{"id":21301,"date":"2024-03-15T13:36:33","date_gmt":"2024-03-15T12:36:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kennethsorensen.dk\/?p=21301"},"modified":"2026-05-11T16:29:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T15:29:12","slug":"suggestion-its-nature-and-laws","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kennethsorensen.dk\/en\/suggestion-its-nature-and-laws\/","title":{"rendered":"Suggestion: Its Nature And Laws"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Affirmations only work if you know the laws of suggestion. Assagioli on imagination’s quiet victory over willpower, and the self-observation that makes the difference.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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By Roberto Assagioli<\/strong>
Lecture VII of The Energies Latent in Us<\/em>, February 25, 1934. [i]<\/a>
Doc. #24061, Assagioli Archive, Florence.
Original title: La Suggestione: Sua Natura e Sue Leggi<\/em>
Translated and edited with notes by Jan Kuniholm [iii]<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Editorial Note<\/strong>
The abstract and contextual subtitle in this online edition have been added by the editor, Kenneth S\u00f8rensen, to support readability, navigation, and archival consistency. The original wording has not been altered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Abstract<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

This is Lecture VII of Assagioli’s 1934 series The Energies Latent in Us<\/em>, delivered February 25, 1934. He defines suggestion as the influence of one psyche upon another (or upon itself) that operates through the unconscious, and presents five psychological laws on which it rests. The most striking: when imagination and will conflict, the imagination always wins. Drawing on \u00c9mile Cou\u00e9 and Charles Baudouin, he treats suggestion as a method-neutral force, beneficial or malevolent depending on use. The lecture closes with the fundamental practice: self-observation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Last Sunday we talked about the inexhaustible treasures of latent energies in our plastic, not yet differentiated unconscious. Today we will begin to talk about the procedure by which those treasures can be used most effectively. It is a simple method; learning it requires far less time and effort than that of a language or a musical instrument, while its usefulness is incomparably greater.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the benefits it brings are widely known, and are appreciated at their proper value, its use will become an integral part of the education of every young person, and of every child as well. Indeed, it is not uncommon for children to achieve more rapid and surprising results than adults do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To use this method well, one must first have a clear idea of the nature and psychological laws on which its action is based. This method has various names, but the most popular designation, which has now become the standard one, is that of suggestion<\/em>. Words by themselves do not matter, they are like markers or labels: what matters is the meaning we attach to them. But we often have a vague, uncertain and inaccurate idea of the words we use, because we do not take the trouble to specify their meaning, that is, to think clearly and consciously<\/em>. Everyone believes they know how to think, but actually thinking is an art that must be learned<\/em>. We will talk about that perhaps on another occasion; in the meantime as of now I recommend a good book on this subject: The Art of Thinking <\/em>by Ernest Dimnet. [iv]<\/a> The author gives a series of excellent rules and wise advice in an easy, witty and persuasive form.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Besides not thinking accurately, we have the illusion that others use words in the same sense in which we use them, while in fact they often give them a very different meaning. Hence a long series of mistakes, misunderstandings, and vain, useless and unnecessary disputes. It is therefore appropriate to carefully define every important word that does not designate a concrete object, indicating to others in what sense we use it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n