Affirmation · “The Subconscious Says Yes”
Directing the Subconscious
Give the subconscious a clear, single directive from a calm, deeply-poised state — so the conscious mind ‘touches’ the subconscious — and let it work the result out over time.
Settle into a calm, deeply-poised state — feel yourself “through and through,” not on the surface. Choose ONE clear thing. Picture it, feel its meaning, let the feeling sink into your whole system. Direct toward “more and more” of the good, never a fixed amount; build the wanted, ignore the unwanted. For urgent needs, put your whole energy into “I must.” Give it to the mind again each night before sleep. Expect results, allow time, don’t be over-anxious.
What it is
Larson’s core working method for the subconscious. Where Coué repeats one fixed verbal formula and Murphy uses drowsy pre-sleep impression, Larson’s signature is a law of contact: the subconscious only responds when the conscious mind touches it, and contact happens only in a calm, deeply-poised state in which you feel your own action “penetrating your entire interior system… not simply on the surface, but through and through.” His rule, verbatim: “The subconscious responds to the impressions, the suggestions, the desires, the expectations and the directions of the conscious mind, provided that the conscious touches the subconscious at the time.” The directive itself is given as a quiet, confident demand for steady increase (“more and more health,” “more and more power”), never for a fixed quantity, and never by attacking the unwanted thing.
The Method
- Get calm and deeply poised first. “At such times, the mind should be calm and in perfect poise.” Do not give directions “wrought up.” Settle until you can feel a “finer, greater something within you that has greater depth than mere surface existence.”
- Make the directive single and clear. “We must concentrate on the one thing wanted. If your mind scatters… you will confuse the subconscious.” Decide one thing.
- Picture it, then feel it sink in. For health: “first picture in your mind a clear idea of perfect health… try to feel the meaning of this idea… permit your thought and your attention to pass into that deep quiet, serene state… wherein you can feel the mental idea of wholeness and health entering into the very life of every atom in your system.” The pattern generalises: see it, feel its meaning, let the feeling penetrate.
- Direct toward increase, not a fixed amount. “If we want health, we should direct the subconscious to produce more and more health… In this manner, we shall secure results from the very beginning” — asking for a set amount invites “disappointment and delay.”
- Build the good; ignore the bad. “No effort should be made to destroy those qualities that we may not desire… simply proceed to build up what we want and forget completely what we wish to eliminate. When the good develops, the bad disappears.” (Crucial: “whatever we think about deeply or intensely, the subconscious will take up” — so don’t dwell on the fault.)
- Use the “must” for urgent matters. “When you need certain results, say that you must have them, and put your whole energy into the ‘must.’” Deep, urgent feeling reaches “the very depths of the subconscious.”
- Give it to the mind before sleep. For an ambition, “direct the subconscious several times each day and each night before you go to sleep, to work out the necessary ways and means.” “Be deeply calm before you go to sleep.”
- Allow time and don’t lose faith. “Some have remarkable results at once, while others secure no results for months… continue to give your directions every day, fully expecting results… but do not be over-anxious.”
Source & Lineage
Your Forces and How to Use Them (1912), Chapter V, “Training the Subconscious for Practical Results,” with the supporting law of “subjective thought” (deep feeling) from Chapter VI. Christian D. Larson (1874-1962). → (larson christian d).
Common refinements
Directing while anxious. The method is the calm. If you’re wrought up, the “contact” Larson describes won’t happen; settle first.
- Fighting the unwanted. Dwelling on the fault to “remove” it feeds it. Build the opposite.
- Asking for a fixed quantity. Direct toward steady increase; it starts working immediately and avoids the delay he warns of.
- Scattering across many wants. One directive at a time; multiple ambitions “confuse the subconscious.”
- Over-anxious checking. Give it time, expect results, then leave it alone.