Silva Mind Control
Silva Mind Control – The History
Silva Mind Control is a self-help program now known as the Silva Method. José Silva was the creator of the program; he was an electronic repairman with no formal education in the areas of psychology or religion.
Silva developed a taste for parapsychology and religion after undergoing a mandatory psychiatric examination upon entering the service. He began devouring literature in these areas. Silva started employing certain methods in an attempt to increase the I.Q.’s of his own children.
One day while quizzing his daughter Isabel during a study period, he noticed that she was answering the questions he was preparing to ask before he phrased them. These results that he observed in his daughter Isabel led Silva to believe that he had developed clairvoyance in her. This became a turning point in his life.
José Silva shifted all his attention and energy in this new venture. For ten years, with the help of 39 volunteers which he drafted from among his friends and family, Silva sought to develop clairvoyance in his subjects. Silva called his new program psycho orientology or “subjective education.” Silva defined subjective education simply as, “educating the mind to function consciously within its own psychic dimension.”
In 1963, the Laredo Parapsychology Foundation was established. In three more years, Silva went public with his 48-hour Silva Mind Control Course. Silva’s program purports to teach adherents to increase their I.Q.’s, develop clairvoyance, use the mind to find God -- tap into their “Christ consciousness” -- and heal the body. Silva’s followers claim that the program has enabled them to be healthier and happier. Some claim increased skill in sports and victory over the classics -- obesity and smoking. Silva International extends to 107 countries. The 48-hour weekend program costs students $350.00 and has been presented in 29 languages.
Silva Mind Control – How does it work?
Silva Mind Control bases its methodology on the split-brain work of Roger Sperry and others. José Silva expanded upon the highly controversial right brain/left brain premise. The split-brain theory teaches that thinking with the right brain is to be cultivated. It is apparently done by only 10% of the population.
Left brain thinking, it is believed in this theory, is the cause for most personal and world problems. Left brain thinking makes use only of objective, intellectual, and logical means to correct problems. Right brain thinking connects an individual to a “higher intelligence” which enables them to receive the guidance they need. The right brain enables an individual to access the subconscious by converting it to an inner consciousness thus making available the information stored there. Right brain thinkers are able to solve world problems because they become in tuned to all the information on the planet -- this is done by intuition or ESP.
According to Silva, the attainment of ESP abilities begins with simple visualization and projection techniques which evolve into a paranormal level. Silva believed that left brainers were functioning at beta wave levels while right brainers function at alpha wave levels. These functioning at alpha levels are the world’s geniuses. Silva taught that through hypnosis and various forms of relaxation, brain wave frequency could be slowed enough to help subjects attain a prolonged alpha state. Stimulation of the right brain enhances I.Q. and develops clairvoyance since alpha brain waves are connected with the right brain’s subjective and intuitive processes. This is based on the science of alphagenics.
Silva Mind Control – The Dangers
Silva Mind Control or the Silva Method espouses beliefs and teachings that point its subjects towards the goal of bettering humanity. Its methodology includes positive thinking, visualization, meditation, and self-hypnosis. José Silva taught that through right brain thinking individuals could connect with a “higher intelligence” or what he termed “Christ consciousness.”
Despite his use of the name “Christ” here, Silva’s teachings emphasize powers within the self. His 48-hour Silva Basic Lecture Series stresses self-developed power to manage stress, dreams, memory, and negative habits. Through the use of visualization and meditation, subjects can accelerate physical healing and solve problems. It is rightly deemed a self-help program -- the emphasis on self!
People are strongly cautioned to consider a danger with Silva Mind Control -- the emphasis on “looking inward” and tapping into the self and subconscious. The Bible lets us know that God is the source of help; we are not. “It is not that we think we can do anything of lasting value by ourselves. Our only power and success come from God” (2 Corinthians 3:5).
Everything that we need in life can be found in God. He is our ability to do right and succeed; He is our wisdom to solve problems. “God alone made it possible for you to be in Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made Christ to be wisdom itself. He is the one who made us acceptable to God. He made us pure and holy, and he gave himself to purchase our freedom” (1 Corinthians 1:30).
What is your response?
