Editorial Reviews
About the Author
Imagine coming into direct, working contact with an all-pervading higher intelligence and learning in a moment of numinous joy that it is on your side. Imagine too that you made this contact in such simple ways that for the rest of your life you need never again feel helplessly out of touch with something you always suspected was there but could never quite reach—a helpful wisdom, a flash of insight when you need it, the feeling of a loving, powerful presence. How would it feel?It would be a peak experience not too different—perhaps not different at all—from spiritual awe.
This is what it feels like after four days of Silva Mind Control training. So far, more than a half-million people know; they have been through it. And as they become more accustomed to using the methods that produce this feeling they settle down into a calm, self-confident use of new powers and energies, their lives richer, healthier, freer of problems.
Shortly José Silva will explain some of these methods so that you will be able to start using them yourself. First let’s look in on the beginning of a Mind Control class and see what takes place.
To start off, there is an introductory lecture of about an hour and twenty minutes. The lecturer defines Mind Control and outlines the two decades of research that led to its development. Then, briefly, he describes ways the students will be able to apply what they learn in improving health, solving everyday problems, learning more easily, and deepening spiritual awareness. A twenty-minute break follows.
Over coffee the students become acquainted. They are from widely varying backgrounds. Physicians, secretaries, teachers, taxi drivers, housewives, high-school and college students, psychiatrists, religious leaders, retired people—this is a typical mix.
After the break there is another hour-and-twenty-minute session beginning with some questions and answers, then down to business with the first training exercise, which will lead to a meditative level of mind. The lecturer explains that this is a state of deep relaxation, deeper than in sleep itself but accompanied by a special kind of awareness. It is in fact an altered state of consciousness used in virtually every meditative discipline and in intensive prayer.
No drugs or biofeedback machines are used. Mind Control lecturers speak of entering this state as “going to your level,” or sometimes “going into Alpha.” In a thirty-minute exercise they lead the student there gently, giving instructions in plain English. In fact all of Mind Control is in plain English: no scientific jargon or Far Eastern words.
Several of the students may already have learned to meditate before coming to class, some using methods that take a few weeks to learn, others after months of determined effort. They are amazed at a simple exercise that takes only thirty minutes.
One of the first things students hear is, “You are learning to use more of your mind and to use it in a special manner.”
This is a simple sentence they hear and internalize at the outset. The full meaning of it is nothing less than stupefying. Everyone—no exceptions—everyone has a mind that can easily be trained to exercise powers that beginners openly doubt they have. Only when they actually experience these powers do they come to believe.
Another thing that students are told is, “Project yourself mentally to your ideal place of relaxation”—a pleasant, calming, remarkably vivid exercise, which both strengthens the imagination and leads to deeper relaxation.
A word about meditation: In everyday speech it means thinking things over. If you set this book aside for a moment and consider what to have for dinner tomorrow, you are meditating.
But in the various meditative disciplines the word has a more specific meaning, referring to a special level of mind. In some disciplines, reaching this level is an end in itself, clearing the mind of all conscious thought. This produces a pleasant calm and goes a long way toward relieving and preventing illnesses caused by tension, as countless studies have proved.
But this is passive meditation. Mind Control goes far beyond this. It teaches the student to use this level of mind for solving problems, little nagging ones as well as larger, burdensome ones. This is dynamic meditation; the power of it is truly spectacular.
We hear more and more about Alpha nowadays. It is one of the brain-wave patterns, a kind of electrical energy produced by the brain, and can be measured by an electroencephalograph (EEG). The rhythms of this energy are measured in cycles per second (CPS). Generally, about fourteen CPS and up are called Beta waves; about seven to fourteen are Alpha; four to seven Theta; and four and below are Delta.
When you are wide awake, doing and achieving in the workaday world, you are in Beta, or “outer consciousness,” to use Mind Control terminology. When you are daydreaming, or just going to sleep but not quite there yet, or just awakening but not yet awake, you are in Alpha. Mind Control people call this “inner consciousness.” When you are asleep you are in Alpha, Theta, or Delta, not just Alpha alone, as many believe. With Mind Control training you can enter the Alpha level at will and still remain fully alert.
You may wonder what it feels like to be in these different levels of mind.
Being in Beta, or wide awake, does not produce any one particular feeling. You might feel confident or fearful, busy or idle, engrossed or bored—the possibilities in Beta are endless.
In the deeper levels the possibilities are limited for most people. Life has taught them to function in Beta, not Alpha or Theta. At these deeper levels they are pretty much limited to daydreaming, the edges of sleep, or sleep itself. But with Mind Control training, useful possibilities begin to multiply with no end in sight. As Harry McKnight, Associate Director of Silva Mind Control, wrote, “The Alpha dimension has a complete set of sensing faculties, like the Beta.” In other words, we can do different things in Alpha than we can do in Beta.
This is a key concept in Mind Control. Once you become acquainted with these sensing faculties and learn to use them, you will be using more of your mind in a special manner. You will actually operate psychically whenever you want to, tapping in on Higher Intelligence.
Most people seek out Mind Control as a way to relax, to end insomnia, to find relief from headaches, or to learn to do things that cost great efforts of will, such as stopping smoking, losing weight, improving memory, studying more effectively. This is what most of them come for; they learn much, much more.
They learn that the five senses—touching, tasting, smelling, hearing, and seeing—are only a part of the senses they were born with. There are others, call them powers or senses, once known only to a gifted few and to mystics who developed them over lifetimes removed from the active world. The mission of Mind Control is to train us to awaken these powers.
What this awakening can mean was well put by Mademoiselle’s beauty editor, Nadine Bertin, in the March 1972 issue:
“The drug culture can have its mind-expanding pills, powders and shots. I’ll take mine straight. Mind Control does expand your mind. It teaches you HOW to expand it. It is aptly named because, unlike drugs or hypnosis, you are in control. Mind expansion, self-knowledge and helping others through Mind Control are only limited by your own limitations. ANYTHING is possible. You hear about it happening to others. And suddenly, you see it happening to you.”
MonaK –
Having troubleI’m having trouble getting it to work for me even though I listen every night. Ant suggestions?
Suad –
Lovely 📚It really helps me alot
Ben –
great readThis is a timeless book that works to exhibit the unlimited power of the mind. It is worth reading twice over.
L.Earley –
Content was goodContent was good but too many testimonials
Amazon Customer –
Read with an open mind!Well written and encouraging when you’re trying to get past the typical issues of life.
Eva Marie Maldonado –
Powerful readInteresting, informative, based in science… it’s a must read if you’re looking to change your life.
I don’t like how the key installed bcz you its hard to turn, and the alarm was sensitive –
Good book formatAll I need to know about mind control,was almost inside the books I have no comments yet about the dislike
TCastell –
Arrived on timeHaven’t finished it yet, but so far I like the book. It arrived on time and in perfect condition.
EyeSpyChic –
Finally take action! Use your kind, love your lifeThis book has the power to change your life!! If you can buy it, great! If you I cannot, get to a library, borrow from a friend, do something to get this book. It has helped me take action and remember to reset my thoughts when then get off track! I meditate everyday now and it helps so much! I have some people that make me doubt myself and I have to constantly get back on track! Instead of being off track for weeks/months/years, I let myself do a few hours or a day! Not more, then I get back on DOING something to improve!!!
JR. –
Great read!Very well written! Enjoyed the premise!
Rachel Moreno –
The Only Book That Made a DifferenceThis is my first Amazon review. Ever! I first learned about this book via the Mind Valley channel and Vishen Lakhiani. I’ve read every personal dev/self-help book out there. I swear, I own them all. This book taught me how to tap into my subconscious mind via the focused/relaxed meditation that Jose Silva teaches. I now know how to reprogram my mind because of this book. I share this book with everyone I know. It took me 10 day to learn because I practiced for the 10 days like the book says. I read it in October of 2021. In Nov 2021, I was offered the most amazing job with the most amazing benefits, off for the summer and all major holidays including spring break, the most kind and amazing co-workers and the highest pay I ever made because I had “programed” this into my mind. My new job even let me take off in Jan 2022 for a vacation to Cancun with my husband. In March of 2022, I manifested my dream Jeep Rubicon. It’s exactly what I wanted; from the leather seat colors to the exterior color. The way the deal for my vehicle happened is just amazing! You do have to also remember to surrender to God/Universe and have full faith. Have faith in a fun and relaxed way! Things just keep getting better. The confidence I’ve learned to program is indescribable. The happiness in my Soul is also indescribable. This book even helps you program “belief” in yourself; something I never felt before! That’s the best part ever. I’ll update this review later. I’m currently programming something else that I know is going to be amazing.Just remember…it’s all meditation. This is the real simplified meditation (some call it prayer). Learn to do some relaxed breathwork also. All of this changes your energy, which changes your vibration, which allows you to be a matching frequency to those amazing things you desire. Remember to desire in Love and Peace; not lack.
Human in Training –
How to get into an alpha stateI admit, I have not finished it. But I only needed to read the first three chapters to have an “oooh” moment. The ideas aren’t new. Yes, they’ve been written about before and talked about since. The basic premise is this: your mind is amazing. Amazing in ways that we don’t comprehend and everything we’re taught to believe is just the tip of the iceberg. He teaches you how to get into an alpha state. Ok, yes, I’ve done Joe Dispenza meditations which do just that. Not being cynical… but you need his meditations. And I often wondered… how did Dispenza do it when he healed himself… surely he didn’t have his own meditations. Ok, so I did his meditations for 10 months, 2x/day! And the results were remarkable. Yes, we control our environment; serendipities start happening. More Angelic experiences. But I got bored with “knowing” these long meditations, and like medicine, I thought things would continue to happen. But ultimately what it takes is getting into an alpha state (or theta.). And that’s what Jose Silva does… on your own, get into that state where you can harness the power of your brain to do amazing things. I started reading and had a wow moment. I know this!! And it’s probably been said throughout history. You know who else said it? Jesus. Yep. He said, we were able to do what he has done. He didn’t talk alpha. Now, he was the most evolved person in our planet, so don’t think you’ll rise from the dead. But… your mind is powerful! Anyway, I can’t wait to read the rest; I know what getting into an alpha state is like. And Jose Silva really tells you how.
Baazumi –
Game ChangerIn the early 70’s I was living in the East Village in New York studying Kundalini Yoga with Swami Rudrananda (Albert Rudolph on Wikipedia). There were many workshops and one of these was Silva Mind Control. At the time I didn’t think much about taking the workshop but in the end a friend convinced me. To my surprise the techniques I learned were extremely useful. I had always had difficulty falling asleep and remembering my dreams, following the instructions it didn’t take me long to fall asleep more easily and then awaken after my dreams and record them in a notebook by my bed. I learned to be able to recall things I had long forgotten. I couldn’t resist buying the book after all these years!
Esther Jacobs –
Good itemI like the information in this book
Saturday’s child –
FascinatingIf you are interested in going more deeply into meditation and energy work you can learn a lot from this book. It uses clear non-mystical language and includes real life examples of ordinary people successfully using these practices.
C. G. –
One Day Read!I wasn’t sure what to expect. The mere idea of being able to meditate at a deeper level is very interesting to me. I’m not looking for ESP, just want to find relaxation in my life.We spend millions of dollars on meds through out the years, how hard will it be to try The Silva method. The worst you can do is achieve nothing, the best is ESP if that’s what you want. I just want to learn to meditate. His method is harmless and non-religiously based (the man believes in God, but he’s not selling you religion- if you understand what I mean). Overall, the technique -nor the book, ever felt like it should belong in the “Occult” section. We’re all taught to control our breathing and heart rates during PE exercises at school, so this shouldn’t scare anyone!As for the writing itself, it’s easy to get through. I read the book in one day (honestly in one morning). You are supposed to read through the first time then do the work. So I was looking forward to finishing, but the content was easy to understand so there wasn’t a problem.I wish the book in kindle would come with the option of audio like so many others do!! It’s so much faster that way, but it was still super fast.
half full –
harder for me than was the book makes it seemI believe in the concept and have some experience with this stuff back in the 1970s. Now as a old guy find it very difficult. First counting back from 100 while in beta drifts me off to sleep. Progressed to counting down from 50 with still times I drift far away. 2nd exercise is to imagine a orange or apple in the minds eye. Cant do it because I cant stay in beta without drifting off. While in beta I can imagine the most complicated objects but I am noty awake- more like dream land. My goal is still to try to be conscious while in Beta and direct my thoughts. I need more control over my mind. Thats the point of the book really. Note his method of achieving the meditative state is just one method and it may not work for you, I think each person has to find there own way there. Then once there you can use his advanced techniques.
Terri –
InterestingI’ve been reading it and hopefully I can add an edit, but interesting so far.
AuthorsUnited –
Pretty Good Introduction to the TopicThe media could not be loaded.
Quick and easy read. Definitely some useful information in here and some exercises to help to begin to start practicing mind control. You don’t really need the workbook, but it could be beneficial if this is a new topic for you. Overall, great info and introduction to the topic of mind control.
Elizabeth Rivera –
InterestingI love a book with educational steps. Enjoyable
Nelson Beltran –
Extraordinary book, I bought 5 copies so I can give to family member or friend?I love this book because I am going through the MIND VALLEY online version of this PROGRAM at MIND VALLEY website!
Consumer 1 –
Real DealIf you are ready to receive this then it is the answers to the test.
Elizabeth –
Good bookThis book arrived new and not damaged. Definitely that a plus on my side.
Breonna Edwards –
Very great book!!!I recommend this book to anyone that has the feeling that there’s much more to this life than we’re taught or told. For those who have consistent Coincidences that are far too spectacular to be a coincidence! This explains it all and even tells you how to maximize it! I gave the book 4 starts because some passages are a little hard to read/understand. Some of the errors are typos some are just “deep” maybe it’s just me having an issue but it didn’t make the book worse or happen often.
pat baker –
Your mind is more powerful than you can ever imagine.I don’t know why they don’t teach this method in schools. Why are proven techniques like this not used everywhere? We keep trying to reinvent the wheel in education when this technique would help so many students do well in school if only they were taught how to use their minds at the highest level.
Kathryn Foster –
Used bookI thought I had purchased a new book, but this one is definitely used. I found this sticky note inside. Other than that, it’s an AMAZING book.
Najah J. –
Basic ideasI get the gist is to encourage you to project and expect what you want and it will happen. But I just didn’t find it too different than other books I’ve read or too convincing either.
Nattz –
ReadGood read
Janet –
Silva mind control method bookNice room gives you some ideas on how to handle stress and other daily affirmations
Lisa –
Book worth the buyI have always wanted to own a copy of mind control method since my friend told me about it, finally I got one and it worth the read
R_Brav –
Great bookSo far I enjoyed it and thats all that matters.
Lynda Reis –
Awesome bookWell this book has me reading like never before! It’s like I can’t wait to get up in the morning to read the next chapter. Glad I have it!