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7/31/2019 Self Mastery Through Conscious Auto Suggestion
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/self-mastery-through-conscious-auto-suggestion 1/96
THECOUE"METHOD"
Complete&UnabridgedEdition
SELFMASTERYTHROUGHCONSCIOUSAUTOSUGGESTION
ByEmileCoue´
TranslateddirectfromM.CoueoriginalFrenchEdition,forthe
COUELEAGUEOFAMERICA
Translationcarefullycompared
withtheoriginalFrenchand
preparedforpressby
ArchibaldStarkVanOrden
A.B.NewYorkUniversity
YM.C.A.Secretarywiththe
FirstDivision,A.E.F.,inFrance
MALKANPUBLISHINGCO.,Inc.,
Distributors
96WarrenSt.,NewYork
Copyright1922byMalkanPublishingCa,Inc.
Contents
INTRODUCTION:ByArchibaldStarkVanOrdenTHEMIRACLEWITHIN:ByM.Burnat-Provins-.
SELFMASTERYTHROUGHCONSCIOUSAUTO-
SUGGESTION:ByEmileCoue´15
ConsciousAutosuggestion,15TheConsciousBeingandtheUnconsciousBeing,16WillandImagina-tion,17SuggestionandAutosuggestion,21TheUseofAutosuggestion,22HowSuggestionWorks,26TheUseofSuggestionfortheCureofMoralAilmentsandCongenitalorAcquiredFaults,28.
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THE"METHOD"APPLIEDTOTHEEDUCATIONANDCORRECTIONOFCHILDREN:ByEmileCoue ́31
INSTRUCTIONSFORPRACTITIONERSOFTHE"METHOD"HowToTeachPeopleToMakeAuto-suggestions:AdviceAndInstructionsToHisPupilsAnd
Disciples:ByEmileCoue´38
PreparatoryExperiments,40CurativeSuggestionMethods,44TheSuperiorityofThis"Method,"49.
WHATAUTOSUGGESTIONHASDONEObservations
ofSomeRemarkableCures:ByEmileCoue´53
Tuberculosis,53CongestionoftheLungs,54Asthma,54Bronchitis,55SenilityofLarynx,55Pott'sDisease,55Eczema,56Gout,56ClubFeet,57Rheumatism,57Palsy,5&Stammering,58KidneyDisease,58Enteritis,59NervousDys-pepsia,60Neuralgia,60Neurasthenia,60Var-icoseUlcers,62Abscess,63FrontalSinus,63
HeartDisease,63Paralysis,65WombTrouble,66Metritis,67.
THOUGHTSANDPRECEPTSOFEMILECoue´:
ByMtne,EntileLeon68
M.EMILECoue´ATWORKINHISCLINIC78
LETTERS89
ExtractsfromlettersaddressedtoM.CoueandtoMine.EmileLeonandMile.Kaufmant,hisdisciples.
ALLFOREVERYONE:ByMtne.EmileLeon105
SOMENOTESONM.Coue´'STRIPTOPARIS.112
SUGGESTEDLISTOFSTANDARDBOOKSONAUTO-SUGGESTION^PSYCHOLOGY,etc119
Coue´LEAGUEOFAMERICA122
Introduction
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Thependulumofmedicalthoughtisswingingawayfrommaterialism.Thedayofthepredominanceofthepillispast.Practitionersofallschoolsnowrealizethataverylargepartofourwealandwoeisthere-sultofourthinking.Probablyninetypercent,ofallcureshaveamentalbasisindependentoftheapparentmaterialmeansemployed.Thisisnoargumentagainstvthephysicianorhealerofanyschool,butitisanarg-umentinfavorofscientificunderstandingandem-ploymentofmentalmeansforhumanbetterment.
EmileCouestandsoutasleaderofthegreatandeverincreasinghostofthosewhobelievethatmindistheprincipalfactorinhealthandsickness.Hetellsusthatineverycasethematerialelementhasitsplace,butthatthisplaceisoneofsubservience;thatmatterisservant,mindismaster;andthatmatterwillobeythedirectionofmind,ifthethingaimedat"isinanywaypossible."Thisimpliesthattheremaybein-stancesinwhichthedesiredthing"isnotinanywaypossible,''butCou6doesnotundertaketodefinethelatterclass.Afterreadingofthemanycuresinducedbyhis"method,"onecannotavoidtheconclusionthat
furtherdevelopmentandapplicationofthe"method"willgreatlyreducethefieldnowregardedas"theim-possible."
CouSisscientific.Hedoesnotstartwithatheoryandthentrytoproveitbylogic;buthebeginswith"experiments"andbuildsuphistheoryinductively.Hetakesyoutoaclinicwherethingsarebeingdone,nottoalectureroomwherethingsarebeingdiscussed.
5
6THECoue´"METHOD"
Herecognizesthefactthatpeople,notthoroughlyacquaintedwithhis"method,"mayfindinitmuchthat"seemschildish";buthisansweris,"itproducesresults."Onefeelslikeparaphrasingthewordsofan-other:"Thelamewalk,theillaremadewhole,andhappyaretheywhodonotstumbleatthatwhichis
seeminglytoosimpleinmymethod."
Cou6isinlinewithaconsiderablenumberofscholarswhohavestudiedandutilizedhypnotisminitsvariousphases,particularlyrelatedtodisease.Formanyyearsiswassupposedthathypnotismandkindredphenomenawereabnormal,butweknownowthatthesephenomenaareperfectlynatural,thattheyhavebeenthegreatestfactorsinalltheagesformoralandphysicalhealthordisease,andthatthemodernpsychologistismerely
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attemptingtouseconsciously,forhumangood,thatwhichhadpreviouslybeenagreatuncontrolledpowerforbothgoodandill.
TheuniquecontributionswhichCouehasmadetohumanbettermentare,hisrecognitionoftheprimaryplaceoftheimaginationinthecureofdisease,andhisdevelopmentofa"method"wherebytheimaginationmaybeenergizedanddirectedforitsbeneficentwork.
Ourmentalityisoftwosorts,thatwhichweuseconsciouslyandthatwhichweuseunconsciouslyorsub-consciously.Coueagreeswithmanyothersinrecogniz-ingthisdualmentality.Butnopredecessor,Ibelieve,hasrecognizedtheclosenessoftherelationshipbetweensubconsciousmentalityandtheimagination.Itwouldseem,attimes,thatthetwoarealmostidenticalinhisthought.IsitfairtointerprethimasmeaningthattheimaginationisatoncetheentranceandexitbywhichweopenupourunconsciouspowersanddrawthemoutforourgoodorillfPerhapsso,buthedoesnottheorizemuchinthislittlebook;hisinterestis
INTRODUCTION7
ratherinpracticalcures,andthesearesowonderfulthatthereaderwillfindhiscredulityputtothetest.Tothis,yournaturalquestioning,Cou6andhisdis-cipleswouldsay"comeandsee,"whichisafteralltheonlyscientifictestofanything.
Theformula,"Everyday,ineveryway,Iamgettingbetterandbetter,"Cou6says,"coversallcases,"and,regardlessofthediseaseordifficulty,thisformulare-peatedasdirectedproducesresultsiftheyare"inanywaypossible."Doubtlessthethingwhichhappensisthattheimaginationtakesholdofthegeneralideaofprogressivebetterment,assuggestedintheformula,andfillsinthedetailsofthatideawithdataofitsownexperienceandhope.(Therheumaticpatient,repeat-ingtheformula,seeshimselfinimaginationreachingthepointwherehecanwalkorrun,etc.)Now,thewonderofthe"method"isthis,thatthisimaginedcurehasmarvelouspowertocallintoactionthesubjective
mind,whichproducesinrealitythethingimagined.
IftheCou6"method"hassuchwonderfuleffectontheunconsciouspersonalityforthecureofdisease,whyshouldn'tithaveaneffectalongmoralandsociallinesthatisequallywonderful?ThefactseemstobethatthisprocesswhichCou4haslearnedtoutilizeforcures,istheprocesswhichhasbeenbackofeverygreathis-toricmovement.Apersongetsholdofanidea.Heholdsitbeforehisimaginationuntilitpossesseshis
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subjectivemindandtransformshim.Heconstantlygivesthethoughttoothersuntiltheyaretransformed,andeventuallytheideaoftheonemanbecomesthedominatingforceofwholenations.
Mr.Cou6'sbriefstatementoftherelationofhis"method"toeducationisdestinedtobecomeaclassiconthisvitalsubject.Thateducationshouldbeginatbirthandevenbefore,thatitisthedutyofparents
DigitizedbyVjOOQIC
8TEECOTJti"METHOD"
andrelativestoseetoitthatthemindsofchildrenareplacedinthecorrectattitudetowardtheirowndevelop-ment,thateducationconsistsin"self-mastery"andnotinteachingsubjects;inthesemattersandsomeothersthe"master"standsoncommongroundwithmanythoughtfulpeople;butheadvancesbeyondothersin
showingaclear,scientific,andsimple"method"ofac-complishingthesehighlydesirableresults.Thelittlesectioninthisbookwhichdealswiththissubjectshouldreceivethethoughtfulattentionofallwhoareinterestedinthefutureofthechildrenofthisland.
Thenameoftheoriginatorsometimesleavesitsmarkinhistory.SuchisConfucius.ThehistoryofChinaforthepasttwenty-fivehundredyearsistheoutwork-ingoftheimaginationoftheSageinthelivesoftheuntoldmillionsofChinesethroughthoseages.
Couehastaughtushowthepsychologyofthemobis
produced.Weareallchangedintotheimageofthatwhichisheldbeforetheeyesofourimagination.Wecanchangeourselvesaswewish.Wecanbesick,orwell;good,orbadaccordinglyaswedirectourimagi-nationsthiswayorthat.Perhapswethinktherearelimitations;butletusnottalkaboutthoseuntilwehavebeguntoapproachthem.
Wecanhavethekindofworldwewanttolivein,assoonaswearewillingtoholdproperidealsbeforeourimaginationsuntilourunconsciousmindschangeusintothatwhichweimagine.Anddon'tforgetthenightandmorningrepetitionoftheformula,andeven
thestringwithitstwentyknots;Cou6hasproventhemtobeeffective.
ArchibaldS.VanObden
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TheMiracleWithin:ATributetoEmileCoue
ByM.Burnat-Provins.
(Reprintfromthe"RenaissancePolitique,UUraireet
artistique"ofthe18thofDecember,1920.)
InSeptember,1920,IopenedforthefirsttimethebookofProf.CharlesBaudouin,oftheinstitutej.j.RousseauofGeneva,entitled,suggestionandauto-suggestion,anddedicatedbytheauthor:
"withgratefulacknowledgmentsto
emilecoue,thesteadfastworkerandpioneer."
IdidnotputitdownuntilIhadreaditthrough.Itcontainsaverysimpleexpositionofamagnificenthumanitarianwork,baseduponatheorywhichmayappearchildishtosome,becauseofitsuttersimplicity.Butifanyonepracticesitheisboundtoreceivegreat
goodfromit.
Duringmorethantwentyyearsofindefatigablework,EmxleCouS,whoresidesatNancy(wherehecontinuedtheworkandexperimentsofLiSbault,fatherofthedoctrineofsuggestion),fortwentyyears,Ire-peat,CouSstudiedthisonesubject,totheexclusionofeverythingelse,forthepurposeofhelpinghisfellowcreaturesbyinducingthemtocultivatethepracticeofautosuggestion.
Atthebeginningofthiscentury,CouShadattainedtheobjectofhisresearches.Hehaddiscoveredthe
immensepowerofautosuggestionandthesecretofitsapplicationforgeneraluse;havingmadeinnumerableexperiments,withthousandsofpatients,heprovedtheactionofthesubconsciousonorganicailments.
9
10TEECoue´"METHOD"
Thiswassomethingentirelynew;andthegreatmeritofthisprofoundlymodestscholaristohavefoundaremedyforterribleills,heretoforeconsideredincurable,andwithouthopeofrelief,although,insomeinstances,extremelypainful
AsIcannotgointolengthyscientificdetails,IwilljusttellhowthislearnedmanofNancypracticeshis
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method.
Thesubstanceofhisteachingclearcutasthoughinsculpturefoundafteralifetimeofpatientre-searches,issummedupinabriefformulatobere-peatedmorningandnight.
Thisformulamustberepeatedinalowvoice(witheyesclosed,bodyinapositionthatpermitsofrelaxingthemuscularsystemsayinbedorinaneasychair)andinamonotonoustone,asifonewererecitingalitany.Themagicwordsare:
"EVERTDAT,INEVERTWAT,IAMGETTINGBETTERANDBETTER."
Theymustberepeatedtwentytimes,morningandnight.Youmayuseastringwithtwentyknotsonitwhichservesasanaidincountingjustasarosarydoes.Thismaterialaidisimportant;itinsuresmechanicalrecitation,whichisessential.
Whilearticulatingthesewordswhichareregisteredbytheunconscious,youmustnotthinkofanythingin
particular,neitherofyourillnessnorofyourtroubles.Youmustbepassive,withonlythedesirethatallmaybeforthebest;theformulaineverywayhasageneraleffect.
Yourdesiremustexpressitselfwithoutpassion,gent-lyandwithoutexertionofyourwill,butwithabsolutefaithandconfidence.
ForEmileCou6,atthemomentofinducingauto-
THEMIRACLEWITHIN11
suggestion,doesnotappealtothewillinanyway.ThewiUmastnotbeexercisedatallatthatmoment!Imagi-nationonlymustcomeintoplay;thatisthegreatmotivepower,infinitelymoreactivethanthewillpowerwhichisusuallyinvoked.
Haveconfidenceinyourself...Believefirmlythat
allwillbewellwithyou,saysthisgreatcounsellor,and,indeed,alliswellwiththosewhohavetheunquestion-ingfaithofachild,supplementedbyperseverance.
Asfactsanddeedsspeaklouderthanwords,IwilltellyouofmyownexperiencebeforeImetM.Cou6.
ImustgobacktothemonthofSeptemberwhenIfirstopenedthebookofM.CharlesBaudouin;afterdetailedexpositionofhissubjecttheauthornotescom-
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pletecuresofsuchmaladiesas:enteritis;eczema;stammering;dumbness;sinusdatingtwenty-fiveyearsback,withelevenoperations;metritis;salpin-gitis;fiberoustumor;varicoseveins;etc.etc.,andlastbutnotleast,deeptubercularsoresandthelaststagesofphthisis(asinthecaseoftime.D.,ofTroyes,age30,whobecameamotherafterhercure;thiscasewasfollowedupandtherewasnorelapse).Allthisistestifiedtobyattendingphysicians,whohadtreatedthepatients.
Theseexamplesimpressedmeprofoundly;somewererealmiracles!Itwasnotaquestionofnerves,butofillsforwhichthereisnomedicineasyet.Especiallythatcaseoftuberculosiswasarevelationtome.
Havingsuffered,myself,horriblyfromacuteneuritisoftheface,Iknowwhatrealpainis.Fourphysicians,twoofthemspecialists,hadpronouncedthesentence,"Nothingcanbedoneforyou,"which,ofitselfalone,sufficedtoincreasethetroublebyitsfatalinfluenceonmymind:That"Nothingcanbedone"hadinducedtheworstofautosuggestions.
12THECOVtt"METHOD"
Onceinpossessionoftheformula:"Everyday,ineveryway,etc.,"Ireciteditwithafaith,which,al-thoughithadcomesuddenly,wasnonethelesscapableofremovingmountains.Idiscardedshawlsandcom-fortersand,inwindandrain,wentoutintothegarden
bareheaded,murmuringgently:"Iamgoingtobecured;therewillbenomoreneuritis;itisgoingaway;itwillnotcomeback,etc."Iwascuredtheverynextday;therewasnomoresufferingfromtheabominablecomplaint,whichhadnotallowedmetotakeastepoutofdoorsinwindyordampweather,andhadmadelifeunbearable.Justimaginemyintensejoy!Skepticswillsay,"Itwasallnervousness.''Obviously,andIwillconcedetothemthisfirstpoint.But,delightedwiththeCouemethod,Itrieditforanoedemaoftheleftankle,resultingfromanaffectionofthekidneyswhichwassaidtobeincurable.Intwodaystheoedemahaddisappeared.Ithentreatedfatigueandmental
depression,etc.Anextraordinaryimprovementre-sultedandIhadbutoneidea:togotoNancyandthankmybenefactor.
Iwentandfoundtheexcellentmanwhoattractsallbyhisgoodnessandsimplicity,andhebecamemyfriend.
Itwasindispensabletoseehimonhisownfieldofaction.Heinvitedmetoapopularclinic.ThereI
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witnessedaconcertofgratitudelesionsofthelungs,displacedorgans,asthma,Pott'sdisease(!),paralysisallthishostofdeadlydiseaseswasputtoflight.Isawaparalyticwhosatcontortedandtwistedinachair,getupandwalk.CouShadtalkedtothemurg-ingeachtohavegreatconfidence,animmensecon-fidenceinthemselves.Hesaid,"Learntocureyour-selves;youcan.Ihavenevercuredanybody;theremedyiswithinyourselves.Galluponyourspirit;let
THEMIRACLEWITHIN13
itactforyourmentalandspiritualbenefitanditwillcome,itwillcureyou;youwillbestrongai^dhappy.''Havingspoken,Coueapproachedtheparalyticandsaidtoher:"Youhaveheard.Doyoubelievethatyouwillwalk?..'."Yes."..."Verywellthen,getupl"Thewomanarose,shewalked,andwentaroundthe
garden.Themiraclewasaccomplished.
AyounggirlafflictedwithPott'sdisease,whosever-tebralcolumnhadbecomestraightagainafterthreetreatments,toldmeoftheintensehappinessshefeltinbeing,sotospeak,rebornafterhavingbeenahope-lesscripple.Threewomen,curedoflesionsofthelungs,expresseddelightatbeingabletogobacktoworkandtoenjoynormallife.
Coue,inthemidstofthesepeoplewhomheloves,appearedtomeasapersonapart;heignoresmoney;allhisworkisgratuitousandhisextraordinarydisin-
terestednessdoesnotpermithimtotakeacentforit.Itoldhim:"IoweyousomethingIoweyouall!"'Hisreplywas:"No,thepleasurethatIhaveinyourcontinuedwell-beingpaysmeabundantly."
Anirresistiblesympathydrawsyoutowardthisplainphilanthropistwhohasthesoulofachild.Arminarmwewalkaroundthekitchen-garden,whichhecul-tivateshimselfgettijigupearlytodoso.Heisprac-ticallyavegetarianandlooksupontheresultsofhisgardenworkwithgreatsatisfaction.Hethenresumesseriousconversation."Youpossesswithinyouanun-limitedpower,yourUnconsciousbeing,commonlycalled
imagination.Itactsonmatterifwebutknowhowtodomesticateit.Theimaginationmaybecomparedtoahorse,improperlyharnessedtoyourcarriage,andwithoutbridleorreins;thathorsemayperformallsortsoffoolishtricksandcauseyourdeath.But,harnesshimproperly,drivehimwithafirmhand,and
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14THECOVti"METHOD"
hewillgowhereyouwanthimto.ItisthesamewithyourUnconsciousself,yourimagination.Youmustdirectitforyourowngood.Autosuggestionformulatedwiththelips,isanorderwhichtheUnconsciousreceives.Itcarriesitout,unknowntoourselves,especiallyatnight;sothattheeveningsuggestionisthemostimportant.Itgiveswonderfulresults.
"Whenyoufeelphysicalpainaddtheformula:'Itpasses,itpasses.9Repeatitveryquickly,inasortofmurmuringvoice,placingyourhandontheachingpart,oruponyourforeheadifitismentaldiscomfortordistress.Themethodalsoactsveryeffectivelyonthemind.Afterhavingcalledinthehelpofthesoulforthebody,youcancallonitagainandagaininallcircumstancesanddifficultiesoflife."
Iknowfromexperiencethatunsatisfactoryresults,obtainedbyusualtreatment,canbesingularlymodified
bythisprocess.
Younowknowaboutit,andcanknowitstillbetterifyouwillreadMr.Baudouin'sbook,"SuggestionandAutosuggestion"andthenhispamphlet:"CultureoftheMoralPower,"afterreadingthisbrieflittletreatise,"Self-Mastery,"writtenbyMr.CouShimself.
Now,ifIhavebeenabletoinspireyousufficientlytomakethepilgrimagetoNancyforyourself,youwillhavethesameexperiencethatIhad;youwilllovethisuniquemanuniquebyreasonofhisnoblecharityandhisunselfishloveofhisbrethrenasChristhas
taughtit.
And,likemyself,youwillbehealedphysically,morallyandmentally.Lifewillseemmoreworthliv-ingandaltogethermorebeautiful.Andthatissurelyworthtryingfor.
DigitizedbyVjOOQIC
SELFMASTERY:
Through
ConsciousAutosuggestion
ByEmilbCouL.
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i,orrather,Autosuggestionisinonesenseanentirelynewsubject,although,atthesametime,itisasoldastheworlditself.
Itisnewinthat,uptothepresent,ithasnotbeenstudiedfromthecorrectviewpoint,andconsequentlywrongconclusionshavebeenformed.ItisoldbecauseitdatesbacktotheadventofmanonEarth.Indeed,autosuggestionisaninstrumentwhichwepossesswhenweareborn.Itisaforceofwonderfulandincalculablepowerwhichproduces,accordingtocircumstances,theverybestortheveryworsteffects.Aproperknowledgeofthisforceisusefultoeveryone,but,moreparticular-ly,itisindispensabletophysicians,magistrates,lawyersandeducatorsoftheyoung.
Whanoneknowshowtoemployitconsciouslyhecan,firstofall,guardhimselfagainstprovokingharmfulautosuggestionsinothers,theconsequencesofwhichmaybedisastrous;furthermore,hecanconsciouslybringabouthelpfuloneswhichrestorephysicalhealthtothesick,andmentalandmoralvigortothenervous-lyderangedunconsciousvictimsofprevioushurtfulautosuggestions;hecanalsoguideintorightwaysthose
whohaveatendencytowardevil.
16
16THECOUti"METHOD"
TheConsciousBeingandtheUnconsciousBeing
Inordertounderstandthephenomenaofsuggestionor,moreaccurately,ofautosuggestion,itisnecessarytorealizethatthereexist,withinus,twobeingsabsolutelydistinctfromeachother.Bothareintelligent,butwhileoneisconscious,theotherisunconscious.Thatisthereasonwhytheexistenceofthelatterisnotgenerallyrecognized.
Theexistenceofthisunconsciousbeingmaybeeasily
provedifonewillonlytakethetroubletoexaminecer-tainphenomenaandtothinkalittle,forexample:.
Everybodyisfamiliarwithsomnambulism.Weallknowthatthesleep-walkergetsupduringthenightand,withoutbeingawake,leaveshisroom,dressedorundressed,goesdownstairs,walksalongcorridorsand,afterhavingperformedcertainactsoraccomplishedcertainwork,returnstobed.Nextmorningheisgreatlyastonishedatfindingworkfinishedwhichhehadleft
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unfinishedthenightbefore.
Neverthelesshehimselfdidit,althoughhedoesnotrecallanythingaboutit.Whatpowerthendidhisbodyobey,ifnotanunconsciousforce,hisunconsciousbeing?
Considernow,ifyouplease,theregrettablyfrequentcaseofthedrunkardinastateof"deliriumtremens."Inaparoxysmofragehetakesupwhateverweaponishandy,aknife,hammer,axe,andstrikesfuriouslyatthosewhohavethemisfortunetobenearhim.Whentheparoxysmofragehaspassedandheregainshissenses,helookswithhorroratthesceneofcarnage,ignorantofthefactthathehimselfdidit.Hereagain,
SELFMASTERY17
isn'tittheunconsciousthathasdirectedtheactionsofthepoorwretchf#
IfwecomparetheConsciouswiththeUnconscious,wefindthatwhiletheConsciousisendowedwithaveryunreliablememory,theUnconsciousonthecontrary,isgiftedwithamarvelousmemorywhichregistersunfail-ingly,withoutourknowingit,everyeventandeveryleastlittlethingthathappensduringourexistence.Moreoveritiscredulousandaccepts,withoutreason-ing,whatitistold.AstheUnconsciousdirectsandcontrolstheworkingofallourorgansbytheinterme-diaryofthebrainanapparentlyparadoxicaleffectis
produced;thatis,whenitbelievesthataparticularorganisorisnotinproperworkingorder,orthatwefeelsuchandsuchanimpression,thatorgan,indeed,worksproperlyorbadly;orrather,wehavetheim-pressionthatitdoes.
TheUnconsciousnotonlypresidesoverthefunctionsofourorganismbutalsoovertheperformanceofallouractions,whatevertheymaybe.
TheUnconsciousiswhatweusuallycall"imagina-tion''andwhich,contrarytothecommonbelief,always-makesusact,evenagainstourwill,ifthereisantago-
nismbetweenthosetwoforces.
WillandImagination.
Whenweopenadictionaryandlookforthesenseoftheword"Witt"wefindthefollowingdefinition:"Facultytofreelydetermineallouractions.''Weac-ceptthisdefinitionastrueandindisputable,butthereisnogreaterfallacy.ThiswUlwhichwesoproudly
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*Andwhataversions,whatillsofvariousdegrees,oftenhardlyperceptible,wecreateinourselves,allofus,byneglectingtocounter-balanceimmediatelythebadunconsciousautosug-gestions,byusinggood,consciousautosuggestions,thusbringingaboutthecessationofmuchunnecessarysuffering.
18THECOUti"METHOD"
assert,alwaysgiveswaytotheimagination.Thisisanabsoluterulewithoutasingleexception.
Blasphemy!Paradox!Yousay.Notatall.Truth!Absolutetruth,Ireply.
Andinordertoconvinceyourselfofthistruthopenyoureyes,lookaboutyouandtrytocomprehendwhatyousee.YouwillthenunderstandthatwhatIassertisnotanemptytheory,engenderedbyadisordered
brain,buttheplainexpressionofanactualfact.
Supposethatweplaceontheflooraplank30feetlongand10incheswide.Itisevidentthateverybodywouldbeabletowalkalongthatplankfromoneendtotheotherwithoutsteppingoff.Nowchangethecon-ditionsoftheexperimentandsupposethatthisplankisplaced,letussay,ashighasthetowersofacathedral;wherethenisthepersoncapableofwalkingonlyasinglefootalongthatnarrowpathmadebytheboardtWouldyouwhoreadthisbetheonetDoubtlessno.Youwouldn'ttaketwostepsbeforeyoubegantotrem-bleandinspiteofalltheeffortsofyourwill-
poweryouwouldcertainlytumbletotheground.
WhyisitthatyoudonotfallwhentheplankisonthegroundtAndhowisitthatyoudofallwhenitisraisedtoanygreatheightfSimplybecauseinthefirstcaseyouimaginethatitiseasytowalktotheendofthatplank,whileinthesecondcaseyouimaginethatitisimpossible.
Observethatyoumaywilltowalkalongit,asmuchasyouplease,but,ifyouimaginethatyoucannot,itisabsolutelyimpossibleforyoutodoit.
Dizzinessiscausedbytheimageformedinourmindsthatwearegoingtofall.Thisimagetransformsitselfimmediatelyintotheact,inspiteofalleffortsofourwill,andeventhemorequicklythemoreviolentourwill-effortsaretothecontrary.
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SELFMASTERY19
Letusconsiderthecaseofapersonafflictedwithin-somnia.Ifhemakesnoefforttosleep,hewillrestquietlyinhisbed.If,onthecontrary,he"wants''todeep,thegreaterhiseffortstogotosleepthemorerest-lesshebecomes.
Haveyouevernoticedthefactthatthemoreyoutrytorememberthenameofapersonwhich,forthemoment,youhaveforgotten,theharderitbecomesforyoutorecall,untilyoudismissthethought"Ihaveforgotten"andthinkinstead"itwillcomebacktomymind";thenthenamecomestoyounaturallyandwith-outtheleasteffort!
Thosewhoridebicycleswillreadilyrecalltheirfirstefforts.Whileholdingontightlytothehandlebarsforfearofafall,suddenlyyouobserveintheroadaharmlesslittlepebbleorperhapsevenahorse.Youtrytoavoidtheobstaclebut,themoreyoutrytoavoidit,thestraighteryougorighttoit.
Whohasnot,atonetimeoranotherhadanuncon-trollablefitoflaughterthatbecamemoreuncontrollablewitheachefforttosuppressit?
Whatwasthestateofmindofeachofthesepersons*"IdonotwanttofallbutIcan'thelpit.Iwanttosleepbutcannot.IwouldliketorememberthenameofMadameA.,butIcannot.Iwanttoavoidthatob-staclebutcannot.Iwanttosuppressthatlaugh,butIcawnot."
Youwillreadilyseethatineachcase,thoughunder
differentcircumstances,itwasalwaystheimaginationthatcarriedawaythemil,withoutasingleexception.
Similarly,wenoteanofficerrushingforwardattheheadofhistroops;hiscourageousexampleinspiresthemtofollow;butthecry:"Saveyourselves"causesadis-orderlyandfatalretreat.Why*Inthefirstcase,themenimaginethattheymustmarchforwardand,inthe
20THECOTJti"MliTROD"
second,theyimaginethattheyarebeatenandmustfleetoescapedeath.
Panurgeknewthecontagionofexample,ortheforceofimagination,when,totakerevengeonamerchantwithwhomhesailed,heseizedandthrewoverboardhis
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biggestsheep,sureinadvance,thatthewholeherdwouldfollow;whichofcoursehappened.
Wehumanbeings,resemblemoreorlessaflockofsheep.Againstourwillwefollowtheexampleofothers,imaginingthatwecannotdootherwise.
Icouldcitethousandsofotherexamples,onlytheenumerationwouldbetiresome.Icannot,however,omitemphasizingthisfactoroftheenormouspowerofimagination,otherwisecalledtheUnconscious,initsfightagainstthewill.
Drunkardswouldgladlystopdrinkingbuttheycan-notcontrolthemselves.Askthem.Theywilltellyou,inallsincerity,thattheywouldliketobeabstemious,thatdrinkisdisgustingtothem,butthattheyareir-resistiblydriventodrink,inspiteoftheirwill,andinspiteoftheevilconsequenceswhichtheyknowaresuretoresult
Inthesamemannercriminalscommitcrimesinspiteofthemselves.Whenyouaskthemwhytheyhaveactedthatway,theyreply:"Icouldnothelpmyself,Iwas
pushedtoit,itwasbeyondmypowerofresistance."
Andthedrunkardaswellasthecriminalspeaksthetruth:Theyareforcedtoactastheydobecausetheyimaginethattheycannothelpthemselves.
Idonotsaythatyourwillisnotapower.Onthecontrary,itisagreatforce;butitalmostalwrvysturnsagainstyou.Yourstateofmindmustbe:"Idesiretodo(ortohave)suchandsuchathingandIamabouttodo(ortohave)it."Ifyoumakenowill-effortsyouwillsucceed.
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Nowthen,wewhoaresoproudofourwillpower;wewhothinkthatweactvoluntarily;weare,inreality,onlypoorpuppetsdirectedbyourimaginationwhichholdsthereins.Weceasetobepuppetsonlyafterwehavelearnedtoconsciouslydirectourimagination.
SuggestionandAutosuggestion.
Wemayproperlycomparetheimaginationtoator-rentwhichcarriestodestructiontheunluckyonewhogetsintoitscurrent,eveninspiteofhiswillandeffortstoreachshore.Thistorrentappearsindomitable.Butifyouknowhow,youmayturnitfromitscourse,divertit,asitwere,tothefactory,andtransformitsforceintousefuldrivingpower,heatandelectricity.
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Again,wemaylikentheimaginationtoawildhorsewithneitherbridlenorreins.Whatelsecantheriderdobuttoletthehorsecarryhimwhereitwill*Then,ifthehorsestumbles,theriderplungesintotheditchwhichstoppeditsmadcareer.Butconsider,iftheriderputsbridleandreinsonthehorseandbreaksittohar-ness,therolesarechanged.Thehorsenolongergoeswhereveritwantsto;itistheriderwhonowcontrolsanddirectsallitsmovements.
Whatissuggestion?Onecoulddefineitas''theactofimposinganideaonthebrainofanotherperson"Issuchanactionreallypossible!Properlyspeaking,no.Suggestiondoesnotactuallyexistbyitself.Itdoesnotexist,andcannotexistexceptonthedistinctcondi-tion,sinequanon,thatittransformsitselfintheotherperson'smindintoautosuggestion:andthiswordwedefineas"implantinganideainone'sselfthroughone'sself."
Youmaysuggestsomethingtosomeone.IftheUn-consciousofthelatterdoesnotacceptthatsuggestion,
22THECOUti"METHOD"
ifhedoesnotdigestit,sotospeak,andtransformitintoautosuggestion,noeffectisproduced.
Ithashappenedtome,occasionally,thatsuggestions,moreorlesscommonplace,whengiventoordinarily
obedientpatients,havefailedentirely.ThereasonwasthattheUnconsciousofthosepatientsrefusedtoacceptthesuggestionsanddidnottransformthemintoauto-suggestions.
TheUseofAutosuggestion.
ReturnnowtothepointwhereIsaidthatwecouldcontrolanddirectourimaginationaseasilyaswecoulddivertatorrentorcontrolawildhorse.Allthatisre-quiredisforustorealizethatitispossible,afactofwhichmostpeopleareignorant.Next,wemustknowwhatmeanstouse.Well,themeansareverysimple.
Infact,withoutwantingtoandwithoutknowingit,wehaveemployedthemabsolutelyunconsciouslyeverydaysincewecameintotheworld;but,unfortunatelyforus,wehaveoftenemployedthemwronglyandtoourdis-advantage.Themeansare,autosuggestions.
Insteadofautosuggestingunconsciously,allthatisneededisforustoautosuggestconsciously,andhereisthewaytodoit:firstconsidercarefullythethingswhicharetobetheobjectofyourautosuggestionsand
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decidewhetherthemattersrequireanaffirmationoranegation;thenrepeatseveraltimes,withoutthinkingofanythingelse:"thiscomes"or"thisgoes";thisisgo-ingtohappenorthatisnotgoingtohappen,etc.,etc.IftheUnconsciousacceptsthesuggestion,ifitautosug-gests,youwillfindthattheideaisrealizedineverydetail.
PleaseunderstandthatautosuggestionisnothingelsebuthypnotismasIcomprehendit,andmaybedefined
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insimplewordsasinfluenceoftheimaginationonthemoralandphysicalbeingofman.Thisinfluenceisun-deniableand,withoutrepeatingexamplespreviouslynotedIwillciteseveralothers.
Ifyouinduceinyourselfabeliefthatyoucandoacertainthing(provideditconformstothelawsofnature)youaregoingtodoit,nomatterhowdifficultitmaybe.If,onthecontrary,youimagingthatyoucannotdothesimplestthingintheworld,itbecomesimpossibleforyoutoaccomplishit.Amole-hillmaybecometoyouanunsurmountablemountain.
This,particularly,isthecaseofneurasthenicswho,believingthemselvesincapableoftheslightesteffort,finditimpossibleeventotakeonlyafewsteps,withoutsufferingextremefatigue.Andthesesameneuras-thenics,bytheirveryeffortstoridthemselvesoftheir
depression,onlygetdeeperanddeeperintoit,liketheunfortunatewhogetsintoquicksandandsinksdeeperanddeeper,themoreenergeticallyhestrugglestofreehimself.
Inlikemanneritsufficesjusttothinkthatapainisgoingtoceaseinordertofeelthatthepaindoesactual-lydisappearlittlebylittle,and,viceversa,itsufficesjusttothinkthatyouaresuffering,toimmediatelyfeelthepaincoming.
Iknowsomepersonswhocanpredictinadvancethattheyaregoingtohaveaheadacheonsuchandsucha
day,undercertaincircumstances;andonthatday,thecircumstancesoccurring,theyhavetheirheadaches.Theycausethemselvespain,whileothersgetridoftheirsbyconsciousautosuggestion.
Iamwellawarethat,speakinggenerally,oneiscon-sideredafoolwhodarestodevelopentirelynewideas.Wellthen!EvenattheriskofbeingcalledafoolInaythatifsomefolksarementallyorphysicallysick,
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24THECOUti"METHOD"
itisbecausetheyimaginethemselvestobesick,eithermentallyorphysically.Andthat,ifsomefolksareparalytics,withoutalesionofanykind,theysimplyimaginethattheyareparalyzed.Amongthisclassofpeoplemostextraordinarycureshavebeeneffected.
Ifothersarehappyorunhappy,itisbecausetheyimaginethemselvestobehappyorunhappy.Itispos-siblefortwopeople,inexactlysimilarcircumstancesandconditions,tobecome,theoneperfectlyhappyandtheotherabsolutelymiserable.
Neurasthenia,stammering,fearofthewater,klepto-mania,certainformsofparalysis,etc.,arenothingelsebuttheresultoftheactionoftheUnconsciousuponthephysical,mentalormoralbeing.
ButiftheUnconsciousisthesourceofmanyofourillsandailmentsitcanalsobringaboutthecureofourmentalorphysicalafflictions.Itcannotonlyrepairtheevilithasdone,butalsocurerealmaladies,sogreatisitsactiononourorganism.
Isolateyourselfinaroom;sitdowninaneasy-chair;closeyoureyestoavoidalldistractionandthinkex-clusivelyforafewmoments:"Suchandsuchathingisgoingtodisappear,"or"suchandsuchathingisgoingtohappen.''
Ifyouhavereallyautosuggested,thatis,ifyourUn-conscioushasabsorbedtheideawhichyouhavesug-gested,thenyouwillbeastonishedtoseehappentheverythingyourminddweltupon.(Itistobenotedthatitisthepropertyofideasautosuggestedtoexistwithinusunrecognized.Weonlyknowoftheirexist-encebytheeffectstheyproduce.)Aboveall,thisisanessentialpoint:Thewillmustnotbebroughtin-toPLAYINPRACTISINGAUTOSUGGESTIONbecause,ifitis
notinaccordwiththeimagination,ifonethinks:"Iwillsuchandsuchathingtohappen"andtheimagina-
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turnsays:"YouarewUUngit,butitisnotgoingtobe,"youwillnotonlynotobtainwhatyouwant,but
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moreover,exactlytheoppositemayhappen.
Thisobservationisofutmostimportance,andexplainswhyresultsaresolittlesatisfactorywhen,intreatingmoralailments,onestrivestore-educatethewill.Itisthetrainingoftheimaginationwhichisnecessaryanditisduetothisdifferencethatmymethodhasoftensucceededwhereothermethodshavefailed.
ThenumerousexperimentswhichIhavemade,daily,fortwentyyears,andwhichIhaveobservedmostcare-fully,haveenabledmetoarriveatthefollowingcon-clusions,whichIhavesummedupasLAWS:
1)Whenthewillandtheimaginationareopposedtoeachother,itisalwaystheimaginationwhichwins,withoutanyexceptionwhatever.
2)Intheconflictbetweenthewillandtheimagina-tion,theforceoftheimaginationisindirectratiotothesquareofthewill.
3)Whenthewillandtheimaginationareinaccord,onedoesnotaddtotheother,butoneismulti-
pliedbytheother.
4)Theimaginationcanbedirected.
(Theexpressions"indirectratiotothesquareofthewill"and"ismultiplied"arenotrigorouslyexact:Theyareusedsimplyasillustrationsintendedtomakemymeaningclearer.)
Fromwhathasbeensaiditwouldseemthatnobodyshouldeverbeill.This,isquitetrue.Everyillness,almostwithoutesception,canbemadetoyieldtoautosuggestion,howeverboldandhoweverdaringmy
affirmationmayseem.Idonotsaythatitalwaysdobsyield,butthatitcanbemadetoyield,whichisdif-ferent.
26THECOUti"METHOD"
Butinordertogetpeopletopracticeautosuggestion
consciously,itisnecessarytoteachthemhow,justastheyaretaughttoreadorwriteortoplayamusicalinstrument.
Autosuggestion,asIstatedbefore,isaninstrumentthatisinusatbirth,andonwhichweplayunconscious-lyallourlifeasababyplayswitharattle.Butitisadangerousinstrument;itcanwoundorevenkillyou,ifyouhandleitimprudentlyandunconscious-ly.Ontheotherhanditmaysaveyourlifeifyou
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knowhowtoemployitconsciously.Onemaysayofitwhataesopsaidofthetongue:"Itisthebest,andatthesametime,theveryworstthingintheworld.''
HowSuggestionWorks.
Iwillnowexplaintoyouwhatmustbedoneinorderthateverybodymayenjoythebeneficentactionofauto-suggestion,appliedconsciously:Insaying"everybody"Iexaggeratealittle,fortherearetwoclassesofpeopleinwhomitisdifficulttoarouseautosuggestion.
1)Thementallydeficientwhoareunabletounder-standwhatyouaresayingtothem.
2)Thosewhoareunwillingtounderstand.
Inordertothoroughlyunderstandthepartplayedbysuggestion,orratherautosuggestion,itissufficienttoknowthattheunconsciousselfisthegranddirectorofallourfunctions.MaketheUnconsc\pusbelieve,asIhavesaidabove,thatacertainorganwhichdoesnotfunctionasitshould,mustperformitsfunc-tionwell,andimmediatelytheorderistransmitted.The
organobeyswillinglyandeitheratonceor,littlebylittle,itwillfunctionnormallyagain.
Thisexplainssimplyanddearlyhow,bymeansofsuggestion,onecanstophemorrhages,cureconstipation,
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causefibroustumorstodisappear,cureparalysis,tuber-cularlesions,varicosesores,etc.
Forexample:takeacaseofdentalhemorrhage,whichIhadopportunitytoobserveattheclinicofDr.Gauthe,dentistatTroyes.AyoungwomanwhomIhadhelpedtocureherselfofasthma(fromwhichshehadsufferedforeightyears)toldmeonedaythatshewantedatoothpulled.AsIknewhertobeverysensitive,Iofferedtomaketheextractionpainless.Naturally,sheacceptedwithpleasure.Ontheappointeddaywecalledatthedentist's;placingmyselfoppositetheyoungwoman,I
lookedatherfixedlyandsaid:Youfednothing,youfeelnothing,etc.;whilecontinuingmysuggestionIsignalledthedentist;inamomentthetoothwasoutandMissD.hadnoticednothing;shehadnotevenWinkedaneyelash.Ashappensoften,ahemorrhagefromthegumsfollowed.Insteadofemployingahaemos-taticItoldthedentistthatIwouldtrysuggestion,withoutknowingbeforehandwhatwouldhappen.IthenrequestedMissDtolookatmefixedly,andIsuggestedtoherthatintwominutesthehemorrhage
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wouldstopofitsownaccord;thenwewaited;theyoungwomanspatbloodagain,onceortwice,andthenitceased;Iaskedhertoopenhermouth;thedentistandIlooked,andfoundthataclotofbloodhadformedinthecavity.
HowisthisphenomenontobeexplainedtInthesimplestmanner.Undertheinfluenceoftheidea,thehemorrhagehasgottostop,theUnconscioushadsenttothearteriesandsmallveinstheordernottoallowanymorebloodtoescapeand,obediently,theycon-tractednaturally,justastheywouldhavedonearti-ficiallyoncontactwithahaemostatic,likeadrenalinforexample.
Thesamemethodofreasoningexplainshowitis
28THECOTJti"METHOD"
possibletocauseafibroustumortodisappear.TheUn-conscious,havingacceptedtheideathatthetumormustgo,thebrainordersthearteries,whichnourishandfeedit,tocontract.Theydocontract;theyrefusetheirser-vicestofeedthetumoranylonger,anddeprivedofnourishment,itdies,driesup,isreabsorbed,anddis-appears.
Neurasthenia,sofrequentthesedays,usuallyyieldstosuggestion,ifconstantlypractisedinthewayIhaveindicated.Ihavehadthesatisfactionofcontributingtotherecoveryofmanyneurasthenics,afterevery
othertreatmenthadfailed.OnehadspentamonthinaspecialsanitariumatLuxemburg,withouttheleastimprovement.Insixweekshewascompletelycured,andheisto-daythehappiestmanintheworld,afterhavinghavingconsideredhimselfthemostmiserable.AndhewillneverhavearelapsebecauseIhavetaughthimhowtomakeconsciousautosuggestions,andheprac-ticesthemwonderfullywell.
TheUseofSuggestionfortheCureofMoral
AilmentsandCongenitalorAcquired
Faults.
Butifsuggestionisusefulinthetreatmentofmentalandphysicaldefects,howmuchgreaterservicecdnitrendertosocietyintransformingintohonestfolksthepoor,wretchedchildrenwhonowfillourreformatoriesandwhoonlyleavethemtojointhearmyofcriminalst
Letnoonesaythatthisisimpossible.ItispossibleandIcanproveit!Takethetwofollowingcaseswhich
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areverycharacteristic.But,parenthetically,tomakeperfectlyclearthemannerinwhichsuggestionactsincasesofmoraltaints,Iwillusethefollowingcom-parison.Letussupposeourbraintobeaplankwith
SELFMASTERY29
nailsdrivenintoittorepresentideas,habits,andin-stinctswhichdetermineouractions.Ifweobservethatthereexistsinanindividualabadidea,abadhabit,abadinstinct,inawordabadnail,wetakeanotherrepresentingthegoodidea,thegoodhabit,thegoodinstinctand,placingitontopofthebadnail,giveitatapwithahammer.Inotherwords:wemakeasug-gestion.Thenewnailwillbedriveninperhapsafrac-tionofaninch,whiletheoldonewillbeforcedouttothesameextent.Ateachfreshblowwiththehammer,thatistosay,ateachfreshsuggestion,the
newnailwillgoinanotherfractionofaninch,andthebadonewillbeforcedoutthatmuchfurther,until,afterasufficientnumberofblows,theoldnailwillbedrivenoutentirelyandthenewonewilloccupyitsplace.Whenthissubstitutionhasbeenmade,theindividualisgovernedbythenewandcorrectidea,habitorin-stinct.
Toreturntomyexamples:LittleM.,achildof11years,livingatTroyes,wassubjecttocertainlittleac-cidentscustomaryininfancy.Hewasalsoaklepto-maniacand,ofcourse,untruthful.Athismother'sre-questItreatedhimbysuggestion.Aftertheveryfirst
treatmentthoseaccidentsceasedduringdaytime,butcontinuedatnight;littlebylittletheybecamelessfrequentandfinally,afterafewmonths^thechildwascompletelycured;theimpulsetostealwasalsolessenedand,attheendofsixmonths,ceasedentirely.
Thebrotherofthischild,aged18,hadconceivedaviolenthatredagainstanotheroneofhisbrothers.Ev-erytimetheelderonehadtakenalittletoomuchwine,hefeltanimpulsetodrawaknifeandstabhisbrother.Hehadthefeelingthat,someday,hewouldactuallycommitsuchacrimeandheknewatthesametimethatifhedid,hewouldbeinconsolable.
30TEECOUti"METHOD"
Itreatedhimalso,bysuggestion,andtheresultwas
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marvelous.Afterthefirsttreatmenthewascured.Thehatredofhisbrothervanishedcompletelyandtheybe-camefastfriends.Ifollowedupthecaseforalongtime:thecurewaspermanent.
Sinceitispossibletoobtainsuchresultsbysugges-tion,woulditnotseemuseful,orratherindispensable,tointroducethismethodintohousesofcorrectiontIamabsolutelycertainthat,bydailysuggestionsappliedtoviciouschildren,morethanhalfcouldbereformed.Woulditnotbeofgreatservicetosocietytosaveandbringback,haleandhearty,membersofthehumanfamilywhowereformerlymorally,mentally,andphys-icallydiseasedt
Itmaybesaid,perhaps,thatsuggestionisadanger-ousthingandthatitmightbeabusedforevilpurposes.Suchanobjectionshouldnotbeconsideredasvalid.Firstofall,thepracticeofsuggestionwouldbeen-trustedtoresponsibleandhonorablepersons,forin-stancetophysiciansattendinghousesofcorrection.Secondly,thosewhowouldusesuggestionfortheirownevilendswouldasknobody'spermission,anyway.
However,admittingforamomentthattheremightbesomedanger(whichisnotthecase),Iwouldasktheobjectortotellmewhatthingsweusedaily,arenotdangerous:howaboutsteamtgunpowder!railroads!shipstelectricitytautomobilestaeroplanes?Andthepoisonswhichwe,doctorsandchemists,useeverydayininfinitesimaldosesmighttheynotkillourpatients,ifbyinattentionwemakemistakesinweighingthemoutt
DigitizedbyVjOOQIC
The"Method"AppliedtotheEducationandCorrectionofChildren
ByEmileCoue.
Beforegoingfurtherletmesayafewwordsastothemannerofapplyingmy"method,''byparents,intheeducationandcorrectionofchildren.
EducationShouldBeginBeforeBirth.
Itmayappearparadoxicaltoyoubut,nevertheless,theeducationofachildshouldbeginbeforebirth.
A»amatteroffact,ifaprospectivemother,afewweeksafterconception,willmakeamentalpictureofthechildsheexpectstobringintotheworld,concerningitssexandthephysicalandmoralqualitieswithwhichshedesiresheroffspringtobeendowed,andifshewillthencontinuetoholdthatmentalimageduringthe
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timeofgestation,thechildwillhavethesexandqual-itiesdesired.
Spartanwomenbroughtforthrobustchildrenwhobecameredoubtablewarriors,becausetheirstrongestdesirewastogivetotheircountryonlysuchsonsaswerelikelytobecomeheroes;whileatAthens,thewomengavebirthtochildrenwhoseintellectualqual-itiesfarsurpassedtheirphysicalattributes.
Aehild,thusconceived,willmorereadilyacceptgoodsuggestionsandtransformthemintoautosuggestionswhichmaydeterminethecourseofitslife.Foryoumustrealizethatallourwordsandallouractsarebut
31
32TEECoue´"METHOD"
theresultsofautosuggestionsinduced,forthemostpart,throughsuggestionbymeansofexampleorspeech.
WhatandHowtoTeach.
Whatthen,shouldparentsandteachersdotopre-ventbadautosuggestionsandinducechildrentomakegoodautosuggestionsinsteadtIndealingwithchil-dren,alwaysbeeven-temperedand'speaktothemingentlebutfirmtones.Inthiswayyouinfluencethemtobeobedientwithoutarousingtheslightestdesiretoresistauthority.Aboveall,beverycarefultoavoid
brutalityorharshness,becauseyouriskcreatinginthemautosuggestionsoffearaccompaniedbyhate.Fur-thermore,avoidmakingdamagingorevilremarksaboutanyoneinthepresenceofchildren,asoftenhappensinthedrawingroom,when,withoutdeliberateintention,thenurseoranabsentfriendispickedtopieces.Itfol-lowsinevitablythattheywillimitateyourbadexample,whichmaybeproductiveofseriousconsequenceslateron.
Assoonaschildrenareabletotalk,makethemre-peatmorningandevening,twentytimes,thewords:Everyday,ineveryway,Iamgettingbetterandbetter.
Thishabitwillproduceexcellenthealthphysical,mentalandmoral.
Awakeninthemadesireforknowledgeandloveofnatureandendeavortointerestthembygivingallpossibleexplanationsveryclearly,incheerful,goodtemperedtones.Youmustanswertheirquestionspleasantly,insteadofcheckingthemroughlywith:"Whatabotheryouare...dobequiet...youwilllearnthatlater,etc."
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EDUCATIONOFCHILDREN33
Never,onanyaccountsaytochildren:"Youarelazyandgood-for-nothing";because,bysodoing,youwillcreateinthemtheveryfaultswhichyoureproachthemwith.Ifachildislazyandalwaysdoesbadlywhathehastodo,youshouldsaytohimsometime,evenifitisnotentirelyjustifiedbyhisactions:"Ah!Youhavedonemuchbetterto-daythanyouusuallydo;welldone,sonnie."Thechildwillfeelflatteredbysuchunaccustomedpraiseandcertainlyworkmuchbetterthenexttimeand,littlebylittle,withproperencouragement,willbecomeanearnestworker.
Avoidspeakingofsicknessbeforechildren*asdoingsowillcertainlyservetocreateinthembadautosug-gestions.Teachthem,onthecontrary,thathealthis
thenormalstateofmanandthatsicknessisananomaly,asortofdrawback,whichcanbeavoidedbylivingtemperatewellregulatedlives.
Donotdevelopweaknessesbyteachingthemtofearthisorthat,thecold,theheat,therain,thewind,etc.Maniscreatedtoenduresuchvicissitudeswithoutin-jury,withoutsufferingandwithoutcomplaining.
Donotmakechildrennervousbyfillingtheirmindswithideasofhob-goblins,andotherfearfulthings,forthereisalwaystheriskthattimidity,instilledinchild-hood,willpersistthroughoutlife.
Thosewhodonotbringuptheirchildrenthemselves,shouldbeverycarefulinselectingthepeopletowhomtheyentrustthem.Itisnotenoughthatthosepersonsarefondofchildren;itisnecessarythattheyshouldalsohavetheveryqualitieswhichyoudesireyourchil-drentohave.
Awakeninthechildrenaloveofworkandstudy.
34THECOUt"METHOD"
Makeiteasierforthembyexplaining,asIsaidbefore,clearlyandinapleasantmanner,theaimandobjectoftheirworkandstudy;introduce,ifpossible,anec-doteswhichinterestchildrenandmakethemeagerforthelessonthatistofollow.
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Impressuponthem,aboveall,thatworkisessentialformanandthatheorshewhodoesnotdoworkofonekindoranother,isauseless,worthlesscreature.Impressuponthemthatallworkproducesinthemanwhodoesit,awholesomeandprofoundsatisfaction;whileidleness,whichappearssodesirabletomany,producesweariness,neurasthenia,disgustwithlife;leadingthosewhohavenotthemeansofsatisfyingpassionscreatedbyidleness,todebaucheryandcrime.
Teachyourchildrenalwaystobepoliteandamiabletowardsall,especiallytothosewhomtheaccidentofbirthmayhaveplacedinaclassinferiortotheirown.Teachthembywordandexampletorespectoldageandnevertomockandjokeaboutthedefectswhicholdagecausesphysicallyormentally.
Teachthemtoloveallmankind,withoutdistinctionofcaste.Teachthemthatonemustbealwaysreadytoassistthosewhoareinneedofhelpandnevertobeafraidofspendingtimeandmoneyonthem.Thattheymust,inaword,alwaysthinkofothersratherthanofthemselvesandthat,inactingthusonefeelsaninner
satisfactionforwhichtheegoistalwayslooksinvain.
Developself-confidenceinthem.Havethemunder-standthatbeforeembarkingonanyenterpriseorbus-inessventure,itshouldbethoroughlyanalysedbycriticalreasoning,avoidingimpulsiveness;andoncetheyhavearrivedatadecisiontheyshouldsticktoit,
EDUCATIONOFCHILDREN35
unlesssomeadditionalfactsprovethattheyhadbeenmistaken.
Teachthemaboveallthattheymustsetoutinlifewiththeverydefiniteideathattheywillsucceed!Un-dertheinfluenceofthisideatheyinevitablywillsuc-ceed,notbysittingdownquietlyexpectingeventstohappen,butinfluencedbythisidea"theywilldoallthatisnecessaryforcompletesuccess.Theywillknowhowtoprofitbyopportunitiesand,ifthereshouldbebut
onesingleopportunitycomingtheirway,willseizeit,evenifitwerebyasinglethread;whilehewhodis-trustshimselfmaybelikenedtoConstantGuignard,whoneversucceedsinanythingbecausehedoesexactlyallthatpreventssuccess.Suchaonemightswiminaperfectoceanofopportunities,allwithheadsofhairlikeAbsalomhimself,butwouldneitherseethem,norseizeevenasingleone.Suchaoneoftencreatesforhimselfthe-verycircumstanceswhichcausefailure,whilehewhoissaturatedwiththeideaofsuccessunconscious-
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lycreatesfavorablecircumstanceswhichcarryhimalongtothesummit.
Parentsandteachersshouldmakeitapointtoin-structbyexample.Thechildisimpressionableandopentosuggestion.Whatheseesbeingdone,hewillwanttodoalso.Parentsshouldtherefore,beverycarefultosetonlygoodexamplesfortheirchildren.
"Suggestions"byParents.
Toovercomefaultsanddefectsinchildrenandtodevelopgoodhabitsanddesirablequalities,thefollow-ingsuggestionwillproveapowerfulaid.
36THECoue´"METHOD"
Parentsshouldwaituntilthechildisinbed,and
asleep;thenfatherormothershouldnoiselesslyentertheroom,approachthebed,withinayard,andmurmurtothechildfifteenortwentytimesoyer,allthethingsyouwishthechildtodoortobeasregardshealth,sleep,work,application,conduct,etc.;thenretireasnoiseless-lyasyoucame,takinggreatcarenottoawakenthechild.Thisextremelysimpleproceedingalwaysgivesmostsatisfactoryresults,anditiseasytounderstandthereasonwhyitshould.Whenthechildsleeps,hisbodyandhisconsciousbeingareatrest;hisUnconsciousself,however,isawake.Youspeaktherefore,tothelatteraloneandasitisverycredulous,itacceptswhatyousaywithoutcontradictionand,littlebylittle,the
childbecomeswhattheparentsdesireittobe.
Letfathersandmothersconsiderthisasasacreddutytotheirchildren.Itismentalandmoralfood,asneces-sarytothemasphysicalfood.
"Suggestions"byTeachers.
Itisverydesirablethatteachersshouldmakesug-gestionstotheirpupilseverymorning,somewhatinthismanner:
"Myfriends,Iexpectyoutobealwayspoliteand
kindtoeverybodyandobedienttoyourparentsandteachers.Whenevertheygiveyouanorder,ortellyousomething,youwillalwayslistenattentivelyandobeytheorderorinstructionsgivenyouinacheerfulmanner.Neverlookuponitasanirksome,ortiresometask.Hithertoyoumayhavethought,onceinawhile,thattheorderwasmerelygiventoannoyyou,butnowyouunderstandverywellthatitisinyourownin-
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EDUCATIONOFCHILDREN37
terestandforyourowngoodthatthingsarebeingtoldandexplainedtoyou.Therefore,insteadofbeingcrossanddisagreeable,youwillnowbethankfultoyourelders.
"Furthermore,youwillnowloveyourwork,what-everitmaybe.Atpresentitwillchieflyconsistofstudy.Inyourlessonsyouwillalwaysenjoythethingsyouaretostudy,eventhoseforwhichhithertoyouhadnoinclination.
"Whenateacherisgivingyoualesson,inclassorotherwise,youwilldevoteallyourattention,exclusive-lyandsolely,towhathesays,withoutoccupyingyourmindinanywaywiththesillyorstupidthingswhichyourcompanionsmayhavesaidordone;andespeciallywithoutdoingorsayinganythingofthekindyour-
"Undersuchconditions,asyouareintelligent,andyouareintelligent,myfriends,youwilleasilyunder-standandrememberyourlessons.Whatyouhavelearnedwillbestowedawayinthepigeonholesofyourmemory,whereitremainsatyourdisposalandwhereyoucantakeitoutforuse,wheneveryouhaveneedoruseforit.
"Likewisewhenyouarealone,workingatyourlessonsathome,orbusyatatask,youwillfixyourat-
tentionsolelyontheworkinhand.Inthiswayyouwillalwaysobtaingoodmarksforyourlessons."
Thismethod,iftrulyandfaithfullyfollowed,willproducearaceendowedwiththehighestphysicalandmoralqualities.
InstructionsforPractitionersofthe"Method"
HOWTOTEACHPEOPLETOMAKEAUTOSUGGES-TIONS:ADVICEANDINSTRUCTIONSTOHISPUPILSANDDISCIPLES
ByEmilbCoue´.
Instructionsinthemethodofinducinggoodauto-
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suggestionsbythesickandafflictedarebrief,butaresufficientiffollowed.
Theprincipleofthemethodmaybesummedupinthesefewwords:
ITISIMPOSSIBLETOTHINKOFTWOTHINGSATTHE
sametime:Thatistosay,twoideasmaybeinjuxta-position,buttheycannotbesuperimposedinourmind.
EVERYTHOUGHTTHATCOMPLETELYFILLSOURMINDBE-COMESTRUEFORUSANDHASATENDENCYTOTRANSFORMITSELFINTOACTION.
Therefore,ifyoucancauseasickpersontothinkthathisorhertroubleisgettingbetter,itwilldisappear.Ifyouareabletomakeakleptomaniacthinkthathewillnotstealanymore,hewillstopstealingheiscured.
Alwaysencourageyourpatients;trytoarouseinthemfriendlysentimentsandabsoluteconfidence.Youwillbeaidedinyourexperimentsbytheirwilling
obedience.Ifyouinduceamentalattitudeofsatisfac-tionandgoodwillthedesiredresultswillbegottenmoreeasily.
38
INSTRUCTIONSFORPRACTITIONERS39
Praiseisastimulus,butnotwhenitisexaggerated.Reproachisalsoastimulus,butithurtsand,ifcon-tinued,ranklesdeeply.Iusewordswhichdonotwound,embodyingneededreproachesinlightphraseswhichnoonecanproperlyobjectto,andwhichtheydonotobjecttobecausetheyfeelthatIdonotmeanonlytoreproach.Youmayreproachyourself,butifanotherreproachesyou,itirritates.Idonotmakereproaches,Istatefacts.
Youmusthaveabsoluteconfidencethatyouarego-ingtodosomegoodtoeverypatientyoutreat.As-
sureyourselfthatyouareabletodoyourpart,notpassablybutefficiently,provideditisreasonable.
Lettheverytoneofyourvoiceconveyyourassur-ance.Beunaffectedinmannerandplaininspeech;but,atthesametime,beveryfirm,almostcommand-ing,withapatient.
Alwaysuseacommandingtonewhichpermitsofnodisobedience.Idonotsaythatitisnecessarytoraise
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thevoice;itis,onthecontrary,preferabletospeakintheordinarypitch,buttolaystressoneachsyllableincrisp,decisivetones.
Shouldapatientbecoldandunsympatheticatfirst,donotletthattroubleyou,orhinderyoufromfollow-ingyourusualmethodoftreatment.Onthecontrarydoubleandtrebleyourefforts.Saytoyourself:"Al-thoughheiscoldandunsympatheticnow,heisgoingtolikemeandbecomefriendly."Thenthepatient'sattitudewillnotaffectyou;itwillchangeintofriend-liness.
Training,withsuchresults,mayseemimpossibletoyou,yetitisthesimplestthingintheworld.Allthatisnecessaryistoteachthepatient,byaseriesofap-propriateandgraduatedexperiments,theABCofcon-sciousautosuggestion.
40THECOU&"METHOD"
Hereistheseries.Ifyoufollowittotheletteryoumaybesure,absolutelysure,ofobtaininggoodresults,exceptingwiththetwotypesofpeoplepreviouslymen-tioned.
FirstExperiment
(Preparatory)
Askthepatienttostandupright,withbodystiffas
anironbar,feetclosetogetherfromheeltotoe,butwiththeanklesflexible,asiftheywerehinges.Tellhimtothinkofhimselfasofapost,hingedatitsbase,nicelybalancedonthefloor.Remindhimthatpushingthepostslightly,eitherforwardorbackward,willtum-bleittothefloorwithouttheleastresistance,whicheverwayitispushed.Saythatyouaregoingtopullhimbackbytheshouldersandthatheistoallowhimselftofallstraightintoyourarms,withouttheslightestresistance,turningonhisanklesasapostwouldonhinges;thatistosay,keepinghisfeetonthefloor.Nextpullhimbackbytheshouldersandiftheexperimentdoesnotsucceedatonce,repeatuntilitdoes,orprac-
ticallyso.
SecondExperiment.
Explaintothepatientthatinordertoshowhimtheactionofimaginationonourselves,youaregoingtoaskhiminamomenttothink:"Iamfallingbackward,etc.,"thathemustnothaveanyotherthoughtinmind,thathemustnotreflectforamomentastowhetherheisgoingtofallornot,orthinkthatinfallinghemight
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hurthimself,etc....thathemustnot,inordertopleaseyou,trytofallbackwardpurposely,butthatontheotherhandifhereallyfeelsanindefinablesomethingthatimpelshim,hemustnotresistbutmustobeythatimpulse.Thenaskhimtoholdhisheadhighandto
INSTRUCTIONSFORPRACTITIONERS41
shuthiseyes.Placeyourrightfistonthebackofhisneckandthelefthandonhisforehead,andtellhim:think:"Vmfallingbackward...Vmfallingback-ward"...and"youwillfallbackward,you...faU...back...ward...,etc."Atthesametimemoveyonrlefthandlightlybackwardonhislefttempleabovetheearandslowly,veryslowly,butwithacon-tinuousmovement,withdrawtherightfist.Thepatientwillmakeamovementbackwardandeitherstophimselffromfallingorfalldowncompletely.Inthefirstcase
tellhimthathehasresisted;thathedidnothaveinhismindonlythethoughtoffalling,butalsothethoughtthathewouldhurthimselfifhedidfall.Andthatistrue,forifhedidnothavethatthoughthewouldhavefallenplumptothefloor.Repeattheexperiment;speakinacommandingmannerasifyouwouldcompelthepatienttoobeyyou.Continueinthiswayuntilyousucceedcompletely,orpracticallyso.Isuggestthatyoustandatalittledistancebehindthepatient,withyourleftlegforwardandrightlegwellback,inorderthatyoumaynotbeknockedoffyourfeetwhenhefalls.Ifyouneglectthatprecautionadoublefallmayhappen,ifthepatientbeaheavyperson.
ThirdExperiment.
Letthepatientstandfacingyou,withbodystiff,an-klesflexible,feettogetherandparallel.Putbothyoarhandsonhistempleswithoutpressure;lookathimfixedly,notmovingyoureyelids,butstaringattherootofhisnose;thentellhimtothink:"Iamfallingfor-ward,Iamfallingforward"andrepeattohimac-centuatingthesyllables,"Youare...fall...vng...for...ward...You...are...fall..*ing...forward,etc,,"neverceasingto\oo\fixedlyathin*,
42TEECOV&"METHOD"
FourthExperiment.
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Bequestthepatienttoclasphishandsandtopressthefingerstogetherastightlyaspossible,thatistosayuntilthefingersbegintotrembleslightly;lookathimfixedlyasinpreviousexperiments,andkeepyourhandsonhis,pressingthelatterslightlyasthoughyouwantedtopressthemtogethermoretightly.Tellhimtothinkthatheisunabletounclasphisfingers;thatyouarego-ingtocounttothree,andwhenyousaythreeheshouldtrytoseparatehishandswhilethinkingonly:"Ican-notdoit...Icannot...,etc."andhewillfindthatheisunabletodoit.Count:one...two...three...veryslowlyandaddatonce:"You...can...not...do...it.""You...c<m...not...do...it."Ifthepatientthinkssolely:"Icannotdoit,"hewillnotonlybeunabletounclasphisfingersbutthefingerswillpressthemselvesallthehardertogether,thegreaterhiseffortstoseparatethem.Theeffectisexactlycontrarytowhathetriestodo.Afterafewsecondstellhim"Nowthink:Ican,"andhisfingerswillunclaspofthemselves.
Itisessentialthatyoushouldkeepyoureyesfixedattherootofhisnose,anddonotallowthepatienttoturnhiseyesawayfromyoursforasinglemoment.Ifheshouldbeabletoseparatehishandswhileyousay:
"You...can...not,"donotthinkthatitisyourfault;itisthatofthesubjectwhohasnotbeenthinkingsolely:"icannot."Tellhimsoinadecidedmanner,andtrytheexperimentoveragain.
Whentheseexperimentshavesucceeded,allotherswillsucceedequallywell.Resultswillbeeasilygottenbyfollowing,totheletter,theinstructionsgiven.
Usenounnecessarywordsandencouragenone.Justsay:"Yousufferfromneurasthenia.Iknowbetterthanyoudowhatailsyouandhowmuchyousuffer
INSTRUCTIONSFORPRACTITIONERS43
(italwayssatisfiesthemtobetoldthattheysuffer),andIalsoknowthatyouaregoingtogetridofyourailment."
Neverpityapatient.Theymaysay:"Oh!You
haveaheartofstone."Youreply:"Itisinyourowninterest;ifIweretopityyou,Iwouldbedoingyouabadturn."
Ipurposelyemploytermswhicharenotvulgar,butfamiliarones;theyaremoreforceful.
Speakinacalmvoice,asonewhoisaccustomedtobeobeyed.
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Thevoiceiswhatwemakeit.Itissusceptibleofcultivation.Thereforecultivateyourvoice.Whoeverwilltakealittletrouble,canacquireagoodone.
ThefurtherIgothemoreIseethatonemustnotevenforceattention.Byobservation,Itrytoimitatenature.Theshorterandsimplertheinstructionthebetteritis.Donottrytomakeseveralsuggestionsatatime,"everyday,ineveryway,iamgettingbetterandbetter,"answersforeverything.Onepersonhadbeenunabletoopenhishandforyears,notwithstandingtreatmentbymanyphysicians.Dr.Vachetmadehiuropenthathandinstantlybyputtingintohismindthethought"Ican."
Somepatientsyieldfarmorereadilythanothers.Itiseasytorecognisesuchbythereadywayinwhichtheirfingersandlimbscontractalmostatonce.Aftertwoorthreesuccessfulexperimentsitisnolongernecessarytotellthem:"Thinkthis,"or"thinkthat."Yousim-plytellthem,forinstance,butinthefirmimperativetoneusedbyallgoodsuggestionists:"Closeyourhands.Nowyoucannotopenthem/9"Closeyoureyes.Nowyoucannotopenthem,etc.,"andyouwill
seethatthepatientwillfinditabsolutelyimpossibletoopeneitherhandsoreyes,inspiteofhisverybest
44THECOVt"METHOD"
efforts.Afterafewmomentstellhim:'T<n*ccrn"andinstantlythecontractionwillcease.
Experimentsmaybevariedinfinitely.Hereareafewmore:
Letthepatientjoinhishandsandsuggesttohimthattheyareweldedtogether:
Placehishandonthetableandsuggestthatitisstucktoit:
Tellhimthatheisfixedtohischairandthathecan-notrisefromit:
Makehimriseandtellhimthatitisimpossibleforhimtowalk:
Putapenholderonthetableandtellhimthatitweighs100kilosandheisunabletoliftit,etc.etc.
InalltheseexperimentsIcannotlaytoomuchstressonthefactthatitisnotsuggestion,properlyspeaking,whichproducesthephenomena,butautosuggestion,whichisproducedinthepatientbythesuggestionof
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thepractitioner.
CurativeSuggestionMethods.
Whenthepatienthaspassedthroughthepreliminaryexperimentsandhasunderstoodthem,heispreparedforcurativesuggestion,likeacultivatedfieldinwhichseedmaygerminateanddevelop;beforethathewaslikeunplowedgroundonwhichseedwouldperish.
Whatevertheailmentofthepatientmaybe,physicalormental,itisimportanttoproceedalwaysinthesamewayandtousethesamewordswithfewvariations,ac-cordingtothecase.Yousaytothepatient:"Sitdownandcloseyoureyes:"Iwillnottrytoputyoutosleep;itisnotnee-
INSTRUCTIONSFORPRACTITIONERS45
"Irequestyoutocloseyoureyessimplyforthepurposethatyourattentionmaynotbedistractedbythethingsyouseearoundyou:"NowimpressuponyourmindthateverywordIsayisgoingtofixitselfinyourbrainandbefirm-lyimprinted,engraved,embeddedthere:
"Mywordswillalwaysstaytherefixed,imprinted,embedded,andwithoutyourwillorknowledge,infactwhollyunconsciouslyonyourpart,youyour-selfandyourentireorganismaregoingtoobey:"Itellyou,firstofall,thateveryday,threetimes
aday,atmorning,noonandevening,attheusualmealhours,youwillbehungry,thatistosay:youwillfeelthepleasingsensationthatmakesyouthink:*Oh!Iamreadytoeatwithgreatsatisfac-tion':
"Youwillindeedeatwithgreatpleasureanden-joyyourfood,ofcoursewithoutover-eating;youwillbecarefultochewyourfoodthoroughlysoastotransformitintoasortofsoftpastewhichyouwillthenswallow:
"Yourfoodwillbeproperlydigestedandyouwill
notfeeltheslightestdiscomfort,inconvenience,orpainneitherinthestomachnorintheintestines:"Youwillassimilateyourfoodwellandyouror-ganismwillprofitbyitinmakingblood,muscle,strength,energyinaword:life."Havingdigestedproperly,thefunctionofexcre-tionwillbeperfectlynormal:"Everymorning,onrising,youwillfeeladesireforanevacuation;withouteverrequiringmedicineorartificialmeansofanykind,youwillobtainen-
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tirelynormalandsatisfactorybowelmovements."Furthermore,everynight,fromthemomentyouwishtosleeptothetimeatwhichyoudesiretoawakeinthemorning,youwillsleepaprofound,
46THECOUL"METHOD"
calm,wholesome,unbrokensleep,duringwhichyouwillhavenonightmares;uponwakingyouwillfeelwell,cheerful,andreadyforactivework.
"Ifattimesyouhavebeensadanddepressed;ifyouhavebeenbroodingandworrying,thiswillceasefromnowon,andinsteadofbeingsad,de-pressedandworried,youwillfeelcheerful,verycheerful,evengay;youmayhavenocauseforyourgaiety,justasyoumayhavehadnoreasonforyourdepression.MoreoverIsay
thatevenifyouhavehadanyrealreasonforbeingsadordepressed,youarenotgoingtobeso."Ifithappens,sometimes,thatyouhavefitsofimpatienceandilltemper,youwillneverhavethemagain.Onthecontraryyouwillalwaysbepatient;alwaysmasterofyourself;andthethingswhichworried,irritatedandannoyedyouwillhenceforthleaveyouabsolutelyindifferentandperfectlycalm."Ifyouareattimesattacked,pursued,hauntedbybadandunwholesomeideas,byapprehensions,fears,aversions,temptations,orgrudgesagainstothers,allwillgraduallydisappearfromyourmind;theywillfadeawayandbelostasinapassingcloud
andwillfinallydisappearcompletely;asadreamvanishesonawakening,sowillallyourvainimaginationsvanish.
"Isaythatallyourorgansareperformingtheirfunctionsproperly:
"Theheartbeatsnormally,thecirculationofthebloodisasitshouldbe:"Thelungsareinfinecondition:"Thestomach,theintestines,theliver,thebladder,thekidneysandthebiliaryductareallfunctioningproperly:
"Ifatthismomentoneofthemshouldnotbeactingnormally,thisabnormalitywillbelessdaybydayandverysoonitwillhavevanishedcorn-
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INSTRUCTIONSFORPRACTITIONERS47
pletelyandtheorganwillbeinperfectworkingorder.
"Further,ifthereshouldbeanylesionsinanyoneoftheseorganstheywillimprovedaybydayandsoonbeentirelyhealed.(InthisconnectionIwillsaythatitisnotneces-sarytoknowwhichorganisafflictedinordertohealit.Undertheinfluenceoftheautosuggestion"Everyday,ineveryway,Iamgettingbetterandbetter"theUnconsciousexercisesitsinfluenceonthepar-ticular,diseasedorgan.)"Imustalsoadd,anditisofextremeimportance,thatifuptothepresent,youhavelackedcon-fidenceinyourself,Itellyouthatdistrustinyour-selfwillgraduallydisappearandgiveplacetoself-confidence,basedonyourknowledgeofthatforceofincalculablepowerwhichisinyou."Thisself-confidenceisabsolutelynecessaryforyouandeveryotherhumanbeingtohave.Withoutityouwillnevergetanywhere;withit,youmay
accomplishwhateveryouwantto(withinthelawsofnature,ofcourse).
"Youarenowgoingtohaveconfidenceinyourselfandthisconfidenceenablesyoutobelievethatyoucanreacheachgoalyousetforyourself(ifitisanaturalone):
"Andthatyouwilldowellallthat,inthecourseofduty,youhavetodo.
"Sothen,whenyouwishtodosomethingthatisnatural,orwhenyouhaveadutytoperform,al-
waysthinkthatitisaneasythingtodo.Thewords:'Itisdifficult,impossible,Icannot,itisbeyondme,Icannothelpmyself...mustdisap-pearentirelyfromyourvocabulary.Think:'itiseasy...ican.'Believingamattertobeeasy,itbecomessoforyou,althoughitmayseemdifficulttoothers.Youwilldoitquicklyandwell,with-outfatigue,becauseyoudoitwithouteffort."
48THECOUJS"METHOD"
Allsuggestionsmustbemadeinamonotonous,sooth-ingvoice(emphasizing,however,theessentialwords)whichcausesthepatient,thoughnottoactuallysleep,yettobecomesomewhatdrowsyandstopthinkingofanything,thuspermittingyourwordstopenetratemoredeeplyintohisunconsciousself.
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Tothesegeneralsuggestions,whichmayseemratherlengthyandevenchildishtosome,butstillareneces-sary,addothersthatapplytotheparticularcaseofthepatientyouhaveunderyourcare.
Whenyouhavefinishedyourseriesofsuggestionsyousaytothepatient:
"Inshort,Imeanthatfromeverypointofview,phys-icalandmental,youaregoingtoenjoyexcellenthealth,betterhealththanyouhavebeenabletoenjoyhitherto:"Iamnowgoingtocountthree,andwhenIsay'three'youwillopenyoureyesandcomeoutofthepassivestateinwhichyouarenow:"Youwillcomeoutofitveryquietly,withoutfeelingintheleastdrowsyortired:
"Onthecontraryyouwillfeelstrong,vigorous,alert,active,fulloflife:
"Moreoveryouwillbecheerful,fitandwellineveryrespect:
"ONE...TWO...THREE..."
Attheword"three"thepatientopenshiseyes,al-wayswithasmileandanexpressionofwell-beingandcontentmentonhisface.Sometimes,althoughrarely,thepatientiscuredinstantly.Atothertimes,andmoregenerally,thepatientfeelsrelieved,hispainorailmentdisappearspartiallyortotally,butforatimeonly.
Inmostcasesitisnecessarytorepeatthesuggestionsmoreorlessfrequently,butatlongerandlongerinter-
INSTRUCTIONSFORPRACTITIONERS49
valsaccordingtotheprogressmadebyyourpatient,untiltheybecomeunnecessary;thatis,whenthecureiscomplete.
Beforedismissingyourpatient,impressuponhim
thathecarrieswithinhimselftheinstrumentofself-cure;thatyouare,sotospeak,onlyaninstructorteachinghimhowtousethisinstrument,andthathemustconstantlyhelpyoutohelphim.Therefore,everymorningbeforerisingandeverynightassoonasheisinbed,hemustclosehiseyesandmentallytransporthimselfintoyourpresence,andthenrepeattwentytimesinamonotonoustone,usingastringwith20knotsforcounting,thisphrase:
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"EVERYDAT,INEVERTWAT,IAMGETTINOBETTERANDBETTER."
Mentally,hemustunderlinethewords,inevertwaywhichapplytoeverything,mentalorphysical.
Thisgeneralsuggestionismoreeffectivethanspecialsuggestions.
TheSuperiorityofthisMethod.
Thismethodhasgivenabsolutelymarvelousresultsanditiseasytounderstandthereasonwhy.Indeed,ifyoufollowcloselymyadvice,itbeeomesimpossibleforyoutofail(exceptingofcoursewiththetwoclassesofpeoplebeforementioned,whofortunatelyrepresentbarely3%ofthemass).
Ontheotherhand,ifyoutrytoputyourpatientstosleeprightaway,withoutexplanationsandprelimin-aryexperiments,whicharenecessarytogetthemtoacceptyoursuggestionsandsotransformthemintoautosuggestions,you<wmotandwillnotsuooeed;ex-
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60THECOUJS"METHOD"
ceptingperhapsincasesofextraordinarilysensitivepeople,andtherearenotmanysuch.
Everyonemaybecomeresponsivebytraining,butveryfewaresowithoutthatpreliminaryinstruction
whichIhaverecommended,andwhichcanbegiveninafewminutes.
FormerlyIlaboredundertheimpressionthatsug-gestionscouldonlybegivenwhilethepatientwasasleep,andsoIalwaystriedtoinducesleep;butfindingthatitwasnotindispensable,Iceaseddoingittosparepatientsthatfeelingoffearanduneasiness,whichtheyusuallyhavewhentoldthatheorsheisgoingtobeputtosleep.Thatfearofteninducesinvoluntaryresis-tanceagainstsleep.If,onthecontrary,youtellapatientthatyouarenotgoingtoputhimtosleep,youimmediatelygainhisconfidence,andhelistenswitha
receptivemindfreefromdisturbanceoropposition.Itoftenhappens,that,soothedbythemonotonoussoundofyourvoice,thepatientfallssoundlyasleepandwakesupastonishedathavingbeenasleep.
Ifthereareskepticsamongstyou,andtherearesuretobesome,Isaytoyousimplythis:"Cometomyhouse,seewhatisbeingdonethereandbeconvincedbythefacts."
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Donotthink,however,thatitisabsolutelynecessarytoproceedexactlyandonlyinthewayIhaveindicatedinordertomakesuggestionsandbringaboutautosug-gestions.Itispossibletomakesuggestionstosomepeoplewithouttheirknowingitandwithoutanypre-parationatall.Forinstance,ifaphysician,whobyhistitlealonehasalreadyasuggestiveinfluenceonhispatient,weretotellhimthathecandonothingforhim,thathisillnessisincurable,hewouldinduceinthemindofthepatientanautosuggestionwhichmighthavethemostdisastrousconsequences.If,ontheotherhand,
INSTRUCTIONSFORPRACTITIONERS51
thephysiciantellsthepatientthat,althoughhisillnessisaseriousone,withtime,care,andpatiencehewillcertainlybecured,heoftenobtainsresultsthataresurprising.
Theinfluenceoftheminduponthebodyexistsun-deniablyandisinfinitelygreaterthaniscommonlysupposed.Itisimmense,immeasurable.Itoftencausescontractionsorparalyseswhichmaybeonlytemporary,butwhichmayalsolastthroughlife,unlesssomethingextraordinaryoccurstochangethementalandthere-forethephysicalstateofthepatient.
Makeupyourmindthatyouaregoingtoobtaincertainresultsandyouwillfindthewaysandmeans;thatistheapparentlystrangepartofit.Ifyoucon-siderityourdutytotakefolkstotheclinics,youwill
findwordstoinducethemtogoandeventocausethemtodesiretogo.
Itiseasytounderstandthepartplayedbytheonewhogivesthesuggestions.ItisnotaMasterwhocom-mands;heisafriend,aguidewhohelpsthepatientstepbystepalongthepathofrecovery.AsallthesuggestionsaregivenintheinterestofthepatienttheUnconsciousofthelatterisperfectlycontenttoas-similatethemandtransformthemintoautosuggestions.Whenthisisdone,acurefollowsmoreorlessrapidly.
Anotherexample:Supposeaphysician,afterexamin-
inghispatient,weretowriteoutaprescriptionandhanditoverwithoutawordofcomment;theprescribedremedieswillnothavemucheffect.Butifheexplainstohispatientthatsuchandsuchmedicinesmustbetakeninsuchandsuchconditionsandthattheywillproducecertainresults,itispracticallycertainthattheexpectedresultswillbebroughtabout.
Iftherearemedicalmenorbrotherchemistsinmyaudience,Itrusttheywillnotlookuponmeastheir
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52THECoue´"METHOD"
enemy;Iam,onthecontrary,theirbestfriend.OntheonehandIwouldliketoinscribeonthecurriculaofmedicalschoolsthestudyoftheoreticalandpracticalsuggestionforthebenefitofthesick,andofthephy-siciansthemselves;also,itismyopinionthatwhenapatientvisitshisphysician,thelattershouldalwaysprescribeoneormoreremedies,evenifnotnecessary.Itisafactthatwhenapatientgoestoseehisphysi-cian,itistoaskwhatremedywillcurehim.Hedoesnotknowthat,inmostcases,itisthehygieneandregimenwhichdothis,soheattacheslittleimportancetothem.Whathewantsismedicine.
Inmyopinion,ifthephysicianprescribesadietonly,withoutmedicine,hispatientwillbesatisfied.He
willsaythatitwasnotworthwhileseeinghisphysicianwithouthavinganythingprescribedforhim,andoftengoestoanother.Itseemstomethataphysicianshouldalwaysprescribemedicineforhispatientand,asmuchaspossible,medicinesmadeupbyhimself,ratherthantheadvertisedremedieswhichowetheirvaluetoad*vertisementsonly.HisownprescriptionwillinspireinfinitelymoreconfidencethanthepillsorpowdersofSoandSowhichanyonecanobtaininthenearestdrugstore,withouttheneedofaprescription.
WhatAutosuggestionHasDone
OBSERVATIONSOFSOMEREMARKABLECURES
ByBmileCoue.
Thislittlemonographwouldbeincompleteifitdidnotincludeafewtypicalexamplesoftheactualcures
ejected.Thewholelistwouldbetoolong,anditmightprovetiresomeifIweretomentionallthecaseswhichIhavetreated.Iwilltherefore,contentmyselfwithcitingafewofthemoreremarkableones.
Inordertoshowthatthesecuresarepermanent,Ihavepurposelychosensomecasesofolderdates,aswellasafewofthemorerecentones.
Tuberculosis.
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Mrs.D.,ofTroyes,about30yearsofage,inthelaststagesofconsumption;grewthinnerandthinnerdailyinspiteofspecialfeeding.Therewascoughing,spitting,op-pressionanddifficultyinbreathing;indeedfromallap-pearancesshehadonlyafewmonthsmoretolive;pre-liminaryexperimentsshowgreatsensitivenessandsug-gestionisfollowedbyimmediateimprovement;fromtheverynextdaythemorbidsymptomsbegantobelesspronounced;theimprovementbecamemoremarkeddaily,andtheweightofthepatientincreasedrapidlyalthoughshenolongertookspeciallynourishingfoods;afterafewmonthsthecurewasapparentlycomplete.Thisladywrotemeonthe1stofJanuary,1911(thatwas8monthsafterIhadleftTroyes),aletterof
53
54TEECOCTU"METHOD"
thanks,informingmethatalthoughpregnant,shewasperfectlywell.
MissX.,ofGenfcve,13yearsofage,hasasoreonthetemplewhichseveraldoctorsconsideredtobeoftubercularoriginandvarioustreatmentsextendingoveraperiodofayearandahalfhadavailednothing;shewasthentakentoMr.Baudouin,adiscipleofMr.Cou6,residingatGeneva;wastreatedbysugges-tionandtoldtoreturninaweek;whenshecamebackthesorewashealed!
CongestionoftheLungs.
Mrs.Z.,ofNancy,inJanuary1919,contractedcon-gestionofthelungs,fromwhichshehadnotrecoveredaftertwomonths;therewasgeneralweakness,lossofappetite,indigestion,rareanddifficultbowelaction,in-somnia,andcopiousnight-sweats;afterthe,veryfirsttreatmentthepatientfeltmuchbetter;twodayslatershecametotellmethatshewasperfectlywell;everytraceofillnesshaddisappearedandeveryorganfunc-tionednormally;threeorfourtimesshehadbeenonthevergeofhavingnight-sweatsagain,buteachtime
preventeditbyconsciousautosuggestions.Fromthattimeon,Mrs.Z.hasenjoyedperfecthealth.
Asthma.
MissM.D.,ofTroyes,sufferedforeightyearsfromasthmawhichcompelledhertositupinbednearlyallnight,strugglingforbreath,whenherrespiratoryorgansfailedtofunction;preliminaryexperimentsshowedhertobeaverysensitivesubject,goingtosleep
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immediatelythesuggestionisgiven.Results:fromtheveryfirstdaythereisgreatimprovement;thepatientpassedagoodnight,interruptedbyonlyasingleattackofasthma,whichlastedbutaquarterofanhour;in
WHATAUTOSUGGESTIONHASDONE56
averyshorttimetheasthmadisappearedcompletely,andwithoutrecurrencethereafter.
Bronchitis.
Mr.Hazot,48years,ofBrin,takenillthe15thofJanuary,1915,withchronicbronchitis,growingworsedaily;hecametomeinOctober1915;therewasanimmediateimprovementwhichhasbeenmaintainedeversince.Atthetimeofwritingheisnotcompletelycuredbutisverymuchbetter.
SenilityofLarynx.
Mr.X.,aProfessorofBelfort,couldnottalkformorethantenorfifteenminuteswithouthisthroatbe-comingveryirritated;variousdoctorstoldhimthattherewasnolesioninthevocalorgans,butonestatedthattherewassenilityofthelarynx,whichledhimtobelievethathecouldneverT>ecured;hecametoNancyforavacation,andaladyfriendadvisedhimtoseeme.Herefused,atfirst,butfinallyconsentedinspiteofhisabsolutedisbeliefintheeffectsofsuggestion;Itreatedhim,notwithstanding,andrequestedhimtocome
backinacoupleofdays;hecameandtoldmethatonthepreviousdayhehadbeenabletoconverseallafter-noonwithouttheslightestindicationofhisoldtrouble;twodayslaterhecametoseemeagain,tosaythathehadbeenabsolutelyfreefromsorethroatalthoughhehadnotonlybeentalkingallthetime,butalsohadbeenboldenoughtosingthepreviousevening.ThecurestillholdsgoodandIamconvincedthatitisalastingone.
Pott'sDisease.
Mr.Nagengast,aged18,rueSellierNo.39,sufferingfromPott'sdisease.Hecametomeearlyin1914,
havingbeenencasedinaplastercorsetforsixmonths.Hecametwiceaweektotheregularsittingsandhim-
56THECOVJS"METHOD"
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selfmadetheusualautosuggestion,morningsandeven-ings.Theimprovementmanifesteditselfveryrapidlyandverysoonthepatientwasabletodowithouthisplaster-corset.Isawhimagainin1916.Hewasen-tirelycured,carryingonhisdutiesasapostman,afterhavingbeenan"Infirmier,"tendingthesickincon-nectionwiththeNancyambulanceservicewherehehadstayeduntiltheservicehadbeendiscontinued.
Eczema.
Mrs.H.,ofMax6ville,suffersfromeczema,particular-lyintenseontheleftleg;bothlegsswollenandin-flamed,especiallyattheankles;walkingdifficultandpainful;suggestions:thesameeveningMrs.H.wasabletowalkseveralhundredyardswithoutfatigue;thenextmorningthefeetandankleswerenolongerswollenandhavenotbeenswollensince;theeczemadisappearedrapidly.
Gout.
Mr.E.,ofTroyes,hadanattackofgout;theright
anklewasinflamedandpainfulandhewasunabletowalk;thepreliminaryexperimentsprovedhimtobeaveryresponsivesubject;afterthefirsttreatmenthewasabletowalktothecarriagewhichbroughthim,withoutusinghiscaneforsupport;therewasnomorepain;thenextdayhedidnotcomeback,asIhadinstructedhimtodo;laterhiswifecametotellmethatherhusbandhadrisenearlythatmorning,hadputonhisshoes,andgoneoffonabicycletohisworkshop(heisapainter).Justimaginemyastonishment.Ihavenotbeenabletofollowupthiscaseasthepatientnevertroubledhim-selftocomeandseemeagain.Ilearnedlaterthathehadgonealongtimewithoutanyrelapse,butIdonot
knowwhathasbecomeofhim.
WHATAUTOSUGGESTIONHASDONE57
ClubFeet
T.Maurice,8}4yearsold,ofNancy,hasclubfeet.
Afirstoperationcuredtheleftfoot(ornearlyso),therightfootremainingcrippled.Twosubsequentopera-tionsdidnogood.
ThechildwasbroughttomeforthefirsttimeinFebruary1915.Hewalkedfairlywell,owingtotwocontrivanceswhichheldhisfeetstraight.'Animprove-mentwasnoticedimmediatelyafterthefirsttreatment,andafterthesecondthechildwasabletowalkinor-dinaryshoes.OnApril17ththechildwasquitewell.
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Therightfoot,however,isnotquiteasstrongasitwas,becauseofasprainwhichwasreceivedonFeb-ruary20th,1916.
Rheumatism.
Mrs.Meder,52years,ofEinville.Forsixmonthsshesufferedfrompainintherightknee,accompaniedbyswellingwhichmadethebendingofthekneeim-possible.Shesawme,forthefirsttime,on7thDecem-ber1917.Shecameagain,on4thofJanuary1918,totellmethatshesufferednomorepainandthatshewasabletowalkquitenormally.
Mr.FerryEugene,60years,ruedelaCote56,hadrheumaticpainsintheshoulderandtheleftlegforfiveyears.Hewalkedwithdifficultyleaningonacaneandcouldnotlifthisarmsabovetheshoulder.Heconsultedmeon17thofSeptember1917.Afterthefirstvisitthepainshadentirelyvanishedandthepa-tientcouldnotonlytakelongstridesbutcouldalsorun.Moreoverhecouldwhirlhisarmslikeawind-mill.IsawhimagaininNovemberandtherehadbeennorelapse.
M*s.Castelli,41years,ofEinville(M-et-M)forthir-teenyearsintermittentrheumaticpainintherightknee.Fiveyearsagoshehadamoreviolentattackthaneverbefore:thekneeaswellasthelegbeganswellingconsiderablyandthenthelowerpartofthe
58THECoue´"METHOD"
legatrophiedandthepatientwasreducedtowalkingverypainfullywiththeaidofacaneoracrutch.Isawherforthefirsttimeon5thofNovember1917and
shewalkedawaywithoutthehelpofeithercaneorcrutch.Sincethensheneverhadanymoreuseforthecrutchbutoccasionallydidusethecane.Onceinawhilethepaininthekneerecursbutisveryslight.
Palsy.Mr.X.,post-officeclerkatLungville,lostachildinJanuary1910;thiscausedacerebraldisturbancewhichmanifesteditselfbyuncontrollablenervoustrembling;hisunclebroughthimtomeinthemonthofJune;pre-liminaryexperimentswerefollowedbysuggestions;fourdayslaterhecamebacktotellmethathistrem-blinghaddisappeared;Irepeatedthesuggestions,with
instructionstocallagaininaweek;theweekwentby,thentwo,three,fourweekspassedwithnonewsfromhim;alittlewhileafterwardshisunclecametotellmethathehadreceivedaletterfromhisnephew,informinghimthatthelatterwasperfectlywell;thathehadbeenre-instatedinhispositionastelegraph-clerkwhichhehadpreviouslybeenobligedtoabandonandthatonthedayhewrotetheletter,hehadsentoffalengthytelegramof170words,withouttheleastdifficulty;headdedinhisletterthathecouldhaveeasilysentoffan
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evenlongerone.Therehasbeennorelapse.
Stammering.MissLinier,15years,rueMontet88,stammeredfrominfancy.ShecameonJuly20,1917,andwasinstant-lydeliveredfromherdefect.Isawheramonthlaterandfoundherpermanentlycured.
KidneyDisease.
Mrs.P.,ofLaneuveville,hadpainsinherkidneysandknees;hercomplaintdatedback10years;shewasgoing
WHATAUTOSUGGESTIONHASDONE59
frombadtoworseeveryday.Suggestion,onmypartandautosuggestion,onherpart;improvementwasim-mediateandprogressedsatisfactorily.Shewasrapidly
andpermanentlycured.
Enteritis.
Mr.A.G.>ofTroyes,hassufferedforalongtimefromenteritis(inflammationofthebowels)whichdif-ferenttreatmentsfailedtocure;hewasinaverybadway,beingdepressed,gloomy,unsociableandobsessedbythoughtsofsuicide;preliminaryexperimentsbeingsatisfactory,suggestionfollowed;appreciableresultsshowedfromtheveryfirstday;continuedsugestionsforthreemonths,atfirstdaily,thenatincreasinglylongerintervals;attheendofthattimae,therewasacomplete
cure;theenteritishadentirelydisappearedandhismentalconditionwasexcellent.Asthiscuredatesbackfortwelveyears,withouttheslightestrelapse,itmaywellbeconsideredtobepermanent.
Mr.G.isastrikingexampleoftheeffectsthatcanbeproducedbysuggestion,orratherbyautosuggestion.WhileIwasmakingsuggestionsfromthephysicalpointofview,Ialsodidsofromamentalpointofviewandheacceptedtheonesuggestionaswellastheother.Hisself-confidenceincreaseddailyand,ashewasanex-cellentworkman,inordertoearnmore,hetriedtoob-tainamachinewhichwouldenablehimtoworkathome.
Sometimeafterwardsamanufacturer,whohadseenwithhisowneyeshowgoodaworkmanhewas,en-trustedhimwiththeverymachinehesomuchdesired.ThankstohisskillMr.G.wasabletoturnoutmoreworkthananordinaryworker.Delightedwiththere-sult,hisemployergavehimanotherandstillanothermachineuntilMr.G.,who,butforhisrecoursetosug-gestionswouldhaveremainedanordinaryworkman,
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60THECOUL"METHOD"
nowisinchargeofsixmachineswhichnethimahand-someincome.
NervousDyspepsia.
Mrs.T.,ofNancy,hadneurasthenia,dyspepsia,gas-tralgia,enteritis,andpainsindifferentpartsofthebody;shetreatedherselfforseveralyearswithnegativeresults;Igavehersuggestionswhichsheturnedintoautosuggestions,daily.Therewasanoticeableimprove-ment,fromthefirstday,whichcontinuedwithoutinter-ruption;shewascuredlongago,bothmentallyandphysically;shefollowsnospecialdiet;thinkstherestillis,perhaps,aslighttouchofenteritisbutisnotsure.
Neuralgia.
Mrs.L.,ofNancy;painsintherightsideoftheface,overaperiodofmorethan10years;consultedmanyphysicianswhoseprescriptionsdidnothelp;finallyanoperationwasdecidedupon,but,first,shecametomeonthe25thofJuly,1916;herimprove-mentwasimmediate;after10daysthepainvanishedand,uptoDecember20th,therewasnorecurrence.
Mrs.Lacour,63years,ChemindesSables,hadpainsinthefaceforthepasttenyears.Alltreatmentstakentadavailedhernothingandwhenanoperationwasadvised,sherefusedtosubmittoit.Sheconsultedmeforthefirsttimeon25thofJuly1916.Fourdays
laterthepainshadvanishedandsheneverhadthemagainuptothisday.
Neurasthenia.
Mr.Y.,ofNancy,asuffererfromneurastheniaforseveralyears,hasaversions,nervousfears,disordersofthestomachandintestines;hissleepisbroken,heisgloomyandhauntodbyideasofsuicide;whenwalkinghestaggerslikeadrunkenmanandcanthinkofnoth-ingbuthistrouble;allothermethodshadfailedandhe
WHATAUTOSUGGESTIONHASDONE61
wentfrombadtoworse;amonth'streatmentinasani-tariumhadnottheslightesteffect.Mr.Y.cametoseemeearlyinOctober,1910;thepreliminaryexperiments
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provedcomparativelyeasy;Iexplainedtothepatienttheprinciplesofautosuggestion,andalsotheexistencewithinusoftheconsciousandtheunconsciousbeing;thenImadesuggestions;fortwoorthreedaysMr.Y.hadalittletroubleingraspingtheexplanationswhichIhadgivenhim,butinalittlewhilehiscloudedmindsawthelight,andheunderstood;Igavehimfreshsug-gestionsandhetransformedthemintoautosuggestionseverydayaddingothers,ofhisownaccord;theim-provementwasslowatfirst,but,littlebylittleitpro-gressedmorerapidly;inamonthandahalfthecurewascomplete.Theex-invalidwhosorecentlyhadlookeduponhimselfasamostmiserableman,nowcon-sidershimselfmosthappy.Notonlyhastherebeennorelapsebutitisimpossibleforsuchtooccur,becauseMr.Y.isfirmlyconvincedthathecouldnotfallbackintohisformermiserablestateofexistence.
Mrs.X.,asisterofMrs.T.,hadaverybadcaseofneurastheniaandremainedinbedtwoweeksoutofev-eryfour;itwasimpossibleforhertomoveorwork;sufferedfromlackofappetite,depression,anddigestivedisorders.Shewascuredinonesinglesittingandthecureseemstobealastingone,asshehasneverhadare-
MissD.,ofMirecourt,16yearsold,sufferedforthepastthreeyearsfromnervousattacks.Theseattacks,infrequentinthebeginning,keptrecurringatshorterintervals.WhenshecametomeonApril1st,1917,shehadhadthreeattacksintwoweeks.PromthattimetoApril18ththerewasnotasingleattack.Imayaddthatsincetakingthetreatment,thisyounggirlwasnolongertroubledwithbadheadachesfromwhichshehadpreviouslysufferedalmostconstantly.
62THECOUE"METHOD"
VaricoseUlcers.
Mrs.UrbainMarie,aged55,ofMaxgvillehadbeensufferingfromvaricoseulcersforayearandahalf.ThefirsttreatmenttookplaceinSeptember1915,the
secondtreatmentaweeklater.Therewasanabsolutecureintwoweeks.
Mrs.H.,rueGuilbert-de-Pix6r6court,Nancy,49yearsold,varicoseulcersinceSeptember1914whichwastreatedbyherDoctorwithoutsuccess.Thelowerpartofthelegwasgreatlyenlarged.TheulcerwasaslargeasatwoFrancspiece,waslocatedabovetheankleandwenttothebone.Theinflammationwasveryintense,thesuppurationwasabundantandthepainextremely
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violent.ThepatientcalledforthefirsttimeinApril1916.Animprovementwasnoticeableafterthefirstvisitandcontinuedwithoutinterruption.Bythe18thofFebruarytheswellinghadgonedowncompletelyandthepainandirritationhadvanished.Thesorewasstillthere,butitwasnolargerthanapeaandonly2or3millimetersindepth.Itstilldischargedveryslightly.In1920thecurehadlongbeencomplete.
Mr.PhilippeSchirer,48years,ofBouxidres-aux-Dames,cameforthefirsttimeon20thofApril1917,witha15yearoldvaricosesoreontheleftleg,aslargeasafiveFrancspiece.Onthe27thofAprilthesorewashealed.Sawhimagainon4thofMayandfoundthecuretobepermanent.
Ulcer.
MissX.,ofBlainville,hadasoreontheleftfoot,probablyofspecificorigin.Aslightspraincausedaswellingofthefoot,accompaniedbyacutepains.Varioustreatmentshaddonenogoodandafteralittlewhileasuppuratingsoreappearedwhichseemedtoin-dicatecariesofthebone.Walkingbecamemoreand
moredifficultinspiteofcontinuoustreatments.Ontheadviceofaformerpatientofmine,shecametomeandreliefwasnoticeableafterthefirstfewvisits.
WHATAUTOSUGGESTIONHASDONE68
Graduallytheswellingwentdown,thepainbecame
lessintense,thesuppurationbecamelessandlessandfinallythesorewashealedcompletely.Ittookafewmonthstogetthisresult.Atthiswritingthefootisalmostnormalandalthoughthepainandswellinghavedisappeared,thebackwardflexionofthefootisnotyetperfect,whichcausesthepatienttolimpslightly.
Abscess.MissZ.,alsoofGeneva,hadundergoneanoperationforanabscessabovethekneewhenshewas17yearsoldandhad,asaconsequence,adrawn-uprightleg.SherequestedMr.Baudouintogiveatreatmentbysug-gestionandhehadhardlycommenceddoingso,when
thelegbegantobendbackandforthinanormalmanner.(Itmustbeadmittedthattherewasapsy-chologicalcauseinthiscase.)
FrontalSinus.
Mr.B.hadsufferedfor24yearsfrominflamma-tionofthefrontalcavity(sinus)whichhadbeenoperatedupon11times.Butinspiteofallthathadbeendonetheinflammation(sinusite)persisted,causingin-
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tolerablepains.Thephysicalstateofthepatientwasextremelypitiable.Hehadalmostcontinuouslyviolentpains,noappetite,extremeweaknessandcouldneitherwalk,read,norsleep.HisnerveswereinnobetterstatethanhisbodyandnotwithstandingthetreatmentofsuchmenasBernheimofNancy,DejerineofParis,DuboisofBerne,X.ofStrasbourg,thispitiablestatecontinuedandgrewworseeveryday.
Ontheadviceofoneofmyformerpatients,hecametomeinSeptember1915.Fromthatmomenthishealthimprovedrapidlyandatthepresenttime(1921)heisperfectlywell.Thiswasarealresurrection.
HeartDisease.
EmileChenu,10yearsold,of19GrandeBue(arefugeefromMetz),hadhearttroubleofuncertain
64THECOUti"METHOD"
nature;bledfromthemoutheverynight;hisfirstvisitwasinJuly1915;afterafewtreatmentsthelossofbloodbecameless;improvementcontinued,andbytheendofNovemberhewascompletelycured.TherehasbeennorelapsesinceAugust1916.
YoungB.>13yearsold,enteredahospitalinJanu-ary,1912;hadveryserioushearttrouble,characterizedbydifficultyinbreathing;canwalkonlywithveryslowandshortsteps.Thedoctorwhoattendedhimwasone
ofourbestphysiciansandpredictedarapidandfatalissue.
ThepatientleftthehospitalinFebruary,nobetter!Afriendofthefamilybroughthimtome.Themo-mentIsawhim,Iconsideredhimahopelesscase.NeverthelessIlethimgothroughthepreliminaryex-periments,towhichherespondedsurprisinglywell.Afterhavinggivenhimsuggestionandinstructinghimtodothesameforhimself,Itoldhimtocomebackintwodays.WhenIsawhimthesecondtime,Inoticedtomygreatsurpriseamostremarkableim-provementinhisrespirationandinhiswalking.Ire-
peatedthesuggestivetreatment.Hereturnedagainafewdayslater.Theimprovementhadcontinued,andsoitwasateachsubsequentvisit.
MylittlepatientmadesuchrapidprogressthatthreeweeksafterIfirstsawhim,hewasabletogoonfootwithhismotheruptotheplateauofVillers.Hisbreathingwasfreeandalmostnormal.Hewalkedwithoutgettingoutofbreathandcouldevengoupstairs,somethingwhichitwasimpossibleforhimtodoa
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shortthreeweeksago.TheimprovementcontinuedsteadilyandverysoonhesurprisedmebyaskingmypermissiontogotoCarignantoseehisgrandmother.AsheseemedwellenoughIadvisedhimtodoso.Hewent,keepingintouchwithmeregularlybymail.Hishealthisgettingbetterandbetter;hehasagoodap-petite,hisdigestionandassimilationaregood,andthefeelingofoppressionhaslefthimentirely.Nowhenot
WHATAUTOSUGGESTIONHASDONE65
onlywalkslikeeverybodyelse,butevenrunsandchasesbutterflies.
HecamebackinthemonthofOctoberandIhardlyrecognizedhim.ThebentandpunylittlefellowwhowentawayinMaylasthadbecomeafine,tall,erectboy,whosefacewastheverypictureofhealth.He
hadaddedtwelvecentimeterstohisheightand19lbs.tohisweight.Fromthattimeonhehaslivedaper-fectlynormallife,herunsupanddownstairs,ridesabicycle,andplaysfootball.
Paralysis.
Mr.D.,ofJarville,hadparalysisoftheleftuppereye-lid.Hewenttothehospitalwherehereceivedinjections,asaresultofwhichthepatientwasabletoraisehiseyelid,butthelefteyewasdeflectedoutwardformorethan45degrees,andanoperationappearedtobeneces-sary.Hecametomyhouseand,thankstoautosugges-
tion,hiseyewasrestored,littlebylittle,toitsnormalposition.
Mr.M.,ahat-maker,livingatSainte-Savine,nearTroyes,wasparalyzedfortwoyears,followinganin-juryatthejunctionofthespinalcolumnandthepel-vis;theparalysisexistedonlyinthelowerlimbsinwhichthecirculationofthebloodhadpracticallyceased,makingthemswollen,congestedanddiscolored;varioustreatments,includingantisyphilitic,hadbeentriedwith-outresult;preliminaryexperimentsweresuccessful;suggestionsgivenbymeweretransformedintoautosug-gestionsbythepatient,foraweek;afterthattimethere
wasanalmostimperceptible,butneverthelessappre-ciablemovementoftheleftleg.Renewedthesugges-tions:aweeklatertheimprovementwasnotable;inan-othertwoweeksamoreandmorenoticeableimprovementtookplacetogetherwithaslow,butprogressive,lessen-ingoftheswelling,andsoon;elevenmonthsafterwards,onthe1stofNovember,1906,thepatientwentdown-
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66THECOVti"METHOD"
stairsalone,andwalked1000yards;inthemonthofJuly,1907,hewentbacktohisfactorywherehehassinceworkedcontinuously,withouttheleasttraceofparalysis.
WombTrouble.
Mrs.Jousselin,60yearsold,ruedesDominicains6,cametomeon20thJuly,1917,complainingofaviolentpainintherightlegandaconsiderableswellingoftheentirelimb.Shecouldonlydragherselfalongmoan-ingwithpain.Afterthetreatmentshecould,tohergreatastonishment,walknormallywithoutfeelingtheleastpain.Whenshecameagainfourdayslater,thesaidthatshehadhadnopainintheintervalandtheswellinghadsubsided.Thiswomaninformedmethatsincecomingtomyhouseshehadalsobeencuredofwhitedischargesandofinflammationofthewomb
fromwhichshehadsufferedalongtime.InNovemberthecurewasstillholdinggood.
Mrs.Martin,GrandeRue(VilleVieille)105.In-flammationofthewombofthirteenyears'standing,ac-companiedbypainsandredandwhitedischarges.Themonthlyperiodswereverypainfulandappearedevery22or23days,lastingfromtentotwelvedays.Firstconsultationon15thofNovember1917andregularweeklyvisitsthereafter.Thepatientfeltbetterafterthefirsttreatmentandimprovedrapidlyuntil,inthebeginningofJanuary1918,theinflammationhadcom-pletelydisappeared;herperiodshadbecomemore
regularandpainless.Apaininthekneewhichthepatienthadalsohadforthirteenyears,haddisap-pearedlikewise.
Mrs.M.,43years,rued'Amance2,Malzeville,cametowardtheendof1916complainingofviolenthead-acheswhichshehashadalmostallherlife.Afterafewvisitsthepainshadentirelydisappeared.
Abouttwomonthsafterwardsshenoticedthatshewasalsocuredofadisplacementofthewomb,ofwhich
WHATAUTOSUGGESTIONHASDONE67
shehadsaidnothingtomeandtowhichshegavenothoughtwhenmakingherautosuggestions.(Thisre-sultisduetothewords:"ineveryway,"contained
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intheformulatoberepeatedmorningsandevenings.)Mrs.D.,Choisy-le-Roi,hadonlyonegeneralsug-gestiononmypartandthereaftermadeherautosug-gestionsmorningandevening.InOctoberofthesameyearthisladyinformedmethatshewascuredofaprolapsusofthewombwhichhadtroubledherfor20years.Upto1920thecureisstillpermanent.(Sameremarkasintheprecedingcase.)
Metritis.
Mrs.&.,ofChavigny,sufferedfromMetritis(in-flammationofthewomb)for10years.CametomeendofJuly1916.Therewasanimmediateimprove-ment,thepainandlossofblooddiminishedrapidlyandbythe29thofSeptemberbothhaddisappearedThemonthlyperiodwhichlastedfrom8to10daysisnowoverin4days.
ThoughtsandPreceptsofEmileCoue
RecordedbtMme.EmileLeon."Itisnotthepersonwhoacts,itisthemethod."
"Wecanmake,toourselves,verymuchstrongersuggestionsthananyoneelsecan,whoeverthatpersonmaybe."
"Idonotimposeanythingonanybody.Isimplyhelppeopletodowhattheywouldliketodo,butwhattheybelievethemselvesincapableofdoing.Itisnot
acontestbutanassociationwhichexistsbetweenthemandmyself.ItisnotIthatact,butapowerexistinginthemselves,whichIteachthemtouse."
"Contrarytogeneralopinion,autosuggestionisabletocureorganiclesions."
"Don'tbotheraboutthecauseofanailment;beconcernedonlyabouttheeffect,andtomakethateffectdisappear,ifsuchbeatallnatural."
"Thewords:Jwouldliketo,alwaysimply:ButIcannot.Ifyousuffer,neversay:'Iwilltrytoget
ridofthisorthat/butsay:'Iamgoingtocauseittodisappear,9for,ifthereisdoubt,thereisnoresult."
"Thekeytomymethodisintheknowledgethattheimaginationissuperiortothewill.Ifbothgoto-getherinthesamedirection,asinsayingforinstance:'1willandJcan,'theyareperfectlyinaccord;other-wisetheimaginationalwayswinsoverthewill."
68
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THOUGHTSANDPRECEPTS69
"Many,whohavetakenmedicaltreatmentsalltheirlives,expecttobecuredatoncebyautosuggestion.Thatisamistake.Itisunreasonabletoexpectany-thinglikethat.Itisuselesstoaskmoreofautosug-gestionthanwhatitcannormallybringabout,thatistosay:aprogressiveimprovementwhichslowlytransformsitselfintocompleterecovery,ifthelatterisatallnatural/'
"Developthehabitofexpressingyourselvesprompt-ly,clearly,simplyandwithcalmdetermination.Speakbriefly,butdistinctlyusenounnecessarywords."
"Cultivateself-control.Avoidanger,forangerburnsupourreserveenergy;itweakensus.Angerneverac-
complishesanythinggoodonlydestroys.Itisalwaysanobstacletosuccess."
"Letusbecalm,gentle,benevolent,sureofour-selves,andmoreoverletusbeself-sufficient."
"TheUnconsciousselfdirectseverything,boththephysicalandthemoral.Itpresidesoverthefunctionsofalltheorgansdowntotheinfinitesimalcellsofoursystem,throughtheintermediaryofthenerves."
"Tobeafraidofbecomingillistoinviteillness."
"Itisanillusiontothinkthatyouhavenoillusions."
"Donotspendtimetryingtofindmaladiesthatyoumaypossiblyhave;ifyouhavenorealones,youaresuretocreateartificialones."
"Manmaybecomparedtoabasinwithafaucetatthetopforfilling,andadrainatthebottom(oflargerdiameterthanthefaucet)foremptying.Ifthedrainbeclosed,thebasinmaybefilledandkeptfull.When
70TEECOTJti"METHOD"
bothventsareopenatthesametime,thebasinisal-waysempty.Whathappens,ontheotherhand,ifthedrainremainsclosedandthefaucetopenfThebasinfillsupandoverflows.
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"Nowthen,letusallkeepour'drains'closed,thatis,letusnotwasteourstrength.Letusmakeonlyonemotionwherenomorearenecessary,insteadoftwentyorfortymotionsaswithsomefolks.Letusneveractingreathaste;andalsothinkthatwhatwehavetodoiaeasy,ifitisatallpossibleofaccomplishment.Inthiswayourreservoirofstrengthwillalwaysbefull,theinflowbeingmorethansufficientforourordinaryneeds,ifweknowhowtouseiteconomically."
"It'snotthenumberofyearsthatmakesyouold,buttheideathatyouaregettingold.Manyarestillyoungateighty,whileothersareoldatforty."
"Thealtruistfindswithoutseekingwhattheegoistseekswithoutfinding."
"Themoregoodyoudotoothers,themoregoodyoudotoyourself."
"Richishewhothinksheisrichandpoorishewhothinksheispoor."
"Hewhopossessesgreatwealthshouldusealargepartofittodogood."
"Whentwopeoplelivetogether,theso-calledmutualconcessionsusuallycomefromthesameperson."
"WouldyouavoidennuitHaveseveralhobbies.Whentiredofone,playwithanother."
"Heredityshowsitselfmostlyasafatalrealizationoftheideaofitsexistence."
THOUGHTSANDPRECEPTS71
"Onewhoisbornwealthyknowsnotthevalueofriches;hewhoalwaysenjoysgoodhealthhasnoideaofthetreasurehepossesses.
"Toappreciateriches,onemusthaveknownpoverty.Toappreciategoodhealth,onemusthavebeenill."
"Itisbettertobeignorantofevilandavoidit,thantobefamiliarwithitandcultivateit."
"Simplifyalwaysdonotcomplicate.''
"Stoicsdrawonimaginationwhen,insteadofsay-ing:'Iwillnotsuffer'theysay:'Idonotsuffer'."
"Onecannothavemorethanoneideainmindata
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time;ideasfollowoneanotherwithoutsuperimposing."
"Ifyoupracticeconsciousautosuggestion,doitinanaturalway,quitesimply,withfirmconvictionandes-peciallywithoutaneffort.Ifunconsciousautosugges-tions,producingbadeffects,manifestthemselvessoeasily,itisjustbecausetheyaremadewithoutanyef-fort."
"Beabsolutelycertain,inyourownmind,thatyouwillgetwhatyouwant,providedofcoursethatyoudonotexpectanythingunnatural."
"Tobecomemasterofyourselfitissufficienttothinkthatyouaremasterofyourself,orcertainlygoingtobe.Ifyourhandstremble,ifyourstepsareuncertain,tellyourselfthatallthisisabouttodisappearand,littlebylittle,itwilldisappear."
"Itisnotinmethatyoumusthaveconfidence,butinyourself;forinyourownselfisthepowertoheal.Mypartissimplytoteachyouhowtousethatpower."
72THECOTJti"METHOD"
"Neverdiscussthingsyouknownothingabout,otherwiseyouwillonlysaysomethingfoolish.
"Thingsthatmayseemextraordinarytoyouhaveanaturalcause.Iftheyappearextraordinarytoyourmind,itisbecausethatcausehasescapedyou.Onceyou
knowthecausethethingappearstoyouasquitenatural."
"Itistheimaginationandnotthewillwhichisthedominatingfacultyofman.Itisaseriousmistaketoadvisepeopletotraintheirwills;theyshouldlearntocontrolanddirecttheirimaginations."
"Wedonotseethingsastheyare,butastheyseejntobe.Thisexplainsthecontradictoryevidencegivenbyseveraleye-witnessesofanaccident,thoughthestatementsofallaremadeingoodfaith.'9
"Autosuggestionisjustoneinstrumentwhichwemustlearntouse,likeanyother.Themostperfectgun,ininexperiencedhands,givespoorresults;themoreskilledyourhandsbecome,themoreoftenyouhitthebull'seye."
"Consciousautosuggestion,madewithconfidence,faith,andperseverancerealizesitselfautomatically,inallmatterswithinreason."
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"Ifcertainpeopledonotobtainsatisfactoryresultswithautosuggestionitisbecausetheylackconfidence,orbecausetheymakeefforts,thelatterbeingmorefrequentlythecase.Tomakegoodautosuggestionsitisabsolutelynecessarytomakethemwithouteffort.ThelatterimpliestheuseoftheWillandthatmustbeleftoutofthegameentirely.Youmusthavere-courseexclusivelytotheimagination."
.DigitizedbyVjOOQIC
THOUGHTSANDPRECEPTS73
4'Themeansemployedby'Healers'ofalleras,havebeenbasedonautosuggestion,thatistosay:theirmethods,ofwhateverkindwords,incantations,ges-tures,staginghavebeendesignedtoproduceinthepatienttheautosuggestionofrecoveryandhealth."
4'Everymaladyhasadoubleaspect(unlessitisex-
clusivelyamentalone).Oneveryphysicalmaladyamentalonegraftsitself.Ifwegivetothephysicalillnessthecoefficient1,thementalillnessmayhavethecoefficient1,2,10,20,50,100,ormore.Inmanycasesthismentalcoefficientmaydisappearinstantlyandifitwasveryhigh,100forinstance,whilethatofthephysicalaffectionis1,onlythelatterremains,thatisl/100thofthetotalillness.Thatwouldgenerallybeconsideredamiracle;yetthereisnothingmiraculousaboutit."
"Contrarytocommonopinionphysicaldiseasesare,generally,moreeasilycuredbyautosuggestion,than
mentalones."
"Buffonusedtosay:'Fashionformstheman.'Wewouldrathersay:'Maniswhathethinks.'Thefearoffailureisalmostcertaintocausefailure,justastheveryideaofsuccessbringssuccessandenablesonetoovercomeanyobstacleintheway."
"Itisasnecessaryforthepractitionerofsuggestion,asitisforthesubject,tobeconvincedofresultsbe-forehand.Itisthisabsoluteconviction,thisabundantfaith,whichenableshimtoobtainresults,whereallothermeanshavefailed."
"Whenyoulelieveyourselftobemasterofyourthoughts,youbecomeso."
"Everythought,goodorbad,becomesconcrete;h
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74TEECOVti"METHOD"
materializesandbecomesareality,providedsuchiswithintherealmofpossibility."
"Wearethatwhichwemakeofourselves,notwhatfatemakesus."
"Whoeverstartsinlifewiththethoughtfirmlyplantedinhismind:'/shallsucceed9alwaysdoessuc-ceedbecausehedoeswhatisnecessarytothatend.Ifanopportunitycomeshiswayandifthatopportunityhas,sotospeak,onlyonesinglehaironitshead,heseizesitbythatonehair.Moreover,heoftenbringsaboutunconsciouslyornot,propitiouscircumstances.Onthecontrary,hewhoalwaysdoubtshimself,willneverarriveanywhere.SuchamanmightswiminanoceanfullofopportunitieswithheadsofhairlikeAb-salom*s.Hewouldneitherseenorseizeasingleone,evenifhehadonlytoreachouthishandandgraspit.Therefore,donotblamefate,blameyourselfonly."
"Wehearmuchofthevalueofeffort.Thattheorymustbeentirelyrepudiated,forhewhosayseffortsays
will,andifthewillisbroughtintoplay,imaginationmayruncountertoitandbringaboutexactlycontraryresults."
"Alwaysthinkthatwhatyouhavetodoweasy,ifitisatallpossibleofbeingdone.Thenyouwillnotexpendanymorestrengththanjustwhatisnecessary.Ifyouthinkitisdifficult,youwillspendmanytimesmorestrengththanisactuallyrequiredtoperformit*yousimplywastestrength."
"Christianmartyrsdiedwithsmilesupontheirlips.Theydidnotsufferthefullextentofthoseawfultor-
tures;but,holdingclearlyinmindtheimageofthecrownoflifewhichawaitedthem,theyreallyeoc-
THOUGHTSANDPRECEPTS75
periencedtheheavenlyjoywhichwassoontobetheirs,notthinkingofanythingelse."
"Apersonwantstodosuchandsuchathing,but,imaginingthatheisnotabletoaccomplishit,hedoesexactlythecontrarytothatwhichhewantstodo.Dizzinessisastrikingexampleofthis.Supposeapersoniswalkingonaverynarrowpath,borderingasteepprecipice.Atfirsthethinksnothingofit;butsuddenly,theideacomestohimthathemaytumble
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overtheedge.Ifhehasthemisfortunetolookdown,heislost.Theimageofafallhastakenrootinhismind;hefeelshimselfattractedtowardtheabyssbyaninvisibleforcewhichbecomesmoreandmorein-sistent,thegreaterhiseffortsatresistance;finallyhegiveswayanddownhegoes.ThisisthecauseofmostaccidentsintheAlps."
"Physicallyyourespondtothementalpicturepro-ducedbyyourimagination;unwholesomethoughtsarelikeanabyssthatattractsthoseunabletoresist."
"Repeattwentytimes,morningandevening:Everyday,ineveryway,Iamgettingbetterandbetter.Itisthesameremedyforeverybodyintheworld.Itissosimpleandsoeasy.Almosttooeasy,isn'tittHow-ever,thisisimportant:ifyouhavethethoughtinyourmindthatyouaresick,yousurelywillbe.Ifyouthinkyouaregoingtobecured,itissuretohappen.Itisthecertaintythatyouareabouttorecover,thatbringsresults,notthehope."
"Patienceandperseverancearenecessaryinautosug-gestion,aswellasineverythingelse."
76THECoue´"METHOD"
27-2-1917.Yes,yesterdayIpassedthe60thmile-stoneandamonmywaytobeaseptuagenarian;butunlessabombora45Coltbarsmyway,Idonotin-tendtostopthere,and111carrymyyearslightly.Thatismyideaanditwillmanifestitself.
EmileCoue.
SelectedComments.
"Formerlyitwasbelievedthathypnotismcouldonly
beapplied,successfully,tonervousdiseases.Itspowerandinfluencegomuchfurtherthanthat.Itistruethathypnotismactsthroughthenervoussystemasin-termediary;butthenervoussystemcontrolsthewholeorganism.Themusclesaremadetomovebythenerves;thenervesregulatethecirculationofthebloodbytheirdirectactionontheheartandbytheiractiononthebloodvesselswhichtheydilateorcontract.Therefore,thenervesactonalltheorgansand,bytheirinter-mediaryaction,mayinfluencediseasedorgans."
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DoctorPaulJoire,
PresidentoftheSocietyofUniversalPsychologicalStudies.(Bull.4oftheS.L.P.A.)
"Asanaidtorecovery,mentalinfluenceisapower-fuladjunct.Itisafactorofthefirstorderwhichwecannotaffordtoneglect,sinceinmedicineaswellasineveryotherbranchofhumanactivity,itisthespiritualforcesthatleadtheworld."
Dr.LouisRenon,
LecturingProfessoroftheFacultyofMedicineofParisandPhysicianattheNeckerHospital.(Bull.3oftheS.LP.A.)
THOUOHTSANDPRECEPTS77
"Neverlosesightofthisgreatprincipleinautosug-gestion;OPTIMISMALWAYS,ANDINSPITEOPEVERYTHING!EVENIPEVENTSDONOTSEEMTOJUSTIFYIT."
Ken6Brabois,(Bull.HoftheS.L.P.A.)
"Suggestion,sustainedbyfaith,isaformidableforce."
Dr.A.L.,Paris,July,1920.
"Tohaveandtoinspireunshakeableconfidence,onemustactwiththeassurancewhichonlyperfectsin-ceritycajigive;topossesssuchassuranceandsincerityyoumustplacethegoodofothersaboveyourownin-terests.7'
"CultureofMoralForce"byC.Baudouin.
M.EmileCoueatWorkinHisClinic
TheoldtownofNancythrillsatthementionofthenameofCoue.Peopleofeveryrankandclassflocktohimandallarereceivedwithanequallybenevolent
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regard,whichatoncestartsmanyalongthewaytowardsrecovery.Butthedeeplytouchingpartistosee,atthecloseofthesession,peoplewhocameinbentandgloomy,withanalmosthostilefeeling(causedbypain),goawayglad,happy,unconstrainedandoftenradiantwithjoy,nolongerinpain.
Smilingandgoodnatured,withacheerfulnessthatishissecret,Mr.Coueholds,sotospeak,theheartsofhispatientsinthehollowofhishand.Onebyonehead-dressesthecrowdofpeoplewhoattendhisclinic,talk-ingtothemasfollows:
1*Well,Madam,whatisyourcomplainttOh!youlooktoomuchforthewhyandwherefore.Whatdoesitmattertoyouwhatcausesyourpain.Yousufferthatisenough.Iwillshowyouhowyoucangetridofyourpain."
"Andyou,mydearsir,yourvaricosesoreisim-provingalready.That'sfine,that'sfine.Doyouknow,youhavebeenhereonlytwicetIcongratulateyouonhavinggottensuchgoodresultsinso-shortatime.Ifyoucontinuetomakeyourautosuggestionproperly,you
willsoonbeentirelycured.Yousaythatyouhavehadthisulcerfortenyears.What'sthedifferencefYoumighthavehadthatsorefortwentyyearsormore,butitwillhealupjustthesame."
78
Jf.COUtATWORK79
*'Andyon.Yousaythatyouhavenotimprovedatall.DoyouknowwhytSimplybecauseyouhavenoconfidenceinyourself.WhenIsaythatyouarebetter,youbegintofeelbetteratonce,don'tyoutWhytBecauseyoubelieveinme.Believenowinyourselfandyouwillgetjustasgoodresults/9
"Oh!Madam.Notsomanydetails,Ibegyou.Inlookingfordetailsyoucreatethemandyouwouldneedalistayardlongtoholdallyourmaladies.Asamatteroffa$titisyourmentaloutlookwhichiswrong.Now2
justmakeupyourmindthatyouaregoingtogetbetterandyouwillbebetterverysoon.Iamgoingtoshowyounowtomakeyourautosuggestions.It'sassimpleandasplainastheGospel."
"Yousayyouhaveanattackofnerves,everyweek.Allright.YoudoasItellyoutoandfromnowonyouwillnothavethemanymore."
"Yohhavebeenasuffererfromconstipationfora
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longwhile.WhatdoesthetimematterfYousay,forfortyyears.Yes,Iheardyou,butneverthelessitistruethatyoucanbecuredto-morrow;doyouhear,to-morrowIOncondition,ofcourse,thatyoudojustwhatItellyoutodo,andthatyoudoitjustasIshowyou."
"Ah!Yousufferfromglaucoma,Madam.Icannotabsolutelypromiseacompletecureofthat;Iamnotquitesure.Butthatdoesnotmeanthatacureisim-possible,forIhaveseenalady,ofChalons-sur-Sa6ne,andanotherone,ofToul,cured."
"Well,Mademoiselle,asyouhavenothadanyner-vousattackssincethelasttimeyoucamehere,andbe-forethatyouusedtohavethemeveryday,youarecured.Nevertheless,comeandseemeonceinawhilesothatImaykeepyoumovingalongintherightdirec-tion."
80THECOVti"METHOD"
"Yourfeelingofoppressionwillvanishjustassoonasyourlesionshavedisappearedandwhenyouas-similateyourfoodproperly.Thatwillallcomeabout,ingoodtime,butdon'tputthecartbeforethehorse.Itisthesamewithoppressionaswithhearttrouble,bothgenerallydisappearprettyquickly."
Speakingtoachild(inaclearandcommandingvoice):"Shutyoureyes.Idonottalktoyouaboutlesionsoranythingofthekind;youwouldnotunder-
standit,anyway.Thepaininyourchestisgoingandyoudon'tfeellikecoughinganymore."
Toonewhocomplainsoffatigue:"Well,Ihavethesamecomplaint.TherearedayswhenI,too,amtiredofreceivingpeople;neverthelessIreceivethemalldaylong.Don'tsay:'Ican'thelpit.'Onecanalwaysriseaboveone'sself."
(Explanation.Theideaofbeingtiredbringsaboutthatlanguidfeelingoffatigue;but,theideaofhavingadutytoperformalwaysgivesusthenecessarystrengthtodoit.Thespiritcanandmustremainmasterofthe
animalnature.)
"Whatevermaybethecausethatpreventsyourwalking,itisgoingtodisappear,bitbybit,everyday.Youknowtheoldproverb:Heavenhelpsthosewhohelpthemselves.Standupforalittlewhile,severaltimeseachday,supportingyourselfbetweentwopeople.Donotsaytoyourself:'MykidneysaretooweaJc,Ican'tdoit/butsayaloudandwithafirmvoice:Ican,Ican,Ican."
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"Afteryouhaverepeated'Everyday,ineveryway,Iamgettingbetterandbetter,'youadd:'Thepersonsthathavebeenfollowingme,donotfollowmenow;theycannotfollowmeanymore'."
"WhatIhavebeentellingyouisverytrue:Itisenoughforyoutothinkthatyouhavenomorepain,
M.COULATWORK81
forthepaintodisappear.Therefore,pleasedonotthinkthatitmightcomeagain;otherwiseitsurelywillcomeback."(Awomanmurmurs:'Whatpatiencehehas,whatawonderfullypainstakingman!')"
"Whateverwethinkcomestrueforus.Wemust,therefore,notthinkanythingdetrimentaltoourselves.
Think:Mytroubleisdisappearing,inthesamewayasyouthoughtthatyoucouldnotseparateyourhandswhenItoldyouthatyoucouldnot.Themoreoftenyousaytoyourself:'Iwillnot9themoreoftentheverycontrarythingcomestopass.Youmustthinkandsay:'Itisgoingaway.9Closeyourhandandthinkveryfirmly:'Icannotopenitanymore9andyouwillbeun-abletodoso.Tryitandyouwillseehowlittleyourwillhastodowiththematter."
(Explanation.Thisisthepivotingpointoftheen-tiremethod.Inordertomakesuggestionstoyourself,thewillmustbecompletelyeliminated.Workonyour
imaginationonly,foriftherebeconflictbetweenthewillandtheimagination,thewillisbeateneverytime.)
"Ah!to'wtiVandto'desire'isnotthesamething."
"Tobecomestrongerasyoubecomeoldermayseemtobeparadoxical,butitistrue."
(Acaseofdiabetes):"Continuetousealsothera-peutictreatments.Iamquitewillingtomakesugges*tionstoyou,butIdonotpromisetocureyou."(Note:Ihaveseendiabetescuredseveraltimesand,whatisstillmoreextraordinary,thealbumendiminishedand
evendisappearedcompletelyfromtheurineofcertainpatients.)
"Thisobsessionofyoursappearstobesomethingofarealnightmare;thepeopleyoudetestedarebecom-ingfriends;youaregoingtolikethemandtheywilllibyou."
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82THECoue´"METHOD"
Then,requestinghispatientstoclosetheireyes,hegavethemthelittlesuggestivediscoursewhichyouwillfindinthetextfor"Practitioners."Thatlittledis-coursefinished,headdresseshimselfagaintoeachpa-tientseparately,sayingafewpleasantwordsregardingtheirindividualillnesses:
"You,mydearsir,areinpain,butItellyouthatfromthisdayon,that,whichcausesthepain,isgoingtodisappear.Nomatterwhetheritiscalledarthritisorwhetheritgoesbyanyothername,yourUnconsciousselfwilldothethingneedfultobanishthecause;andasthecauseisbeingremoved,littlebylittle,thepainalsowillvanishandinashorttimetherewillbenoth-ingleftofitbutthememory.,,
"Tourstomachdoesnotfunctionproperly,itismoreorlessdistended.Well!AsItoldyoujustnow,
yourdigestiveorgansaregoingtoworkbetterandbetter,thedistentionofyourstomachisalsogoingtodisappear,byandby.Asyourentiresystemregainsforceandelasticity,yourstomachwillbenefittherebyandslowlygetbackintoproperformtocarryout,moreandmoreeasily,themovementsnecessarytopassthenourishmentitcontains,intotheintestines.Atthesametimethepouchformedbytheenlargedstomachwilldiminishinsize;thefoodwillnolongerstagnateinthatpouchand,consequently,fermentationwilldis-appear."
"Toyou,Mademoiselle,Isaythatwhateverlesions
youmayhaveinyourliver,yourorganismisdoingwhateverisnecessarytocausethoselesionstohealup,moreandmoreeveryday.Bydegrees,thesymptomsfromwhichyounowsufferwilllessen,andfinallydis-appearentirely.Yourliverisgoingtofunction,moreandmoreinanormalway,secretinganalkalinebile
M.COV&ATWORK83
whichisnolongeracidulous,butrightinquantityandquality,sothatitwillpassintotheintestinaltractinpropercondition,andaidintestinaldigestion."
"Mychild,youjustlisten:Everytimeyoufeelan-otherattackcomingon,youwill,hearmyvoicesayingtoyou,withlightning-likerapidity:No,No,myfriend,youarenotgoingtohavethatattack!Itwillbegone
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beforeitreallycomes.''
"IhavetoldyouandIrepeat,mydearsir,thatyourvaricosesoreisgoingtoheal.Fromthisdayonin-terlacinggranulationswillformatthebottomofyourulcerandgrowing,theywillgraduallyfilltheholenowexisting.Atthesametimetheledgeswillreapproacheachotherineverydirectionbothinheightandwidthuntiltheytouchandhealupaltogether."
"Youhavearupture,yousay.Well!Itcananditwillbecured.TourUnconsciousselfwillactinsuchawaythattherupturewhichexistsinyourperitoneumisgoingtohealupbydegrees.Theholewillgetsmallerandsmallereverydayuntilitiscompletelyclosedandyouhavenoruptureanymore."
"Andyou,mydearsir,whohaveglaucoma(oracataract,orsomesortofanaffectionoftheeyes),Itellyouthatfromthisdayon,thelesionswhichyouhaveinyoureyeswillbegintohealupandastheydosobydegrees,youwillnoticethatyoureyesaregettingbetterandbetterandyouwillbeabletoseefartherandmuchmoreclearly."
"Yousayyouhaveeczema(oranaffectionoftheskin).Thisaffectionwilldisappearrapidly;Isaidrapidly,youunderstandtThecausewhichbroughtaboutthisaffectionisgoingtovanishand,naturally,thecausebeingremoved,thesymptomswillvanishlike-
84THECOTJti"METHOD"
wise.Ifthereissmartingoritchingintheaffectedpartsyouwillnoticethatitlessensdaybyday.Ifthereisaslightdischarge,itwillalsobelessandlesseveryday;inshort,asyourskinpeelsoffintheformofscales,youwillfinditreplacedbyanewelasticskinofnaturalcolor."
Enteritis."Theintestinalinflammationwilldim-inishgraduallyandtheglairesandmembraneswhichsometimesaccompanyyourstools,willatthesametimebecomelessfrequentuntiltheystopaltogetherandyou
willbecured."
Anemia."Yourbloodisbecomingmoreandmorerich,redandabundantuntilithasimprovedtothenaturalstateofahealthyperson.Inthiswayyouranemiaandalltheannoyingconditionsthatfollowinitstrainwillhaveentirelyvanished.''
"Everytimeyoubegintohavepainssayrightaway:Itpasses,itpasses.Sayitquickly,rapidly,likeabar-
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rage-fire.Youmustlearnhowtouseautosuggestionandafterhavinghadafewlessons,youwillnotneedmeanymore,unlessyouthinkthatyouneedme."
"Theexperimentshavebeenverysuccessful.Ifyoudonotgetanysleep,itisbecauseyouaremakingef-forts.Itisenoughtosay:Iamgoingtosleep,Iamgoingtosleep,hummingitlikethesoundofaflyingbee.Ifthisprovesunsuccessfulitissimplybecauseyouarenotdoingitright."
"Allthatisperiodicalisself-acquired.Whenthetimearriveswhichiscalled'changeoflife,'allladieshaveonecomplaintoranother.Fromchildhoodtheyhavehearditsaid:AuntGertrudehasit,CousinMaryhasit,etc.,andtheyassumenaturallythattheytooaregoingtohaveit."
M.COVtiATWORK85
"Tosay:ProvidedIdonothaveneuralgia,isasmuchassayingthatyouexpecttohaveit.Donotgiveathoughttoanailmentofanykind,otherwisethatwhichyou'expect'andareafraidof,isgoingtohappen.''
"Youareconstipatedbecauseyouthinkyouare.Justthinkthecontraryandthecontrarywillhappen."
"Thesefearsandaversionsmustdisappear.Youhaveinyourselftheinstruments>tyourrecovery.Drive
themaway,letthemdroplikethecrumbsfromyourtable.Nobodyintheworldcanexerciseanyinfluenceonyou,unlessyoupermitit.Don'tcomenexttimetotellmethatyouarenotbetter,youwillbebetter.Anddonotuseyourwill,sapristi,donotevenusethewords:41will.9Iforbidyou(ifthereisanythingatalltoforbid)."
"Ifyouhaveabrokenbonegotothehospitalthismorning.Suggestiondoesnotre-setorrepairbrokenbones,butdirectsandcontrolstheorgans,muscles,nerves,etc."
"Doyoufollowyourdietforalbumenf"Patient:"Idonotlikethemilk-food."Mr.CouS:"Well,imaginethaiyoudolikeit.99
"Asregardsthoseitchings(youhavebeenherethreetimes)impressthethoughtonyourmindthattheywillnevercomebackagain.Ifyouareafraidthattheyaregoingtooccuragain,theysurelywill.Evenafteryouhaveimproved,continuetoseemefromtimetotimeinorderthatImayencourageyoutokeepyourselfin
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therightdirection."
Patient:"Onemayforceone'sselftothink,doctort"Mr.CouS:"Noneedtoforceyourselftopracticethe
'method';thatcomesquitenaturally.Itisthesame
withme,youknow."
86THECoue´"METHOD"
Patient:"Icannotsay:'Icannot'whenIthink'Jcan9."
Mr.Cone:"DoasItellyou.It'sIwhogiveyoualesson,notyoutome."
Bronchitis:"Youhavebronchitisandaretakingthe
Valdatablets.That'sallrighttocalmirritation.Sug-gestionwillmakethecauseofirritationdisappear."
"Youhaveseenyourdoctoraboutit;followthediethehasprescribedforyou.Madam,youmustfollowthetreatmentprescribedbyyourdoctorandmakesug-gestionsatthesametime.Theonedoesnotpreventorprohibittheother;onthecontrary,Itooprescribeforyou."
"Thereisnohealerhere,butagentlemanwhoteachesyouwhattodotohealyourself."
Neuralgia:"Whateverthecausemaybeforyourheadaches,yourorganismwilldoallthatisnecessarytomakethatcausedisappearbydegreesand,ofcourse,inthesamemeasureasthecausedoesdisappear,yourneuralgiawillbelessfrequentandlessviolentuntil,inthenearfuture,itwillhavevanishedaltogether.Youfeel,bytheway,everytimeIpassmyhandacrossyourforehead,ittakesawaysomeofthepain;andinamoment,whenyouopenyoureyes,youwillfindthatyouareentirelyfreefromit."
Patient:"Isuffocate,especiallyinhotweather."Mr.Coue:"Youhaveseenyourdoctort"Patient:"I
haveseensixdoctors.Theysaiditisnervousness,buttheydidnothingforit."Mr.Coue:"Yes,itisner-vousness,butwearegoingtohelpyoutogetridofit."
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M.COVtiATWORK87
AftereverybodyhasthusbeenpassedinreviewMr.Cou6tellshispatientstoopentheireyes,andsays:4'YouhaveheardtheadviceIhavejustgivenyou.Well!Inordertotransformmysuggestionsintoreali-ties,hereiswhatyoumustdo:Aslongasyoulive,everymorningbeforerising,andeveryeveningassoonasyouareinbed,closeyoureyesandrepeat,twentytimes,withyourlips(thisisindispensable)andcount-ingmechanicallyonastringwithtwentyknotsinit,thefollowingphrase:Everyday,ineveryway,Iamgettingbetterandbetter.
"Donotthinkofanythinginparticularasthewords:'ineveryway9applytoeverything.Makethisautosuggestionwithconfidence,withfaith,withthecer-taintythatyouaregoingtoobtainwhatyoudesire.Thegreaterthefaithofthepatient,thegreaterandthemorerapidwillbetheresults.
"Moreover,ifatanytimeduringthedayornightyoufeelanyphysicalormentaldiscomfort,saytoyour-selfthatyouwillnotconsciouslycontributetowardit,
butthatyouaregoingtocompelittodisappear.Thenisolateyourselfasmuchaspossibleandpassyourhandacrossyourforehead,ifitissomethingmental,oroverthepainfulpart,ifitissomethingphysical,andrepeatwithextremerapidity,movingthelips:Itpasses,itpasses,itpasses"aslongasisnecessary.Withalittlepracticethementalorphysicaldiscomfortwilldisap-pearintwentytotwenty-fiveseconds.Repeatagainwhenevernecessary.
"Inthisaswellasinotherautosuggestionsitisnec-essarytoactwithequalconfidence,equalfaith,andaboveallwithouteffort."
Mr.Cou6saysfurther:"Ifformerlyyouhavebeeninthehabitofmaking,unconsciouslytoyourself,badauto-suggestions,nowknowingwhatIhavetaughtyou,youmustnotletthosebad,unconsciousautosuggestionsoccuragain.A©4itiaspiteofallIhavesaidand
DigitizedbyVjOOQIC
88THECOVti"METHOD"
done,youstillpersistinmakingthem,thenyouhaveonlyyourselvestoblameandhadbetterstrikeyourbreastandsay:'Meaculpa,meaculpa,meamaximaculpa'."
Now,ifagratefuladmireroftheworkandofthefounderofthel'method"maybepermittedtosayafewwords:
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SinceMr.Gouetellsusthatitistheimaginationwhichmakesusactandthatthisisthebasisofhis"method,"Iwouldliketoadd:Thepillarsofhisstructurearethethousandsofcuresobtained;andthecrowningpart,themostmagnificentlycrowningpart,ishisnobleadmission,thepowerisinyou,ineachofyou,constitutingnotonlyanimmensebenefitforsuffer-inghumanity,butalsoatributetoitscreator.
Henceforth,eachcanadaptthis"method"tohisownpersonalcreed.Ifwearereligious,itwillhelpustoremoveobstacleswhichweunconsciouslybelievetoex-istbetweenGodandourselves.Andforbelieversaswellasskeptics,free-thinkersandheathen,theConemethodteachesushowtodeliverourselvesfrommentalorphysicalpainthatisunjustified,byuseofthesimpleyetmarvelousprocessofCou6:Itpasses!
Asforthosewhorejectthe"method,"ignorantofthesecretofitsforce,Iwillaskonequestion:"Doyoualsorejectelectriclightbecauseyou(aswellasthegreatestandmostlearnedprofessors)donotknowthesecretofthepowerofelectricityt"
Oh!Now,youdonftknow,youcannotknowwhatthisblessedmethodcandoandwilldotorestoreyoumentallyandphysically.Butinlivingandpractisingit,youwillknowit.Itissuretohelpyoutogainthevictory,themasteryofyourself.
B.Vs...OER.
ExtractsfromLetterstoM.Cou6
(Thisconcernsayoungladywho,becauseofextra-ordinarynervousness,hadfailedinherexaminationsin1915.Thegreatnervousnesshavingdisappearedundertheinfluenceofautosuggestion,shepassedsuc-cessfully,winningthesecondplace,amongmorethantwohundredcompetitors.)
August,1916.
ThefinalresultsoftheEnglishsecondaryCertificatehavebeenpostedonlythesetwohoursbutIhastentoinformyouofthefact,atleastsofarasitconcernsme.Ipassedtheoralexamswithflyingcolorsandscarcelyfeltatraceofnervousness,whichformerlycausedmesuchintolerablesensationsofnauseabeforeexaminationsbegan.DuringtheselattertestsIwasastonishedatmyowncalm,whichgavethosewholistenedtometheimpressionofperfectself-possessiononmypart.Inshort,theverytestswhichImost
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feared,contributedmosttomysuccess.TheJuryplacedmesecond,andIaminfinitelygratefulforyourhelpwhichundoubtedlygavemeanadvantageovertheothercandidate,etc.
Mile.V.,ProfessorattheLyceum.
Nancy,August,1917.
ItiswiththegreatestpleasurethatIwritethistothankyoufrommyheartforthegreatbenefitIhavederivedfromyourmethod.BeforeIwenttoyouIhadgreatdifficultyinwalking,evensoshortadistanceasonehundredyards,withoutbecomingbreathless,whilenowIcangomileswithoutfatigue.Severaltimesaday,veryeasily,andin40minutes,IwalkfromtheruedeBord-de-l'EautoruedeGlacisaboutfour
90THECOVti"METHOD"
kilometres.Theasthma,fromwhichIsufferedsomuch,hasdisappearedalmostcompletely.Pleaseac-ceptmostsincerethanksfromyoursgratefully,
PaulChenot,RuedeStrasbourg141.
Haute-Saone,May,1918.Idon'tknowhowtothankyou.ThankstoyouIcansaythatIamalmostentirelycured,butmerely
waitedforcompletecurebeforeexpressingmygratitudetoyou,butwillwaitnolonger.Iwasafflictedwithtwovaricoseulcers,oneoneachfoot.Theoneonmyrightfoot,whichwasasbigasmyhand,isentirelyhealed.Itseemedtodisappearasifbymagic.ForweeksIhadbeenconfinedtomybed.Shortlyafterthereceiptofyourlettertheulcerhealed,sothatIwasabletogetup.Theoneontheleftfootisnotentirelyhealedyetbutwillbesoon.EverynightandeverymorningIrepeatthephrase,asdirected,withcompleteconfidence.ImustalsotellyouthatmylegswereashardasstoneandIcouldnotbeartheslightesttouchonthem.NowIcanpressthemwithouttheleastpain
andIcanwalkagain.Whatjoy!
MadameLigny,Maileroncourt-Charette.
NB.ItisnoteworthythatthisladyhasneverseenMr.Owe";itwasduetoaletter,whichthelatterwroteheronthe15thofApril,thatsheobtainedtheresultsmentionedabove1inherletterofMay3rd.,__
Pont-4-Mousson,February,1920..
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Iwritetoexpressmywholeheartedgratitudetoyou,for,thankstoyou,Ihaveescapedtherisksofadangerousoperation.More:youhavesavedmylife.Yourmethodofautosuggestion,alone,hasdonewhatmedicinesandtreatmentscouldnotdoforthatterribleintestinalobstruction,fromwhichIhadsufferedfor19days.FromthemomentIbegantofollowyourin-structionsandappliedyourexcellentprinciples,mysystemfunctionedquitenaturally.
MadameS.
LETTERS91
Saint-Die,February,1920.
IdonotknowhowtothankyouenoughforthejoyandhappinessIhaveinbeingcured.Formore
thanfifteenyearsIsufferedfromasthma.EverynightIalmostsuffocated.Thankstoyoursplendidmethod,andespeciallysinceIhadtheprivilegeofbeingpresentatoneofyoursittings,theseattackshavedisappearedasifbymagic.Itistrulyamiracle,forallthedoctorswhoattendedme,assuredmethattherewasnocureforasthma.
Mme.V.
Sens,June,1920.
IhavebeenwaitingtowriteyouuntilIhadseentheuncleofmyhusband,ProfessorM.,physician-in-chiefoftheTenonHospital.Hewasgreatlyastonishedtoseehisnephewinsuchexcellenthealthafterthelatterhadbeensufferingfromsuffocatingasthmaticattackseverynightforfifteenyears.Wehadtriedeverything.Allthegreatmedicallightshadtreatedhim,buttheentiremedicalsciencewasunabletohelphim.Youalone,dearsir,havesucceededwhereevery-bodyandeverythingelsefailed.Yes,myhusbandisnowwell.Heisnotyetcompletelycured,butonemustnotforgetthathisdiseaseisoffifteenyears'standing.
Dr.J.,whowasamazedattheresultsobtainedbyyourmethod,hasundoubtedlywrittentoyou,andDr.M.desiresverymuchtomakeyourpersonalacquaintance;hehasbeenaprofessorandmemberoftheFacultyfortwentyyears.Heishappy,veryhappy,thathisnephewisalmostentirelycured.WheneveryougoagaintoParishewillbegreatlypleasedtoseeyou.Dr.B.,also,callsfromtimetotimeonhisex-patient;itwasaftertryingeverythingpossiblethatI
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wenttoyou,
Mme.M.
92THECOTJti"METHOD"
Vincennes,May,1920.
Iamwritingtoyouwithallmyhearttothankyouforhavingbroughttomyknowledgeanewtherapeuticmethod;awonderfulinstrumentwhichseemstoactlikethemagicwandofafairy,since,thankstothesimplestmeans,itbringsaboutthemostextraordinaryresults.
FromthefirstIhadalivelyinterestinyourex-perimentsand,aftermyownpersonalsuccesseswithyourmethod,Ieagerlyapplyitateveryopportunity
andhavesincebecomeaferventandenthusiasticadept.
Dr.Vachet.
Tout,May,1920.
DuringeightyearsIhavesufferedfromdisplace-mentofthewomb.Havingusedyourmethodofauto-suggestionforfivemonths,Iamnowcompletelycuredandreallydonotknowhowtothankyousufficiently.
Mme.Soulier,PlaceduMarche.
Paris,April,1920.Ihavesufferedhorriblyforelevenyearswithoutinterruption.EverynightIhadattacksofasthma.Isufferedalsofrominsomniaandgeneralweaknesswhichmadeoccupationofanykindimpossible.Men-tallyIwasdepressed,restlessandworried,seeingmountainswheretherewerebutmole-hills.Ihadtakenanyamountoftreatmentswithoutsuccessandevenhadundergone,inSwitzerland,theremovalofthe
spongybonesofthenose,likewisewithouteffect.InNovember1918,Ibecameworseinconsequenceofagreatsorrow.WhilemyhusbandwasatCorfu(asanofficeronboardabattleship)Ilostouronlyson,insixdays,frominfluenza.Hewasalovelychildoftenyears,andthesunshineofourlife.Aloneandover-whelmedwithsorrow,Ireproachedmyselfbitterlyfornothavingbeenabletoprotectandsaveourtreasure.
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LETTERS93
Iwasnearlyinsaneandwantedtodie.Whenmyhus-bandreturned(inFebruary),hetookmetoanotherdoctor,whoprescribedvariousremediesalongwiththewatersofMont-Dore.IspentthemonthofAugustatthatplacebutonmyreturntheattacksofasthmarecurred,asbefore.Irealized,withdespair,thatIwasgoingfrombadtoworseineveryrespect.AtthatcriticaltimeIhadthepleasureofmeetingyou.Al-thoughIhardlyexpectedanygoodfromit,IattendedyourconferencesduringthemonthofOctoberandIamveryhappytosaythatbytheendofNovemberIwascured.Insomnia,depression^gloomythoughtshavedisappearedasifbymagic.Iamnowwell,strong,andfullofcourage.Withmyphysicalhealthrestored,Ihavealsorecoveredmymentalequilibriumand,ifitwerenotfortheineffaceableeffectofthelossofmychildwhichkeepsmymother-heartstillbleeding,I
wouldsaythatIamentirelywelland,sofaraspos-sible,happy.IwishtogoodnessIhadmetyoube-fore.Mychildwouldthenhaveknownacheerfulandcourageousmother.
Athousandthanks,Mr.Coue.Thankyouagainandagain.
Mostgratefullyyours,
E.I.,RuedeLille.
January,1920.IcannowtakeupagainthestrugglewhichImain-tainedforthirtyyears,untilexhausted.Ifoundinyou,lastAugust,wonderfulandprovidentialhelp.ReturningtoourdearLorraine,Iarrivedillandwithaheartfullofsorrow.IdreadedtheshockwhichIwouldfeelatthesightofallthefuinsanddistress.Iwentawaycomfortedandingoodhealth.Iwasal-mostinsaneunfortunatelyIamnotreligious.Ilongedforsomeonetohelpandcomfortme.ByaluckychanceImetyouatmysister'sandyougavemetheveryhelpandconsolationIsought.Inowworkwith
94THECOUti"METHOD"
newspiritandsuggesttomyunconsciousselftore-
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establishmyphysicalequilibrium.IhavenodoubtthatIshallregainmyformergoodhealth.Ihaveal-readynoticedsomeimprovement.Youwillbetterun-derstandmygratitudewhenItellyouthat,sufferingfromdiabetesandarenalcomplication,Ihavehadseveralattacksofglaucoma;butmyeyesarenowre-coveringslowly.Myeyesighthasinthemeantimebe-comealmostnormalandmygeneralhealthismuchbetter.
Mile.Th.,ProfessorattheYoungLadies'College
ofCh...s.
Ireadmythesiswithsuccessandhavebeenawardedthehighestmark,togetherwiththecongratulationsoftheJury.Ofallthesehonorsalargeshareisduetoyou,andIdonotforgetit.MyonlyregretisthatyouwerenotpresenttohearyournamereferredtowithwarmandsympatheticinterestbysodistinguishedaJury.YoumayrestassuredthatthedoorsoftheUni-versityhavebeenthrownwideopentoyourteaching.
Donotthankme,please,forIoweyoufarmorethanyouoweme.
CharlesBaudouin,ProfessorattheInstitutJ.J.Rousseau,Geneva.
Paris,March,1920.
Iadmireyourundauntedcourageandamsurethatitwillhelptogivetomanymindsanintelligentandusefuldirection.ImustconfessthatIpersonally
havebenefittedbyyourteaching,andamapplyingittomypatients,also.AttheClinicwetrytoapplyyourmethodcollectively,andhavealreadyobtainedvisibleresults.
Dr.BertiUon,
LETTERS95
Bruxelles,March,1920.
Ihavereceivedyourkindletterandalsoyourveryinterestinglecture.Iamgladtoseethatyoumakearationalfusionbetweenheteroandautosuggestion;Inoteparticularlythepassageinwhichyousaythatthewillmustnotinterveneinautosuggestion.Thatiswhatanumberofteachersandusersofautosuggestion,
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includingagreatmanyphysicians,donotunderstand.Iconsiderthat,likewise,anabsolutedistinctionshouldbemadebetweenautosuggestionandthetrainingof
thewil1-Dr.vanVelsen.
Cesson-Saint-Brieuc.IwonderwhatyoumustthinkofmetForgottenyoutNever!BestassuredthatIshallalwaysthinkofyouwithdeepandgratefulaffection.Imusttellyouthatyourteachingsaremoreandmoreeffectivewithme;Idonotpassadaywithoutusingautosugges-tionwithincreasedsuccess,andblessyoueveryday;yourmethodisthetrueone.ThankstoitIcontrolmyselfbettereverydayIassimilateyourdirectionsandfeelmyselfstronger.Iamsurethatyouwouldhavedifficultyinrecognizinginme,soactiveinspiteof66years,thepoorcreaturewhowassooftenailingandwhoisonlynowbeginningtofeelwell,thankstoyouandtoyourguidance.MaytheLordblessyou,mydearsir,foritisthesweetestthingtodogoodtoothers.Youaredoingmuchgood;IdoalittleandIthankGodforit.
lime.M.
Richemont,June,1920.Amfeelingbetterandbettersincefollowingyourmethodofautosuggestion.Iaskyoutopleaseacceptmymostsincerethanks.Thelesionofthelungshasdisappeared,theheartisbetterandthereisnomorealbumen;inshortIamfeelingfine.
Mme.Lemaitre.
96THECOVti"METHOD'
Madrid.
Yourbookletandyourlecturehaveinterestedus
verymuch.Forthegoodofhumanityitwouldbede-sirabletohavethemprintedinseverallanguages,sothattheymightreacheveryraceandcountryandthusmakehappyagreaternumberofunfortunatepeople,whosufferbecausetheyareusingwronglythismightyandalmostdivinefacultywhichwecallimaginationandwhichismostimportanttoman,asyouaffirmandprovesoclearlyandjudiciously.IhadalreadyreadmanybooksonthewellandIhavealsoquiteanar-senalofformulae,thoughts,aphorisms,etc.Yourteach-
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ingisconclusive.Idonotthinkthatanyoneeverbe-forecondensedsointelligentlytheseformulasinto"compressedtabletsofself-confidence,''asIcallyourhealingphrases.
DonEnriqueC.
FROMLETTERSTOMmb.EMILELEON,
DiscipleofM.Cone.
Paris.
ForsometimeIhavebeenwantingtowriteandthankyoumostsincerelyforhavingbroughttomyknowledgethismethodofautosuggestion.Thankstoyourgoodadvicetheattacksofnerves,towhichIwassubject,haveentirelydisappeared,andIamcertainthatIamcompletelycured.Moreover,Ifeelmyselfsurroundedbyasuperiorforcewhichisanunfalteringguidewhichaidsmetoovercome,withease,thedif-ficultiesoflife.
Mme.F.,4,ruedeBougainville.
LETTERS97
Paris.
Amazedattheresultsobtainedbypractisingauto-suggestionasyontaughtme,Iwishtothankyouwithallmyheart.ItisnowayearsinceIwascompletelycuredofarticularrheumatismoftherightshoulder,whichbotheredmeforeightyears,andalsoofchronicbronchitisfromwhichIhadsufferedstilllonger.NumerousdoctorsdeclaredthatIwasincurable,butthankstoyourtreatment,Iamagaininperfecthealthandhavetheassuranceofpowertoconserveit.
Mme.L.T.4,rueduLaos.
Paris,June17,1920.
ImusttellyouoftheexcellentresultswhichMr.Cou6'smethodhasproducedinmycase,andthankyouforyourvaluablehelp.Ihavealwaysbeenanaemicandconsequentlyinpoorhealth,butafterthedeathofmyhusbandIgrewstillworse.Mykidneysdidnotact,ICouldnotstanduprightAndsufferedfromnerv-ousnessandaversions.AllhavedisappearedandI
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amadifferentperson.Therearenomorepains,Ihavemoreenduranceandammorecheerful.Myfriendshardlyknowme.Iintendtospreadthenewsofthiswonderfulmethodwhichissoclear,sosimple,sobene-ficial,andexpecttheverybestresultsformyselffromitscontinueduse.
M.L.D.
Paris,October3,1920.
Icannotfindwordstothankyousufficientlyforteachingmeyoursplendidmethod.Whathappinessyouhavebroughttome.IthankGodwhoguidedmetomakeyouracquaintance;youhavecompletelytrans-formedmylife.FormerlyIsufferedterriblyateachmonthlyperiodandwasobligedtostayinbed;nowitisquiteregularandpainless.Itisthesamewithmy
98THEC0U6"METHOD"
digestion;Iamnolongerobligedtoliveonmilk,asIusedtoandtherearenomorepains,atwhichIamveryhappy.Myhusbandisastonishedtofindthat,whentraveling,Iamfreefromheadaches,whilefor-merlyIhadtotaketabletsallthetime.Now,thankstoyou,dearmadame,Ihavenoneedofmedicineanymore.ButIdonotforgettorepeattwentytimesev-erymorningandeveningthephrasewhichyouhave
taughtme:'Everyday,ineveryway,Iamgettingbetterandbetter.'
B.P.
Paris.
IamdelightfullysurprisedattheresultswhichIhaveobtained,andamstillobtainingdaily,byuseoftheexcellentmethodwhichyoutaughtmeofconsciousautosuggestion.Iwasmentallyandphysicallysick.
NowIamwellandalmostalwaysinhighspirits.My,depressionhasgivenwayto'constantcheerfulnessandIcertainlydonotcomplainofthechange.Sapristi!HowwretchedIusedtobe.Iwasunabletodigestanything,whateveritwas;nowIdigesteverythingandtheintestinalfunctionsarenatural.Moreover,Isufferedfrominsomniaandnowthenightsarenotlongenough.Icouldnotworkatall;nowIamcapableofdoingallkindsofhardwork.Ofallmyailmentsnothingremainsbutanoccasionalslighttouchofrheu-
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matism,butIamsurethatbythecontinueduseofyoursplendidmethodthatalsowilldisappearasevery-thingelsedid.Icannotfindproperwordstoexpressmydeepgratitudetoyou.
Mme.Friry,BoulevardMalesherbes.
FBOMLETTERSTOMlle.KAUFMANT
DiscipleofM.Coue´.
Nice,1918.
FeelingbetterandbettersinceIhavefollowedthemethodofautosuggestionwhichyoutaughtme,Icon-sideritmydutytothankyoumostheartily.Iamnowqualifiedtospeakofthegreatandundeniablead-vantagesofthismethod,asitaloneputmeontheroad
torecovery.Myillnessconsistedofalesioninthelungs,whichcausedspittingofbloodandinadditionIhadnoappetiteforanything,vomiteddaily,becameamereskeletonandsufferedfromobstinateconstipa-tion.Thespittingofbloodlessenedalmostimmediate-lyandsoonstoppedentirely;thevomitingceased,con-stipationdisappeared,myappetitecamebackandintwomonthsIgainedtwelvepounds.
Inthepresenceofsuchresults,observednotonlybymyparentsandfriendsbutalsobythedoctorwhoat-tendedmeforseveralmonths,itisimpossibletodenythegoodeffectsofautosuggestionandImustdeclare
publiclythatIowemyreturntolifetoyourmethod.
TouareauthorizedtousemynameifIcanbeofservicetoothers.WithdeepgratitudeIbegtoremain,yoursmostgratefully
JeanneGilli,15AvenueBorriglione.
Nice,March»1919.Iconsideritasacreddutytoexpresstoyoumydeepgratitudeforhavingtaughtmeyourmethodof
autosuggestionfromwhichIderivedsuchgreatbenefits.Thankstoyou,dearmadame,Isuffernolongerfromthosefrequentandagonizingpalpitationsoftheheart
99
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100TEECOUti"METHOD"
whichmademefeelattimesthatitwasabouttostopbeating.IhavealsoregainedmyappetitewhichIhadlostformonths.AsahospitalnurseIhavetothankyouforthealmostmiraculousrecoveryofoneofmypatientswhowasseriouslyafflictedwithtuberculosisandvomitedmuchblood.Hisfamilyandmyselffearedthattheworstmighthappenatanymomentwhenmercifulheavensentyoutohim.Afteryourveryfirstvisitthespittingofbloodceased,hisappetitereturnedand,afteryouhadmadeafewmorevisitstohissick-bed,alttheorgansgraduallyresumedtheirnormalfunctions.Finallywehadthepleasantsurpriseofseeinghimarriveonedayatyourprivateclinicwhere,beforethosepresent,hehimselftoldthestoryofhiswonderfulcure,ascribingittoyourpersonalin-tervention.IthankyoufromtheverybottomofmyheartGratefullyyours,A.Eettner,26,AvenueBorriglione.
Iiverdun,August30,1920.FromdaytodayIhaveputoffwritingtothankyouforthecureofmylittleSylvain.Iwasindespairwhenthedoctorstoldmethattherewasnothingmoretobedone,excepttogivehimachancebysendinghimtothesanatoriumatArcachonorJuicoot,nearDun-kirk.IwasabouttosendhimtherewhenMme.Col-lardadvisedgoingtoseeyoufirst.Feelingskepticalaboutit,IhesitatedbutnowIhavetheproofofyourscience;mySylvainhascompletelyrecovered.Henoweatswithgoodappetite,hispimplesandglandsarecompletelycuredand,mostextraordinaryofall,sinceourfirstvisittoyou,hehasnotcoughedanymore,
notevenonce.SincelastJunehehasgainedsixpounds.Icanneverthankyouenoughandwillpro-claimpubliclythebenefitsreceivedfromyourtreat-ment.
Mme.Poirson.
LETTERS101
Nancy,November4,1920.
HowcanIprovetoyoumyheartfeltgratitude?You,Mademoiselle,havesavedmylife.Ihadheart-diseasewhichcausedmeterriblesufferingfromin-cessantattacksofsuffocation;theyweresoviolentthatIhadnorest,dayornight,notwithstandingdailyin-jectionsofmorphine.Allfoodcausedinstantvomit-
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ing.Isufferedalsofromviolentpainsinmyhead,whichbecamesoswollenthatIlostmysight.Iwasinterribleplight,mywholeorganismbeinginamostlamentablestate;therewasanabscessontheliver;mydoctortriedeverythinginhispower:lettingblood,scarifiedcupping,needle-pricks,poultices,ice,andev-erypossiblemedicine,withoutresult.Finallyhead-visedmetoconsultyou.
Afteryourfirstvisitstheheartattacksdiminishedinviolenceandbecamelessfrequent;soontheyceasedentirely.Iwasabletorestand,tomygreatrelief,couldsoonsleepthroughoutthenight,withoutwaking.Thepainsintheliverceased.Ibegantoenjqymyfoodagainanddigesteditperfectly,experiencingoncemoreafeelingofhungerwhichIhadnotknownformonths.Thepainsintheheadstoppedandmyeyesarequitecured,sothatIamnowabletobusymyselfalittle,manually.EachtimeyoupaidmeavisitIfeltbetter,myorgansgraduallyresumingtheirnormalfunctions.Iwasnottheonlyonetoobservethewon-derfulimprovement;thedoctorwhocametoseemeeveryweekfoundmeverymuchbetterand,finallyre-coverycame.Iwasabletogetupafterhavingbeen
confinedtobedforelevenmonths.Irosewithouttheleastdiscomfort,evenwithoutdizziness,andattheendofanotherfortnightIwentoutforawalk.Iamin-debtedtoyoualoneformyrecoveryandthedoctorcandidlyadmitsthat,forallthegoodhismedicineshaddoneme,Imightjustaswellhavetakennoneatall.Afterhavingbeengivenupbytwodoctorsitisapleasureindeedtobealiveandwellagain.Myre-
102THECOUtil"METHOD"
coveryissocompletethatIcannoweatmeatandalsotakeapoundofbreaddaily.HowcanIthankyou?Irepeat,itistoyourgoodsuggestionsthatIowemylife.
JeanneGrosjean.
Nancy,November16,1920.
Personallythescienceofautosuggestionwhich,indeed,Iconsiderentirelyasasciencehasbeenofgreatbenefittome;myinterestinitcontinues,par-ticularly,becauseIfindittobethemeansofexercis-ingtruecharity.
In1915,whenforthefirsttimeIwaspresentatoneofMr.Cou6'slectures,IconfessIwasentirely
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skeptical;butinthefaceoffactsrepeatedahundredtimesinmyverypresence,Ihadtobowbeforetheevidenceandrecognizethatautosuggestiondoesact,al-thoughofcourseindifferentdegrees,onorganicdis-eases.Strangely,theonlycasesinwhichIhaveknownittof&il(andthosewereveryrare)wereofanervousnaturesuchasneurastheniaandimaginarymaladies.
ItisneedlesstotellyouagainthatMr.Cou6insists,likeyourself,butevenmorestrongly,onthispoint:'thathedoesnotperformanymiracles,thathedoesnotcureanybody,butthatheonlyteachespeopletocurethemselves.'Iconfessthat,onthispoint,Iamstillalittleincredulous;forifMr.Cou6doesnotactuallycurepersonally,heismostdecidedlyapower-fulaidtorecovery.Heputsheartandnewcourageintothesickandafflictedandteachesthemnevertodespair.Hehasanupliftinginfluenceandguidesthemtomoralheightshithertobeyondthemandwhich,intheireverydaymaterialism,theyneverevencon-ceivedof.
ThedeeperIgointothestudyofautosuggestion,thethebetterIamabletounderstandthedivinelaw6t
confidenceandlovewhichChristtaughtus:Lovethy
¦DigitizedbyVjOOQIC
LETTERS103
neighborasthyself;givehimalittleofyourheartandofyourmoralforce;helphimriseifhehasfallen;healhimifheissick.Thatisthe'GiftofGod'of
whichJesusspeakstothegoodSamaritan.Autosug-gestionisabeneficialandcomfortingscienceanditsapplication,frommyChristianpointofview,tendstomakeusbetterunderstandthatweareallthechildrenofGod,thatweallhavewithinusunsuspected,un-dreamedofforceswhich,rightlydirected,servetoelevateusmorallyandtohealusphysically.Thosewhodonotknowyourscienceorhavemerelyaslightinklingofit,shouldnotpassjudgmentunlessanduntiltheyhavewitnessedthemagnificentresultsob-tainedbyautosuggestion,andthegreatgooditdoes.
M.L.D.
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AllforEveryone
ByMm.BmiliLLon,discipleofMr.CouS.
Ifyouhavebeenprivilegedtoenjoyaninestimablygreatbenefit,andonethatiswithinthereachofaU,althoughmostareignorantofit,isitnotanabsoluteandurgentduty,foryouwhodoknow,tospreadthatknowledgebroadcasttParticularlywheneveryonewholearnsofitcanappropriatetohimselfitsamaz-ingbenefits,asistrueoftheCou6"method."
Torelievepainiswonderful,verywonderful;buthowmuchmorewonderfulisittoguidethose,whonowsuffer,intofullenjoymentofanewlife!
LastApril,atParis,wehadthepleasureofavisitfromMr.Cou6;herearesomegleaningsfromhistalks:
QuestionofaTheist:"FromareligiouspointofviewIconsideritunworthytobelievethattheEternalwouldletourobediencetoHiswilldependonatrick,ormechanicalprocesswhatMr.Cou6callsconscious
autosuggestion."
Answer*."Whetherwewishtobelieveitornot,itistruethatourimaginationalwaysoverrulesourwillwhenthelatterisinconflictwiththeformer.Butwecanleadtheimaginationintotherightpathasin-dicatedbyourreasonbyconsciouslyemployingthemechanicalprocesswhichnowwesooftenemployun-consciouslytoleadusthewrongway."
Athoughtfullistenersaid:"Yes,itistrue;consciousautosuggestionhasinitthepowertofreeusfromob-
105
106THECoue´"METHOD"
stacles,createdbyourselves,whichactlikeaveilplacedbetweenGodandourselves;asarag,suspendedoverawindow,preventsthesunfromshiningintoaroom.
Question:Howcanweinducesufferers,whoarenearanddeartous,tomakegoodautosuggestionswhichwouldfreethemfrompaint
Answer:Donoturgeorlecturethemaboutit.Sim-plyremindthemthatIrecommendthattheymakeauto-suggestions,withthecertaintythattheywillobtaintheresulttheywant.
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Question:Howcanoneexplainsatisfactorily,toone'sselfandtoothers,thisphenomenonthatthemererepetitionofthesamewords:"Iamgoingtosleep,""Itpasses"etc.,hasthepowertoproducethedesiredeffect,andsopowerfullythattheresultisacertaintyt
Answer:Therepetition,ofthesamewordsforcesustothinkthem,andwhenwethinkthemtheybecometrueforusandtransformthemselvesintoreality.
Question:Howisonetoconserveself-masteryasapinwardpowert
Answer:Tobemasterofyourselfitisenoughtothinkthatyouaremaster;andinordertothinkit,youmustrepeatitoften,butwithoutanyeffort.
Question:Andhowisonetokeepone'slibertyofoutwardactivityt
Answer:Self-masteryappliesjustasmuchphysical-lyasitdoesmentally.
Questioner:Wecannotescapetroubleorsadness,can
we,ifwedonotdoasweshould?Itwouldnotbejustandautosuggestioncannot,andoughtnottopre-ventjustsuffering.
ALLFOBEVERYONE107
Mr.Coue(veryseriouslyandaffirmatively):Cer-
tainlyandassuredlyitoughtnottobeso,butitoftenis,atanyrateforatime.
Question:Whydidthatpatient,nowcured,havethoseincessantandterribleattacks?
Answer:Heexpectedthoseattacks;hefearedthem;henceheprovokedthem.Ifthisgentlemanwillmakeuphismindfirmlythatheisnotgoingtohaveanymoreattacks,hewillnothavethem.Butifhecon-tinuestothinkthathewillhavethem,hecertainlywillhavethem.
Question:Inwhatdoesyour"method''differfromotherst
Answer:Thedifferenceinmy''method''is:thatitisbasedontheprinciplethatitisnotthewillwhichrulesus,buttheimagination.Thatisitsfundamental
Question:Willyougivemeasummaryofyour
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"method''forMme.E.,whoiswritinganimportantworkonthesubject?
Answer:Icangiveyouasummaryofmymethodinafewwords:Contrarytothecommonbeliefitisnotourwillwhichmakesusact,butourimagination(whichisanunconsciousbeing).Ifitoftenhappensthatwedoactaswewill,itisbecausewethink,atthesametime,thatwecan.Ifthatbenotso,wedoexact-lythecontraryofwhatwewilledtodo.Forexample:Themoreapersonafflictedwithinsomniadeterminestosleep,themoreexcitedhegets;themoreyoutrytorememberanamewhichyouseemtohaveforgotten,themoreelusiveitis.Itonlycomesbacktoyourmindif,insteadofthinking"Ihaveforgotten/9youreplace
108THECOVtiMETHOD
thatthoughtby"Iknowit,Iknowit,Irememberit."Themorewestrivetosuppressaburstoflaughter,themoreviolentlythelaughterexplodes.Themoreaper-sonlearningtorideabicyclewillstoavoidanobstacle,thestraighterherunsrightintoit.
Wemust,therefore,endeavortodirectourimagina-tionwhichatpresentdirectsus.Inthiswayweeasilybecome,physicallyandmentally,mastersofour-selves.HowarewetoarriveatthisresultfBythepracticeofconsciousautosuggestion,whichisbasedonthisprinciple:Everyidea,firmlyimplantedinourminds,tendstobecometrueforusandtorealizeitself.
Thus,ifwedesiresomethingphysicalormental,wecanobtainit,soonerorlater,providedwerepeatrapid-lyandoften,thatthethingisgoingtohappen,orisnotgoingtohappen,accordingastowhetheritissome-thingdesirableorundesirable.
Everythingisprovidedforinthegeneralformulatobeusedmorningandnight:Everyday,ineveryway,Iamgettingbetterandbetter.
Question:Forthosewhoaresadorwhoareindis-tresst
Answer:Aslongasyouthink"Iamsad,"youcan-notbegay;andinordertothinksomethingitisenoughtosay,withouteffort:"Ithinkthisthing,"etc.Painordistress,nomatterhowviolentitmaybe,willdis-appear.ThatIcanaffirmpositively.
Aman,bentwithrheumatism,arrives,painfullydragginghimselfwiththehelpoftwocanes.Hisfaceshowsadullexpressionofpain.Astheroomisfill-
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ingupMr.CouSentersand,afterquestioningthisman,saystohim:"Well.Yousayyouhavebeensufferingfromrheumatismforthirty-twoyearsandyoucannot
ALLFOEEVERYONE109
walk.Don'tbeafraid.Itisnotgoingtolastthatlongagain."Then,afterthepreliminaryexperiments:"Shutyoureyesandrepeatrapidly,veryrapidly,mov-ingyourlips,thewordsitisgoing...itisgoing"(atthesametimeMr.Cou6passeshishandalongthelegsofthepatientforabouttwentyseconds)."Nowyoudonotsufferanymore,getupandwalk!"Thesickmanrisesandwalks."Faster,faster,stillfaster!Now,sinceyouarewalkingsowell,run,mydearsir,run!"Andthepatientrunsjoyously,almostasifhehadrecoveredhisyouth(tothegreatastonishmentofhimselfandthatofthemanypersonspresent(atthe
clinicofDr.Berillon,April27th,1920).
Aladydeclares:Myhusbandsufferedfromsuffocat-ingattacksofasthmaformanyyears;indeed,hehadsuchdifficultyinbreathingthatwefearedafatalissue.Hisdoctorhadgivenhimup.HewasalmostentirelyoaredofhistroubleafterasinglevisittoMr.Cou6.
AyoungwomancomestothankMr.Cou6,withdeepgratitude.Herphysician,Dr.Vachet,whowaswithherintheconsultingroom,statedthatshehadsufferedalongtimefromcerebralanemia.Hehadbeenun-abletocheckthisdiseasebytheusualremedies,butit
haddisappearedentirely,asifbymagic,withtheuseofconsciousautosuggestion.
Anotherperson,whoasaresultofhavingoncesuf-feredafracturedlegandcouldneitherwalknorevenlimpalongwithoutpain,wasabletowalknormallyatonce.Nomorepainandnomorelimping.Thehallthrillswithinterestandjoyousshoutsfromgratefulpeople,relievedorcured.
110THECOVti"METHOD"
Adoctor:"AutosuggestionisthegreatPowerofHealing/'HereliesonthegeniusofCou6.
Aformermagistrateexclaimsenthusiastically:"Icannotputmyappreciationintowords1Ithinkitis
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admirable!"
Asocietywoman,overexcitedbythedisappearanceofhersufferings,exclaims:"Oh!Mr.Cou6,onewouldliketokneeltoyou...YouarethegoodGod..."Anotherlady,herselfalsoverymuchimpressed,setherfellowhearerright,bysaying:"No,Hisambas-sador.''
Anoldlady:"Itisdelightfultobeable,evenwhenoneisagedandfragile,toreplaceafeelingofgeneralweaknessandillhealthbyoneofrefreshmentandgeneralwell-being.ThemethodofMr.EmileCou6can,Iaffirm,forIhaveexperienceditmyself,bringaboutthatindescribablyhappyresultwhichisallthemorecompleteandlasting,asitreliesontheallpower-fulforcewhichiswithinus."
Atrulysympatheticvoicecalledhimbythemodestnamehepreferstothatof"master"i.e.,ProfessorCou6.
Ayoungwoman,likewiseveryenthusiastic,says*"Mr.Cou6goesstraighttohismark,attainsitsurely
anddelivershispatient.Heraisesgenerosityandknowledgetothehighestpitchbyleavingtothepatienthimselfthemeritofhisowndeliverance,teachinghimatthesametimetheuseofamostmarvelouspower."
Aliteraryman,requestedtowritealittleepitomeofthebeneficial"method",refusedabsolutelyandstated
ALLFOREVERYONE111
emphaticallythatthesimplephrase,"itpasses/9istheepitome,sincebyitsuse,accordingtothe"method,"itcausesallsufferingtodisappear.Andthemanythousandsofsickfolkswhohavebeenrelievedorcuredwillnotcontradicthim.
Aladywhohassufferedmuchdeclares:"Inre-read-ingthe'method'moreandmoreIfinditsuperior
tothemorelengthywritingswhichithasinspired.Truly,thereisnothingtobeaddedandnothingtobetakenawayfromthe'method.'Itremainsonlytospreadit.Ishalldothatineverywaypossible."
InconclusionIwillsay:AlthoughMr.Coup'smod-estycauseshimtoanswereveryone:
"Ihavenomagneticfluid...Ihavenoinfluence...Ihavenevercuredanybody...Mydisciplesobtainthe
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sameresultsasmyself..."
Icansayinallsincerity:"Instructedastheyarebythispriceless'method'theyattempttofollowtheirmasterandinstructor,andwhen,insomefardistantfuture,thethrillingvoiceoftheauthoriscalledtoahighersphereandcannolongerteachthemherebe-low,the'method/hiswork,willcontinuetocontributeiqhelping,consolingandcuringthousandsandthousandsofhumanbeings.Itwillbeimmortal,andwillbecommunicatedbygenerousFrancetotheentireworld...forthemanofletterswasright.Heknewhowtoexpressinoneappropriatewordthistrue,sim-pleyetmarvelousaidinconqueringpain:Itpasses!Thereistheepitome."
SOMENOTESONTHETBIPOFMB.Coue´TOPABIS:OCTOBER1918.
ThedesirethattheteachingsofMr.CouLinParis,lastOctober,shouldnotbelosttoothers,hasinducedmetowritethemdown.Wewillnotmentionatthistimethegreatnumberofmentalandphysicalsuffererswho,underhistreatment,haveseentheirtroublesandpainslessenanddisappear,butlimitourselvestoasim-plestatementofafewofhisteachings:
Question:HowisitthatIdonotobtainbetterre-sultsinspiteofusingyourmethodandformula?
Mr.CouS:Becausethereis,probablyintheback-
groundofyourmindanunconsciousdoubt,orbecauseyoumakeefforts.Rememberplease,thateffortsarede-terminedbythewQX.Ifyoubringthewillintoplayyourunaseriousriskofbringingtheimaginationintoplayatthesametime,butinoppositiontoyourwish,thusbringingaboutjustthereverseofwhatyoudesire.
Question:Whatarewetodowhensomethingtroublesus?
Answer:Ifsomethingoccurstotroubleyou,repeatatonce:"No,thatdoesnottroublemeataH,notatall;ifanythingitisratheragreeable,tome."Lashort,
theideaistowoikyourselfintoagoodframeofmind,ratherthanintoabadone.
Question:Aretheprelimiqjpyexperimentsindis-pensableifthqyhurttheprideofthesubject?Answer:No,theyarenotindispensable,buttheyare
U2
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ALLFOBEVERYONE113
extremelyuseful.Althoughtheymayseemchildishtosomepeople,theyare,onthecontrary,veryserious.Indeed,theyprovethreethings:
(1)Thateveryideawehaveinourmindsbecomestrueforusandhasatendencytotransformit-selfintoaction.
(2)Thatwhenaconflictoccursbetweentheimagina-tionandthewill,itisalwaystheimaginationwhichgainstheupperhand;andinthatcasewedopreciselythecontraryofwhatwewanttodo.
(3)Thatitiseasytoplantinourminds,withoutanyeffort,theideawhichwewishtohavethere,sincewehavebeenabletothinksuccessivelyandwithouteffort,first"Icannot"andthen
"Icm."
Thepreliminaryexperimentsshouldnotberepeatedathome;alone,oneisoftenunabletoputone'sselfintotherightphysicalandmentalcondition;youriskfailureandinthatcaseyourself-confidenceisshaken.
Qi+estion:Whenoneisinpainonecannothelpthink-ingofone'strouble.
Answer:Don'tbeafraidtothinkofit;onthecon-trary,thinkofit,butsaytoit:"Iamnotafraidofyou.'9Ifyouenter*homesomewhereandadogsud-
denlyjumpsatyoubarking,lookstraightintoitseyesanditwillnotbiteyou.Butifyouareafraidandturnyourbackitwillsoonbury'itsteethinyourleg.
Question:Butifonehastobeataretreat?Answer:Thenretreatstepbystep,goingbackwards,facingthedog.
Question:HowcanwerealizewhatwedesiretAnswer:Byrepeatingoftenwhatyoudesireforin-
114THECOVti"METHOD"
stance:"Iamgainingpoise/'andyouwill;"Mymemoryimproves/'anditcertainlywillimprove;"Iamabletocontrolmyselfabsolutely/'andthereisnoquestionbutthatyouwill.
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Ifyoutellyourselfthecontrary,itisthecontrarywhichisgoingtohappen.Whatyoutellyourselfper-sistentlyandveryrapidly,comestopass(providedofcourse,thatitissomethingnatural.)
AFewTestimonials.
Oneyoungladytoanother:"Howsimpleitallis!Thereisnothingtoaddtoit;heseemstobeinspired.Don'tyouthinktherearesomehumanbeingswhoradiateinfluence?"
AneminentParisiandoctorsaidtoanumberofotherphysiciansaroundhim:"IhavecompletelyadoptedtheideasofMr.Cou6."
Apolyteohhician,knownasaseverecritic,saysofMr.Cou6:"Heisapower."
Yes;heisapowerforgood;withoutmercyforthebadautosuggestionsofthe"defeatist"type,butin-defatigablyactive,painstakingandsmiling,heisatalltimesreadytohelpeveryonetodevelophisorherper-
sonality.Finallyheteachesthemhowtocurethem-selves;thesearethebeneficialcharacteristicsoftheCouS"method."
Howcouldonefailtodesire,fromtheverybottomofone'sheart,thatallmightunderstandandseizethegoodnewswhichMr.Cou6brings.Itistheawakening,possibleforeveryone,ofthepersona}powertobehealthy,successful«pdhappy.Itis,ifyouconsent,thefulldevelopmentofapowerwhichmaytransformyourwholel|f©.4
ALLFOEEVERYONE115
Therefore,itistheprivilegeandthedutyoftheini-tiatedtospread,byeverypossiblemeans,theknowl-edgeofthiswonderful"method/'thehappyresultsofwhichhavebeenrecognizedandtestifiedtobymanythousandsofpersons.Suchtestimonywillteachotherthousandsofpeoplewhosuffer,whoareinpainandin
tears,readytodespair.Helpthemalltogetthebene-fitsofthispractice.
Then,thinkingofFrance,triumphantbutbruised;ofherdefenders,victoriousbutmutilated;ofallthephysicalandmentalsufferingcausedbythewar;maythosewhohavethepower("thegreatestpowerevergiventomanisthepowerofdoinggood"Socrates)seetoitthatthisinexhaustiblesourceofmentalandphysicalforcewhichtheCoue"method"putswithin
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thereachofeveryone,becomesthepatrimonyoftheentirenationand,throughit,ofallhumanity.
Mme.EmileLeon,Collaborator,atParis,ofMr.CouL
Conclusion
Whatconclusionistobedrawnfromallthist
Theconclusionisaverysimpleoneandcanbeex-pressedinafewwords:Wepossessinourselvesanin-calculableforcewhichisoftenprejudicialtous,ifwehandleitunconsciously.If,onthecontrary,wedirect
itinaconsciousandwisemanner,itgivesusthemas-teryofourselvesandenablesus,notonlytosaveour-selvesfromphysicalandmentalillsandailments,butalsotohelpothers;andtoliveincomparativehappi-nessunderanyandallconditions.
Lastbutnotleast,suggestionandautosuggestionshouldbeusedforthemoralregenerationofthosewhohavestrayedfromtherightpath.
EMILECoue´.
117
118
HowtoPracticeConsciousAutosuggestion
Everymorningonawakeningandeveiyeveningassoonasyouareinbed,closeyoureyes,andwithoutfix-ingyourattentiononwhatyousay,pronouncetwentytimes,justloudenoughsothatyoumayhearyourownwords,thefollowingphrase,usingastringwithtwentyknotsinitforcounting:
"Daybyday,ineveryway,Iamgettingbetterandbetter."
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Thewords:"Ineveryway"beinggoodforanythingandeverything,itisnotnecessarytoformulatepar-ticularautosuggestions.
Makethisautosuggestionwithfaithandconfidence,andwiththecertaintythatyouaregoingtoobtainwhatyoudesire.
Moreover,ifduringthedayornight,youhaveaphysicalormentalpainordepression,immediatelyaf-firmtoyourselfthatyouarenotgoingtoconsciouslycontributeanythingtomaintainthatpainordepres-sion,butthatitwilldisappearquickly.Thenisolateyourselfasmuchaspossible,closeyoureyes,andpassyourhandacrossyourforeheadifyourtroubleismental,orovertheachingpartofyourbodyifyourtroubleisphysical,andrepeatquickly,movingyourlips,thewords:"Itpasses,itpasses/9etc.Continuethisaslongasmaybenecessary,untilthementalorphysicalpainhasdisappeared,whichitusuallydoeswithintwentyortwenty-fiveseconds.Beginagainev-erytimeyoufinditnecessarytodoso.
Likethefirstautosuggestiongivenabove,youmustrepeatthisonealsowithabsolutefaithandconfidence,butcalmly,withouteffort.Repeattheformulaaslitaniesarerepeatedinchurch.
EmileCovt.
SUGGESTEDLIST
OFSTANDARDWORKSONAUTOSUGGESTION,PSYCHOLOGYANDOTHERALLIEDSUBJECTS.
ADLER,Dr.Alfred.-TheNeuroticConstitution$5.00
ARNOLD-FOSTER,M.L.StudiesinDreams2.00
BALDWIN,JamesM.MentalDevelopmentinthe
ChildandtheRace4.00
BAUDOUIN,Charles.SuggestionandAutosuggestion3.50
BETTS,G.H.TheMindandItsEducation1.90
BRIDGER,A.E.MindsinDistress'.1.25
BRILL,Prof.A.A.FundamentalConceptionsof
Psychoanalysis2.50
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BROOKS,C.Harry.ThePracticeofAutosuggestion
bytheMethodofcEmileCou61.25
BROWN,H.AdvancedSuggestion3.50
BROWN,W.PsychologyandPsychotherapy.3.00
CORIAT,IsadorH.RepressedEmotions2.00
DEWEY,J.HumanNatureandConduct.2.25
DREVER,J.PsychologyofEveryDayLife2.50
EDSON,D.O.GettingWhatWeWant2.25
FIRTH,V.M.MachineryoftheMind1.25
FREUD,Prof.Sigmund.DelusionsandDreams.With
anIntroductionbyDr.G.StanleyHall3.00
InterpretationofDreams6.25
FRINK,H.W-MorbidFearsandCompulsions6.00
GENTILE,G.TheoryofMindasPureAct4.00
HEALY,W<MentalConflictsandMisconduct3.00
119
120THECOUti"METHOD"
HOBHOUSE,L.T.MindinEvolution4.40
HOLLINGWORTH,H.L.VocationalPsychology3.00JAMES,WPsychology;AdvancedCourse,2Volt*8.00
Psychology;BrieferCourse,1voL2.50
TalkstoTeachersonPsychology2.00
CollectedEssaysandReviews3.75
JUNG,C.G.PsychologyoftheUnconscious7.00
KITSON,H.D.HowtoUseYourMind1.50
KULPE,Oswald.OutlinesofPsychology4.00
LAY,W.Man'sUnconsciousSpirit2.00
LAWRENCE,D.H.Psychoanalysisandthe
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Unconscious1.50
LEVY,P.E.RationalEducationoftheWill2.00
MARSHALL,H.R.MindandConduct1.75
MERCIER,Chas.SanityandInsanity2.50
MOLL,Dr.AlbertHypnotism2.50
MUNSTERBURG,Hugo.-Psychology:Generaland
Applied2.50
MYERSON,A.-FoundationsofPersonality2.25
PIERCE,P.OurUnconsciousMindandHowtoUseIt3.00
PRINCE,M.TheUnconscious3.00
QUACKENBOS,J.D.BodyandSpirit2.25
RUSSELL,B.A.W.AnalysisofMind4.00
SEASHORE,C.E.PsychologyinDailyLife2.25
STEKEL,Dr.Wfflielm.TheBelovedEgo2.50
STOUT,G.RAnalyticPsychology;2Vols7.00
TANSLEY,A.G.TheNewPsychologyandItsRela-tionofLife4.00
TITCHENER,E.B.AnOutlineofPsychology2.25
ExperimentalPsychology.
Vol.1,QualitativeExperiments:Pt1Student'sManual2.60
SUGGESTEDLISTOPBOOKS121
Pt2Instructor'sManual3.50
Vol2,QuantitativeExperiments:
Pt1Student'sManual2.60
Pt.2Instructor'sManual3.50
ABeginner'sPsychology1.25
TRIDON,A.-Psychoanalysis,Sleep,andDreams2.00
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VARENDONCK,Dr.J.ThePsychologyofDay
Dreams.IntroductionbyProf.SigmundFreud6.00
WATTS,Frank.EchoPersonalities1.80
WHITE,W.A.MechanismsofCharacterFormation..2.75WUNDT,W.M.LecturesonHumanandAnimal
Psychology3.50
EthicalSystems2.50
CoueLeagueofAmerica
InFrance,andvariouscountriesofEuropewheretheearliestbenefitofMr.Coue'sclinicswasnaturallyfelt,
therecameanearlydemandforanorganizationtounitethosewhoweresympatheticwiththiswonderfulwork,andtheLorraineSocietyofAppliedPsychologyresulted;andnow,inAmerica,averygreatinteresthasdevelopedwhichisdemandingaformoforganization.Inthisbusydaymanyofthebestthingsslipintothebackgroundofourthought,andarepracticallylosttous.Itmustnotbesowiththis.Theneedissogreatandthe"Method"soscientific,practicalandefficientthatweshouldmakethemostofit,forourselvesandothers.TheremotenessofFranceandthedifferenceoflanguageseemedtomakeaseparateorganizationdesirableinthiscountryandthereforeanumberofpersonshaveunitedinforming
the"Coue´LEAGUEOFAMERICA."Anyonemaybecomeamemberofthe"LEAGUE"byregisteringhisorhernameandaddress,thusexpressinganinterestintheCoueIdealofSELFMASTERYbyAUTOSUG-GESTION.
Thisisnotprimarilyanorganizationofthesickorthosewhohavebeencuredthoughallsuchareofcoursewelcomedbutanywhoseeinthe"method"anoppor-tunityofbenefittingpracticallyandactuallyinsoul,mindandbody,areinvitedtounitewiththe"Coue´LEAGUEOFAMERICA."Thatsuchbenefitiswithinthereachofallwill,Ithink,berealizedbyanywhogivereason-
ablethoughttothislittlebook.
122
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COUtiLEAGUEOFAMERICA123
Thosewhoreadthisvolumewithcare,willrealizethatMr.Coueismerelyintroducingandout-liningaverylargesubject.Muchhasbeenwrittenuponthesubjectalready,andtherewilldoubtlessbepresentedinthefuturemanyvolumes,lectures,discussions,etc.Appendedtothisannouncementwillbefoundabibliographyofworksnowexisting.Wewillbegladtofurnishanyonewithcopiesofthesebooksatcurrentprices.WealsoplantokeepthemembersoftheLeagueintouchwiththeadvancewhichmaybemadeinthesubjectinfutureworks.
Acourseoflecturesisnowbeingpreparedwhichpromisestobehelpful.Thelecturesaredesignedtoex-tendtheprinciplesofMr.Coueintoseveralfieldsofin-terestwhicharemerelysuggestedinthislittlevolume,butarenotcarriedoutinanydetail.Informationastothiscourseoflectureswillbefurnishedonrequest.
Itisourconviction,thatthismovement,initiatedbyMr.Coueisdestinedtohavewideinfluenceanduseful-ness.TheLEAGUEthroughitsofficerswillbegladto
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THELORRAINESOCIETYOPAPPLIEDPSYCHOLOGY
SuggestionAutosuggestionHypnotism
PRESIDENTSOFHONOR:MM.Dr.Berillon,*,Medecin-chefdudispensaireplda-
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PaulMerouze,sous-pr6fetdeNeufchiteau.Dr.MontaguS.Monier-Williams,London.Rev.O'Flaberty,Edinburgh.Dr.PaulDamade,Brussels.E.Reymond,Winterthur(Switzerland).Dr.Stumper,Esch(Luxemburg).Dr.Vachet,Vincennes.Dr.VanVelsen,Brussels.