Before Dr. Phil, There was Uncle Max!

Before Dr. Phil and Robin McGraw, before Anthony Robbins, before Deepak Chopra, and the rest of the psychological self-help gurus we have today, there was Dr. Maxwell Maltz. Dr. Maltz was a plastic surgeon, who removed scars and reconstructed faces damaged either in accidents or by birth defects. One thing Dr. Maltz noticed was that very often after he had performed successful surgery, the patient was not thrilled by their new appearance and could not see any difference from before they had the operation. Their unhappiness and insecurity was not cured, but remained to haunt them. This did not discourage Dr. Maltz at all- he was intrigued by this phenomenon, and began to study how the human mind worked. He combined his findings from counseling hundreds of his patients over the years of his practice with ideas from such diverse areas of study as hypnosis, missile guidance technology, the embryonic computer industry, and psychology to formulate his approach to helping people heal their psychological scars. His method was called "Psycho-Cybernetics".

One of the fundamental tenets of Psycho-Cybernetics is that the mind recalls both past failures and past successes. An internal mental mechanism which Dr. Maltz calls a "servo-mechanism" is programmed to "serve up" the menu of either past successes or past failures when the person is faced with a crisis, a significant life-choice, or a challenge. Successful people who achieve great things have servo-mechanisms that bring up the past successes, and these people then use these happy memories to build upon the past and achieve more success. Unsuccessful people, however, are "served up" a menu of past failures, which serves to demoralize and depress them into not believing in themselves and failing once again. Dr. Maltz believed that this servo-mechanism can be re-trained and "re-programmed" to enable formerly unsuccessful people to think and behave like achievers, break the cycle of failure, and bring about success in their lives. This is how it is done:

To use Psycho-Cybernetics to bring about fundamental personal change, the first thing that Dr. Maltz counseled people to do is to KNOW YOURSELF. Take a legal pad (because the sheets are large) and write down everything about yourself, good or bad. Take special care to list all of your past successes, no matter how trivial they may seem. This is very important- you are re-programming your mind, and will be building upon these past successes to create greater successes. Don't hate yourself for your failures and mistakes in life- you are human, just like everybody else. See yourself, "warts and all", through kind eyes. When you accept your weaknesses, you accept yourself as a total human being, with all the assets and liabilities. Fully aware of your limitations, plan your day optimistically, accepting your weaknesses, yet rising above them to your full potential strength. Forgive others who may have tormented you or "done you wrong" previously, and forgive yourself for making mistakes. Make peace with your mistakes and failures of the past- FORGET ABOUT THEM, and move on to your daily goals in the here and now. If there are people in your life who like to bring up your past mistakes to torment you, remove those people from your life at once. Forget the failures of yesterday, and the fears of tomorrow- they don't exist! All we have is the present. As Dr. Maltz, says: "You have been a mistake-maker; now, learn to be a mistake-breaker."

CONTROL YOUR THOUGHTS

Dr. Maltz knew that we are usually not in full control of our minds. This is often in direct conflict with our ego who likes to imagine all is under its control; however, we must get rid of this delusion if we are to make progress. One simple way of understanding this is to think about what happens when we try to focus on one thing and keep just that one thing in mind for an extended period of time. What usually happens? The mind gets bored. When we wish to focus our mind on something, we have to fight to keep it there. If we do not forcefully keep it "on a short leash", our mind will have the tendency to wander off to more exciting and alluring distractions. The good news is that we have some control over this process through various techniques of mental cultivation. The Yogic meditation technique of "watching the breath" is a good tool to bring your wandering consciousness back to a conscious focus, and is utilized in Psycho-Cybernetics. Next, we need to observe these mental processes in action. We have to be as aware of our intentions as we can be (i.e. know WHY we are about to do something), and then observe the consequences of the actions that follow.

Tune the "keynote" of your mind to the highest pitch possible. To understand the keynote, think of singing. When you are younger, your natural singing voice is usually in a higher key than when you are older. The point is to tune your mind's "vibrational frequency" to a higher "pitch" than you are used to. In other words, think positive thoughts of high character, and associate with those who do the same. Surround yourself with positive people who are striving to improve themselves and be their best, whose minds are on a higher keynote. When you are thinking higher thoughts, you naturally attract like-minded people. The same is true if you are thinking thoughts of a lower character. You attract drug users, criminals, slackers, violent abusers, and like-minded people of low character. The more people who are on the same frequency, the stronger their thoughts will be. This is why the thought-forms of both "Jesus" and "The Devil" are so powerful- so many minds believe in them!

When you maintain a positive strong mental attitude of confidence and determination and believe in yourself 100 percent, you are not likely to be affected by adverse and negative thoughts of discouragement and failure emanating from the minds of other persons in whom discouragement and failure predominate. At the same time, these negative thoughts, if they reach a person whose mental attitude is tuned to a low key, deepen the person's negative state, and add fuel to the fire which is consuming the person's strength, or smother the person's energy and activity. There have been times in my life when I lacked the energy to even get out of bed, due to my mental state. Negative thoughts can overwhelm a person, and cause them to "freeze up".

Here are some other ways of understanding the self-help process. The ancient Norse and Germanic peoples used an alphabet which today is referred to as the Runes. Think of the harsh conditions under which they lived, with the long, bitterly cold Winter bringing starvation and death to those who had not prepared by putting away enough of the food which was grown and gathered during the short Summer. One of the letters in their alphabet resembles two sticks being rubbed together to make a fire. This rune is called Nauthiz, the "need-rune". One of the basic lessons of Nauthiz is that when times get rough, you better "get going" and take action- rub those sticks together! Meditation on this lesson is one way I overcome any mental blocks that cause me to "freeze up" and do nothing.

In Eliphas Levi's Transcendental Magic, we find one of the earliest (if not the first) mentions of The Four Powers of the Sphinx, also known as The Four Powers of the Magus. The Third Power of the Sphinx (or Magus) - To Will - holds the key when it comes to incorporating these lessons into our actual practice. The force of the human will is an extraordinary thing. While it is not unlike electricity, in that it often follows the "path of least resistance", it has the amazing capability to go "against the current". This is not without some amount of inherent stress and discomfort for the "willer", but quite often, it produces results that are well worth the effort if done in the proper way. Remember- you possess the power to raise the keynote of your mind to a positive pitch by an effort of your will. The challenge is not to allow yourself to drop into a low, negative note by carelessness or a weak will.

I am finding no fault with those who are swayed by their lower selves. They are only human, and in a lower stage of personal evolution, and will work up to this in time. As Ram Das said in his book Be Here Now: "You can't rip the skin off the snake. The skin must be shed, bit by bit, in due time". For those who are ready to take the next step, hopefully you, if you have read this far, it is now time for the King or Queen inside of you to assert themselves and take their sovereign place upon the throne.

Psycho-Cybernetics also teaches us to cultivate an attitude of gratitude. Be thankful for what you have. Focus on what you do have, not on what you lack. Do you have a roof over your head, food in your stomach, and a bed to sleep in? If so, congratulations! You are richer than many innocent people in this world who have done no wrong, yet lack the basic necessities of life. What, you only drive a Volkswagen or a Civic, and not a Lexus or a Jaguar? There are many people who don't have a car at all. Be thankful that you have something in the garage, and treat it gently and reverently.

OVERCOME FEAR

Ironically, as a young medical student, Dr. Maltz was warned not to specialize in the brand-new (at the time) field of plastic surgery. His mother counseled him that he would never make a living; that his years of education and training would be for naught; and that he'd better find another specialty. Dr. Maltz, however, was fearless, and believed in himself. It took him a while to get his first patient, but once he had "broken the ice", his practice grew and prospered. His example teaches us to cut out fear and worry, and believe in ourselves. Fear is the cause of much unhappiness and many failures. There have been times in the past when I have been crippled and overcome by so much fear, I could not leave my house or my bed! But, listening to "Uncle Max's" kind voice emanating from my CD player gave me the courage to pull myself up out of the abyss of depression. When you are in that extreme state of Agoraphobia, nothing gets accomplished. Fear is a habit of mind which has been attached to us by negative thought, stemming from negative past experiences. Fear is the cause of Worry, Guilt, Hate, Jealousy, and Failure. When you erase Fear from your consciousness, you will find that the others have disappeared. The only way to be mentally free is to get rid of fear. Tear it out by the roots. Visualize fear as weeds, with their roots digging into your flesh. Name each fear, and then take your stronger hand and visualize yourself tearing each fear out by the roots-literally rip fear out of your body! I did this ritualistically, to the beat of a lone drum. I felt worn out, dehydrated, and emotionally exhausted. But, it was time well spent. I slept soundly, and felt much lighter and peaceful the next day.

The conquest of Fear is an important step to be taken by those who wish to turn their lives around by mastering their thoughts. So long as fear masters you, you are in no condition to be the master your mind. Get rid of this obstacle right now! If I can do it, you can do it - if you only go about it sincerely. When you have rid yourself of silly fears, life will seem entirely different to you - you will feel happier, freer, stronger, more positive, and will be more successful in every undertaking of Life.

Starting today, make up your mind that this unwelcome "squatter" must GO, and EVICT him! It will be hard at first, but each time you oppose fear, he will grow weaker, and you will be stronger. "Starve" him- Fear cannot live in an environment of Fearlessness. So, start to fill your mind with good, strong, Fearless thoughts - keep yourself busy thinking "Fearlessness", and Fear will die of his own accord. Think of our ancient ancestors, who were warriors, and imagine yourself as the leader of a warrior clan. Think of what President Franklin D. Roosevelt said at the time he took on the task of leading the nation out of the Great Depression: "The only thing we have to fear is Fear itself". Fearlessness is positive - Fear is negative, and you can bet that the positive will prevail, if you give it a fighting chance.

Stop thinking and using words like

· "but,"

· "if,"

· "I'm afraid,"

· "I can't,"

or you will not be able to use your mind to the best advantage. Think "Courage" all the way through, and you will be surprised to see how your changed mental attitude will remove obstacles from your path, and will make things much easier than you had expected. It takes hard work and mental training, but we may free ourselves from fear by individual effort and perseverance. This is where your list of past successes and accomplishments comes in- when you feel immobilized by fear and worry due to problems troubling you, get out that list, and read it out loud. Re-live every moment of every triumph. Give yourself a "boost", a shot in the arm against the virus of self-sabotage. Then, get back "in the game"- get into action and create solutions to your problems! You have been a slave long enough- now is the time to free yourself.

YOU MUST SET GOALS

Psycho-Cybernetics teaches us that it is not enough just to want "success" or to "be successful". You must have both a strong DESIRE to achieve a certain specific goal and a specific CHANNEL in mind through which to create success. Your mind, newly programmed as a "success mechanism" needs a goal to work towards, or it will fail. Mental leakage is that the habit of having no goals and of being distracted by every passing fancy. This is what my problem was: I did not have a specific, clear-cut Desire to be something. The phrase: "Jack of all trades, master of none" applied to me, as I could do almost anything I set my mind to doing.

We have discussed how Psycho-Cybernetics helps us to get rid of fear, that your desire may have full strength with which to work. Assuming that you are working on this, let's now move our attention to another important subject. That subject is goal-making. For most of my adult life, I had no real goals, other than to "be happy" or to score another bag of pot. As a young adult, I wanted to work as a Geneticist, until I became horrified by live-animal experiments that my class performed during my junior year of college. Then, I was "put off" by the whole lab environment, and drifted, partying and getting deeper and deeper into a mindless round of addiction. My friends were also "partiers", with no clue of what they wanted to do with their lives after graduation. Yes, I went through the motions and managed to graduate with a 3.25 GPA. But, upon graduation from college, I had no idea what I wanted to do, and my parents were pressuring me to get married and settled down, as they wanted to retire and move to another state. They were old-fashioned people- in their world, a woman went from their parental home to the home of her husband, with maybe a four-year stint in a college dorm along the way. Jobs were scarce in 1978, even for college graduates. I ended up teaching through doing substitute work. If you had asked me while I was in college which career path was the LEAST attractive to me, I would have told you "teaching". Yet, there I was, teaching High School Biology and Chemistry. I did that for four years, until I got tired of dealing with substandard working conditions; namely, an unheated classroom in the winter; and with a principal who was not consistent in enforcing discipline of students and in treatment of his subordinates. He was content to just sit in his heated and air conditioned office all day, and let the school run itself. To be a teacher was never my goal- it was something that I had "ended up" doing. Needless to say, I did not stay in the field of teaching, despite investing time and considerable money into obtaining my teacher certification, taking both undergraduate liberal arts classes and graduate courses in education. For most of my adult life, I drifted from job to job, especially after I became permanently disabled from a car accident in 1990.

THE LAW OF ATTRACTION

Dr. Maltz and others before him believed in the Law of Attraction, which reminds us that our thoughts are real things. They emanate from us in all directions. Your thoughts attract the thought of others, which have also been sent out, either conscious or unconsciously. However, your thoughts attract only those thoughts which are in harmony with it. Like attracts like, and opposites repel opposites, in the world of thought. Today, you are setting in motion thought currents which will attract other thoughts and people who are in harmony with what you are sending out, good or bad. . Your prevailing thought or mood determines that which is to be drawn toward you. If you set your mind to the keynote of courage, confidence, strength and success, you attract to yourself thoughts and people of like nature.

We instinctively feel the aura of failure hovering around certain "losers" that we know. Despite being a bright student, this was my aura during my early years, reinforced by both my classmates who taunted and teased me mercilessly, and a very domineering aunt who constantly belittled me. My parents would stand around in silence, smiling like dumb sheep as all this was going on, right in front of them, instead of taking action to protect me. "Just overlook it- turn the other cheek" they counseled me, in hopes that my aunt would leave her entire estate to me. This negative programming, hammered into me from the time I was a toddler, has been a life-long struggle to overcome. Through Psycho-Cybernetics and my metaphysical studies, I have managed to do so- I'm not perfect and I sometimes backslide a bit- but I have the tools now to turn my thinking around 360 degrees.

On the other hand, we recognize something about "winners" which leads them to say, when they hear of a temporary mishap befalling such a one: "Oh, he'll come out all right somehow - you can't keep him/her down. I have a friend who tells me "I've never seen anyone like you. You always land on your feet, like a cat." This is because I have cleaned up my Mental Atmosphere.

Thanks to Psycho-Cybernetics, I am no longer the ignorant object upon which the law operates- as I was in my childhood, teenage years, and early adulthood- bringing myself all sorts of trouble because of my ignorance of or opposition to the law. Ironically, my first exposure to Dr. Maltz's work was during a very brief foray, as a college student, into the world of Amway. Psycho-Cybernetics was one of the books my sponsor suggested that I read. However, it didn't take me long to grow disenchanted with the Amway culture and everything remotely associated with it. While cleaning house and talking out the trash, I threw away my copy of the book, which, when properly read and applied, could have transformed my life years ago. I didn't realize then that Dr. Maltz's book was a best-seller during the 1960's, and that he was in great demand as a motivational speaker throughout the 1960's and the early 1970's. Because of my ignorance of the principles of psycho-cybernetics and the law of attraction, I ended up attracting three very unworthy men who were my first three husbands- all three violent abusers of women and children, with substance abuse problems. I was a substance abuser for 31 years- I attracted men and "friends" who also were operating on that low plane. Plus, I didn't think that I deserved anyone better, having been a victim of abuse in my childhood. I am not telling you this to elicit sympathy from you, but to prove the point that we attract what we think we deserve. Get in touch with the operation of the Law of Attraction- get into its current, as it were - and Life will seem a far different thing to you. You cannot get outside of the law of attraction by refusing to have anything to do with it. You are at liberty to oppose it and produce all the friction you wish to - it doesn't effect the law, and you may keep it up until you learn your lesson, or until the end of your life. You can either be a person who makes life happen, or a person to whom life happens- the choice is yours.

Dr. Maxwell Maltz passed away in 1975, at the age of 76. Anne Maltz, his wife, has worked to keep his legacy going. Psycho-Cybernetics has grown in popularity since Dr. Maltz's death through the work of Mrs. Maltz, in conjunction with Dan Kennedy. Matt Furey, the award-winning body builder and martial arts expert, currently keeps the fire burning, and spreads the word about Psycho-Cybernetics and its rewards.