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|Coined by||José Silva|
|Synonyms||Silva Mind Control|
|Definition||A self-help program designed by José Silva|
|Signature||A program claiming to be able to raise people's IQs and to give them paranormal abilities by teaching them to think with their right brain hemisphere|
The Silva Method is the name given to a self-help program developed by José Silva, which claims to increase an individual's IQ and sense of personal well-being through relaxation and by developing their higher brain functions. Proponents believe that it can improve a person's self-image, allow them to think in a clearer manner, and that it can assist people in overcoming conditions such as nicotine addiction.
According to notable author Arthur C. Clarke and former stage magician James Randi, the Silva method consists of the application of positive thinking, visualization meditation, and self hypnosis. Some, including Silva himself, believe that it can be used to develop paranormal abilities such as ESP, and that practicing it can allow you to tap into a higher consciousness. It has been criticized as pseudoscience.
The Silva Method is one of a number of therapeutic techniques sometimes grouped under the name Human Potential Movement.
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Early Childhood in Laredo 
Jose Silva was born in 1914 from poor Mexican immigrant parents either in today's New Laredo, in the Mexican State of Tamaulipas or in Laredo, Texas, on American shore of the Rio Grande border. He became orphan since his early childhood; his parents were murdered during an attack of bandits during the turbulent years of the Mexican revolution war.
Jose Silva began at six years old to support his family. Although he couldn't receive a formal education, he learned to read and write on his own - in both English and Spanish.
Instead of going to school, he earned money for his family by selling newspapers on the streets of Laredo, and shining shoes, and doing odd jobs.
He developed quickly entrepreneur skills and By the time he was a teenager, he was an employer and hired other youngsters to work with him, going door to door to sell merchandise he purchased in San Antonio. The youngsters were earning as much money after school as their parents earned working full-time. And young Jose was earning as much every day as the typical adult in Laredo earned in a week.
Electronics Technical self distant education 
The claim that Mr Jose Silva was a completely uneducated person is not precise, He got basic education indirectly from his own younger siblings that, with his econonomic support, attended public schools in Laredo. Jose started to study electronics by himself reading technical books of correspondence courses, in his free time, and this self distant education allow him to become soon the owner of one of the first radio repair business in the border. It is likely that he received a graduate certificate as an electronics technician as fruit of those studies.
Eventually this knowledge was determinant to have allowed him to build the largest electronics repair business in south Texas in 1940s. Although there are no evidences that he has pursued or achieved later higher education studies in Electronics, or other Science, his career in that field that began focused in maintenance of communications equipment but in the long run it switched into maintenance of Hospitals biomedical machines during the war, gave him enough experience to develope important research skills.
This was pretty impressive for a youngster who had educated himself, to become self-educated at the same time that he had supported his family since age six, and had earned the respect of people in the community. He still remains to be considered as the most famous resident of Laredo Texas along all its History.
Electronics and clinical Hypnosis were the fields that allow him to enter gradually in an exciting autodidact research on the potentials of the human mind. In that area the contribution of Jose Silva in key aspects is considered as original, for instance, the development of an entirely scientific, non religious, method of mind training through meditation and visualisation that induces thinking at alpha frequency brain waves.
WWII years in the Army 
As a very proficient experienced electronics technician, after to have worked in a communications group of the army, during the first years of WWII, while doing maintenance of biomedical machines (EEG - MEG) in military hospitals Jose Silva sudenly became attracted by the functioning of the human mind. Working closely for Psychiatrists of the army, Jose started to become interested in different types of Hypnosis used at the time to help the recovering of soldiers that suffered war emotional trauma.
It is likely that during those years Jose began his discovering of the paranormal properties of the alpha level of the functioning of the human brain, that is induced by the regular use of certain kind of Hypnotic exercises.
Silva observed the presence of specific pattern frequencies of brain waves, called alpha, when trained patients became in hypnotic trance but still conscious. The frequency of this alpha waves (8–12 Hz) was slightly above the frequency range of Theta and Delta waves, that is characteristic of deep sleep while dreaming. To be able to think in such frequencies, being not deeply slept (unconscious) was unknown, something believed it was not possible to occur intentionally.
Alpha waves were discovered first time in 1931 by German neurologist Hans Berger, most famous for his invention of the EEG. Alpha waves were among the first waves documented by Berger, along with beta waves, and he displayed an interest in "alpha blockage", the process by which alpha waves decrease and beta waves increase upon a subject opening their eyes. This distinction earned the alpha wave the alternate title of "Berger's Wave".
Berger technique and findings did not gain widespread acceptance in the psychological community until 1937, when he gained the approval of the famous physiologist Lord Adrian, who took a particular interest in alpha waves.
Return to Laredo after the War 
After the war ended Silva did a second important discovering, observing the incredible improvement that his Hypnotic exercises could produce into enhance learning abilities of children exposed to the special training to be able to study their lessons being in Alpha. According with Silva, the children were able to retain with just one reading, an extremely large amount of information on every lesson studied being in alpha level. Moreover, strange and fascinating psychic abilities like mind reading and telepathy suddenly emerged in the children.
This was the beginning of the development of his famous Silva method of dynamic meditation. The claim of Mr Silva was that his method, a sequence of special hypnotic exercises using visualization could enhance the intelligence quotient of almost anybody. His method, although was patented by him, seems to be strongly influenced by the study of the therapeutic properties of different genres of meditation (Yoga, Rosicrucian, Zen, transcendental meditation) among other techniques of classical hypnosis, in the way they induce certain patterns of brain waves, that Jose studied patiently and carefully privately in his laboratory research at his own family business and house in Laredo. His total research time was along 22 years, starting during his job as biomedical equipment maintenance technician in Military hospitals and clinics, until the release of the method commercially.
Apparently Silva method has also a lot to do into have inspired the US army and military intelligence research on distant or remote viewing, a technique of telepathic communication used since late 1950s, and that it is included as part of the training in the graduate levels of his courses.It is said that the method was already tested and working well many years before its commercialization, but apparently there was some kind of agreement in between Jose Silva and the Army to maintain it for some years as strict classified paranormal intelligence research top secret program.
It developed out of Silva's belief that the thoughts and actions of 90% of the world's population were governed by the left hemisphere of their brain; limiting them to using only logical, intellectual, objective means of problem resolution. Silva believed that by training people to think with both the right brain hemisphere as well as their left they could access information stored at a subconscious level. According to skeptical author Robert Carroll, the Silva method appears to be based on the work of Roger Wolcott Sperry, but with Silva's own twists in it that is claimed to make it an inaccurate model.
Commercial Method 
Silva method was first time offered to the public in the second half of the 1960s. Initially was only known by the people of Laredo and its surroundings. In 1966 word of his activities soon spread beyond Laredo where he was teaching his method to more than 100 people every week. Soon after, he was asked to teach groups who were willing to pay him for his knowledge.
Thus at the age of 52 Silva began the work that would make him famous throughout the world. In fact, he has been called the most famous Laredo resident of all time. After a couple of years of teaching the method throughout Texas, Silva began to train other instructors to do the same throughout the world.
In 1975 Jose Silva began his world famous career as lecturer to export his method internationally traveling to Mexico city. He taught his first instructors in that country in seminars at the prestigious Association of Jesuit Alumni in the traditional neighborhood of St Maria La Rivera, home of many important figures of the intellectual life of the Mexican Capital. One of his first Mexican graduates was the physician Dr Ignacio Becerra, President of the Center.
In 1980, Silva met Burt Goldman, and in 1989, they co-wrote the book The Silva Mind Control Method of Mental Dynamics.
Acknowledgement from the Academic, Editorial and Scientific Circles 
Medical doctors such as cancer specialist, Dr. O. Carl Simonton, who studied with Jose Silva, taught patients how to use visualization and imagination in treating cancer. Professional artists, sculptors, athletes, business executives, scientists and people from all walks of life have benefited from the program. The greatest contribution of the Silva Method, in words of its own founder, is in teaching people how to actually develop and use their intuition to get information and correct problems.
Jose Silva published numerous books about his method and they have been translated into more than two dozen foreign languages. Some of his books are The Silva Mind Control Method, published by Simon and Schuster in 1977, Sales Power, the Silva Mind Method for Sales Professionals, published by Putnam in 1992, The Silva Mind Control for Business Managers, published by Prentice Hall, The Silva Mind Control Method for Getting Help From Your Other Side, published by Pocket Books, You the Healer, published by Kramer, and The Silva Method: Think and Grow Fit by Career Press. He also came to hold several patents; including one which was the first patent ever issued which states that, “Human concentration turns on an educational device.”
Dr. Robert B. Stone a world-renowned author, teacher, and counselor, published the Silva method Nightingale Conant self-study course in the late 1990s, giving credit to Jose Silva's years of research in the functioning of the human mind.
Dr. Stone was author or co-author of 87 published books, some with sales of over a million copies, as well as scores of magazine articles. His non-fiction books, ranging from New Age to diet books, were published in 19 languages. Such titles such as Martinis and Whipped Cream, You the Healer, Celestial 911, The Silva Method, Anatomy of a Teacher Strike, Jesus Has a Man in Waikiki, Hypno-Cybernetics, Parade of Homes, and Life Without Limits demonstrated his creativity and powerful communication skills on a wide diversity of subjects.
Dr. Stone was an internationally known lecturer on human potential. He taught for many years at the University of Hawaii on activating the powers of the mind. A MENSA member and graduate of MIT, Dr. Stone was elected to the New York Academy of Science. A Silva Method lecturer for 20 years and Ambassador-at-Large, he introduced the Silva Method to five nations and was honored with many Silva awards. He counseled hundreds of individuals around the world in self-healing, human relations, and problem-solving. He served as a volunteer advisor with SCORE of the U.S. Small Business Administration, President of the Honolulu Lodge of the Theosophical Society, and member of the Good Samaritan Advisory Board. He started a public relations practice on Long Island, New York, serving Boards of Education, businesses, and non-profit organizations, and was Editor of the Huntington Times.
Dr Robert Stone was born on Feb. 26, 1916 in New York and died on January 8, 1999 in Thailand.
Silva Method Publicacion Statistics 
According with statistics published in the official website of the Silva method organization, The Program first taught to the public in 1966. At present, the method is being taught in over 30 languages in 111 countries, At last count, over 13 million people have graduated and benefited from the Program.
Jose served as Chairman of the Board of The Silva Method until his death in 1999. His legacy remains spread in the teaching activities of five different corporations that he founded and that are now managed by his sons and relatives.
Currently, there are more than 1,000 licensed Silva Method Lecturers throughout the U.S. and in more than 100 foreign countries. The Silva Method is offered in 29 different languages in the following countries. Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bermuda, Bolivia, Borneo, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Curaçao, Czech Republic Cyprus, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Dubai, Eritrea, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Korea, Kuwait, Mayotte, L’Reunion, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Papua N. Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Lesotho, Republic of Mauritius, Russia, Santa Lucia, Saudi Arabia, Scotland, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Trinidad, & Tobago, Tunisia, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, (Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Al Ain, Falaj-Al-Moalia, Fujairah, Ras-Al-Kahaimah, Sharjah, Umm-Al-Quwain), United States, Uruguay, Venezuela, Yemen, Yugoslavia, Zaire, Zambia Zimbabwe.
Self Study versions of the Silva Method 
In 1989 and 2006 Hans DeJong, one of the most awarded and famous lecturers of the Silva method organization, published through Audio Renaissance, a division of Holtzbrinck Publishers, LLC in conjunction with macmilian audio, a release of 3 hours 57 minutes audiobook of relaxation exercises that are part of the basic training of the method.
In 2002, Ed Bernd Jr., coauthor of some of the most famous books of the Silva method, published through Nightingale Conant, a 8 Compact Discs/CD-ROM Workbook of the Silva ultramind effective sensory projection. These material claim to be a training for developing of remote viewing skills that supposedly correspond, at least in part, to a research project in which the US government spent $30 million training people to spy or influence others from a distance, detect hidden information, to locate objects and information, using methods that claim to be part of the science of psychometry.
In 2006, also through Nightingale Conant, it was published another set of 8 compact Discs of the Silva Ultramind's Remote Viewing and Remote Influencing [Audio CD] by Dennis Higgins and John La Tourrette Ph.D .
Dennis Higgins took the Silva training in 1971, then was trained as a salesman shortly after. He used his Silva techniques to help him actually do the things he was supposed to do as a salesman, and as a result he became one of the top sales people in the company. In 1983, out of gratitude, he authored a Sales Manual for Silva lecturers to use and helped develop The Silva Sales Lecture Series and the Silva Sales Power Program. He is a gifted Silva presenter to the public and had worked closely with Jose Silva to develop his craft.
John La Tourrette, Ph.D., has been a Silva instructor since 1985, and in March 1998, he was in the very first instructor training session for the new Silva UltraMind ESP System. He has written 18 books and produced 247 videos about martial arts and sports psychology. He is recognized as the nation’s leading expert in the field of mind training for martial arts. John has a doctorate in sports psychology and founded his own publishing company in 1978. He is a widely sought after lecturer and instructor and presents his programs throughout the world.
The technique aims to reach and sustain a state of mental functioning, called alpha state, where brainwave frequency is seven to fourteen Hz.:p19-20 Daydreaming and the transition to sleeping are alpha states.:p19-20
José Silva, founder of the Silva Method, claimed to have developed a program that trained people to enter certain brain states of enhanced awareness. He also claimed to have developed several systematic mental processes to use while in these states allowing a person to mentally project with a specific intent. According to Silva, once the mind is projected, a person can allegedly view distant objects or locations and connect with higher intelligence for guidance. The information received by the projected mind is then said to be perceived as thoughts, images, feelings, smells, taste and sound by the mind. The information obtained in this manner can be acted upon to solve problems.
In her book "The Beautiful Side of Evil", Johanna Michaelsen describes her negative experience with the technique.
See also 
- Carroll, Robert Todd (2003) "The Skeptic's Dictionary", Wiley, ISBN 0-471-27242-6
- Randi, James (1995)"An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural", St. Martin's Griffin, ISBN 0-312-15119-5
- "Review of The Silva Mind Control Method of Mental Dynamics on Brian Johnson's Philosophers' Notes".[dead link]
- Silva, Jose (1977). the Silva Mind Control Method. New York, New York: Pocket Books. ISBN 978-0-671-73989-8.
- Michaelsen, Johanna (1982). The Beautiful Side of Evil. Oregon: Harvest House Publisher. pp. 76, 78, 96.