The Washington herald., 1922-12-13
By DR.. EMILE cOUE.
chapter III.

A CCORDING to the principle
"a propounded in the preced.
"A ing chapter we may COM
pare 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 com se and con-
duct 1t to the factory. and there
you can transform its force into
movement. heat. and electricity.
II this simile is not enough,
we NAV compare the imagina-
uon-"the madman at home" as
1t has been called-to an unbroken
horse which has neither bride nor
reins- What can the rider of
such an animal do except to hang
on for dear life and let himself
go wherever the horse wishes to
take him? Often his mad ride
must end in disaster both to the
horse and rider.
Now suppose that the rider sue
ceeds in putting a bride on the
horse. The roles are reversed.
The horse no longer goes where
he likes; 1t is the rider who picks
the way. forcing the erstwhile
independent animal to follow the
path he chooses.
Now that we have learned to
realize the enormous power of
unconscious, or imaginative, be-
ing. 1 am going to be as easily
controlled as a torrent by dams,
mill races and water wheels or a
horse by bit and spur.
1t is necessary to define care
fully at the outset two words
that are often used without be-
ing properly understood. These
are the words suggestion and
autosuggestion.
What then is suggestion? 1t
may he defined as the act of
imposing an idea on the brain Of
another"
Does this action really exist ex-
cept on the sine qua non condi-
ton of transforming itself into
autosuggestion in the subject?
Autosuggestion 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 sugges-
tion-if it has not. as 1t were. di-
gested 1t, in order to transform 1t
into autosuggestion-it produces
no result.
have myself occasionally made
a more or less commonplace sug-
gestion to ordinarily very obedient
subjects entirely without success.
The reason is that the uncon-
scious of the subject refused to
accept it and did not transform it
into autosuggestion-
MEANS OF AUTOSUGGESTION.
Let us now return to the point
where / said that we can control
and direct our imagination, just
as a torrent or a 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 ignoranO, and. second
ly, to know by what means it can
be done.
The means is very simple; 1t is
that which we have used every
day since we came into the world;
used without wishing or knowing
1t 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 autosugges-
tons. all we have to do is to give
ourselves conscious ones.
The process consists in this:
First. to weigh carefully in ones
mind the things which are to be
the object of the autosuggestions,
and according as they require the
answer yes" or mo-" 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" (Of
course. the thing must be in our
own power)
If the unconscious accepts this
suggestion and transforms it into
an autosupceatiop tho tb;pg nv