gestion enters the mind without the active
aid of the "ego," it remains outside the borders of the personal
consciousness. All further effects of the suggestion, therefore, take
place without the control of the "ego."

By the term suggestion we do not usually understand the effect upon the
mind of the totality of external stimuli, but the influence of person
upon person which takes place through passive perception and is
therefore independent of the activity of the personal consciousness.
Suggestion is, moreover, to be distinguished from the other type of
influences operating through mental processes of attention and the
participation of the personal consciousness, which result in logical
convictions and the development of definite points of view.

Lowenfeld emphasized a distinction between the actual process of
"suggesting" and its result, which one simply calls "suggestion." It is
self-evident that these are two different processes, which should not be
mistaken for each other. A more adequate definition might be accepted,
which embraces at once the characteristic manner of the "suggesting,"
and the result of its activity.

Therefore for suggestion it is not alone the process itself that is
characteristic, or the kind of psychic influence, but also the result
of this reaction. For that reason I do not understand under "suggesting"
alone a definite sort and manner of influence upon man but at the same
time the eventual result of it; and under "suggestion" not only a
definite psychical result but to a certain degree also the manner in
which this result was obtained.

An essential element of the concept of suggestion is, first of all, a
pronounced directness of action. Whether a suggestion takes place
through words or through attitudes, impressions, or acts, whether it is
a case of a verbal or of a concrete suggestion, makes no difference here
so long as its effect is never obtained through logical conviction. On
the other hand, the suggestion is always immediately directed to the
mind by evading the personal consciousness, or at least without previous
recasting by the "ego" of the subject. This process represents a real
infection of ideas, feelings, emotions, or other psychophysical states.

In the same manner there arise somewhat similar mental states known as
auto-suggestion. These do not require an external influence for their
appearance but originate immediately in the mind itself. Such is the
case, for instance