Self Mastery Through Conscious Autosuggestion: Part Nine

(For the next week or so, the Successful Living blog will post the complete book, "Self Mastery Through Conscious Autosuggestion" by Emile Coue. Coue, a french doctor, was one of the pioneers in the field of autosuggestion - now known as affirmations or self talk. This is his seminal work.)

Chapter 9
The Use of Suggestion For the Cure of Moral Ailments

Neurasthenia, so common nowadays, generally yields to suggestion constantly
practised in the way I have indicated. I have had the happiness of contributing to
the cure of a large number of neurasthenics with whom every other treatment had
failed. One of them had even spent a month in a special establishment at Luxemburg
without obtaining any improvement. In six weeks he was completely cured, and he is now the happiest man one would wish to find, after having thought himself the most miserable. Neither is he ever likely to fall ill again in the same way, for I showed him how to make use of conscious autosuggestion and he does it marvelously well.

But if suggestion is useful in treating moral complaints and physical ailments,
may it not render still greater services to society, in turning into honest folks the
wretched children who people our reformatories and who only leave them to enter
the army of crime. Let no one tell me it is impossible. The remedy exists and I can prove it.

I will quote the two following cases which are very characteristic, but here I must
insert a few remarks in parenthesis. To make you understand the way in which
suggestion acts in the treatment of moral taints I will use the following comparison.
Suppose our brain is a plank in which are driven nails which represent the ideas, habits, and instincts, which determine our actions. If we find that there exists in a subject a bad idea, a bad habit, a bad instinct, -- as it were, a bad nail, we take another which is the good idea, habit, or instinct, place it on top of the bad one and give a tap with a hammer -- in other words we make a suggestion.

The new nail will be driven in perhaps a fraction of an inch, while the old one will
come out to the same extent. At each fresh blow with the hammer, that is to say at each fresh suggestion, the one will be driven in a fraction further and the other
will be driven out the same amount, until, after a certain number of blows, the old
nail will come out completely and be replaced by the new one. When this substitution
has been made, the individual obeys it.

Let us return to our examples. Little M , a child of eleven living at Troyes,
was subject night and day to certain accidents inherent to early infancy [bed-wetting]. He was also a kleptomaniac, and, of course, untruthful into the bargain. At his mother's request I treated him by suggestion. After the first visit the accidents
ceased by day, but continued at night. Little by little they became less frequent,
and finally, a few months afterwards, the child was completely cured. In the same
period his thieving propensities lessened, and in six months they had entirely
ceased.
This child's brother, aged eighteen, had conceived a violent hatred against another
of his brothers. Every time that he had taken a little too much wine, he felt impelled
to draw a knife and stab his brother. He felt that one day or other he would
end by doing so, and he knew at the same time that having done so he would be
inconsolable. I treated him also by suggestion, and the result was marvelous. After
the first treatment he was cured. His hatred for his brother had disappeared,
and they have since become good friends and got on capitally together. I followed
up the case for a long time, and the cure was permanent.

Since such results are to be obtained by suggestion, would it not be beneficial -- I
might even say indispensable -- to take up this method and introduce it into our
reformatories? I am absolutely convinced that if suggestion were daily applied to
vicious children, more than 50 per cent could be reclaimed. Would it not be an
immense service to render society, to bring back to it sane and well members of it
who were formerly corroded by moral decay?

Perhaps I shall be told that suggestion is a dangerous thing, and that it can be
used for evil purposes. This is no valid objection, first because the practice of suggestion would only be confided [by the patient] to reliable and honest people, -- to the reformatory doctors, for instance, -- and on the other hand, those who seek to
use it for evil ask no one's permission.

But even admitting that it offers some danger (which is not so) I should like to
ask whoever proffers the objection, to tell me what thing we use that is not dangerous?

Is it steam? gunpowder? railways? ships? electricity? automobiles? aeroplanes?
Are the poisons not dangerous which we, doctors and chemists, use daily
in minute doses, and which might easily destroy the patient if, in a moment's
carelessness, we unfortunately made a mistake in weighing them out?


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Self Mastery Through Conscious Autosuggestion: Part Eight

(For the next week or so, the Successful Living blog will post the complete book, "Self Mastery Through Conscious Autosuggestion" by Emile Coue. Coue, a french doctor, was one of the pioneers in the field of autosuggestion - now known as affirmations or self talk. This is his seminal work.)

Chapter 8
How Suggestion Works

In order to understand properly the part played by suggestion or rather by autosuggestion, it is enough to know that the unconscious selfis the grand director of all ourfunctions. Make this believed, as I said above, that a certain organ which
does not function well must perform its function, and instantly the order is transmitted.

The organ obeys with docility, and either at once or little by little performs
its functions in a normal manner. This explains simply and clearly how by
means of suggestion one can stop haemorrhages, cure constipation, cause fibrous
tumours to disappear, cure paralysis, tubercular lesions, varicose; ulcers, etc.
Let us take for example, a case of dental haemorrhage which I had the opportunity
of observing in the consulting room of M. Gauthe, a dentist at Troyes.

A young lady whom I had helped to cure herself of asthma from which she had suffered
for eight years, told me one day that she wanted to have a tooth out. As I knew
her to be very sensitive, I offered to make her feel nothing of the operation. She
naturally accepted with pleasure and we made an appointment with the dentist.
On the day we had arranged we presented ourselves at the dentist's and, standing
opposite my patient, I looked fixedly at her, saying:

"You feel nothing, you feel nothing, etc., etc." and then while still continuing the suggestion I made a sign to the dentist. In an instant the tooth was out without Mlle. D turning a hair. As fairly often happens, a haemorrhage followed, but I told the dentist that I would try suggestion without his using a haemostatic, without knowing beforehand what would happen. I then asked Mile. D to look at me fixedly, and I suggested to her that in two minutes the haemorrhage would cease of its own accord, and we waited. The patient spat blood again once or twice, and then ceased. I told her to open her mouth, and we both looked and found that a clot of blood had formed in the dental cavity.

How is this phenomenon to be explained? In the simplest way. Under the influence
of the idea: "The haemorrhage is to stop", the unconscious had sent to the
small arteries and veins the order to stop the flow of blood, and, obediently, they
contracted naturally, as they would have done artificially at the contact of a haemostatic like adrenalin, for example.

The same reasoning explains how a fibrous tumour can be made to disappear.

The unconscious having accepted the idea "It is to go" the brain orders the arteries
which nourish it, to contract. They do so, refusing their services, and ceasing to nourish the tumour which, deprived of nourishment, dies, dries up, is reabsorbed
and disappears.

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Self Mastery Through Conscious Autosuggestion: Part Seven

For the next week or so, the Successful Living blog will post the complete book, "Self Mastery Through Conscious Autosuggestion" by Emile Coue. Coue, a french doctor, was one of the pioneers in the field of autosuggestion - now known as affirmations or self talk. This is his seminal work.)

Chapter 7
The Superiority of This Method

This method gives absolutely marvellous results, and it is easy to understand
why. Indeed, by following out my advice, it is impossible to fail, except with the
two classes of persons mentioned above, who fortunately represent barely 3 per
cent of the whole. If, however, you try to put your subjects to sleep right away,
without the explanations and preliminary experiments necessary to bring them
to accept the suggestions and to transform them into autosuggestions you cannot
and will not succeed except with peculiarly sensitive subjects, and these are rare.

Everybody may become so by training, but very few are so sufficiently without the
preliminary instruction that I recommend, which can be done in a few minutes.
Formerly, imagining that suggestions could only be given during sleep, I always
tried to put my patient to sleep; but on discovering that it was not indispensable,
I left off doing it in order to spare him the dread and uneasiness he almost always
experiences when he is told that he is going to be sent to sleep, and which often
makes him offer, in spite of himself, an involuntary resistance.

If, on the contrary, you tell him that you are not going to put him to sleep as there is no need to do so, you gain his confidence. He listens to you without fear or any ulterior thought, and it often happens -- if not the first time, anyhow very soon -- that, soothed by the monotonous sound of your voice, he falls into a deep sleep from which he awakes astonished at having slept at all.

If there are sceptics among you -- as I am quite sure there are -- all I have to say
to them is: "Come to my house and see what is being done, and you will be convinced
by fact.

"You must not however run away with the idea that autosuggestion can only be
brought about in the way I have described. It is possible to make suggestions to
people without their knowledge and without any preparation. For instance, if a
doctor who by his title alone has a suggestive influence on his patient, tells him
that he can do nothing for him, and that his illness is incurable, he provokes in
the mind of the latter an autosuggestion which may have the most disastrous consequences; if however he tells him that his illness is a serious one, it is true, but that with care, time, and patience, he can be cured, he sometimes and even often
obtains results which will surprise him.

Here is another example: if a doctor after examining his patient, writes a prescription and gives it to him without any comment, the remedies prescribed will
not have much chance of succeeding; if, on the other hand, he explains to his
patient that such and such medicines must be taken in such and such conditions and that they will produce certain results, those results are practically certain to
be brought about.

If in this hall there are medical men or brother chemists, I hope they will not
think me their enemy. I am on the contrary their best friend. On the one hand
I should like to see the theoretical and practical study of suggestion on the syllabus of the medical schools for the great benefit of the sick and of the doctors
themselves; and on the other hand, in my opinion, every time that a patient goes
to see his doctor, the latter should order him one or even several medicines, even
if they are not necessary. As a matter of fact, when a patient visits his doctor, it is in order to be told what medicine will cure him. He does not realize that it is the hygiene and regimen which do this, and he attaches little importance to them. It
is a medicine that he wants.

In my opinion, if the doctor only prescribes a regimen without any medicine, his
patient will be dissatisfied; he will say that he took the trouble to consult him for
nothing, and often goes to another doctor. It seems to me then that the doctor
should always prescribe medicines to his patient, and, as much as possible, medicines
made up by himself rather than the standard remedies so much advertised and which owe their only value to the advertisement. The doctor's own prescriptions will inspire infinitely more confidence than So and So's pills which anyone can procure easily at the nearest drug store without any need of a prescription.


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Self Mastery Through Conscious Autosuggestion: Part Six

(For the next week or so, the Successful Living blog will post the complete book, "Self Mastery Through Conscious Autosuggestion" by Emile Coue. Coue, a french doctor, was one of the pioneers in the field of autosuggestion - now known as affirmations or self talk. This is his seminal work.)

Chapter 6
Method of Procedure in Curative Suggestion

When the subject has passed through the preceding experiments and has understood
them, he is ripe for curative suggestion. He is like a cultivated field in which
the seed can germinate and develop, whereas before it was but rough earth in
which it would have perished.

Whatever ailment the subject suffers from, whether it is physical or mental, it is
important to proceed always in the same way, and to use the same words with a few variations according to the case.

Say to the subject: "Sit down and close your eyes. I am not going to try and put
you to sleep as it is quite unnecessary. I ask you to close your eyes simply in order
that your attention may not be distracted by the objects around you. Now tell
yourself that every word I say is going to fix itself in your mind, and be printed,
engraved, and encrusted in it, that, there, it is going to stay fixed, imprinted, and
encrusted, and that without your will or knowledge, in fact perfectly unconsciously
on your part, you yourself and your whole organism are going to obey. In the first place I say that every day, three times a day, in the morning, at midday, and in the evening, at the usual meal times, you will feel hungry, that is to say, you will experience the agreeable sensation which makes you think and say: "Oh! how nice it will be to have something to eat!" You will then eat and enjoy your food, without of course overeating. You will also be careful to masticate it properly so as to transform it into a sort of soft paste before swallowing it. In these conditions you will digest it properly, and so feel no discomfort, inconvenience, or pain of any kind either in the stomach or intestines. You will assimilate what you eat and your organism will make use of it to make blood, muscle, strength and energy, in a word: Life.

"Since you will have digested your food properly, the function of excretion will
be normal, and every morning, on rising, you will feel the need of evacuating the
bowels, and without ever being obliged to take medicine or to use any artifice, you
will obtain a normal and satisfactory result.

"Further, every night from the time you wish to go to sleep till the time you wish
to wake next morning, you will sleep deeply, calmly, and quietly, without nightmares,
and on waking you will feel perfectly well, cheerful, and active.

"Likewise, if you occasionally suffer from depression, if you are gloomy and prone
to worry and look on the dark side of things, from now onwards you will cease
to do so, and, instead of worrying and being depressed and looking on the dark
side of things, you are going to feel perfectly cheerful, possibly without any special reason for it, just as you used to feel depressed for no particular reason. I say further still, that even if you have real reason to be worried and depressed you are not going to be so.

"If you are also subject to occasional fits of impatience or ill-temper you will cease to have them: on the contrary you will be always patient and master of yourself, and the things which worried, annoyed, or irritated you, will henceforth leave you absolutely indifferent and perfectly calm.

"If you are sometimes attacked, pursued, haunted, by bad and unwholesome ideas,
by apprehensions, fears, aversions, temptations, or grudges against other people,
all that will be gradually lost sight of by your imagination, and will melt away and
lose itself as though in a distant cloud where it will finally disappear completely.
As a dream vanishes when we wake, so will all these vain images disappear.

"To this I add that all your organs are performing their functions properly. The
heart beats in a normal way and the circulation of the blood takes place as it should; the lungs are carrying out their functions, as also the stomach, the intestines, the liver, the biliary duct, the kidneys and the bladder. If at the present moment any of them is acting abnormally, that abnormality is becoming less every day, so that quite soon it will have vanished completely, and the organ will have recovered its normal function. Further, if there should be any lesions in any of these organs, they will get better from day to day and will soon be entirely healed."

(With regard to this, I may say that it is not necessary to know which organ is affected for it to be cured. Under the influence of the autosuggestion "Every day, in every respect, I am getting better and better", the unconscious acts upon the organ which it can pick out itself.)

"I must also add -- and it is extremely important -- that if up to the present you
have lacked confidence in yourself, I tell you that this self-distrust will disappear
little by little and give place to self-confidence, based on the knowledge of this
force of incalculable power which is in each one of us. It is absolutely necessary for every human being to have this confidence. Without it one can accomplish nothing,
with it one can accomplish whatever one likes, (within reason, of course). You are then going to have confidence in yourself, and this confidence gives you the assurance that you are capable of accomplishing perfectly well whatever you wish to do, -- on condition that it is reasonable, -- and whatever it is your duty to do.

"So when you wish to do something reasonable, or when you have a duty to perform,
always think that it is easy, and make the words dificult, impossible, I cannot,
it is stronger than I, I cannotprevent myserffiom . . . . , disappear from your
vocabulary; they are not English. What is English is: "It is easy and I can". By
considering the thing easy it becomes so for you, although it might seem difficult
to others. You will do it quickly and well, and without fatigue, because you do it
without effort, whereas if you had considered it as difficult or impossible it would
have become so for you, simply because you would have thought it so."

To these general suggestions which will perhaps seem long and even childish to
some of you, but which are necessary, must be added those which apply to the
particular case of the patient you are dealing with.

All these suggestions must be made in a monotonous and soothing voice (always
emphasizing the essential words), which although it does not actually send the
subject to sleep, at least makes him feel drowsy, and think of nothing in particular.
When you have come to the end of the series of suggestions you address the subject
in these terms: "In short, I mean that from every point of view, physical as
well as mental, you are going to enjoy excellent health, better health than that
you have been able to enjoy up to the present. Now I am going to count three,
and when I say 'Three', you will open your eyes and come out of the passive state
in which you are now. You will come out of it quite naturally, without feeling in
the least drowsy or tired, on the contrary, you will feel strong, vigorous, alert, active, full of life; further still, you will feel very cheerful and fit in every way. ONE -- TWO -- THREE --" At the word "three" the subject opens his eyes, always with a smile and an expression of well-being and contentment on his face.

Sometimes, -- though rarely, -- the patient is cured on the spot; at other times,
and this is more generally the case, he finds himself relieved, his pain or his depression has partially or totally disappeared, though only for a certain lapse of
time.

In every case it is necessary to renew the suggestions more or less frequently
according to your subject, being careful always to space them out at longer and
longer intervals, according to the progress obtained until they are no longer necessary, -- that is to say when the cure is complete.

Before sending away your patient, you must tell him that he carries within him
the instrument by which he can cure himself, and that you are, as it were, only a
professor teaching him to use this instrument, and that he must help you in your task. Thus, every morning before rising, and every night on getting into bed, he
must shut his eyes and in thought transport himself into your presence, and then
repeat twenty times consecutively in a monotonous voice, counting by means of a
string with twenty knots in it, this little phrase:

"EVERY DAY, IN EVERY RESPECT, I AM GETTING BETTER AND BETTER."

In his mind he should emphasize the words "in every respect" which applies to
every need, mental or physical. This general suggestion is more efficacious than
special ones.

Thus it is easy to realize the part played by the giver of the suggestions. He is not
a master who gives orders, but a friend, a guide, who leads the patient step by
step on the road to health. As all the suggestions are given in the interest of the
patient, the unconscious of the latter asks nothing better than to assimilate them
and transform them into autosuggestions. When this has been done, the cure is
obtained more or less rapidly according to circumstances.


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Self Mastery Through Conscious Autosuggestion: Part Five

(For the next week or so, the Successful Living blog will post the complete book, "Self Mastery Through Conscious Autosuggestion" by Emile Coue. Coue, a french doctor, was one of the pioneers in the field of autosuggestion - now known as affirmations or self talk. This is his seminal work.)

Chapter 5
How To Teach Patients To Make Autosuggestion

The principle of the method may be summed up in these few words: It is impossible
to think of two things at once, that is to say that two ideas may be in juxtaposition, but they cannot be superimposed in our mind.

Every thought entirely filling our mind becomes true for us and tends to transform
itself into action.

Thus if you can make a sick person think that her trouble is getting better, it will
disappear; if you succeed in making a kleptomaniac think that he will not steal
any more, he will cease to steal, etc., etc.

This training which perhaps seems to you an impossibility, is, however, the simplest
thing in the world. It is enough, by a series of appropriate and graduated
experiments, to teach the subject, as it were the A. B. C. of conscious thought, and
here is the series: by following it to the letter one can be absolutely sure of obtaining a good result, except with the two categories of persons mentioned above.

First experiment. (These experiments are those of Sage of Rochester.) Preparatory.
--Ask the subject to stand upright, with the body as stiff as an iron bar,
the feet close together from toe to heel, while keeping the ankles flexible as if they were hinges. Tell him to make himself like a plank with hinges at its base, which is balanced on the ground. Make him notice that if one pushes the plank slightly either way it falls as a mass without any resistance, in the direction in which it is pushed. Tell him that you are going to pull him back by the shoulders and that he must let himself fall in your arms without the slightest resistance, turning on his ankles as on hinges, that is to say keeping the feet fixed to the ground. Then pull him back by the shoulders and if the experiment does not succeed, repeat it until it does, or nearly so.

Second experiment. -- Begin by explaining to the subject that in order to demonstrate the action of the imagination upon us, you are going to ask him in a moment to think: "I am falling backwards, I am falling backwards . . ." Tell him that
he must have no thought but this in his mind, that he must not reflect or wonder
if he is going to fall or not, or think that if he falls he may hurt himself, etc., or fall back purposely to please you, but that if he really feels something impelling him to fall backwards, he must not resist but obey the impulse.

Then ask your subject to raise the head high and to shut his eyes, and place your
right fist on the back of his neck, and your left hand on his forehead, and say to
him: "Now think: I am falling backwards, I am falling backwards, etc., etc. . . "
and, indeed, "You are falling backwards, You. . . are. . . fall . . . ing . . . back. . .wards, etc." At the same time slide the left hand lightly backwards to the left temple, above the ear, and remove very slowly but with a continuous movement the
right fist.

The subject is immediately felt to make a slight movement backwards, and either
to stop himself from falling or else to fall completely. In the first case, tell him
that he has resisted, and that he did not think just that he was falling, but that
he might hurt himself if he did fall. That is true, for if he had not thought the
latter, he would have fallen like a block. Repeat the experiment using a tone of
command as if you would force the subject to obey you. Go on with it until it is
completely successful or very nearly so. The operator should stand a little behind
the subject, the left leg forward and the right leg well behind him, so as not to be
knocked over by the subject when he falls. Neglect of this precaution might result
in a double fall if the person is heavy.

Third experiment. -- Place the subject facing you, the body still stiff, the ankles flexible, and the feet joined and parallel. Put your two hands on his temples without any pressure, look fixedly, without moving the eyelids, at the root of his nose, and tell him to think: "I am falling forward, I am falling forward . . . " and repeat to him, stressing the syllables, "You are fall . . . ing . . . for. . . ward, You are fall . .. ing . . . for. . . ward. . ." without ceasing to look fixedly at him.

Fourth experiment. -- Ask the subject to clasp his hands as tight as possible, that is to say, until the fingers tremble slightly, look at him in the same way as in the preceding experiment and keep your hands on his as though to squeeze them together still more tightly. Tell him to think that he cannot unclasp his fingers, that you are going to count three, and that when you say "three" he is to try to separate his hands while thinking all the time: "I cannot do it, I cannot do it . . . "and he will find it impossible. Then count very slowly, "one, two, three", and add immediately, detaching the syllables: "You . . . can. . . not . . . do . . . it . . . . You . . . can. . . not. . . do . . . it . . ." If the subject is thinking properly, "I cannot do it", not only is he unable to separate his fingers, but the latter clasp themselves all the more tightly together the more efforts he makes to separate them. He obtains in fact exactly the contrary to what he wants. In a few moments say to him: "Now think: 'I can do it,"' and his fingers will separate themselves.

Be careful always to keep your eyes fixed on the root of the subject's nose, and do
not allow him to turn his eyes away from yours for a single moment. If he is able
to unclasp his hands, do not think it is your own fault, it is the subject's, he has
not properly thought: "I cannot". Assure him firmly of this, and begin the experiment
again.

Always use a tone of command which suffers no disobedience. I do not mean that
it is necessary to raise your voice; on the contrary it is preferable to employ the
ordinary pitch, but stress every word in a dry and imperative tone. When these experiments have been successful, all the others succeed equally well and can be easily obtained by carrying out to the letter the instructions given above.

Some subjects are very sensitive, and it is easy to recognize them by the fact that
the contraction of their fingers and limbs is easily produced. After two or three
successful experiments, it is no longer necessary to say to them: "Think this", or
"think that"; You need only, for example, say to them simply -- but in the imperative
tone employed by all good suggestionists -- "Close your hands; now you cannot open them". "Shut your eyes; now you cannot open them," and the subject finds it absolutely impossible to open the hands or the eyes in spite of all his efforts. Tell him in a few moments: "You can do it now," and the de-contraction takes place instantaneously.

These experiments can be varied to infinity. Here are a few more: Make the subject
join his hands, and suggest that they are welded together; make him put his
hand on the table, and suggest that it is stuck to it; tell him that he is fixed to his chair and cannot rise; make him rise, and tell him he cannot walk; put a penholder on the table and tell him that it weighs a hundredweight, and that he cannot lift it, etc., etc.

In all these experiments, I cannot repeat too often, it is not suggestion properly
so-called which produces the phenomena, but the autosuggestion which is consecutive
to the suggestion of the operator.

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Self Mastery Through Conscious Autosuggestion: Part Four

(For the next week or so, the Successful Living blog will post the complete book, "Self Mastery Through Conscious Autosuggestion" by Emile Coue. Coue, a french doctor, was one of the pioneers in the field of autosuggestion - now known as affirmations or self talk. This is his seminal work.)

Chapter 4
THE USE OF AUTOSUGGESTION

Let us now return to the point where I said that we can control and lead our
imagination, just as a torrent or an unbroken horse can be controlled. To do so,
it is enough in the first place to know that this is possible (of which fact almost
everyone is ignorant) and secondly, to know by what means it can be done. Well,
the means is very simple; it is that which we have used every day since we came
into the world, without wishing or knowing it and absolutely unconsciously, but
which unfortunately for us, we often use wrongly and to our own detriment. This
means is autosuggestion.

Whereas we constantly give ourselves unconscious autosuggestions, all we have
to do is to give ourselves conscious ones, and the process consists in this: first,
to weigh carefully in one's mind the things which are to be the object of the autosuggestion, and according as they require the answer "yes" or "no" to repeat
several times without thinking of anything else: "This thing is coming", or "this
thing is going away"; "this thing will, or will not happen, etc., etc. . . .". (Of course,the thing must be in our power.) If the unconscious accepts this suggestion and transforms it into an autosuggestion, the thing or things are realized in every
particular.

Thus understood, autosuggestion is nothing but hypnotism as I see it, and I would
define it in these simple words: The influence of the imagination upon the moral and physical being of mankind. Now this influence is undeniable, and without returning to previous examples, I will quote a few others.

If you persuade yourself that you can do a certain thing, provided this thing be
possible, you will do it however difficult it may be. If on the contrary you imagine
that you cannot do the simplest thing in the world, it is impossible for you to do
it, and molehills become for you unscalable mountains.

Such is the case of neurasthenics, who, believing themselves incapable of the least
effort, often find it impossible even to walk a few steps without being exhausted.
And these same neurasthenics sink more deeply into their depression, the more
efforts they make to throw it off, like the poor wretch in the quicksands who sinks
in all the deeper the more he tries to struggle out.

In the same way it is sufficient to think a pain is going, to feel it indeed disappear little by little, and inversely, it is enough to think that one suffers in order to feel the pain begin to come immediately.

I know certain people who predict in advance that the will have a sick headache
on a certain day, in certain circumstances, and on that day, in the given circumstances, sure enough, they feel it. They brought their illness on themselves, just as others cure theirs by conscious autosuggestion.

I know that one generally passes for mad in the eyes of the world if one dares to
put forward ideas which it is not accustomed to hear. Well, at the risk of being
thought so, I say that if certain people are ill mentally and physically, it is that they imagine themselves to be ill mentally or physically. If certain others are paralytic without having any lesion to account for it, it is that they imagine themselves to be paralyzed, and it is among such persons that the most extraordinary cures are produced.

If others again are happy or unhappy, it is that they imagine themselves to be so, for it is possible for two people in exactly the same circumstances to be, the oneperfectly happy, the other absolutely wretched.

Neurasthenia, stammering, aversions, kleptomania, certain cases of paralysis,
are nothing but the, result of unconscious autosuggestion, that is to say the result
of the action of the unconscious upon the physical and moral being.

But if our unconscious is the source of many of our ills, it can also bring about the
cure of our physical and mental ailments. It can not only repair the ill it has done,
but cure real illnesses, so strong is its action upon our organism.

Shut yourself up alone in a room, seat yourself in an armchair, close your eyes to
avoid any distraction, and concentrate your mind for a few moments on thinking:
"Such and such a thing is going to disappear", or "Such and such a thing is corning
to pass."

If you have really made the autosuggestion, that is to say, if your unconscious has
assimilated the idea that you have presented to it, you are astonished to see the
thing you have thought come to pass. (Note that it is the property of ideas autosuggested to exist within us unrecognized, and we can only know of their existence by the effect they produce.) But above all, and this is an essential point, the will must not be brought into play in practising autosuggestion; for, if
it is not in agreement with the imagination, if one thinks: "I will make such and
such a thing happen", and the imagination says: "You are willing it, but it is not
going to be", not only does one not obtain what one wants, but even exactly the
reverse is brought about.

This remark is of capital importance, and explains why results are so unsatisfactory
when, in treating moral ailments, one strives to re-educate the will. It is the
training of the imagination which is necessary, and it is thanks to this shade of
difference that my method has often succeeded where others -- and those not the
least considered -- have failed.

From the numerous experiments that I have made daily for twenty years, and which I have examined with minute care, I have been able to deduct the following conclusions which I have summed up as laws:

1. When the will and the imagination are antagonistic, it is always the imagination which wins, without any exception.

2. In the conflict between the will and the imagination, the force of the imagination is in direct ratio to the square of the will.

3. When the will and the imagination are in agreement, one does not add to the other, but one is multiplied by the other.

4. The imagination can be directed.

(The expressions "In direct ratio to the square of the will" and "Is multiplied by"
are not rigorously exact. They are simply illustrations destined to make my meaning
clearer.)

After what has just been said it would seem that nobody ought to be ill. That is
quite true. Every illness, whatever it may be, can yield to autosuggestion, daring
and unlikely as my statement may seem; I do not say does always yield, but can
yield, which is a different thing.

But in order to lead people to practise conscious autosuggestion they must be
taught how, just as they are taught to read or write or play the piano.

Autosuggestion is, as I said above, an instrument that we possess at birth, and
with which we play unconsciously all our life, as a baby plays with its rattle. It is
however a dangerous instrument; it can wound or even kill you if you handle it
imprudently and unconsciously. It can on the contrary save your life when you
know how to employ it consciously. One can say of it as Aesop said of the tongue:
"It is at the same time the best and the worst thing in the world".

I am now going to show you how everyone can profit by the beneficent action of
autosuggestion consciously applied. In saying "every one", I exaggerate a little,
for there are two classes of persons in whom it is difficult to arouse conscious
autosuggestion:

1. The mentally undeveloped who are not capable of understanding what you say to them.

2. Those who are unwilling to understand.


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Self Mastery Through Conscious Autosuggestion: Part Three

(For the next week, the Successful Living blog will post the complete book, "Self Mastery Through Conscious Autosuggestion" by Emile Coue. Coue, a french doctor, was one of the pioneers in the field of autosuggestion - now known as affirmations or self talk. This is his seminal work.)

Chapter 3
SUGGESTION AND AUTOSUGGESTION

According to the preceding remarks we can compare the imagination to a torrent
which fatally sweeps away the poor wretch who has fallen into it, in spite of his
efforts to gain the bank. This torrent seems indomitable; but if you know how,
you can turn it from its course and conduct it to the factory, and there you can
transform its force into movement, heat, and electricity.

If this simile is not enough, we may compare the imagination -- "the madman at
home" as it has been called -- to an unbroken horse which has neither bridle nor
reins. What can the rider do except let himself go wherever the horse wishes to
take him? And often if the latter runs away, his mad career only comes to end in
the ditch.

If however the rider succeeds in putting a bridle on the horse, the part are reversed. It is no longer the horse who goes where he likes, it is the rider who
obliges the horse to take him wherever he wishes to go.

Now that we have learned to realize the enormous power of the unconscious or
imaginative being, I am going to show how this self, hitherto considered indomitable,
can be as easily controlled as a torrent or an unbroken horse. But before going any further it is necessary to define carefully two words that are often used without being properly understood.

These are the words suggestion and autosuggestion.

What then is suggestion? It may be defined as "the act of imposing an idea on the
brain of another". Does this action really exist? Properly speaking, no. Suggestion
does not indeed exist by itself. It does not and cannot exist except on the sine qua
non condition of transforming itself into autosuggestion in the subject. This latter
word may be defined as "the implanting of an idea in oneself by oneself."

You may make a suggestion to someone; if the unconscious of the latter does not
accept the suggestion, if it has not, as it were, digested it, in order to transform
it into autosuggestion, it produces no result. I have myself occasionally made a
more or less commonplace suggestion to ordinarily very obedient subjects quite
unsuccessfully. The reason is that the unconscious of the subject refused to accept
it and did not transform it into autosuggestion.

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Self Mastery Through Conscious Autosuggestion: Part Two

(For the next week, the Successful Living blog will post the complete book, "Self Mastery Through Conscious Autosuggestion" by Emile Coue. Coue, a french doctor, was one of the pioneers in the field of autosuggestion - now known as affirmations or self talk. This is his seminal work.)

Chapter 2
WILL AND IMAGINATION

If we open a dictionary and look up the word "will", we find this definition: "The
faculty of freely determining certain acts". We accept this definition as true and
unattackable, although nothing could be more false. This will that we claim so
proudly, always yields to the imagination. It is an absolute rule that admits of no
exception.

"Blasphemy! Paradox!" you will exclaim. "Not at all! On the contrary, it is the purest truth," I shall reply.

In order to convince yourself of it, open your eyes, look round you and try to understand what you see. You will then come to the conclusion that what I tell you is
not an idle theory, offspring of a sick brain but the simple expression of a fact.
Suppose that we place on the ground a plank 30 feet long by 1 foot wide. It is evident that everybody will be capable of going from one end to the other of this
plank without stepping over the edge. But now change the conditions of the experiment, and imagine this plank placed at the height of the towers of a cathedral.

Who then will be capable of advancing even a few feet along this narrow path? Could you hear me speak? Probably not. Before you had taken two steps you would begin to tremble, and in spite of every effort of your will you would be certain to fall to the ground.

Why is it then that you would not fall if the plank is on the ground, and why
should you fall if it is raised to a height above the ground? Simply because in the
first case you imagine that it is easy to go to the end of this plank, while in the
second case you imagine that you cannot do so.

Notice that your will is powerless to make you advance; if you imagine that you
cannot, it is absolutely impossible for you to do so. If tilers and carpenters are
able to accomplish this feat, it is because they think they can do it.

Vertigo is entirely caused by the picture we make in our minds that we are going
to fall. This picture transforms itself immediately into fact in spite of all the efforts of our will, and the more violent these efforts are, the quicker is the opposite to the desired result brought about.

Let us now consider the case of a person suffering from insomnia. If he does not
make any effort to sleep, he will lie quietly in bed. If on the contrary he tries to
force himself to sleep by his will, the more efforts he makes, the more restless he
becomes.

Have you not noticed that the more you try to remember the name of a person
which you have forgotten, the more it eludes you, until, substituting in your mind
the idea "I shall remember in a minute" to the idea "I have forgotten", the name
comes back to you of its own accord without the least effort?

Let those of you who are cyclists remember the days when you were learning to ride. You went along clutching the handle bars and frightened of falling. Suddenly catching sight of the smallest obstacle in the road you tried to avoid it, and the
more efforts you made to do so, the more surely you rushed upon it.

Who has not suffered from an attack of uncontrollable laughter, which bursts out
more violently the more one tries to control it?

What was the state of mind of each person in these different circumstances? "I do not want to fall but I cannot help doing so"; "I want to sleep but I cannot"; "I
want to remember the name of Mrs. So and So, but I cannot"; "I want to avoid
the obstacle, but I cannot"; "I want to stop laughing, but I cannot."

As you see, in each of these conflicts it is always the imagination which gains
the victory over the will, without any exception.

To the same order of ideas belongs the case of the leader who rushes forward at
the head of his troops and always carries them along with him, while the cry "Each
man for himself!" is almost certain to cause a defeat. Why is this? It is because in
the first case the men imagine that they must go forward, and in the second they
imagine that they are conquered and must fly for their lives.

Panurge was quite aware of the contagion of example, that is to say the action of
the imagination, when, to avenge himself upon a merchant on board the same boat, he bought his biggest sheep and threw it into the sea, certain beforehand
that the entire flock would follow, which indeed happened.

We human beings have a certain resemblance to sheep, and involuntarily, we are
irresistibly impelled to follow other people's examples, imagining that we cannot
do otherwise.

I could quote a thousand other examples but I should fear to bore you by such
an enumeration. I cannot however pass by in silence this fact which shows the
enormous power of the imagination, or in other words of the unconscious in its
struggle against the will.

There are certain drunkards who wish to give up drinking, but who cannot do so. Ask them, and they will reply in all sincerity that they desire to be sober, that drink disgusts them, but that they are irresistibly impelled to drink against their will, in spite of the harm they know it will do them.

In the same way certain criminals commit crimes in spite of themselves, and when
they are asked why they acted so, they answer "I could not help it, something impelled me, it was stronger than I."

And the drunkard and the criminal speak the truth; they are forced to do what
they do, for the simple reason they imagine they cannot prevent themselves from
doing so. Thus we who are so proud of our will, who believe that we are free to act
as we like, are in reality nothing but wretched puppets of which our imagination
holds all the strings. We only cease to be puppets when we have learned to guide
our imagination.

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Self Mastery Through Conscious Autosuggestion: Part One

(For the next week, the Successful Living blog will post the complete book, "Self Mastery Through Conscious Autosuggestion" by Emile Coue. Coue, a french doctor, was one of the pioneers in the field of autosuggestion - now known as affirmations or self talk. This is his seminal work.)

Introduction

Suggestion, or rather Autosuggestion, is quite a new subject, and yet at the same time it is as old as the world.

It is new in the sense that until now it has been wrongly studied and in consequence wrongly understood; it is old because it dates from the appearance of man on the earth. In fact autosuggestion is an instrument that we possess at birth, and in this instrument, or rather in this force, resides a marvelous and incalculable power, which according to circumstances produces the best or the worst results.

Knowledge of this force is useful to each one of us, but it is peculiarly indispensable to doctors, magistrates, lawyers, and to those engaged in the work of education.

By knowing how to practise it consciously it is possible in the first place to avoid provoking in others bad autosuggestions which may have disastrous consequences, and secondly, consciously to provoke good ones instead, thus bringing physical health to the sick, and moral health to the neurotic and the erring, the unconscious victims of anterior autosuggestions, and to guide into the right path those who had a tendency to take the wrong one.

Chapter I
THE CONSCIOUS SELF AND THE UNCONSCIOUS SELF

In order to understand properly the phenomena of suggestion, or to speak more correctly of autosuggestion, it is necessary to know that two absolutely distinct selves exist within us. Both are intelligent, but while one is conscious the other is unconscious. For this reason the existence of the latter generally escapes notice. It is however easy to prove its existence if one merely takes the trouble to examine certain phenomena and to reflect a few moments upon them. Let us take for instance the following examples:

Every one has heard of somnambulism; every one knows that a somnambulist gets up at night without waking, leaves his room after either dressing himself or not, goes downstairs, walks along corridors, and after having executed certain acts or accomplished certain work, returns to his room, goes to bed again, and shows next day the greatest astonishment at finding work finished which he had left unfinished the day before. It is however he himself who has done it without being aware of it. What force has his body obeyed if it is not an unconscious force, in fact his unconscious self?

Let us now examine the alas, too frequent case of a drunkard attacked by delirium tremens. As though seized with madness he picks up the nearest weapon, knife, hammer, or hatchet, as the case may be, and strikes furiously those who are unlucky enough to be in his vicinity. Once the attack is over, he recovers his senses and contemplates with horror the scene of carnage around him, without realizing that he himself is the author of it. Here again is it not the unconscious self which has caused the unhappy man to act in this way? (And what aversions, what ills we create for ourselves, everyone of us and in every domain by not "immediately" bringing into play "good conscious autosuggestions" against our "bad unconscious autosuggestions," thus bringing about the disappearance of all unjust suffering.)

If we compare the conscious with the unconscious self we see that the conscious self is often possessed of a very unreliable memory while the unconscious self on the contrary is provided with a marvelous and impeccable memory which registers without our knowledge the smallest events, the least important acts of our existence. Further, it is credulous and accepts with unreasoning docility what it is told. Thus, as it is the unconscious that is responsible for the functioning of all our organs but the intermediary of the brain, a result is produced which may seem rather paradoxical to you: that is, if it believes that a certain organ functions well or ill or that we feel such and such an impression, the organ in question does indeed function well or ill, or we do feel that impression.

Not only does the unconscious self preside over the functions of our organism, but also over all our actions whatever they are. It is this that we call imagination, and it is this which, contrary to accepted opinion, always makes us act even, and above all, against our will when there is antagonism between these two forces.


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25 Ways to Boost Self-Esteem

Confidence and arrogance are two totally different things. If you confuse the two, you will most certainly become a very unhappy person with very few real friends. Arrogance is NOT a “quality” and it won’t help you reach your goals any faster.

Confidence in oneself, or the lack thereof is what stops people from getting tightly focused on what they want to achieve. That little voice telling them they can't do something is their biggest UN-motivator. What can YOU do to gain confidence?

25 tips toward boosting your confidence and self esteem.

1. Love Yourself:

This can take a bit of practice and looks really funny, but try it, it works. When you wake up, give yourself a great big hug. Do the same when it’s time for sleep.

You’ve heard this said a million times before: “How can you expect others to love you if you don't love yourself?” It’s true. Practice the morning and evening hugs for 2 weeks, maybe 3 weeks if you're the stubborn type, and you’ll see how well it works.

2. Look in the mirror:

Every time you pass a mirror, look into it and flash your biggest and best smile at yourself. It might feel strange at first, but eventually it’ll make you feel brilliant about yourself. Tell yourself “Looking good!” or “Wow, I love me!” or similar phrases often enough to actually start believing it.

3. Do things that make you feel good:

This can be anything from listening to music, trekking in the Andes, doing some volunteer work or even just taking a shower. Anything that gives you a positive feeling about yourself works for this one.

4. Listen to YOU:

Face it. Nobody knows you better than you know yourself, no matter how many people try to tell you differently. So if your body, mind or gut is telling you something, then take notice of it, and don't worry about what other people may possibly have to say about it.


5. Talk to YOU:

In times of stress, take a time-out break. Wander into your own mind and have a conversation with yourself about anything at all. Tell yourself how lucky you are to be you, and praise yourself for every good and positive thing you can attribute to yourself.

6. Remove negatives:

If anything feels like it’s dragging you down, get rid of it. If it’s clutter, tidy up, if it’s a friend full of negativity explain nicely that you don’t really feel up to talking right now. If it’s your kids acting up, leave the room for a while and so on.

7. Surround with positives:

Surround yourself with things that bring out good feelings in you. Examples could be things such as happy, upbeat friends, a nice new picture, a new car, an old comfy blanket, candles, pictures of your family, your girlfriend, boyfriend, spouse etc.

8. Rumours Die:

Did you hear something about somebody who said something about somebody else? Drop it! Rumours are nasty, horrible things that will only bring you down. Best way to kill a rumour? Ignore it!

9. Total Honesty:

Be totally honest with yourself at all times. If there’s something you don't like, admit it. If there’s something you don’t want to do “right now” and it isn’t necessary for health and safety reasons then just don’t do it until you feel like it.

Same goes for the positive aspects. If there’s something you want to do, and it’s not hurting anybody, then go ahead and do it. If you start feeling great about yourself for no apparent reason admit it and enjoy the feeling.

10. Responsibility:

Take full responsibility for your own actions. Don't shove the blame for anything over onto someone or something else. We all make choices in our lives, and once we take responsibility for those choices we tend to choose better for ourselves.

Once we start to choose better, we feel better and things start falling into place. On the other hand, don't take over someone else’s responsibilities just because you feel “you have to”.
11. Pretend:

If you feel unsafe, unsure or nervous then go inside yourself and pretend you’re a hot-shot lawyer, actor, actress, singer or whatever you need to be.
Make believe you’re presenting yourself as that person would until you feel better. Trust me, you WILL feel better, and eventually have no need to be anything but yourself.

12. Keep Trying:

If you’re trying to do something but don't get it right first time round, then try again, and again, and again, constantly learning from your mistakes until you get it right. When you finally DO get it right, you’ll feel wonderful about it.

13. Credit where credit is due:

If you’ve done something really good, and people compliment you on it, accept the compliments with thanks! Understand that they’re complimenting because they really ARE impressed with what you’ve done.

Believe in you and give yourself a pat on the back. (Although physically it would probably be easier to just give yourself a round of applause).

14. Stand Tall:

Standing up straight will ALWAYS make you feel better about yourself than slouching does. Stand with your feet slightly apart, suck in your tummy and behind, broaden your shoulders and straighten your neck. It’s an amazingly quick confidence boost.

15. Say Hello:

Make it a rule to say hi to at least one person you don't know EVERY day. Give them the smile you flash at yourself in the mirror, the biggest and best one you can find. They’ll smile back automatically, and they’ll walk away with a little extra confidence boost thanks to you.

People look their best when they smile, and they also feel better by smiling too! This ultimately means you get a confidence boost too, for making someone else feel good about themselves.

16. Never Say Never....Ever:

If you think something can’t be done, then you'll end up proving yourself right eventually. So never say never, just keep plugging along until it works for you.
If other people are telling you it can’t be done, you're going to feel such immense satisfaction at actually doing it that your confidence will soar.


17. Get Active:

Don't sit around the house just doing nothing. Get up, go out, cycling, walking, exercising, anything that might invigorate your brain. A lively brain full of thoughts will help you gain confidence.

18. “Happy Foods”:

Happy foods, such as chocolate, strawberries, lemons, ice-cream etc will increase the serotonin levels in your brain, leading to an increased feeling of happiness.

Feeling happy is a natural confidence boost. So go on, enjoy your food! (in moderation, of course).

19. Face Your Fear:

Is there something you are afraid of? Face it full on. Doing something scary and overcoming the fear is a fantastic way to boost your confidence. So go on, jump out of that plane (with a parachute of course), drive that car, speak in front of a large crowd, ask for a promotion, or whatever it is that scares you. You'll feel absolutely brilliant once it’s done.

20. Willpower:

Create a goal that you really want to reach. Possibly something like weight loss before a certain time, giving up smoking or having a certain amount of money in the bank within so many months etc. Take baby steps, and use your willpower until you succeed at reaching your goal.

It will be really hard, as will power can be very elusive at times, but keep going and don't give up. Once you have reached that first goal by using your willpower you will have the confidence to create new goals AND reach them.

21. Ask questions:

Any time you find yourself worrying about something you haven’t done, or something you think you should have done, ask yourself positive questions. Instead of thinking “I’m terrible for missing my friend’s birthday” think “What can I do to make my friend feel special?”

Or, instead of “Why can’t I ever seem to do things on time?” change it to “What can I change to better manage my time” Creating positive questions will release the negative energies which have a tendency to pull down your self confidence.

22. Learn:

Accept that not everything works out the way we plan it. Decide to accept any mistakes and rejections as part of a learning curve that we all need to go through.

Without mistakes, you can’t learn from your own experiences. Remember, experience builds confidence, so always learn as much as you can.

23. List:

Write a list of every single thing you're good at, anything from clipping the dog’s toenails to putting up a shelf. Take the time to sit and actually think about what you ARE good at and add them all to the list. You'll be surprised at how many things you end up jotting down, no matter how minor or trivial they may seem at the time.

Whenever you have a spare 5 minutes, or if you're feeling a little low, take the list out of your pocket and read it. This is a great little way to give yourself a nice confidence boost.

24: Help out:

There are lots of ways to help others, and feeling useful and helpful are great ways of building your confidence. Just make sure you do things because you WANT to do them. You could call a good friend who may be down at the moment-even take them out for coffee, you will brighten both your days, or you could possibly help out at an old folks home or similar. Knowing that people appreciate your help will boost your confidence for sure.

25: Show the way:

Think of the one thing you do best of all. Think long and hard about this one. Thought of something? Now, find a discussion group or similar related to that topic and spread your wisdom by answering questions, offering advice or help to anybody needing it. If you can’t find a group, you could even start one yourself.

People will look up to you and that will give you all the more reason to feel confident about yourself.


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