"All these suggestions must be made in a monotonous and soothing voice (always emphasizing the essential words), which although it does not actually send the subject to sleep, at least makes him feel drowsy, and think of nothing in particular."

The above words were written by Emile Coue (1857-1926), a French physician who is considered by many to be the father of autosuggestion.

While most people today have never heard of Coue, many have heard his most famous affirmation: "Day by day, in every way, I am getting better and better."

These were the types of affirmations Coue told his patients to repeat to themselves before going to bed each night.

And, as indicated in the above quote, he found that using a "monotonous and soothing voice" added to the effectiveness of the affirmations.

Coue's Goal: Autosuggestion
In essence, Coue was asking his patients to use these affirmations as guided and conscious "suggestions."

His goal was that the patients' unconscious minds would accept these suggestions as new instructions on how to proceed from that moment onward.

When the suggestions were accepted, the unconscious mind began working on those new instructions automatically, thus moving the patients from a state of "suggestion" to a state of "autosuggestion."

In other words, at some point, the patients no longer had to consciously say the affirmations to themselves since their unconscious minds had been "re-programmed" to conform with whichever affirmations were made.

If, however, the patients' unconscious minds did not accept the suggestions made through the affirmations, then no state of autosuggestion would occur.

Or, more precisely, the patients' unconscious minds would continue to act upon the old suggestions that had been accepted in their past; that is, their unconscious minds would continue to act upon their old autosuggestions.

Affirmations and the Laws of Suggestion
Coue wrote about this process, referring to the phenomenon as "The Laws of Suggestion."

He maintained that from the time of birth, we are all naturally exposed to different "suggestions," depending on the people and situations we grow up around.

Those suggestions that are accepted by the unconscious mind become autosuggestions, thus perpetuating that particular view of the world.

Coue pointed out that the process of suggestion and autosuggestion was a natural one that most people never became aware of.

For those who did become aware of it, however, it could be used to consciously and deliberately re-program the unconscious mind to automatically work in a way that better served the person's highest good.

There is much more to the story of Emile Coue, so watch for the subsequent articles that will be written on this man and his powerful findings in the realm of affirmations, suggestion and autosuggestion.