves and +precisely what he feared took place. +</P> + +<P> +If you live in a town you have probably seen people who, in carelessly +crossing the street, find themselves in danger of being run down by a +vehicle. In this position they sometimes stand for an appreciable time +"rooted," as we say, "to the spot." This is because the danger seems +so close that they imagine themselves powerless to elude it. As soon +as this idea gives place to that of escape they get out of the way as +fast as they can. If their first idea persisted, however, the actual +powerlessness resulting from it would likewise persist, and unless the +vehicle stopped or turned aside they would infallibly be run over. +</P> + +<P> +One occasionally meets people suffering from a nervous complaint known +as St. Vitus' Dance. They have a disconcerting habit of contorting +their faces, screwing round their necks or twitching their shoulders. +It is a well known fact that those who come into close contact with +them, living in the same house or working in the same office, are +liable to contract the same habit, often performing the action without +themselves being aware of it. This is due to the operation of the same +law. The idea of the habit, being repeatedly presented to their minds, +realises itself, and they begin to perform a similar movement in their +own persons. +</P> + +<P> +Examples of this law present themselves at every turn. Have you ever +asked yourself why some people faint at the sight of blood, or why most +of us turn giddy when we look down from a great height? +</P> + +<P> +If we turn to the sufferers from neurosis we find some who have lost +their powers of speech or of vision; some, like the blacksmith we saw +in Coué's clinic, who have lost the use of their limbs; others +suffering from a functional disturbance of one of the vital organs. +The cause in each case is nothing more tangible than an idea which has +become realised in the Unconscious mind. +</P> + +<P> +These instances show clearly enough that the thoughts we think do +actually become realities in the Unconscious. But is this a universal +law, operating in every life, or merely something contingent and +occasional? Sometimes irrelevant cheerfulness seems only to make +despondency more deep. Certain types of individual are only irritated +by the performance of a stage comedy. Physicians listen to the +circumstantial accounts of their patients' ailments without being in +the least upset. These facts seem at first sight at variance with the +rule. But they are only apparent exceptions which serve to test and +verify it. The physical or mental effect invariably corresponds with +the idea present in the mind, but this need not be identical with the +thought communicated from without. Sometimes a judgment interposes +itself, or it may be that the idea calls up an associated idea which +possesses greater vitality and therefore dislodges it. A gloomy person +who meets a cheerful acquaintance may mentally contrast himself with +the latter, setting his own troubles beside the other's good fortune, +his own grounds for sadness beside the other's grounds for +satisfaction. Thus the idea of his own unhappiness is strengthened and +sinking into the Unconscious makes still deeper the despondency he +experienced before. In the same way the doctor, listening to the +symptoms of a patient, does not allow these distressful ideas to dwell +in his conscious mind. His thought passes on immediately to the +remedy, to the idea of the help he must give. Not only does he +manifest this helpfulness in reasoned action, but also, by Unconscious +realisation, in his very bearing and manner. Or his mind may be +concentrated on the scientific bearings of the case, so that he will +involuntarily treat the patient as a specimen on which to pursue his +researches. The steeplejack experiences no giddiness or fear in +scaling a church spire because the thought of danger is immediately +replaced by the knowledge of his own clear head and sure foot. +</P> + +<P> +This brings us to a point which is of great practical importance in the +performance of curative autosuggestion. No idea presented to the mind +can realise itself unless the mind accepts it. +</P> + +<P> +Most of the errors made hitherto in this field have been due to the +neglect of this fundamental fact. If a patient is suffering from +severe toothache it is not of the slightest use to say to him: "You +have no pain." The statement is so grossly opposed to the fact that +"acceptation" is impossible. The patient will reject the suggestion, +affirm the fact of his suffering, and so, by allowing his conscious +mind to dwell on it, probably make it more intense. +</P> + +<P> +We are now in a position to formulate the basic law of autosuggestion +as follows:— +</P> + +<P> +<I>Every idea which enters the conscious mind, if it is accepted by the +Unconscious, is transformed by it into a reality and forms henceforth a +permanent element in our life</I>. +</P> + +<P> +This is the process called "Spontaneous Autosuggestion." It is a law +by which the mind of man has always worked, and by which all our minds +are working daily. +</P> + +<P> +The reader will see from the examples cited and from others which he +will constantly meet that the thoughts we think determine not only our +mental states, our sentiments and emotions, but the delicate actions +and adjustments of our physical bodies. Trembling, palpitation, +stammering, blushing—not to speak of the pathological states which +occur in neurosis—are due to modifications and changes in the +blood-flow, in muscular action and in the working of the vital organs. +These changes are not voluntary and conscious ones, they are determined +by the Unconscious and come to us often with a shock of surprise. +</P> + +<P> +It must be evident that if we fill our conscious minds with ideas of +health, joy, goodness, efficiency, and can ensure their acceptation by +the Unconscious, these ideas too will become realities, capable of +lifting us on to a new plane of being. The difficulty which has +hitherto so frequently brought these hopes to naught is that of +ensuring acceptation. This will be treated in the next chapter. +</P> + +<P> +To sum up, the whole process of Autosuggestion consists of two steps: +(1) The acceptation of an idea. (2) Its transformation into a reality. +Both these operations are performed by the Unconscious. Whether the +idea is originated in the mind of the subject or is presented from +without by the agency of another person is a matter of indifference. +In both cases it undergoes the same process: it is submitted to the +Unconscious, accepted or rejected, and so either realised or ignored. +Thus the distinction between Autosuggestion and Heterosuggestion is +seen to be both arbitrary and superficial. In essentials all +suggestion is Autosuggestion. The only distinction we need make is +between Spontaneous Autosuggestion, which takes place independently of +our will and choice, and Induced Autosuggestion, in which we +consciously select the ideas we wish to realise and purposely convey +them to the Unconscious. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap05"></A> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER V +</H4> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THOUGHT AND THE WILL +</H3> + +<P> +If we can get the Unconscious to accept an idea, realisation follows +automatically. The only difficulty which confronts us in the practice +of Induced Autosuggestion is to ensure acceptation, and that is a +difficulty which no method prior to that of Emile Coué has +satisfactorily surmounted. +</P> + +<P> +Every idea which enters the mind is charged, to a greater or less +extent, with emotion. This emotional charge may be imperceptible, as +with ideas to which we are indifferent, or it may be very great, as +when the idea is closely related to our personal interests. All the +ideas we are likely to make the subjects of Induced Autosuggestion are +of the latter class, since they refer to health, energy, success or +some goal equally dear to our hearts. The greater the degree of +emotion accompanying an idea, the more potent is the autosuggestion +resulting from it. Thus a moment of violent fright may give rise to +effects which last a lifetime. This emotional factor also plays a +large part in securing acceptation. +</P> + +<P> +So far as one can see, the acceptation or rejection of an idea by the +Unconscious depends on the associations with which it is connected. +Thus, an idea is accepted when it evokes similar ideas charged with +emotion of the same quality. It is rejected when it is associated with +contrary ideas, which are, therefore, contrary in their emotional +charge. In the latter case, the original idea is neutralised by its +associations, somewhat in the same way as an acid is neutralised by an +alkali. An example will serve to make this clearer. +</P> + +<P> +You are on a cross-channel boat on a roughish passage. You go up to a +sailor and say to him in a sympathetic tone: "My dear fellow, you're +looking very ill. Aren't you going to be sea-sick?" According to his +temperament he either laughs at your "joke" or expresses a pardonable +irritation. But he does not become sick because the associations +called up are contrary ones. Sea-sickness is associated in his mind +with his own immunity from it, and therefore evokes not fear but +self-confidence. Pursuing your somewhat inhumane experiment you +approach a timid-looking passenger. "My dear sir, how ill you look! I +feel sure you are going to be sea-sick. Let me help you down below." +He turns pale. The word "sea-sickness" associates itself with his own +fears and forebodings. He accepts your aid down to his berth and there +the pernicious autosuggestion is realised. In the first case the idea +was refused, because it was overwhelmed by a contrary association; in +the second the Unconscious accepted it, since it was reinforced by +similar ideas from within. +</P> + +<P> +But supposing to a sick mind, permeated with thoughts of disease, a +thought of health is presented. How can we avoid the malassociation +which tends to neutralise it? +</P> + +<P> +We can think of the Unconscious as a tide which ebbs and flows. In +sleep it seems to submerge the conscious altogether, while at our +moments of full wakefulness, when the attention and will are both at +work, the tide is at its lowest ebb. Between these two extremes are +any number of intermediary levels. When we are drowsy, dreamy, lulled +into a gentle reverie by music or by a picture or a poem, the +Unconscious tide is high; the more wakeful and alert we become the +lower it sinks. This submersion of the conscious mind is called by +Baudouin the "Outcropping of the Subconscious." The highest degree of +outcropping, compatible with the conscious direction of our thoughts, +occurs just before we fall asleep and just after we wake. +</P> + +<P> +It is fairly obvious that the greater the outcropping the more +accessible these dynamic strata of the mind become, and the easier it +is to implant there any idea we wish to realise. +</P> + +<P> +As the Unconscious tide rises the active levels of the mind are +overflowed; thought is released from its task of serving our conscious +aims in the real world of matter, and moves among the more primal +wishes and desires which people the Unconscious, like a diver walking +the strange world beneath the sea. But the laws by which thought is +governed on this sub-surface level are not those of our ordinary waking +consciousness. During outcropping association by contraries does not +seem readily to take place. Thus the mal-association, which +neutralised the desired idea and so prevented acceptation, no longer +presents itself. We all know what happens during a "day-dream" or +"brown-study," when the Unconscious tide is high. A succession of +bright images glides smoothly through the mind. The original thought +spins itself on and on; no obstacles seem to stop it, no questions of +probability arise; we are cut off from the actual conditions of life +and live in a world where all things are possible. These day-dreams +cause very potent autosuggestions, and one should take care that they +are wholesome and innocent; but the important point is that on this +level of consciousness association seems to operate by similarity, and +emotion is comparatively intense. These conditions are highly +favourable to acceptation. +</P> + +<P> +If, on getting into bed at night, we assume a comfortable posture, +relax our muscles and close our eyes, we fall naturally into a stage of +semi-consciousness akin to that of day-dreaming. If now we introduce +into the mind any desired idea, it is freed from the inhibiting +associations of daily life, associates itself by similarity, and +attracts emotion of the same quality as its own charge. The +Unconscious is thus caused to accept it, and inevitably it is turned +into an autosuggestion. Every time we repeat this process the +associative power of the idea is increased, its emotional value grows +greater, and the autosuggestion resulting from it is more powerful. By +this means we can induce the Unconscious to accept an idea, the normal +associations of which are contrary and unfavourable. The person with a +disease-soaked mind can gradually implant ideas of health, filling his +Unconscious daily with healing thoughts. The instrument we use is +Thought, and the condition essential to success is that the conscious +mind shall be lulled to rest. +</P> + +<P> +Systems which hitherto have tried to make use of autosuggestion have +failed to secure reliable results because they did not place their +reliance on Thought, but tried to compel the Unconscious to accept an +idea by exercising the Will. Obviously, such attempts are doomed to +failure. By using the will we automatically wake ourselves up, +suppress the encroaching tide of the Unconscious, and thereby destroy +the condition by which alone we can succeed. +</P> + +<P> +It is worth our while to note more closely how this happens. A +sufferer, whose mind is filled with thoughts of ill-health, sits down +to compel himself to accept a good suggestion. He calls up a thought +of health and makes an effort of the will to impress it on the +Unconscious. This effort restores him to full wakefulness and so +evokes the customary association—disease. Consequently, he finds +himself contemplating the exact opposite of what he desired. He +summons his will again and recalls the healthful thought, but since he +is now wider awake than ever, association is even more rapid and +powerful than before. The disease-thought is now in full possession of +his mind and all the efforts of his will fail to dislodge it. Indeed +the harder he struggles the more fully the evil thought possesses him. +</P> + +<P> +This gives us a glimpse of the new and startling discovery to which +Coué's uniform success is due; namely, that when the will is in +conflict with an idea, the idea invariably gains the day. This is +true, of course, not only of Induced Autosuggestion, but also of the +spontaneous suggestions which occur in daily life. A few examples will +make this clear. +</P> + +<P> +Most of us know how, when we have some difficult duty to perform, a +chance word of discouragement will dwell in the mind, eating away our +self-confidence and attuning our minds to failure. All the efforts of +our will fail to throw it off; indeed, the more we struggle against it +the more we become obsessed with it. +</P> + +<P> +Very similar to this is the state of mind of the person suffering from +stage-fright. He is obsessed with ideas of failure and all the efforts +of his will are powerless to overcome them. Indeed, it is the state of +effort and tension which makes his discomfiture so complete. +</P> + +<P> +Sport offers many examples of the working of this law. +</P> + +<P> +A tennis-player is engaged to play in an important match. He wishes, +of course, to win, but fears that he will lose. Even before the day of +the game his fears begin to realise themselves. He is nervy and "out +of sorts." In fact, the Unconscious is creating the conditions best +suited to realise the thought in his mind—failure. When the game +begins his skill seems to have deserted him. He summons the resources +of his will and tries to compel himself to play well, straining every +nerve to recapture the old dexterity. But all his efforts only make +him play worse and worse. The harder he tries the more signally he +fails. The energy he calls up obeys not his will but the idea in his +mind, not the desire to win but the dominant thought of failure. +</P> + +<P> +The fatal attraction of the bunker for the nervous golfer is due to the +same cause. With his mind's eye he sees his ball alighting in the most +unfavourable spot. He may use any club he likes, he may make a long +drive or a short; as long as the thought of the bunker dominates his +mind, the ball will inevitably find its way into it. The more he calls +on his will to help him, the worse his plight is likely to be. Success +is not gained by effort but by right thinking. The champion golfer or +tennis-player is not a person of herculean frame and immense +will-power. His whole life has been dominated by the thought of +success in the game at which he excels. +</P> + +<P> +Young persons sitting for an examination sometimes undergo this painful +experience. On reading through their papers they find that all their +knowledge has suddenly deserted them. Their mind is an appalling blank +and not one relevant thought can they recall. The more they grit their +teeth and summon the powers of the will, the further the desired ideas +flee. But when they have left the examination-room and the tension +relaxes, the ideas they were seeking flow tantalisingly back into the +mind. Their forgetfulness was due to thoughts of failure previously +nourished in the mind. The application of the will only made the +disaster more complete. +</P> + +<P> +This explains the baffling experience of the drug-taker, the drunkard, +the victim of some vicious craving. His mind is obsessed by the desire +for satisfaction. The efforts of the will to restrain it only make it +more overmastering. Repeated failures convince him at length that he +is powerless to control himself, and this idea, operating as an +autosuggestion, increases his impotence. So in despair, he abandons +himself to his obsession, and his life ends in wreckage. +</P> + +<P> +We can now see, not only that the Will is incapable of vanquishing a +thought, but that as fast as the Will brings up its big guns, Thought +captures them and turns them against it. +</P> + +<P> +This truth, which Baudouin calls the Law of Reversed Effort, is thus +stated by Coué: +</P> + +<P> +"<I>When the Imagination and the Will are in conflict the Imagination +invariably gains the day.</I>" +</P> + +<P> +"<I>In the conflict between the Will and the Imagination, the force of +the Imagination is in direct ratio to the square of the Will.</I>" +</P> + +<P> +The mathematical terms are used, of course, only metaphorically. +</P> + +<P> +Thus the Will turns out to be, not the commanding monarch of life, as +many people would have it, but a blind Samson, capable either of +turning the mill or of pulling down the pillars. +</P> + +<P> +Autosuggestion succeeds by avoiding conflict. It replaces wrong +thought by right, literally applying in the sphere of science the +principle enunciated in the New Testament: "Resist not evil, but +overcome evil with good." +</P> + +<P> +This doctrine is in no sense a negation of the will. It simply puts it +in its right place, subordinates it to a higher power. A moment's +reflection will suffice to show that the will cannot be more than the +servant of thought. We are incapable of exercising the will unless the +imagination has first furnished it with a goal. We cannot simply will, +we must will <I>something</I>, and that something exists in our minds as an +idea. The will acts rightly when it is in harmony with the idea in the +mind. +</P> + +<P> +But what happens when, in the smooth execution of our idea, we are +confronted with an obstacle? This obstacle may exist outside us, as +did the golfer's bunker, but it must also exist as an idea in our minds +or we should not be aware of it. +</P> + +<P> +As long as we allow this mental image to stay there, the efforts of our +will to overcome it only make it more irresistible. We run our heads +against it like a goat butting a brick wall. Indeed, in this way we +can magnify the smallest difficulty until it becomes insurmountable—we +can make mole-hills into mountains. This is precisely what the +neurasthenic does. The idea of a difficulty dwells unchanged in his +mind, and all his efforts to overcome it only increase its dimensions, +until it overpowers him and he faints in the effort to cross a street. +</P> + +<P> +But as soon as we change the idea our troubles vanish. By means of the +intellect we can substitute for the blank idea of the obstacle that of +the means to overcome it. Immediately, the will is brought into +harmony again with thought, and we go forward to the triumphant +attainment of our end. It may be that the means adopted consist of a +frontal attack, the overcoming of an obstacle by force. But before we +bring this force into play, the mind must have approved it—must have +entertained the idea of its probable success. We must, in fact, have +thought of the obstacle as already smashed down and flattened out by +our attack. Otherwise, we should involve ourselves in the conflict +depicted above, and our force would be exhausted in a futile internal +battle. In a frontal attack against an obstacle we use effort, and +effort, to be effective, must be approved by the reason and preceded, +to some extent, by the idea of success. +</P> + +<P> +Thus, even in our dealings with the outside world, Thought is always +master of the will. How much more so when our action is turned inward! +When practising autosuggestion we are living in the mind, where +thoughts are the only realities. We can meet with no obstacle other +than that of Thought itself. Obviously then, the frontal attack, the +exertion of effort, can never be admissible, for it sets the will and +the thought at once in opposition. The turning of our thoughts from +the mere recognition of an obstacle to the idea of the means to +overcome it, is no longer a preliminary, as in the case of outward +action. In itself it clears away the obstacle. By procuring the right +idea our end is already attained. +</P> + +<P> +In applying effort during the practice of Induced Autosuggestion, we +use in the world of mind an instrument fashioned for use in the world +of matter. It is as if we tried to solve a mathematical problem by +mauling the book with a tin-opener. +</P> + +<P> +For two reasons then, effort must never be allowed to intrude during +the practice of autosuggestion: first because it wakes us up and so +suppresses the tide of the Unconscious, secondly because it causes +conflict between Thought and the will. +</P> + +<P> +One other interesting fact emerges from an examination of the foregoing +examples. In each case we find that the idea which occupied the mind +was of a final state, an accomplished fact. The golfer was thinking of +his ball dropping into the bunker, the tennis-player of his defeat, the +examinee of his failure. In each case the Unconscious realised the +thought in its own way, chose inevitably the means best suited to +arrive at its end—the realisation of the idea. In the case of the +golfer the most delicate physical adjustments were necessary. Stance, +grip and swing all contributed their quota, but these physical +adjustments were performed unconsciously, the conscious mind being +unaware of them. From this we see that we need not suggest the way in +which our aim is to be accomplished. If we fill our minds with the +thought of the desired end, provided that end is possible, the +Unconscious will lead us to it by the easiest, most direct path. +</P> + +<P> +Here we catch a glimpse of the truth behind what is called "luck." We +are told that everything comes to him who waits, and this is literally +true, provided he waits in the right frame of mind. Some men are +notoriously lucky in business; whatever they touch seems to "turn to +gold." The secret of their success lies in the fact that they +confidently expect to succeed. There is no need to go so far as the +writers of the school of "New Thought," and claim that suggestion can +set in motion transcendental laws outside man's own nature. It is +quite clear that the man who expects success, of whatever kind it may +be, will unconsciously take up the right attitude to his environment; +will involuntarily close with fleeting opportunity, and by his inner +fitness command the circumstances without. +</P> + +<P> +Man has often been likened to a ship navigating the seas of life. Of +that ship the engine is the will and Thought is the helm. If we are +being directed out of our true course it is worse than useless to call +for full steam ahead; our only hope lies in changing the direction of +the helm. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap06"></A> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +III +</H2> + +<H2 ALIGN="center"> +THE PRACTICE OF AUTOSUGGESTION +</H2> + +<BR><BR> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER VI +</H4> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +GENERAL RULES +</H3> + +<P> +With our knowledge of the powerful effect which an idea produces, we +shall see the importance of exercising a more careful censorship over +the thoughts which enter our minds. Thought is the legislative power +in our lives, just as the will is the executive. We should not think +it wise to permit the inmates of prisons and asylums to occupy the +legislative posts in the state, yet when we harbour ideas of passion +and disease, we allow the criminals and lunatics of thought to usurp +the governing power in the commonwealth of our being. +</P> + +<P> +In future, then, we shall seek ideas of health, success, and goodness; +we shall treat warily all depressing subjects of conversation, the +daily list of crimes and disasters which fill the newspapers, and those +novels, plays and films which harrow our feelings, without transmuting +by the magic of art the sadness into beauty. +</P> + +<P> +This does not mean that we should be always self-consciously studying +ourselves, ready to nip the pernicious idea in the bud; nor yet that we +should adopt the ostrich's policy of sticking our heads in the sand and +declaring that disease and evil have no real existence. The one leads +to egotism and the other to callousness. Duty sometimes requires us to +give our attention to things in themselves evil and depressing. The +demands of friendship and human sympathy are imperious, and we cannot +ignore them without moral loss. But there is a positive and a negative +way of approaching such subjects. +</P> + +<P> +Sympathy is too often regarded as a passive process by which we allow +ourselves to be infected by the gloom, the weakness, the mental +ill-health of other people. This is sympathy perverted. If a friend +is suffering from small-pox or scarlet fever you do not seek to prove +your sympathy by infecting yourself with his disease. You would +recognize this to be a crime against the community. Yet many people +submit themselves to infection by unhealthy ideas as if it were an act +of charity—part of their duty towards their neighbours. In the same +way people deliver their minds to harrowing stories of famine and +pestilence, as if the mental depression thus produced were of some +value to the far-away victims. This is obviously false—the only +result is to cause gloom and ill-health in the reader and so make him a +burden to his family. That such disasters should be known is beyond +question, but we should react to them in the manner indicated in the +last chapter. We should replace the blank recognition of the evil by +the quest of the means best suited to overcome it; then we can look +forward to an inspiring end and place the powers of our will in the +service of its attainment. +</P> + +<P CLASS="poem"> +Oh, human soul, as long as thou canst so,<BR> +Set up a mark of everlasting light<BR> +Above the heaving senses' ebb and flow ...<BR> +Not with lost toil thou labourest through the night,<BR> +Thou mak'st the heaven thou hop'st indeed thy home.<BR> +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +Autosuggestion, far from producing callousness, dictates the method and +supplies the means by which the truest sympathy can be practised. In +every case our aim must be to remove the suffering as soon as possible, +and this is facilitated by refusing acceptation to the bad ideas and +maintaining our own mental and moral balance. +</P> + +<P> +Whenever gloomy thoughts come to us, whether from without or within, we +should quietly transfer our attention to something brighter. Even if +we are afflicted by some actual malady, we should keep our thought from +resting on it as far as we have the power to do so. An organic disease +may be increased a hundredfold by allowing the mind to brood on it, for +in so doing we place at its disposal all the resources of our organism, +and direct our life-force to our own destruction. On the other hand, +by denying it our attention and opposing it with curative +autosuggestions, we reduce its power to the minimum and should succeed +in overcoming it entirely. Even in the most serious organic diseases +the element contributed by wrong thought is infinitely greater than +that which is purely physical. +</P> + +<P> +There are times when temperamental failings, or the gravity of our +affliction, places our imagination beyond our ordinary control. The +suggestion operates in spite of us; we do not seem to possess the power +to rid our minds of the adverse thought. Under these conditions we +should never struggle to throw off the obsessing idea by force. Our +exertions only bring into play the law of reversed effort, and we +flounder deeper into the slough. Coué's technique, however, which will +be outlined in succeeding chapters, will give us the means of mastering +ourselves, even under the most trying conditions. +</P> + +<P> +Of all the destructive suggestions we must learn to shun, none is more +dangerous than fear. In fearing something the mind is not only +dwelling on a negative idea, but it is establishing the closest +personal connection between the idea and ourselves. Moreover, the idea +is surrounded by an aura of emotion, which considerably intensifies its +effect. Fear combines every element necessary to give to an +autosuggestion its maximum power. But happily fear, too, is +susceptible to the controlling power of autosuggestion. It is one of +the first things which a person cognisant of the means to be applied +should seek to eradicate from his mind. +</P> + +<P> +For our own sakes, too, we should avoid dwelling on the faults and +frailties of our neighbours. If ideas of selfishness, greed, vanity, +are continually before our minds there is great danger that we shall +subconsciously accept them, and so realise them in our own character. +The petty gossip and backbiting, so common in a small town, produce the +very faults they seem to condemn. But by allowing our minds to rest +upon the virtues of our neighbours, we reproduce the same virtues in +ourselves. +</P> + +<P> +But if we should avoid negative ideas for our own sakes, much more +should we do so for the sake of other people. Gloomy and despondent +men and women are centres of mental contagion, damaging all with whom +they come in contact. Sometimes such people seem involuntarily to +exert themselves to quench the cheerfulness of brighter natures, as if +their Unconscious strove to reduce all others to its own low level. +But even healthy, well-intentioned people scatter evil suggestions +broadcast, without the least suspicion of the harm they do. Every time +we remark to an acquaintance that he is looking ill, we actually damage +his health; the effect may be extremely slight, but by repetition it +grows powerful. A man who accepts in the course of a day fifteen or +twenty suggestions that he is ill, has gone a considerable part of the +way towards actual illness. Similarly, when we thoughtlessly +commiserate with a friend on the difficulty of his daily work, or +represent it as irksome and uncongenial, we make it a little harder for +him to accomplish, and thereby slightly diminish his chances of success. +</P> + +<P> +If we must supervise our speech in contact with adults, with children +we should exercise still greater foresight. The child's Unconscious is +far more accessible than that of the adult; the selective power +exercised by the conscious mind is much feebler, and consequently the +impressions received realise themselves with greater power. These +impressions are the material from which the child's growing life is +constructed, and if we supply faulty material the resultant structure +will be unstable. Yet the most attentive and well-meaning mothers are +engaged daily in sowing the seeds of weakness in their children's +minds. The little ones are constantly told they will take cold, will +be sick, will fall down, or will suffer some other misfortune. The +more delicate the child's health, the more likely it is to be subjected +to adverse suggestions. It is too often saturated with the idea of bad +health, and comes to look on disease as the normal state of existence +and health as exceptional. The same is equally true of the child's +mental and moral upbringing. How often do foolish parents tell their +children that they are naughty, disobedient, stupid, idle or vicious? +If these suggestions were accepted, which, thank Heaven, is not always +the case, the little ones would in very fact develop just these +qualities. But even when no word is spoken, a look or a gesture can +initiate an undesirable autosuggestion. The same child, visited by two +strangers, will immediately make friends with the one and avoid the +other. Why is this?—Because the one carries with him a healthful +atmosphere, while the other sends out waves of irritability or gloom. +</P> + +<P> +"Men imagine," says Emerson, "that they communicate their virtue or +vice only by overt actions, and do not see that virtue and vice emit a +breath every moment." +</P> + +<P> +With children, above all, it is not sufficient to refrain from the +expression of negative ideas; we must avoid harbouring them altogether. +Unless we possess a bright positive mind the suggestions derived from +us will be of little value. +</P> + +<P> +The idea is gaining ground that a great deal of what is called +hereditary disease is transmitted from parent to child, not physically +but mentally—that is to say, by means of adverse suggestions +continually renewed in the child's mind. Thus if one of the parents +has a tendency to tuberculosis, the child often lives in an atmosphere +laden with tuberculous thoughts. The little one is continually advised +to take care of its lungs, to keep its chest warm, to beware of colds, +etc., etc. In other words, the idea is repeatedly presented to its +mind that it possesses second-rate lungs. The realisation of these +ideas, the actual production of pulmonary tuberculosis is thus almost +assured. +</P> + +<P> +But all this is no more than crystallised common-sense. Everyone knows +that a cheerful mind suffuses health, while a gloomy one produces +conditions favourable to disease. "A merry heart doeth good like a +medicine," says the writer of the Book of Proverbs, "but a broken +spirit drieth the bones." But this knowledge, since it lacked a +scientific basis, has never been systematically applied. We have +regarded our feelings far too much as <I>effects</I> and not sufficiently as +<I>causes</I>. We are happy because we are well; we do not recognise that +the process will work equally well in the reverse direction—that we +shall be well because we are happy. Happiness is not only the result +of our conditions of life; it is also the creator of those conditions. +Autosuggestion lays weight upon this latter view. Happiness must come +first. It is only when the mind is ordered, balanced, filled with the +light of sweet and joyous thought, that it can work with its maximum +efficiency. When we are habitually happy our powers and capabilities +come to their full blossom, and we are able to work with the utmost +effect on the shaping of what lies without. +</P> + +<P> +Happiness, you say, cannot be ordered like a chop in a restaurant. +Like love, its very essence is freedom. This is true; but like love, +it can be wooed and won. It is a condition which everyone experiences +at some time in life. It is native to the mind. By the systematic +practice of Induced Autosuggestion we can make it, not a fleeting +visitant, but a regular tenant of the mind, which storms and stresses +from without cannot dislodge. This idea of the indwelling happiness, +inwardly conditioned, is as ancient as thought. By autosuggestion we +can realise it in our own lives. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap07"></A> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER VII +</H4> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +THE GENERAL FORMULA +</H3> + +<P> +We saw that an unskilled golfer, who imagines his ball is going to +alight in a bunker, unconsciously performs just those physical +movements needful to realise his idea in the actual. In realising this +idea his Unconscious displays ingenuity and skill none the less +admirable because opposed to his desire. From this and other examples +we concluded that if the mind dwells on the idea of an accomplished +fact, a realised state, the Unconscious will produce this state. If +this is true of our spontaneous autosuggestions it is equally true of +the self-induced ones. +</P> + +<P> +It follows that if we consistently think of happiness we become happy; +if we think of health we become healthy; if we think of goodness we +become good. Whatever thought we continually think, provided it is +reasonable, tends to become an actual condition of our life. +</P> + +<P> +Traditionally we rely too much on the conscious mind. If a man suffers +from headaches he searches out, with the help of his physician, their +cause; discovers whether they come from his eyes, his digestion or his +nerves, and purchases the drugs best suited to repair the fault. If he +wishes to improve a bad memory he practises one of the various methods +of memory-training. If he is the victim of a pernicious habit he is +left to counter it by efforts of the will, which too often exhaust his +strength, undermine his self-respect, and only lead him deeper into the +mire. How simple in comparison is the method of Induced +Autosuggestion! He need merely think the end—a head free from pain, a +good memory, a mode of life in which his bad habit has no part, and +these states are gradually evolved without his being aware of the +operation performed by the Unconscious. +</P> + +<P> +But even so, if each individual difficulty required a fresh +treatment—one for the headache, one for the memory, one for the bad +habit and so on—then the time needful to practise autosuggestion would +form a considerable part of our waking life. Happily the researches of +the Nancy School have revealed a further simplification. This is +obtained by the use of a general formula which sets before the mind the +idea of a daily improvement in every respect, mental, physical and +moral. +</P> + +<P> +In the original French this formula runs as follows: "Tous les jours, à +tous points de vue, je vais de mieux en mieux." The English version +which Coué considers most satisfactory is this: "<I>Day by day, in every +way, I'm getting better and better</I>." This is very easy to say, the +youngest child can understand it, and it possesses a rudimentary +rhythm, which exerts a lulling effect on the mind and so aids in +calling up the Unconscious. But if you are accustomed to any other +version, such as that recommended by the translators of Baudouin, it +would be better to continue to use it. Religious minds who wish to +associate the formula with God's care and protection might do so after +this fashion: "Day by day, in every way, by the help of God, I'm +getting better and better." It is possible that the attention of the +Unconscious will thus be turned to moral and spiritual improvements to +a greater extent than by the ordinary formula. +</P> + +<P> +But this general formula possesses definite advantages other than mere +terseness and convenience. The Unconscious, in its character of +surveyor over our mental and physical functions, knows far better than +the conscious the precise failings and weaknesses which have the +greatest need of attention. The general formula supplies it with a +fund of healing, strengthening power, and leaves it to apply this at +the points where the need is most urgent. +</P> + +<P> +It is a matter of common experience that people's ideals of manhood and +womanhood vary considerably. The hardened materialist pictures +perfection solely in terms of wealth, the butterfly-woman wants little +but physical beauty, charm, and the qualities that attract. The +sensitive man is apt to depreciate the powers he possesses and +exaggerate those he lacks; while his self-satisfied neighbour can see +no good in any virtues but his own. It is quite conceivable that a +person left free to determine the nature of his autosuggestions by the +light of his conscious desire might use this power to realise a quality +not in itself admirable, or even one which, judged by higher standards, +appeared pernicious. Even supposing that his choice was good he would +be in danger of over-developing a few characteristics to the detriment +of others and so destroying the balance of his personality. The use of +the general formula guards against this. It saves a man in spite of +himself. It avoids the pitfalls into which the conscious mind may lead +us by appealing to a more competent authority. Just as we leave the +distribution of our bodily food to the choice of the Unconscious, so we +may safely leave that of our mental food, our Induced Autosuggestions. +</P> + +<P> +The fear that the universal use of this formula would have a +standardising effect, modifying its users to a uniform pattern, is +unfounded. A rigid system of particular suggestions might tend towards +such a result, but the general formula leaves every mind free to unfold +and develop in the manner most natural to itself. The eternal +diversity of men's minds can only be increased by the free impulse thus +administered. +</P> + +<P> +We have previously seen that the Unconscious tide rises to its highest +point compatible with conscious thought just before sleep and just +after awaking, and that the suggestions formulated then are almost +assured acceptation. It is these moments that we select for the +repetition of the formula. +</P> + +<P> +But before we pass on to the precise method, a word of warning is +necessary. Even the most superficial attempt to analyse intellectually +a living act is bound to make it appear complex and difficult. So our +consideration of the processes of outcropping and acceptation has +inevitably invested them with a false appearance of difficulty. +Autosuggestion is above all things easy. Its greatest enemy is effort. +The more simple and unforced the manner of its performance the more +potently and profoundly it works. This is shown by the fact that its +most remarkable results have been secured by children and by simple +French peasants. +</P> + +<P> +It is here that Coué's directions for the practice differ considerably +from those of Baudouin. Coué insists upon its easiness, Baudouin +complicates it. The four chapters devoted by the latter to +"relaxation," "collection," "contention," and "concentration," produce +in the reader an adverse suggestion of no mean power. They leave the +impression that autosuggestion is a perplexing business which only the +greatest foresight and supervision can render successful. Nothing +could be more calculated to throw the beginner off the track. +</P> + +<P> +We have seen that Autosuggestion is a function of the mind which we +spontaneously perform every day of our lives. The more our induced +autosuggestions approximate to this spontaneous prototype the more +potent they are likely to be. Baudouin warns us against the danger of +setting the intellect to do the work of intuition, yet this is +precisely what he himself does. A patient trying by his rules to +attain outcropping and implant therein an autosuggestion is so +vigilantly attentive to what he is doing that outcropping is rendered +almost impossible. These artificial aids are, in Coué's opinion, not +only unnecessary but hindersome. Autosuggestion succeeds when +Conscious and Unconscious co-operate in the acceptance of an idea. +Coué's long practice has shown that we must leave the Unconscious, as +senior partner in the concern, to bring about the right conditions in +its own way. The fussy attempts of the intellect to dictate the method +of processes which lie outside its sphere will only produce conflict, +and so condemn our attempt to failure. The directions given here are +amply sufficient, if conscientiously applied, to secure the fullest +benefits of which the method is capable. +</P> + +<P> +Take a piece of string and tie in it twenty knots. By this means you +can count with a minimum expenditure of attention, as a devout Catholic +counts his prayers on a rosary. The number twenty has no intrinsic +virtue; it is merely adopted as a suitable round number. +</P> + +<P> +On getting into bed close your eyes, relax your muscles and take up a +comfortable posture. These are no more than the ordinary preliminaries +of slumber. Now repeat twenty times, counting by means of the knots, +the general formula: "Day by day, in every way, I'm getting better and +better." +</P> + +<P> +The words should be uttered aloud; that is, loud enough to be audible +to your own ears. In this way the idea is reinforced by the movements +of lips and tongue and by the auditory impressions conveyed through the +ear. Say it simply, without effort, like a child absently murmuring a +nursery rhyme. Thus you avoid an appeal to the critical faculties of +the conscious which would lessen the outcropping. When you have got +used to this exercise and can say it quite "unself-consciously," begin +to let your voice rise or fall—it does not matter which—on the phrase +"in every way." This is perhaps the most important part of the +formula, and is thus given a gentle emphasis. But at first do not +attempt this accentuation; it will only needlessly complicate and, by +requiring more conscious attention, may introduce effort. Do not try +to think of what you are saying. On the contrary, let the mind wander +whither it will; if it rests on the formula all the better, if it +strays elsewhere do not recall it. As long as your repetition does not +come to a full-stop your mind-wandering will be less disturbing than +would be the effort to recall your thoughts. +</P> + +<P> +Baudouin differs from Coué as to the manner in which the formula should +be repeated. His advice is to say it "piously," with all the words +separately stressed. No doubt it has its value when thus spoken, but +the attitude of mind to which the word "pious" can be applied is +unfortunately not habitual with everyone. The average man in trying to +be "pious" might end by being merely artificial. But the child still +exists in the most mature of men. The "infantile" mode of repeating +the formula puts one in touch with deep levels of the Unconscious where +the child-mind still survives. Coué's remarkable successes have been +obtained by this means, and Baudouin advances no cogent reason for +changing it. +</P> + +<P> +These instructions no doubt fall somewhat short of our ideal of a +thought entirely occupying the mind. But they are sufficient for a +beginning. The sovereign rule is to make no effort, and if this is +observed you will intuitively fall into the right attitude. This +process of Unconscious adaptation may be hastened by a simple +suggestion before beginning. Say to yourself, "I shall repeat the +formula in such a manner as to secure its maximum effect." This will +bring about the required conditions much more effectively than any +conscious exercise of thought. +</P> + +<P> +On waking in the morning, before you rise, repeat the formula in +exactly the same manner. +</P> + +<P> +Its regular repetition is the foundation stone of the Nancy method and +should never be neglected. In times of health it may be regarded as an +envoy going before to clear the path of whatever evils may lurk in the +future. But we must look on it chiefly as an educator, as a means of +leavening the mass of adverse spontaneous suggestions which clog the +Unconscious and rob our lives of their true significance. +</P> + +<P> +Say it with faith. When you have said it your conscious part of the +process is completed. Leave the Unconscious to do its work +undisturbed. Do not be anxious about it, continually scanning yourself +for signs of improvement. The farmer does not turn over the clods +every morning to see if his seed is sprouting. Once sown it is left +till the green blade appears. So it should be with suggestion. Sow +the seed, and be sure the Unconscious powers of the mind will bring it +to fruition, and all the sooner if your conscious ego is content to let +it rest. +</P> + +<P> +<I>Say it with faith</I>! You can only rob Induced Autosuggestion of its +power in one way—by believing that it is powerless. If you believe +this it becomes ipso facto powerless for you. The greater your faith +the more radical and the more rapid will be your results; though if you +have only sufficient faith to repeat the formula twenty times night and +morning the results will soon give you in your own person the proof you +desire, and facts and faith will go on mutually augmenting each other. +</P> + +<P> +Faith reposes on reason and must have its grounds. What grounds can we +adduce for faith in Induced Autosuggestion? The examples of cures +already cited are outside your experience and you may be tempted to +pooh-pooh them. The experiment of Chevreul's pendulum, however, will +show in a simple manner the power possessed by a thought to transform +itself into an action. +</P> + +<P> +Take a piece of white paper and draw on it a circle of about five +inches' radius. Draw two diameters <I>AB</I> and <I>CD</I> at right angles to +each other and intersecting at <I>O</I>. The more distinctly the lines +stand out the better—they should be thickly drawn in black ink. Now +take a lead pencil or a light ruler and tie to one end a piece of +cotton about eight inches long; to the lower end of the cotton fasten a +heavy metal button, of the sort used on a soldier's tunic. Place the +paper on a table so that the diameter <I>AB</I> seems to be horizontal and +<I>CD</I> to be vertical, thus: +</P> + +<A NAME="img-086"></A> +<CENTER> +<IMG CLASS="imgcenter" SRC="images/img-086.jpg" ALT="Autosuggestion diagram" BORDER="" WIDTH="213" HEIGHT="176"> +</CENTER> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +Stand upright before the table with your miniature fishing-rod held +firmly in both hands and the button suspended above the point <I>O</I>. +Take care not to press the elbows nervously against the sides. +</P> + +<P> +Look at the line <I>AB</I>, think of it, follow it with your eyes from side +to side. Presently the button will begin to swing along the line you +are thinking of. The more your mind dwells easily upon the idea of the +line the greater this swing becomes. Your efforts to <I>try</I> to hold the +pendulum still, by bringing into action the law of reversed effort, +only make its oscillations more pronounced. +</P> + +<P> +Now fix your eyes on the line <I>CD</I>. The button will gradually change +the direction of its movement, taking up that of <I>CD</I>. When you have +allowed it to swing thus for a few moments transfer your attention to +the circle, follow the circumference round and round with your eyes. +Once more the swinging button will follow you, adopting either a +clock-wise or a counter clock-wise direction according to your thought. +After a little practice you should produce a circular swing with a +diameter of at least eight inches; but your success will be directly +proportional to the exclusiveness of your thought and to your efforts +to hold the pencil still. +</P> + +<P> +Lastly think of the point <I>O</I>. Gradually the radius of the swing will +diminish until the button comes to rest. +</P> + +<P> +Is it necessary to point out how these movements are caused? Your +thought of the line, passing into the Unconscious, is there realised, +so that <I>without knowing it</I> you execute with your hands the +imperceptible movements which set the button in motion. The +Unconscious automatically realises your thought through the nerves and +muscles of your arms and hands. What is this but Induced +Autosuggestion? +</P> + +<P> +The first time you perform this little experiment it is best to be +alone. This enables you to approach it quite objectively. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap08"></A> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER VIII +</H4> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +PARTICULAR SUGGESTIONS +</H3> + +<P> +The use of particular suggestions outlined in this chapter is of minor +importance compared with that of the general formula—"Day by day, in +every way, I'm getting better and better." The more deeply Coué +pursues his investigations, the more fully he becomes convinced that +all else is secondary to this. It is not difficult to make a guess as +to why this should be. In the general formula the attention is fully +absorbed by the idea of betterment. The mind is directed away from all +that hinders and impedes and fixed on a positive goal. In formulating +particular suggestions, however, we are always skating on the thin ice +round our faults and ailments, always touching on subjects which have +the most painful associations. So that our ideas have not the same +creative positiveness. However that may be, it is a matter of +experience that the general formula is the basis of the whole method, +and that all else is merely an adjuvant, an auxiliary—useful, but +inessential to the main object. +</P> + +<P> +We have seen that a partial outcropping of the Unconscious takes place +whenever we relax our mental and physical control, and let the mind +wander; in popular language, when we fall into a "brown study" or a +"day-dream." This outcropping should be sought before the special +suggestions are formulated. +</P> + +<P> +But again we must beware of making simple things seem hard. Baudouin +would have us perform a number of elaborate preparatives, which, +however valuable to the student of psychology, serve with the layman +only to distract the mind, and by fixing the attention on the mechanism +impair the power of the creative idea. Moreover, they cause the +subject to exert efforts to attain a state the very essence of which is +effortlessness, like the victim of insomnia who "tries his hardest" to +fall asleep. +</P> + +<P> +In order to formulate particular suggestions, go to a room where you +will be free from interruption, sit down in a comfortable chair, close +your eyes, and let your muscles relax. In other words, act precisely +as if you were going to take a siesta. In doing so you allow the +Unconscious tide to rise to a sufficient height to make your particular +suggestions effective. Now call up the desired ideas through the +medium of speech. Tell yourself that such and such ameliorations are +going to occur. +</P> + +<P> +But here we must give a few hints as to the <I>form</I> these suggestions +should take. +</P> + +<P> +We should never set our faith a greater task than it can accomplish. A +patient suffering from deafness would be ill-advised to make the +suggestion: "I can hear perfectly." In the partial state of +outcropping association is not entirely cut off, and such an idea would +certainly call up its contrary. Thus we should initiate a suggestion +antagonistic to the one we desired. In this way we only court +disappointment and by losing faith in our instrument rob it of its +efficacy. +</P> + +<P> +Further, we should avoid as far as possible all mention of the ailment +or difficulty against which the suggestion is aimed. Indeed, our own +attention should be directed not so much to getting rid of wrong +conditions as to cultivating the opposite right ones in their place. +If you are inclined to be neurasthenic your mind is frequently occupied +with fear. This fear haunts you because some thwarted element in your +personality, surviving in the Unconscious, gains through it a perverse +satisfaction. In other words, your Unconscious enjoys the morbid +emotional condition which fear brings with it. Should you succeed in +banishing your fears you would probably feel dissatisfied, life would +seem empty. The old ideas would beckon you with promises, not of +happiness truly, but of emotion and excitement. But if your +suggestions take a positive form, if you fill your mind with thoughts +of self-confidence, courage, outward activity, and interest in the +glowing and vital things of life, the morbid ideas will be turned out +of doors and there will be no vacant spot to which they can return. +</P> + +<P> +Whatever the disorder may be, we should refer to it as little as +possible, letting the whole attention go out to the contrary state of +health. We must dwell on the "Yes-idea," affirming with faith the +realisation of our hopes, seeing ourselves endowed with the triumphant +qualities we lack. For a similar reason we should never employ a form +of words which connotes doubt. The phrases, "I should like to," "I am +going to try," if realised by the Unconscious, can only produce a state +of longing or desire, very different from the actual physical and +mental modifications we are seeking. +</P> + +<P> +Finally, we should not speak of the desired improvement entirely as a +thing of the future. We should affirm that the change has already +begun, and will continue to operate more and more rapidly until our end +is fully attained. +</P> + +<P> +Here are a few examples of special suggestions which may prove useful. +</P> + +<P> +For deafness: Having closed the eyes and relaxed body and mind, say to +yourself something of this nature: "From this day forth my hearing will +gradually improve. Each day I shall hear a little better. Gradually +this improvement will become more and more rapid until, in a +comparatively short space of time, I shall hear quite well and I shall +continue to do so until the end of my life." +</P> + +<P> +A person suffering from unfounded fears and forebodings might proceed +as follows: "From to-day onward I shall become more and more conscious +of all that is happy, positive and cheerful. The thoughts which enter +my mind will be strong and healthful ones. I shall gain daily in +self-confidence, shall believe in my own powers, which indeed at the +same time will manifest themselves in greater strength. My life is +growing smoother, easier, brighter. These changes become from day to +day more profound; in a short space of time I shall have risen to a new +plane of life, and all the troubles which used to perplex me will have +vanished and will never return." +</P> + +<P> +A bad memory might be treated in some such terms as these: "My memory +from to-day on will improve in every department. The impressions +received will be clearer and more definite; I shall retain them +automatically and without any effort on my part, and when I wish to +recall them they will immediately present themselves in their correct +form to my mind. This improvement will be accomplished rapidly, and +very soon my memory will be better than it has ever been before." +</P> + +<P> +Irritability and bad temper are very susceptible to autosuggestion and +might be thus treated: "Henceforth I shall daily grow more +good-humoured. Equanimity and cheerfulness will become my normal +states of mind, and in a short time all the little happenings of life +will be received in this spirit. I shall be a centre of cheer and +helpfulness to those about me, infecting them with my own good humour, +and this cheerful mood will become so habitual that nothing can rob me +of it." +</P> + +<P> +Asthma is a disease which has always baffled and still baffles the +ordinary methods of medicine. It has shown itself, however, in Coué's +experience, pre-eminently susceptible to autosuggestive treatment. +Particular suggestions for its removal might take this form: "From this +day forward my breathing will become rapidly easier. Quite without my +knowledge, and without any effort on my part, my organism will do all +that is necessary to restore perfect health to my lungs and bronchial +passages. I shall be able to undergo any exertion without +inconvenience. My breathing will be free, deep, delightful. I shall +draw in all the pure health-giving air I need, and thus my whole system +will be invigorated and strengthened. Moreover, I shall sleep calmly +and peacefully, with the maximum of refreshment and repose, so that I +awake cheerful and looking forward with pleasure to the day's tasks. +This process has this day begun and in a short time I shall be wholly +and permanently restored to health." +</P> + +<P> +It will be noticed that each of these suggestions comprises three +stages: (1) Immediate commencement of the amelioration. (2) Rapid +progress. (3) Complete and permanent cure. While this scheme is not +essential, it is a convenient one and should be utilised whenever +applicable. The examples are framed as the first autosuggestions of +persons new to the method. On succeeding occasions the phrase "from +this day forth," or its variants, should be replaced by a statement +that the amelioration has already begun. Thus, in the case of the +asthmatic, "My breathing is already becoming easier," etc. +</P> + +<P> +Particular suggestions, though subsidiary in value to the general +formula, are at times of very great service. The general formula looks +after the foundations of our life, building in the depths where eye +cannot see or ear hear. Particular suggestions are useful on the +surface. By their means we can deal with individual difficulties as +they arise. The two methods are complementary. +</P> + +<P> +Particular suggestions prove very valuable in reinforcing and rendering +permanent the effects obtained by the technique for overcoming pain, +which will be outlined in the next chapter. Before commencing the +attack we should sit down, close our eyes and say calmly and +confidently to ourselves: "I am now going to rid myself of this pain." +When the desired result has been obtained, we should suggest that the +state of ease and painlessness now re-established will be permanent, +that the affected part will rapidly be toned up into a condition of +normal health, and will remain always in that desirable state. Should +we have obtained only a lessening of the trouble without its complete +removal our suggestion should take this form: "I have obtained a +considerable degree of relief, and in the next few minutes it will +become complete. I shall be restored to my normal condition of health +and shall continue so for the future." Thus our assault upon the pain +is made under the best conditions, and should in every case prove +successful. +</P> + +<P> +We should employ particular suggestions also for overcoming the +difficulties which confront us from time to time in our daily lives, +and for securing the full success of any task we take in hand. The use +of the general suggestion will gradually strengthen our +self-confidence, until we shall expect success in any enterprise of +which the reason approves. But until this consummation is reached, +until our balance of self-confidence is adequate for all our needs, we +can obtain an overdraft for immediate use by means of particular +suggestion. +</P> + +<P> +We have already seen that the dimensions of any obstacle depend at +least as much upon our mental attitude towards it as upon its intrinsic +difficulty. The neurasthenic, who imagines he cannot rise from his +bed, cannot do so because this simple operation is endowed by his mind +with immense difficulty. The great mass of normal people commit the +same fault in a less degree. Their energy is expended partly in doing +their daily work, and partly in overcoming the resistance in their own +minds. By the action of the law of reversed effort the negative idea +they foster frequently brings their efforts to naught, and the very +exertions they make condemn their activities to failure. +</P> + +<P> +For this reason it is necessary, before undertaking any task which +seems to us difficult, to suggest that it is in fact easy. We close +our eyes and say quietly to ourselves, "The work I have to do is easy, +quite easy. Since it is easy I can do it, and I shall do it +efficiently and successfully. Moreover, I shall enjoy doing it; it +will give me pleasure, my whole personality will apply itself +harmoniously to the task, and the results will be even beyond my +expectation." We should dwell on these ideas, repeating them +tranquilly and effortlessly. Soon our mind will become serene, full of +hope and confidence. Then we can begin to think out our method of +procedure, to let the mind dwell on the means best suited to attain our +object. Since the impediments created by fear and anxiety are now +removed our ideas will flow freely, our plans will construct themselves +in the quiet of the mind, and we shall come to the actual work with a +creative vigour and singleness of purpose. +</P> + +<P> +By a similar procedure the problems of conduct which defy solution by +conscious thought will frequently yield to autosuggestion. When we are +"at our wits' ends," as the saying goes, to discover the best path out +of a dilemma, when choice between conflicting possibilities seems +impossible, it is worse than useless to continue the struggle. The law +of reversed effort is at work paralysing our mental faculties. We +should put it aside, let the waves of effort subside, and suggest to +ourselves that at a particular point of time the solution will come to +us of its own accord. If we can conveniently do so, it is well to let +a period of sleep intervene, to suggest that the solution will come to +us on the morrow; for during sleep the Unconscious is left undisturbed +to realise in its own way the end we have consciously set before it. +</P> + +<P> +This operation often takes place spontaneously, as when a problem left +unsolved the night before yields its solution apparently by an +inspiration when we arise in the morning. "Sleep on it" still remains +the best counsel for those in perplexity, but they should preface their +slumbers by the positive autosuggestion that on waking they will find +the difficulty resolved. In this connection it is interesting to note +that autosuggestion is already widely made use of as a means of waking +at a particular hour. A person who falls asleep with the idea in his +mind of the time at which he wishes to wake, will wake at that time. +It may be added that wherever sleep is utilised for the realisation of +particular suggestions, these suggestions should be made in addition to +the general formula, either immediately before or immediately after; +they should never be substituted for it. +</P> + +<P> +With some afflictions, such as fits, the attack is often so sudden and +unexpected that the patient is smitten down before he has a chance to +defend himself. Particular suggestions should be aimed first of all at +securing due warning of the approaching attack. We should employ such +terms as these: "In future I shall always know well in advance when a +fit is coming on. I shall be amply warned of its approach. When these +warnings occur I shall feel no fear or anxiety. I shall be quite +confident of my power to avert it." As soon as the warning comes—as +it will come, quite unmistakably—the sufferer should isolate himself +and use a particular suggestion to prevent the fit from developing. He +should first suggest calm and self-control, then affirm repeatedly, but +of course without effort, that the normal state of health is +reasserting itself, that the mind is fully under control, and that +nothing can disturb its balance. All sudden paroxysms, liable to take +us unexpectedly, should be treated by the same method, which in Coué's +experience has amply justified itself. +</P> + +<P> +Nervous troubles and violent emotions, such as fear and anger, often +express themselves by physical movements. Fear may cause trembling, +palpitation, chattering of the teeth; anger a violent clenching of the +fists. Baudouin advises that particular suggestions in these cases +should be directed rather against the motor expression than against the +psychic cause, that our aim should be to cultivate a state of physical +impassibility. But since a positive suggestion possesses greater force +than a negative, it would seem better to attack simultaneously both the +cause and the effect. Instead of anger, suggest that you will feel +sympathy, patience, good-humour, and consequently that your bodily +state will be easy and unconstrained. +</P> + +<P> +A form of particular suggestion which possesses distinct advantages of +its own is the quiet repetition of a single word. If your mind is +distracted and confused, sit down, close your eyes, and murmur slowly +and reflectively the single word "Calm." Say it reverently, drawing it +out to its full length and pausing after each repetition. Gradually +your mind will be stilled and quietened, and you will be filled with a +sense of harmony and peace. This method seems most applicable to the +attainment of moral qualities. An evil passion can be quelled by the +use of the word denoting the contrary virtue. The power of the word +depends largely upon its aesthetic and moral associations. Words like +joy, strength, love, purity, denoting the highest ideals of the human +mind, possess great potency and are capable, thus used, of dispelling +mental states in which their opposites predominate. The name +Reflective Suggestion, which Baudouin applies indifferently to all +autosuggestions induced by the subject's own choice, might well be +reserved for this specific form of particular suggestion. +</P> + +<P> +The field for the exercise of particular suggestions is practically +limitless. Whenever you feel a need for betterment, of whatever nature +it may be, a particular suggestion will help you. But it must once +more be repeated that these particular suggestions are merely aids and +auxiliaries, which may, if leisure is scant, be neglected. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap09"></A> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER IX +</H4> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +HOW TO DEAL WITH PAIN +</H3> + +<P> +Pain, whether of mind or body, introduces a new element for which we +have hitherto made no provision. By monopolising the attention it +keeps the conscious mind fully alert and so prevents one from attaining +the measure of outcropping needful to initiate successfully an +autosuggestion. Thus if we introduce the "no-pain" idea into the +conscious, it is overwhelmed by its contrary—pain, and the patient's +condition becomes, if anything, worse. +</P> + +<P> +To overcome this difficulty quite a new method is required. If we +speak a thought, that thought, while we speak it, must occupy our +minds. We could not speak it unless we thought it. By continually +repeating "I have no pain" the sufferer constantly renews that thought +in his mind. Unfortunately, after each repetition the pain-thought +insinuates itself, so that the mind oscillates between "I have no pain" +and "I have some pain," or "I have a bad pain." But if we repeat our +phrase so rapidly that the contrary association has no time to insert +itself, we compel the mind willy-nilly to dwell on it. Thus by a fresh +path we reach the same goal as that attained by induced outcropping; we +cause an idea to remain in occupation of the mind without calling up a +contrary association. This we found to be the prime condition of +acceptation, and in fact by this means we can compel the Unconscious to +realise the "no-pain" thought and so put an end to the pain. +</P> + +<P> +But the sentence "I have no pain" does not lend itself to rapid +repetition. The physical difficulties are too great; the tongue and +lips become entangled in the syllables and we have to stop to restore +order. Even if we were dexterous enough to articulate the words +successfully, we should only meet with a new difficulty. The most +emphatic word in the phrase is "pain"; involuntarily we should find +ourself stressing this word with particular force, so strengthening in +our minds the very idea we are trying to dislodge. +</P> + +<P> +We shall do best to copy as closely as we can Coué's own procedure. +The phrase he uses, "ça passe," makes no mention of the hurt; it is +extremely easy to say, and it produces an unbroken stream of sound, +like the whirr of a machine or the magnified buzz of an insect, which, +as it were, carries the mind off its feet. The phrase recommended by +Baudouin, "It is passing off," produces no such effect, and in fact +defies all our attempts to repeat it quickly. On the whole, the most +suitable English version seems to be "It's going." Only the word +"going" should be repeated, and the treatment should conclude with the +emphatic statement "gone!" The word "going," rapidly gabbled, gives +the impression of a mechanical drill, biting its way irresistibly into +some hard substance. We can think of it as drilling the desired +thought into the mind. +</P> + +<P> +If you are suffering from any severe pain, such as toothache or +headache, sit down, close your eyes and assure yourself calmly that you +are going to get rid of it. Now gently stroke with your hand the +affected part and repeat at the same time as fast as you can, producing +a continuous stream of sound, the words: "It's going, going, going ... +gone!" Keep it up for about a minute, pausing only to take a deep +breath when necessary, and using the word "gone" only at the conclusion +of the whole proceeding. At the end of this time the pain will either +have entirely ceased or at least sensibly abated. In either case apply +the particular suggestions recommended in the previous chapter. If the +pain has ceased suggest that it will not return; if it has only +diminished suggest that it will shortly pass away altogether. Now +return to whatever employment you were engaged in when the pain began. +Let other interests occupy your attention. If in a reasonable space, +say half an hour, the pain still troubles you, isolate yourself again; +suggest once more that you are going to master it, and repeat the +procedure. +</P> + +<P> +It is no exaggeration to say that by this process any pain can be +conquered. It may be, in extreme cases, that you will have to return +several times to the attack. This will generally occur when you have +been foolish enough to supply the pain with a cause—a decayed tooth, a +draught of cold air, etc.—and so justify it to your reason, and give +it, so to speak, an intellectual sanction. Or it may be that it will +cease only to return again. But do not be discouraged; attack it +firmly and you are bound to succeed. +</P> + +<P> +The same procedure is equally effective with distressing states of +mind, worry, fear, despondency. In such cases the stroking movement of +the hand should be applied to the forehead. +</P> + +<P> +Even in this exercise no more effort should be used than is necessary. +Simply repeat rapidly the word which informs you that the trouble is +going, and let this, with the stroking movement of the hand, which, as +it were, fixes the attention to that particular spot, be the sum and +substance of your effort. With practice it will become easier, you +will "drop into it"; that is to say, the Unconscious will perform the +adaptations necessary to make it more effective. After a time you +should be able to obtain relief in twenty to twenty-five seconds. But +the effect is still more far-reaching; you will be delivered from the +fear of pain. Regarding yourself as its master, you will be able with +the mere threat of treatment to prevent it from developing. You will +hang up a card, "No admittance," on the doors of your conscious mind. +</P> + +<P> +It may be that the pain attacks you in the street or in a workshop; in +some public place where the audible repetition of the phrase would +attract attention. In that case it is best to close the eyes for a +moment and formulate this particular suggestion: "I shall not add to +this trouble by thinking about it; my mind will be occupied by other +things; but on the first opportunity I shall make it pass away," Then +as soon as you can conveniently do so make use of the phrase "It's +going." When you have become expert in the use of this form of +suggestion you will be able to exorcise the trouble by repeating the +phrase mentally—at any rate if the words are outlined with the lips +and tongue. But the beginner should rely for a time entirely on +audible treatment. By dropping it too soon he will only court +disappointment. +</P> + +<P> +It sometimes happens that a patient is so prostrated by pain or misery +that he has not the energy to undertake even the repetition of the word +"going." The pain-thought so obsesses the mind that the state of +painlessness seems too remote even to contemplate. Under these +circumstances it seems best to employ this strategy. Lie down on a +bed, sofa, or arm-chair and relax both mind and body. Cease from all +effort—which can only make things worse—and let the pain-thought have +its way. After a time your energies will begin to collect themselves, +your mind to reassert its control. Now make a firm suggestion of +success and apply the method. Get another person to help you, as Coué +helps his patients, by performing the passes with the hand and +repeating the phrase with you. By this means you can make quite sure +of success. This seemingly contradictory proceeding is analogous to +that of the angler "playing" a fish. He waits till it has run its +course before bringing his positive resources into play. +</P> + +<P> +Baudouin recommends an analogous proceeding as a weapon against +insomnia. The patient, he says, should rapidly repeat the phrase, "I +am going to sleep," letting his mind be swept away by a torrent of +words. Once more the objection arises that the phrase "I am going to +sleep" is not such as we can rapidly repeat. But even if we substitute +for it some simple phrase which can be easily articulated it is +doubtful whether it will succeed in more than a small percentage of +cases. Success is more likely to attend us if we avail ourselves of +the method of reflective repetition mentioned in the last chapter. We +should take up the position most favourable to slumber and then repeat +slowly and contemplatively the word "Sleep." The more impersonal our +attitude towards the idea the more rapidly it will be realised in our +own slumbers. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap10"></A> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER X +</H4> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +AUTOSUGGESTION AND THE CHILD +</H3> + +<P> +In treating children it should be remembered that autosuggestion is +primarily not a remedy but a means of insuring healthy growth. It +should not be reserved for times when the child is sick, but provided +daily, with the same regularity as meals. +</P> + +<P> +Children grow up weakly not from lack of energy, but because of a waste +and misapplication of it. The inner conflict, necessitated by the +continual process of adaptation which we call growth, is often of quite +unnecessary violence, not only making a great temporary demand on the +child's vital energy, but even locking it up in the Unconscious in the +form of "complexes," so that its future life is deprived of a portion +of its due vitality. A wise use of autosuggestion will preclude these +disasters. Growth will be ordered and controlled. The necessary +conflicts will be brought to a successful issue, the unnecessary ones +avoided. +</P> + +<P> +Autosuggestion may very well begin before the child is born. It is a +matter of common knowledge that a mother must be shielded during +pregnancy from any experience involving shock or fright, since these +exert a harmful effect on the developing embryo, and may in extreme +cases result in abortion, or in physical deformity or mental weakness +in the child. Instances of this ill-effect are comparatively common, +and the link between cause and effect is often unmistakable. There is +no need to point out that these cases are nothing more than spontaneous +autosuggestions operating in the maternal Unconscious; since during +pregnancy the mother moulds her little one not only by the food she +eats but also by the thoughts she thinks. The heightened emotionality +characteristic of this state bespeaks an increased tendency to +outcropping, and so an increased suggestibility. Thus spontaneous +autosuggestions are far more potent than in the normal course of life. +But, happily, induced autosuggestions are aided by the same conditions, +so that the mother awake to her powers and duties can do as much good +as the ignorant may do harm. +</P> + +<P> +Without going into debatable questions, such as the possibility of +predetermining the sex of the child to be born, one can find many +helpful ways of aiding and benefiting the growing life by +autosuggestive means. The mother should avoid with more than ordinary +care all subjects, whether in reading or conversation, which bear on +evil in any form, and she should seek whatever uplifts the mind and +furnishes it with beautiful and joyous thought. But the technical +methods of autosuggestion can also be brought into action. +</P> + +<P> +The mother should suggest to herself that her organism is furnishing +the growing life with all it needs, and that the child will be strong +and healthy in mind, in body, and in character. +</P> + +<P> +These suggestions should be in general terms bearing on qualities of +undoubted good, for obviously it is not desirable to define an +independent life too narrowly. They need consist only of a few +sentences, and should be formulated night and morning immediately +before or after the general formula. Furthermore, when the mother's +thoughts during the day stray to the subject of her child, she can take +this opportunity to repeat the whole or some part of the particular +suggestion she has chosen. These few simple measures will amply +suffice. Any undue tendency of the mind to dwell on the thought of the +child, even in the form of good suggestions, should not be encouraged. +A normal mental life is in itself the best of conditions for the +welfare of both mother and child. For her own sake however the mother +might well suggest that the delivery will be painless and easy. +</P> + +<P> +The only direct means of autosuggestion applicable to the child for +some months after birth is that of the caress, though it must be +remembered that the mental states of mother and nurse are already +stamping themselves on the little mind, forming it inevitably for +better or worse. Should any specific trouble arise, the method of +Mlle. Kauffmant should be applied by the mother. Taking the child on +her knee she should gently caress the affected part, thinking the while +of its reinstatement in perfect health. It seems generally advisable +to express these thoughts in words. Obviously, the words themselves +will mean nothing to an infant of two or three months, but they will +hold the mother's thought in the right channel, and this thought, by +the tone of her voice, the touch of her hand, will be communicated to +the child. Whether telepathy plays any part in this process we need +not inquire, but the baby is psychically as well as physically so +dependent on the mother that her mental states are communicated by +means quite ineffective with adults. Love in itself exerts a +suggestive power of the highest order. +</P> + +<P> +When the child shows signs of understanding what is said to it, before +it begins itself to speak, the following method should be applied. +After the little one has fallen asleep at night the mother enters the +room, taking care not to awaken it, and stands about a yard from the +head of the cot. She proceeds then to formulate in a whisper such +suggestions as seem necessary. If the child is ailing the suggestion +might take the form of the phrase "You are getting better" repeated +twenty times. If it is in health the general formula will suffice. +Particular suggestions may also be formulated bearing on the child's +health, character, intellectual development, etc. These of course +should be in accordance with the instructions given in the chapter +devoted to particular suggestions. On withdrawing, the mother should +again be careful not to awaken the little one. Should it show signs of +waking, the whispered command "sleep," repeated several times, will +lull it again to rest. Baudouin recommends that during these +suggestions the mother should lay her hand on the child's forehead. +The above, however, is the method preferred by Coué. +</P> + +<P> +This nightly practice is the most effective means of conveying +autosuggestions to the child-mind. It should be made a regular habit +which nothing is allowed to interrupt. If for any reason the mother is +unable to perform it, her place may be taken by the father, the nurse, +or some relative. But for obvious reasons the duty belongs by right to +the mother, and, when a few weeks' practice has revealed its beneficent +power, few mothers will be willing to delegate it to a less suitable +agent. +</P> + +<P> +This practice, as stated above, may well begin before the child has +actually learned to speak, for its Unconscious will already be forming +a scheme more or less distinct of the significance of the sounds that +reach it, and will not fail to gather the general tenor of the words +spoken. The date at which it should be discontinued is less easy to +specify. Growth, to be healthy, must carry with it a gradual increase +in independence and self-sufficiency. There seems to be some slight +danger that the practice of nightly suggestions, if continued too long, +might prolong unduly the state of dependence upon parental support. +Reliable indications on this point are furnished, however, by the child +itself. As soon as it is able to face its daily problems for itself, +when it no longer runs to the parent for help and advice in every +little difficulty, the time will have arrived for the parental +suggestions to cease. +</P> + +<P> +As soon as a child is able to speak it should be taught to repeat the +general formula night and morning in the same way as an adult. Thus +when the time comes to discontinue the parent's suggestions their +effect will be carried on by those the child formulates itself. There +is one thing more to add: in the case of boys it would seem better at +the age of seven or eight for the father to replace the mother in the +rôle of suggester, while the mother, of course, performs the office +throughout for her girls. Should any signs appear that the period of +puberty is bringing with it undue difficulties or perils, the nightly +practice might be resumed in the form of particular suggestions bearing +on the specific difficulties. It must be remembered, however, that the +child's sexual problem is essentially different from that of the adult, +and the suggestions must therefore be in the most general terms. Here +as elsewhere the end alone should be suggested, the Unconscious being +left free to choose its own means. +</P> + +<P> +As soon as the child has learnt to speak it should not be allowed to +suffer pain. The best method to adopt is that practised by Coué in his +consultations. Let the child close its eyes and repeat with the +parent, "It's going, going ... gone!" while the latter gently strokes +the affected part. But as soon as possible the child should be +encouraged to overcome smaller difficulties for itself, until the +parent's help is eventually almost dispensed with. This is a powerful +means of developing self-reliance and fostering the sense of +superiority to difficulties which will be invaluable in later life. +</P> + +<P> +That children readily take to the practice is shown by these examples, +which are again quoted from letters received by Coué. +</P> + +<P> +"Your youngest disciple is our little David. The poor little chap had +an accident to-day. Going up in the lift with his father, when quite +four feet up, he fell out on his head and on to a hard stone floor. He +was badly bruised and shocked, and when put to bed lay still and kept +saying: 'ça passe, ça passe,' over and over again, and then looked up +and said, 'no, not gone away.' To-night he said again 'ça passe' and +then added, 'nearly gone.' So he is better." +</P> + +<P CLASS="noindent"> +B. K. (London).<BR> +8 <I>January</I>, 1922.<BR> +</P> + +<BR> + +<P> +Another lady writes: +</P> + +<P> +"Our cook's little niece, aged 23 months—the one we cured of +bronchitis—gave herself a horrid blow on the head yesterday. Instead +of crying she began to smile, passed her hand over the place and said +sweetly, 'ça passe.' Hasn't she been well brought up?" +</P> + +<P> +All these methods are extremely simple and involve little expenditure +of time and none of money. They have proved their efficacy over and +over again in Nancy, and there is no reason why a mother of average +intelligence and conscientiousness should not obtain equally good +results. Naturally, first attempts will be a little awkward, but there +is no need for discouragement on that account. Even supposing that +through the introduction of effort some slight harm were done—and the +chance is comparatively remote—this need cause no alarm. The right +autosuggestion will soon counteract it and produce positive good in its +place. But any mother who has practised autosuggestion for herself +will be able correctly to apply it to her child. +</P> + +<P> +At first glance the procedure may seem revolutionary, but think it over +for a moment and you will see that it is as old as the hills. It is +merely a systematisation on a scientific basis of the method mothers +have intuitively practised since the world began. "Sleep, baby, sleep. +Angels are watching o'er thee,"—what is this but a particular +suggestion? How does a wise mother proceed when her little one falls +and grazes its hand? She says something of this kind: "Let me kiss it +and then it will be well." She kisses it, and with her assurance that +the pain has gone the child runs happily back to its play. This is +only a charming variation of the method of the caress. +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR> + +<A NAME="chap11"></A> + +<H4 ALIGN="center"> +CHAPTER XI +</H4> + +<H3 ALIGN="center"> +CONCLUSION +</H3> + +<P> +Induced Autosuggestion is not a substitute for medical practice. It +will not make us live for ever, neither will it free us completely from +the common ills of life. What it may do in the future, when all its +implications have been realised, all its resources exploited, we cannot +say. There is no doubt that a generation brought up by its canons +would differ profoundly from the disease-ridden population of to-day. +But our immediate interest is with the present. +</P> + +<P> +The adult of to-day carries in his Unconscious a memory clogged with a +mass of adverse suggestions which have been accumulating since +childhood. The first task of Induced Autosuggestion will be to clear +away this mass of mental lumber. Not until this has been accomplished +can the real man appear and the creative powers of autosuggestion begin +to manifest themselves. +</P> + +<P> +By the use of this method each one of us should be able to look forward +to a life in which disease is a diminishing factor. But how great a +part it will play depends upon the conditions we start from and the +regularity and correctness of our practice. Should disease befall us +we possess within a potent means of expelling it, but this does not +invalidate the complementary method of destroying it from without. +Autosuggestion and the usual medical practice should go hand in hand, +each supplementing the other. If you are ill, call in your doctor as +before, but enlist the resources of Induced Autosuggestion to reinforce +and extend his treatment. +</P> + +<P> +In this connection it must be insisted on that autosuggestion should be +utilised for every ailment, whatever its nature, and whether its +inroads be grave or slight. Every disease is either strengthened or +weakened by the action of the mind. We cannot take up an attitude of +neutrality. Either we must aid the disease to destroy us by allowing +our minds to dwell on it, or we must oppose it and destroy it by a +stream of healthful dynamic thought. Too frequently we spontaneously +adopt the former course. +</P> + +<P> +The general opinion that functional and nervous diseases alone are +susceptible to suggestive treatment is at variance with the facts. +During Coué's thirty years of practice, in which many thousands of +cases have been treated, he has found that organic troubles yield as +easily as functional, that bodily derangements are even easier to cure +than nervous and mental. He makes no such distinctions; an illness is +an illness whatever its nature. As such Coué attacks it, and in 98 per +cent. of cases he attains in greater or less degree a positive result. +</P> + +<P> +Apart from the permanently insane, in whose minds the machinery of +autosuggestion is itself deranged, there are only two classes of +patient with whom Induced Autosuggestion seems to fail. One consists +of persons whose intelligence is so low that the directions given are +never comprehended; the other of those who lack the power of voluntary +attention and cannot devote their minds to an idea even for a few +consecutive seconds. These two classes, however, are numerically +insignificant, together making up not much more than 2 per cent. of the +population. +</P> + +<P> +Autosuggestion is equally valuable as an aid to surgical practice. A +broken bone—the sceptic's last resource—cannot of course be treated +by autosuggestion alone. A surgeon must be called in to mend it. But +when the limb has been rightly set and the necessary mechanical +precautions have been taken, autosuggestion will provide the best +possible conditions for recovery. It can prevent lameness, stiffness, +unsightly deformity and the other evils which a broken limb is apt to +entail, and it will shorten considerably the normal period of +convalescence. +</P> + +<P> +It is sometimes stated that the results obtained by autosuggestion are +not permanent. This objection is really artificial, arising from the +fact that we ignore the true nature of autosuggestion and regard it +merely as a remedy. When we employ autosuggestion to heal a malady our +aim is so to leaven the Unconscious with healthful thoughts, that not +only will that specific malady be excluded, but all others with it. +Autosuggestion should not only remove a particular form of disease, but +the tendency to all disease. +</P> + +<P> +If after an ailment has been removed we allow our mind to revert to +unhealthy thoughts, they will tend to realise themselves in the same +way as any others, and we may again fall a victim to ill-health. Our +sickness may take the same form as on the preceding occasion, or it may +not. That will depend on the nature of our thought. But by the +regular employment of the general formula we can prevent any such +recurrence. Instead of reverting to unhealthy states of mind we shall +progressively strengthen the healthy and creative thought that has +already given us health, so that with each succeeding day our defence +will be more impenetrable. Not only do we thus avoid a relapse into +former ailments but we clear out of our path those which lie in wait +for us in the future. +</P> + +<P> +We saw that in the Nancy clinic some of the cures effected are almost +instantaneous. It would be a mistake, however, to embark on the +practice of Induced Autosuggestion with the impression that we are +going to be miraculously healed in the space of a few days. Granted +sufficient faith, such a result would undoubtedly ensue; nay, more, we +have records of quite a number of such cases, even where the help of a +second person has not been called in. Here is an example. A friend of +mine, M. Albert P., of Bordeaux, had suffered for more than ten years +with neuralgia of the face. Hearing of Coué, he wrote to him, and +received instructions to repeat the general formula. He did so, and on +the second day the neuralgia had vanished and has never since returned. +But such faith is not common. Immediate cures are the exception, and +it will be safer for us to look forward to a gradual and progressive +improvement. In this way we shall guard against disappointment. It +may be added that Coué prefers the gradual cure, finding it more stable +and less likely to be disturbed by adverse conditions. +</P> + +<P> +We should approach autosuggestion in the same reasonable manner as we +approach any other scientific discovery. There is no hocus-pocus about +it, nor are any statements made here which experience cannot verify. +But the attitude we should beware most of is that of the intellectual +amateur, who makes the vital things of life small coin to exchange with +his neighbour of the dinner-table. Like religion, autosuggestion is a +thing to practise. A man may be conversant with all the creeds in +Christendom and be none the better for it; while some simple soul, +loving God and his fellows, may combine the high principles of +Christianity in his life without any acquaintance with theology. So it +is with autosuggestion. +</P> + +<P> +Autosuggestion is just as effective in the treatment of moral +delinquencies as in that of physical ills. Drunkenness, kleptomania, +the drug habit, uncontrolled or perverted sexual desires, as well as +minor failings of character, are all susceptible to its action. It is +as powerful in small things as in great. By particular suggestions we +can modify our tastes. We can acquire a relish for the dishes we +naturally dislike, and make disagreeable medicine taste pleasant. So +encouraging has been its application to the field of morals that Coué +is trying to gain admittance to the French state reformatories. So +far, the official dislike for innovations has proved a barrier, but +there is good reason to hope that in the near future the application of +this method to the treatment of the criminal will be greatly extended. +</P> + +<P> +By way of anticipating an objection it may be stated that the Coué +method of Induced Autosuggestion is in no sense inferior to hypnotic +suggestion. Coué himself began his career as a hypnotist, but being +dissatisfied with the results, set out in quest of a method more simple +and universal. Conscious autosuggestion, apart from its convenience, +can boast one great advantage over its rival. The effects of hypnotic +suggestion are often lost within a few hours of the treatment. Whereas +by the use of the general formula the results of Induced Autosuggestion +go on progressively augmenting. +</P> + +<P> +Here we touch again the question of the suggester. We have already +seen that a suggester is not needed, that autosuggestion can yield its +fullest fruits to those who practise it unaided. But some persons +cannot be prevailed on to accept this fact. They feel a sense of +insufficiency; the mass of old wrong suggestions has risen so +mountain-high that they imagine themselves incapable of removing it. +With such the presence of a suggester is an undoubted help. They have +nothing to do but lie passive and receive the ideas he evokes. Even +so, however, they will get little good unless they consent to repeat +the general formula. +</P> + +<P> +But as long as we look on autosuggestion as a remedy we miss its true +significance. Primarily it is a means of self-culture, and one far +more potent than any we have hitherto possessed. It enables us to +develop the mental qualities we lack: efficiency, judgment, creative +imagination, all that will help us to bring our life's enterprise to a +successful end. Most of us are aware of thwarted abilities, powers +undeveloped, impulses checked in their growth. These are present in +our Unconscious like trees in a forest, which, overshadowed by their +neighbours, are stunted for lack of air and sunshine. By means of +autosuggestion we can supply them with the power needed for growth and +bring them to fruition in our conscious lives. However old, however +infirm, however selfish, weak or vicious we may be, autosuggestion will +do something for us. It gives us a new means of culture and discipline +by which the "accents immature," the "purposes unsure" can be nursed +into strength, and the evil impulses attacked at the root. It is +essentially an individual practice, an individual attitude of mind. +Only a narrow view would split it up into categories, debating its +application to this thing or to that. It touches our being in its +wholeness. Below the fussy perturbed little ego, with its local +habitation, its name, its habits and views and oddities is an ocean of +power, as serene as the depths below the troubled surface of the sea. +Whatever is of you comes eventually thence, however perverted by the +prism of self-consciousness. Autosuggestion is a channel by which the +tranquil powers of this ultimate being are raised to the level of our +life here and now. +</P> + +<P> +What prospects does autosuggestion open to us in the future? +</P> + +<P> +It teaches us that the burdens of life are, at least in large measure, +of our own creating. We reproduce in ourselves and in our +circumstances the thoughts of our minds. It goes further. It offers +us a means by which we can change these thoughts when they are evil and +foster them when they are good, so producing a corresponding betterment +in our individual life. But the process does not end with the +individual. The thoughts of society are realised in social conditions, +the thoughts of humanity in world conditions. What would be the +attitude towards our social and international problems of a generation +nurtured from infancy in the knowledge and practice of autosuggestion? +If fear and disease were banned from the individual life, could they +persist in the life of the nation? If each person found happiness in +his own heart would the illusory greed for possession survive? The +acceptance of autosuggestion entails a change of attitude, a +revaluation of life. If we stand with our faces westward we see +nothing but clouds and darkness, yet by a simple turn of the head we +bring the wide panorama of the sunrise into view. +</P> + +<P> +That Coué's discoveries may profoundly affect our educational methods +is beyond question. Hitherto we have been dealing directly only with +the conscious mind, feeding it with information, grafting on to it +useful accomplishments. What has been done for the development of +character has been incidental and secondary. This was inevitable so +long as the Unconscious remained undiscovered, but now we have the +means of reaching profounder depths, of endowing the child not only +with reading and arithmetic, but with health, character and personality. +</P> + +<P> +But perhaps it is in our treatment of the criminal that the greatest +revolution may be expected. The acts for which he is immured result +from nothing more than twists and tangles of the threads of thought in +the Unconscious mind. This is the view of eminent authorities. But +autosuggestion takes us a long step further. It shows how these +discords of character may be resolved. Since Coué has succeeded in +restoring to moral health a youth of homicidal tendencies, why should +not the same method succeed with many of the outcasts who fill our +prisons? At least the younger delinquents should prove susceptible. +But the idea underlying this attitude entails a revolution in our penal +procedure. It means little less than this: that crime is a disease and +should be treated as such; that the idea of punishment must give place +to that of cure; the vindictive attitude to one of pity. This brings +us near to the ideals of the New Testament, and indeed, autosuggestion, +as a force making for goodness, is bound to touch closely on religion. +</P> + +<P> +It teaches the doctrine of the inner life which saints and sages have +proclaimed through all ages. It asserts that within are the sources of +calm, of power and of courage, and that the man who has once attained +mastery of this inner sphere is secure in the face of all that may +befall him. This truth is apparent in the lives of great men. Martyrs +could sing at the stake because their eyes were turned within on the +vision of glory which filled their hearts. Great achievements have +been wrought by men who had the fortitude to follow the directions of +an inner voice, even in contradiction to the massed voices they heard +without. +</P> + +<P> +Suppose we find that the power Christ gave to his disciples to work +miracles of healing was not a gift conferred on a few selected +individuals, but was the heritage of all men; that the kingdom of +heaven within us to which He alluded was available in a simple way for +the purging and elevation of our common life, for procuring sounder +health and sweeter minds. Is not the affirmation contained in Coué's +formula a kind of prayer? Does it not appeal to something beyond the +self-life, to the infinite power lying behind us? +</P> + +<P> +Autosuggestion is no substitute for religion; it is rather a new weapon +added to the religious armoury. If as a mere scientific technique it +can yield such results, what might it not do as the expression of those +high yearnings for perfection which religion incorporates? +</P> + +<BR><BR><BR><BR> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Practice of Autosuggestion, by C. Harry Brooks + +*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PRACTICE OF AUTOSUGGESTION *** + +***** This file should be named 29339-h.htm or 29339-h.zip ***** +This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: + https://www.gutenberg.org/2/9/3/3/29339/ + +Produced by Al Haines + +Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed. + +Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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Thus, we do not necessarily +keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper edition. + + +Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search facility: + + https://www.gutenberg.org + +This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, +including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary +Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to +subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. + + +</pre> + +</BODY> + +</HTML> + diff --git a/29339-h/images/img-086.jpg b/29339-h/images/img-086.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..47f226e --- /dev/null +++ b/29339-h/images/img-086.jpg diff --git a/29339.txt b/29339.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..4fcdc8e --- /dev/null +++ b/29339.txt @@ -0,0 +1,3512 @@ +Project Gutenberg's The Practice of Autosuggestion, by C. Harry Brooks + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Practice of Autosuggestion + +Author: C. Harry Brooks + +Release Date: July 7, 2009 [EBook #29339] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE PRACTICE OF AUTOSUGGESTION *** + + + + +Produced by Al Haines + + + + + + + + + + +THE PRACTICE OF AUTOSUGGESTION + + +BY THE METHOD _of_ EMILE COUE + +_Revised Edition_ + + +BY + +C. HARRY BROOKS + + + +WITH A FOREWORD BY + +EMILE COUE + + + + "For what man knoweth the things of a man save the + spirit of the man which is in him?" + + 1 CORINTHIANS ii. 11. + + + + +NEW YORK + +DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY + +1922 + + + + +COPYRIGHT 1922 + +BY DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY, INC. + + + First Printing, May, 1922 + Second Printing, June, 1922 + Third Printing, June, 1922 + Fourth Printing, July, 1922 + Fifth Printing, July, 1922 + Sixth Printing, Aug., 1922 + Seventh Printing, Aug., 1922 + Eighth Printing, Aug., 1922 + Ninth Printing, Sept., 1922 + Tenth Printing, Sept., 1922 + Eleventh Printing, Nov., 1922 + Twelfth Printing, Nov., 1922 + Thirteenth Printing, Dec., 1922 + Fourteenth Printing, Jan., 1923 + + + PRINTED IN THE U. S. A. BY + The Quinn & Boden Company + BOOK MANUFACTURERS + RAHWAY NEW JERSEY + + + + +TO + +ALL IN CONFLICT WITH + +THEIR OWN IMPERFECTIONS + +THIS LITTLE BOOK + +IS DEDICATED + + + + +PREFACE TO THE AMERICAN EDITION + +To my American readers a special word of gratitude is due for their +generosity to this little book. I hope that it has given them as much +encouragement and help as they have given me. + +In America, the home of so many systems of mental healing, it is +perhaps even more necessary than in Europe to insist on the distinctive +features of M. Coue's teaching. It is based, not on transcendental or +mystical postulates, but on the simple and acknowledged facts of +psychology. This does not mean that it has no relation to religion. +On the contrary it has a very close one. Indeed I hope in a future +volume to point out its deep significance for the Christian churches. +But that relationship remains in M. Coue's teaching unexpressed. The +powers he has revealed are part of the natural endowment of the human +mind. Therefore they are available to all men, independently of +adherence or non-adherence to any sect or creed. + +The method of M. Coue is in no sense opposed to the ordinary practice +of medicine. It is not intended to supplant it but to supplement it. +It is a new ally, bringing valuable reinforcements to the common +crusade against disease and unhappiness. + +Induced Autosuggestion does not involve, as several hasty critics have +assumed, an attack upon the Will. It simply teaches that during the +actual formulation of suggestions, that is for a few minutes daily, the +Will should be quiescent. At other times the exercise of the Will is +encouraged; indeed we are shown how to use it properly, that is without +friction or waste of energy. + +C. H. B. + +19 _October_, 1922. + + + + +AUTHOR'S PREFACE + +The discoveries of Emile Coue are of such moment for the happiness and +efficiency of the individual life that it is the duty of anyone +acquainted with them to pass them on to his fellows. + +The lives of many men and women are robbed of their true value by +twists and flaws of character and temperament, which, while defying the +efforts of the will, would yield rapidly to the influence of +autosuggestion. Unfortunately, the knowledge of this method has +hitherto been available in England only in the somewhat detailed and +technical work of Professor Charles Baudouin, and in a small pamphlet, +printed privately by M. Coue, which has not been publicly exposed for +sale. To fill this gap is the aim of the following pages. They are +designed to present to the layman in non-technical form the information +necessary to enable him to practise autosuggestion for himself. + +All readers who wish to obtain a deeper insight into the theoretical +basis of autosuggestion are recommended to study Professor Baudouin's +fascinating work, _Suggestion and Autosuggestion_. Although in these +pages there are occasional divergences from Professor Baudouin's views, +his book remains beyond question the authoritative statement on the +subject; indeed it is hardly possible without it to form an adequate +idea of the scope of autosuggestion. My own indebtedness to it in +writing this little volume is very great. + +My thanks are due for innumerable kindnesses to M. Coue himself. That +he is the embodiment of patience everyone knows who has been in contact +with him. I am also indebted to the Rev. Ernest Charles, of Malvern +Link, who, though disclaiming responsibility for some of the views +expressed here, has made many extremely valuable suggestions. + +C. H. B. + +MALVERN LINK, + 21 _February_, 1922. + + + + +FOREWORD + +The materials for this little book were collected by Mr. Brooks during +a visit he paid me in the summer of 1921. He was, I think, the first +Englishman to come to Nancy with the express purpose of studying my +method of conscious autosuggestion. In the course of daily visits +extending over some weeks, by attending my consultations, and by +private conversations with myself, he obtained a full mastery of the +method, and we threshed out a good deal of the theory on which it rests. + +The results of this study are contained in the following pages. Mr. +Brooks has skilfully seized on the essentials and put them forward in a +manner that seems to me both simple and clear. The instructions given +are amply sufficient to enable anyone to practise autosuggestion for +him or herself, without seeking the help of any other person. + +It is a method which everyone should follow--the sick to obtain +healing, the healthy to prevent the coming of disease in the future. +By its practice we can insure for ourselves, all our lives long, an +excellent state of health, both of the mind and the body. + +E. COUE. + +NANCY. + + + + +CONTENTS + + +PREFACE + +FOREWORD + + +I + +COUE'S NANCY PRACTICE + +CHAPTER + + I THE CLINIC OF EMILE COUE + II A FEW OF COUE'S CURES + III THE CHILDREN'S CLINIC + + +II + +THE NATURE OF AUTOSUGGESTION + + IV THOUGHT IS A FORCE + V THOUGHT AND THE WILL + + +III + +THE PRACTICE OF AUTOSUGGESTION + + VI GENERAL RULES + VII THE GENERAL FORMULA + VIII PARTICULAR SUGGESTIONS + IX HOW TO DEAL WITH PAIN + X AUTOSUGGESTION AND THE CHILD + XI CONCLUSION + + + + +I + +COUE'S NANCY PRACTICE + + + +CHAPTER I + +THE CLINIC OF EMILE COUE + +The clinic of Emile Coue, where Induced Autosuggestion is applied to +the treatment of disease, is situated in a pleasant garden attached to +his house at the quiet end of the rue Jeanne d'Arc in Nancy. It was +here that I visited him in the early summer of 1921, and had the +pleasure for the first time of witnessing one of his consultations. + +We entered the garden from his house a little before nine o'clock. In +one corner was a brick building of two stories, with its windows thrown +wide to let in the air and sunshine--this was the clinic; a few yards +away was a smaller one-storied construction which served as a +waiting-room. Under the plum and cherry trees, now laden with fruit, +little groups of patients were sitting on the garden seats, chatting +amicably together and enjoying the morning sunshine while others +wandered in twos and threes among the flowers and strawberry beds. The +room reserved for the treatments was already crowded, but in spite of +that eager newcomers constantly tried to gain entrance. The +window-sills on the ground floor were beset, and a dense knot had +formed in the doorway. Inside, the patients had first occupied the +seats which surrounded the walls, and then covered the available +floor-space, sitting on camp-stools and folding-chairs. Coue with some +difficulty found me a seat, and the treatment immediately began. + +The first patient he addressed was a frail, middle-aged man who, +accompanied by his daughter, had just arrived from Paris to consult +him. The man was a bad case of nervous trouble. He walked with +difficulty, and his head, arms and legs were afflicted with a continual +tremor. He explained that if he encountered a stranger when walking in +the street the idea that the latter would remark his infirmity +completely paralysed him, and he had to cling to whatever support was +at hand to save himself from falling. At Coue's invitation he rose +from his seat and took a few steps across the floor. He walked slowly, +leaning on a stick; his knees were half bent, and his feet dragged +heavily along the ground. + +Coue encouraged him with the promise of improvement. "You have been +sowing bad seed in your Unconscious; now you will sow good seed. The +power by which you have produced these ill effects will in future +produce equally good ones." + +The next patient was an excitable, over-worked woman of the artisan +class. When Coue inquired the nature of her trouble, she broke into a +flood of complaint, describing each symptom with a voluble minuteness. +"Madame," he interrupted, "you think too much about your ailments, and +in thinking of them you create fresh ones." + +Next came a girl with headaches, a youth with inflamed eyes, and a +farm-labourer incapacitated by varicose veins. In each case Coue +stated that autosuggestion should bring complete relief. Then it was +the turn of a business man who complained of nervousness, lack of +self-confidence and haunting fears. + +"When you know the method," said Coue, "you will not allow yourself to +harbour such ideas." + +"I work terribly hard to get rid of them," the patient answered. + +"You fatigue yourself. The greater the efforts you make, the more the +ideas return. You will change all that easily, simply, and above all, +without effort." + +"I want to," the man interjected. + +"That's just where you're wrong," Coue told him. "If you say 'I want +to do something,' your imagination replies 'Oh, but you can't.' You +must say 'I am going to do it,' and if it is in the region of the +possible you will succeed." + +A little further on was another neurasthenic--a girl. This was her +third visit to the clinic, and for ten days she had been practising the +method at home. With a happy smile, and a little pardonable +self-importance, she declared that she already felt a considerable +improvement. She had more energy, was beginning to enjoy life, ate +heartily and slept more soundly. Her sincerity and naive delight +helped to strengthen the faith of her fellow-patients. They looked on +her as a living proof of the healing which should come to themselves. + +Coue continued his questions. Those who were unable, whether through +rheumatism or some paralytic affection, to make use of a limb were +called on, as a criterion of future progress, to put out their maximum +efforts. + +In addition to the visitor from Paris there were present a man and a +woman who could not walk without support, and a burly peasant, formerly +a blacksmith, who for nearly ten years had not succeeded in lifting his +right arm above the level of his shoulder. In each case Coue predicted +a complete cure. + +During this preliminary stage of the treatment, the words he spoke were +not in the nature of suggestions. They were sober expressions of +opinion, based on years of experience. Not once did he reject the +possibility of cure, though with several patients suffering from +organic disease in an advanced stage, he admitted its unlikelihood. To +these he promised, however, a cessation of pain, an improvement of +morale, and at least a retardment of the progress of the disease. +"Meanwhile," he added, "the limits of the power of autosuggestion are +not yet known; final recovery is possible." In all cases of functional +and nervous disorders, as well as the less serious ones of an organic +nature, he stated that autosuggestion, conscientiously applied, was +capable of removing the trouble completely. + +It took Coue nearly forty minutes to complete his interrogation. Other +patients bore witness to the benefits the treatment had already +conferred on them. A woman with a painful swelling in her breast, +which a doctor had diagnosed (in Coue's opinion wrongly), as of a +cancerous nature, had found complete relief after less than three +weeks' treatment. Another woman had enriched her impoverished blood, +and increased her weight by over nine pounds. A man had been cured of +a varicose ulcer, another in a single sitting had rid himself of a +lifelong habit of stammering. Only one of the former patients failed +to report an improvement. "Monsieur," said Coue, "you have been making +efforts. You must put your trust in the imagination, not in the will. +Think you are better and you will become so." + +Coue now proceeded to outline the theory given in the pages which +follow. It is sufficient here to state his main conclusions, which +were these: (1) Every idea which exclusively occupies the mind is +transformed into an actual physical or mental state. (2) The efforts +we make to conquer an idea by exerting the will only serve to make that +idea more powerful. To demonstrate these truths he requested one of +his patients, a young anaemic-looking woman, to carry out a small +experiment. She extended her arms in front of her, and clasped the +hands firmly together with the fingers interlaced, increasing the force +of her grip until a slight tremor set in. "Look at your hands," said +Coue, "and think you would like to open them but you cannot. Now try +and pull them apart. Pull hard. You find that the more you try the +more tightly they become clasped together." + +The girl made little convulsive movements of her wrists, really doing +her best by physical force to separate her hands, but the harder she +tried the more her grip increased in strength, until the knuckles +turned white with the pressure. Her hands seemed locked together by a +force outside her own control. + +"Now think," said Cone, "'I can open my hands.'" + +Slowly her grasp relaxed and, in response to a little pull, the cramped +fingers came apart. She smiled shyly at the attention she had +attracted, and sat down. + +Coue pointed out that the two main points of his theory were thus +demonstrated simultaneously: when the patient's mind was filled with +the thought "I cannot," she could not in very fact unclasp her hands. +Further, the efforts she made to wrench them apart by exerting her will +only fixed them more firmly together. + +Each patient was now called on in turn to perform the same experiment. +The more imaginative among them--notably the women--were at once +successful. One old lady was so absorbed in the thought "I cannot" as +not to heed the request to think "I can." With her face ruefully +puckered up she sat staring fixedly at her interlocked fingers, as +though contemplating an act of fate. "Voila," said Coue, smiling, "if +Madame persists in her present idea, she will never open her hands +again as long as she lives." + +Several of the men, however, were not at once successful. The whilom +blacksmith with the disabled arm, when told to think "I should like to +open my hands but I cannot," proceeded without difficulty to open them. + +"You see," said Coue, with a smile, "it depends not on what I say but +on what you think. What were you thinking then?" + +He hesitated. "I thought perhaps I could open them after all." + +"Exactly. And therefore you could. Now clasp your hands again. Press +them together." + +When the right degree of pressure had been reached, Coue told him to +repeat the words "I cannot, I cannot...." + +As he repeated this phrase the contracture increased, and all his +efforts failed to release his grip. + +"Voila," said Coue. "Now listen. For ten years you have been thinking +you could not lift your arm above your shoulder, consequently you have +not been able to do so, for whatever we think becomes true for us. Now +think 'I can lift it.'" + +The patient looked at him doubtfully. + +"Quick!" Coue said in a tone of authority. "Think 'I can, I can!'" + +"I can," said the man. He made a half-hearted attempt and complained +of a pain in his shoulder. + +"Bon," said Coue. "Don't lower your arm. Close your eyes and repeat +with me as fast as you can, 'Ca passe, ca passe.'" + +For half a minute they repeated this phrase together, speaking so fast +as to produce a sound like the whirr of a rapidly revolving machine. +Meanwhile Coue quickly stroked the man's shoulder. At the end of that +time the patient admitted that his pain had left him. + +"Now think well that you can lift your arm," Coue said. + +The departure of the pain had given the patient faith. His face, which +before had been perplexed and incredulous, brightened as the thought of +power took possession of him. "I can," he said in a tone of finality, +and without effort he calmly lifted his arm to its full height above +his head. He held it there triumphantly for a moment while the whole +company applauded and encouraged him. + +Coue reached for his hand and shook it. + +"My friend, you are cured." + +"C'est merveilleux," the man answered. "I believe I am." + +"Prove it," said Coue. "Hit me on the shoulder." + +The patient laughed, and dealt him a gentle rap. + +"Harder," Coue encouraged him. "Hit me harder--as hard as you can." + +His arm began to rise and fall in regular blows, increasing in force +until Coue was compelled to call on him to stop. + +"Voila, mon ami, you can go back to your anvil." + +The man resumed his seat, still hardly able to comprehend what had +occurred. Now and then he lifted his arm as if to reassure himself, +whispering to himself in an awed voice, "I can, I can." + +A little further on was seated a woman who had complained of violent +neuralgia. Under the influence of the repeated phrase "ca passe" (it's +going) the pain was dispelled in less than thirty seconds. Then it was +the turn of the visitor from Paris. What he had seen had inspired him +with confidence; he was sitting more erect, there was a little patch of +colour in his cheeks, and his trembling seemed less violent. + +He performed the experiment with immediate success. + +"Now," said Coue, "you are cultivated ground. I can throw out the seed +in handfuls." + +He caused the sufferer first to stand erect with his back and knees +straightened. Then he asked him, constantly thinking "I can," to place +his entire weight on each foot in turn, slowly performing the exercise +known as "marking time." A space was then cleared of chairs, and +having discarded his stick, the man was made to walk to and fro. When +his gait became slovenly Coue stopped him, pointed out his fault, and, +renewing the thought "I can," caused him to correct it. Progressive +improvement kindled the man's imagination. He took himself in his own +hands. His bearing became more and more confident, he walked more +easily, more quickly. His little daughter, all smiles and happy +self-forgetfulness, stood beside him uttering expressions of delight, +admiration and encouragement. The whole company laughed and clapped +their hands. + +"After the sitting," said Coue, "you shall come for a run in my garden." + +Thus Coue continued his round of the clinic. Each patient suffering +from pain was given complete or partial relief; those with useless +limbs had a varying measure of use restored to them. Coue's manner was +always quietly inspiring. There was no formality, no attitude of the +superior person; he treated everyone, whether rich or poor, with the +same friendly solicitude. But within these limits he varied his tone +to suit the temperament of the patient. Sometimes he was firm, +sometimes gently bantering. He seized every opportunity for a little +humorous by-play. One might almost say that he tactfully teased some +of his patients, giving them an idea that their ailment was absurd, and +a little unworthy; that to be ill was a quaint but reprehensible +weakness, which they should quickly get rid of. Indeed, this denial of +the dignity of disease is one of the characteristics of the place. No +homage is paid to it as a Dread Monarch. It is gently ridiculed, its +terrors are made to appear second-rate, and its victims end by laughing +at it. + +Coue now passed on to the formulation of specific suggestions. The +patients closed their eyes, and he proceeded in a low, monotonous +voice, to evoke before their minds the states of health, mental and +physical, they were seeking. As they listened to him their alertness +ebbed away, they were lulled into a drowsy state, peopled only by the +vivid images he called up before the eyes of the mind. The faint +rustle of the trees, the songs of the birds, the low voices of those +waiting in the garden, merged into a pleasant background, on which his +words stood out powerfully. + +This is what he said: + +"Say to yourself that all the words I am about to utter will be fixed, +imprinted and engraven in your minds; that they will remain fixed, +imprinted and engraven there, so that without your will and knowledge, +without your being in any way aware of what is taking place, you +yourself and your whole organism will obey them. I tell you first that +every day, three times a day, morning, noon and evening, at mealtimes, +you will be hungry; that is to say you will feel that pleasant +sensation which makes us think and say: 'How I should like something to +eat!' You will then eat with excellent appetite, enjoying your food, +but you will never eat too much. You will eat the right amount, +neither too much nor too little, and you will know intuitively when you +have had sufficient. You will masticate your food thoroughly, +transforming it into a smooth paste before swallowing it. In these +conditions you will digest it well, and so feel no discomfort of any +kind either in the stomach or the intestines. Assimilation will be +perfectly performed, and your organism will make the best possible use +of the food to create blood, muscle, strength, energy, in a word--Life. + +"Since you have digested your food properly, the excretory functions +will be normally performed. This will take place every morning +immediately on rising, and without your having recourse to any laxative +medicine or artificial means of any kind. + +"Every night you will fall asleep at the hour you wish, and will +continue to sleep until the hour at which you desire to wake next +morning. Your sleep will be calm, peaceful and profound, untroubled by +bad dreams or undesirable states of body. You may dream, but your +dreams will be pleasant ones. On waking you will feel well, bright, +alert, eager for the day's tasks. + +"If in the past you have been subject to depression, gloom and +melancholy forebodings, you will henceforward be free from such +troubles. Instead of being moody, anxious and depressed, you will be +cheerful and happy. You will be happy even if you have no particular +reason for being so, just as in the past you were, without good reason, +unhappy. I tell you even that if you have serious cause to be worried +or depressed, you will not be so. + +"If you have been impatient or ill-tempered, you will no longer be +anything of the kind; on the contrary, you will always be patient and +self-controlled. The happenings which used to irritate you will leave +you entirely calm and unmoved. + +"If you have sometimes been haunted by evil and unwholesome ideas, by +fears or phobias, these ideas will gradually cease to occupy your mind. +They will melt away like a cloud. As a dream vanishes when we wake, so +will these vain images disappear. + +"I add that all your organs do their work perfectly. Your heart beats +normally and the circulation of the blood takes place as it should. +The lungs do their work well. The stomach, the intestines, the liver, +the biliary duct, the kidneys and the bladder, all carry out their +functions correctly. If at present any of the organs named is out of +order, the disturbance will grow less day by day, so that within a +short space of time it will have entirely disappeared, and the organ +will have resumed its normal function. + +"Further, if in any organ there is a structural lesion, it will from +this day be gradually repaired, and in a short period will be +completely restored. This will be so even if you are unaware that the +trouble exists. + +"I must also add--and it is extremely important--that if in the past +you have lacked confidence in yourself, this self-distrust will +gradually disappear. You will have confidence in yourself; I repeat, +_you will have confidence_. Your confidence will be based on the +knowledge of the immense power which is within you, by which you can +accomplish any task of which your reason approves. With this +confidence you will be able to do anything you wish to do, provided it +is reasonable, and anything it is your duty to do. + +"When you have any task to perform you will always think that it is +easy. Such words as 'difficult,' 'impossible,' 'I cannot' will +disappear from your vocabulary. Their place will be taken by this +phrase: 'It is easy and I can.' So, considering your work easy, even +if it is difficult to others, it will become easy to you. You will do +it easily, without effort and without fatigue." + +These general suggestions were succeeded by particular suggestions +referring to the special ailments from which Coue's patients were +suffering. Taking each case in turn, he allowed his hand to rest +lightly on the heads of the sufferers, while picturing to their minds +the health and vigour with which they would soon be endowed. Thus to a +woman with an ulcerated leg he spoke as follows: "Henceforth your +organism will do all that is necessary to restore your leg to perfect +health. It will rapidly heal; the tissues will regain their tone; the +skin will be soft and healthy. In a short space of time your leg will +be vigorous and strong and will in future always remain so." Each +special complaint was thus treated with a few appropriate phrases. +When he had finished, and the patients were called on to open their +eyes, a faint sigh went round the room, as if they were awaking +reluctantly from a delicious dream. + +Coue now explained to his patients that he possessed no healing powers, +and had never healed a person in his life. They carried in themselves +the instrument of their own well-being. The results they had seen were +due to the realisation of each patient's own thought. He had been +merely an agent calling the ideas of health into their minds. +Henceforth they could, and must, be the pilots of their own destiny. +He then requested them to repeat, under conditions which will be later +defined, the phrase with which his name is associated: "Day by day, in +every way, I'm getting better and better."[1] + +The sitting was at an end. The patients rose and crowded round Coue, +asking questions, thanking him, shaking him by the hand. Some declared +they were already cured, some that they were much better, others that +they were confident of cure in the future. It was as if a burden of +depression had fallen from their minds. Those who had entered with +minds crushed and oppressed went out with hope and optimism shining in +their faces. + +But Coue waved aside these too insistent admirers, and, beckoning to +the three patients who could not walk, led them to a corner of the +garden where there was a stretch of gravel path running beneath the +boughs of fruit trees. Once more impressing on their minds the thought +of strength and power, he induced each one to walk without support down +this path. He now invited them to run. They hesitated, but he +insisted, telling them that they could run, that they ought to run, +that they had but to believe in their own power, and their thought +would be manifested in action. + +They started rather uncertainly, but Coue followed them with persistent +encouragements. They began to raise their heads, to lift their feet +from the ground and run with greater freedom and confidence. Turning +at the end of the path they came back at a fair pace. Their movements +were not elegant, but people on the further side of fifty are rarely +elegant runners. It was a surprising sight to see these three +sufferers who had hobbled to the clinic on sticks now covering the +ground at a full five miles an hour, and laughing heartily at +themselves as they ran. The crowd of patients who had collected broke +into a spontaneous cheer, and Coue, slipping modestly away, returned to +the fresh company of sufferers who awaited him within. + + + +[1] The translation given here of Coue's formula differs slightly from +that popularised in England during his visit of November, 1921. The +above, however, is the English version which he considers most suitable. + + + + +CHAPTER II + +A FEW OF COUE'S CURES + +To give the reader a better idea of the results which Induced +Autosuggestion is yielding, I shall here describe a few further cases +of which I was myself in some part a witness, and thereafter let some +of Coue's patients speak for themselves through the medium of their +letters. + +At one of the morning consultations which I subsequently attended was a +woman who had suffered for five years with dyspepsia. The trouble had +recently become so acute that even the milk diet to which she was now +reduced caused her extreme discomfort. Consequently she had become +extremely thin and anaemic, was listless, easily tired, and suffered +from depression. Early in the proceedings the accounts given by +several patients of the relief they had obtained seemed to appeal to +her imagination. She followed Coue's remarks with keen interest, +answered his questions vivaciously, and laughed very heartily at the +amusing incidents with which the proceedings were interspersed. About +five o'clock on the same afternoon I happened to be sitting with Coue +when this woman asked to see him. Beaming with satisfaction, she was +shown into the room. She reported that on leaving the clinic she had +gone to a restaurant in the town and ordered a table d'hote luncheon. +Conscientiously she had partaken of every course from the hors +d'oeuvres to the cafe noir. The meal had been concluded at 1.30, and +she had so far experienced no trace of discomfort. A few days later +this woman returned to the clinic to report that the dyspepsia had +shown no signs of reappearing; that her health and spirits were +improving, and that she looked upon herself as cured. + +On another occasion one of the patients complained of asthma. The +paroxysms destroyed his sleep at night and prevented him from +performing any task which entailed exertion. Walking upstairs was a +slow process attended by considerable distress. The experiment with +the hands was so successfully performed that Coue assured him of +immediate relief. + +"Before you go," he said, "you will run up and down those stairs +without suffering any inconvenience." + +At the close of the consultation, under the influence of the suggestion +"I can," the patient did this without difficulty. That night the +trouble recurred in a mild form, but he continued to attend the clinic +and to practise the exercises at home, and within a fortnight the +asthma had finally left him. + +Among other patients with whom I conversed was a young man suffering +from curvature of the spine. He had been attending the clinic for four +months and practising the method at home. His doctor assured him that +the spine was gradually resuming its normal position. A girl of +twenty-two had suffered from childhood with epileptic fits, recurring +at intervals of a few weeks. Since her first visit to the clinic six +months previously the fits had ceased. + +But the soundest testimony to the power of Induced Autosuggestion is +that borne by the patients themselves. Here are a few extracts from +letters received by Coue: + +"At the age of sixty-three, attacked for more than thirty years by +asthma and all the complications attendant upon it, I spent +three-quarters of the night sitting on my bed inhaling the smoke of +anti-asthma powders. Afflicted with almost daily attacks, especially +during the cold and damp seasons, I was unable to walk--I could not +even _go down hill_. + +Nowadays I have splendid nights, and have put the powders in a drawer. +Without the slightest hesitation I can go upstairs to the first floor." + + D. (Mont de Marsan.) + 15 _December_, 1921. + + +"Yesterday I felt really better, that is to say, of my fever, so I +decided to go back to my doctor, whom I had not seen since the summer. +The examination showed a normal appendix. On the other hand, the +bladder is still painful, but is better. At any rate, there is at +present no question of the operation which had worried me so much. I +am convinced that I shall cure myself completely." + + M. D. (Mulhouse.) + 24 _September_, 1921. + + +"I have very good news to give you of your dipsomaniac--she is cured, +and asserts it herself to all who will listen. She told me yesterday +that for fourteen years she had not been so long without drink as she +has been lately, and what surprises her so much is that she has not had +to struggle against a desire; she has simply not felt the need of +drink. Further, her sleep continues to be splendid. She is getting +more and more calm, in spite of the fact that on several occasions her +sang-froid has been severely tested. To put the matter in a nutshell, +she is a changed woman. But what impresses me most is the fact that +when she took to your method she thought herself at the end of her +tether, and in the event of its doing her no good had decided to kill +herself (she had already attempted it once)." + + P. (a Paris doctor.) + 1 _February_, 1922. + + +"For eight years I suffered with prolapse of the uterus. I have used +your method of Autosuggestion for the last five months, and am now +completely cured, for which I do not know how to thank you enough." + + S. (Toul).[1] + + +"I have a son who came back from Germany very anaemic and suffering +from terrible depression. He went to see you for a short time, and now +is as well as possible. Please accept my best thanks. I have also a +little cousin whom you have cured. He had a nervous illness, and had +become, so to speak, unconscious of what was going on around him. He +is now completely cured." + + S. E. (Circourt, Vosges.) + 19 _October_, 1921. + + +"My wife and I have waited nearly a year to thank you for the +marvellous cure which your method has accomplished. The very violent +attacks of asthma from which my wife suffered have completely +disappeared since the visit you paid us last spring. The first few +weeks my wife experienced temporary oppression and even the beginnings +of an attack, which, however, she was able to ward off within a few +minutes by practising Autosuggestion. + +In spite of her great desire to thank you sooner my wife wished to add +more weight to her testimony by waiting for nearly a year. But the bad +time for asthma has not brought the slightest hint of the terrible +attacks from which you saved her." + + J. H. (Saarbruck.) + 23 _December_, 1921. + + +"All the morbid symptoms from which I used to suffer have disappeared. +I used to feel as though I had a band of iron across my brain which +seemed to be red-hot; added to this I had heartburn and bad nights with +fearful dreams; further, I was subject to severe nervous attacks which +went on for months. I felt as though pegs were being driven into the +sides of my head and nape of my neck, and when I felt I could not +endure these agonies any longer a feeling would come as if my brain +were being smothered in a blanket. All these pains came and went. I +had sometimes one, sometimes others. There were occasions when I +wanted to die--my sufferings were so acute, and I had to struggle +against the idea with great firmness. + +At last, having spent five weeks at Nancy attending your kindly +sittings, I have profited so well as to be able to return home in a +state of normal health." + + N. (Pithiviviers le Vieil.) + 16 _August_, 1921. + + +"After having undergone four operations on the left leg for local +tuberculosis I fell a victim once more to the same trouble on 1 +September, 1920. Several doctors whom I consulted declared a new +operation necessary. My leg was to be opened from the knee to the +ankle, and if the operation failed nothing remained but an amputation. + +Having heard of your cures, I came to see you for the first time on 6 +November, 1920. After the sitting I felt at once a little better. I +followed your instructions exactly, visiting you three times. At the +third time I was able to tell you that I was completely cured." + + L. (Herny, Lorraine.) + + +"I am happy to tell you that a bunion that I had on my foot, which grew +to a considerable size and gave me the most acute pain for over fifteen +years, has gone." + + L. G. (Cauderan, Gironde.) + + +"I cannot leave France without letting you know how grateful I feel for +the immense service you have rendered me and mine. I only wish I had +met you years ago. Practically throughout my career my curse has been +a lack of continuous self-control. + +I have been accused of being almost brilliant at times, only to be +followed by periodic relapses into a condition of semi-imbecility and +self-indulgence. + +I have done my best to ruin a magnificent constitution, and have wasted +the abilities bestowed upon me. In a few short days you have made +me--and I feel permanently--master of myself. How can I thank you +sufficiently? + +The rapidity of my complete cure may have been due to what at the time +I regarded as an unfortunate accident. Slipping on the snow-covered +steps of the train when alighting, I sprained my right knee badly. At +the breakfast table, before paying you my first visit, a fellow-guest +said to me: 'Tell Monsieur Coue about it. He will put it all right.' + +I laughed and said 'Umph!' to myself, and more for the fun of the thing +than anything else did tell you. I remember you remarking 'That's +nothing,' and passing on to the more serious part of our conversation, +preliminary to commencing your lecture to the assembled patients. + +I became more than interested, and when at the conclusion you suddenly +turned round and asked me: 'How's your knee?' (not having alluded to +knees in particular), and I discovered there _wasn't_ a knee, I laughed +again, as did those who saw me hobble into your room; but I laughed +this time from a sense of bewildered surprise and dawning belief. This +belief you very soon firmly implanted in me." + + G. H. (London.) + 11 _January_, 1922. + + + +[1] This letter, together with the two quoted on page 34, is reprinted +from the _Bulletin de la Societe Lorraine de Psychologie Appliquee_ of +April, 1921. They were received by Coue during the preceding three +months. The other letters were communicated to me privately by Coue +and bear their original dates. + + + + +CHAPTER III + +THE CHILDREN'S CLINIC + +In different parts of France a little band of workers, recruited almost +exclusively from the ranks of former patients, is propagating the ideas +of Emile Coue with a success which almost rivals that of their master. +Among these helpers none is more devoted or more eminently successful +than Mlle. Kauffmant. She it is who, at the time of my visit, was +managing the children's department of the Nancy clinic.[1] + +While Coue was holding his consultations on the ground floor, young +mothers in twos and threes, with their babies in their arms, could be +seen ascending to the upper story, where a little drama was performed +of a very different nature from that going on below. + +In a large room, decorated with bright pictures and equipped with toys, +a number of silent young women were seated in a wide circle. Their +sick children lay in their arms or played at their feet. Here was a +child whose life was choked at the source by hereditary disease--a +small bundle of skin and bone with limbs like bamboo canes. Another +lay motionless with closed eyes and a deathly face, as if pining to +return to the world it came from. A little cripple dragged behind it a +deformed leg as it tried to crawl, and near by a child of five was +beating the air with its thin arms in an exhausting nervous storm. +Older children were also present, suffering from eye and ear trouble, +epilepsy, rickets, any one of the ailments, grave or slight, to which +growing life is subjected. + +In the centre of this circle sat a young woman with dark hair and a +kindly keen face. On her lap was a little boy of four years with a +club foot. As she gently caressed the foot, from which the clumsy boot +had been removed, she told in a crooning tone, mingled with endearing +phrases, of the rapid improvement which had already begun and would +soon be complete. The foot was getting better; the joints were more +supple and bent with greater ease; the muscles were developing, the +tendons were drawing the foot into the right shape and making it +straight and strong. Soon it would be perfectly normal; the little one +would walk and run, play with other children, skip and bowl hoops. He +would go to school and learn his lessons, would be intelligent and +receptive. She told him too that he was growing obedient, cheerful, +kind to others, truthful and courageous. The little boy had put one +arm round her neck and was listening with a placid smile. His face was +quite contented; he was enjoying himself. + +While Mlle. Kauffmant was thus engaged, the women sat silent watching +her intently, each perhaps mentally seeing her own little one endowed +with the qualities depicted. The children were quiet, some dreamily +listening, some tranquilly playing with a toy. Except for an +occasional word of advice Mademoiselle was quite indifferent to them. +Her whole attention was given to the child on her knee; her thought +went out to him in a continual stream, borne along by a current of love +and compassion, for she has devoted her life to the children and loves +them as if they were her own. The atmosphere of the room was more like +that of a church than a hospital. The mothers seemed to have left +their sorrows outside. Their faces showed in varying degrees an +expression of quiet confidence. + +When this treatment had continued for about ten minutes, Mlle. +Kauffmant returned the child to its mother and, after giving her a few +words of advice, turned to her next patient. This was an infant of +less than twelve months. While suffering from no specific disease it +was continually ailing. It was below normal weight, various foods had +been tried unsuccessfully, and medical advice had failed to bring about +an improvement. Mademoiselle resumed her seat with the child on her +lap. For some time the caresses, which were applied to the child's +head and body, continued in silence. Then she began to talk to it. +Her talk did not consist of connected sentences, as with the elder +child who had learned to speak, but of murmured assurances, as if her +thoughts were taking unconsciously the form of words. These +suggestions were more general than in the previous case, bearing on +appetite, digestion, assimilation, and on desirable mental and moral +qualities. The caress continued for about ten minutes, the speech was +intermittent, then the infant was returned to its mother and +Mademoiselle turned her attention to another little sufferer. + +With patients who are not yet old enough to speak Mlle. Kauffmant +sometimes trusts to the caress alone. It seems to transmit the +thoughts of health quite strongly enough to turn the balance in the +child's mind on the side of health. But all mothers talk to their +children long before the words they use are understood, and Mlle. +Kauffmant, whose attitude is essentially maternal, reserves to herself +the same right. She adheres to no rigid rule; if she wishes to speak +aloud she does so, even when the child cannot grasp the meaning of her +words. + +This is perhaps the secret of her success: her method is plastic like +the minds she works on. Coue's material--the adult mind--is more +stable. It demands a clear-cut, distinct method, and leaves less room +for adaptation; but the aim of Mlle. Kauffmant is to fill the child +within and enwrap it without with the creative thoughts of health and +joy. To this end she enlists any and every means within her power. +The child itself, as soon as it is old enough to speak, is required to +say, morning and night, the general formula: "Day by day, in every way, +I'm getting better and better." If it is confined to its bed, it is +encouraged to repeat this at any time and to make suggestions of health +similar to those formulated in the sittings. No special directions are +given as to how this should be done. Elaborate instructions would only +introduce hindersome complications. Imagination, the power to pretend, +is naturally strong and active in all children, and intuitively they +make use of it in their autosuggestions. Moreover, they unconsciously +imitate the tone and manner of their instructress. + +But the centre of the child's universe is the mother. Any system which +did not utilise her influence would be losing its most powerful ally. +The mother is encouraged during the day to set an example of +cheerfulness and confidence, to allude to the malady only in terms of +encouragement--so renewing in the child's mind the prospect of +recovery--and to exclude as far as possible all depressing influences +from its vicinity. At night she is required to enter the child's +bedchamber without waking the little one and to whisper good +suggestions into its sleeping ear. Thus Mlle. Kauffmant concentrates a +multiplicity of means to bring about the same result. In this she is +aided by the extreme acceptivity of the child's mind, and by the +absence of that mass of pernicious spontaneous suggestions which in the +adult mind have to be neutralised and transformed. It is in children, +then, that the most encouraging results may be expected. I will quote +three cases which I myself investigated to show the kind of results +Mlle. Kauffmant obtains: + +A little girl was born without the power of sight. The visual organs +were intact, but she was incapable of lifting her eye-lids and so +remained blind to all intents and purposes up to her seventh year. She +was then brought by the mother to Mlle. Kauffmant. After a fortnight's +treatment the child began to blink; gradually this action became more +frequent, and a month after the treatment began she could see well +enough to find her way unaided about the streets. When I saw her she +had learnt to distinguish colours--as my own experiments proved--and +was actually playing ball. The details supplied by Mlle. Kauffmant +were confirmed by the mother. + +A child was born whose tuberculous father had died during the mother's +pregnancy. Of five brothers and sisters none had survived the first +year. The doctors to whom the child was taken held out no hope for its +life. It survived, however, to the age of two, but was crippled and +nearly blind, in addition to internal weaknesses. It was then brought +to Mlle. Kauffmant. Three months later, when I saw it, nothing +remained of its troubles but a slight squint and a stiffness in one of +its knee-joints. These conditions, too, were rapidly diminishing. + +Another child, about nine years of age, also of tuberculous parents, +was placed under her treatment. One leg was an inch and a half shorter +than the other. After a few months' treatment this disparity had +almost disappeared. The same child had a wound, also of tuberculous +origin, on the small of the back, which healed over in a few weeks and +had completely disappeared when I saw her. + +In each of the above cases the general state of health showed a great +improvement. The child put on weight, was cheerful and bright even +under the trying conditions of convalescence in a poverty-stricken +home, and in character and disposition fully realised the suggestions +formulated to it. + +Since the suggestions of Mlle. Kauffmant are applied individually, the +mothers were permitted to enter and leave the clinic at any time they +wished. Mademoiselle was present on certain days every week, but this +was not the sum of her labours. The greater part of her spare time was +spent in visiting the little ones in their own homes. She penetrated +into the dingiest tenements, the poorest slums, on this errand of +mercy. I was able to accompany her on several of these visits, and saw +her everywhere received not only with welcome, but with a respect akin +to awe. She was regarded, almost as much as Coue himself, as a worker +of miracles. But the reputation of both Coue and Mlle. Kauffmant rests +on a broader basis even than autosuggestion, namely on their great +goodness of heart. + +They have placed not only their private means, but their whole life at +the service of others. Neither ever accepts a penny-piece for the +treatments they give, and I have never seen Coue refuse to give a +treatment at however awkward an hour the subject may have asked it. +The fame of the school has now spread to all parts not only of France, +but of Europe and America. Coue's work has assumed such proportions +that his time is taken up often to the extent of fifteen or sixteen +hours a day. He is now nearing his seventieth year, but thanks to the +health-giving powers of his own method he is able to keep abreast of +his work without any sign of fatigue and without the clouding of his +habitual cheerfulness by even the shadow of a complaint. In fact, he +is a living monument to the efficacy of Induced Autosuggestion. + +It will be seen that Induced Autosuggestion is a method by which the +mind can act directly upon itself and upon the body to produce whatever +improvements, in reason, we desire. That it is efficient and +successful should be manifest from what has gone before. Of all the +questions which arise, the most urgent from the viewpoint of the +average man seems to be this--Is a suggester necessary? Must one +submit oneself to the influence of some other person, or can one in the +privacy of one's own chamber exercise with equal success this potent +instrument of health? + +Coue's own opinion has already been quoted. Induced Autosuggestion is +_not_ dependent upon the mediation of another person. We can practise +it for ourselves without others being even aware of what we are doing, +and without devoting to it more than a few minutes of each day. + +Here are a few quotations from letters written by those who have thus +practised it for themselves. + + +"For a good many years now a rheumatic right shoulder has made it +impossible for me to sleep on my right side and it seriously affected, +and increasingly so, the use of my right arm. A masseuse told me she +could effect no permanent improvement as there was granulation of the +joints and a lesion. I suddenly realised two days ago that this +shoulder no longer troubled me and that I was sleeping on that side +without any pain. I have now lost any sensation of rheumatism in this +shoulder and can get my right arm back as far as the other without the +slightest twinge or discomfort. I have not applied any remedy or done +anything that could possibly have worked these results except my +practise of Coue." + + L. S. (Sidmouth, Devon). + 1 _January_, 1922. + + +"At my suggestion a lady friend of mine who had been ill for a good ten +years read _La Maitrise de soi-meme_. I encouraged her as well as I +could, and in a month she was transformed. Her husband, returning from +a long journey, could not believe his eyes. This woman who never got +up till midday, who never left the fire-side, whom the doctors had +given up, now goes out at 10 a.m. even in the greatest cold. Other +friends are anxiously waiting to read your pamphlet. + + L. C. (Paris). + 17 _December_, 1921. + + +"I am very much interested in your method, and since your lecture I +have, every night and morning, repeated your little phrase. I used to +have to take a pill every night, but now my constipation is cured and +the pills are no longer necessary. My wife is also much better in +every way. We've both got the bit of string with twenty knots." + + H. (a London doctor). + 7 _January_, 1922. + + +"Your method is doing me more good every day. I don't know how to +thank you for the happiness I now experience. I shall never give up +repeating the little phrase." + + E. B. Guievain (Belgium). + 23 _November_, 1921. + + +"I have followed your principles for several months and freed myself +from a terrible state of neurasthenia which was the despair of my three +doctors." + + G. (Angouleme). + 23 _January_, 1922. + + +"My friend Miss C. completely cured herself of a rheumatic shoulder and +knee in a very short time, and then proceeded to turn her attention to +her eyesight. + +She had worn spectacles for 30 years and her left eye was much more +short-sighted than her right. When she began she could only read +(without her glasses and with her left eye) when the book was almost +touching her face. In six weeks she had extended the limit of vision +so that she saw as far with the left as formerly with the right. +Meanwhile the right had improved equally. She measured the distances +every week, and when she was here a few days ago she told me she had in +three days gained 4 centimetres with her left and 6 centimetres with +her right eye. She had done this on her own." + + G. (London). + 5 _January_, 1922. + + + +[1] Since this time (July, 1921), the clinic has been in some respects +reorganized and Mlle. Kauffmant is now pursuing her work independently. + + + + +II + +THE NATURE OF AUTOSUGGESTION + + + +CHAPTER IV + +THOUGHT IS A FORCE + +Autosuggestion is not a pseudo-religion like Christian Science or "New +Thought." It is a scientific method based on the discoveries of +psychology. The traditional psychology was regarded by the layman, not +without some cause, as a dull and seemingly useless classification of +our conscious faculties. But within the past twenty-five years the +science has undergone a great change. A revolution has taken place in +it which seems likely to provoke a revolution equally profound in the +wider limits of our common life. From a preoccupation with the +conscious it has turned to the Unconscious (or subconscious), to the +vast area of mental activity which exists outside the circle of our +awareness. In doing so it has grasped at the very roots of life +itself, has groped down to the depths where the "life-force," the elan +vital, touches our individual being. What this may entail in the +future we can only dimly guess. Just as the discovery of America +altered the balance of the Old World, shifting it westward to the +shores of the Atlantic, so the discovery and investigation of the +Unconscious seems destined to shift the balance of human life. + +Obviously, this is no place to embark on the discussion of a subject of +such extreme complexity. The investigation of the Unconscious is a +science in itself, in which different schools of thought are seeking to +disengage a basis of fact from conflicting and daily changing theories. +But there is a certain body of fact, experimentally proven, on which +the authorities agree, and of this we quote a few features which +directly interest us as students of autosuggestion. + +The Unconscious is the storehouse of memory, where every impression we +receive from earliest infancy to the last hour of life is recorded with +the minutest accuracy. These memories, however, are not inert and +quiescent, like the marks on the vulcanite records of a gramophone; +they are vitally active, each one forming a thread in the texture of +our personality. The sum of all these impressions is the man himself, +the ego, the form through which the general life is individualised. +The outer man is but a mask; the real self dwells behind the veil of +the Unconscious. + +The Unconscious is also a power-house. It is dominated by feeling, and +feeling is the force which impels our lives. It provides the energy +for conscious thought and action, and for the performance of the vital +processes of the body. + +Finally the Unconscious plays the part of supervisor over our physical +processes. Digestion, assimilation, the circulation of the blood, the +action of the lungs, the kidneys and all the vital organs are +controlled by its agency. Our organism is not a clockwork machine +which once wound up will run of itself. Its processes in all their +complexity are supervised by mind. It is not the intellect, however, +which does this work, but the Unconscious. The intellect still stands +aghast before the problem of the human body, lost like Pascal in the +profundities of analysis, each discovery only revealing new depths of +mystery. But the Unconscious seems to be familiar with it in every +detail. + +It may be added that the Unconscious never sleeps; during the sleep of +the conscious it seems to be more vigilant than during our waking hours. + +In comparison with these, the powers of the conscious mind seem almost +insignificant. Derived from the Unconscious during the process of +evolution, the conscious is, as it were, the antechamber where the +crude energies of the Unconscious are selected and adapted for action +on the world outside us. In the past we have unduly exaggerated the +importance of the conscious intellect. To claim for it the discoveries +of civilisation is to confuse the instrument with the agent, to +attribute sight to the field-glass instead of to the eye behind it. +The value of the conscious mind must not be underrated, however. It is +a machine of the greatest value, the seat of reason, the social +instincts and moral concepts. But it _is_ a machine and not the +engine, nor yet the engineer. It provides neither material nor power. +These are furnished by the Unconscious. + +These two strata of mental life are in perpetual interaction one with +the other. Just as everything conscious has its preliminary step in +the Unconscious, so every conscious thought passes down into the lower +stratum and there becomes an element in our being, partaking of the +Unconscious energy, and playing its part in supervising and determining +our mental and bodily states. If it is a healthful thought we are so +much the better; if it is a diseased one we are so much the worse. It +is this transformation of a thought into an element of our life that we +call Autosuggestion. Since this is a normal part of the mind's action +we shall have no difficulty in finding evidence of it in our daily +experiences. + +Walking down the street in a gloomy frame of mind you meet a buoyant, +cheery acquaintance. The mere sight of his genial smile acts on you +like a tonic, and when you have chatted with him for a few minutes your +gloom has disappeared, giving place to cheerfulness and confidence. +What has effected this change?--Nothing other than the idea in your own +mind. As you watched his face, listened to his good-natured voice, +noticed the play of his smile, your conscious mind was occupied by the +idea of cheerfulness. This idea on being transferred to the +Unconscious became a reality, so that without any logical grounds you +became cheerful. + +Few people, especially young people, are unacquainted with the effects +produced by hearing or reading ghost-stories. You have spent the +evening, let us say, at a friend's house, listening to terrifying tales +of apparitions. At a late hour you leave the fireside circle to make +your way home. The states of fear imaged before your mind have +realised themselves in your Unconscious. You tread gingerly in the +dark places, hurry past the churchyard and feel a distinct relief when +the lights of home come into view. It is the old road you have so +often traversed with perfect equanimity, but its cheerful associations +are overlooked and the commonest objects tinged with the colour of your +subjective states. Autosuggestion cannot change a post into a spectre, +but if you are very impressionable it will so distort your sensory +impressions that common sounds seem charged with supernatural +significance and every-day objects take on terrifying shapes. + +In each of the above examples the idea of a mental state--cheerfulness +or fear--was presented to the mind. The idea on reaching the +Unconscious became a reality; that is to say, you actually became +cheerful or frightened. + +The same process is much easier to recognise where the resultant is not +a mental but a bodily state. + +One often meets people who take a delight in describing with a wealth +of detail the disorders with which they or their friends are afflicted. +A sensitive person is condemned by social usage to listen to a +harrowing account of some grave malady. As detail succeeds detail the +listener feels a chilly discomfort stealing over him. He turns pale, +breaks into a cold perspiration, and is aware of an unpleasant +sensation at the pit of the stomach. Sometimes, generally where the +listener is a child, actual vomiting or a fainting fit may ensue. +These effects are undeniably physical; to produce them the organic +processes must have been sensibly disturbed. Yet their cause lies +entirely in the idea of illness, which, ruthlessly impressed upon the +mind, realises itself in the Unconscious. + +This effect may be so precise as to reproduce the actual symptoms of +the disease described. Medical students engaged in the study of some +particular malady frequently develop its characteristic symptoms. + +Everyone is acquainted with the experience known as "stage fright." +The victim may be a normal person, healthy both in mind and body. He +may possess in private life a good voice, a mind fertile in ideas and a +gift of fluent expression. He may know quite surely that his audience +is friendly and sympathetic to the ideas he wishes to unfold. But let +him mount the steps of a platform. Immediately his knees begin to +tremble and his heart to palpitate; his mind becomes a blank or a +chaos, his tongue and lips refuse to frame coherent sounds, and after a +few stammerings he is forced to make a ludicrous withdrawal. The cause +of this baffling experience lay in the thoughts which occupied the +subject's mind before his public appearance. He was afraid of making +himself ridiculous. He expected to feel uncomfortable, feared that he +would forget his speech or be unable to express himself. These +negative ideas, penetrating to the Unconscious, realised themselves and +precisely what he feared took place. + +If you live in a town you have probably seen people who, in carelessly +crossing the street, find themselves in danger of being run down by a +vehicle. In this position they sometimes stand for an appreciable time +"rooted," as we say, "to the spot." This is because the danger seems +so close that they imagine themselves powerless to elude it. As soon +as this idea gives place to that of escape they get out of the way as +fast as they can. If their first idea persisted, however, the actual +powerlessness resulting from it would likewise persist, and unless the +vehicle stopped or turned aside they would infallibly be run over. + +One occasionally meets people suffering from a nervous complaint known +as St. Vitus' Dance. They have a disconcerting habit of contorting +their faces, screwing round their necks or twitching their shoulders. +It is a well known fact that those who come into close contact with +them, living in the same house or working in the same office, are +liable to contract the same habit, often performing the action without +themselves being aware of it. This is due to the operation of the same +law. The idea of the habit, being repeatedly presented to their minds, +realises itself, and they begin to perform a similar movement in their +own persons. + +Examples of this law present themselves at every turn. Have you ever +asked yourself why some people faint at the sight of blood, or why most +of us turn giddy when we look down from a great height? + +If we turn to the sufferers from neurosis we find some who have lost +their powers of speech or of vision; some, like the blacksmith we saw +in Coue's clinic, who have lost the use of their limbs; others +suffering from a functional disturbance of one of the vital organs. +The cause in each case is nothing more tangible than an idea which has +become realised in the Unconscious mind. + +These instances show clearly enough that the thoughts we think do +actually become realities in the Unconscious. But is this a universal +law, operating in every life, or merely something contingent and +occasional? Sometimes irrelevant cheerfulness seems only to make +despondency more deep. Certain types of individual are only irritated +by the performance of a stage comedy. Physicians listen to the +circumstantial accounts of their patients' ailments without being in +the least upset. These facts seem at first sight at variance with the +rule. But they are only apparent exceptions which serve to test and +verify it. The physical or mental effect invariably corresponds with +the idea present in the mind, but this need not be identical with the +thought communicated from without. Sometimes a judgment interposes +itself, or it may be that the idea calls up an associated idea which +possesses greater vitality and therefore dislodges it. A gloomy person +who meets a cheerful acquaintance may mentally contrast himself with +the latter, setting his own troubles beside the other's good fortune, +his own grounds for sadness beside the other's grounds for +satisfaction. Thus the idea of his own unhappiness is strengthened and +sinking into the Unconscious makes still deeper the despondency he +experienced before. In the same way the doctor, listening to the +symptoms of a patient, does not allow these distressful ideas to dwell +in his conscious mind. His thought passes on immediately to the +remedy, to the idea of the help he must give. Not only does he +manifest this helpfulness in reasoned action, but also, by Unconscious +realisation, in his very bearing and manner. Or his mind may be +concentrated on the scientific bearings of the case, so that he will +involuntarily treat the patient as a specimen on which to pursue his +researches. The steeplejack experiences no giddiness or fear in +scaling a church spire because the thought of danger is immediately +replaced by the knowledge of his own clear head and sure foot. + +This brings us to a point which is of great practical importance in the +performance of curative autosuggestion. No idea presented to the mind +can realise itself unless the mind accepts it. + +Most of the errors made hitherto in this field have been due to the +neglect of this fundamental fact. If a patient is suffering from +severe toothache it is not of the slightest use to say to him: "You +have no pain." The statement is so grossly opposed to the fact that +"acceptation" is impossible. The patient will reject the suggestion, +affirm the fact of his suffering, and so, by allowing his conscious +mind to dwell on it, probably make it more intense. + +We are now in a position to formulate the basic law of autosuggestion +as follows:-- + +_Every idea which enters the conscious mind, if it is accepted by the +Unconscious, is transformed by it into a reality and forms henceforth a +permanent element in our life_. + +This is the process called "Spontaneous Autosuggestion." It is a law +by which the mind of man has always worked, and by which all our minds +are working daily. + +The reader will see from the examples cited and from others which he +will constantly meet that the thoughts we think determine not only our +mental states, our sentiments and emotions, but the delicate actions +and adjustments of our physical bodies. Trembling, palpitation, +stammering, blushing--not to speak of the pathological states which +occur in neurosis--are due to modifications and changes in the +blood-flow, in muscular action and in the working of the vital organs. +These changes are not voluntary and conscious ones, they are determined +by the Unconscious and come to us often with a shock of surprise. + +It must be evident that if we fill our conscious minds with ideas of +health, joy, goodness, efficiency, and can ensure their acceptation by +the Unconscious, these ideas too will become realities, capable of +lifting us on to a new plane of being. The difficulty which has +hitherto so frequently brought these hopes to naught is that of +ensuring acceptation. This will be treated in the next chapter. + +To sum up, the whole process of Autosuggestion consists of two steps: +(1) The acceptation of an idea. (2) Its transformation into a reality. +Both these operations are performed by the Unconscious. Whether the +idea is originated in the mind of the subject or is presented from +without by the agency of another person is a matter of indifference. +In both cases it undergoes the same process: it is submitted to the +Unconscious, accepted or rejected, and so either realised or ignored. +Thus the distinction between Autosuggestion and Heterosuggestion is +seen to be both arbitrary and superficial. In essentials all +suggestion is Autosuggestion. The only distinction we need make is +between Spontaneous Autosuggestion, which takes place independently of +our will and choice, and Induced Autosuggestion, in which we +consciously select the ideas we wish to realise and purposely convey +them to the Unconscious. + + + + +CHAPTER V + +THOUGHT AND THE WILL + +If we can get the Unconscious to accept an idea, realisation follows +automatically. The only difficulty which confronts us in the practice +of Induced Autosuggestion is to ensure acceptation, and that is a +difficulty which no method prior to that of Emile Coue has +satisfactorily surmounted. + +Every idea which enters the mind is charged, to a greater or less +extent, with emotion. This emotional charge may be imperceptible, as +with ideas to which we are indifferent, or it may be very great, as +when the idea is closely related to our personal interests. All the +ideas we are likely to make the subjects of Induced Autosuggestion are +of the latter class, since they refer to health, energy, success or +some goal equally dear to our hearts. The greater the degree of +emotion accompanying an idea, the more potent is the autosuggestion +resulting from it. Thus a moment of violent fright may give rise to +effects which last a lifetime. This emotional factor also plays a +large part in securing acceptation. + +So far as one can see, the acceptation or rejection of an idea by the +Unconscious depends on the associations with which it is connected. +Thus, an idea is accepted when it evokes similar ideas charged with +emotion of the same quality. It is rejected when it is associated with +contrary ideas, which are, therefore, contrary in their emotional +charge. In the latter case, the original idea is neutralised by its +associations, somewhat in the same way as an acid is neutralised by an +alkali. An example will serve to make this clearer. + +You are on a cross-channel boat on a roughish passage. You go up to a +sailor and say to him in a sympathetic tone: "My dear fellow, you're +looking very ill. Aren't you going to be sea-sick?" According to his +temperament he either laughs at your "joke" or expresses a pardonable +irritation. But he does not become sick because the associations +called up are contrary ones. Sea-sickness is associated in his mind +with his own immunity from it, and therefore evokes not fear but +self-confidence. Pursuing your somewhat inhumane experiment you +approach a timid-looking passenger. "My dear sir, how ill you look! I +feel sure you are going to be sea-sick. Let me help you down below." +He turns pale. The word "sea-sickness" associates itself with his own +fears and forebodings. He accepts your aid down to his berth and there +the pernicious autosuggestion is realised. In the first case the idea +was refused, because it was overwhelmed by a contrary association; in +the second the Unconscious accepted it, since it was reinforced by +similar ideas from within. + +But supposing to a sick mind, permeated with thoughts of disease, a +thought of health is presented. How can we avoid the malassociation +which tends to neutralise it? + +We can think of the Unconscious as a tide which ebbs and flows. In +sleep it seems to submerge the conscious altogether, while at our +moments of full wakefulness, when the attention and will are both at +work, the tide is at its lowest ebb. Between these two extremes are +any number of intermediary levels. When we are drowsy, dreamy, lulled +into a gentle reverie by music or by a picture or a poem, the +Unconscious tide is high; the more wakeful and alert we become the +lower it sinks. This submersion of the conscious mind is called by +Baudouin the "Outcropping of the Subconscious." The highest degree of +outcropping, compatible with the conscious direction of our thoughts, +occurs just before we fall asleep and just after we wake. + +It is fairly obvious that the greater the outcropping the more +accessible these dynamic strata of the mind become, and the easier it +is to implant there any idea we wish to realise. + +As the Unconscious tide rises the active levels of the mind are +overflowed; thought is released from its task of serving our conscious +aims in the real world of matter, and moves among the more primal +wishes and desires which people the Unconscious, like a diver walking +the strange world beneath the sea. But the laws by which thought is +governed on this sub-surface level are not those of our ordinary waking +consciousness. During outcropping association by contraries does not +seem readily to take place. Thus the mal-association, which +neutralised the desired idea and so prevented acceptation, no longer +presents itself. We all know what happens during a "day-dream" or +"brown-study," when the Unconscious tide is high. A succession of +bright images glides smoothly through the mind. The original thought +spins itself on and on; no obstacles seem to stop it, no questions of +probability arise; we are cut off from the actual conditions of life +and live in a world where all things are possible. These day-dreams +cause very potent autosuggestions, and one should take care that they +are wholesome and innocent; but the important point is that on this +level of consciousness association seems to operate by similarity, and +emotion is comparatively intense. These conditions are highly +favourable to acceptation. + +If, on getting into bed at night, we assume a comfortable posture, +relax our muscles and close our eyes, we fall naturally into a stage of +semi-consciousness akin to that of day-dreaming. If now we introduce +into the mind any desired idea, it is freed from the inhibiting +associations of daily life, associates itself by similarity, and +attracts emotion of the same quality as its own charge. The +Unconscious is thus caused to accept it, and inevitably it is turned +into an autosuggestion. Every time we repeat this process the +associative power of the idea is increased, its emotional value grows +greater, and the autosuggestion resulting from it is more powerful. By +this means we can induce the Unconscious to accept an idea, the normal +associations of which are contrary and unfavourable. The person with a +disease-soaked mind can gradually implant ideas of health, filling his +Unconscious daily with healing thoughts. The instrument we use is +Thought, and the condition essential to success is that the conscious +mind shall be lulled to rest. + +Systems which hitherto have tried to make use of autosuggestion have +failed to secure reliable results because they did not place their +reliance on Thought, but tried to compel the Unconscious to accept an +idea by exercising the Will. Obviously, such attempts are doomed to +failure. By using the will we automatically wake ourselves up, +suppress the encroaching tide of the Unconscious, and thereby destroy +the condition by which alone we can succeed. + +It is worth our while to note more closely how this happens. A +sufferer, whose mind is filled with thoughts of ill-health, sits down +to compel himself to accept a good suggestion. He calls up a thought +of health and makes an effort of the will to impress it on the +Unconscious. This effort restores him to full wakefulness and so +evokes the customary association--disease. Consequently, he finds +himself contemplating the exact opposite of what he desired. He +summons his will again and recalls the healthful thought, but since he +is now wider awake than ever, association is even more rapid and +powerful than before. The disease-thought is now in full possession of +his mind and all the efforts of his will fail to dislodge it. Indeed +the harder he struggles the more fully the evil thought possesses him. + +This gives us a glimpse of the new and startling discovery to which +Coue's uniform success is due; namely, that when the will is in +conflict with an idea, the idea invariably gains the day. This is +true, of course, not only of Induced Autosuggestion, but also of the +spontaneous suggestions which occur in daily life. A few examples will +make this clear. + +Most of us know how, when we have some difficult duty to perform, a +chance word of discouragement will dwell in the mind, eating away our +self-confidence and attuning our minds to failure. All the efforts of +our will fail to throw it off; indeed, the more we struggle against it +the more we become obsessed with it. + +Very similar to this is the state of mind of the person suffering from +stage-fright. He is obsessed with ideas of failure and all the efforts +of his will are powerless to overcome them. Indeed, it is the state of +effort and tension which makes his discomfiture so complete. + +Sport offers many examples of the working of this law. + +A tennis-player is engaged to play in an important match. He wishes, +of course, to win, but fears that he will lose. Even before the day of +the game his fears begin to realise themselves. He is nervy and "out +of sorts." In fact, the Unconscious is creating the conditions best +suited to realise the thought in his mind--failure. When the game +begins his skill seems to have deserted him. He summons the resources +of his will and tries to compel himself to play well, straining every +nerve to recapture the old dexterity. But all his efforts only make +him play worse and worse. The harder he tries the more signally he +fails. The energy he calls up obeys not his will but the idea in his +mind, not the desire to win but the dominant thought of failure. + +The fatal attraction of the bunker for the nervous golfer is due to the +same cause. With his mind's eye he sees his ball alighting in the most +unfavourable spot. He may use any club he likes, he may make a long +drive or a short; as long as the thought of the bunker dominates his +mind, the ball will inevitably find its way into it. The more he calls +on his will to help him, the worse his plight is likely to be. Success +is not gained by effort but by right thinking. The champion golfer or +tennis-player is not a person of herculean frame and immense +will-power. His whole life has been dominated by the thought of +success in the game at which he excels. + +Young persons sitting for an examination sometimes undergo this painful +experience. On reading through their papers they find that all their +knowledge has suddenly deserted them. Their mind is an appalling blank +and not one relevant thought can they recall. The more they grit their +teeth and summon the powers of the will, the further the desired ideas +flee. But when they have left the examination-room and the tension +relaxes, the ideas they were seeking flow tantalisingly back into the +mind. Their forgetfulness was due to thoughts of failure previously +nourished in the mind. The application of the will only made the +disaster more complete. + +This explains the baffling experience of the drug-taker, the drunkard, +the victim of some vicious craving. His mind is obsessed by the desire +for satisfaction. The efforts of the will to restrain it only make it +more overmastering. Repeated failures convince him at length that he +is powerless to control himself, and this idea, operating as an +autosuggestion, increases his impotence. So in despair, he abandons +himself to his obsession, and his life ends in wreckage. + +We can now see, not only that the Will is incapable of vanquishing a +thought, but that as fast as the Will brings up its big guns, Thought +captures them and turns them against it. + +This truth, which Baudouin calls the Law of Reversed Effort, is thus +stated by Coue: + +"_When the Imagination and the Will are in conflict the Imagination +invariably gains the day._" + +"_In the conflict between the Will and the Imagination, the force of +the Imagination is in direct ratio to the square of the Will._" + +The mathematical terms are used, of course, only metaphorically. + +Thus the Will turns out to be, not the commanding monarch of life, as +many people would have it, but a blind Samson, capable either of +turning the mill or of pulling down the pillars. + +Autosuggestion succeeds by avoiding conflict. It replaces wrong +thought by right, literally applying in the sphere of science the +principle enunciated in the New Testament: "Resist not evil, but +overcome evil with good." + +This doctrine is in no sense a negation of the will. It simply puts it +in its right place, subordinates it to a higher power. A moment's +reflection will suffice to show that the will cannot be more than the +servant of thought. We are incapable of exercising the will unless the +imagination has first furnished it with a goal. We cannot simply will, +we must will _something_, and that something exists in our minds as an +idea. The will acts rightly when it is in harmony with the idea in the +mind. + +But what happens when, in the smooth execution of our idea, we are +confronted with an obstacle? This obstacle may exist outside us, as +did the golfer's bunker, but it must also exist as an idea in our minds +or we should not be aware of it. + +As long as we allow this mental image to stay there, the efforts of our +will to overcome it only make it more irresistible. We run our heads +against it like a goat butting a brick wall. Indeed, in this way we +can magnify the smallest difficulty until it becomes insurmountable--we +can make mole-hills into mountains. This is precisely what the +neurasthenic does. The idea of a difficulty dwells unchanged in his +mind, and all his efforts to overcome it only increase its dimensions, +until it overpowers him and he faints in the effort to cross a street. + +But as soon as we change the idea our troubles vanish. By means of the +intellect we can substitute for the blank idea of the obstacle that of +the means to overcome it. Immediately, the will is brought into +harmony again with thought, and we go forward to the triumphant +attainment of our end. It may be that the means adopted consist of a +frontal attack, the overcoming of an obstacle by force. But before we +bring this force into play, the mind must have approved it--must have +entertained the idea of its probable success. We must, in fact, have +thought of the obstacle as already smashed down and flattened out by +our attack. Otherwise, we should involve ourselves in the conflict +depicted above, and our force would be exhausted in a futile internal +battle. In a frontal attack against an obstacle we use effort, and +effort, to be effective, must be approved by the reason and preceded, +to some extent, by the idea of success. + +Thus, even in our dealings with the outside world, Thought is always +master of the will. How much more so when our action is turned inward! +When practising autosuggestion we are living in the mind, where +thoughts are the only realities. We can meet with no obstacle other +than that of Thought itself. Obviously then, the frontal attack, the +exertion of effort, can never be admissible, for it sets the will and +the thought at once in opposition. The turning of our thoughts from +the mere recognition of an obstacle to the idea of the means to +overcome it, is no longer a preliminary, as in the case of outward +action. In itself it clears away the obstacle. By procuring the right +idea our end is already attained. + +In applying effort during the practice of Induced Autosuggestion, we +use in the world of mind an instrument fashioned for use in the world +of matter. It is as if we tried to solve a mathematical problem by +mauling the book with a tin-opener. + +For two reasons then, effort must never be allowed to intrude during +the practice of autosuggestion: first because it wakes us up and so +suppresses the tide of the Unconscious, secondly because it causes +conflict between Thought and the will. + +One other interesting fact emerges from an examination of the foregoing +examples. In each case we find that the idea which occupied the mind +was of a final state, an accomplished fact. The golfer was thinking of +his ball dropping into the bunker, the tennis-player of his defeat, the +examinee of his failure. In each case the Unconscious realised the +thought in its own way, chose inevitably the means best suited to +arrive at its end--the realisation of the idea. In the case of the +golfer the most delicate physical adjustments were necessary. Stance, +grip and swing all contributed their quota, but these physical +adjustments were performed unconsciously, the conscious mind being +unaware of them. From this we see that we need not suggest the way in +which our aim is to be accomplished. If we fill our minds with the +thought of the desired end, provided that end is possible, the +Unconscious will lead us to it by the easiest, most direct path. + +Here we catch a glimpse of the truth behind what is called "luck." We +are told that everything comes to him who waits, and this is literally +true, provided he waits in the right frame of mind. Some men are +notoriously lucky in business; whatever they touch seems to "turn to +gold." The secret of their success lies in the fact that they +confidently expect to succeed. There is no need to go so far as the +writers of the school of "New Thought," and claim that suggestion can +set in motion transcendental laws outside man's own nature. It is +quite clear that the man who expects success, of whatever kind it may +be, will unconsciously take up the right attitude to his environment; +will involuntarily close with fleeting opportunity, and by his inner +fitness command the circumstances without. + +Man has often been likened to a ship navigating the seas of life. Of +that ship the engine is the will and Thought is the helm. If we are +being directed out of our true course it is worse than useless to call +for full steam ahead; our only hope lies in changing the direction of +the helm. + + + + +III + +THE PRACTICE OF AUTOSUGGESTION + + + +CHAPTER VI + +GENERAL RULES + +With our knowledge of the powerful effect which an idea produces, we +shall see the importance of exercising a more careful censorship over +the thoughts which enter our minds. Thought is the legislative power +in our lives, just as the will is the executive. We should not think +it wise to permit the inmates of prisons and asylums to occupy the +legislative posts in the state, yet when we harbour ideas of passion +and disease, we allow the criminals and lunatics of thought to usurp +the governing power in the commonwealth of our being. + +In future, then, we shall seek ideas of health, success, and goodness; +we shall treat warily all depressing subjects of conversation, the +daily list of crimes and disasters which fill the newspapers, and those +novels, plays and films which harrow our feelings, without transmuting +by the magic of art the sadness into beauty. + +This does not mean that we should be always self-consciously studying +ourselves, ready to nip the pernicious idea in the bud; nor yet that we +should adopt the ostrich's policy of sticking our heads in the sand and +declaring that disease and evil have no real existence. The one leads +to egotism and the other to callousness. Duty sometimes requires us to +give our attention to things in themselves evil and depressing. The +demands of friendship and human sympathy are imperious, and we cannot +ignore them without moral loss. But there is a positive and a negative +way of approaching such subjects. + +Sympathy is too often regarded as a passive process by which we allow +ourselves to be infected by the gloom, the weakness, the mental +ill-health of other people. This is sympathy perverted. If a friend +is suffering from small-pox or scarlet fever you do not seek to prove +your sympathy by infecting yourself with his disease. You would +recognize this to be a crime against the community. Yet many people +submit themselves to infection by unhealthy ideas as if it were an act +of charity--part of their duty towards their neighbours. In the same +way people deliver their minds to harrowing stories of famine and +pestilence, as if the mental depression thus produced were of some +value to the far-away victims. This is obviously false--the only +result is to cause gloom and ill-health in the reader and so make him a +burden to his family. That such disasters should be known is beyond +question, but we should react to them in the manner indicated in the +last chapter. We should replace the blank recognition of the evil by +the quest of the means best suited to overcome it; then we can look +forward to an inspiring end and place the powers of our will in the +service of its attainment. + + Oh, human soul, as long as thou canst so, + Set up a mark of everlasting light + Above the heaving senses' ebb and flow ... + Not with lost toil thou labourest through the night, + Thou mak'st the heaven thou hop'st indeed thy home. + + +Autosuggestion, far from producing callousness, dictates the method and +supplies the means by which the truest sympathy can be practised. In +every case our aim must be to remove the suffering as soon as possible, +and this is facilitated by refusing acceptation to the bad ideas and +maintaining our own mental and moral balance. + +Whenever gloomy thoughts come to us, whether from without or within, we +should quietly transfer our attention to something brighter. Even if +we are afflicted by some actual malady, we should keep our thought from +resting on it as far as we have the power to do so. An organic disease +may be increased a hundredfold by allowing the mind to brood on it, for +in so doing we place at its disposal all the resources of our organism, +and direct our life-force to our own destruction. On the other hand, +by denying it our attention and opposing it with curative +autosuggestions, we reduce its power to the minimum and should succeed +in overcoming it entirely. Even in the most serious organic diseases +the element contributed by wrong thought is infinitely greater than +that which is purely physical. + +There are times when temperamental failings, or the gravity of our +affliction, places our imagination beyond our ordinary control. The +suggestion operates in spite of us; we do not seem to possess the power +to rid our minds of the adverse thought. Under these conditions we +should never struggle to throw off the obsessing idea by force. Our +exertions only bring into play the law of reversed effort, and we +flounder deeper into the slough. Coue's technique, however, which will +be outlined in succeeding chapters, will give us the means of mastering +ourselves, even under the most trying conditions. + +Of all the destructive suggestions we must learn to shun, none is more +dangerous than fear. In fearing something the mind is not only +dwelling on a negative idea, but it is establishing the closest +personal connection between the idea and ourselves. Moreover, the idea +is surrounded by an aura of emotion, which considerably intensifies its +effect. Fear combines every element necessary to give to an +autosuggestion its maximum power. But happily fear, too, is +susceptible to the controlling power of autosuggestion. It is one of +the first things which a person cognisant of the means to be applied +should seek to eradicate from his mind. + +For our own sakes, too, we should avoid dwelling on the faults and +frailties of our neighbours. If ideas of selfishness, greed, vanity, +are continually before our minds there is great danger that we shall +subconsciously accept them, and so realise them in our own character. +The petty gossip and backbiting, so common in a small town, produce the +very faults they seem to condemn. But by allowing our minds to rest +upon the virtues of our neighbours, we reproduce the same virtues in +ourselves. + +But if we should avoid negative ideas for our own sakes, much more +should we do so for the sake of other people. Gloomy and despondent +men and women are centres of mental contagion, damaging all with whom +they come in contact. Sometimes such people seem involuntarily to +exert themselves to quench the cheerfulness of brighter natures, as if +their Unconscious strove to reduce all others to its own low level. +But even healthy, well-intentioned people scatter evil suggestions +broadcast, without the least suspicion of the harm they do. Every time +we remark to an acquaintance that he is looking ill, we actually damage +his health; the effect may be extremely slight, but by repetition it +grows powerful. A man who accepts in the course of a day fifteen or +twenty suggestions that he is ill, has gone a considerable part of the +way towards actual illness. Similarly, when we thoughtlessly +commiserate with a friend on the difficulty of his daily work, or +represent it as irksome and uncongenial, we make it a little harder for +him to accomplish, and thereby slightly diminish his chances of success. + +If we must supervise our speech in contact with adults, with children +we should exercise still greater foresight. The child's Unconscious is +far more accessible than that of the adult; the selective power +exercised by the conscious mind is much feebler, and consequently the +impressions received realise themselves with greater power. These +impressions are the material from which the child's growing life is +constructed, and if we supply faulty material the resultant structure +will be unstable. Yet the most attentive and well-meaning mothers are +engaged daily in sowing the seeds of weakness in their children's +minds. The little ones are constantly told they will take cold, will +be sick, will fall down, or will suffer some other misfortune. The +more delicate the child's health, the more likely it is to be subjected +to adverse suggestions. It is too often saturated with the idea of bad +health, and comes to look on disease as the normal state of existence +and health as exceptional. The same is equally true of the child's +mental and moral upbringing. How often do foolish parents tell their +children that they are naughty, disobedient, stupid, idle or vicious? +If these suggestions were accepted, which, thank Heaven, is not always +the case, the little ones would in very fact develop just these +qualities. But even when no word is spoken, a look or a gesture can +initiate an undesirable autosuggestion. The same child, visited by two +strangers, will immediately make friends with the one and avoid the +other. Why is this?--Because the one carries with him a healthful +atmosphere, while the other sends out waves of irritability or gloom. + +"Men imagine," says Emerson, "that they communicate their virtue or +vice only by overt actions, and do not see that virtue and vice emit a +breath every moment." + +With children, above all, it is not sufficient to refrain from the +expression of negative ideas; we must avoid harbouring them altogether. +Unless we possess a bright positive mind the suggestions derived from +us will be of little value. + +The idea is gaining ground that a great deal of what is called +hereditary disease is transmitted from parent to child, not physically +but mentally--that is to say, by means of adverse suggestions +continually renewed in the child's mind. Thus if one of the parents +has a tendency to tuberculosis, the child often lives in an atmosphere +laden with tuberculous thoughts. The little one is continually advised +to take care of its lungs, to keep its chest warm, to beware of colds, +etc., etc. In other words, the idea is repeatedly presented to its +mind that it possesses second-rate lungs. The realisation of these +ideas, the actual production of pulmonary tuberculosis is thus almost +assured. + +But all this is no more than crystallised common-sense. Everyone knows +that a cheerful mind suffuses health, while a gloomy one produces +conditions favourable to disease. "A merry heart doeth good like a +medicine," says the writer of the Book of Proverbs, "but a broken +spirit drieth the bones." But this knowledge, since it lacked a +scientific basis, has never been systematically applied. We have +regarded our feelings far too much as _effects_ and not sufficiently as +_causes_. We are happy because we are well; we do not recognise that +the process will work equally well in the reverse direction--that we +shall be well because we are happy. Happiness is not only the result +of our conditions of life; it is also the creator of those conditions. +Autosuggestion lays weight upon this latter view. Happiness must come +first. It is only when the mind is ordered, balanced, filled with the +light of sweet and joyous thought, that it can work with its maximum +efficiency. When we are habitually happy our powers and capabilities +come to their full blossom, and we are able to work with the utmost +effect on the shaping of what lies without. + +Happiness, you say, cannot be ordered like a chop in a restaurant. +Like love, its very essence is freedom. This is true; but like love, +it can be wooed and won. It is a condition which everyone experiences +at some time in life. It is native to the mind. By the systematic +practice of Induced Autosuggestion we can make it, not a fleeting +visitant, but a regular tenant of the mind, which storms and stresses +from without cannot dislodge. This idea of the indwelling happiness, +inwardly conditioned, is as ancient as thought. By autosuggestion we +can realise it in our own lives. + + + + +CHAPTER VII + +THE GENERAL FORMULA + +We saw that an unskilled golfer, who imagines his ball is going to +alight in a bunker, unconsciously performs just those physical +movements needful to realise his idea in the actual. In realising this +idea his Unconscious displays ingenuity and skill none the less +admirable because opposed to his desire. From this and other examples +we concluded that if the mind dwells on the idea of an accomplished +fact, a realised state, the Unconscious will produce this state. If +this is true of our spontaneous autosuggestions it is equally true of +the self-induced ones. + +It follows that if we consistently think of happiness we become happy; +if we think of health we become healthy; if we think of goodness we +become good. Whatever thought we continually think, provided it is +reasonable, tends to become an actual condition of our life. + +Traditionally we rely too much on the conscious mind. If a man suffers +from headaches he searches out, with the help of his physician, their +cause; discovers whether they come from his eyes, his digestion or his +nerves, and purchases the drugs best suited to repair the fault. If he +wishes to improve a bad memory he practises one of the various methods +of memory-training. If he is the victim of a pernicious habit he is +left to counter it by efforts of the will, which too often exhaust his +strength, undermine his self-respect, and only lead him deeper into the +mire. How simple in comparison is the method of Induced +Autosuggestion! He need merely think the end--a head free from pain, a +good memory, a mode of life in which his bad habit has no part, and +these states are gradually evolved without his being aware of the +operation performed by the Unconscious. + +But even so, if each individual difficulty required a fresh +treatment--one for the headache, one for the memory, one for the bad +habit and so on--then the time needful to practise autosuggestion would +form a considerable part of our waking life. Happily the researches of +the Nancy School have revealed a further simplification. This is +obtained by the use of a general formula which sets before the mind the +idea of a daily improvement in every respect, mental, physical and +moral. + +In the original French this formula runs as follows: "Tous les jours, a +tous points de vue, je vais de mieux en mieux." The English version +which Coue considers most satisfactory is this: "_Day by day, in every +way, I'm getting better and better_." This is very easy to say, the +youngest child can understand it, and it possesses a rudimentary +rhythm, which exerts a lulling effect on the mind and so aids in +calling up the Unconscious. But if you are accustomed to any other +version, such as that recommended by the translators of Baudouin, it +would be better to continue to use it. Religious minds who wish to +associate the formula with God's care and protection might do so after +this fashion: "Day by day, in every way, by the help of God, I'm +getting better and better." It is possible that the attention of the +Unconscious will thus be turned to moral and spiritual improvements to +a greater extent than by the ordinary formula. + +But this general formula possesses definite advantages other than mere +terseness and convenience. The Unconscious, in its character of +surveyor over our mental and physical functions, knows far better than +the conscious the precise failings and weaknesses which have the +greatest need of attention. The general formula supplies it with a +fund of healing, strengthening power, and leaves it to apply this at +the points where the need is most urgent. + +It is a matter of common experience that people's ideals of manhood and +womanhood vary considerably. The hardened materialist pictures +perfection solely in terms of wealth, the butterfly-woman wants little +but physical beauty, charm, and the qualities that attract. The +sensitive man is apt to depreciate the powers he possesses and +exaggerate those he lacks; while his self-satisfied neighbour can see +no good in any virtues but his own. It is quite conceivable that a +person left free to determine the nature of his autosuggestions by the +light of his conscious desire might use this power to realise a quality +not in itself admirable, or even one which, judged by higher standards, +appeared pernicious. Even supposing that his choice was good he would +be in danger of over-developing a few characteristics to the detriment +of others and so destroying the balance of his personality. The use of +the general formula guards against this. It saves a man in spite of +himself. It avoids the pitfalls into which the conscious mind may lead +us by appealing to a more competent authority. Just as we leave the +distribution of our bodily food to the choice of the Unconscious, so we +may safely leave that of our mental food, our Induced Autosuggestions. + +The fear that the universal use of this formula would have a +standardising effect, modifying its users to a uniform pattern, is +unfounded. A rigid system of particular suggestions might tend towards +such a result, but the general formula leaves every mind free to unfold +and develop in the manner most natural to itself. The eternal +diversity of men's minds can only be increased by the free impulse thus +administered. + +We have previously seen that the Unconscious tide rises to its highest +point compatible with conscious thought just before sleep and just +after awaking, and that the suggestions formulated then are almost +assured acceptation. It is these moments that we select for the +repetition of the formula. + +But before we pass on to the precise method, a word of warning is +necessary. Even the most superficial attempt to analyse intellectually +a living act is bound to make it appear complex and difficult. So our +consideration of the processes of outcropping and acceptation has +inevitably invested them with a false appearance of difficulty. +Autosuggestion is above all things easy. Its greatest enemy is effort. +The more simple and unforced the manner of its performance the more +potently and profoundly it works. This is shown by the fact that its +most remarkable results have been secured by children and by simple +French peasants. + +It is here that Coue's directions for the practice differ considerably +from those of Baudouin. Coue insists upon its easiness, Baudouin +complicates it. The four chapters devoted by the latter to +"relaxation," "collection," "contention," and "concentration," produce +in the reader an adverse suggestion of no mean power. They leave the +impression that autosuggestion is a perplexing business which only the +greatest foresight and supervision can render successful. Nothing +could be more calculated to throw the beginner off the track. + +We have seen that Autosuggestion is a function of the mind which we +spontaneously perform every day of our lives. The more our induced +autosuggestions approximate to this spontaneous prototype the more +potent they are likely to be. Baudouin warns us against the danger of +setting the intellect to do the work of intuition, yet this is +precisely what he himself does. A patient trying by his rules to +attain outcropping and implant therein an autosuggestion is so +vigilantly attentive to what he is doing that outcropping is rendered +almost impossible. These artificial aids are, in Coue's opinion, not +only unnecessary but hindersome. Autosuggestion succeeds when +Conscious and Unconscious co-operate in the acceptance of an idea. +Coue's long practice has shown that we must leave the Unconscious, as +senior partner in the concern, to bring about the right conditions in +its own way. The fussy attempts of the intellect to dictate the method +of processes which lie outside its sphere will only produce conflict, +and so condemn our attempt to failure. The directions given here are +amply sufficient, if conscientiously applied, to secure the fullest +benefits of which the method is capable. + +Take a piece of string and tie in it twenty knots. By this means you +can count with a minimum expenditure of attention, as a devout Catholic +counts his prayers on a rosary. The number twenty has no intrinsic +virtue; it is merely adopted as a suitable round number. + +On getting into bed close your eyes, relax your muscles and take up a +comfortable posture. These are no more than the ordinary preliminaries +of slumber. Now repeat twenty times, counting by means of the knots, +the general formula: "Day by day, in every way, I'm getting better and +better." + +The words should be uttered aloud; that is, loud enough to be audible +to your own ears. In this way the idea is reinforced by the movements +of lips and tongue and by the auditory impressions conveyed through the +ear. Say it simply, without effort, like a child absently murmuring a +nursery rhyme. Thus you avoid an appeal to the critical faculties of +the conscious which would lessen the outcropping. When you have got +used to this exercise and can say it quite "unself-consciously," begin +to let your voice rise or fall--it does not matter which--on the phrase +"in every way." This is perhaps the most important part of the +formula, and is thus given a gentle emphasis. But at first do not +attempt this accentuation; it will only needlessly complicate and, by +requiring more conscious attention, may introduce effort. Do not try +to think of what you are saying. On the contrary, let the mind wander +whither it will; if it rests on the formula all the better, if it +strays elsewhere do not recall it. As long as your repetition does not +come to a full-stop your mind-wandering will be less disturbing than +would be the effort to recall your thoughts. + +Baudouin differs from Coue as to the manner in which the formula should +be repeated. His advice is to say it "piously," with all the words +separately stressed. No doubt it has its value when thus spoken, but +the attitude of mind to which the word "pious" can be applied is +unfortunately not habitual with everyone. The average man in trying to +be "pious" might end by being merely artificial. But the child still +exists in the most mature of men. The "infantile" mode of repeating +the formula puts one in touch with deep levels of the Unconscious where +the child-mind still survives. Coue's remarkable successes have been +obtained by this means, and Baudouin advances no cogent reason for +changing it. + +These instructions no doubt fall somewhat short of our ideal of a +thought entirely occupying the mind. But they are sufficient for a +beginning. The sovereign rule is to make no effort, and if this is +observed you will intuitively fall into the right attitude. This +process of Unconscious adaptation may be hastened by a simple +suggestion before beginning. Say to yourself, "I shall repeat the +formula in such a manner as to secure its maximum effect." This will +bring about the required conditions much more effectively than any +conscious exercise of thought. + +On waking in the morning, before you rise, repeat the formula in +exactly the same manner. + +Its regular repetition is the foundation stone of the Nancy method and +should never be neglected. In times of health it may be regarded as an +envoy going before to clear the path of whatever evils may lurk in the +future. But we must look on it chiefly as an educator, as a means of +leavening the mass of adverse spontaneous suggestions which clog the +Unconscious and rob our lives of their true significance. + +Say it with faith. When you have said it your conscious part of the +process is completed. Leave the Unconscious to do its work +undisturbed. Do not be anxious about it, continually scanning yourself +for signs of improvement. The farmer does not turn over the clods +every morning to see if his seed is sprouting. Once sown it is left +till the green blade appears. So it should be with suggestion. Sow +the seed, and be sure the Unconscious powers of the mind will bring it +to fruition, and all the sooner if your conscious ego is content to let +it rest. + +_Say it with faith_! You can only rob Induced Autosuggestion of its +power in one way--by believing that it is powerless. If you believe +this it becomes ipso facto powerless for you. The greater your faith +the more radical and the more rapid will be your results; though if you +have only sufficient faith to repeat the formula twenty times night and +morning the results will soon give you in your own person the proof you +desire, and facts and faith will go on mutually augmenting each other. + +Faith reposes on reason and must have its grounds. What grounds can we +adduce for faith in Induced Autosuggestion? The examples of cures +already cited are outside your experience and you may be tempted to +pooh-pooh them. The experiment of Chevreul's pendulum, however, will +show in a simple manner the power possessed by a thought to transform +itself into an action. + +Take a piece of white paper and draw on it a circle of about five +inches' radius. Draw two diameters _AB_ and _CD_ at right angles to +each other and intersecting at _O_. The more distinctly the lines +stand out the better--they should be thickly drawn in black ink. Now +take a lead pencil or a light ruler and tie to one end a piece of +cotton about eight inches long; to the lower end of the cotton fasten a +heavy metal button, of the sort used on a soldier's tunic. Place the +paper on a table so that the diameter _AB_ seems to be horizontal and +_CD_ to be vertical, thus: + +[Illustration: Autosuggestion diagram] + +Stand upright before the table with your miniature fishing-rod held +firmly in both hands and the button suspended above the point _O_. +Take care not to press the elbows nervously against the sides. + +Look at the line _AB_, think of it, follow it with your eyes from side +to side. Presently the button will begin to swing along the line you +are thinking of. The more your mind dwells easily upon the idea of the +line the greater this swing becomes. Your efforts to _try_ to hold the +pendulum still, by bringing into action the law of reversed effort, +only make its oscillations more pronounced. + +Now fix your eyes on the line _CD_. The button will gradually change +the direction of its movement, taking up that of _CD_. When you have +allowed it to swing thus for a few moments transfer your attention to +the circle, follow the circumference round and round with your eyes. +Once more the swinging button will follow you, adopting either a +clock-wise or a counter clock-wise direction according to your thought. +After a little practice you should produce a circular swing with a +diameter of at least eight inches; but your success will be directly +proportional to the exclusiveness of your thought and to your efforts +to hold the pencil still. + +Lastly think of the point _O_. Gradually the radius of the swing will +diminish until the button comes to rest. + +Is it necessary to point out how these movements are caused? Your +thought of the line, passing into the Unconscious, is there realised, +so that _without knowing it_ you execute with your hands the +imperceptible movements which set the button in motion. The +Unconscious automatically realises your thought through the nerves and +muscles of your arms and hands. What is this but Induced +Autosuggestion? + +The first time you perform this little experiment it is best to be +alone. This enables you to approach it quite objectively. + + + + +CHAPTER VIII + +PARTICULAR SUGGESTIONS + +The use of particular suggestions outlined in this chapter is of minor +importance compared with that of the general formula--"Day by day, in +every way, I'm getting better and better." The more deeply Coue +pursues his investigations, the more fully he becomes convinced that +all else is secondary to this. It is not difficult to make a guess as +to why this should be. In the general formula the attention is fully +absorbed by the idea of betterment. The mind is directed away from all +that hinders and impedes and fixed on a positive goal. In formulating +particular suggestions, however, we are always skating on the thin ice +round our faults and ailments, always touching on subjects which have +the most painful associations. So that our ideas have not the same +creative positiveness. However that may be, it is a matter of +experience that the general formula is the basis of the whole method, +and that all else is merely an adjuvant, an auxiliary--useful, but +inessential to the main object. + +We have seen that a partial outcropping of the Unconscious takes place +whenever we relax our mental and physical control, and let the mind +wander; in popular language, when we fall into a "brown study" or a +"day-dream." This outcropping should be sought before the special +suggestions are formulated. + +But again we must beware of making simple things seem hard. Baudouin +would have us perform a number of elaborate preparatives, which, +however valuable to the student of psychology, serve with the layman +only to distract the mind, and by fixing the attention on the mechanism +impair the power of the creative idea. Moreover, they cause the +subject to exert efforts to attain a state the very essence of which is +effortlessness, like the victim of insomnia who "tries his hardest" to +fall asleep. + +In order to formulate particular suggestions, go to a room where you +will be free from interruption, sit down in a comfortable chair, close +your eyes, and let your muscles relax. In other words, act precisely +as if you were going to take a siesta. In doing so you allow the +Unconscious tide to rise to a sufficient height to make your particular +suggestions effective. Now call up the desired ideas through the +medium of speech. Tell yourself that such and such ameliorations are +going to occur. + +But here we must give a few hints as to the _form_ these suggestions +should take. + +We should never set our faith a greater task than it can accomplish. A +patient suffering from deafness would be ill-advised to make the +suggestion: "I can hear perfectly." In the partial state of +outcropping association is not entirely cut off, and such an idea would +certainly call up its contrary. Thus we should initiate a suggestion +antagonistic to the one we desired. In this way we only court +disappointment and by losing faith in our instrument rob it of its +efficacy. + +Further, we should avoid as far as possible all mention of the ailment +or difficulty against which the suggestion is aimed. Indeed, our own +attention should be directed not so much to getting rid of wrong +conditions as to cultivating the opposite right ones in their place. +If you are inclined to be neurasthenic your mind is frequently occupied +with fear. This fear haunts you because some thwarted element in your +personality, surviving in the Unconscious, gains through it a perverse +satisfaction. In other words, your Unconscious enjoys the morbid +emotional condition which fear brings with it. Should you succeed in +banishing your fears you would probably feel dissatisfied, life would +seem empty. The old ideas would beckon you with promises, not of +happiness truly, but of emotion and excitement. But if your +suggestions take a positive form, if you fill your mind with thoughts +of self-confidence, courage, outward activity, and interest in the +glowing and vital things of life, the morbid ideas will be turned out +of doors and there will be no vacant spot to which they can return. + +Whatever the disorder may be, we should refer to it as little as +possible, letting the whole attention go out to the contrary state of +health. We must dwell on the "Yes-idea," affirming with faith the +realisation of our hopes, seeing ourselves endowed with the triumphant +qualities we lack. For a similar reason we should never employ a form +of words which connotes doubt. The phrases, "I should like to," "I am +going to try," if realised by the Unconscious, can only produce a state +of longing or desire, very different from the actual physical and +mental modifications we are seeking. + +Finally, we should not speak of the desired improvement entirely as a +thing of the future. We should affirm that the change has already +begun, and will continue to operate more and more rapidly until our end +is fully attained. + +Here are a few examples of special suggestions which may prove useful. + +For deafness: Having closed the eyes and relaxed body and mind, say to +yourself something of this nature: "From this day forth my hearing will +gradually improve. Each day I shall hear a little better. Gradually +this improvement will become more and more rapid until, in a +comparatively short space of time, I shall hear quite well and I shall +continue to do so until the end of my life." + +A person suffering from unfounded fears and forebodings might proceed +as follows: "From to-day onward I shall become more and more conscious +of all that is happy, positive and cheerful. The thoughts which enter +my mind will be strong and healthful ones. I shall gain daily in +self-confidence, shall believe in my own powers, which indeed at the +same time will manifest themselves in greater strength. My life is +growing smoother, easier, brighter. These changes become from day to +day more profound; in a short space of time I shall have risen to a new +plane of life, and all the troubles which used to perplex me will have +vanished and will never return." + +A bad memory might be treated in some such terms as these: "My memory +from to-day on will improve in every department. The impressions +received will be clearer and more definite; I shall retain them +automatically and without any effort on my part, and when I wish to +recall them they will immediately present themselves in their correct +form to my mind. This improvement will be accomplished rapidly, and +very soon my memory will be better than it has ever been before." + +Irritability and bad temper are very susceptible to autosuggestion and +might be thus treated: "Henceforth I shall daily grow more +good-humoured. Equanimity and cheerfulness will become my normal +states of mind, and in a short time all the little happenings of life +will be received in this spirit. I shall be a centre of cheer and +helpfulness to those about me, infecting them with my own good humour, +and this cheerful mood will become so habitual that nothing can rob me +of it." + +Asthma is a disease which has always baffled and still baffles the +ordinary methods of medicine. It has shown itself, however, in Coue's +experience, pre-eminently susceptible to autosuggestive treatment. +Particular suggestions for its removal might take this form: "From this +day forward my breathing will become rapidly easier. Quite without my +knowledge, and without any effort on my part, my organism will do all +that is necessary to restore perfect health to my lungs and bronchial +passages. I shall be able to undergo any exertion without +inconvenience. My breathing will be free, deep, delightful. I shall +draw in all the pure health-giving air I need, and thus my whole system +will be invigorated and strengthened. Moreover, I shall sleep calmly +and peacefully, with the maximum of refreshment and repose, so that I +awake cheerful and looking forward with pleasure to the day's tasks. +This process has this day begun and in a short time I shall be wholly +and permanently restored to health." + +It will be noticed that each of these suggestions comprises three +stages: (1) Immediate commencement of the amelioration. (2) Rapid +progress. (3) Complete and permanent cure. While this scheme is not +essential, it is a convenient one and should be utilised whenever +applicable. The examples are framed as the first autosuggestions of +persons new to the method. On succeeding occasions the phrase "from +this day forth," or its variants, should be replaced by a statement +that the amelioration has already begun. Thus, in the case of the +asthmatic, "My breathing is already becoming easier," etc. + +Particular suggestions, though subsidiary in value to the general +formula, are at times of very great service. The general formula looks +after the foundations of our life, building in the depths where eye +cannot see or ear hear. Particular suggestions are useful on the +surface. By their means we can deal with individual difficulties as +they arise. The two methods are complementary. + +Particular suggestions prove very valuable in reinforcing and rendering +permanent the effects obtained by the technique for overcoming pain, +which will be outlined in the next chapter. Before commencing the +attack we should sit down, close our eyes and say calmly and +confidently to ourselves: "I am now going to rid myself of this pain." +When the desired result has been obtained, we should suggest that the +state of ease and painlessness now re-established will be permanent, +that the affected part will rapidly be toned up into a condition of +normal health, and will remain always in that desirable state. Should +we have obtained only a lessening of the trouble without its complete +removal our suggestion should take this form: "I have obtained a +considerable degree of relief, and in the next few minutes it will +become complete. I shall be restored to my normal condition of health +and shall continue so for the future." Thus our assault upon the pain +is made under the best conditions, and should in every case prove +successful. + +We should employ particular suggestions also for overcoming the +difficulties which confront us from time to time in our daily lives, +and for securing the full success of any task we take in hand. The use +of the general suggestion will gradually strengthen our +self-confidence, until we shall expect success in any enterprise of +which the reason approves. But until this consummation is reached, +until our balance of self-confidence is adequate for all our needs, we +can obtain an overdraft for immediate use by means of particular +suggestion. + +We have already seen that the dimensions of any obstacle depend at +least as much upon our mental attitude towards it as upon its intrinsic +difficulty. The neurasthenic, who imagines he cannot rise from his +bed, cannot do so because this simple operation is endowed by his mind +with immense difficulty. The great mass of normal people commit the +same fault in a less degree. Their energy is expended partly in doing +their daily work, and partly in overcoming the resistance in their own +minds. By the action of the law of reversed effort the negative idea +they foster frequently brings their efforts to naught, and the very +exertions they make condemn their activities to failure. + +For this reason it is necessary, before undertaking any task which +seems to us difficult, to suggest that it is in fact easy. We close +our eyes and say quietly to ourselves, "The work I have to do is easy, +quite easy. Since it is easy I can do it, and I shall do it +efficiently and successfully. Moreover, I shall enjoy doing it; it +will give me pleasure, my whole personality will apply itself +harmoniously to the task, and the results will be even beyond my +expectation." We should dwell on these ideas, repeating them +tranquilly and effortlessly. Soon our mind will become serene, full of +hope and confidence. Then we can begin to think out our method of +procedure, to let the mind dwell on the means best suited to attain our +object. Since the impediments created by fear and anxiety are now +removed our ideas will flow freely, our plans will construct themselves +in the quiet of the mind, and we shall come to the actual work with a +creative vigour and singleness of purpose. + +By a similar procedure the problems of conduct which defy solution by +conscious thought will frequently yield to autosuggestion. When we are +"at our wits' ends," as the saying goes, to discover the best path out +of a dilemma, when choice between conflicting possibilities seems +impossible, it is worse than useless to continue the struggle. The law +of reversed effort is at work paralysing our mental faculties. We +should put it aside, let the waves of effort subside, and suggest to +ourselves that at a particular point of time the solution will come to +us of its own accord. If we can conveniently do so, it is well to let +a period of sleep intervene, to suggest that the solution will come to +us on the morrow; for during sleep the Unconscious is left undisturbed +to realise in its own way the end we have consciously set before it. + +This operation often takes place spontaneously, as when a problem left +unsolved the night before yields its solution apparently by an +inspiration when we arise in the morning. "Sleep on it" still remains +the best counsel for those in perplexity, but they should preface their +slumbers by the positive autosuggestion that on waking they will find +the difficulty resolved. In this connection it is interesting to note +that autosuggestion is already widely made use of as a means of waking +at a particular hour. A person who falls asleep with the idea in his +mind of the time at which he wishes to wake, will wake at that time. +It may be added that wherever sleep is utilised for the realisation of +particular suggestions, these suggestions should be made in addition to +the general formula, either immediately before or immediately after; +they should never be substituted for it. + +With some afflictions, such as fits, the attack is often so sudden and +unexpected that the patient is smitten down before he has a chance to +defend himself. Particular suggestions should be aimed first of all at +securing due warning of the approaching attack. We should employ such +terms as these: "In future I shall always know well in advance when a +fit is coming on. I shall be amply warned of its approach. When these +warnings occur I shall feel no fear or anxiety. I shall be quite +confident of my power to avert it." As soon as the warning comes--as +it will come, quite unmistakably--the sufferer should isolate himself +and use a particular suggestion to prevent the fit from developing. He +should first suggest calm and self-control, then affirm repeatedly, but +of course without effort, that the normal state of health is +reasserting itself, that the mind is fully under control, and that +nothing can disturb its balance. All sudden paroxysms, liable to take +us unexpectedly, should be treated by the same method, which in Coue's +experience has amply justified itself. + +Nervous troubles and violent emotions, such as fear and anger, often +express themselves by physical movements. Fear may cause trembling, +palpitation, chattering of the teeth; anger a violent clenching of the +fists. Baudouin advises that particular suggestions in these cases +should be directed rather against the motor expression than against the +psychic cause, that our aim should be to cultivate a state of physical +impassibility. But since a positive suggestion possesses greater force +than a negative, it would seem better to attack simultaneously both the +cause and the effect. Instead of anger, suggest that you will feel +sympathy, patience, good-humour, and consequently that your bodily +state will be easy and unconstrained. + +A form of particular suggestion which possesses distinct advantages of +its own is the quiet repetition of a single word. If your mind is +distracted and confused, sit down, close your eyes, and murmur slowly +and reflectively the single word "Calm." Say it reverently, drawing it +out to its full length and pausing after each repetition. Gradually +your mind will be stilled and quietened, and you will be filled with a +sense of harmony and peace. This method seems most applicable to the +attainment of moral qualities. An evil passion can be quelled by the +use of the word denoting the contrary virtue. The power of the word +depends largely upon its aesthetic and moral associations. Words like +joy, strength, love, purity, denoting the highest ideals of the human +mind, possess great potency and are capable, thus used, of dispelling +mental states in which their opposites predominate. The name +Reflective Suggestion, which Baudouin applies indifferently to all +autosuggestions induced by the subject's own choice, might well be +reserved for this specific form of particular suggestion. + +The field for the exercise of particular suggestions is practically +limitless. Whenever you feel a need for betterment, of whatever nature +it may be, a particular suggestion will help you. But it must once +more be repeated that these particular suggestions are merely aids and +auxiliaries, which may, if leisure is scant, be neglected. + + + + +CHAPTER IX + +HOW TO DEAL WITH PAIN + +Pain, whether of mind or body, introduces a new element for which we +have hitherto made no provision. By monopolising the attention it +keeps the conscious mind fully alert and so prevents one from attaining +the measure of outcropping needful to initiate successfully an +autosuggestion. Thus if we introduce the "no-pain" idea into the +conscious, it is overwhelmed by its contrary--pain, and the patient's +condition becomes, if anything, worse. + +To overcome this difficulty quite a new method is required. If we +speak a thought, that thought, while we speak it, must occupy our +minds. We could not speak it unless we thought it. By continually +repeating "I have no pain" the sufferer constantly renews that thought +in his mind. Unfortunately, after each repetition the pain-thought +insinuates itself, so that the mind oscillates between "I have no pain" +and "I have some pain," or "I have a bad pain." But if we repeat our +phrase so rapidly that the contrary association has no time to insert +itself, we compel the mind willy-nilly to dwell on it. Thus by a fresh +path we reach the same goal as that attained by induced outcropping; we +cause an idea to remain in occupation of the mind without calling up a +contrary association. This we found to be the prime condition of +acceptation, and in fact by this means we can compel the Unconscious to +realise the "no-pain" thought and so put an end to the pain. + +But the sentence "I have no pain" does not lend itself to rapid +repetition. The physical difficulties are too great; the tongue and +lips become entangled in the syllables and we have to stop to restore +order. Even if we were dexterous enough to articulate the words +successfully, we should only meet with a new difficulty. The most +emphatic word in the phrase is "pain"; involuntarily we should find +ourself stressing this word with particular force, so strengthening in +our minds the very idea we are trying to dislodge. + +We shall do best to copy as closely as we can Coue's own procedure. +The phrase he uses, "ca passe," makes no mention of the hurt; it is +extremely easy to say, and it produces an unbroken stream of sound, +like the whirr of a machine or the magnified buzz of an insect, which, +as it were, carries the mind off its feet. The phrase recommended by +Baudouin, "It is passing off," produces no such effect, and in fact +defies all our attempts to repeat it quickly. On the whole, the most +suitable English version seems to be "It's going." Only the word +"going" should be repeated, and the treatment should conclude with the +emphatic statement "gone!" The word "going," rapidly gabbled, gives +the impression of a mechanical drill, biting its way irresistibly into +some hard substance. We can think of it as drilling the desired +thought into the mind. + +If you are suffering from any severe pain, such as toothache or +headache, sit down, close your eyes and assure yourself calmly that you +are going to get rid of it. Now gently stroke with your hand the +affected part and repeat at the same time as fast as you can, producing +a continuous stream of sound, the words: "It's going, going, going ... +gone!" Keep it up for about a minute, pausing only to take a deep +breath when necessary, and using the word "gone" only at the conclusion +of the whole proceeding. At the end of this time the pain will either +have entirely ceased or at least sensibly abated. In either case apply +the particular suggestions recommended in the previous chapter. If the +pain has ceased suggest that it will not return; if it has only +diminished suggest that it will shortly pass away altogether. Now +return to whatever employment you were engaged in when the pain began. +Let other interests occupy your attention. If in a reasonable space, +say half an hour, the pain still troubles you, isolate yourself again; +suggest once more that you are going to master it, and repeat the +procedure. + +It is no exaggeration to say that by this process any pain can be +conquered. It may be, in extreme cases, that you will have to return +several times to the attack. This will generally occur when you have +been foolish enough to supply the pain with a cause--a decayed tooth, a +draught of cold air, etc.--and so justify it to your reason, and give +it, so to speak, an intellectual sanction. Or it may be that it will +cease only to return again. But do not be discouraged; attack it +firmly and you are bound to succeed. + +The same procedure is equally effective with distressing states of +mind, worry, fear, despondency. In such cases the stroking movement of +the hand should be applied to the forehead. + +Even in this exercise no more effort should be used than is necessary. +Simply repeat rapidly the word which informs you that the trouble is +going, and let this, with the stroking movement of the hand, which, as +it were, fixes the attention to that particular spot, be the sum and +substance of your effort. With practice it will become easier, you +will "drop into it"; that is to say, the Unconscious will perform the +adaptations necessary to make it more effective. After a time you +should be able to obtain relief in twenty to twenty-five seconds. But +the effect is still more far-reaching; you will be delivered from the +fear of pain. Regarding yourself as its master, you will be able with +the mere threat of treatment to prevent it from developing. You will +hang up a card, "No admittance," on the doors of your conscious mind. + +It may be that the pain attacks you in the street or in a workshop; in +some public place where the audible repetition of the phrase would +attract attention. In that case it is best to close the eyes for a +moment and formulate this particular suggestion: "I shall not add to +this trouble by thinking about it; my mind will be occupied by other +things; but on the first opportunity I shall make it pass away," Then +as soon as you can conveniently do so make use of the phrase "It's +going." When you have become expert in the use of this form of +suggestion you will be able to exorcise the trouble by repeating the +phrase mentally--at any rate if the words are outlined with the lips +and tongue. But the beginner should rely for a time entirely on +audible treatment. By dropping it too soon he will only court +disappointment. + +It sometimes happens that a patient is so prostrated by pain or misery +that he has not the energy to undertake even the repetition of the word +"going." The pain-thought so obsesses the mind that the state of +painlessness seems too remote even to contemplate. Under these +circumstances it seems best to employ this strategy. Lie down on a +bed, sofa, or arm-chair and relax both mind and body. Cease from all +effort--which can only make things worse--and let the pain-thought have +its way. After a time your energies will begin to collect themselves, +your mind to reassert its control. Now make a firm suggestion of +success and apply the method. Get another person to help you, as Coue +helps his patients, by performing the passes with the hand and +repeating the phrase with you. By this means you can make quite sure +of success. This seemingly contradictory proceeding is analogous to +that of the angler "playing" a fish. He waits till it has run its +course before bringing his positive resources into play. + +Baudouin recommends an analogous proceeding as a weapon against +insomnia. The patient, he says, should rapidly repeat the phrase, "I +am going to sleep," letting his mind be swept away by a torrent of +words. Once more the objection arises that the phrase "I am going to +sleep" is not such as we can rapidly repeat. But even if we substitute +for it some simple phrase which can be easily articulated it is +doubtful whether it will succeed in more than a small percentage of +cases. Success is more likely to attend us if we avail ourselves of +the method of reflective repetition mentioned in the last chapter. We +should take up the position most favourable to slumber and then repeat +slowly and contemplatively the word "Sleep." The more impersonal our +attitude towards the idea the more rapidly it will be realised in our +own slumbers. + + + + +CHAPTER X + +AUTOSUGGESTION AND THE CHILD + +In treating children it should be remembered that autosuggestion is +primarily not a remedy but a means of insuring healthy growth. It +should not be reserved for times when the child is sick, but provided +daily, with the same regularity as meals. + +Children grow up weakly not from lack of energy, but because of a waste +and misapplication of it. The inner conflict, necessitated by the +continual process of adaptation which we call growth, is often of quite +unnecessary violence, not only making a great temporary demand on the +child's vital energy, but even locking it up in the Unconscious in the +form of "complexes," so that its future life is deprived of a portion +of its due vitality. A wise use of autosuggestion will preclude these +disasters. Growth will be ordered and controlled. The necessary +conflicts will be brought to a successful issue, the unnecessary ones +avoided. + +Autosuggestion may very well begin before the child is born. It is a +matter of common knowledge that a mother must be shielded during +pregnancy from any experience involving shock or fright, since these +exert a harmful effect on the developing embryo, and may in extreme +cases result in abortion, or in physical deformity or mental weakness +in the child. Instances of this ill-effect are comparatively common, +and the link between cause and effect is often unmistakable. There is +no need to point out that these cases are nothing more than spontaneous +autosuggestions operating in the maternal Unconscious; since during +pregnancy the mother moulds her little one not only by the food she +eats but also by the thoughts she thinks. The heightened emotionality +characteristic of this state bespeaks an increased tendency to +outcropping, and so an increased suggestibility. Thus spontaneous +autosuggestions are far more potent than in the normal course of life. +But, happily, induced autosuggestions are aided by the same conditions, +so that the mother awake to her powers and duties can do as much good +as the ignorant may do harm. + +Without going into debatable questions, such as the possibility of +predetermining the sex of the child to be born, one can find many +helpful ways of aiding and benefiting the growing life by +autosuggestive means. The mother should avoid with more than ordinary +care all subjects, whether in reading or conversation, which bear on +evil in any form, and she should seek whatever uplifts the mind and +furnishes it with beautiful and joyous thought. But the technical +methods of autosuggestion can also be brought into action. + +The mother should suggest to herself that her organism is furnishing +the growing life with all it needs, and that the child will be strong +and healthy in mind, in body, and in character. + +These suggestions should be in general terms bearing on qualities of +undoubted good, for obviously it is not desirable to define an +independent life too narrowly. They need consist only of a few +sentences, and should be formulated night and morning immediately +before or after the general formula. Furthermore, when the mother's +thoughts during the day stray to the subject of her child, she can take +this opportunity to repeat the whole or some part of the particular +suggestion she has chosen. These few simple measures will amply +suffice. Any undue tendency of the mind to dwell on the thought of the +child, even in the form of good suggestions, should not be encouraged. +A normal mental life is in itself the best of conditions for the +welfare of both mother and child. For her own sake however the mother +might well suggest that the delivery will be painless and easy. + +The only direct means of autosuggestion applicable to the child for +some months after birth is that of the caress, though it must be +remembered that the mental states of mother and nurse are already +stamping themselves on the little mind, forming it inevitably for +better or worse. Should any specific trouble arise, the method of +Mlle. Kauffmant should be applied by the mother. Taking the child on +her knee she should gently caress the affected part, thinking the while +of its reinstatement in perfect health. It seems generally advisable +to express these thoughts in words. Obviously, the words themselves +will mean nothing to an infant of two or three months, but they will +hold the mother's thought in the right channel, and this thought, by +the tone of her voice, the touch of her hand, will be communicated to +the child. Whether telepathy plays any part in this process we need +not inquire, but the baby is psychically as well as physically so +dependent on the mother that her mental states are communicated by +means quite ineffective with adults. Love in itself exerts a +suggestive power of the highest order. + +When the child shows signs of understanding what is said to it, before +it begins itself to speak, the following method should be applied. +After the little one has fallen asleep at night the mother enters the +room, taking care not to awaken it, and stands about a yard from the +head of the cot. She proceeds then to formulate in a whisper such +suggestions as seem necessary. If the child is ailing the suggestion +might take the form of the phrase "You are getting better" repeated +twenty times. If it is in health the general formula will suffice. +Particular suggestions may also be formulated bearing on the child's +health, character, intellectual development, etc. These of course +should be in accordance with the instructions given in the chapter +devoted to particular suggestions. On withdrawing, the mother should +again be careful not to awaken the little one. Should it show signs of +waking, the whispered command "sleep," repeated several times, will +lull it again to rest. Baudouin recommends that during these +suggestions the mother should lay her hand on the child's forehead. +The above, however, is the method preferred by Coue. + +This nightly practice is the most effective means of conveying +autosuggestions to the child-mind. It should be made a regular habit +which nothing is allowed to interrupt. If for any reason the mother is +unable to perform it, her place may be taken by the father, the nurse, +or some relative. But for obvious reasons the duty belongs by right to +the mother, and, when a few weeks' practice has revealed its beneficent +power, few mothers will be willing to delegate it to a less suitable +agent. + +This practice, as stated above, may well begin before the child has +actually learned to speak, for its Unconscious will already be forming +a scheme more or less distinct of the significance of the sounds that +reach it, and will not fail to gather the general tenor of the words +spoken. The date at which it should be discontinued is less easy to +specify. Growth, to be healthy, must carry with it a gradual increase +in independence and self-sufficiency. There seems to be some slight +danger that the practice of nightly suggestions, if continued too long, +might prolong unduly the state of dependence upon parental support. +Reliable indications on this point are furnished, however, by the child +itself. As soon as it is able to face its daily problems for itself, +when it no longer runs to the parent for help and advice in every +little difficulty, the time will have arrived for the parental +suggestions to cease. + +As soon as a child is able to speak it should be taught to repeat the +general formula night and morning in the same way as an adult. Thus +when the time comes to discontinue the parent's suggestions their +effect will be carried on by those the child formulates itself. There +is one thing more to add: in the case of boys it would seem better at +the age of seven or eight for the father to replace the mother in the +role of suggester, while the mother, of course, performs the office +throughout for her girls. Should any signs appear that the period of +puberty is bringing with it undue difficulties or perils, the nightly +practice might be resumed in the form of particular suggestions bearing +on the specific difficulties. It must be remembered, however, that the +child's sexual problem is essentially different from that of the adult, +and the suggestions must therefore be in the most general terms. Here +as elsewhere the end alone should be suggested, the Unconscious being +left free to choose its own means. + +As soon as the child has learnt to speak it should not be allowed to +suffer pain. The best method to adopt is that practised by Coue in his +consultations. Let the child close its eyes and repeat with the +parent, "It's going, going ... gone!" while the latter gently strokes +the affected part. But as soon as possible the child should be +encouraged to overcome smaller difficulties for itself, until the +parent's help is eventually almost dispensed with. This is a powerful +means of developing self-reliance and fostering the sense of +superiority to difficulties which will be invaluable in later life. + +That children readily take to the practice is shown by these examples, +which are again quoted from letters received by Coue. + +"Your youngest disciple is our little David. The poor little chap had +an accident to-day. Going up in the lift with his father, when quite +four feet up, he fell out on his head and on to a hard stone floor. He +was badly bruised and shocked, and when put to bed lay still and kept +saying: 'ca passe, ca passe,' over and over again, and then looked up +and said, 'no, not gone away.' To-night he said again 'ca passe' and +then added, 'nearly gone.' So he is better." + + B. K. (London). + 8 _January_, 1922. + + +Another lady writes: + +"Our cook's little niece, aged 23 months--the one we cured of +bronchitis--gave herself a horrid blow on the head yesterday. Instead +of crying she began to smile, passed her hand over the place and said +sweetly, 'ca passe.' Hasn't she been well brought up?" + +All these methods are extremely simple and involve little expenditure +of time and none of money. They have proved their efficacy over and +over again in Nancy, and there is no reason why a mother of average +intelligence and conscientiousness should not obtain equally good +results. Naturally, first attempts will be a little awkward, but there +is no need for discouragement on that account. Even supposing that +through the introduction of effort some slight harm were done--and the +chance is comparatively remote--this need cause no alarm. The right +autosuggestion will soon counteract it and produce positive good in its +place. But any mother who has practised autosuggestion for herself +will be able correctly to apply it to her child. + +At first glance the procedure may seem revolutionary, but think it over +for a moment and you will see that it is as old as the hills. It is +merely a systematisation on a scientific basis of the method mothers +have intuitively practised since the world began. "Sleep, baby, sleep. +Angels are watching o'er thee,"--what is this but a particular +suggestion? How does a wise mother proceed when her little one falls +and grazes its hand? She says something of this kind: "Let me kiss it +and then it will be well." She kisses it, and with her assurance that +the pain has gone the child runs happily back to its play. This is +only a charming variation of the method of the caress. + + + + +CHAPTER XI + +CONCLUSION + +Induced Autosuggestion is not a substitute for medical practice. It +will not make us live for ever, neither will it free us completely from +the common ills of life. What it may do in the future, when all its +implications have been realised, all its resources exploited, we cannot +say. There is no doubt that a generation brought up by its canons +would differ profoundly from the disease-ridden population of to-day. +But our immediate interest is with the present. + +The adult of to-day carries in his Unconscious a memory clogged with a +mass of adverse suggestions which have been accumulating since +childhood. The first task of Induced Autosuggestion will be to clear +away this mass of mental lumber. Not until this has been accomplished +can the real man appear and the creative powers of autosuggestion begin +to manifest themselves. + +By the use of this method each one of us should be able to look forward +to a life in which disease is a diminishing factor. But how great a +part it will play depends upon the conditions we start from and the +regularity and correctness of our practice. Should disease befall us +we possess within a potent means of expelling it, but this does not +invalidate the complementary method of destroying it from without. +Autosuggestion and the usual medical practice should go hand in hand, +each supplementing the other. If you are ill, call in your doctor as +before, but enlist the resources of Induced Autosuggestion to reinforce +and extend his treatment. + +In this connection it must be insisted on that autosuggestion should be +utilised for every ailment, whatever its nature, and whether its +inroads be grave or slight. Every disease is either strengthened or +weakened by the action of the mind. We cannot take up an attitude of +neutrality. Either we must aid the disease to destroy us by allowing +our minds to dwell on it, or we must oppose it and destroy it by a +stream of healthful dynamic thought. Too frequently we spontaneously +adopt the former course. + +The general opinion that functional and nervous diseases alone are +susceptible to suggestive treatment is at variance with the facts. +During Coue's thirty years of practice, in which many thousands of +cases have been treated, he has found that organic troubles yield as +easily as functional, that bodily derangements are even easier to cure +than nervous and mental. He makes no such distinctions; an illness is +an illness whatever its nature. As such Coue attacks it, and in 98 per +cent. of cases he attains in greater or less degree a positive result. + +Apart from the permanently insane, in whose minds the machinery of +autosuggestion is itself deranged, there are only two classes of +patient with whom Induced Autosuggestion seems to fail. One consists +of persons whose intelligence is so low that the directions given are +never comprehended; the other of those who lack the power of voluntary +attention and cannot devote their minds to an idea even for a few +consecutive seconds. These two classes, however, are numerically +insignificant, together making up not much more than 2 per cent. of the +population. + +Autosuggestion is equally valuable as an aid to surgical practice. A +broken bone--the sceptic's last resource--cannot of course be treated +by autosuggestion alone. A surgeon must be called in to mend it. But +when the limb has been rightly set and the necessary mechanical +precautions have been taken, autosuggestion will provide the best +possible conditions for recovery. It can prevent lameness, stiffness, +unsightly deformity and the other evils which a broken limb is apt to +entail, and it will shorten considerably the normal period of +convalescence. + +It is sometimes stated that the results obtained by autosuggestion are +not permanent. This objection is really artificial, arising from the +fact that we ignore the true nature of autosuggestion and regard it +merely as a remedy. When we employ autosuggestion to heal a malady our +aim is so to leaven the Unconscious with healthful thoughts, that not +only will that specific malady be excluded, but all others with it. +Autosuggestion should not only remove a particular form of disease, but +the tendency to all disease. + +If after an ailment has been removed we allow our mind to revert to +unhealthy thoughts, they will tend to realise themselves in the same +way as any others, and we may again fall a victim to ill-health. Our +sickness may take the same form as on the preceding occasion, or it may +not. That will depend on the nature of our thought. But by the +regular employment of the general formula we can prevent any such +recurrence. Instead of reverting to unhealthy states of mind we shall +progressively strengthen the healthy and creative thought that has +already given us health, so that with each succeeding day our defence +will be more impenetrable. Not only do we thus avoid a relapse into +former ailments but we clear out of our path those which lie in wait +for us in the future. + +We saw that in the Nancy clinic some of the cures effected are almost +instantaneous. It would be a mistake, however, to embark on the +practice of Induced Autosuggestion with the impression that we are +going to be miraculously healed in the space of a few days. Granted +sufficient faith, such a result would undoubtedly ensue; nay, more, we +have records of quite a number of such cases, even where the help of a +second person has not been called in. Here is an example. A friend of +mine, M. Albert P., of Bordeaux, had suffered for more than ten years +with neuralgia of the face. Hearing of Coue, he wrote to him, and +received instructions to repeat the general formula. He did so, and on +the second day the neuralgia had vanished and has never since returned. +But such faith is not common. Immediate cures are the exception, and +it will be safer for us to look forward to a gradual and progressive +improvement. In this way we shall guard against disappointment. It +may be added that Coue prefers the gradual cure, finding it more stable +and less likely to be disturbed by adverse conditions. + +We should approach autosuggestion in the same reasonable manner as we +approach any other scientific discovery. There is no hocus-pocus about +it, nor are any statements made here which experience cannot verify. +But the attitude we should beware most of is that of the intellectual +amateur, who makes the vital things of life small coin to exchange with +his neighbour of the dinner-table. Like religion, autosuggestion is a +thing to practise. A man may be conversant with all the creeds in +Christendom and be none the better for it; while some simple soul, +loving God and his fellows, may combine the high principles of +Christianity in his life without any acquaintance with theology. So it +is with autosuggestion. + +Autosuggestion is just as effective in the treatment of moral +delinquencies as in that of physical ills. Drunkenness, kleptomania, +the drug habit, uncontrolled or perverted sexual desires, as well as +minor failings of character, are all susceptible to its action. It is +as powerful in small things as in great. By particular suggestions we +can modify our tastes. We can acquire a relish for the dishes we +naturally dislike, and make disagreeable medicine taste pleasant. So +encouraging has been its application to the field of morals that Coue +is trying to gain admittance to the French state reformatories. So +far, the official dislike for innovations has proved a barrier, but +there is good reason to hope that in the near future the application of +this method to the treatment of the criminal will be greatly extended. + +By way of anticipating an objection it may be stated that the Coue +method of Induced Autosuggestion is in no sense inferior to hypnotic +suggestion. Coue himself began his career as a hypnotist, but being +dissatisfied with the results, set out in quest of a method more simple +and universal. Conscious autosuggestion, apart from its convenience, +can boast one great advantage over its rival. The effects of hypnotic +suggestion are often lost within a few hours of the treatment. Whereas +by the use of the general formula the results of Induced Autosuggestion +go on progressively augmenting. + +Here we touch again the question of the suggester. We have already +seen that a suggester is not needed, that autosuggestion can yield its +fullest fruits to those who practise it unaided. But some persons +cannot be prevailed on to accept this fact. They feel a sense of +insufficiency; the mass of old wrong suggestions has risen so +mountain-high that they imagine themselves incapable of removing it. +With such the presence of a suggester is an undoubted help. They have +nothing to do but lie passive and receive the ideas he evokes. Even +so, however, they will get little good unless they consent to repeat +the general formula. + +But as long as we look on autosuggestion as a remedy we miss its true +significance. Primarily it is a means of self-culture, and one far +more potent than any we have hitherto possessed. It enables us to +develop the mental qualities we lack: efficiency, judgment, creative +imagination, all that will help us to bring our life's enterprise to a +successful end. Most of us are aware of thwarted abilities, powers +undeveloped, impulses checked in their growth. These are present in +our Unconscious like trees in a forest, which, overshadowed by their +neighbours, are stunted for lack of air and sunshine. By means of +autosuggestion we can supply them with the power needed for growth and +bring them to fruition in our conscious lives. However old, however +infirm, however selfish, weak or vicious we may be, autosuggestion will +do something for us. It gives us a new means of culture and discipline +by which the "accents immature," the "purposes unsure" can be nursed +into strength, and the evil impulses attacked at the root. It is +essentially an individual practice, an individual attitude of mind. +Only a narrow view would split it up into categories, debating its +application to this thing or to that. It touches our being in its +wholeness. Below the fussy perturbed little ego, with its local +habitation, its name, its habits and views and oddities is an ocean of +power, as serene as the depths below the troubled surface of the sea. +Whatever is of you comes eventually thence, however perverted by the +prism of self-consciousness. Autosuggestion is a channel by which the +tranquil powers of this ultimate being are raised to the level of our +life here and now. + +What prospects does autosuggestion open to us in the future? + +It teaches us that the burdens of life are, at least in large measure, +of our own creating. We reproduce in ourselves and in our +circumstances the thoughts of our minds. It goes further. It offers +us a means by which we can change these thoughts when they are evil and +foster them when they are good, so producing a corresponding betterment +in our individual life. But the process does not end with the +individual. The thoughts of society are realised in social conditions, +the thoughts of humanity in world conditions. What would be the +attitude towards our social and international problems of a generation +nurtured from infancy in the knowledge and practice of autosuggestion? +If fear and disease were banned from the individual life, could they +persist in the life of the nation? If each person found happiness in +his own heart would the illusory greed for possession survive? The +acceptance of autosuggestion entails a change of attitude, a +revaluation of life. If we stand with our faces westward we see +nothing but clouds and darkness, yet by a simple turn of the head we +bring the wide panorama of the sunrise into view. + +That Coue's discoveries may profoundly affect our educational methods +is beyond question. Hitherto we have been dealing directly only with +the conscious mind, feeding it with information, grafting on to it +useful accomplishments. What has been done for the development of +character has been incidental and secondary. This was inevitable so +long as the Unconscious remained undiscovered, but now we have the +means of reaching profounder depths, of endowing the child not only +with reading and arithmetic, but with health, character and personality. + +But perhaps it is in our treatment of the criminal that the greatest +revolution may be expected. The acts for which he is immured result +from nothing more than twists and tangles of the threads of thought in +the Unconscious mind. This is the view of eminent authorities. But +autosuggestion takes us a long step further. It shows how these +discords of character may be resolved. Since Coue has succeeded in +restoring to moral health a youth of homicidal tendencies, why should +not the same method succeed with many of the outcasts who fill our +prisons? At least the younger delinquents should prove susceptible. +But the idea underlying this attitude entails a revolution in our penal +procedure. It means little less than this: that crime is a disease and +should be treated as such; that the idea of punishment must give place +to that of cure; the vindictive attitude to one of pity. This brings +us near to the ideals of the New Testament, and indeed, autosuggestion, +as a force making for goodness, is bound to touch closely on religion. + +It teaches the doctrine of the inner life which saints and sages have +proclaimed through all ages. It asserts that within are the sources of +calm, of power and of courage, and that the man who has once attained +mastery of this inner sphere is secure in the face of all that may +befall him. This truth is apparent in the lives of great men. Martyrs +could sing at the stake because their eyes were turned within on the +vision of glory which filled their hearts. Great achievements have +been wrought by men who had the fortitude to follow the directions of +an inner voice, even in contradiction to the massed voices they heard +without. + +Suppose we find that the power Christ gave to his disciples to work +miracles of healing was not a gift conferred on a few selected +individuals, but was the heritage of all men; that the kingdom of +heaven within us to which He alluded was available in a simple way for +the purging and elevation of our common life, for procuring sounder +health and sweeter minds. Is not the affirmation contained in Coue's +formula a kind of prayer? Does it not appeal to something beyond the +self-life, to the infinite power lying behind us? + +Autosuggestion is no substitute for religion; it is rather a new weapon +added to the religious armoury. If as a mere scientific technique it +can yield such results, what might it not do as the expression of those +high yearnings for perfection which religion incorporates? + + + + + + + + + + + +End of Project Gutenberg's The Practice of Autosuggestion, by C. 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