Psychology
The post is about all the different disciplines of psychology but it's mostly about looking after ourselves and each other since we obviously can't rely on the medical system.
I write to share knowledge. If you know something and don't share it with others and you take that knowledge to the grave, it dies with you. But, if you know something and you share it, that knowledge ripples out across the Universe. Those ripples may reach someone and others they may not. At least it's out there. I find writing clears my head because I get it down on paper so to speak, at least digital paper in this case and out of mind.
You've probably heard the saying "all roads lead to Rome"? In this post we will examine several different psychological platforms. Although they all come from different disciplines, they all seem to elude to the same place.
I don't consider myself a guru. I'm just in a unique position that I've been exposed to a lot of this stuff and right now I have the wherewithal to at least open the doors for people. How long I can keep it up for is another question.
I wouldn't consider this a study course as people have dedicated their entire lives to the study of the Mind. I would consider this more like a directional course. Just to let people know that there are many various roads that seem to all seek the same thing.
We all want wisdom and peace of mind. There are so many different disciplines of psychology out there. Then there's religion as well. Of course if you listen to the hardcore religion people they will just say that it's Jesus and that's all there is to it.
Maybe that's right, maybe all methods of psychology all aim back to the same thing. In our first example we will hear from Sydney Banks who will talk about being born with Divine wisdom but then it becomes adulterated later with outside influences which would later become the ego.
I'm just opening some doors folks. Good luck.
All Roads Lead Back to Rome
It's probably good to have a few angles on the same subject because not everybody is the same and what might work for somebody might not work for somebody else. We need different perspectives.
These various disciplines of psychology are like a bunch of different martial arts. The end result is the same. In martial arts the end result is to defend yourself against attacker and strengthening the mind and body.
In the various disciplines of psychology the end result is to build a more mentally stronger you and fix things that are ailing you.
As we know the mind and body are one. The Greek philosopher Plato wrote "without a well-conditioned body, the mind would certainly suffer". The same can be said in reverse.
All the various disciplines of psychology have different angles on it. They all use different terminology, but ultimately it comes down to the same thing. The purpose of psychology is to strengthen the mind. Maybe it just comes down to semantics?
Interesting that I was looking for the name of a psychologist based on his work, he breaks down into mind, thoughts, and consciousness. I was asking all these questions to Grok AI trying to find his name but Grok and I could not find it, so I asked another Ai, chat GPT, and it found it, just by using a few clues.
Lettuce attend;
Sydney Banks
January 25, 1931 – May 25, 2009
https://threeprinciplesfoundation.org/
Sydney Banks was a smart Scotsman. Unlike all the other principles you will see in this post they all have labels and names. Sydney never really labeled his discipline of teachings but he says “if you want to put a name on it he would call it the Divine Mind”. He based his discipline of psychology on three principals, the Mind, Thoughts and Consciousness. Sydney starts talking at about 5 minutes…
silence your mind of no thought, then divine thought comes in.
soul is pure consciousness. It becomes adulterated after we are born and we start getting influence from the outside and we start to create the ego.
the three principals direct you back to your original unadulterated state at birth.
he says pure enlightenment comes with the death of the ego.
he says “listen to me but don’t listen to me!” Listen to yourself to find yourself.
15:45 - I've heard this from various psychologists. "We can't change anyone else. We can't change the world. All we can change is ourselves".
19:00 time is an illusion. We can change in a second.
Everybody, whether they realize it or not, is only trying to get back to themselves! Every religion every psychology, all seek wisdom. In that wisdom they seek to get back to themselves. Whether they know it or not they are all looking for divine wisdom. And such wisdom is always shadowed by ego.
Sydney Banks’ teachings on Mind, Thought, and Consciousness provide a framework for understanding human experience from an inside-out perspective. By recognizing the interplay between these three principles where
Mind represents universal intelligence
Thought serves as the creative force shaping experiences and
Consciousness provides awareness—individuals can achieve greater mental health and emotional freedom.
The essence of Banks’ message emphasizes that we create our realities through our thoughts while being guided by an ever-present inner wisdom (Mind) accessed through heightened awareness (Consciousness).
The understanding of these principles has profound implications for personal transformation and mental well-being.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is probably the most popular. It is a widely used, evidence-based form of psychotherapy that focuses on the connection between thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. It’s grounded in the idea that our thoughts (cognitions) influence how we feel emotionally and, in turn, how we act. By identifying and changing unhelpful or distorted thinking patterns, CBT aims to improve emotional regulation and develop healthier coping strategies.
Core Principles
Thoughts Affect Emotions and Behaviour: Negative or irrational thoughts (e.g., "I’m a failure" or "Everything always goes wrong") can lead to distressing emotions like anxiety or depression, and unhelpful behaviours like avoidance or procrastination.
Thoughts Can Be Changed: Unlike some therapies that dig deep into the past, CBT is practical and present-focused. It teaches you to challenge and reframe those thoughts into more balanced, realistic ones (e.g., "I’ve had setbacks, but I’ve also succeeded before").
Behaviour Influences Thoughts: Changing what you do—like facing a fear instead of avoiding it—can shift how you think and feel about a situation.
How It Works
CBT is typically structured, short-term (6-20 sessions), and goal-oriented. A therapist works with you to:
Identify Negative Patterns: Pinpoint specific thoughts or beliefs causing distress (e.g., "If I’m not perfect, I’m worthless").
Challenge Them: Test the evidence for and against these thoughts. Are they based on facts or assumptions?
Replace Them: Develop more rational, constructive alternatives (e.g., "Mistakes don’t define my worth").
Practice New Behaviours: Use techniques like exposure (facing fears gradually) or behavioural experiments (testing out new ways of acting) to reinforce the change.
Techniques
Cognitive Restructuring: Rewriting distorted thoughts. For example, shifting from "I’ll never get this right" to "I can improve with practice."
Exposure Therapy: Gradually confronting feared situations to reduce anxiety over time (e.g., speaking in public if you’re socially anxious).
Mindfulness: Staying present to avoid getting trapped in overthinking.
Homework: Exercises like journaling thoughts or trying new behaviours between sessions to build skills.
What It Treats
CBT is super versatile. It’s proven effective for:
Anxiety disorders (e.g., GAD, phobias, OCD)
Depression
PTSD
Insomnia
Eating disorders
Substance use issues
Even chronic pain or stress management
Why It’s Popular
It’s practical, hands-on, and backed by decades of research showing it works—often as well as or better than medication for many conditions. Plus, it equips you with tools you can use long after therapy ends.
Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP)
Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) is a psychological approach that explores the connections between neurological processes (neuro-), language (linguistic), and behavioural patterns learned through experience (programming). Developed in the 1970s by Richard Bandler and John Grinder, NLP aims to understand how people think, communicate, and behave—and how these elements can be influenced or reprogrammed to achieve personal growth, improve communication, or overcome limitations.
Core Concepts of NLP
The Map is Not the Territory: This idea, borrowed from Alfred Korzybski, suggests that our perception of reality (our "map") is not reality itself but a subjective representation shaped by our senses, beliefs, and experiences. NLP posits that by changing our internal "maps," we can change how we respond to the world.
Mind-Body Connection: NLP views thoughts, emotions, and behaviours as interconnected. For example, changing your posture or breathing can shift your mental state, and altering your language can influence your emotions.
Modelling Excellence: Bandler and Grinder initially developed NLP by studying highly effective people—like therapists Milton Erickson, Virginia Satir, and Fritz Perls—to identify patterns in their communication and behaviour. NLP seeks to replicate (or "model") these patterns so others can achieve similar success.
Sensory Acuity: NLP emphasizes paying close attention to verbal and non-verbal cues (e.g., eye movements, tone of voice, body language) to understand someone’s internal state or thought processes.
Key Techniques in NLP
NLP includes a variety of practical tools, often used in therapy, coaching, or self-help:
Anchoring: Associating a specific stimulus (like a touch or word) with a desired emotional state (e.g., confidence) so it can be triggered later.
Reframing: Changing the context or perspective of an event to alter its meaning (e.g., viewing a failure as a learning opportunity).
Rapport Building: Matching someone’s body language, tone, or words to create trust and connection.
Submodalities: Adjusting the qualities of mental imagery (e.g., making a memory brighter or smaller) to change its emotional impact.
Swish Pattern: Replacing an unwanted behaviour or thought with a more positive one by visualizing a rapid switch between the two.
How NLP is Used
NLP is applied in diverse fields:
Therapy: To address phobias, trauma, or limiting beliefs.
Business: For leadership, sales, and negotiation skills.
Personal Development: To boost confidence, motivation, or goal-setting.
Education: To enhance learning and communication.
Criticism and Controversy
While NLP has a dedicated following, it’s not without skeptics. Critics argue it lacks rigorous scientific evidence, labeling it a "pseudoscience" in some academic circles. Studies on its effectiveness are mixed—some show benefits in specific contexts (like reducing anxiety), while others find no significant impact. Its heavy reliance on subjective experience and anecdotal success stories fuels the debate.
In Short
NLP is like a toolkit for hacking your mind and communication. It’s built on the idea that by tweaking how you think, speak, and perceive, you can reshape your reality. Whether it’s truly transformative or just clever psychology depends on who you ask—but it’s undeniably intrigued people for decades.
Scientology
introductory to Dianetics
Brief on the “Emotional Tone Scale”
If that interests you, you can listen to this gay guy talking about this for an hour and a half. (Guy sounds like Stewart Smally from Saturday Night live, looks a bit like him too!) he talks about the ARC Triangle and more.
Scientology gets a bad rap because it's big in Hollywood. Hollywood is getting a bad rap these days because of all the pedophiles and Satanist there. It's also thought about as a cult of rich people and some say it's there just to extract money from people.
It was spearheaded by L. Ron Hubbard and headquartered as the Church of Scientology. I guess this scares people because they think of unknown churches as cults. Personally I think that L. Ron Hubbard just saw the benefits of making it a church because churches don't pay taxes!
Anyway I think the platform has some benefit. I had a small run in with it years ago and I'll tell you what happened;
I was walking down Toronto's Yonge Street with some time to kill. I'm trying to make it across the street when this guy struck up a conversation with me. I forget how it started but it ended up that I went in the building of Scientology on Yonge Street and he sat me down to watch this short video.
The video starts off with a young lady jogging. She had EarPods in her ears listening to a song but she could still hear a dog barking, a neighbour cutting the grass, a sprinkler going on another lawn, a gentle breeze blowing through the mature trees when all of a sudden came the sound of screeching tires and BOOM! She was down on the ground hit by a car with a broken leg.
The pain was so intense. She had to go to the hospital she had to have surgery followed by a year of rehab but she got back on your feet and started jogging again. X-ray proved her leg was totally healed and life went on as normal until one day, she was in her own house in the Summer with the windows open, she was cooking. A seemingly normal day, there was a dog barking outside, a sprinkler running on the garden next door, across the street a neighbour was cutting the grass, then on the radio came the same song that she was listening to the days she got hit by the car!
All of a sudden in the comfort of her own home she drops to the floor in agonizing pain could not get up! A friend had to drive her to the hospital to find out what happened. She had further x-rays, keep in mind this is now more than a few years later.
The doctor confirmed that the leg was perfectly okay. It had healed normally and there was no reason she should be in pain.
After being on painkillers for some time and not knowing what was causing the pain somebody told her to go get an "audit".
And audit is the process of recalling everything that went on that day in such detail. The process of recalling it over and over and over again, moves the thoughts from the reactive side of the brain to the analytical side.
The reactive side of course causes a reaction in the rest of the body. The reactive side is uncontrollable it's automatic, where is the analytical side is just something you know but there is no reaction to it.
A similar example is used when the caveman first touched fire. Of course they were burned and hurt and not knowing any better that bit of information which Ron L Hubbard terms an "engram", resides in the reactive side of the brain. It's a defence mechanism. As a caveman if you don't know any better the brain creates the reaction not to go close to the fire! So it's good in a way I mean we have to have a reactive side of the brain, but it can also be bad.
Now we understand the fire can hurt us but it can also help us and because we are possibly more knowledgeable in that area than cavemen, we understand the fire, but we don't react to it in the same way (I mean like a small campfire not a forest fire where you have to run like hell)
The jogger had enough triggers put together at the same time to enact the engram that was stuck in the reactive side of her brain.
She didn't know it was there. She thought everything was okay.
I was so intrigued by the video that I decided to try and audit myself.
The process was quite intense. First of all I had to show up at 0900 hours. Next the auditor asked me to pick a problem that I had. I had no idea what auditing was going to be about and I was not prepared to think about any problems and in fact in those days I had no problems! I had to think long and hard about something that might have bothered me at one point or another!
The issue I came up with was something so trivial I had nearly forgot about it! I didn't think it was an issue at all but out of curiosity I needed to come up with something and came up with this thing that happened back when I was in public school or high school I forget!
The auditor asked me to describe it in great detail, everything that happened during the incident. They would ask questions like what time of year was it what time of day was it was it bright out was it dark out was it windy was it cold was it warm, what do you see there, how did you feel what do you smell and so on and so forth.
I talked and talked and talked and built a story and I thought that was it. I was actually ready to leave after I had first reiterated my story but the auditor said okay, let's take it from the top start again.
I said I told you what I remember! I don't remember anything else! The patient auditor would ask questions again what did it smell like what did it look like how many people were there where was it and on and on, and the more questions the auditor asked the more answers I was able to recall.
This process went on the whole morning then we broke for lunch for maybe half an hour then we went back again and once again " okay let's take it from the top" but I was sure I had recalled everything about the Day and The Time and the incident. Apparently not.
Again we started from scratch, reiterating the story over again, recalling such Minor Details each time. The process went on all day aside from the small break for lunch I was there from 0900 to 1600 hours.
I must say by the end of this session, I was in tears! I couldn't recall anymore, I had gone over the incident in great detail over the course of a day! But I'll tell you when I walked out of that place I felt so light like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders! I felt so powerful like I could bound 10 ft between steps! I felt like I could breathe easier I could see better I had more clarity in my brain I could hear better!
This was just an incident that I thought nothing of! And if that little incident could make that much huge difference in feeling of my mind and body I Can Only Imagine what it would be like to continue that process with bigger things that bother us.
After going through this process for years I've heard that practitioners become what they call "clear"! All the senses are heightened! Vision smell even food tastes better!
It's like if you're driving your car for years and years and eventually it starts to pull to the right you don't even notice but it starts to pull to the right because you're driving it everyday, but if you get it fixed it's like a whole new car! It would take somebody else to get into your car and drive it and tell you you know what this car pulls to the right because you wouldn't even notice it!
Having only been to one session I certainly wouldn't consider myself a Scientologist, and one bad thing about the process is that once they get your information they keep on you like a bloodhound! They want you to come back for more sessions like that. Eventually I could see that becoming very costly, but knowing the process perhaps it's possible to do it in the comfort of your own home if you have someone you trust that can guide you through the process and have that kind of patience.
The Arc Triangle
The Arc triangle shows up in Scientology as well as other disciplines of psychology. I thought it was worth mentioning. The theory on this is that one can't exist without the other. All three corners of the triangle are necessary for understanding.
Affinity - represents the degree of like or love of someone
Reality - is the degree of agreement
Communication - neither can exist without communication
Random notes
I guess we're all a bit crazy. It's not a competition. Am I the only one that sleeps with a notepad beside their bed so that if you get some ideas you can write them down? I'm just going to ramble some point form random notes here that I had written;
Thoughts can be low neutral or high - aim for neutral
Consciousness is the spiritual mind
From the heart comes compassion, balance and energy
Who are we when we tear down all the walls? Like peeling back all the skins of the onion? What's left? ‘Love’. That's what we are deep down inside because that's where we came from.
Anthony Robbins and others have noted that we don't have to stay in a funk forever. Technically, the mind and body can switch in a second.
NLP neuro linguistic programming, teaches the use of anchoring. (video claims to advance on anchoring - 14 minutes -- Pro tip - - skip to 9 minutes) There are lots of videos on these techniques if you are interested.
We are not broken and we don't need to be fixed!
Typical Psychiatry and psychologists always look at the past! Though the past can affect us we are no longer there we are here! Now! While it's okay to visit the past and even Dark Places to learn from them, we don't want to hang out there.
Do we want to be living in our thoughts or life out in the open?
We've all heard the acronym kiss - keep it simple stupid - trust the process.
Psychiatrists and psychologists all come up with "labels".
Labels are a way of identifying a certain behavioural pattern.
But we are not those labels. We may behave like that but they are not us.
That always brings me to this wonderful little scene with Mickey Rooney (Gus), he takes one look at Ben Stiller (Larry) and says "you must be one of those weirdies!" immediately labels him and gets a whole persona in a matter of seconds not even knowing who Ben Stiller (Larry) is.
The subject gets hung up on the label and therefore start to believe that they need fixing. They start to believe that they need various drugs to overcome their label.
We accumulate mental stress the same way that if you were doing the same exercise over and over and over again not giving your muscles a chance to recuperate, they keep breaking down. The mind is no different.
Typical psychology and Psychiatry Associates us with a mental disorder but we are not that.
Our being is far more than that we are mental physical spiritual emotional and so forth, a collection of all these things.
We should strive to be content not happy. Happy is kind of a word like candy. We know it tastes good but we shouldn't have too much of it.
Just like we shouldn't hang out in the dark lows of depression we shouldn't expect to be bouncing off the walls high all the time because that's not sustainable either. Contentment is sustainable and far more stable than the other Peaks and valleys.
We don't need fixing we're missing nothing. The only thing holding us back are our own blocking thoughts.
We are completely whole. We just need to use some common sense.
The accumulation of stress leads us to the abyss over analyzing things and living in the mind. Knowing this path helps us to realize what’s happening so we can avoid it. ‘Avoid it’ not in the sense of brainwashing ourselves so that we never knew it existed but rather just knowing it and understanding it but not reacting to it. We talked above about the reactive and analytical sides of the brain.
Try not to be so serious and balance life.
We can't stop thinking the brain is always thinking but we can understand it and we can give it a time out.
Laughter is good, yoga is good
I jotted down the name of a book but I haven't looked into it called "A returned to love"
Everybody's got a story. Change your story change your life!
Well I have tons and tons of scribbled notes on various pads and pieces of paper. I'm just trying to collect those thoughts and bring them out here.
the Balance Wheel
This is one I heard about as a kid and it stuck with me all these years;
Let's say these wheels represent aspects of your life.
Let's say each slice of the so-called pizza represents one aspect like let's say health is one, spirituality you might be another one, work and finances might be another one, social might be another one, relationships might be another, however you want to break down your wheel right?
Let's say you're putting too much emphasis or too much time into one thing such as the wheel on the left. Which wheel do you think will spin more naturally more freely? Which wheel would be more balanced the one on the left or the one on the right?
Obviously the one on the left is out of balance it would go down the road like Thump Thump Thump. You might still get there but it would be a harsh ride.
The object is to balance life. If you feel something's not right, then something is obviously out of balance.
Start by writing down all the things that you want out of life on a piece of paper. Write the things that you already have as well.
Now let's start adding them to the wheel. Can you honestly say that you give them all the same time, attention, energy? Nine times out of 10 the answer will be no and there you can find where the balance is out of whack.
In closing
Maybe something resonated with you here, maybe it didn't. For those of you who stayed with me and read all this thank you. I hope that there might have been one little thing that might have proved helpful in some way to someone. Maybe it's like having an air pump in the car. You might never need it but you'll be really happy to know it's there when you do.
In today's ego-driven world, 9 out of 10 wouldn't read this. Most don't even know it exists. So if you got through all this and you got to this point, give yourself a pat on the back because you are like part of the top elite 1%! You have all the tools to keep yourself sane in a crazy world! You can deal with things even while under pressure. You can multitask. You can make sense of things. Heck the fact that you're even reading this blog means that you don't rely on mainstream media which automatically catapults you up to the top!
We have to have a strong clear mind. It has to be simple, clean and quiet. In this state we were able to see things more clearly. Everything becomes more clear. All of our senses become heightened. We can hear better we can smell better we can taste better we can feel things better because we know we are straight and unfettered and clear.
These are all just like tools and a tool kit you may never use them but at least you know they're there.
take Action
Something else in mind though; Even the greatest thoughts mean nothing without actions attached. Thoughts without actions are called dreams. When they say make our dreams come true, it means attach action to them. Let us not dwell in our thoughts but also be people that get things done. Throw the excuses in the garbage. Excuses never helped anybody. Once again thanks for reading.
Peace be with you all.
