What is Auto suggestion ?
In our life some days are going to be easier than others and if we can remember this at least some of the times, difficult time would be far easier for us to face. It is an established fact that our thoughts control how we experience our reality, and react the way we do. It is also a fact that when we send out positive thoughts into the world, positive events will come our way. Since we have the power to change our thoughts we remain in control of our actions and its outcome.
We can choose to let events take their own course and get out of control on a bad or we can choose to stop it and let there be a U turn. If we were to define Auto suggestion – In effect it means “a state of affair where a person purposely trains the mind in order to make better use of it by suggesting to it a specific type of information designed to affect the subconscious so it can be used to effect positive responses and changes in their beliefs and patterns of thinking.”
To simplify it - Auto suggestion basically refers to the practice of administering suggestions to oneself so that we are able to communicate and influence the activities of the subconscious mind. Autosuggestion is a form of self-hypnosis developed by the French psychologist Emile Coue in the late 19th century and now being used extensively to get better performance.
The sub conscious
Our subconscious is a storehouse for all kinds of information which it supplies to the conscious mind so that it can communicate and reason with and take proper decision. It not only holds our genetic memory, it also holds information in the form of symbols, archetypes, images and words and feelings..Auto suggestion is not a new concept. In its simplest form we use it all the time when we tell ourselves how we are going to do something and then do it as a result.
Many motivational experts such as Napoleon Hill, Bob Proctor and Deepak Chopra also suggest that the subconscious mind has access to information which a person might have never been exposed to. When we doze off our subconscious becomes active and begins to transmit the images that often are kept totally hidden. But we may not remember the whole pattern when we wake up except for a few images which seem unconnected and don’t make sense.
What is Auto Inquisition and Visualization?
Auto inquisition is similar to auto suggestion, except that you are asking questions of your subconscious mind instead of feeding it with information. This is a technique that has been developed by the psycho analysts. Hypnosis specialists have also found out that a person’s subconscious mind contains information which a person’s conscious mind might have long forgotten and through this technique one is able to bring it out. In fact it is now being adapted by many executives since they have far too many things to deal with at a single given point of time. Once they relieve stress and organise their mind better it becomes much easier for them to deal with all the pending issues. Visualization on the other hand is also a popular methods for increasing the powers of subconscious mind.
Visualization is similar to autosuggestion in that you’re feeding your subconscious mind with the images which you visualize. But for a person to visualization things it takes a lot more effort and concentration than auto suggestion or auto inquisition because an individual is literally using all of his or her imagination the create the experience which includes sensations, sounds, colors and images. Visualising things in their original form is not an easy task.
So according to researchers to get an idea as to how visualization works one can start with simple shapes like squares and circles and later move on to more complex pictures and shapes. For best results imagination or rather visualization of having achieved one of our goals such as owning a car or a house or being in the kind of relationship you want – here what is far more important is knowing ones limitation and strengths.
One should also remember that there are failures in life and one should be able to tackle that without becoming emotionally disturbed. The best way of doing that is by analyzing the failure itself and trying to find why it happened in the first place!
Autosuggestion and creativity
According to analysts , when you are focused and want to create or achieve something , the right way to go about it is by making it more real – which includes writing about it, listening to or speaking about it and also being consistent in your efforts to achieve it. When you are committed and focused about your creative expressions or changing a personality trait ( which is also being creative in a personal way) your subconscious mind will automatically go to work and start attracting and gathering all the resources, information and opportunities needed to make those ideas and creative elements a reality! Such is the power of our mind and more so when it is focused on its goal !
Musical therapists have found that listening to great artists like Mozart, Bach, Handel and Beethoven can boost the capacity for intellectual thoughts in individuals and also help increase their intuition and creative imagination. In fact many analysts call it “The Mozart Effect,” a term that was coined by Dr Alfred A. Tomatis (an internationally known otolaryngologist, and inventor) and was made popular by Don Campbell’s book which was also called “The Mozart Effect.”
There have been some surprising results with regard to music and its effect on people and even plants. Children who are interested in Classical music tend to be more intelligent and according to many botanists and agriculturists classical music makes plants grow faster. All these come under the sphere of auto suggestion and creativity.
Imagination and Auto suggestion
We can compare our imagination to a gale or a torrent that has the power of sweep away or find direction and create. When we train our imagination in such a way that it is able to find the right focus and move towards it we can see positive results. Imagination is powerful when it is used as a tool for furthering your goals otherwise it is nothing but a wasted effort. Once we learn the potential and the enormous power of the subconscious or our own imagination , the next step would be to control it to our advantage. That is how auto suggestion works through imagination.
Suggestion cannot exist or act on its own nor is it useful to an individual unless it transforms itself into autosuggestion .You may make a suggestion to someone, but if the person does not accept the suggestion, it produces no result. I have myself occasionally made some suggestion or the other to my students and some didn't bother whereas a few analysed it and imagined as to how to carry it forward and came up with a creative idea of their own. This is the difference when you use any suggestion, either given by others or something you thought of on your own and act upon it. None of us can get to where we are going unless we know where we are headed. There is an old saying that if you fail to plan then you plan to fail.
Goal setting
Goal setting is an exercise that is done by achievers in all fields because it gives you not only a long-term vision but also short-term motivation. First of all it focuses your attention and allows you to measure and take pride in your achievements along the way. When we start making even a little progress, we get motivated and what previously we thought was a long and tedious becomes achievable and keeps you motivated as you recognize your ability to do better and helps in achieving the goal that you have set for yourself.
What you want to do in life can be achieved when you identify the large-scale goals that you want to achieve and breaking them down into smaller and easily achievable targets or milestones (objectives) that you must reach to eventually attain your goal.
But what is harder is knowing what you want out of life. We tend to aspire for things based on someone else’s view point although it may not suit our life style , this is due to social conditioning and peer pressure. When we try to remove all social pressures and conditioning and really get to grips with what we really want, we can go about it without anyone else being told or knowing what our secret goals are. In fact according most analysts it is only when we are true to our self are we able to set realistic goals and then try to achieve those goals.
A creative state of mind
This is achieved when you are focused through auto suggestion and have set your realistic goals and now are on your way to make your imagination and dreams a reality. To be highly creative we need to have the right mindset. It helps when you have the imagination and the self belief and self confidence all of which help you in your creativity. Without a lack of vision and the right attitude our creativity will be compromised will also be limited.
When you are able to think freely without any restrictions and feel and act with a deep personal freedom that is filled with purpose, you are at your creative best. Being creative further allows you to go single-mindedly after your goals and objectives in life. How you feel about creativity and how you go about it can also affect how you feel about other issues in life.
The more creative we are the better our performance is and it sets the stage for our professional success .Knowing what we want out of our life normally stems from a creative mindset that is able to give meaning and value to anything we take up and we also become confident which again reflects in the way we interact with the world.
We give meaning to our lives through our creativity and by giving value to your creativity, we are also enhancing the quality of our life. To do this it is also important to set ourselves free from any limiting beliefs and inhibitions surrounding an issue. Once we adapt to such an attitude creating positive experiences and successful opportunities will become a way of life with us.
To conclude, the most effective way auto suggestions works is when we reprogram our thought process ,freeing ourselves of all unwanted past burdens and focusing on what works best for us. When we are able to do that , other things automatically fall in place.