One of the biggest discoveries in psychology came to us about 50 years ago.
Before this discovery we had self-esteem, self-respect, self-discipline, self-control, selflessness, selfishness, and so on.
But it wasn’t until Dr. Maxwell Maltz came around with his 30 million copy best-seller, Psycho-Cybernetics, that anyone heard of this thing called “Self-Image.”
What was THAT.
It’s the mental blueprint we have of ourselves; the way we see ourselves on the inside; the inner thermostat that controls how successful we’ll become in life.
People latched onto the teachings contained in Psycho-Cybernetics in a huge way – and success came to many who wanted to know how to get more living out of life.
I first read the book in 1987, when I began my business career as a personal fitness trainer. I read the book mostly to improve my business – but I quickly learned that the principles within did far more than help me sell. They gave me peace of mind, greater levels of energy, more confidence – and so on.
Some years ago, when I began the Psycho-Cybernetics coaching program, I was shocked when a student of meditation told me he had been taught that there is no “self.”
The idea struck me as odd, at first. But over time I came to understand what this student meant.
When you get to more advanced levels of visualization, when everything is in flow, when you don’t feel the negative pull of resistance upon you, when you think about something and it happens without effort, when you look into the eyes of another and see yourself – you have at least a partial concept of no self.
Yet, this feeling of “no self” was created through a process of deep breathing mixed with imagination, feeling and mental pictures.
Last summer, when my son, Frank, and I were visiting the island of Pu Tuo Shan in China, we stood outside the hotel doing a series of chi kung visualizations. There were a total of ten postures in the set I taught him – each with a different thing in nature to focus on and imagine.
At the end of the set I said, “So Frank, how do you feel.”
To my surprise he said: “Like I don’t even exist.”
Hmmm.
No self.
So, the question is: Self or No Self.
Answer: Yes.
We have a self-image. All of us have a mental picture of who we think we are. And this mental picture guides us to the level of success we experience.
At the same time, when you get yourself into that calm, peaceful, blissful state – you enter the “no self” state of mind.
You feel good for no particular reason. You haven’t even achieved the goal you’ve set yet. All you’ve done is imagine having done so. All you’ve done is recall positive memories from your past. All you’ve done is change the way you breathe.
And you’re already happy. You already have peace of mind.
Naaaah, couldn’t be.
Or could it.
There’s only one way to know for sure. Practice Psycho-Cybernetics on a daily basis. Make it a daily habit.
When you do you’ll get into a state of flow. Without resistance. Without the drag of negative emotion tugging at you.
You’ll feel totally alive. Totally connected. Totally self-less.
How’d you get there. By thinking upon this idea of a Big Self – your self-image – the mental picture you have of yourself.
Get yourself into this state of flow and success will chase after you – rather than the other way around.
Matt Furey
P.S. If you already own Psycho-Cybernetics – or want to move to the next level in the training – a level waaaaay beyond the book – then make sure you latch onto the Zero Resistance Living Course.
P.P.S. In the near future I will have an incredible video up for you to watch showcasing the most powerful way to crash through barriers and make a quantum leap forward in 2009. Stay tuned.
