One memory I hold dear to my heart from growing up is my father’s persistence in engaging in the practice of autosuggestion as a self-help technique.
At first, I thought this was a silly little thing and didn’t give it too much thought. However, every time he saw me getting stressed about upcoming school tests, he’d remind me of the power of autosuggestion, recommend an approach, and encourage me to give it a try.
So, one day, I did, and –of course- nothing happened. But I decided to keep on trying as he’d warned me that it would take time and practice for it to work. After all, I had nothing to lose, and if he were right, it would help me get rid of this annoying thing that I experienced every time I had a test at school.
You see, every time I was about to start writing answers to the questions posed on my test, my palms would start sweating profusely, to the point that the pencil would become slippery, and I could not write fast enough, let alone legibly!
This was not only tremendously annoying, but it slowed me down and stressed me more. So I kept on practicing autosuggestion as instructed by my father, until the day I was able to notice the change that made me a believer.
As I felt less anxious and more confident, my palms stopped sweating. Not only that but the more I practiced, the better the results I got. Needless to say, I consider autosuggestion an invaluable technique that I practice to this day for a variety of things, from getting up early in the morning without an alarm clock (give it a try—it is fun, and it’ll make you a believer!) to more elaborate goals.
What is auto-suggestion, and how can it help you?
Long before affirmations and the Law of Attraction became everyday talk, autosuggestion was used for many purposes, either consciously or unconsciously.
As you probably know, the subconscious mind receives all kinds of information from the conscious mind. These bits of information come through our five senses and relate to how we see and perceive the world around us. When these experiences are repeated continuously, they sink into the subconscious mind and become an intrinsic part of who we are, what we believe, and how we behave.
Unfortunately, some of these experiences may not be working for us, but fortunately, there is something that can be done about that. I mean that we can condition our subconscious mind to hold certain beliefs that enhance our living experience; thus, through repetition, they become the reality we experience on a regular basis.
The autosuggestion technique helps you precisely with this. When learned and applied correctly, it has the power to influence the subconscious mind according to our instructions. In other words, autosuggestion helps the subconscious mind believe a specific affirmation with an intended goal.
An interesting fact is that autosuggestion goes one step beyond positive affirmations.
This is because affirmations are broader in structure while the autosuggestion technique bypasses your thinking mind and awareness of your material body and goes to affirm your unique human spirit identified with the words: I AM. This fact alone makes it a more powerful statement directed precisely to the subconscious mind.
Here is an example for you to compare. The first statement is a positive affirmation; the second is an autosuggestion:
“I enjoy happiness and wealth”
“I AM happy and wealthy”
I invite you to read both statements out loud. Did you feel the difference when you said “I AM” out loud?
These three steps will help you practice autosuggestion effectively in your life:
- I AM” statements: Always use “I AM” to state your suggestion in the
present moment and the first person. As you have already experienced, there is
something intrinsic and compelling in those two words.
It centers you right at that precise moment. As stated above, one simple example of this is “I AM happy.” When this self-affirmation is stated on a regular basis, it becomes an autosuggestion that eventually sinks into the subconscious mind, where it will be taken at face value. Moreover, this practice will help you focus on happy moments on a more regular basis versus the sad, anxious, or depressed moments you may be experiencing in your life.An interesting thing to notice is that those sad, anxious moments don’t just disappear; however, your subconscious mind is being trained to focus on “happy” moments instead, thus bringing more of those experiences to your life.
- Align your auto-suggestion with proper emotion: When you add
feeling to the statement as if it’s happening right now, your subconscious mind
takes it as an actual reality in the moment of now.
It’s important to mention that the subconscious mind cannot tell the difference between reality or fantasy, nor between true or false, or yes or no. This applies to feelings as well. Thus, when you make an “I AM” statement with feeling, your subconscious will take it as is right now, giving more power to the autosuggestion.
- Repetition is powerful: Write your statement precisely as you want
to impress it upon your subconscious mind. Then, read it aloud several times until
you memorize it. Make it a point to repeat it as often as you remember throughout
your day, and preferably state it out loud. This engages your audition, reinforcing
the statement you are thinking about.
Commit to do this as often as needed until it becomes second nature to you and you see your statement come to pass. It is not recommended to use two or more autosuggestions at a time as it delays the experience of both. For instance, when I wanted to get rid of my sweaty palms while taking school tests, I just focused on “I AM confident.” This statement allowed me to get rid of my ‘test-taking’ anxiety and answer the questions in a relaxed manner, which resulted in dry palms.Once your goal is attained, you can move into using autosuggestion in other areas of your life.
Statistics show that the average adult processes over 60,000 thoughts every 24 hours, and of those, 90% happen at a subconscious level.
When you consider this, you can clearly notice why most of us live on automatic. Now, while some of these things are OK to happen without conscious involvement –such as brushing our teeth or tying our shoes- I’m sure you’ll agree with me that more important things require not only participation on our part but conscious intervention.
This is where autosuggestion can play a significant role in changing your life for the better.
I encourage you to add this technique to your self-development tactics arsenal. Learn it and practice it in any area of life, from day-to-day living to more elaborate and bigger life goals. As you practice and get better at it, you’ll be amazed at the results you can create!
