“Whatever we plant in our subconscious mind and nourish with repetition and emotion will one day become a reality.” - Earl Nightingale

5 Ways to Practice the Power of Autosuggestion

Simply put, autosuggestion is the personal adoption of thoughts and beliefs through repetitive verbal/audible exposure to those thoughts and beliefs. Dr. Bruce Lipton is a neuroscientist who once said, “the moment you change your perception is the moment you rewrite the chemistry of your body.” He, like many others, believe that your mind can influence the state of your existence. You can use autosuggestion on yourself to alter the way you think and act. Thus, you can use the power of autosuggestion to influence your life, body, and mind in a positive or negative way.

According to the Cleveland Clinic, affirmations, also called positive affirmations, are phrases that, when repeated regularly, can change negative thought and behavior patterns. You can say them out loud or to yourself. These statements are usually aimed at shifting thoughts from negative to positive - motivating action, reducing stress, getting through difficult times, and increasing self-confidence and well-being. The matrix of our brains is always going to veer and default negative if we don’t pay attention. We can use autosuggestion via positive affirmations to condition our minds to see the world in a more positive light if we so choose.

History of Autosuggestions

In the early 1900s, a French psychologist named Émile Coué came up with the Law of Concentrated Attention. This Law states that, “whenever attention is concentrated on an idea over and over again, it spontaneously tends to realize itself.” In the development of this self-improvement method, Coué coined the term autosuggestion. Though Coué coined the term autosuggestion to support the Law of Concentrated Attention, the concepts he studied have been in practice since ancient times.  

Napoleon Hill was a self-help author who talked about the power of autosuggestion as a tool to change what we believe about ourselves and our ability to achieve our dreams, in his classic book Think and Grow Rich (published 1937). If you are not confident in your ability to achieve your dreams, you will only get so far. Fear, doubt, and hesitation prevent us from taking the bold actions necessary to achieve the results we desire.

“Your ability to use the principle of autosuggestion will depend, very largely, upon your capacity to concentrate upon a given desire until that desire becomes a burning obsession.” - Napoleon Hill

Differences between Autosuggestions and Affirmations

Autosuggestions and affirmations are different approaches with the similar purpose – to catalyze a positive change in mindset through repetitive statements. Affirmations are usually expressed in the first person, but autosuggestions are stated in the second person. In other words, positive affirmation affirms the positive statement as if it already applies to you, whereas autosuggestion simply suggests the positive statement as if it were convincing.

Techniques for Autosuggestions

Many of us experience negative thoughts as humans, which also negatively affect our confidence, attitude, aura, vibe, choices, actions, and behavior patterns. The problem with negative thinking is that it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy which repeats and deepens the spiral of negative thinking and warped perception. 

An example scenario would be thinking that you look ugly today. You walk into a café and the guy sitting at a table takes a bite of his food and looks up at you as you enter. He stares at you for too long and then makes a disgusted face before looking away. Due to the negative nature of your thoughts about how you look, you conclude that his prolonged stare and disgusted face were based on how ugly you are today. You then spiral into a deeper belief that you do in fact look ugly today and should never believe anything else. The reality is that the guy took a bite of his food as you walked in and happened to look up at you as he started to chew. He then slowly realized that his sandwich had a tomato on it and he hates tomatoes so he made a disgusted look before turning away to spit the bite out into a napkin. You, of course, saw none of this reality, but instead, saw the reality that your negative autosuggestion trained you to see.

So, how can you retrain your mind to see the positive instead of the negative? Practice!

Here are 5 powerful techniques to practice autosuggestions:

1.     Use Affirmations

Affirmations are more effective when combined with other positive thinking and goal setting techniques. Positive affirmations require regular practice if you want to change the way you think and feel, permanently and forever. Practice validating yourself and replacing negative thoughts with positive expressions. Set aside intentional time each time – set an alarm – to dedicate focused time for positive affirmations.

2.     Use Repetitions

Repetition means repeatedly telling your conscious mind about autosuggestion and self-affirmation. It can be done by listening to affirmations while you work, sleep, clean, walk, drive, or meditate. Ultimately, positive thought patterns emerge and your good thoughts influence your actions.

3.     Autohypnosis

According to Dr. Lipton, sleep hypnosis allows you to reprogram your subconscious mind while you sleep. The program you play in your sleep is what you want your life to be, and this translates into the reality of the day, as the program will pursue your desires. Find more information about the science behind this and terminology often used, click here.

4.     Subliminal Messaging

Kelly Howell's guided meditations are life-changing and work instantly for deep meditation. Jen Sincero, the author of You’re a Bad Ass book series, accredits Howell’s work for getting her to become a writer. When you listen to these subliminal messages and different subliminal sounds, negative thoughts are dramatically swept away by a fresh new flow of energy and insight. You will be freed from annoying worries and daily stress. Binaural theta beats synchronize your brain for a more immersive experience. Read more relevant information, here.

“If you want to find the secrets of the universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration.” - Nikola Tesla

5.     Hypnosis Bootcamp

For those that can’t afford a hypnotist but want to try a different form of autosuggestion, HypnosisBootcamp.com is a great place to start.  The website is a learning program where content is concentrated or bundled into a short, focused, and rigorous module on different general topics. Their packages coach you on how to use hypnosis to achieve a variety of goals like:

• Law of Attraction Bootcamp

• Brain Power Bootcamp

• Weight Loss Bootcamp

• Wealth Bootcamp

• Confidence Bootcamp

Each Hypnosis Boot Camp includes seven daily 30-minute Hypnosis sessions to help you reach specific goals. Some people use Hypnosis Boot Camp to lose weight, while others use it to increase their attraction to potential partners. Simply purchase Hypnosis Bootcamp online and listen to a daily 30-minute session on your headphones. A professional hypnotherapist uses hypnosis and her NLP techniques to interact with your conscious and subconscious brain to unlock powerful benefits.

Here’s an example of 10 positive affirmations:

1.     I’m grateful for my partner.

2.     I am thankful to have woken up today.

3.     I am at peace with everything I cannot control.

4.     I am learning to trust my intuition. I am able to sense the truth spontaneously.

5.     I am courteous to all guests, irrespective of their rank or status.

6.     If I keep trying, my achievements will improve.

7.     I always cherish good memories, but I live for today.

8.     I can have arousal before desire.

9.     I am truly faithful. My life will reflect my faith.

10.  I am never a part of the problem. I am always a part of the solution.

Here’s the example of 10 autosuggestions:

1.     You are such a wonderful person.

2.     You are a confident and positive person!

3.     I think the best of you. I accept you in every way.

4.     It is so wonderful to see you in your natural joyful state.

5.     All that is good is possible for you.

6.     Trust life and be open to change; life is good and it is kind to you.

7.     You have so much energy and enthusiasm for life.

8.     You have a great and healthy body.

9.     You have the brains and courage to accomplish anything you set your mind to.

10.  You are giving your best.