Is anybody familiar with the Silva Method or Silva Mind Control? Has anybody taken the course?
Someone suggested I take it here in the states but I'm getting a weird vibe about the whole thing.
EDIT:
For those that are not familiar, here is the official Silva website:
Here is the original popular book from the 70's, The Silva Mind Control Method:
Impartial profile from the University of Viginia's website on religious groups:
[DLMURL] http://religiousmovements.lib.virginia.edu/nrms/silv.html [/DLMURL]
(a very interesting site, you can look up a profile on any religion or quasi-religion from Alcoholics Anonymous to Freemasonry to Moonies to Shamanism to Zen Buddhism)
From a skeptic viewpoint:
Keep in mind there are several offshoots or adapted systems as far as books, websites, courses, seminars, etc., that use Silva in the title or are based on Jose Silva's original method, however they are by someone else, a former colleague or a Silva relative.
RE: Silva Method or Silva Mind Control
Hi Island girl,
I took the weekend course a long time ago and it was the first thing in this whole area which I did. It is powerful stuff; the clincher for me was doing some remote diagnosis on someone I had never met!
Essentially, (in my opinion) it's a self hypnosis technique that is both quick and fairly simple.
I suggest you read the book before deciding: here's the link on Amazon.
I suspect that they've changed the name to the Silva Method because of the negative associations with the expression "Mind Control"
If your island is the IOW, I still have the course manual lying around somewhere - I could let you have it.
Hope this helps
All the best
Jonathan
RE: Silva Method or Silva Mind Control
Thanks for the offer but my "island" used to be Martha's Vineyard here in the US. I am now back in CT right outside of NYC.
The 2-day course is $500. Most weekend workshops around here are $250. Also Silva has a "money-back guarantee" and "life-time privileges". That seems weird to me. One practitioner I know went to take it years ago and they wouldn't let her go to the bathroom, mind over matter. She walked out. Another practitioner I know didn't even want to comment on her experience.
The main website and the local guy's website leave me with a strange feeling. Perhaps I'm picking up on the negative stigma that is attached to it. A minister at my church suggested I take it but he told me not to take it with anybody else except for this local guy.
I took the book out of the library that was written in the 70's. Haven't read it yet. The basic course is this weekend but the high price tag is keeping me away.
Thanks for the info!
RE: Silva Method or Silva Mind Control
Hi IslandGirl
I guess Martha's Voneyard is a bit far!!
On my workshop we were allowed bathroom breaks!
If you're getting any kind of bad feeling about it then I would suggest that you don't go. It's some 15 years since I went and things may have changed hugely since then.
Here's a failsafe way of testing your intuition....
Put Go and Don't Go on two pieces of paper; shuffle them and pick one randomly. Never mind what it actually says, your reaction to the one you have picked will tell you. For example if you pick "Go" and your body does a big "uh-oh" you'll know NOT to go; conversely, if your reaction is "phew!" then you'll know it's right!
All the best
RE: Silva Method or Silva Mind Control
I used to do the paper thing years ago. Once I picked the same one 11 times in a row! Well I just did it and I had a feeling that one would fly from my hands and that I should go with the one that remained in my hand which did happen and I went with the one in my hand. Before I opened it, I knew it would say "don't go". I'm content with that or "phew" and do not want to pick again so I will not be going! Perhaps I don't even need the Silva course!
Thanks!
RE: Silva Method or Silva Mind Control
Ooh I've never heard of it before. What is it generally? Sounds interesting..
RE: Silva Method or Silva Mind Control
Since you're American, you know who Doc Severinsen is (Johnny Carson's bandleader). He took Silva and it enabled him to reconcile with his girlfriend, whom he later married and they've been married about 25 years. So I know it's powerful. However, that was in 1979. The problem with some of these therapies and processes is that they keep changing them to keep people coming back and they lose their original effectiveness. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it!"
I believe the process used biofeedback to keep you in the Zone. You can do that with meditation.
RE: Silva Method or Silva Mind Control
Well...Some of my friend recommen it to me and I read about it (just little) and view the course content...I found its an amazing one, the BLS (basic level) here it is:
The BLS Program
Learn to live life at your level
what you will learn:
Alpha Functioning
Learn to function at the alpha brain wave level and experience the power of using both brain hemispheres instead of just one.
Discover ways to use Alpha tools in your school classes, while studying, and when taking tests. Dramatically increase your grades.
Positive Thinking
Learn to develop and maintain a positive mental attitude.
You will discover how to generate Positive states and attitudes that become a natural part of your personality, Positive Being rather than just positive thinking.
Relaxation:
Learn relaxation techniques to relieve tension and stress, keeping you healthier and more productive than you have ever been before.
Sleep Control:
Learn an effective technique for entering deep healthy sleep without the help of drugs. Eliminate insomnia and restless nights by using your brain's natural functions to make it easier to get to sleep, and wake up feeling completely refreshed and rested.
To Awake Control:
Learn to awake naturally without an alarm clock by using your internal time sensing mechanism.
Awake Control:
Learn how to give yourself a "boost" of energy, to stay awake and alert longer when necessary.
Dream Control:
Learn to remember dreams and tap into their information to solve problems.
Learn techniques that can help you find positive solutions to problems.
Use your dream states while you sleep to tap into your inner conscious in a highly creative way.
Headache Control:
Through headache control, you will learn to relieve tension and migraine headaches without the use drugs.
Gain freedom from suffering, and eliminate headaches caused by daily pressure and anxiety. This technique is also successfully adapted for relief from migraine headaches.
Mental Screen:
Set and achieve your goals effectively and efficiently.
Memory Pegs
Memory Pegs will help you to improve visualization, imagination and memory.
Increasing your memory and concentration is easy when you learn to
Enhance your visualization skills. Improved memory can have very positive effects in many areas of your personal and professional life.
Mirror of the Mind
Learn to program yourself for success.
Trigger Mechanisms:
You will learn techniques that harness and direct powerful inner
conscious
processes to help bring about dsired results in areas of self-control,
health, sports, self-motivation, confidence, positive changes in
personality, and more.
Hand Levitation
Learn to enter the theta brain wave level so you can correct problems that reside at these deep levels.
Glove Anesthesia
Learn to control pain and speed healing.
Access deep levels to learn to gain freedom from pain. These techniques have been successfully used for pain control in clinics and hospitals.
Decision Making:
Confident decision-making requires the feeling that you have enough information to ensure a positive outcome. You will learn how to use levels of mind where you have access to information both Logical and Intuitive. This increases the likelihood of making a good decision and solidifies ideas into good workable solutions.
Weight and Habit Control
Learn to get rid of bad habits, replacing them with new good habits.
Attain control of your "urge" mechanism. With this control, you can develop behavior that leads to healthy weight and self-image.
Control of Dependencies such as smoking and other habits: Learn one of
the most successful techniques available for getting assistance from your inner conscious to help you eliminate unwanted habits and gain mastery of your
life.
Develop your intuition
Learn to develop your intuition.
Creative Development:
Creativity and Intuition are considered by experts to be among the
high
RE: Silva Method or Silva Mind Control
Chiquita,
I edited my original post to contain informative websites. In short, the book or course teaches you how to tap into your higher mind, to go beyond the logical, lower mind, by using meditation, visualization and positive thinking. Wayne Dyer and Shakti Gawain supposedly studied the method. You learn techniques to create synchronicity, connect with spirit guides, do a distant scan or diagnosis like what a medical intuitive does, accelerate healing, improve memory, cultivate psychic skills, problem solve, etc. It claims not to be a religion and is based on scientific research, right and left brain theory, however there is a mentioning of christ consciousness and that sort of thing, aligning yourself with your god-like self, your higher purpose or life mission.
RE: Silva Method or Silva Mind Control
It seems meditation does the same thing. Connects you to the Source.
RE: Silva Method or Silva Mind Control
Thanks Islandgirl, I will check out those sites you've offered out of curiosity but truth be told, like you I get a strange vibe off about the topic, like its not 'all that' and from the program that Healer has so kindly posted I'm very wary of all that it promises, sounds like a heavy sales pitch the way they've set it out. I feel all those things are a matter of self discipline, and can be achieved yourself by living life correctly by being intune with yourself. It feels they are preying on our desires to want to better ourselves and making it very appealing in a quick fix sort of way. Feels like those 'you can be a millionaire too!' finance courses on tv. But very interesting none the less! 😉
RE: Silva Method or Silva Mind Control
ooh just saw your reply Nopatterns, sorry to have missed it. Actually I'm from Australia, just figured out how to put that on, but i have heard of Doc Severin! I just checked out a couple of the websites you kindly put up Islandgirl and I don't find anything wrong with the method, it has been quite carefully put together and obviously with much research and work behind it. I did however cross a bit that didn't win too many brownie points with me,
At the core of the course are some of Jose Silva's basic guidelines for success. Participants must desire, believe and expect the event to take place or it may not. They must also avoid "creating a problem."15 That is, Silva testifies that the mind power he teaches cannot be used for malevolent purposes.
I think its the word 'must' that irks me. It's like you can ... 'but' there are some rules. To me something like what they are preposing should be offered in way of help and guidance. If feels like they are offering training in a dangerous weapon rather than helping people better themselves in their lives. At the same time though I think its a greatly structured course with a lot of support for sincere people who may genuinely require guidance in this kind of thing. I can see though a dangerous edge of 'cult' type mentality emerging which one of the sites discusses as well though they steer away from it, I can understand why they are fearful of falling into that category. I think I'm more with Nopatterns in leaning more towards developing meditation, and to how it is right for you not how someone tells you to.
P.S Great topic Islandgirl its amazing what's out there to discuss! 😉
Love and light to all!
I love the Silva Techniques. My first course was the silva method (6 years ago), and then took Silva Ultramind (the latest work from Silva before his passing, and is my recommend one).
The only thing that i can recommend is to receive the training from a certified instructor (you can find a course near your area at silvainstructors.com or download the complete 2 days seminar at ultramindhomeseminar.com).
Better and Better!
there is going to be a LIVE webcast tomorrow featuring the Silva Method and techniques on Mind Control - if anyone is interested they can check it here: