I attempted to illustrate the relationship between the hypoconscious and the conscious brain activity, and thus to explain the action of suggestion, by means of the following examples in my book on the sexual question.1

I am thinking of my wife. This thought calls forth another of a journey which I am about to make with her in a week's time, and the idea of the journey again leads to a third thought at once - of the box which has been chosen for the purpose. With almost lightning rapidity three ideas follow one another in consequence: (1) My wife; (2) the journey; and (3) the box chosen for the journey. Apparently, and also according to scholastic teaching, the idea of the journey is awakened by the idea of my wife, who is to go with me, and the idea of the box is awakened by the idea of the journey, and is so produced. But it soon becomes apparent that the sequence of our conscious ideas cannot be explained in such a simple manner, since a number of ideas crop up which do not stand in any logical connection with those mentioned, or which cannot possibly be caused by them nor by any external perceptions of the senses. One has accepted, from the want of knowledge of our brain and of its activity, that we possess a mind which can soar freely, and also a free will, both of which are supposed to follow an existence of their own, and to govern our mental lives independently of the law of causation. This assumption, however, depends on want of knowledge. But let us return to our example-Why does the idea of my wife recall just that of the journey ? It might just as well have awakened (ecphorized) another thought. In reality, a large number of other hypoconceived ideas - i.e., of hypoconceived activities of my cerebrum - act on the production of the idea "journey." I had intended to go on this journey previous to this time of thinking about it, and this intention had left behind it hypoconceived slumbering impressions in my brain (engrains), such as the date of starting, the length of the journey, the object and the destination of the journey, the arrangements for the household while we are both away, the things which we are taking with us, the cost of the journey, and so on. During the extremely short space of time, in which the idea "journey" appears between the ideas "wife" and "box" in my brain, all these things cannot enter into my consciousness. They stand, nevertheless, in so-called associative connection with these ideas - that is, are linked by a thousand threads of a latent hypoconceived brain dynamic in the brain cells and fibers to the idea " journey." For this reason, they call the idea before the conceived field of the attention, but at the same time muffle the intensity of the pure conception of the journey by its various kinds of interlacing, and thus prevent all the possible, more direct impressions and ideas in connection with the journey from being recognized more powerfully in themselves. That which appeared so rapidly in my consciousness is the hazy general conception of my journey pictured by the word "journey." By means of speech, with its words, I am able to condense the complicated general ideas in such an abbreviated definite form. This flash of the brain "journey" which followed the idea of my wife was not actually caused by this idea alone. It was brought into the light of the superconsciousness chiefly by numerous hypoconceived threads, and at the same time its quality was definitely settled. These hypoconceived threads determine at the same time the particular kind of the following ideas of the chosen box, which are apparently alone produced by the jdea "journey," although I know nothing of it. The idea "journey" might just as well have called forth other thoughts, such as the acquaintances whom I may meet, the town to which I am going, etc. But why should it be the box? Because the choice of the things to bo taken, with the space which they will occupy, etc., exercised my mind very intensely, and suppressed for the moment all the other associations.

1 Forel, "The Sexual Question." (Rebman Company, New York.)

We can see by this simple little example that the three conceptions, "wife," "journey," and "box," are scarcely able to govern each other causally, although they follow each other in point of time in my consciousness; but all three are produced under the influence of hypoconceived feelings, conceptions, and former resolutions, which in their turn were caused by very complicated preceding manifold activities of my brain.

I shall attempt to make the matter more concrete and more comprehensible by means of a comparison. Suppose a person is standing in a moving, dense crowd. He calls out something very loudly to attract the attention of the mass to himself. His voice is heard in the immediate neighborhood, but dies away without producing any further effect farther afield in the excited crowd. This person is carried by the throng against his will in the direction toward which the chief faction of the mass is moving. He resists in vain. But if the crowd were to stand still and be quiet, the same individual might be able to gain a hearing, might perhaps be able to wend his way through the mass, and might possibly be able partly or wholly to carry the people with him by the influence of his words and voice. The same may be applied to the influence of an individual conception, according to whether it is produced in a markedly associated brain in the condition of active wakefulness, or in a brain in a resting, dosing condition. The markedly associated, actively awake brain is likened to the excited crowd, which carries everything with it in its rush. The individual conceptions, compared with the individual person, can shout to their heart's content - that is, may come forward ever so intensely. If they have not previously gained a powerful hold over the mass (the brain), which can be reawakened by memory, and in this way strengthened in their action, they will be carried along with it - that is, their own individual action will be suffocated. The resting or even dosing brain - i.e., the weakly associated or inactive brain - may be compared to the quiet crowd. A conception in this case, even if it is new, and does not yet possess any roots in the memory, may influence more deeply, may forge a new path for itself, and may give rise to particular movements in this direction. But if it has previously repeatedly carried the crowd with it - that is, the collected, associated brain activities - and if the crowd has got accustomed to follow it, it may possibly be able to gain a hearing in the midst of the excitement.