The power of suggestion is one of the most interesting phenomena among the countless that occur in the human mind; it is defined as a psychic state in which a person experiences sensations and ideas that someone suggests or induces; at the same time, the person may also stop feeling those that are forbidden. It is implemented in the mind without being aware of it.
Does the concept of suggestion seem very old? In fact, it is proven that hypnotic techniques have been used for thousands of years in China, India, Greece, Mexico and many other cultures, some traces indicate that the Egyptian culture used a type of hypnosis very similar to today, more than 3000 years. At that time, the phenomenon was associated with a magical-religious experience.
- “Custom is nothing more than a product of suggestion.
- The clothes you wear.
- The manners and even the food you eat are suggestion products.
- -Swami Sivananda-.
Franz Antonio Mesmer, in the eighteenth century, was the first to try to find a rational explanation for this phenomenon, however, he combined scientific observations with chatter and this discredited him, and later it was Dr. James Braid who really made efforts. To give these phenomena a scientific status. Many scientists followed him and were able to explain hypnosis especially from the concept of unconsciousness.
Currently four types of suggestion are recognized: direct, hypnotic, indirect and self-suggestion, direct suggestion is that obtained by the authority exerted by a person over another subject of his subject, hypnotic suggestion is that obtained from a hypnotic trance, which can be achieved by different means.
Indirect suggestion, in turn, takes place when the ideas of others are incorporated as if they were their own and, finally, self-suggestion is what the individual exercises on himself, more or less deliberately. strive to incorporate an idea or feeling into your mind. Like when it’s cold and you force yourself to think “I’m not cold, I’m not cold” to convince myself of it.
There is also a subtype of self-suggestion. It’s voluntary self-suggestion. This happens when an individual inadvertently becomes convinced of an idea. Sometimes it’s an undesirable idea. For example, when a spot appears on a person’s skin and begins to think it’s serious, she doesn’t go to the doctor to prevent her reflex from being confirmed, but she’s sure she has a terrible illness.
The power of suggestion over our actions, and certainly on how we perceive reality, is extremely significant. Hypnotic suggestion has been used primarily for therapeutic purposes, but its effectiveness is limited. First, because not everyone is suggestive enough to be hypnotized, and secondly. , because progress in this state of semiconsciousness does not last for long.
Direct suggestion comes from individuals who manage to persuade others, including dangerous ideas. These people do not deal with people’s logical thinking, but with their emotions, particularly their fears and desires. In this way they get people willing to give in and get them to do whatever they want, it is a form of suggestion associated with power, but not necessarily to the great powers, it is possible to exercise this type of suggestion in a relationship, in a situation of purchase and sale and even by a head of state or a dictator.
Indirect suggestion is the most complex and difficult to detect. Does it originate in him? World of ideas? Floating over a society. Many institutions, even if they do not know it, build and promote it. This group includes religious beliefs. Like, for example, the existence of life after death. Many people together swear that this is true, although there is no evidence. to confirm this fact Some people even see it as a threat when someone tries to prove otherwise.
Autosuggestion, especially the involuntary one, is more present in our lives than we would like. Much of what we believe is nothing more than a set of beliefs, without much foundation. We do a lot of things because we’ve seen others do or just out of habit, but we don’t always stop to find out why. What is clear is that we have beliefs about ourselves and especially in general, but they could not support a more rigorous analysis. So we are, and so we are. we live with the power of suggestion.