Do you recall when the
internet was brand new; few people ran online businesses, and everything to do
with it felt a bit sketchy? In the 1960s, self-help must've felt that way.
There have been books in this genre since the turn of the 20th century, but
they only really gained popularity in the late 80s and early 90s. The past
largely fell off the shelf in a way.
A couple of factors cause The Power of Your Subconscious Mind to stand out from the crowd. Its author, Joseph Murphy, was a well-known minister within the Church of Divine Science and its book found a place in both science and religion. It was a bit on the woo-woo side but struck just the right chord in the sixties, as a review of the best books on the subconscious mind indicates. Currently, millions of copies are in print of this book that teaches you how to manipulate your behavior to get the results you want.
Lesson 1: It allows you to take advantage of the placebo effect
Your imagination can
help you reach your subconscious, and you can use it to achieve the results you
desire. That is the central idea of the book. As long as you repeat those ideas
often enough, your mind will push you towards making those ideas a truth
without you even knowing it. In a nutshell, visualization describes the process
of visualizing you achieving a certain goal or outcome.
The placebo effect is the scientific idea behind this. Generally, a placebo is a pill with no biological or chemical effect and contains sugar. Regardless, patients might still benefit from stronger medications if they believe they are receiving them because of this belief. The effectiveness of this effect varies widely from individual to individual, so it is not hard science.
Read More - The Science Behind Think And Grow Rich Summary And Concepts
In Murphy's the subconscious mind book, an opera singer describes how he overcame stage fright using this technique. Since his patients would not get an infection, their mortality rates were lower. A recent example of this is actor Jim Carry, who used visuals to succeed professionally.
Lesson 2: When in doubt, sleep on it. It is often easier to make decisions after a good night's sleep
Sleeping on a difficult decision can help you overcome it if you have trouble making a decision. Murphy offered a woman a job on the other coast. Even though it paid twice her current salary, she wasn't sure if she should relocate across the country. She fell asleep during her evening meditation. She decided not to take the offer after her gut confirmed her initial doubts. The company filed for bankruptcy months later.
In hindsight, it is impossible to predict how things might have changed had she taken the job, but the basic premise holds. Our subconscious processes information faster than our conscious minds can. Hence, letting it work while you sleep can lead to better thinking and a more confident judgment the next day.
Three lessons 3: Wish others well. Envy won't help you
accomplish what you want
While your subconscious
can be very useful if steered in the right direction, it can also make you get
in your way. The story Murphy tells concerns a salesman who never felt
appreciated at work. He didn't rise in the ranks despite outperforming all his
colleagues. He suspected that his boss didn't like him. In response, he
subconsciously acted in a hostile manner. He received a promotion soon after
changing his attitude to wish his boss true success.
According to the
wealthy, you're less likely to attain something you desire if you secretly hate
others who have it. For instance, wealth. How will you manage your finances if
you think money is the source of all evil and that millionaires are crooks?
