Evening star., 1923-01-05

man in the street? Not that am
claiming autoSuggestion TO be a dis
coyery. Far from it. Autosugges-
tien Is as old as the hills; only we
we need TO learn il all over again.
Think OF all the forces of the uni
verse ready to serve US. Yet centuries
elapsed before man penetrated their
secret and discovered means of utiliz-
ing them. 1t is the same in the do
main of thought and mind; we have
at our service forces Of transcendRnt
value of which we are either COM
pletely ignorant or else only vaguely
conscious.
The power of thought. of idea. is,
incemmensurable. is immeasurabie.
The world is dominated by thought.
thoughts. good or bad. The powerful
action of the mind over the body,
which explain the effects of sugges
thinkers of the middle ages, whose
vigorous intelligence embraced the
sum OF human knowledge.
Every idea conceived by the mind,
says ST. Thomas, Is an order which
the organism obeys. 1t can also, he
adds, engender disease or cure II.
The eff1caciousness of auto-sugges-
tion could not be more plainly stated.
known to AncieBts.
We. know, indeed, that the whole
human organism is governed by the
nervous system, the. center of which
10 the braiu-the seat of thought. In
other words, the brain, or mind, con-
trolls every cell, every organ. every
function of the body. That being SO,
ig >it not clear that by means OF
thought we are the absolute masters
of our physical organism and that, as
the anctents showed centuries ago,
thought-or suggestion-can and does
produce disease or cure il? Pythago-
suggestion to his disciples. He wrote.
God, the Father deliver them from
their sufferings and show them
what supernatural power is at their
Even more definite is the doctrine
of Aristotle. which taught that "a
vivid imagination compels the body
TO obey it. for it Is a natural prin-
ciple of movement. Imagination, in
deed, governs all the forces of sensi-
biiity, while the latter, in it's turn,
controls the beating of the heart,
and through it, sets In motion all
vital functions; thus, the entire or
ganisnl may be rapidly modified. New
ertheless, however vivid the imagi-
nation. it cannot change the form of
= hand or foot or other member"
I have particular satisfaction in re-
calling this element of Aristotle's
teaching, because it contains two of
the most important nay, essential
principles of my own method of auto
suggestion.
i. The dominating role OF the ina
gination.
the practice of auto-suggestion must
necessarily be limited to those COM
ing within the bounds Of physical
possibility.
I shall deal with these essential
points In greater detail in another
Unfortunately, all these great truths
handed down from antiquity, have
been transmitted in the cloudy garb
of abstract notions or shrouded in the
mystery of esoteric secrecy, and thus
mortal. II I have had the privilege
of discerning the hidden meaning Of
the old philosophers, or extracting the
essence of q vital principle, and of
simple and comprehensive to modern
humanity, I have also had the joy OF
seeing it practised, with success. by
thousands of sufferers for more than
= score of years.
slaves OF Suggestion.
Mark we'll, am no healer, I can
only teach others to cure themselves
and to maintain perfect health.
I hope to show, moreover. that the
domain of application of auto-sugges-
tion is practically unlimited. Not only
are we able TO control and modify our
physical functions. but we can develop
In any desired direction our moral
and mental faculties, merely by the
proper exercise of suggestion; in the
held OF education there is vast scope
for suggestion.
From our birth TO our death we are
all the slaves Of suggestion. Our des-
Einies are decided by suggestion. It
is an all-powerful Syrant of which,
unless we take heed. We are the blind