1. Introduction to A1 Autosuggestion

Our actions, words and thoughts have the power to affect not only us but the people that we associate with. On one hand they can bring about positive change by inspiring and motivating both ourselves and others. On the other hand, when our actions, words and thoughts are inappropriate they can discourage, dismiss and harm others. Even though we may try our best and despite our best intentions and efforts, it is inevitable that at some point in our lives, we will be wrong and come up short.

These mistakes/shortcomings can be trivial, for example we may be late for work and realise with frustration that we forgot our car keys in the apartment after taking the elevator ten floors down. Sometimes, we make grave mistakes as well, such as making an error in judgement, which costs us a key client. Ultimately, every mistake causes stress and unpleasantness at some level. They can mar relationships, cost money, and waste time and energy.

We have our own ways of processing this unpleasantness. Many times, people want to get over mistakes quickly, so they may not spend much time contemplating about them. On the other hand, some of us try to reflect and learn from mistakes so we can reinvent ourselves and thrive in an effort to hone skills, rectify bad habits and improve ourselves overall. We may succeed to some extent but usually we find ourselves unable to change fully. This is because our incorrect actions, thoughts and emotions stem from impressions in our sub-conscious minds and to overcome them spiritual energy is needed.

Psychiatrists and self-improvement coaches have studied how people can change themselves in detail and a lot of research has been published on it. However, only a few of the research studies or information available on how people can change themselves address the impressions in our subconscious minds and that too at a superficial level. The reason we keep experiencing the same troubling situations over and over is that the negative impressions (in our subconscious minds) are not addressed/corrected so they keep adversely influencing our behaviour. For example, we get angry when we know intellectually that it is not helpful, we feel jealous of others even though we do not want to feel that way, or we keep coming late for work even though we know it displeases our boss.

Autosuggestions give the spiritual energy needed to nullify the negative impressions. As explained in the previous article in this series, ‘What is an Autosuggestion?’, Autosuggestions address our impressions in our subconscious mind, enabling us to make lasting positive changes to our personalities.

There are different types of Autosuggestions to address different situations. In this article, the A1 technique to address incorrect actions, thoughts and emotions is covered. In addition, the A1 Autosuggestion technique can be used to overcome addictions such as smoking, drinking, gambling, etc. and bad habits such as stammering, bedwetting, nail biting, etc. This is covered in more detail in Section 7.

2. Definition of the A1 Autosuggestion technique

The A1 Autosuggestion technique creates an awareness of all wrong thoughts, emotions and actions and enables us to control them by providing one’s mind with a corrective measure.

Its format is:

 

3. Application of the structure and format of the A1 Autosuggestion

An example illustrating how one can apply the A1 Autosuggestion technique is given below :

The mistake / shortcoming is that one felt lazy to wash the dishes and had left them in the sink overnight.

• Hence as per the format for an A1 Autosuggestion, the Autosuggestion would be – Whenever I feel lazy to wash dishes, I will become aware of it, and wash the dishes immediately.
• The Autosuggestion begins with ‘Whenever’ and then that part of the incident comes which is the actual trigger (here it is – ‘feeling lazy to wash the dishes’).
• Then, awareness is developed by saying “I will become aware of it”, followed by the corrective action (here it is – ‘and I will wash the dishes’).
• Depending on the personality type, we can vary the correct perspective slightly. For example, for some, adding immediately may help one to act promptly. On the other hand, for someone else it may bring some anxiety, so we can also avoid it.

4. How to decide when to select the A1 Autosuggestion technique

Let us see in which situations or types of mistakes A1 technique can be applied.

The A1 technique can be applied to all actions, thoughts and emotions that result in mistakes being committed by yourself.

Below, the meaning of incorrect actions, thoughts and emotions are given.

Please note that the above are not related to incorrect reactions. Incorrect reactions occur due to an external stimulus and the A1 technique is not used for them. In summary,

• An incorrect action, thought or emotion occurs when we are not reacting to an external event. If we have committed a wrong action or a wrong thought or emotion came to mind without an external stimulus, we would select the A1 technique.
• On the other hand, an incorrect reaction occurs when an incorrect thought, action or emotion occurs in relation to a person or a situation. For example, if someone is driving slowly in front of us and we feel impatient, then it would be an incorrect reaction. (For such reaction level mistakes and shortcoming refer to A2 Autosuggestion.)

So, we select the A1 technique when we are responsible for a mistake and it is due to an incorrect action, thought or emotion. The following flowchart shows visually how we would know when to select the A1 Autosuggestion technique to address a mistake.

Now, using the above flowchart, the following example shows us how to use it for A1 Auto-suggestions.

Mistake/Shortcoming : Due to being disorganised, forgot my passport at home and only realised it when I reached the airport. As a result, I could not board my international flight.

The first question we need to ask to determine the Autosuggestion type is – whose personality defect is primarily the cause of stress in the situation or who is responsible for the mistake. Here it is self as I forgot my passport.

The next question we would ask is ‘Was this mistake an incorrect action, thought or emotion or was it an incorrect reaction?’ Here it is an incorrect action.

So, based on the analysis, since this mistake is an incorrect action caused by self, an A1 Autosuggestion can be used.

The format for framing an A1 Autosuggestion is :

Incorrect action, thought or emotion + create awareness + controlling it by correct action

Autosuggestion : Whenever I am about to leave the house for the airport, I will become aware to check if I have my passport with me and I will leave the house only after taking the passport with me.

5. Examples of A1 type Autosuggestions

Some examples of A1 Autosuggestions are given below. They are grouped as Autosuggestions for incorrect actions, thoughts and emotions.

A1 Self Hypnosis Autosuggestions from SSRF Inc.

The above examples show how we can apply A1 type Autosuggestions in our day-to-day lives. Taking A1 Autosuggestions helps us to avoid incorrect actions, thoughts and emotions by increasing our awareness. The stages of awareness related to incorrect actions in particular are given in the next section.

6. Stages of awareness of incorrect actions

When we take A1 Autosuggestions for an incorrect action, we increase our level of awareness stepwise. The stages of awareness of incorrect actions that we move through by taking A1

Autosuggestions can be designed to take into account one’s level of awareness of the mistake:

1. Awareness after committing the incorrect action : At this stage we become aware that we made a mistake after the incorrect action has already occurred
2. Awareness during the incorrect action : Here, we understand that we are making a mistake as we are committing the incorrect action
3. Awareness before the mistake but being unable to stop it : At the next stage, we are aware that an incorrect action is going to occur before we commit it, but we are unable to stop it
4. Awareness before the mistake and being able to prevent it : In the final stage, we become aware that we are about to commit an incorrect action and we are able to stop ourselves

No matter what stage we are at regarding an incorrect action, by taking A1 Autosuggestions, we can move to progressively higher stages and eventually avoid making the mistake. Let us return to an example from the previous section to see how this could happen in practice :

Mistake/Shortcoming : I ate the last chocolate donut even though Jake had not had any and I knew he likes donuts.

1. At the first stage, you would realise the mistake after eating the donut.
2. At the second stage, you would become aware that you have made a mistake while you are eating the donut.
3. At the third stage, you would realise that it is a mistake to take the last slice of donut as you are taking it, but you would be unable to stop yourself.
4. At the final stage, you would realise before taking the last donut that it would be wrong to do so since Jake has not had any, and you would let him have the donut.

7. Applying the A1 Autosuggestion technique to overcome addictions and bad habits

7.1 Overcoming addictions using A1 type Autosuggestions

Incorrect actions include addictions and bad habits. This is why the A1 Autosuggestion technique can be used to overcome them, and explanation about how to do so is given ahead.

Most of us would know someone with an addiction. We feel helpless especially when we see a family member unable to extract himself from the addiction. Often, people who have an addiction are in denial about it, and even when they admit they have a problem, they are unable to overcome it and feel a loss of control. Unfortunately, current treatment methods have a notoriously poor success rate, with relapse rates for some drugs of abuse being over 90% (Smyth, 2010). By applying appropriate spiritual healing remedies and A1 Autosuggestions, the success rate of addiction treatment can improve significantly and a person with an addiction can overcome it.

Since addictions are incorrect actions, the Autosuggestion we would take changes depending on our level of awareness as given in section 5. Examples of Autosuggestions we could take to overcome smoking for each stage of awareness are given below.

1. Awareness after smoking : Whenever I smoke a cigarette, I will become aware of the negative effects of smoking.
2. Awareness while smoking : Whenever I am smoking a cigarette, I will become aware of the negative effects of smoking and I will stop smoking.
3. Awareness before smoking but being unable to stop it : Whenever I am about to smoke a cigarette, I will become aware of the negative effects of smoking and I will put the cigarette aside.
4. Awareness before smoking and being able to stop it : Whenever I get a desire to smoke a cigarette, I will become aware of the negative effects of smoking and I will be able to overcome my desire.

Anyone who is trying to stop smoking can assess what level of awareness they are at and take the corresponding Autosuggestion. As the level of awareness increases, the Autosuggestion can be changed. Autosuggestions for other addictions such as to alcohol, drugs, gambling, etc. can be framed in a similar way.

7.2 Overcoming stammering

Imagine yourself going for an interview. It is going better than you expected and you are answering all of the interviewer’s questions well. But then, your heart sinks as you realise that the interviewer is asking you a question which you have no way of answering properly. You try to answer, and as you do, you end up stammering just as you knew you would. With a feeling of despair, you realise that you may not get the job due to this one slipup.

Bad habits can be the source of a good deal of embarrassment and consume a person’s mental energy. As the above example illustrates, they can also have more drastic consequences such as hampering career growth. Many who suffer from such habits truly want to overcome them, however, they can be difficult to overcome with conscious effort alone. This is because people often act on bad habits without conscious awareness. For example, someone may bite their nails in response to stress and only realise it when they look at their nails later. Even if the person is aware that they are biting their nails, the subconscious urge to do so can be so powerful that it overpowers any conscious intention to discontinue the bad habit. The A1 Autosuggestion technique can be used to effectively overcome such bad habits. Bad habits are also incorrect actions, so Autosuggestions can be framed as per our level of awareness similar to how they were framed for addictions in section 7.1. Examples of Autosuggestions that can be taken for the bad habit of stammering are given below.

1. Awareness after stammering : Whenever I say “t-t-t” after speaking fast, I will become aware of it.
2. Awareness while stammering : Whenever I am saying “t-t-t” while speaking fast, I will become aware of it and I will be able to correct it. Then I will breathe in and speak properly.
3. Awareness before stammering but being unable to stop it : Whenever I am about to say “t-t-t” while speaking fast, I will become aware of the mistake that I am about to commit, and I will correct it.

In the case of stammering, there is no fourth stage of awareness because a person does not consciously get a thought that they will stammer. The text “speaking fast” can be changed depending on what causes stammering in a person. For example, if there is a particular sound that a person is unable to say without stammering such as the letter “b”, then that can be mentioned in the Autosuggestion.

Whether a person suffers from stammering or another bad habit, it can be overcome by framing Autosuggestions as above. We can assess how many stages of awareness are there for a bad habit and take Autosuggestions accordingly.

8. Conclusion

When we start correcting actions, thoughts and emotions, our relationships, interactions and demeanour changes for the better. As the US Navy Admiral, William H. McRaven, said, ‘If you want to change the world start off by making your bed.’ The A1 Autosuggestion technique helps to give the necessary positive stimulus to the mind to make the change. Thus, the mind starts getting purified and we experience positivity. We encourage you to implement it, so you can experience the benefits of a more positive personality first-hand.