The power of ‘auto-suggestion’

If you have told yourself to relax, focus, breathe, take it easy you are using auto-suggestion. Auto-suggestion is the easiest way to reprogramme our subconscious mind. In fact, each of us has used auto-suggestion at some point in our lives. The problem is most of us use auto-suggestion to focus on negative things rather than positive ones. For e.g.we say, “I am tired”, “I am useless”, and then wonder why we actually feel that way.
It has been said in ancient texts that, “The power of life and death lies in the tongue”. This means, words are so powerful that they can either build or destroy you. So, we’d rather use words to focus on positives instead of negatives. Energy flows where attention does. If you think you are ugly, that is how you will be and if you think you are smart and confident, that is how you will appear and your body language will show it.
The simplest way to harness the power of auto-suggestion is positive affirmations. These are powerful and positive sentences that we constantly repeat in our mind and heart till they get embedded in our subconscious mind. The power of auto-suggestion is enormous and it can be used in health, healing, prevention, relationships or career in a huge way.
AUTO-SUGGESTION TECHNIQUES
1. Delete negative thoughts: Start paying attention to your self-talk. Whenever you catch yourself in negative self-talk, especially internal dialogue that expresses fear, doubt, or self-loathing, delete or erase it. Then replace it with more encouraging positive words.
2. Use affirmation: Positive affirmations are so much more than just feel good quotes and positive statements.
3. Use repetition: Use boring repetitive tasks as an opportunity for programming yourself with auto-suggestion. A lot of people like to use affirmations in the shower, while driving, at the bus stop, or on a bus, plane, or train.
4. Use emotions: In order to make auto-suggestion work, it must trigger feelings. The more meaningful auto-suggestion is to you, the more effective it is.
5. Step-by-step approach: Sit comfortably in a quiet space – your office, home, or amid nature. Pick a goal or intention to focus on. Relax your entire body, and take several long deep breaths. Tune into your inner voice, and connect to the feeling that you truly believe this goal or intention. Begin to visualise the achievement of that goal, or realisation of your intention. Create a clear and detailed mental picture, using all five senses. Think about your goals. Finish with a positive affirmation about the outcome of your goal or intention. Repeat this process at least once a day, for about 10 minutes.
— With inputs from Luke Coutinho, Holistic Lifestyle Coach-Integrative Medicine