SUGGESTION AND THE SUBCONSCIOUS MIND

FOR those of us who have come to the reluctant but reasonable conclusion that we are stupid, there is no more astonishing revelation than that of modern psychology regarding the unconscious activity of intelligence which we call the subconscious. We bewail our forgetfulness, but the memory of the subconscious is perfect, it never forgets. A permanent impression is made upon it by every experience, every word, every transitory thought; and though we may fail in every conscious effort to recall it, still the deeper strata of mind retain the cryptic intelligence and will reveal it either by a sudden “recollection,” or in abnormal mental states such as in fever, trance, or automatic writing.3

We may require someone to “show us the way to go home,” but the subconscious intelligence contains a subtle power to direct the flight of the bird, the course of the spawning salmon through the uncharted seas; and it will do the same thing for man, bringing him

3 See my “Textbook of Psychology and Metaphysics,” pp. 19- 27; Maeterlinck’s, “The Great Secret”; Prince, “The Unconscious,” p. 53

into safety when he relies upon it, whether it be in actual physical directions or in the selection of the course of action he should pursue.4 Wise, indeed, is that man or woman who learns how to plumb the depths of his own mind and employ this marvelous power which will help him in all the problems of life

A mere enumeration of some of the qualities of the subconscious mind should awaken our interest and enthusiasm for further study and employment of its forces. It has the power to transmit or record thought without physical medium, as in “mental telepathy,” even to great distances.5

4 See my “Textbook,” p. 2. Also my “Law of Mind in Action,” Chap. XXIX

Also Chap. VI, Vol, II, of this series, “How to Choose a Career.”

5 See Chap. III, Vol. II, of this Series, “Visualization and Concentration.”

It possesses the power of clairvoyance, or seeing without the physical eye; clairaudience, perceiving sound beyond the reach of the ear.6

Subconsciousness explains the secret of psychometry, reading the history of an object by touching it or diagnosing disease by occult mental perception.7

The presence of this consciousness is revealed in such phenomena as automatic writing; in hypnosis; somnambulism, or sleep-walking; and in dreams.8

The term subconsciousness covers not only these less known phenomena of mind but also describes that vast region of mental activity which takes place in the physical organism without our conscious thought as in the involuntary contraction and expansion of the lungs, the beating of the heart, the regulation of the circulation, digestion, the building up of the cells, and so on.9

6 Jesus possessed these faculties. See Luke 7. Also my “Textbook of Psychology and Metaphysics,” p. 26

7 “The Great Secret” by Maeterlinck, p.245

8 “Literature on psychoanalysis

9 Students unfamiliar with this subject should by all means study my other publications, “The Law of Mind in Action,”

The most important fact of the subconsciousness is that all these mental processes take place without conscious thought. When we speak of “conscious thought” we refer to thinking in which the person is aware of himself as thinking, he is making choices, he is analyzing the subject, dissecting, debating, arguing, deciding, constructing hypotheses, rejecting as well as accepting ideas, etc. He is aware of himself as a thinker or a person. But the subconscious does not decide, and does not have the power to reject ideas. It takes whatever comes its way and if sufficiently impressed acts upon them. Like the soil of the earth to which we have likened it, it takes everything, rejects nothing, and grows the seed or word into the corresponding plant.

To distinguish between the conscious and subconscious we often take the word personal to describe the former, and the word impersonal to describe the latter. It is all-important to our present subject to hold this distinction in mind. The subconscious mind of the individual and of society is impersonal. It is impressionable. It is plastic. It is open to suggestion. It is responsive. It is active. It is creative

“Faith That Heals,” “Being and Becoming,” and particularly “Textbook of Psychology and Metaphysics.”

From the foregoing facts a law of mind may be easily formulated. This law, which is clearly set forth in my other books, must be briefly epitomized here as it is the basis of all “demonstration” either for healing bodies or businesses by mental means. It is as follows:

1. Mind is everywhere active throughout nature as subconscious intelligence
2. It is impersonal or receptive to all ideas
3. It is creative, as every idea is motorized, or put into action
4. The strongest idea rules
5. “Form” or result that is created is always like the idea which preceded it

Volumes could be written upon this one law. Unnumbered illustrations can be found both in the life of the reader and the society in which he finds himself

The knowledge and application of this law to healing will cure physical ills; to business and vocation, will bring success and financial freedom

In order to develop a sense of power and belief in the law, the student should make it a habit to observe its working in himself and environment; and should daily practice the principles here outlined

DAILY MEDITATION

I perceive in and around me the working of intelligence. I see that nothing happens by chance; and if it appears on the face that “it happened by luck,” I shall search more deeply until I find the real facts in the case. I know that “whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.” Today I shall enjoy the experience of deciding on the qualities I desire to have manifested in me and around me. I shall plant these ideas in the creative soil of the subconscious mind. I shall retain and believe only in that which means the big thing in my life. I shut out all opposing ideas. I expect a rich harvest. I am on the pathway which leads to success and nothing can stop me. I am success

10 Figure each of these qualities on the basis of one hundred percent and then divide by twenty to get the average percent of your personal efficiency.