The Teaching of Hazrat Inayat Khan      

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Volume

Sayings

Social Gathekas

Religious Gathekas

The Message Papers

The Healing Papers

Vol. 1, The Way of Illumination

Vol. 1, The Inner Life

Vol. 1, The Soul, Whence And Whither?

Vol. 1, The Purpose of Life

Vol. 2, The Mysticism of Sound and Music

Vol. 2, The Mysticism of Sound

Vol. 2, Cosmic Language

Vol. 2, The Power of the Word

Vol. 3, Education

Vol. 3, Life's Creative Forces: Rasa Shastra

Vol. 3, Character and Personality

Vol. 4, Healing And The Mind World

Vol. 4, Mental Purification

Vol. 4, The Mind-World

Vol. 5, A Sufi Message Of Spiritual Liberty

Vol. 5, Aqibat, Life After Death

Vol. 5, The Phenomenon of the Soul

Vol. 5, Love, Human and Divine

Vol. 5, Pearls from the Ocean Unseen

Vol. 5, Metaphysics, The Experience of the Soul Through the Different Planes of Existence

Vol. 6, The Alchemy of Happiness

Vol. 7, In an Eastern Rose Garden

Vol. 8, Health and Order of Body and Mind

Vol. 8, The Privilege of Being Human

Vol. 8a, Sufi Teachings

Vol. 9, The Unity of Religious Ideals

Vol. 10, Sufi Mysticism

Vol. 10, The Path of Initiation and Discipleship

Vol. 10, Sufi Poetry

Vol. 10, Art: Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

Vol. 10, The Problem of the Day

Vol. 11, Philosophy

Vol. 11, Psychology

Vol. 11, Mysticism in Life

Vol. 12, The Vision of God and Man

Vol. 12, Confessions: Autobiographical Essays of Hazat Inayat Khan

Vol. 12, Four Plays

Vol. 13, Gathas

Vol. 14, The Smiling Forehead

By Date

THE SUPPLEMENTARY PAPERS

Heading

1. Science and Psychology

2. Suggestion

3. Suggestions Through Impression and Belief

4. Suggestion through Various forms of Impression

5. Suggestion by Word and Voice

6. Suggestion by Movement

7. Suggestion in Practice

8. Attitude

9. Magnetism

10. Physical Magnetism

11. The Magnetism of the Mind

12. The Magnetism of the Heart

13. The Magnetism of the Soul

14. Spiritual Magnetism

15. Psychology, the Master of Mind

16. Twin Souls

17. Nature and Character

Sub-Heading

-ALL-

Four Kinds

Auto-suggestion

Suggestions to Others

Suggestions to Lower Creatures

Suggestions to Objects

Vol. 11, Psychology

7. Suggestion in Practice

Four Kinds

  • The first is the suggestion that is made to oneself, which is called autosuggestion;
  • the second is the suggestion that is made to another person;
  • the third is the suggestion that is made to the lower creatures;
  • and the fourth, which is little known to the scientific world but which has always been understood by the mystics, is the suggestion that is made to an object.

    Auto-suggestion

    Auto-suggestion is something by which one helps oneself to be encouraged or to be discouraged, to be well or to be ill, to go down or to rise, to be happy or to be unhappy. There are two kinds of auto-suggestion: the kind that one intentionally, consciously, makes to oneself and upon which the whole mystical training is based; and the suggestion that one makes to oneself automatically, knowing neither its nature nor its results. The latter kind of suggestion is made by everyone to himself without knowing whether it is to his advantage or to his disadvantage; by it many go downhill and very few uphill. There are many who without knowing it are in love with misfortune. They will say outwardly, "I hate it. I don't want it. I don't want to be ill. I don't want to be unfortunate," yet at the same time unconsciously they continually suggest the contrary to themselves by thinking, "I am so ill, I am so unfortunate, I am so stupid, I am so weak."

    Suggestions to Others

    There are also two kinds of suggestions that one makes to others. One suggestion is that which one makes to another person to help him to be cured of an illness, or to help him to improve his life or his character. And the other is the suggestion one makes out of foolishness or out of ignorance of its effect. For instance someone says in fun to a friend, "I will shoot you today." It is a joke, but he does not know what effect that joke can have upon his friend. One easily says by way of a joke, "You will go bankrupt if you do so, if you go on spending like this," or, "Do you wish to die? You will surely have an accident." One simply says it, not realizing what effect it could have, sooner or later, upon the other. Sometimes in order to show one's friendship a person says, "But how weak you look! You are very run down. You can't be feeling well!" These suggestions often make a person ill.

    Suggestions to Lower Creatures

    Then there is the suggestion that one makes to the lower creation. All pet animals such as dogs and cats and horses receive suggestion readily and act upon it. This shows that it is not true, as many say, that the lower creatures have no mind; they not only have a mind but they have a heart too, and very often it is more apparent and more alive than in so-called human beings.

    Suggestions to Objects

    And the fourth kind of suggestion is the suggestion that one makes to an object. In this age of materialism this is not understood by most people, but from a mystical point of view it is very often as effective and wonderful as any other suggestion I have mentioned. In ancient times a hero, before going to war, used to take his sword in his hand and speak words of friendship to it from the bottom of his heart. He would say, "I have taken you in my hand so that you will be my support, my protection, and my friend on the battlefield. All else I leave at home, but you I take along with me, my friend, my beloved sword.'

    A musician in India, before playing on his vina, used to greet his instrument saying, "You are my life, you are my inspiration, you are the means of elevation for my soul; I greet you humbly. You will stand by me when I play." No one can know of its effect except the one who has spoken these words; he knows what life he has put into the object. That instrument which was an object has turned into a living being.

    All manner of practices such as invoking sacred names, repeating spiritual chants in a new house, are suggestion and affect even objects. However foolish it may look from the outside, still the fact remains that all things and beings represent life, the one life, although some are more open to suggestion and feeling, and others seemingly less open. But even the latter are also open to suggestion; it is we who are not open to see them receive it. Rumi says in the Masnavi that fire, water, air, and earth are all as dead things to us, but before God they stand as living beings, as His obedient servants. The man who knows this mystery knows a wonderful law of nature. As soon as a soul is awakened to this mystery life begins to reveal itself, and the soul begins to communicate with life.