Member Article

A Magical Mind

A Magical Mind: A Lesson We Can Learn from Magicians

Recently I got talking to a stranger (as you do), she was a wonderful and insightful young lady in her early 20’s. We got talking about how having a certain mindset can help interpret and create what you desire within your life. Whether it’s the perception of abundance or ‘lack of’, or just that classic case of glass half empty - half full scenario.

We spoke on a range of subject’s family, relationships, work, media, business, success and our unique experiences seemed to relate back to the power of our mind at that particular time. The circumstances in which we accept a certain condition as real or the way we can allow our mindset to manifest and create our reality.

Its interesting how two people with the same upbringing or very similar circumstances or adversity can have completely the opposite outcome. Where one individual may succumb to the negative conditions whereas another thrives and creates success. For example, a person in the same family experiencing childhood abuse going on to use their experience to empower others whereas somebody from the same family may fall to the influence of alcohol or drugs etc.

Even myself I reflect back to my early traumatic childhood experiences and wonder was it really my mind that helped me become a positive and optimistic person or was is that I was just lucky enough not to have too many negative influences pull me down?

Most of us are probably aware or have read about the book ‘The Secret’ or the Law of Attraction, the power of our subconscious mind or cosmic ordering.

But if the process was so simple wouldn’t everyone be practicing it? Or at least seeing results if they tried.

What can we do to ensure that the mind which can be susceptible to negative ‘seeds’ is allowed to thrive positively even when we allow our fears, negative people, and circumstances to influence its growth?

Our mind can be viewed as a magician’s box, its contents are beyond our comprehension.

This fuelled my curiosity to explore some of the secrets of magicians and how they manage to create some great magic or trickery. Demonstrating how easily our mind and hence behaviour can be influenced or controlled.

I found that the main tool and advantage point of the magician is The Illusion. Visual, auditory or multisensory illusion. An illusion is something that isn’t real but deceives us by creating a false misrepresentation of reality.

One of the oldest known illusion relating to touch was described by Aristotle more than 2,000 years ago. If you cross two adjacent fingers and then touch an object such as a pen, with both crossed finger tips at the same time it will feel as though you are touching two pens, not one.

Illusion in our day to day life may come under the guise of assumptions, preconceptions or just jumping to conclusions too quickly, without waiting for the evidence or the facts too be revealed. This cognitive Illusion is noted by Daniel Kahneman in his book ‘Thinking Fast and Slow’. Cognitive illusion is a false belief that we accept as true. Do you know that Kahneman also demonstrated that even when we find out that our belief is untrue we still have difficulty changing our belief system!

Unfortunately sometimes we act or make decision about people, circumstances based on these illusions, these false beliefs that are then difficult to reverse.

However one way that this can be counteracted is by utilising the practices of Cognitive Behavioural Therapist (CBT). No you don’t need therapy, but CBT stipulates that if you interpret a situation negatively, this will lead you to experience negative emotions and subsequently behave in a certain way, which may be damaging.

The key to overcoming our everyday illusion may lie in being open to the evidence that challenges any negative thinking patterns and behavior (or maybe some fake positive ones).

As simple as creating a list of evidence for or against. Then being open enough to let go of the illusion or the psycho-bubble acronym for FEAR, False Belief Appearing Real when we find contradictory evidence.

Although this may be easier said than done.

Well I wonder how the young lady I met will cultivate her future based on her current positive mindset? Unlike a magician who sets out to create an illusion, we have to learn to not let ‘the illusion’ dictate, guide or control our lives. Questioning thought patterns, beliefs, perceptions and any mindset which does not uplift or create a positive inner state. Sink or swim!

Naomi

Feel free to try OrangeMoon’s playshop and learn more about how negative thought patterns could be limiting your potential.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Naomi Davidson .