Mental Reprogramming

May 14, 2005 9:35 AM

I'm bored that I default to seeing problems, decisions and my life in general in a linear way. How can I reprogram my mind, and to do what?
posted by forallmankind to education (21 comments total)

Read this book.
posted by randomstriker at 10:36 AM on May 14, 2005

I say this with sincerity: drugs.
posted by Mean Mr. Bucket at 10:41 AM on May 14, 2005

Take a silent retreat.
posted by ontic at 11:15 AM on May 14, 2005

Is this the kind of thing neuro-linguistic programming is supposed to help?
posted by bachelor#3 at 11:23 AM on May 14, 2005

There are a lot of things you could do:

1. Do volunteer work with people who are worse off than you (the indigent, people with AIDS, etc).

2. Move, preferably to a country where they speak a different language.

3. Take up some activity that you've always been curious about.

Drugs would probably work, at least temporarily, although I'm disinclined to recommend them.
posted by adamrice at 11:24 AM on May 14, 2005

i second drugs
posted by foraneagle2 at 11:48 AM on May 14, 2005

Your question is not very clear. Could you elaborate?

"Drugs" is pretty indiscriminate advice. That term, as used here, encompasses heroin, pot, speed and all other stuff. I would restrict it to psychedelics (LSD, shrooms..etc). They enhance indirect lexical priming, besides inducing you to attempt scratching some philosophical itches. Someone in the blue, posted a link to this book: Programming and Metaprogramming in THE HUMAN BIOCOMPUTER. I haven't read it, though. But drugs might not be easy to get, or you might be hesitant. In which case, pick some cerebral computer games, and/or meditate on koans, and/or pick some complex topic and endeavour to learn all about it.
posted by Gyan at 12:09 PM on May 14, 2005

read some philosophy. or neuroscience.

I also remember an interesting book by charles tart? maybe - altered states of consciousness, or something - included some sections on hypnosis, drugs, meditation, different social imaginaries, etc, that looked into different experiences people had.

If you are serious about exploring mental potentiality, then I think drugs are a pretty good recommendation, too, although you ought to choose your substance and your event (where you are, who's around, etc) intelligently, and enter it without expecting the drug to do all the work, so to speak. People can & do have pretty meaningless trips, if they're just looking for some fun - drugs can help open up your mind, but it's still your mind, so you've got to direct things.

Of course, there are possible side effects to substance use and drugs aren't necessary. Art or music study might expand things a bit. Or poetry, if you can find the patience to really see what it's saying. Good literature or philosophy is a doorway above all, in my experience, but then I'm a word-lovin' type to start with. But it's a little unclear exactly what you're hoping for from a new perspective...
posted by mdn at 12:29 PM on May 14, 2005

I would say poetry as opposed to drugs. As much as drugs at the time make you "think" that you understand the world in new and inventive ways, as soon as they wear off its gone. Similarly, the same thing happens with poetry and art but at a much cheaper expense.
posted by geoff. at 12:42 PM on May 14, 2005

Think in terms of the problem, the decision, the life I live, the pain, etc. rather than my problem, my decision, etc.

From this perspective you'll immediately feel that you are more than the problem, decision, pain, whatever- and that will certainly lead to more intricate and complex thoughts; if you follow those thoughts wherever they may lead then you'll have nixed your boredom.
posted by LadyBonita at 12:44 PM on May 14, 2005

LadyBonita : "Think in terms of the problem, the decision, the life I live, the pain, etc. rather than my problem, my decision, etc."

I don't see an indication in the question that this is the issue. For all we know, the OP may already be concentrating on the cause, rather than its self-effect.
posted by Gyan at 12:50 PM on May 14, 2005

Robert Anton Wilson's Cosmic Trigger trilogy, especially volume 1.

I'll second Programming and Metaprogramming the Human Bio Computer; written by John C. Lilly, it's considered the Bible of this field.

Neuro-Linguistic Programming might also be helpful, but I'd suggest going back and using Korzybyski's General Semantics instead, as NLP is more focused on sketchy commercial uses.

I found that Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance definitely affected how my mind worked, but then, I read it as a teenager and don't know how well it ages.

Plus, of course, psychedelic/entheogenic drugs.

You might also want to look into aids like a biofeedback unit for meditation, or playing around with binaural beats. Lucid dreaming, too.

If you're really interested in breaking linear thinking patterns, researching the nexus of occultism, alchemy, the Cabala, and Jungian synchronicity can jumpstart that process, as long as you keep in mind that your mind is the one responsible for all the patterns you'll see.
posted by jbrjake at 12:57 PM on May 14, 2005

I've actually discussed the use of psychedelic drugs under professional supervision with my therapist. She believes they can be very beneficial for the right sort of person. For someone like me, however, such use is counterindicated. (The expression "meltdown" was used.) So, proceed with reasonable caution.
posted by SPrintF at 1:27 PM on May 14, 2005

Whoa! Korzybyski? I bought Science and Sanity quite a while ago and never made any headway with it - it's pretty hardcore, no? I was turned onto it reading William Burroughs' biography.

I understand all the drugs suggestions, and I do have a bag of mushrooms in my kitchen that I take from time to time, but I find tripping rather a ephemeral experience - a bit like getting a massage for serious back trouble: it'll only provide a temporary solution.

I like the ideas of Cabala, Edward de Bono, Robert Anton Wilson - I am looking for a technique to apply to situations which traditional linear thought can only bring about the inevitable disappointing conclusions.

Thanks for all the answers so far: really useful and appreciated.
posted by forallmankind at 2:06 PM on May 14, 2005

Work through the book Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty (forgot-her-last-name, sorry, and no link coz of rush, but it's easy to find) -- it specifically "delinearizes" your processing so you draw, and once you're familiar with the non-linear mode you can use it.
posted by anadem at 2:29 PM on May 14, 2005

Whoa! Korzybyski? I bought Science and Sanity quite a while ago and never made any headway with it - it's pretty hardcore, no?

Well, I must admit I haven't read Science and Sanity either, though I've read a few essays on the General Semantics website. It's a book that's on my long-term read list, however, thanks to Robert Anton Wilson, who was once asked in an interview "What was it that first sparked your interest in consciousness enhancement?" He replied:

ROBERT: Korzybski's Science and Sanity. I was in engineering school and I picked up the book in the Brooklyn Public Library. He talked about different levels of organization in the brain-animal circuits, human circuits and so on. And he talked a lot about getting back to the non-verbal level and being able to perceive without talking to yourself while you're perceiving.

It was 1957. I was very interested in jazz at that time, and I told a black friend about some of Korzybski's exercises to get to the non-verbal level, and he said, "Oh, I do that every time I smoke pot." I got interested. I said, "Could I buy one of these marijuana cigarettes from you?" He said, "Oh hell, I'll give it to you free." And so I smoked it.

I found myself looking at a quarter I found in my pocket and realizing I hadn't looked at a quarter in twenty years or so, the way a child looks at a quarter. So I decided marijuana was doing pretty much the same thing Korzybski was trying to do with his training devices. Then shortly after that I heard a lecture by Alan Watts, and I realized that Zen, marijuana and Korzybski were all relating the same transformations of consciousness. That was the beginning.

Anyway, after writing his book, Korzybski got deep into General Semantics, founding an institute for it and everything. It definitely is hardcore, but you can ease yourself into it with the decades worth of material on the GS website I linked above. I'd suggest not getting hung up on trying to excise "to be" from your vocabulary. The important things to take away from Korzybski, imo, are time-binding and the idea that language distorts perception. Which reminds me: you might want to read some of George Lakoff's earlier work on framing, from before he became the darling of the Democrats.

Neuro-Linguistic Programming is arguably an off-shoot of General Semantics, for all NLP's creators say it was one of many inspirations. As for why I suggest General Semantics over NLP? The Wikipedia entry on NLP is very positive at the moment, but its neutrality is disputed. There is a delightfully written negative view of NLP in one of the history pages

Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) claims to be a field of human endeavor concerned with empirically studying and modeling human performance and excellence, with the goal of creating transferable skill sets. It specifically claims to be based on the idea that the unconscious mind can be "programmed" like a computer. However no evidence has ever been provided to show that this idea is true, and despite having charged millions of people thousands of dollars each for seminars on how to apply NLP to their lives, NLP practioners are unable to show any evidence that NLP is effective at anything other than making NLP trainers richer. Many clinically trained psychiatrists have expressed their fears over NLP "experts" with minimum training treatin people for phobias and other problems.

While NLP claims (amongst many other things) to be a science of perfect communication, communication between its two founders is now carried on solely between their lawyers, as they compete for a share of the declining but still considerable revenues the NLP brand brings in.

I'd argue that programming is an apt metaphor for affecting perception, but besides that, I think that critical take is pretty accurate. Even the current Wikipedia entry attempts to rationalize how NLP uses methods that are like science, but aren't, since they don't measure "evidence" and "proof" the same way scientists do.

I understand all the drugs suggestions, and I do have a bag of mushrooms in my kitchen that I take from time to time, but I find tripping rather a ephemeral experience - a bit like getting a massage for serious back trouble: it'll only provide a temporary solution.

It all depends on how and why you take from that bag of shrooms. Leary, Wilson, McKenna, Lilly, Ott...they all say, in their own ways, that ritualistic use of hallucinogens as opposed to recreational use can achieve remarkable results. Look at RAWilson: the man used a combination of meditation and LSD to make himself believe he was talking to aliens one week, angels the next...and then was able to make himself stop believing all that stuff. I think that's testament to psychedelics' powers, when used judiciously with concerted effort and focused intention, to reprogram your mind however you so desire.
posted by jbrjake at 4:56 PM on May 14, 2005

Move to a different country where they people don't speak your language. DON'T go to places where people *do* speak your language. Stay for several months.

jbrjake - excellent analysis of NLP. Back in the day, I thought that Bandler and Grinder started out with a very interesting, and potentially revolutionary project, but they got caught up in power games and lost whatever positive purposes they may have had.
posted by jasper411 at 6:58 PM on May 14, 2005

Acquire a deck of Oblique Strategies, or make your own.

(I also second jbrjake's thoughts on the use of mushrooms, as I myself was surprised at how useful they can be when taken for the express purpose of getting around entrenched thought patterns. Scary stuff, at times, but necessary.)
posted by Vervain at 8:25 PM on May 14, 2005

your question sounds like you've read "beyond culture". if so, i suggest you read it again and try thinking a bit more about what he's saying. as far as i could see, "linear thinking" is just an excuse edward t hall uses when he can't be bothered to think things through himself.

but maybe i'm bitter. i recently bought the book after reading recommendations here. it's crap, and wasted valuable weight in my luggae that could have been spent on something more deserving.

in my experience, there's nothing wrong with linear thinking (if by that you mean looking at things logically), as long as you do it hard enough. you need to search to more levels, which might require better pruning strategies, but there's nothing "nonlinear" about it.

or maybe you need to have a bit more confidence in your subconscious. if i have a hard problem i'll think about it for a while, ordering it as cleanly as possible, and then i'll let it sit. something inside my head then goes away and does the hard work. a couple of days later, typically while i'm in the shower, it comes back with a solution. again, i don't see why this is "nonlinear"; it's just giving the thing time. some problems are hard. they need time.

so i say don't give up on linear. just learn to do it better.
posted by andrew cooke at 7:51 AM on May 15, 2005

incidentally, moving to a place where people speak another language is, in my experience, a recipe for hard work and emotional pain. it's a source of problems, not a solution. if you really need some kind of suffering to solve a problem (and i have no idea how that's supposed to help - sounds like the kind of empty nonsense that tells us the poor and hungry are better off than ourselves), it would be simpler to just hit your head against a wall.
posted by andrew cooke at 7:53 AM on May 15, 2005

Read this book
Mind Hacks is wonderful stuff. As is Steven Johnson's Mind Wide Open
posted by ptm at 8:42 PM on May 15, 2005