Suggestion

What is suggestion?  And is it by definition immoral and evil?

Tackling the second question first, of itself suggestion is not wrong.  Is electricity wrong?  Of course not!  But can it be used for evil purposes?  Yes, of course it can.  And just like electricity, suggestion is a natural force which can be used for good or evil.

Suggestion can be anything that bypasses the "censor" most of us have to stop us being unduly influenced.  It then affects our emotional side, often resurfacing as an original idea we have just had.

It can be deliberate or accidental.  And it need not even be caused directly by a person.  A piece of music, a hint of perfume, a flash of colour - all these and many more can have suggestive influence.

It can also be directed inwardly, as in auto-suggestion or self-hypnosis.

Everything around us is capable of suggestive influence.  When you listen to a piece of beautiful music you can find your mood changes and you may become more capable of achieving your goals.  You can also create suggestion around you in your own environment.  For example, when I had to study and work at home I designated one room as my study and office.  I never did my study or work outside of that room and once in the room I never did anything except study and work.  It did not take too long for the room itself to become a very powerful suggestion.  The moment I entered it I was immediately in the right mood for work.  Also, the moment I stepped outside I could feel I had left my work behind and was able to relax completely even if there was unfinished work to be done.  Once you are aware of this it is much easier to guard yourself against undesirable suggestive influence, and also to create the right suggestive influences to help you achieve whatever it is you want to achieve.

Suggestion works much better if it is very repetitive.  The first time we sense a suggestion our censor will often block it completely, recognizing it as an outside influence which may be undesirable.  The second time it may still be blocked, but our censor is slightly more relaxed about it, now recognizing it as something a little familiar.  By the third time it is likely our censor will relax completely, believing that this completely familiar suggestion is something from within.

It also needs to be clear, not giving mixed messages.  For example, if you are using music to get you in the right mood to achieve something you might want to pay careful attention to the lyrics if there are any.  If those lyrics are not aligned with that mood you want, then maybe you had better choose something else!  If you are using auto-suggestion to achieve a goal, again make sure it cannot be misunderstood when it bypasses your internal censor.  For example, if you are trying to become better at remembering people's names, you should not try using an auto-suggestion such as "I will not forget people's names", as the suggestion that gets through is talking about forgetting names - the very thing you want to counter!  Instead, it is much better to say "I always remember people's names" - that is a much more powerful suggestion which is clear and is properly aligned to what you want to achieve!

So much for auto-suggestion, but what about influencing others through suggestion?  Is this the right thing to do or is it immoral as so many people seem to believe?  Well, I come back to my point that everything is capable of suggestive influence.  So whether or not you wish to do so you are actually influencing those around you all the time.  Even those who believe it is wrong to influence others are still doing so all the time.  You should use this knowledge to improve the way you are influencing people - to ensure you are a positive influence rather than a negative one.  Make sure the messages you give encourage others to be better people.  And NEVER send out messages like "you will never amount to anything!" or "you are such a bad child!" - if these are the messages you send they will easily become self-fulfilling prophecies.