| Have you heard of Dr. Emile Coue, a French | | | | Today, a hundred years since the time Emile Coue |
| psychologist and pharmacist who lived in the early | | | | lived, modern scientists have discovered many |
| 1900s? He is, arguably, one of the fathers of the | | | | different proofs of the mind-body connection. There |
| self-help movement. His discovery (some would even | | | | is, as yet, no clear mechanism postulated for the |
| say invention) of autosuggestion made it possible for | | | | near-miraculous healings experienced by Coue's |
| many people to cure themselves of illnesses which | | | | patients. However, the placebo effect is known and |
| failed standard medical treatment. It is truly | | | | used in testing the effectiveness of new drugs. Top |
| unfortunate that the modern world prefers to | | | | sportsmen and sportswomen use mental imagery to |
| acknowledge his famous contemporary, Sigmund | | | | enhance their performance. Biofeedback, autogenics |
| Freud while relegating Dr. Coue to the shadows. | | | | and progressive muscle relaxation are all relatively |
| Emile Coue and Sigmund Freud lived in exciting times - | | | | modern techniques used to help over-stressed people |
| hypnotherapy had quite recently been discovered | | | | relax and gain relief from both mental as well as |
| and was slowly becoming accepted in medicine. Both | | | | physical strain. |
| men had access to the two leading medical | | | | With what we now know, the rationale offered by |
| hypnotists in all of France. Where Coue studied at | | | | Emile Coue one hundred years ago on the various |
| their feet, Freud studied *them*. | | | | phrases in his affirmation and the way to say it still |
| Autosuggestion was born when Emile Coue combined | | | | makes sense. His simple affirmation, recited without |
| his discovery of the placebo effect (it had no name | | | | strain when the person is usually at his or her most |
| at that point of time) and combined it with the | | | | relaxed mental and physical state, shoots straight into |
| medical hypnotism that he had learned. He discovered | | | | the subconscious mind and completely bypassing the |
| that the human mind had a greater influence over | | | | defences normally erected by the conscious mind. |
| the human body than had previously been suspected. | | | | In America, the self-help books written by Norman |
| He learned that where a physical cure failed, a | | | | Vincent Peale, Robert H. Schuller, and W. Clement |
| hypnotic cure could be effected. At least for a little | | | | Stone are still bestsellers. The works of these |
| while. Unfortunately, the patients tended to suffer a | | | | authors have helped a great many people to lead |
| relapse. | | | | better lives. What is not well-known is that these |
| However, when these patients added a special | | | | men were inspired by Emile Coue's discoveries. |
| affirmation to their regular habits, these cures | | | | One might wonder if the simple "Day by day..." |
| became permanent. Not only that, but many patients | | | | formula still holds any relevance today. After all, there |
| reported that other secondary illnesses miraculously | | | | are so many newer and more sophisticated |
| cleared up on their own. What was this special | | | | techniques available - NLP, Silva system, Sedona |
| affirmation? "Day by day, in every way, I am getting | | | | technique, EFT, 7th Path, etc. That is, indeed, a valid |
| better and better." This affirmation was recited 20 | | | | consideration. However, sometimes, for some people, |
| times every morning right after waking up and 20 | | | | there is still value in going back to basics. When |
| times every night right before going to bed. It was | | | | someone is forced to live a complicated life, having a |
| to be recited verbally, softly, with faith but without | | | | simple mechanical self-help technique available can be |
| force or effort. | | | | very helpful indeed. |