THE PRACTICE OF AUTOSUGGESTION

BY THE METHOD of EMILE COUÉ

Revised Edition

BY

C. HARRY BROOKS

WITH A FOREWORD BY

EMILE COUÉ

"For what man knoweth the things of a man save the
spirit of the man which is in him?"

1 CORINTHIANS ii. 11.

NEW YORK
DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY
1922

COPYRIGHT 1922
BY DODD, MEAD AND COMPANY, INC.

First Printing, May, 1922
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Fourteenth Printing, Jan., 1923

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TO
ALL IN CONFLICT WITH
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THIS LITTLE BOOK
IS DEDICATED

PREFACE TO THE AMERICAN EDITION

To my American readers a special word of gratitude is due for their generosity to this little book. I hope that it has given them as much encouragement and help as they have given me.

In America, the home of so many systems of mental healing, it is perhaps even more necessary than in Europe to insist on the distinctive features of M. Coué's teaching. It is based, not on transcendental or mystical postulates, but on the simple and acknowledged facts of psychology. This does not mean that it has no relation to religion. On the contrary it has a very close one. Indeed I hope in a future volume to point out its deep significance for the Christian churches. But that relationship remains in M. Coué's teaching unexpressed. The powers he has revealed are part of the natural endowment of the human mind. Therefore they are available to all men, independently of adherence or non-adherence to any sect or creed.

The method of M. Coué is in no sense opposed to the ordinary practice of medicine. It is not intended to supplant it but to supplement it. It is a new ally, bringing valuable reinforcements to the common crusade against disease and unhappiness.

Induced Autosuggestion does not involve, as several hasty critics have assumed, an attack upon the Will. It simply teaches that during the actual formulation of suggestions, that is for a few minutes daily, the Will should be quiescent. At other times the exercise of the Will is encouraged; indeed we are shown how to use it properly, that is without friction or waste of energy.

C. H. B.
19 October, 1922.

AUTHOR'S PREFACE

The discoveries of Emile Coué are of such moment for the happiness and efficiency of the individual life that it is the duty of anyone acquainted with them to pass them on to his fellows.

The lives of many men and women are robbed of their true value by twists and flaws of character and temperament, which, while defying the efforts of the will, would yield rapidly to the influence of autosuggestion. Unfortunately, the knowledge of this method has hitherto been available in England only in the somewhat detailed and technical work of Professor Charles Baudouin, and in a small pamphlet, printed privately by M. Coué, which has not been publicly exposed for sale. To fill this gap is the aim of the following pages. They are designed to present to the layman in non-technical form the information necessary to enable him to practise autosuggestion for himself.

All readers who wish to obtain a deeper insight into the theoretical basis of autosuggestion are recommended to study Professor Baudouin's fascinating work, Suggestion and Autosuggestion. Although in these pages there are occasional divergences from Professor Baudouin's views, his book remains beyond question the authoritative statement on the subject; indeed it is hardly possible without it to form an adequate idea of the scope of autosuggestion. My own indebtedness to it in writing this little volume is very great.

My thanks are due for innumerable kindnesses to M. Coué himself. That he is the embodiment of patience everyone knows who has been in contact with him. I am also indebted to the Rev. Ernest Charles, of Malvern Link, who, though disclaiming responsibility for some of the views expressed here, has made many extremely valuable suggestions.

C. H. B.

MALVERN LINK,
21 February, 1922.

FOREWORD

The materials for this little book were collected by Mr. Brooks during a visit he paid me in the summer of 1921. He was, I think, the first Englishman to come to Nancy with the express purpose of studying my method of conscious autosuggestion. In the course of daily visits extending over some weeks, by attending my consultations, and by private conversations with myself, he obtained a full mastery of the method, and we threshed out a good deal of the theory on which it rests.

The results of this study are contained in the following pages. Mr. Brooks has skilfully seized on the essentials and put them forward in a manner that seems to me both simple and clear. The instructions given are amply sufficient to enable anyone to practise autosuggestion for him or herself, without seeking the help of any other person.

It is a method which everyone should follow—the sick to obtain healing, the healthy to prevent the coming of disease in the future. By its practice we can insure for ourselves, all our lives long, an excellent state of health, both of the mind and the body.

E. COUÉ.
NANCY.

CONTENTS

I
COUÉ'S NANCY PRACTICE

II
THE NATURE OF AUTOSUGGESTION